Harrison Barnes was on fire against the Mavs (Photo via X)
In what has to be considered one of the most disheartening losses of the season for the San Antonio Spurs, the good guys lost at home against a short-handed Dallas Mavericks squad that was only able to suit up eight players. The Spurs are now 26-37 on the season.
San Antonio played well in the first quarter and led 34-28 at the end of the period. However, from then on, the Spurs were basically happy to trade baskets with the Mavericks. When Dallas started to turn up the pressure on defense in the fourth quarter, the Spurs couldn’t match that defensive intensity and ended up folding down the stretch.
Winning games without Victor Wembanyama is proving to be quite difficult. Tonight, the Spurs were also without arguably their second best defender in Jeremy Sochan, who was out with a bruised calf. But, obviously, it’s difficult to lean on any excuses when the Spurs were going against a team missing nine players that was on the road on the second night of a back-to-back.
Stats: Spurs vs. Mavericks
spurs mavs grades
Spurs vs. Mavericks – Final Grades
De’Aaron Fox
Fox was simply not aggressive enough against the Mavs. His lack of aggression was most notable on the defensive end, where he could usually be found going through the motions. Offensively, he wasn’t pushing the issue enough. His playmaking was okay — it was just lacking in volume. Scoring-wise, Fox was inefficient. He rarely got to the line and turned it over three times.
Grade: C-
Devin Vassell
Effort-wise, I can’t fault Vassell. Offensively, he was driving hard to the basket, running the court with purpose and making good decisions with the ball. That said, he too needed to get to the charity stripe more to add to his efficiency. Vassell was again active on defense but the impact was minimal. Sometimes he was caught doing too much, which actually played a role in him fouling out.
Grade: B-
Chris Paul
I mean, it’s difficult to be too mad at a point guard who tallied nine assists in only 22 minutes while turning it over just one time. Paul could have been more of a threat scoring-wise and could have held up a bit better on defense — but he did his job for the most part. That high level of playmaking out of their veteran PG helped keep the Spurs in the game.
Grade: B
Harrison Barnes
Well, damn. Barnes poured in a game-high 29 points on 12-for-14 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. He also pulled down six offensive boards and turned it over just once in 38 minutes. To say Barnes had it going would be an understatement. His three-point shots looked silky smooth and his brawny drives to the cup took advantage of Dallas’ lack of size. The Spurs would have been toast without Barnes’ offensive contributions. Defensively, the veteran forward was asked to play quite a bit of center — and it wasn’t the prettiest of sights. He’s not much of a rim protector and isn’t the strongest body when battling in the paint but he did his best to survive out of position.
Grade: A
Bismack Biyombo
Biyombo got another start at center. He was decent. When he was on the court, it was the only time San Antonio had rim protection. He was also good on the boards. But with the Mavs forced to go small, it was too much to ask Biyombo to swim out on the perimeter for minutes on end. Offensively, he didn’t have the wherewithal to use his size to his advantage.
Grade: C+
Stephon Castle
Castle had a rough time shooting the basketball. He was 2-for-7 from three-point range, 2-for-5 inside of the arc and 4-for-8 at the free throw line. None of those marks are acceptable. Passing-wise, Castle did some good things and I liked the liveliness he played with — but his overall decision-making left a lot to be desired. He played, well, like a rookie on offense. Defensively, some of his gambles paid off but his overall effort on that end was lacking.
Grade: C-
Keldon Johnson
While not as insanely efficient as Barnes, Johnson was in the same zip code. He exploded for 28 points in 29 minutes while hitting 4-of-6 three-pointers and only turning it over once. He mixed in power finishes and deft finishes to go with his outside shooting. Johnson’s relentlessness was worthy of applause, as he was clearly the heart and soul of San Antonio’s attack tonight. Defense? Yeah, no, he wasn’t part of the solution on this night.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie’s cold shooting extended to another outing. He’s now 1-for-9 from three-point territory over his last three ballgames. Champagnie is compounding his lack of marksmanship by letting his guard down on the defensive end. He usually competes much more on that end than he did against the Mavericks on Monday night.
Grade: D+
Blake Wesley
With Sochan out, Wesley was one of the recipients of extra minutes. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t move the needle much. He hit a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter and didn’t turn the ball over … but that’s the end of his list of positives. He didn’t handle playmaking duties. Defensively, Wesley was a shadow of the player who earlier in the season was making noise on that end of the court.
Grade: C+
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili had an opportunity with Sochan sidelined but he wasn’t able to take advantage. Offensively, his movement wasn’t as frenetic as usual. His overall energy was muted on both ends. Mamu did fine on the boards but the Mavs purposefully isolated him and had repeated success going right at him. Not good.
Grade: D+
Mitch Johnson
It wasn’t a surprise that Johnson went with mini-ball lineups with Wembanyama, Sochan and Bassey on the sidelines … but those lineups didn’t work. When it mattered, the Spurs weren’t capable of getting stops. Offensively, San Antonio was fine but the coaching staff couldn’t figure out how to put a competent defense on the court.
Grade: C-