Devin Vassell shines in Spurs loss to the Pelicans

The good guys lost their sixth straight, but there are plenty of things to be thankful for as the Spurs wrap up November. Devin Vassell led all Spurs players with 26 points with his usual efficiency, going 10-17 from the field and handing out 8 assists. Doug McDermott was even more efficient off the bench, shooting 9-12 overall. Both Vassell and McDermott combined to shoot 50% from three point land. Jakob Poeltl led all players with 14 rebounds, and the big man notched 3 steals for the night.

Devin Vassell continues to show his growth this season. Here, he shows off his ability to break down a defense and finish off at the rim. Spurs fans are thankful for the improved play of the third-year player.

Dishes were plentiful on Thanksgiving eve as Vassell made sure everyone in his Spurs family had plenty to eat. Here, he feeds the rookie Jeremy Sochan while in the teeth of the Pelicans defense. Vassell’s career-high 8 assists were a welcome sight and hopefully a sign of more play-making abilities as a part of his offensive repertoire

Nothing to see here other than Vassell hitting a pull-up three pointer. For the season, Vassell is hitting a blistering 44% from downtown.

To put that into perspective, only four other players have attempted a minimum 100 three-point shots and are shooting better than 44%: (1) Kevin Huerter (.496% on 125 attempts), (2) Desmond Bane (.451% on 102 attempts), (3) Stephen Curry (.444% on 198 attempts–OK this one is wild in of itself), and (4) Royce O’Neale (.440% on 109 attempts). This puts Devin Vassell in elite company as he is shooting .441% from three on 102 attempts.

For Turkey Day, Doug McDermott is thankful for Keita Bates-Diop and Jakob Poeltl’s double screen to get him open for this three pointer. Dougie McBuckets, usually known for his sniping from deep, was also superb inside the three-point line tonight, finding a variety of ways to score.

Tre Jones dished out a beautiful pass to a streaking Vassell for the dunk. If you thought that looked tasty, you should try turkey quesadilla with cranberry sauce. It sounds like an unholy alliance, but it works for some reason.

Rookie sensation Jeremy Sochan called dibs on the turkey leg, and surely (don’t call him Shirley) he called bank on this wild turnaround jumper.

Sochan continues to acclimate to basketball at the NBA level, hitting double-digit scoring in 3 out of his last 4 games and 6 out of his last 8 overall. Of course, his defensive skills also continues to develop as the season wears on.

The Spurs big men out here showing off their two-man offense with Jeremy Sochan finishing off a well-placed Jakob Poeltl pass. Poeltl looks like the type of person who fries his turkey. Can’t say I have any issue with that. Inject your bird with some cajun spices, pat the skin with 2 parts salt, 1 part baking powder, put that 20-pound descendent of dinosaurs into some oil, and you got a crispy, juicy turkey going.

Happy Birthday to the incomparable Bill Land!

To make smoked cabbage, cut a hole to the core of the cabbage, insert mixture of butter and garlic and liquid smoke, wrap tightly in foil, bake in oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours, watch Devin Vassell take this give-and-go all the way to the basket for a dunk, on the stovetop cook chopped-up bacon, then remove the bacon from the pan (save the grease), when cabbage is done remove from oven and chop up into pieces, cook the cabbage in the bacon grease on stovetop, mix in the bacon, serve to your friends and family–Happy Thanksgiving Spurs fans!

And last but never least, the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs emerge from Thanksgiving to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in San Antonio on Black Friday, November 25, 2022.