Grades: Spurs vs. Thunder – Preseason Game #1
Preseason starts with a loss for Jeremy Sochan and the Spurs (Photo via X)
Without Victor Wembanyama and many of his friends, the San Antonio Spurs dropped their preseason opener to the Oklahoma City Thunder by a final count of 112-107. The good guys outscored OKC 40-29 in the third quarter but didn’t show much cohesion in the other three periods.
Alongside Wembanyama on the bench could be found Devin Vassell, Chris Paul, Zach Collins, Charles Bassey and David Duke, Jr. Vassell will reportedly remain out into the regular season but the others, including Wembanyama, should return to action soon.
Stats: Spurs vs. Thunder
Spurs vs. Thunder — Final Grades
Keldon Johnson
Looking about 20 pounds slimmer than last season, Johnson had a preseason debut to forget. Defensively, there were too many mistakes — including a few that surely drew ire from the coaches. Offensively, he was better but Johnson was playing with more brawn than brain on that end too.
Grade: D+
Tre Jones
With Chris Paul on the sidelines, Jones didn’t really move the needle. He was okay-ish defensively but his playmaking was minimal and his decision-making wasn’t as crisp as usual.
Grade: C
Harrison Barnes
Barnes’ statistics don’t look especially good but he was clearly the adult in the room for the Spurs. He moved with purpose and always remained under control. He played defense like he realized it was only a preseason affair but he exhibited an intriguing amount of wherewithal on offense.
Grade: B
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan did a lot of good and a lot of bad during his 21 minutes on the court. He was everywhere — but that shouldn’t be taken as a compliment. Quicker decisions on offense would have been helpful. He missed open teammates and dribbled too much. Defensively, his hyperness was more hurtful than helpful. That said, Sochan had some bright spots. His three-point shot looked better and he flashed playmaking chops here and there.
Grade: C
Julian Champagnie
Well, Champagnie wasn’t exactly shy. He shot 13 three-pointers in only 21 minutes of action. In the first half alone, he had ten three-point attemps in 14 minutes. Truthfully, I liked what I saw from Champagnie. The Spurs need floor-spacers and he assumed that role tonight. His shot looked good and he was also one of the few players on the Spurs who tried to play defense. His rebounding was also a plus.
Grade: A-
Sidy Cissoko
The good: Cissoko’s passing was very good. When he’s surrounded by NBA level talent, his ability to dish the rock pops. Defensively, his physicality was notable. The bad: Cissoko doesn’t even look at the rim when he’s open from the perimeter. That’s a really bad sign for his development. He also fouls too much and isn’t much of a ball-handler.
Grade: C+
Stephon Castle
Castle looked rock solid in his debut. Sure, totaling six turnovers won’t cut it in a real game but those miscues were mostly a matter of him needing to adjust to a new caliber of athlete. The rookie’s patience and strength when attacking the rim were clear to see. Defensively, he lived up to the hype. There were enough flashes of passing, playmaking and positive decision-making to get excited about.
Grade: B+
Blake Wesley
Wesley was teetering on being too out of control at times but he finished with seven assists and only one turnover in 18 minutes — so the third year pro obviously held things together well enough. He used his speed to his advantage and made a lot of correct reads when breaking down the defense. I also liked Wesley’s energy on defense. To take the next step, he’s going to have to look to score the ball more.
Grade: B+
Malaki Branham
Fourteen field goal attempts in 18 minutes? Yeah, Branham was firing away whenever he could see the orange of the rim. Other than a couple threes he hit during a Spurs run, I wouldn’t say he did an especially good job tonight. Branham’s defense was poor and mixing in more passes wouldn’t have hurt matters. Sub par efficiency on high volume can’t be valued much at all.
Grade: D+
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili continues to be a player who produces when given the opportunity. His high basketball IQ style of play really stood out this evening. With a lot of chaos around him, his smart plays were impossible to overlook. It also didn’t hurt matters than Mamu sank 3-of-4 three-pointers.
Grade: A-
Harrison Ingram
Ingram played with nervous energy but he was mostly fine. He has good instincts on defense and knows what to do on offense. We’ll see if he’s athletic enough and can shoot it well enough to make it in the association.
Grade: B-
Brandon Boston Jr.
Boston played hard and had a couple slick moves off the dribble — but his impact on the proceedings was minimal.
Grade: C+
Riley Minix
Minix is probably the sleeper of this training camp roster. In college, he shot really well and scored in a variety of ways. In his first NBA preseason game, Minix showed that some of his college success may translate to the next level. He has a pure shooting stroke and it’s already clear that he’s more than a catch-and-shoot specialist.
Grade: B+
Malachi Flynn
Flynn played well in garbage time, which isn’t surprising since he’s been around the league for a while. Making the final roster won’t be easy but it’s not impossible. Flynn will need to continue to show he can score the ball, space the floor and compete on defense.
Grade: B+
Nathan Mensah
Mensah didn’t do much other than miss a couple shots. The center’s best case scenario is to make the team on a two-way deal.
Grade: C+
Pop
It’s difficult to grade coaching in the preseason but personally I’m hoping we see a healthy amount of Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul in exhibition play.
Grade: C+
Jacob Tobey
With Bill Land retiring in the offseason, 27-year-old Jacob Tobey has been selected to fill his shoes. I liked what I heard. Tobey sounded knowledgeable without talking too much, which is difficult to pull off. His chemistry with Sean Elliott was already palpable one game in. Good stuff.
Grade: A-