El Conclusión: Spurs 126, Rockets 122

We're bringing it back.

Introducing (or reintroducing) El Conclusión: a post-game format in which a somewhat-educated basketball writer grades the performances of NBA players right after a game without having a chance to go back and watch film.

This used to be a staple at my (at this point) very-old stomping grounds, 48 Minutes of Hell, the ESPN TrueHoop Network brainchild of Graydon Gordian, Tim Varner, and shortly thereafter, Andrew McNeill. A play off one of Manu Ginóbili’s nicknames, El Contusión, it was always a fun way to just shoot something out to the people after a game before we really had a chance to later dive into the nuance around the Spurs’ day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month developments.

And people enjoyed it. So much so I’ve gotten a number of requests for something similar to make an appearance with this newsletter.

So I’m bringing it back. It’s not as if grades are unique anymore, but we always found we added something different since we were in the building and had a chance to talk to these people immediately following their performances. Also, accountability. I have yet to experience a player or coach getting mad at me over a C+ or something, or even an F, but we’ll see how this goes.

You get the point, though. Fresher game-night material is now going to hit your inboxes on top of the normal stuff I write around here. I want to be clear: Unless it’s the postseason or something, none of them will be this ridiculously long. They’re meant to be quick-hitting bits after post-game availabilities, so I’m gonna do my best to save you from the longwindedness as best I can, even though I’m not great at accomplishing that. But this is a special occasion.

Speaking of longwindedness, I’ll stop there.

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Wemby | 21 pts, 12 reb, 3 stl, 3 blk | 7-19 FG, 0-6 3P | +9 — 31 min

The Spurs tried to get Victor going early, but it just wasn’t happening. And on top of it, he was taking a lot of shots we saw from him at Mets 92 — just kind of launching from everywhere because he’s capable of making everything, but objectively difficult shots.

Through the first three quarters, he had eight points on 3-for-12 shooting, and was being subbed in and out pretty liberally just to find a change in rhythm and energy.

Then came the fourth quarter and overtime. Wemby racked up 13 points, eight rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal in 13 minutes to finish the game, and it every bit of it was done with style. A reverse alley-oop, a reverse dunk off a baseline spin that left Jabari Smith Jr. just trying to hold on for dear life, and two consecutive blocks on the same Smith Jr. on one possession.

There’s not enough room to comprehensively write about this kid in this format, but I don’t think you’re going to find a shortage of musings here at Corporate Knowledge. If I’m going to do these after games, I have to pace myself… otherwise I’m just gonna keel over.

Wembanyama is incredible, and he’s just scratching the surface with a brush.

Grade: B+ (I wrote Wednesday the spurts would turn to bursts, and the bursts would turn to gushers. This was a burst, there are so many more levels, and his first half was not good.)

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Devin Vassell | 25 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast | 7-13 FG, 3-7 3P, 8-11 FT | +2 — 39 min

The Vassell experience feels like a rollercoaster on nightly basis.

For instance: My notes tonight consisted of, ‘Devin just isn’t being aggressive early,’ followed by, ‘And there’s a 3-pointer, followed by a beautiful drive to lefty-scoop layup, to free-throw line pullup going left; from two points to nine points in the first quarter in the blink of an eye.’

Then, after halftime, it was, ‘Vassell didn’t score in the third quarter; he didn’t even attempt a shot,’ to, ‘Oh look, 11 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, he got to the line 11 times tonight, and he tossed a great alley-oop lob to Collins in a crucial moment.’

And on top of all of it, when asked at the end of the night if he and Dillon Brooks had been jawing back and forth after a big shot late, Vassell said, “I’m a very laid-back person, but when it comes to certain people who try to muck up the game I’m gonna start talking to you. After that shot we definitely had some words. I can’t repeat everything that was said.”

One second he looks like he’s the dude who will be running things with Victor Wembanyama for a decade, the next you wonder where he’s gone. But at the end of the day he’s hitting a shot in Dillon Brooks’ face and letting him know about it, which is a heroic deed for anyone who follows the league.

But there is another level out there somewhere. We all know it, and I think he does, too.

Grade: B+ (He’s so close. So close.)

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Keldon Johnson | 20 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 TO | 8-14 FG, 3-7 3P | -2 — 35 min

There’s a bigger story to tell about Johnson, some time in the near future. But for now, we can leave it at this: He’s clearly back to playing third fiddle, which is where he should be. And I don’t mean that in a derogatory way.

Keldon is at his best when he’s playing off others, getting easy baskets and igniting the crowd with good looks from the perimeter, violent dunks and his patented screams and flexes. That’s the version Spurs fans love, not the one who’s forced to run an offense because everyone else is either injured, getting a night off or isn’t on the team yet (Wemby). That’s not him.

This is the role Johnson was built to occupy — an efficient scorer who can conserve his energy, work hard defensively and score in bursts, before slamming the door shut and ruining gamblers’ nights with a last-second slam that covered the Spurs’ -3 spread over the Rockets at most Vegas sportsbooks in a 126-122 win.

An unnecessary big dunk to close things out, and just a beautifully bad beat.

Grade: B- (Late run-out dunks added to an efficient yet quiet-ish night; defense/passing coming in bits and pieces, but still trying to find rhythm.)

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Zach Collins | 9 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl, 4 TO | 4-13 FG, 0-7 3P | -4 — 39 min

Couldn’t hit a shot to save his life, had problems defending the crafty-as-hell Alperen Sengun, and had a few tough turnovers (though only one was live-ball). This could’ve been one of those “Zach just doesn’t have it” games.

But instead, it became one of those, “I’m not sure where the Spurs would be right now without Zach’s passing and activity” games. He’s quickly become one of the best facilitating bigs in the league outside of Nikola Jokic, and while he’s not a high-volume shot blocker, he just causes a lot of discomfort for opponents around the rim and between interior passing lanes.

His signature moment, though, which probably bumped him up at least a half-letter grade, was the move he put on Sengun during the most critical moment of the night. Just dropped him off like a newspaper at the rim’s doorstop, and let out an exasperated F-bomb as he was mobbed by teammates. As in, “Finally,” of course.

Collins greatly redeemed himself, but if only a couple of those open 3-pointers connected things might’ve been a little more comfortable down the stretch. Still, I wouldn’t expect many 0-for-7s from deep this season. He’s going to keep shooting, because they need him to do so.

Grade: C+ (Feels harsh given his passing and steal numbers, but that 3-pointer has to fall, and the rim protection has to be there. Solid, passing grade.)

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Jeremy Sochan | 14 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl | 5-9 FG, 0-1 3P | -8 — 26 min

He’s said it, the coaches have said it, we’ve said it — this is going to be a work in progress.

There’s a world in which Sochan is still just playing off others, cutting, crashing the glass, spotting up, attacking as a secondary playmaker, and just freelancing from the wings. But that is not the case right now. The Spurs have tasked him with initiating offense, and they were not lying when they said it was coming. He’s legitimately the guy pushing the pace and operating from the top within the starting lineup, and while he’s still finding ways to pass off and quickly get to his comfort zones, his first job has clearly been to get his teammates going from the spots they like.

But he’s finding ways to be productive offensively in the mean time as he sorts through all this, and not just disappearing once he gets rid of the ball. Those cuts and rim-runs are still there, they just look a little different; offensive rebounds are still available, but he may have to pick and choose a bit more with the added big body in the mix. There’s less space available for him to do the things he knows best, so he’s finding creative ways to take advantage when he can.

I, for one, love this stuff. By all means, test the limits of smart, talented players and see what happens, especially when you have the time to do it, and ESPECIALLY when there’s a safety valve available. This entirely different added layer is so new to him that it could end up in a slow-ish Sochan year… at least for now.

It’s all about the long haul for San Antonio, though, and they wouldn’t be doing this if they didn’t believe in his capabilities.

Hmmm, this wasn’t so much an appraisal of his game Friday, was it? Since the start of the preseason, his timing with teammates has gotten a little better, and while he’s not really pushing the envelope, he’s committing more and more to certain necessary “point guard” types of passes and movements — whether they be hit-aheads, skip looks to players lifting on the weak side of the action (not easy!), or just getting into sets with pace.

This was way too long. So much more on Sochan coming in the weeks and months ahead. Gotta save my breath and need to sleep.

Grade: C (Easy passing grade. He was fine, and made a couple of huge (one-handed) free throws late. But the Spurs understandably continue to opt for Tre Jones when games need to be steadied. Speaking of…)

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Tre Jones | 6 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl | 3-8 FG, 0-3 3P | +14 — 32 min

The definition of a calming force. Jones’ growth continues to be apparent in the way he plays, even when his shot isn’t falling. He’s the team’s best facilitator, an underrated defender — he catches crap because he’s undersized — and he seems to be the first guy who’s figured out the right launch angles on passes to Wembanyama. Which, for the record, took him a second! It’s not as easy of an adjustment as it might seem.

Who knows what the future holds, but regardless of whether or not Jones starts, he’s going to see plenty of minutes during important stretches of each game. He’s just too valuable. Friday night marked the first time the starters seemed to struggle as a group, and we saw the response from Gregg Popovich. The beauty of this is, Jones gives the second unit a chance to keep humming even when that opening group is playing well.

It doesn’t matter. Play him anywhere at any time, he’ll just continue to do his job.

Grade: A- (Not a big scoring night, and the 3 wasn’t falling. Only reason this wasn’t an A+ considering the passes he was making in the second half.)

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Cedi Osman | 14 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast | 5-7 FG, 4-6 3P | +9 — 23 min

He’s quickly become one of Pop’s guys, which isn’t surprising. Osman just hits open shots, moves well with and without the ball, looks for cutters, defends hard and intelligently, and demonstrates high basketball IQ. It’s early in the process but he seems like someone the Spurs are going to turn to often, as evidenced by the fact he was the first off the bench Friday.

Just watch him play. He’s a perfect fit. And once he gets the timing down with some of his teammates, and better understands where they like the ball, the assist numbers are going to come up, too. Cool player.

Grade: A- (Lights out as a spot-up shooter. Three turnovers a little high, but two of those could’ve probably been chalked up to unfamiliarity.)

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Malaki Branham | 9 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast | 4-7 FG, 1-1 3P | +7 — 14 min

Branham is gonna have a night at some point soon. He’s just a machine. The shot looks the same every time out of his hand, he knows where his spots are and exactly how to get to them, he’s incredibly decisive and deliberate for a player his age, and he’s just so sound fundamentally.

The only thing preventing him from getting into that “A” territory was may be a lack of minutes and general impact. Don’t get me wrong, he had a stretch where he did his part keeping the Spurs afloat in the first half, but he’s going to have to get really hot to eat into the minutes of Vassell and Jones at this point.

Might have to start grading on a curve with him soon, though. He makes things look too easy.

Grade: B+ (If his minutes remain limited, and if he keeps producing this efficiently while playing solid defense, we may have to move to per-36 numbers.)

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Doug McDermott | 8 pts | 3-5 FG, 2-4 3P | -4 — 16 min

Finally came alive between the third and fourth quarters, hitting a couple of big 3s to affect momentum. But things are tough for him right now.

As a movement shooter, McDermott’s effectiveness offensively is tied into familiarity and timing with the people getting him the ball, and these rotations are so new it feels like he’s just kind of searching for his chances at this point.

What Doug does best is create quick momentum swings, and he did that on Friday. It was a bit more brief than what we’ve grown accustomed to, but there’s going to be an adjustment period. And unless the shots are really falling in bunches, his defense is going to be a liability.

He mattered in this game; just not to a major extent. Solid passing score.

Grade: C+ (This is basically tied to the number of shots he hits as a shooter or cutter, and this was a below-average night … even though the percentages were good.)

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Charles Bassey | 3 reb | -3 — 7 min

He’s another work in progress. Grabbed a few boards, got called for a foul, was clearly not a big part of the plan as the game wore on and the Rockets stayed with smaller lineups. There will be more productive, gradable nights in the future.

INC.

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Eventually I’m gonna figure out some cool artwork for this, but in the meantime, we’ll see y’all Sunday.

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