Player The "It's My Time" Busted Clocktower of Devin Vassell

[NotoriousHOP]

Why the fuck is this guy always leaning sideways when shooting? He would take the most wide ass open shot ever and he would still lean to the side. Why can't he go straight up like a normal person? It is a miracle he's an above average shooter with that hitch.

He seems to hop a lot right before his shot and he jumps at an angle often instead of jumping straight up.

 

[STAT88]

Why the fuck is this guy always leaning sideways when shooting? He would take the most wide ass open shot ever and he would still lean to the side. Why can't he go straight up like a normal person? It is a miracle he's an above average shooter with that hitch.

I always think the same when he shoots. It’s more annoying than the old Sochan hitch. Just shoot the fucking ball straight how hard is it.

 

[scott]

Thought he bounced back well in the second half today

 

[spurraider21]

Thought he bounced back well in the second half today

He did. Competed on defense well

 

[CGD]

He did. Competed on defense well

Pretty much exclusively on defense. He was still pretty anemic on offense.

 

[tearsofmorningdew]

about the worst thing is for him to have a decent game. Means he’s gonna chuck it up indiscriminately next time

 

[RC_Drunkford]

made a lot of defensive plays yesterday, but of course people here want to trade him for DeMar DeRozan

 

[spursparker9]

Why the fuck is this guy always leaning sideways when shooting? He would take the most wide ass open shot ever and he would still lean to the side. Why can't he go straight up like a normal person? It is a miracle he's an above average shooter with that hitch.

He is definitely not "above average" shooter.

This season he is 39.8% FG and 34.7% 3p

And he is supposingly our 2nd option now (with Wemby, Castle and Harper out)

Every shot that he take is very tough. Sometime perhaps based on luck, he can hit amazing tough shots. But what is most frustrating is that he miss those really wide open shot and by quite a few.

I feel like that he 'jump' too high for his jumper. He releases the ball at the apex of his jump.

Current players....this is similar to Westbrick and you can see that his shots are often 'short' due to the lack of leg strength after running up and down the court.

Very few players can master this kind of jumper mechanics that release the ball only at the apex....e.g. MJ, Kawhi, Kobe, DeRozen.

He need to change his shot mechanics tbh.

 

[ginobilized]

His transition to role player started well and has regressed a bit lately. The more he dribbles the more his stock declines in my estimation. Though, gotta say, that block he got was nasty.

 

[Itzsoweezee]

I was just looking through his stats on basketball reference and they are just brutal. He’s 25 now and his offensive game has shown almost no improvement from his rookie year.

I can’t believe this guy is signed for three more seasons!

 

[Itzsoweezee]

He is definitely not "above average" shooter.

This season he is 39.8% FG and 34.7% 3p

And he is supposingly our 2nd option now (with Wemby, Castle and Harper out)

Every shot that he take is very tough. Sometime perhaps based on luck, he can hit amazing tough shots. But what is most frustrating is that he miss those really wide open shot and by quite a few.

I feel like that he 'jump' too high for his jumper. He releases the ball at the apex of his jump.

Current players....this is similar to Westbrick and you can see that his shots are often 'short' due to the lack of leg strength after running up and down the court.

Very few players can master this kind of jumper mechanics that release the ball only at the apex....e.g. MJ, Kawhi, Kobe, DeRozen.

He need to change his shot mechanics tbh.

I seem to remember a video of him changing up his shot mechanics right before the draft and I was flabbergasted. His shot is so ugly.

 

[ambchang]

One thing you have to give Vassell credit for so far this year is that he has been shooting way more from 3 than 2. Even though his FGA per 100 has dropped to the lowest since his rookie season (17.8 this year vs. 21.7 to 23.9 in the last three years), his 3PA per 100 has pretty much stayed the same. Problem is his 2P% and 3P% has dropped, which leads to the lowest eFG% he has since his rookie season. Instead of attacking the basket, he is now almost shooting exclusively from 10 feet out.

His rebounding %, Assist%, Stl %, BLK% are all one of the worst seasons he's had (worst or 2nd worst). His usage is the lowest since his rookie season, his FTr is one of the lowest i his career. However, his +/- is the best of his career. While his On Court value could be explained easily by being in the starting lineup and playing with the stronger group, his On-Off is still 11.3. Which is a positive sign.

Now the thing I am most interested in, is he doing simple catch and shoots now?

Year	Time of possession	Avg. sec / touch	Avg. Drib / touch	Pts / Touch
2020-21	0.5	1.95	1.16	0.325
2021-22	1.3	2.07	1.23	0.331
2022-23	3.0	3.41	2.51	0.348
2023-24	2.8	3.01	2.17	0.344
2024-25	2.4	2.91	2.27	0.325
2025-26	1.9	2.43	1.73	0.283

So the eye test is correct, he is taking less time per touch and dribbling less from the main character vassell, but a bit more than his first 2 years. I take this as a positive development.

 

[spurraider21]

the problem is he's just not consistent on either end. some games he will be a real disruptor on defense, and we've seen that happen a fair amount this year. but some games he's invisible there. and offensively, he's just not efficient. he's sub 37% from 3 for his career, and had one outlier year where he shot 38.7% which is very good, but not elite. if his main role on offense is going to be floor spacer, right now julian is the better option.

im getting close to joining team @scott with the "julian should start over vassell" take

 

[Itzsoweezee]

the problem is he's just not consistent on either end. some games he will be a real disruptor on defense, and we've seen that happen a fair amount this year. but some games he's invisible there. and offensively, he's just not efficient. he's sub 37% from 3 for his career, and had one outlier year where he shot 38.7% which is very good, but not elite. if his main role on offense is going to be floor spacer, right now julian is the better option.

im getting close to joining team @scott with the "julian should start over vassell" take

I’ve been on that wagon since last year. Julian is just a better match for that role in the starting lineup than Devin. They’ll never do it though because of that ridiculous contract.

 

[LeBowen]

I’ve been on that wagon since last year. Julian is just a better match for that role in the starting lineup than Devin. They’ll never do it though because of that ridiculous contract.

Same here, I just don't believe Devin can adapt to what's needed for our ideal starting lineup and at that point it's not worth starting him.

He's actually the one who got lucky with all these injuries. He'll be (or should be) the second option over the next few weeks, he simply has to step up.
I don't want to hear none of that "well, he's better as a 4th/5th option". Even if he was, 4th option can't be the second highest paid player on the team.

 

[spurraider21]

I’ve been on that wagon since last year. Julian is just a better match for that role in the starting lineup than Devin. They’ll never do it though because of that ridiculous contract.

i think as long as we are hurt, we could use his creation abilities with the starting unit. but when we get castle and/or harper back, the conversation changes

 

[scott]

For those of us who believe Julian should start over Devin... it's not even intended to be a knock on Devin and I think Devin has the kind of skill set that (if he were performing to max potential) that can be a 6MOY contender. Right now Keldon is filling that bench scorer role, but Devin's a more well-rounded offensive force, 3-level scorer, that we need off the bench (though Harper may quickly supplant him as that top option with the bench unit).

 

[CrustyCoastBendFan]

Here’s my hot take on the so-called “short bus twin,” as I fondly dub him.

For all his supposed potential and apparent skill—at least according to our esteemed Board Veteran Scouts—he’s nowhere near as utilitarian as Danny Green EVER was. Forget Bruce; in my humble opinion, Danny Green was the superior defensive wing and shooter. Nobody EVER hyped Green like they do Dent Head #2 (and yes, Keldon will always stay ahead of him in my book). If he could even sniff Green’s level of knocking down OPEN shots and playing defense this season, who knows? We might just be talking about a DEEP playoff run instead of a deep sigh. Any Moves in a positive direction is fantastic. I guess this last game qualified as that, in the second half. Agree with the takes here on him appearing to TRY and shoot in traffic, his wonky shot, and his role. I think JULIAN should start; too bad PROFESSORS POPS Regime gave Devin such a LARGE BAG.

 

[DAF86]

My biggest problem with Devin (other than his "side-leaning" shot) is that he takes too many bad shots. A lot of contested midrange jumpers with 18 seconds on the clock. That's the worst shot you can take. Even if you make it, you're just bailing the defense out. You don't make the defense work, you don't force fouls, and the % aren't in your favour.

 

[STAT88]

My biggest problem with Devin (other than his "side-leaning" shot) is that he takes too many bad shots. A lot of contested midrange jumpers with 18 seconds on the clock. That's the worst shot you can take. Even if you make it, you're just bailing the defense out. You don't make the defense work, you don't force fouls, and the % aren't in your favour.

And the problem is this isn’t really fixable because I) he doesn’t have the first step/speed/shiftiness to get defender off him for a higher percentage shot and II) he doesn’t have the strength to bully or shoulder his defender off him for an easier look.

 

[scott]

Maybe it's because I have lower expectations as one of the Original Devin Haters, but he's been generally fine this year for me (contract aside).

Proof of my credentials:

 

[DAF86]

And the problem is this isn’t really fixable because I) he doesn’t have the first step/speed/shiftiness to get defender off him for a higher percentage shot and II) he doesn’t have the strength to bully or shoulder his defender off him for an easier look.

There's a very easy fix: just don't take the bad shot. If he can't get to the hole, just give the ball up and stay in the corner waiting to see if another chance comes up to take a wide open 3 or attack the basket off a kickout.

Contested mid range jumpers are shots reserved for your all-stars when the initial action didn't work out. A role player taking a contested 20 footer with 16 seconds on the clock is losing basketball.

 

[DTW]

I remember listening to an episode of The Zach Lowe show a month or two ago and him speaking about Carter Jr., saying something to the effect of, he's not enough of anything for the Magic.

I feel the same way about Vassell. His malleability, which once seemed his strength, has become his weaknesses because he never progressed enough in any one area to carve out a niche.

I realize 14 games is a relatively small sample, but he had no excuse to not hit the ground running this season, yet has been worse than ever and it seems like every time he needs to step up, he fails.

 

[STAT88]

There's a very easy fix: just don't take the bad shot. If he can't get to the hole, just give the ball up and stay in the corner waiting to see if another chance comes up to take a wide open 3 or attack the basket off a kickout.

Contested mid range jumpers are shots reserved for your all-stars when the initial action didn't work out. A role player taking a contested 20 footer with 16 seconds on the clock is losing basketball.

Agree that should be his role as it best suits his skillset. Two problems tho, he’s not a great shooter, only a good one, and he’s a mediocre defender (not great lateral quickness, average size and length for a 3, not strong enough, no room for him to play the 2 here anymore). There’s much better 3-D options out there.

My comment on his offensive game was just about his ability to create his own shot, which he’s poor at.

In summary, my thoughts on Devin are trade him as soon as you can find a sucker that’ll give something of value in return.

 

[plateado]

ÉlDevin's biggest problem isn't himself. It's his contract. And PATFO is to blame for that. In hindsight, of course, there was nothing on the horizon and he was the standout player. Today, the truth is different. That second unit with Harper and Keldon alongside him, plus Sochan and Kornet, would be a huge asset. It would be lethal.