Devin Vassell and the Spurs lost to the Warriors again (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs dropped a second consecutive heart-breaker versus the Golden State Warriors. Both games were played at the Frost Bank Center and both games featured Steph Curry going bonkers. This time, Curry had 49 points and willed his team to a 109-108 victory. The Spurs had a chance to win it at the end but De’Aaron Fox’s jumper fell off the rim.
Stats: Spurs vs. Warriors
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Spurs vs. Warriors – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama played well enough for the Spurs to win. It wasn’t an especially great game for him, mind you, but he did well. Offensively, he took quality shots, limited his mistakes and came up big in important moments. Defensively, Wembanyama was solid in the paint and he was able to swim in the deep waters out on the perimeter. To nitpick, Wembanyama could have been more demonstrative on offense — shooting more than three free throws would have helped matters. On defense, it felt like he could have reached another level in terms of protecting the rim. But, yeah, he did well all things considered.
Grade: B+
De’Aaron Fox
If you watched this game, you were probably frustrated with Fox. Not only did he miss the game winner, he was completely helpless when defending Curry, his defense went from bad to worse as the game progressed, his passing accuracy was strangely poor, and his decision-making was slow. Fox was the easy scapegoat. But, I mean, honestly, the Spurs aren’t in the game without his production. He had 24 points, shot reasonably well from the field and dished out ten assists. His efficiency could have been better if he got to the free throw line and cleaned up some of his wonky passes — but Fox did a lot right. Even defensively and in loose ball situations, he had his moments. Fox can play better … and I think he will once he rediscovers his rhythm.
Grade: C
Stephon Castle
There was a lot of give and take when evaluating Castle. He played really good defense at times but his persistent foul trouble kept him from truly thriving on that end. He turned it over four times in the first half but thankfully cleaned things up and finished the second half without any turnovers. Castle shot well but only shot six times. He got to the line eight times but only made five. His assist total was down from where it had been in recent games but he grabbed more rebounds than usual. All in all, Castle was pretty good but there were a lot of caveats.
Grade: B
Devin Vassell
It was just not a successful outing for Vassell. Defensively, he gave up too much space and his rotations were rarely seamless. Offensively, he hit a couple of important shots but the Spurs need more than 11 points in 32 minutes from Vassell. His passing was better than usual but he didn’t shoulder much of the playmaking burden.
Grade: C-
Harrison Barnes
The Warriors were keying in on him and Barnes wasn’t able to break out. He helped out a bit but he obviously didn’t do as much as he hoped. Defensively, Barnes played well here and there but was mostly a negative on that end of the court. Winning is easier when this veteran has a big game. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
Grade: C+
Julian Champagnie
A lot of good stuff from Champagnie. Mostly, it was his 4-for-9 shooting from deep that added to his value. He took and made a couple brave attempts. Defensively, Champagnie wasn’t great but he was sturdier out on the perimeter than a lot of his compatriots.
Grade: B+
Keldon Johnson
Sadly, after a red hot start to the season, Johnson has cooled off in a big way. Over his last five games, he’s 0-for-9 from three-point range. He has also only gone to the line six times total in those five games. Johnson was due for a cooling off period but let’s hope it comes to an end soon. Defensively, Golden State made him look slow and lost a lot of the time.
Grade: C-
Luke Kornet
This was Kornet’s first subpar game in a Spurs uniform. He wasn’t bad offensively but he did have trouble getting open. Kornet was fine on the boards and didn’t make a notable amount of mistakes. However, he was highly ineffective out on the perimeter on defense. Curry specifically targeted Kornet and had his way with him. It turned out that having your backup center try to contend with the greatest shooter of all-time was a bad idea.
Grade: C-
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan might be slowly working his way back into the rotation. In his 13 minutes, he did enough to catch the coaches’ attention. He hit a three-pointer and his stroke looked good. He rebounded a lot better than usual, he passed it well and moved well without the ball. His rates for fouls and turnovers were too high but it was impossible to fault Sochan’s energy on this night.
Grade: B
Mitch Johnson
More and better touches for Wembanyama would have been appreciated. It felt like Johnson relied on Fox too much and relied on Castle too little. Allowing Kornet to get cooked by Curry wasn’t a good look. The strategies against Curry were lacking, to tell you the truth. Fox on Curry was ugly. On that last play, getting a step-back from Fox isn’t what you want.
Grade: D+