Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns – Game #11
The San Antonio Spurs have now won nine straight games to improve to 9-2 on the season. On Monday night, they made it look easy by shellacking the Phoenix Suns by a final score of 122-96. The Suns were able to hang around for a little bit but the Spurs played outstanding ball for a stretch and Phoenix seemingly knew it was hopeless to fight it.
Stats: Spurs at Suns
Spurs at Suns – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
My god, this guy is ridiculous. Wembanyama absolutely dominated the action during his 25 minutes on the court. The French superstar finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds, nine blocks and three assists while turning it over just one time. He shot 15-for-19 from the field, including 2-for-3 from deep. Honestly, those numbers don’t even do justice to how dominant he was in Phoenix. He made the sport of basketball look easy on the offensive end and he made the Suns look like fools for daring to go at him at the other end.
Grade: A+
Stephon Castle
Castle missed some shots at the rim. He also missed both of his freebies and there were a couple of potential alleyoops he didn’t see in time. Despite those struggles, Castle found ways to aid the cause. He had eight rebounds along with a team-high seven assists. Defensively, while he tried hard, the results were inconsistent. All in all, Castle found ways to make an impact — but he needs to play a cleaner brand of basketball for him to get closer to his potential.
Grade: C+
De’Aaron Fox
Fox’s efficiency continues to shine. In 29 minutes, the speedy guard put up 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists while turning it over once. He shot 5-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-4 from downtown. On offense, Fox is running the show with precision and making both simple and flashy plays look casual. On defense, he’s locked in and is routinely making a difference on that end.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
With Vassell sidelined with an adductor injury, Champagnie got the start. I thought he did okay-ish. He scored 11 points in 27 minutes and was 3-for-9 from three and 1-for-2 from two. Considering his open looks, a little bit more efficiency would have been preferred. Defensively, Champagnie has been better. His reactions were slower than usual.
Grade: C+
Dylan Harper
Harper had a magnificent third quarter that showed just how high his ceiling really is going forward in his career. In nine minutes, he had 14 points in the third on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor. With little help from his teammates, he just eviscerated the Suns. It was fun to watch just how skilled this young kid is. Overall, Harper played well, totaling 17 points, five rebounds and four assists without turning the ball over.
Grade: A-
Keldon Johnson
With Vassell out and Champagnie elevated to the starting lineup, Johnson was back to his sixth man role. He did pretty good. His passing remains better than previous years, even if he’s not scoring at the same rate he did last year. His rebounding has also been inconsistent but there were strong stretches in Phoenix. On both ends, he played a team-first style — and that definitely helped the collective.
Grade: B
Harrison Barnes
Barnes is adding just enough scoring punch to keep his spot in the rotation. Against the Suns, he led the bench unit with 11 points. He didn’t shoot it that well and his defense was mostly missing in action — but at least his aggression remains satisfactory no matter how things are going.
Grade: B-
Carter Bryant
It’s good to see Bryant improve in the last couple games. On this night, he was 2-for-2 on three-pointers and at the charity stripe. His defense was good, although more effort on the boards would have been appreciated. Offensively, Bryant needs to turn the volume up a bit on his aggressiveness — he usually gets in trouble when he’s second-guessing his decisions.
Grade: B
Luke Kornet
Hey, don’t look now but Kornet is showing some signs that he’s capable of holding the fort. His mobility was better, which showed up mostly on the boards and in his rim protection. Kornet was also passing it better and looking more lively on the offensive end. If Kornet can just keep the Spurs from falling apart in the non-Wemby minutes, that’d be a gargantuan win.
Grade: B+
Jordan McLaughlin
McLaughlin got some real minutes due to Vassell’s absence and he was a positive. He kept the pedal to the metal and made things happen. He’s never going to be a world-beater but McLaughlin can give spot minutes here and there.
Grade: B
Tarris Reed Jr.
Reed needs to settle down a bit on his fouls during garbage time but otherwise he did fine.
Grade: Inc.
David Jones Garcia
The Spurs could actually use more garbage time buckets from Jones Garcia. It feels like it’s been a while since he looked like a legit offensive weapon.
Grade: Inc.
Mitch Johnson
Whoever doubted Coach Mitch’s three-guard lineup idea needs to apologize. As it turns out, having three point guards who can lob it up to the big guy or create their own shot is actually a smart plan.
Grade: A-
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