The San Antonio Spurs equaled their season-high four-game winning streak snapped. Throughout the 2024-25 NBA season, defense has been the problem that's kept them from consistency.
In a recent 122-96 Spurs loss at the Detroit Pistons, Devin Vassell pointed to the other side of the court for the Silver and Black.
“We've got stuff we've got to clean up. The good thing is that we're not saying that it was our defense. Some nights it's just like that on the offensive end, where the ball just doesn't go in. That's kind of how it was.”
For stretches of a tough regular season, Vassell and the Spurs have ranked among the top offenses in the NBA. But a 34-point first half doomed San Antonio against a squad that's firmly entrenched in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
‘We didn't set good enough, physical enough screens,” Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “To be honest, to give up 60 points in a half when your offense is that bad actually puts so much pressure on your defense. I thought we were actually playing OK defensively.”
“We've just got to be more aggressive,” Vassell continued. “When teams are being physical with us, we've got to still be able to get in the paint. Coach said we only had six points in the paint in the first half, which is terrible. We've got to just stay aggressive. ”
Devin Vassell points to offensive woes
etroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) defends against San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second half at Little Caesars Arena.
© David Reginek-Imagn Images
In shooting just 36% from the field for the night, the Spurs were worse from three-point land. The challenge of shooting 32% from beyond the arc was doubled by a Pistons squad that made nearly 50% from downtown.
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“They did a good job, they're a good team. They limited us to the stuff that we didn't want to do. You've got to give them credit. But, we've got to learn film and learn from this one,” Vassell added.
Without Victor Wembanyama, who was ruled out for the remainder of the season in mid February, and De'Aaron Fox, who was also shut down recently, the Spurs got double figures from only four players. And two of them scored 11 and 10 respectively. Vassell led the Silver and Black with 26 points. Impressive rookie Stephon Castle continued a standout year by adding 19, while Sandro Mamukelashvili and Keldon Johnson rounded out the Spurs who scored 1o or more.
Vassell admitted the Pistons defense played a key role in keeping them out of sync offensively.
“Getting to the second side. A lot of times they kept us to one side of the floor and then we weren't able to get to our second side. We weren't able to get close-outs, to attack off of that.”
Johnson has been critical of his team's approach in recent weeks. This time, though, he seemed to chalk up specific struggles to the Pistons abilities.
“We expected that. Give them a lot of credit. They're physical. They guard. They make you work for everything. They are really committed to the rim and paint on both sides of the floor.”
Prior to the loss in Detroit, it had been since mid to late November that the Spurs had won four straight games.