Analysis GRADES: 2/5/2026 Spurs 135 @ Mavericks 123

[scott]

Scott's Notes:

• Spurs were shorthanded tonight, so some of the rotations I gave a lot more leeway to. But if Kelly or Bismack aren't going to play in a game where Kornet and Sochan are out... what purpose do they serve?
• Fox spared from a 1 with some big shots in the 4th
• CB is starting to look more and more like an actual NBA player, hopefully this trajectory continues as we march towards the playoffs
• Castle with a very nice game in limited time on minutes restriction. Thought this was another example of how impactful he can be without forcing him to be a primary initiator. His best moments came outside of this role, while his worst come when he stops the ball movement to drive directly into a defender and turns it over. I think the whistle is tightening on Stephon because officials are hip to his game and aren't looking to reward that any longer. With that said, Castle showed off some new paint moves tonight with a nice face up close range jumper. Sean even called it out during the broadcast, going straight up and getting a nice clean jumper as opposed to jumping into the defender hoping to draw a foul. More of this please! Also so some great plays with Castle as the screener in the PnR, can we get a little more of this please?
• The return of Unc... welcome back buddy, we've missed you! Is this a tease or is the Black Falcon back?
• Vassell was pretty ass in the first half but turned it around in the second
• Wemby... he's pretty good. One thing I did note, however. On more than one occasion in the second half I saw him not go for a block and instead focus on blocking out his man. I wonder if there was a discussion at halftime about not chasing after those floaters that he inevitably doesn't get to and it leaves an easy putback. I think this will be a good thing in the long run.
• The "Spurs 5 Out" (Fox/Vassell/Champ/Barnes/Wemby) started. I don't want this to be our starting 5 but I do think this can be a useful lineup at times into the future, so I've been tracking its effectiveness. Here are the updated measures on that

What You Said:

• @LeBowen - Mitch doing Mitch things. At least Barnes sprung back into life.
• @Correct Crusader - Unc still got it
• Extended comments from @spurraider21 which I don't normally do, but he doesn't always have a chance to give detailed comments like this and I always value them:
  • Wemby got a 5. this is kind of a "low" 5 for him. his offense mostly came down to making a lot of 3's but also worked to get a few shots at the rim. defensively he was felt throughout even if mavs made some circus shots
  • Vassell got a 3. his 3pt shot wasnt falling and his shot selection wasn't great, but he still made some timely buckets and generally defended well
  • Fox gets a 2. the numbers make it seem like he had a decent game but he was awful and just way too passive. passivity has been a long-running concern with him. its like he doesnt have the confidence to finish in the paint
  • Bryant gets a 3. he didnt do much on the box score, but he defended well in his opportunities and had a really nice lob pass ona quick decision to wemby. small things like that are going to go a long way, just as much as the shooting
  • Keldon gets a 5. he didnt make any 3's, but he was again impactful with his energy. seemingly unstoppable in the paint, and even had a couple of defensive plays. 4 assists, one turnover.
  • HB knocked in 5 threes. but his defense was pretty poor. so he gets a 4
  • Champagnie was meh offensively and fell asleep quite a bit on defense. but i liked his shot selection and he rebounded well

The return of our Looker Dashboard! This is fun now that we have 51 games worth of data!

 

[Area 51.247]

Thanks, Scott, et al., for your energy, effort, and observations!