Stephon Castle couldn’t lift the Spurs over the Grizzlies (Photo via X)
In a back and forth affair, the San Antonio Spurs fell to the Memphis Grizzlies by a final score of 106-105. The Spurs are now 25-11 on the season. San Antonio came out hot and led 31-21 at the end of the first quarter. The Grizzlies got back into the game with a strong performance in the third quarter.
Things looked bleak in the fourth quarter but the Spurs battled back and actually put themselves in position to get the win. Sadly, down the stretch, the good guys came up empty in the game’s biggest possessions while the Grizzlies hit a couple big shots to get the W.
Stats: Spurs at Grizzlies
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Spurs at Grizzlies – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
In his return from a minor knee injury, Wembanyama was basically unstoppable in his 21 minutes on the court. In that playing time, he was 10-for-20 from the field, 3-for-6 on threes and 7-for-8 at the line. As those numbers suggest, he was attacking almost every time down the court. I liked the aggression but I felt like Wembanyama could have battled for high quality shots. (Then again, it’s pretty ridiculous to criticize someone who had 30 points in 21 minutes.) Defensively and on the boards, the French could have been a bit better. His coordination was a bit wonky, which mostly impacted him on that end of the court. But, all in all, Wembanyama looked like a dominant superstar in his 21 minutes.
Grade: A-
De’Aaron Fox
It was a roller coaster ride for Fox. To begin the game, he was bad. Of his first 12 field goal attempts, he hit only one shot. Then, late in the fourth, there was a stretch where he hit 3-of-4 shots to heroically give the Spurs a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, at the end, Fox missed a couple shots when it mattered most. Throughout the affair, I thought his defense was clearly sub par and his playmaking was too nonchalant. Fox needs to turn up the intensity, particularly when Wembanyama is off the court.
Grade: C-
Stephon Castle
The good: Castle was 2-for-4 from three-point range and rebounded the ball extremely well. His effort on defense was commendable and he was fearlessly driving on the offensive end. The bad: Castle was only 3-for-10 on two-pointers and struggled to convert his drives into points. Playmaking-wise, he didn’t have it. He tried to do too much too often, which resulted in him finishing with a negative ratio of four assists to five turnovers.
Grade: C-
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie was pretty darn good once again. In the first half, he was carrying the good guys on his shoulder. At halftime, Champagnie had 19 points. While his scoring slowed in the second half, he was still drawing a ton of defensive focus. He finished with 23 points on only 11 shots. Defensively, Champagnie was excellent. He was not only in the right spots, he was masterful at blowing up plays with his defensive discipline. The cherry on top was his work on the defensive glass.
Grade: A
Harrison Barnes
Barnes is so out of sorts that it’s painful to watch right now. He’s not picking his three-point attempts well. His footwork on his shot is out of whack. His drives aren’t nearly as under control as usual. Defensively, he’s trying but the results are lacking. Without Vassell, the Spurs really could use the spacing Barnes typically provides but he’s not doing that these days.
Grade: D-
Luke Kornet
Kornet was less impactful than normal. Offensively, he had trouble finding space. His screens weren’t as useful and he was clogging the lane more than usual. Rebounding-wise, Kornet could have been better. The Grizzlies were able to grab a lot of boards that he usually vacuums up. Kornet retained some value with his passing and rim defense but, all things considered, this was a forgettable night at the office.
Grade: C-
Keldon Johnson
Johnson tried to step up into the scoring void but the end result was below average. He scored only 13 points on 13 shots, mostly due to his overreliance on three-pointers. While he didn’t turn the ball over, he could have helped the cause by passing more. The bright spot was that Johnson’s defense was a bit better than usual.
Grade: C
Dylan Harper
Harper didn’t have it. He was only 2-for-7 from the field. His three-pointers were flat and his drives to the rim weren’t as fruitful. The Grizzlies were able to bother Harper quite a bit when he was on the move. To make matters worse, the rookie started hesitating from time to time. Defensively, he rarely moved the needle.
Grade: D+
Luke Sochan
Sochan got a chance to rescue a listless Spurs team in Memphis … but I don’t think he won any future minutes with his play. I liked his work on the boards but otherwise he struggled to produce. The Grizzlies basically didn’t guard him on the perimeter but Sochan still missed all three of his three-point attempts. He efforted on defense but there weren’t many tangible results. But the main problem remains that Sochan is so cold on the offensive end these days that other teams don’t pay attention to him unless he’s standing under the hoop with the ball.
Grade: C-
Carter Bryant
While it’s clear that Harper has hit the rookie wall, it looks like Bryant is also experiencing his own wall. His outside shot doesn’t look as smooth and his drives to the hoop look rushed. His athleticism is also not popping as much as it was earlier in the season.
Grade: D+
Kelly Olynyk
Olynyk struggled in his nine minutes. Outside of his rebound and steal, there were a lot of negative plays. He’s usually a connective offensive player but we didn’t see that against the Grizzlies. Defensively, his lack of mobility stuck out like a sore thumb.
Grade: D
Jordan McLaughlin
With the coaching staff looking for a spark, McLaughlin got some minutes. He hit a three-pointer and made a couple plays offensively. Other than a turnover on the move, he seemed to get the energy flowing in the right direction.
Grade: B
Mitch Johnson
I liked how Johnson coached this game. The only questionable decision was how he utilized Wembanyama. Preferably, he would have managed the minutes restriction in a way where his superstar could have been on the court down the stretch. Instead, Wembanyama was helplessly observing from the sidelines during crunch time. But, other than that, I liked how Johnson searched up and down the roster for a spark. It ultimately didn’t result in a win but I wouldn’t blame coaching on this night.
Grade: B+