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Spurs lose this one as Wemby goes out early. It looked for awhile that our guys would still cruise to victory, before we completely fell apart in the final 5 minutes.
Here is what the Grading Team had to say:
Victor Wembanyama - 3.25
@LeBowen: Had a solid start, then disaster happened.
@heyheymymy: Silver lining may be that the rest of the team has to gel with Vic out. Better to see what works in his absense aganist first round opponents.
De'Aaron Fox - 1.75
scott: Not the game that was needed when the moment called for it, and he's deserving of the criticism he'll get from this game. Hopefully he'll bounce back with big performances in Portland. One thing I don't like, after he scored 6 quick points to open the second half, we just completely went away from him. I'd like to see us let him play like a primary option for long stretches when Wemby is out, but instead Castle continued to dominate the ball.
LeBowen: Mitch needs to stop treating him like he can score a dozen points at will, can't have him cold for the most of the game. That 4th quarter was reminiscent of the first season Warriors game.
@mazerrackham: There were some flashes of the Fox that we needed in this game, but unfortunately like other times this season he seemed to take a backseat when the team really needed somebody to step up. Him not being selfish is good, but there are too many times when we need him to be more selfish too, tbh.
Stephon Castle - 2.25
LeBowen: Basically a Westbrook game while he was still contributing. Blazers are daring him to do the dumb thing and he keeps doing it. It sometimes works, but even when it does it's taking the team out of rythm. He had double the shots of anyone else in the first half, that's exactly what they want us to do.
maz: Castle's been up and down. I love his physicality, and he's great at drawing fouls, but even if he doesn't look as silly as Shai he goes too far into not finishing plays because he's looking for fouls at times. Now I think both games have been a little too inconsistent for players to know what to expect refs to call, tbh, but in the playoffs you got to cut down on that, finish the play, and let the refs call what they will more often than not to succeed.
heyhey: Way too loose, tunnel vision, tovs, horrible shot selection. Disaster performance.
Devin Vassell - 4.0
maz: I really can't fault Dev too much. He missed shots but his energy, defense, and shot selection were all good. If he makes one of those clutch time shots it's another game where we give him his flowers, but sometimes ya miss.
heyhey: The shooting problems stand out in the box score but Dev had a good game elswhere. Good defense, grabbing rebounds, sacrificing his body on the deck for loose balls. Hit some tough middies but the 3 was off.
scott: Another not great shooting night but still a guts performance from Dev and 3 more steals. We just need that 3 ball to start to fall. Was really big on the boards as well. I gave him a 4 for the intangibles.
Julian Champagnie - 3.25
LeBowen: Picked up a couple of unlucky fouls, otherwise fine on defense, getting just 3 3pt attempts in 27 minutes is on Mitch. Didn't utilize him at all.
maz: Got called for some ticky tack fouls but still got 2 blocks and has been giving us what we need for the most part.
scott: Champ made the most of his opportunities but they didn't come very frequently. Would like to see him more involved, but foul trouble kept him from getting into a flow.
Keldon Johnson - 2.25
maz: Keldon's one of the ones that I want to see step up more. Seems like if he misses his first little jump hook he becomes more passive than the team needs.
LeBowen: Easily our worst player in the series. A bad matchup for him, but whenever he has to make the drive/pass/shoot decision, he almost always chooses the wrong solution.
heyhey: Got some things going but not the factor off the bench that was neeeded.
Dylan Harper - 3.25
maz: Dylan is showing some youth in this series, I think. He still shows a lot of flashes of good, but he can't let the playoffs phase him from his attacking/playmaking. Also he doesn't need to force it but I still want him to have confidence in his three pointers which he hasn't shown last two games.
LeBowen: The box score doesn't really show it, but he was our steadiest ballhandler. A couple of missed mid-range shots almost went in, but I'm still concerned about that thumb, he didn't take a 3pt shot.
heyhey: Still seems hesitant on drives but in flashes of talent you see brilliance. Got hit with a bad call on Sharpe and reinjured the thumb so there were some things out of Harper's control.
Luke Kornet - 5.0
scott: Player of the game. Crashed the boards, making big plays.
LeBowen: Can't ask for more, he obviously benefitted from the rest he got. We can only hope he doesn't get banged up again and can keep this level.
heyhey: POR adjusted and shut down the oop but Luke was still great again in G2. Played 28 mins showing he can cover for Vic but a lot is riding on Luke with only Biyombo left behind in the depth.
Harrison Barnes - 2.75
heyhey: Got to get more from the wiley vet. Missed a nice look three we needed. Looking diminished out there.
maz: Did his job. Didn't provide too many positives but also wasn't a negative.
LeBowen: Much like Champ, he didn't get the service he needs, just one 3pt attempt in 15 minutes makes him redundant.
Carter Bryant - 3.75
maz: It's a testament to CB that I feel like if Barnes wrist injury makes him sit I have no problem just giving all his minutes to CB, but I'm not sure how well he'll hold up in these no big lineups guarding 5s. That's not his fault, though, just the repercussions of not trusting any 3rd big....
heyhey: Really liked his energy. Played collected and limited mistakes for some impact mins. All you can ask when getting the rookie playoff experience.
LeBowen: Biggest winner of this game, he needs more minutes if he can keep the defensive intensity up. He's make up for a lot of the size we're giving up.
Mitch Johnson - 2.25
scott: Tough game to manage once Wemby goes out. I didn't like some of the rotations in the second half before crunch time. did win a key challenge.
LeBowen: Is he really going to die on the Castle hill? It's hurting the team. Some of the lineups were also really questionable. We had Barnes together with CB against Clingan when Barnes got hurt, that's just asking to get abused on the boards.
heyhey: He did win that challenge finally but Mitch was terrible on player rotations, allowing POR second chance opportunities, choking a 14 point lead. Not going up 2-0 as Wemby insurance. Also not really running any half court offense. Where is all the C&S for Champ? Why are ATOs never fruitful? He also needs to go nuts on officials more to back up his guys.
maz: It's impossible to accurately grade coaches as a fan without all of the necessary behind-the-scenes information, but I will say that the Spurs have shown their youth in these first two games, and I have to put at least some of that on the coach. The rotations without Wemby will continue to be a challenge, but it's really hard to know whether those are mistakes. Kelly might be the worse bad option. Biyombo certainly would be worse....
GAME 3 ON FRIDAY! It's a late game for you mainlanders, I wish you the best making it through a very long day in anticipation. I'm looking for Fox to step up in this one.
Here is what the Grading Team had to say:
Victor Wembanyama - 3.25
@LeBowen: Had a solid start, then disaster happened.
@heyheymymy: Silver lining may be that the rest of the team has to gel with Vic out. Better to see what works in his absense aganist first round opponents.
De'Aaron Fox - 1.75
scott: Not the game that was needed when the moment called for it, and he's deserving of the criticism he'll get from this game. Hopefully he'll bounce back with big performances in Portland. One thing I don't like, after he scored 6 quick points to open the second half, we just completely went away from him. I'd like to see us let him play like a primary option for long stretches when Wemby is out, but instead Castle continued to dominate the ball.
LeBowen: Mitch needs to stop treating him like he can score a dozen points at will, can't have him cold for the most of the game. That 4th quarter was reminiscent of the first season Warriors game.
@mazerrackham: There were some flashes of the Fox that we needed in this game, but unfortunately like other times this season he seemed to take a backseat when the team really needed somebody to step up. Him not being selfish is good, but there are too many times when we need him to be more selfish too, tbh.
Stephon Castle - 2.25
LeBowen: Basically a Westbrook game while he was still contributing. Blazers are daring him to do the dumb thing and he keeps doing it. It sometimes works, but even when it does it's taking the team out of rythm. He had double the shots of anyone else in the first half, that's exactly what they want us to do.
maz: Castle's been up and down. I love his physicality, and he's great at drawing fouls, but even if he doesn't look as silly as Shai he goes too far into not finishing plays because he's looking for fouls at times. Now I think both games have been a little too inconsistent for players to know what to expect refs to call, tbh, but in the playoffs you got to cut down on that, finish the play, and let the refs call what they will more often than not to succeed.
heyhey: Way too loose, tunnel vision, tovs, horrible shot selection. Disaster performance.
Devin Vassell - 4.0
maz: I really can't fault Dev too much. He missed shots but his energy, defense, and shot selection were all good. If he makes one of those clutch time shots it's another game where we give him his flowers, but sometimes ya miss.
heyhey: The shooting problems stand out in the box score but Dev had a good game elswhere. Good defense, grabbing rebounds, sacrificing his body on the deck for loose balls. Hit some tough middies but the 3 was off.
scott: Another not great shooting night but still a guts performance from Dev and 3 more steals. We just need that 3 ball to start to fall. Was really big on the boards as well. I gave him a 4 for the intangibles.
Julian Champagnie - 3.25
LeBowen: Picked up a couple of unlucky fouls, otherwise fine on defense, getting just 3 3pt attempts in 27 minutes is on Mitch. Didn't utilize him at all.
maz: Got called for some ticky tack fouls but still got 2 blocks and has been giving us what we need for the most part.
scott: Champ made the most of his opportunities but they didn't come very frequently. Would like to see him more involved, but foul trouble kept him from getting into a flow.
Keldon Johnson - 2.25
maz: Keldon's one of the ones that I want to see step up more. Seems like if he misses his first little jump hook he becomes more passive than the team needs.
LeBowen: Easily our worst player in the series. A bad matchup for him, but whenever he has to make the drive/pass/shoot decision, he almost always chooses the wrong solution.
heyhey: Got some things going but not the factor off the bench that was neeeded.
Dylan Harper - 3.25
maz: Dylan is showing some youth in this series, I think. He still shows a lot of flashes of good, but he can't let the playoffs phase him from his attacking/playmaking. Also he doesn't need to force it but I still want him to have confidence in his three pointers which he hasn't shown last two games.
LeBowen: The box score doesn't really show it, but he was our steadiest ballhandler. A couple of missed mid-range shots almost went in, but I'm still concerned about that thumb, he didn't take a 3pt shot.
heyhey: Still seems hesitant on drives but in flashes of talent you see brilliance. Got hit with a bad call on Sharpe and reinjured the thumb so there were some things out of Harper's control.
Luke Kornet - 5.0
scott: Player of the game. Crashed the boards, making big plays.
LeBowen: Can't ask for more, he obviously benefitted from the rest he got. We can only hope he doesn't get banged up again and can keep this level.
heyhey: POR adjusted and shut down the oop but Luke was still great again in G2. Played 28 mins showing he can cover for Vic but a lot is riding on Luke with only Biyombo left behind in the depth.
Harrison Barnes - 2.75
heyhey: Got to get more from the wiley vet. Missed a nice look three we needed. Looking diminished out there.
maz: Did his job. Didn't provide too many positives but also wasn't a negative.
LeBowen: Much like Champ, he didn't get the service he needs, just one 3pt attempt in 15 minutes makes him redundant.
Carter Bryant - 3.75
maz: It's a testament to CB that I feel like if Barnes wrist injury makes him sit I have no problem just giving all his minutes to CB, but I'm not sure how well he'll hold up in these no big lineups guarding 5s. That's not his fault, though, just the repercussions of not trusting any 3rd big....
heyhey: Really liked his energy. Played collected and limited mistakes for some impact mins. All you can ask when getting the rookie playoff experience.
LeBowen: Biggest winner of this game, he needs more minutes if he can keep the defensive intensity up. He's make up for a lot of the size we're giving up.
Mitch Johnson - 2.25
scott: Tough game to manage once Wemby goes out. I didn't like some of the rotations in the second half before crunch time. did win a key challenge.
LeBowen: Is he really going to die on the Castle hill? It's hurting the team. Some of the lineups were also really questionable. We had Barnes together with CB against Clingan when Barnes got hurt, that's just asking to get abused on the boards.
heyhey: He did win that challenge finally but Mitch was terrible on player rotations, allowing POR second chance opportunities, choking a 14 point lead. Not going up 2-0 as Wemby insurance. Also not really running any half court offense. Where is all the C&S for Champ? Why are ATOs never fruitful? He also needs to go nuts on officials more to back up his guys.
maz: It's impossible to accurately grade coaches as a fan without all of the necessary behind-the-scenes information, but I will say that the Spurs have shown their youth in these first two games, and I have to put at least some of that on the coach. The rotations without Wemby will continue to be a challenge, but it's really hard to know whether those are mistakes. Kelly might be the worse bad option. Biyombo certainly would be worse....
GAME 3 ON FRIDAY! It's a late game for you mainlanders, I wish you the best making it through a very long day in anticipation. I'm looking for Fox to step up in this one.
