Stephon Castle and the Spurs fell to the Kings (Photo via X)
For the second straight game, the San Antonio Spurs played without Victor Wembanyama. For the second straight game, the Spurs struggled defensively. After giving up 139 points in their previous game, San Antonio lost to the Sacramento Kings by a final count of 140-113.
Devin Vassell, resting on the second night of a back-to-back, joined Wembanyama on the sidelines. The loss dropped the Spurs to 11-12 on the season.
The good guys started strong but then the defense imploded. After an early run in the third quarter, the Spurs were never truly able to make a game of it. The Kings ended their night in San Antonio with a 40-point fourth quarter that made the Spurs look powerless to stop them.
Stats: Spurs vs. Kings
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Spurs vs. Kings – Final Grades
Chris Paul
Paul did all he could to lead the Spurs to victory. His running of the offense was amazing. He was basically spoon-feeding all his teammates and using his basketball genius to locate buckets. Paul hit enough shots to keep the defense honest and was doing all he could to compete and slow down the Kings. Sometimes his lack of height hurt him on the defensive end but otherwise he was really, really good.
Grade: A-
Harrison Barnes
It was just another lukewarm outing for Barnes. It’s becoming clear that he is quick to fade into obscurity if he doesn’t get enough touches. Barnes was bad on the defensive end and didn’t do enough offensively to aid the cause.
Grade: D
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie almost single-handedly kept the offense above water. He scored a career-high 30 points, highlighted by six three-pointers and an 8-for-8 showing at the line. Champagnie shot with confidence and his trigger was quicker than ever. After he got it going, he expanded his repertoire in an attempt to carry his teammates on his back. He wasn’t especially good defensively but looked better than most of the other players in Silver and Black.
Grade: A
Stephon Castle
The good: Castle had his moments on the defensive end. He moved his feet well and his anticipation was great. Offensively, his passing stood out as a positive and he hit a pair of three-pointers. The bad: Castle was only 2-for-7 from deep and 3-for-8 from two-point range. His running of the offense wasn’t nearly as crisp as when Paul was running the show. Overall, Castle needs to do a better job of valuing each possession on both ends.
Grade: C
Zach Collins
Collins started at center in place of Wembanyama. He didn’t do much in his nine minutes other than foul. Then he picked up a pair of technical fouls, gave a digital salute to the ref and went to the locker room. Normally, it’s not a huge deal if Collins gets ejected. However, with Wembanyama on the sidelines, this was not the game to get tossed.
Grade: D-
Charles Bassey
Statistically, it appears as if Bassey had a good game. He finished with seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks. But in actuality, he was pretty bad. His feel for the game was lacking on both sides of the court. Defensively, he protected the hoop well but was a step late everywhere else. Offensively, he was too often in the way and his movements were slower than usual.
Grade: C-
Keldon Johnson
Johnson hit only 1-of-6 three-point attempts against the Kings and is shooting only 29.2% from deep on the season. Without a reliable three-point shot, he’s a much less valuable player. Johnson was able to finish some rugged drives to the cup but his playmaking was minimal. Defensively, he was more often a liability than an asset.
Grade: C
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan was extra scrappy on Friday night. It was good to see someone on the team showing some fight but, truthfully, Sochan’s antics did little to slow down the Kings attack. Offensively, he shot it straight enough and flashed some playmaking ability. Defensively, Sochan was efforting but the results weren’t notable.
Grade: C+
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili entered the game and promptly nailed a three-pointer. After that shot, though, he wasn’t especially impactful. He had trouble dealing with Sacramento’s athleticism on the defensive end. Offensively, he was only 3-for-6 at the line and missed his final two attempts from three-point range. The hustle was there, though.
Grade: C
Malaki Branham
Branham got his first real minutes in quite a while. Against the Kings, he didn’t help his case for getting more minutes in the future. He was inefficient offensively, poor defensively and was making mistakes all over the place.
Grade: C-
Mitch Johnson
The Branham experiment didn’t work. Johnson also should have gone away from Bassey sooner. But, yeah, the coaching staff was dealt a difficult hand and they weren’t able to come up with many solutions on this night.
Grade: C-