Malaki Branham got going late (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs got blown out of the water by the Golden State Warriors on Sunday by a final count of 148-106. The defeat dropped San Antonio’s record on the season to 31-43.
The Warriors came out of the gates on fire and led 44-27 at the end of the first quarter. Sadly, things only got worse from there for the Spurs. San Antonio never had a sustained run and it turned into a laugher by the fourth quarter.
Sure, the Spurs exhibited some fatigue playing on the second night of a back-to-back … but that’s not a worthy excuse. San Antonio was bad — really bad.
Stats: Spurs vs. Warriors
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Spurs vs. Warriors – Final Grades
Devin Vassell
It’s difficult to put too much of this loss on Vassell. He shot well from the field, he passed the ball reasonably well and he limited his mistakes. Defensively, Vassell wasn’t great but he was far down the list of problems.
Grade: B
Stephon Castle
Castle had an outing to forget. The Warriors rarely guarded him on the perimeter and the rookie was unable to make them pay. Castle also dribbled too much and was sloppy with the ball. To make matters worse, he was routinely falling asleep on the defensive end of the court.
Grade: D
Chris Paul
Paul looked overmatched for much of the time he was on the court. In 18 minutes, he was only able to attempt three shots and tallied three turnovers to only four assists. Defensively, the veteran point guard was a liability.
Grade: D+
Harrison Barnes
Barnes played with more effort than the average Spurs player on this night but he was still bad. He shot poorly, he did very little on the defensive end of the court and was more mistake-prone than normal. Barnes had some good passes — but a lot of them were as a result of him getting run off of his spots.
Grade: D+
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan got the start at center but was uncharacteristically silent during his 18 minutes on the court. He totaled just two points and two rebounds while rarely impacting the game in other areas. His defense was muted and his energy level rarely registered.
Grade: D
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie was underwhelming on the defensive end but he did okay-ish on offense. He hit 3-of-7 three-pointers and made the right passes a couple times. Truth be told, though, Champagnie wasn’t close to being part of the solution.
Grade: C-
Blake Wesley
I didn’t like too much of what I saw out of Wesley. Offensively, he was robotic. He rarely made plays, his perimeter shooting was unsightly and he seemed to always be in a rush. Defensively, the effort was there but the Warriors were rarely flustered by his activity.
Grade: D+
Sandro Mamukelashvili
On a night in which the Spurs lacked electricity, Mamukelashvili gets credit for showing signs of life. In 25 minutes, he had 13 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. While some of that production came long after the game was decided, Mamu’s dogged perseverance even when things looked bleak was commendable.
Grade: B
Keldon Johnson
If Johnson didn’t score at such a high level, the Spurs probably would have lost by 50-plus points. In 21 minutes, he poured in 19 points on outstanding efficiency. Johnson is simply in a great rhythm offensively right now; he’s making good decisions and he’s finishing off plays at a high clip. Defensively, Johnson at least competed on a handful of possessions.
Grade: B+
Jordan McLaughlin
McLaughlin got his first real minutes since being traded to San Antonio. He was inserted into the game early in the first quarter and I thought he did fine. He has a sweet, effortless shooting stroke. He makes smart decisions with the ball. McLaughlin also runs the offense well and he knows what to do on the defensive end. As a third string point guard, he looks very capable of handling that role.
Grade: B
Malaki Branham
Branham made the fourth quarter bearable by putting points on the board. I liked his decisive moves and his shot looked as natural as ever. Games like this against the Warriors show that Branham still might have some potential as a hired gun off the bench.
Grade: B+
Charles Bassey
Bassey played in his first game in more than a month due to a knee injury. Early on, he got a big block. Unfortunately, he looked to be in pain after his block. Is his knee still bothering him? It sure looks like it.
Grade: Inc.
Mitch Johnson
That was a pretty pitiful showing by the good guys. Things couldn’t have gone much worse. But, truthfully, Johnson deserves credit for trying to shake things up early and often. Nothing worked, of course, but he was actively searching for solutions.
Grade: C+