Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Philadelphia 76ers – Game #29
Jeremy Sochan and the Spurs fumbled a heart-breaker (Photo via X)
In what was an intense contest for a regular season game, the San Antonio Spurs (15-14) lost to the Philadelphia 76ers (10-17) by a final score of 111-106.
In the first half, Victor Wembanyama helped get Andre Drummond ejected. The referees reviewed the incident and rescinded the second technical foul. Although Drummond was allowed to return to the game, not long after that Wembanyama was involved in a play that resulted in Joel Embiid getting thrown out. Embiid’s ejection, however, was not overturned.
With the rabid fans in Philadelphia voicing their displeasure the rest of the game, the Spurs were able to rally in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, late-game mistakes resulted in San Antonio letting one slip away.
Net-net, it’s difficult to be too upset with how the Spurs played. It looked like the good guys were going to be able to escape with another close win. Sadly, they couldn’t quite do it this time.
Stats: Spurs at 76ers
Spurs at 76ers – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
The good: Wembanyama was a terror in the paint as a rim protector. His three-pointers looked silky smooth, even when his shot-selection was questionable. He also authored good passes and grabbed contested rebounds. I give Wembanyama credit for the mayhem that resulted in Embiid getting ejected. Good stuff. The bad: The superb sophomore was a bit too sloppy on the offensive end. Going up stronger would have helped matters. As previously mentioned, the selection of his shots could have been better. Overall, he just didn’t quite play a clean enough game to get a win — but he was still damn good.
Grade: B+
Devin Vassell
I like how hard Vassell attacked the rim. He had moments on the defensive end of the court that I’d classify as positive. But, all in all, this wasn’t a good game for Vassell. The ball got stuck in his hands too often. Late in the game, he missed open teammates in key moments. Vassell is still a work in progress when it comes to being a reliable team-first player. I don’t think it’s out of greed, I think he just sometimes doesn’t read situations as well as he should.
Grade: C-
Chris Paul
Paul didn’t take care of the ball as well as he usually does and he struggled to score inside of the arc — but everything else was solid. His playmaking and decision-making was elite. He did well in the clutch. He competed on defense (though, to be honest, the Spurs spent most of the game trying to hide him on that end). Paul’s maturity gave the Spurs a chance to win the game but that attribute wasn’t quite enough.
Grade: B
Jeremy Sochan
I can’t complain too loudly about Sochan’s play. He took on challenges on the defensive end and there were more positives than negatives on that side of the court. He rebounded with every ounce of his will. He tallied three assists without turning the ball over, even though he was in the thick of the action. Sochan’s offense was efficient, although a lack of perimeter shooting is undoubtedly limiting the spacing.
Grade: B+
Harrison Barnes
Well, damn, Barnes really can disappear for games at a time. Zero points, zero assists and one rebound in 20 minutes is insane work. Add in mediocre-at-best defense and an 0-for-5 showing from deep and it has become clear that the Spurs can’t rely on Barnes on a game-to-game basis.
Grade: D-
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie’s 5-for-10 shooting from three-point territory was a huge reason why the Spurs were even in the game in the fourth quarter. Add in his eight rebounds and his effort on defense and it was very reasonable that he played a bench-high 29 minutes. But, unfortunately, Champagnie’s outing will be remembered for two late turnovers that basically giftwrapped the win for Philadelphia.
Grade: B-
Keldon Johnson
Johnson went 0-for-4 from deep to drop his three-point percentage on the season to a career-low 27.7%. He hit both of his two-pointers and limited his mistakes offensively … but his defense was bad enough to keep him off the court. If Johnson can’t shoot or defend, it’s hard to imagine how he remains the team’s sixth or seventh man.
Grade: C
Tre Jones
Jones is basically not a threat to score the basketball right now. That’s definitely not a good thing. He’s running the offense decently well but he relies on transition opportunities to be able to make a difference. To be fair, I thought Jones’ defense against the Sixers was stout. But, yeah, he’s a limited player right now. Hopefully he improves as he gets closer to 100% healthy.
Grade: C+
Stephon Castle
Castle only played 13 minutes but he took advantage of his time on the court. He carried the offense single-handedly for stretches at a time and ended up notching 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor. Admittedly, his passing wasn’t as good as usual because he was looking to get San Antonio back on track — but that scoring punch was desperately needed. I also liked Castle’s defense for the most part.
Grade: B+
Charles Bassey
Bassey played seven minutes and didn’t move the needle much in either direction. He missed both shots from the floor and fouled twice but he was good on the board and his activity in the paint was impossible to overlook.
Grade: B-
Mitch Johnson
Castle should have played more. In a related note, resting Paul more would have given him more energy in the fourth quarter. The rest of the rotation was decent enough. Playcalling-wise, more sets for Wembanyama to go toward the basket would have been appreciated.
Grade: D+