Spurs make too many mistakes, lose to the Jazz in Devin Vassell's return

11/09/2024 09:19 PM

Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell had good games, but the Spurs were too sloppy as a team to beat an inferior opponent.

The Spurs let a winnable game slip away in Devin Vassell's season debut. The visiting Jazz managed to escape San Antonio with a 111-110 victory in part because the Silver and Black went cold from outside at the wrong time and in part because there were too many little mistakes that added up to a sloppy overall performance for the home team.

The Jazz came in with a plan and executed it early on. They seemed determined to not let the Spurs beat them inside, as they packed the paint and threw extra defenders at Victor Wembanyama even when he didn't have the ball. This time, San Antonio found a solution to an issue that has disrupted the offense all season: they just made threes. The home team's first five field goals were from beyond the arc, with Stephon Castle accounting for three of those. On the other end, the defense was doing a solid job on a limited Utah squad on the half-court. Unfortunately, live ball turnovers plagued the Spurs. Wembanyama was the main culprit in the opening frame but others coughed up the ball as well, leading to easy buckets for the visitors. Failing to take advantage of good outside shooting came to haunt San Antonio, as Utah's second unit outplayed a rusty Devin Vassell and the rest of the bench.

The Spurs trailed by only three points heading into the second quarter but quickly retook the lead thanks to a good stretch from Wemby and some solid performances from Blake Wesley and Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Jazz were keeping pace thanks to Lauri Markkannen and a tepid San Antonio offense but Devin Vassell shook off the rust in time to hit some jumpers that provided hope for a big run that would help create separation. Alas, it didn't happen. Chris Paul and Wembanyama returned to a tied game but the Silver and Black didn't close strong. The Castle threes that were falling earlier stopped going in and the defensive discipline the team had shown earlier disappeared in the second quarter, as unnecessary fouls on jump shooters allowed Utah to get points on the board and carry an eight-point lead to the locker room.

With the outside shots not going in, the Spurs tried to force their way inside and were successful enough not to go into a big drought. It wasn't pretty, but the drives kept San Antonio's starting unit alive and the team within striking distance. As the bench checked in, the concern was that the subs, which were outplayed in the first half, might get the Silver and Black into a hole too deep to climb up from in only a few minutes. At times it seemed like the worries were warranted, as the defensive miscommunications piled up and the lack of shot creation was obvious, but Vassell steadied the unit with a bucket and then the ball movement of the small unit hurt the Jazz's defense. The tradeoff from playing three guards and Keldon Johnson at power forward was allowing buckets inside but it was a price Mitch Johnson seemed willing to pay. Going into the final frame, the game was tied.

The Spurs made it a point early in the fourth to get Wemby involved and, despite a couple of wasted possessions, they succeeded. The big man got touches, hit some shots and was everywhere on defense. As the minutes passed, however, the Jazz's ability to play two stretch bigs together took Victor out of the paint and opened up the lane for drives from their guards. San Antonio responded in kind, getting buckets inside and keeping the score tight but all the little mistakes the team made throughout the game prevented them from having a buffer going into the final minutes and it cost them. Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton made big threes in the clutch, the Spurs made some unforced errors, and Utah iced the game from the line.

Play of the game

Welcome back, Devin Vassell.

Game notes

• Victor Wembanyama went into Saturday's game shooting 22 percent from beyond the arc. Against the Jazz he made six of his nine three-point attempts. It was a career-high for the 20-year-old but he was surprised to hear it, asking reporters if they were sure he had never made six threes in a game before. Wembanyama finished the game with 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks. Turnovers remain an issue, but he's still a monster.
• Devin Vassell looked better than anyone could have anticipated after seven months spent on the sidelines. He came off the bench and scored 21 points in 22 minutes. There were some understandably bad moments but in general, Vassell did enough to remind people how good he is and how much the Spurs need him, even in limited minutes.
• Stephon Castle, who scored 23 points in 16 shots, led the Spurs in minutes played and was there to close the game. The rookie made his threes early, played good defense and used his strength and crafty footwork to get to the bucket. The foul on Clarkson with the shot clock winding down and San Antonio down one with 12 seconds to go was painful, but Castle is a rookie so it's hard to get too upset about mistakes.
• Julian Champagnie, Chris Paul and Keldon Johnson combined to shoot 2-for-18 from beyond the arc. They all contributed in other ways, but it's hard to win when three rotation players getting heavy minutes can't hit good looks.
• Zach Collins and Blake Wesley had some rough stretches and some great ones. Collins' strengths and weaknesses are well known by now, and he's in an adequately small role. Wesley can be erratic but can energize the team and is only getting big minutes because Tre Jones is out. They will have good games, like they did against the Trail Blazers, and mediocre ones, like against the Jazz.
• Sandro Mamukelashvili only got a shade over seven minutes of playing time, all in the first half. The Jazz play several bigs, so this seemed like the right matchup for him, but Mitch Johnson decided to go small.

Next game: Vs. Sacramento Kings on Monday

DeMar DeRozan will come to town with his new team. Let's hope for a bounceback game from the Spurs.