2 months ago Grades

Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns – Game #21

Stephon Castle and the Spurs had trouble shooting against the Suns (Photo via X)

By LJ Ellis

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The San Antonio Spurs got down early and the Phoenix Suns were able to cruise to a 104-93 victory. The Spurs, 11-10, struggled mightily from three-point range and the Suns, 12-8, took full advantage.

Phoenix got out to an 11-0 lead and that set the tone. San Antonio closed the gap with a flurry of points to begin the third quarter but that momentum didn’t last. By the fourth quarter, the Spurs were back to shooting blanks.

Stats: Spurs at Suns

Spurs at Suns – Final Grades

Victor Wembanyama

Wembanyama was awesome in the first five minutes of the third quarter. During that stretch, he had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field. He used his size very well and played an extremely determined brand of basketball. Unfortunately, Wembanyama was bad the rest of the game. He was scoreless in a listless first half that saw him launch three-pointers — and that’s about it. He wasn’t much better in the fourth quarter, even though the Spurs had a chance to get back into the game. Let’s hope this was just an aberration and Wembanyama will get back to dominating soon.

Grade: D-

Chris Paul

The good: Paul had eight assists, eight rebounds and three steals. As those numbers suggest, he shared the ball well and he was quick to loose balls. He also limited his mistakes. The bad: Paul really struggled from the field, particularly when behind the three-point line. His inability to score hurt the team’s spacing. Additionally, his man-to-man defense left a lot to be desired. He was okay help-wise but had issues when isolated against.

Grade: D

Harrison Barnes

This was definitely a game to forget for Barnes. In 24 minutes, he was 1-for-8 from the field and tallied only two rebounds and one assist. His defense was nothing special and he seemed to be moving even slower than usual.

Grade: D-

Stephon Castle

I liked Castle’s effort. Of the starters, it felt like he was the only one playing with a consistent amount of energy. His three-point shot was as bad as all the other starters but he did have some success driving to the bucket. He also got to the free throw line six times and did a healthy amount of playmaking. Defensively, he was engaged and active. Castle obviously needs to shoot better and cut down on some of the errors but otherwise he did well enough for the Spurs to win.

Grade: B-

Julian Champagnie

Champagnie’s 1-for-8 from three-point line wasn’t doing his team any favors. I also didn’t love his pass-shoot decisions. His defense was not as limber as usual and his running of the court was inconsistent. To keep his starting gig, Champagnie will definitely have to play better than he did Tuesday night.

Grade: D+

Devin Vassell

Vassell was the bright spot for the good guys. His shooting was outstanding. While the rest of the team was 4-for-39 from three-point range for a frigid 10.3%, Vassell knocked down 4-of-5 from deep. His stroke looks even cleaner than normal and his release is lightning quick. Vassell also had success in midrange and going to the basket. Even though he has been in and out of the lineup this season and is seemingly stuck in a minutes restriction, his offensive production has been phenomenal.

Grade: A

Keldon Johnson

Johnson gave the Spurs a few jolts of electricity. He had a couple hard-nosed drives and did good work on the boards. I also thought his defense was better than normal. But, all in all, ten points on ten shots isn’t the type of efficiency that is going to help turn the tide for a squad that is struggling offensively.

Grade: B-

Jeremy Sochan

In his return from a broken thumb, Sochan did well. He played extremely hard, crashed the glass with vigor, ran the court endlessly and hustled with physicality. I liked his defense and didn’t have a problem with his offensive decision-making. Sochan also got to the line for eight attempts and didn’t turn the ball over. Playing from off the bench for the first time this season, he looked surprisingly comfortable. It’ll be interesting to see how Sochan is used by the coaching staff going forward.

Grade: B+

Zach Collins

Back as the full-time backup center, Collins didn’t exactly help his standing. He missed all seven of his shots during his 14 minutes. Considering the three-point woes, it would have been helpful if Collins added some inside scoring — but that didn’t happen. To make matters worse, he also managed to not get a defensive rebound during his time on the court.