It’s been years since I’ve been to an actual theater — many years. Maybe that’s because some of my visits didn’t exactly turn out to be great successes. I remember one in particular, back in 2008.
I was working in London at the time as an intern for a major company. My duties included corporate hospitality — things like gifting Champions League Final tickets or seats near the finish line at the Tour de France in Paris to managers who were close to signing contracts with the company I worked for. It also included managing the company’s corporate membership at Wyndham’s Theatre.
Meanwhile, my Shakespeare-loving future wife, Harriet, was studying in Glasgow. When she came down to London for a weekend visit, I surprised her with tickets for us to see _Hamlet_ at Wyndham’s — with Jude Law in the lead role.
After the performance, as we walked down the stairs into the hall, I was excited to hear her glow about how much she enjoyed it, so I asked for her thoughts. She has a single-sentence evaluation. “David Tennant is a better Hamlet,” she said.
Turns out that she had seen _Hamlet_ about a year earlier in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, and I’m not sure I’ve been to a theater since. (Unless you count my regular visits to the NBA’s _small sample size theater_, which I fall for every year. At least I’m not the only one.)
By the end of October, even the NBA’s analyst elite were calling Victor Wembanyama the frontrunner for this year’s MVP award. Ten days later, that talk seems a bit premature.
Wemby met an unprepared opponent in game one, but the league has since adjusted to his early scoring outbursts. The fear of Wemby running rampant through the open court has opponents sending double-teams right away (if not sooner) and it’s working.
But if they can’t or don’t double him, it’s over, as was on full display Friday night when the 7’5 giant drove to the basket past Amen Thompson, one of the best on-ball defenders in the league.
Still, Wemby isn’t yet an undeniable offensive force. But he’ll get there — sooner rather than later. The good thing is, he’s on a team that’s developing in the right direction.
* I remain a staunch supporter of the Barnes/Champagnie forward pairing. Contrary to what some feared, Harrison Barnes is not washed. In fact, he’s exactly what he was last season for the Spurs — a guy who steps up when it matters most. He did so against Houston. If Wemby goes for 40, the Spurs can live with Barnes being passive or missing shots. But he hasn’t missed many since Wemby came back down to earth. Over the last five games, Barnes has taken 32 threes and made 19. He _is_ the Spurs’ starting power forward — and there’s no one on the roster who can credibly challenge him.
* It remains to be seen whether Julian Champagnie’s days as the starting three are numbered, given the imminent return of De’Aaron Fox. His performance last night was probably an outlier in terms of scoring, but I think the Spurs are fine with him as a starter. Sure, his threes haven’t fallen quite as expected, and he’s not always the league’s most alert guy on the floor, but the man is now in his fourth season in Silver and Black — and he’s never had a negative on/off plus-minus. Based on a solid sample size (since he arrived in February 2023), the Spurs have consistently been better with him on the court.
* Though his raw shooting percentages could be better, Devin Vassell continues to thrive in a smaller role. His usage rate is below 20 percent for the first time since his sophomore year — and maybe that’s why he’s finally looking sharper on defense. Not so much as an on-ball, point-of-attack defender (that’s Castle’s job), but as a nail helper he’s been very good. Offensively, hitting four of ten from deep is exactly what you want from a starting shooting guard — as are four steals on the other end. Interestingly, Vassell currently leads the team in play-by-play metrics: +12.7 on-court, +15.7 on/off. His starting spot is not in doubt.
* As far as Stephon Castle is concerned, I think the league’s best transition-foul taker (as of Thursday evening) deserves to start. Friday night proved that he’s practically irreplaceable as the point-of-attack defender. But his offensive role as a starter will have to change once Fox returns. And that’s a good thing. Despite his 13 assists, an average of five turnovers per game suggests he’s currently better suited for a secondary ball-handling role.
* Is there a more 90s-style player in the league than Alperen Şengün? Posting up guys as far out as the three-point line, bullying his way toward the paint with his back to the basket — and rocking those knee-long baggy shorts! Everything about his game and style seem like they’d fit perfectly to a soundtrack of Oasis’s _Wonderwall_ and TLC’s _Waterfalls_.
* I’ll end this with a bit of _maximum sample size theater_: The Spurs have the brightest young talent in world basketball, two more rising stars alongside him, and they’re already a winning team. But nothing in the basketball world makes me happier than seeing — thank you, unknown cameraman! — David Robinson with a Spurs logo on his chest.
See More:
* [Spurs Analysis](/spurs-analysis)
* [What we learned](/what-we-learned)