El Conclusión: A rollercoaster ride of a week
You'll never guess who earned undisputed top honors...
Welcome back to La El Conclusión: a weekly recap in which a somewhat-educated basketball writer grades the performances of highly educated professional basketball players. It’s perfectly irresponsible.
“El Conclusión” is a play off one of Manu Ginóbili’s nicknames, “El Contusión.” The correct article would be ‘La,’ but we just wanted to keep with the spirit of the name!
Also, we grade on curves for these players, as not everyone is created equal. Just FYI.
Victor Wembanyama
20.5 pts, 11.5 reb, 4.5 ast, 6.5 blk, 4.5 TOs | 55.6 FG%, 55.6 3P% | + 3.5 in 30.9 mpg (two games)
Ahead of his team’s tilt against Sacramento on Thursday, Gregg Popovich said Wembanyama did not alert the staff to the sprained ankle he sustained during the second quarter against the Rockets on Tuesday, and it wasn’t until after the game the injury was disclosed/discovered. Victor is a very competitive guy, but it would probably be best to make a habit out of properly communicating injuries!
Wemby only played two games this week — and was fully healthy for about four of the eight quarters — but still managed to go on a bit of a rollercoaster ride. He was outstanding in San Antonio’s 117-105 win over Indiana last Sunday (31 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 blocks), but had a brutal night in Houston that was only made worse by the bum ankle (10 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 7 blocks, 6 turnovers). Sure, he piled up the rejections, but Alperen Şengün also dropped a career high 45 points — 27 of which came with Wemby as his primary defender, per NBA matchup data. And on the other end of the floor, the six turnovers were killer. Şengün was poking the ball away from him left and right and even pulling the chair on him, and he could hardly do a thing when the space-eating Dillon Brooks guarded him. (I wrote a lot more about this in the most recent Five for Friday.)
There was no question his mobility was impacted by the injury, but still, it’s been a while since he’s put up a stinker like the one he had in Houston.
Grade: B (Great game against the Pacers, and even on a bad night against the Rockets, he still blocked seven shots. But I’m also deducting a half-letter grade for not disclosing injury information, because we must nip that type of behavior in the bud! It is our duty as graders of professional basketball players! We look at the whole picture!)
Devin Vassell
23.0 pts, 7.3 reb, 5.7 ast, 1.3 stl | 47.4 FG%, 38.9 3P% | +2.3 in 38.5 mpg (three games)
I feel like I write some version of the same things about Vassell every week, but he just continues to elevate his game. So let’s pivot a bit to the mental side of his game this time.
His growing confidence and aggressiveness as a basketball player has been obvious, but now more than ever, you can tell he understands when it’s his time to take control of the offense. The passive version of Vassell is fading into the background as the assertive iteration is taking his place. This is the Devin the Spurs and their fans have been wanting to see for a while now; it just took a little bit of time for him to figure out how to be that guy.
Grade: B+ (Struggled against Indiana and grinded through the Houston game, but came alive in Sacramento in Wembanyama’s absence and despite a hip contusion (30 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk). You’ll live with the performance against the Pacers given how the rest of the team was playing, and he was probably the best Spur on the floor on a tough night against the Rockets, but it’s the line against the Kings you love to see when the team’s best player is sitting with an injury.)
Jeremy Sochan
14.0 pts, 7.3 reb, 2.5 ast, 1.0 blk | 45.7 FG%, 23.1 3P% | +2.8 in 32.0 mpg
Sochan is firmly back to being his delightfully unpredictable self — well, delightful to some, but probably frustrating to others at times. The larger point is, he’s back in his element.
He’s running, cutting and defending like a mad man, and equally as important, he continues to rebound at a much higher rate than he did last season and earlier this year. On the flip side, however, the 3-point shooting has really tumbled, and there are one or two moments around the rim where you can’t believe he didn’t finish on a nightly basis it seems. But these are growing pains you’d expect from a 20-year-old who never saw this type of usage prior to his NBA career, and considering the rawness with which he entered the league, there’s still plenty of room for refinement and growth.
Grade: B (Because of the good and the bad listed above. But his defensive presence was huge on a number of occasions over the past week. He ended T.J. McConnell’s scoring spree late in the game last Sunday, and he made several critical plays on De’Aaron Fox against the Kings on Thursday — real, game-changing moments on that side of the ball.)
Keldon Johnson
19.8 pts, 6.0 reb, 2.5 ast | 50.0 FG%, 43.8 3P% | -2.0 in 30.2 mpg
It sort of feels like Keldon only exists in the background for a lot of fans these days, but the work he’s done coming off the bench (especially since the All-Star break) in a role he’s embraced has frankly been underdiscussed.
Here are his per-36-minute numbers since the team returned to play after the mid-February hiatus: 20.3 pts, 5.5 reb, 3.3 ast, 48.1 FG%, 42.1 3P%.
He’s been picking up the scoring slack for a reserve group that desperately needs it (and largely doing so efficiently), his 3-pointer has come back online and he’s hit some timely shots, he’s finding open cutters and shooters when he isn’t the best option to score, and he’s taking care of the ball — only 1.6 turnovers per 36 minutes. Just a SOLID weeks-long stretch for Johnson.
Grade: B+ (There’s still another level he can hit as he continues to refine his role and responsibilities on both sides of the ball — we haven’t seen a Keldon blow-up game in a while — but you’ll take this type of consistency and dependability any day of the week.)
Tre Jones
3.8 pts, 3.8 reb, 8.0 ast, 1.0 TOs | 26.7 FG% | +5.8 in 30.7 mpg
The clock struck midnight on his Cinderella-level stretch of shooting efficiency, but where that dropped off, the assists picked up and the turnovers disappeared. San Antonio depends on a lot of guys to handle the ball, but he remains the most dependable setup man, and a big reason why the Spurs are shooting so well.
When you have a dude who just knows when and where to deliver the ball to his teammates, and can put it right where they like it, all those open attempts will become easier with time and familiarity.
Grade: B- (His teammates picked him up in a big way this week by actually connecting on all the good looks they get, but life is going to be tough on Tre if he’s not hitting his own open attempts. Still, beggars can’t be choosers with this roster, and Jones has been doing his primary job well on both sides of the ball.)
Malaki Branham
20.3 pts, 2.3 reb, 3.5 ast | 52.8 FG%, 58.3 3P% | -2.0 in 28.0 mpg
The guy is just playing out of his mind right now. Not only is he unconscious from the 3-point line, but he’s finishing around the basket, scoring in isolation, hitting shots in people’s faces, pulling step-backs and getting to the line a little bit. It hasn’t been just robot-like spot-up shooting or pull-ups out of the pick-and-roll, there’s been variety.
On top of all of that, the physicality on both sides of the ball has remained consistent ever since he was challenged by Popovich. He’s always likely to have issues defending guards and wings given his stature and average lateral quickness, but he’s at least been utilizing his length and getting his hands involved in the mix. Just awesome stuff on the whole for someone who struggled so mightily for much of the season.
Grade: A (I mean, was there another option for this week? Malaki has been ridiculous, and he’s performed this way as both a ball-handler and off-ball guard. Still have to deduct a half-letter for the late-game turnover in Sacramento, though. Have to.)
Zach Collins
12.0 pts, 4.3 reb, 1.8 ast | 51.4 FG%, 80.0 3P%, 60.0 FT% | +1.3 in 21.4 mpg
Branham has understandably gotten much of the shine for his bounce-back, but Collins has had a nice one of his own. And he’s sustained it. One of the obvious reasons for that is his rediscovered 3-point shot, which he’s taken on a much more selective basis (he’s now hit 10 of his last 13 since the break).
Additionally, he’s playing solid defense and walling up against opposing bigs, and while his rebound rate is pretty average, he’s done a hell of a job seeking out contact on the shot, boxing his man out and letting his teammates chase the boards. The only quibble recently: His fouling tendencies have resurfaced a bit. He’s got a bit more room to be aggressive as a backup, but when he’s starting he’s got to rein that back in so he can stay on the floor.
Grade: B- (Nothing spectacular, but this is the valuable version of Collins — a guy who’s just playing within himself, and has even more production in there somewhere. Gotta deduct a half-letter for his role in the Branham turnover against the Kings, though. Gotta do it.)
Julian Champagnie
7.0 pts, 3.3 reb, 2.0 ast | 35.7 FG%, 45.5 3P% | +0.3 in 20.3 mpg (three games)
My goodness did Julian need that game against the Warriors. Holy crap. After scoring four points combined against the Rockets and Kings, Champagnie blasted off in Golden State for 17 points (5-8 3P), 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block in one of the best games of his career. Only time will tell if he’s ever able to become more than a streaky shooter, but that kind of performance is why Pop has said on a number of occasions he believes Champagnie can be an important role player in the NBA for a long time.
Grade: B (I think this is fair considering he was almost invisible during his first two games of the week, but he WAS coming off an ankle sprain. Regardless, he responded well on Saturday, and I’m sure got a confidence boost out of it.)
Cedi Osman
2.7 pts, 3.7 reb | 57.1 FG% | -2.3 in 11.9 mpg (three games)
Cedi’s quiet stretch continues, and now he has a sprained left ankle. He has his moments as a dependable spot-up shooter, and he adds an extra element as a ball-handler and slasher in transition, but those contributions are too few and far between these days. He’s kind of stuck in this placeholder middle ground — not really hurting the team, but not really helping much either. Though I guess you could say, as long as the bench unit treads water and keeps the game close while starters are off the court, that’s a win. And he still contributes with the little things that help accomplish that goal.
Grade: C- (When I look back on my days in school, I remember a ‘C’ constituting a passing grade (70+), ‘D’ being not good enough to meet the minimum expectation (60+), and ‘F’ just being outright awful. So I feel like we can keep Cedi right on that line. Basically, “this is fine for now, but there’s much more room for improvement, and you’re on an expiring contract.”)
Devonte’ Graham
8.0 pts, 2.0 reb, 1.0 stl | 75 FG%, 100 3P% | +10.0 in 11.3 mpg (one game)
There he is! The guy never plays, makes a first-quarter entrance and immediately impacts the game doing Devonte’ things. You love to see it.
I know fans have sort of a soft spot in their heart for this dude, and plenty have wanted to see a lot more of him. And that’s without most of y’all knowing the kind of good human he is behind the scenes. Super nice guy, has embraced being this bench vet despite being only 29 years old, players love him, he’s community-oriented — it’s incredibly easy to root for him. So, screw it…
Grade: A+ (Always ready to play, and showed that Saturday night. If you don’t like me gassing Graham up you can kick rocks :))
Blake Wesley
6.0 pts, 1.8 reb, 4.8 ast | 64.3 FG%, 33.3 3P% | +1.0 in 17.0 mpg
Look at Blake being a net positive for the week! More than that, his response to what was a brutal week prior is what you want to see from a 20-year-old trying to earn his stripes. The aggressiveness on defense resurfaced, his decision-making in the pick-and-roll and out of transition looked great, and he kept finding ways to get into the gaps of the defense to either score on his own or spray out to shooters.
Grade: B+ (Remember, we grade on a curve around here, and I’m not sure how much more Wesley can show us this season. I’m not talking about the years to come quite yet. But his overall development, and the clear understanding he’s exhibited that he must slow down and take what’s given to him has been admirable. He no longer tries to do too much, and he picks and chooses his time to attack wisely. I’m not going into ‘A’ range yet, because I do believe there’s room for him to pack a little more scoring punch at some point during the remaining schedule. But this is how you play within yourself as a 25th overall pick learning to function at the NBA level. Good stuff.)
Dominick Barlow
11.5 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.0 ast | 69.2 FG% | +3.5 in 21.6 mpg (two games)
The Spurs’ favorite “neophyte” (Pop’s word for him, not mine) is looking like a real NBA player. His length, athleticism, mobility, quick hands and improved strength and coordination make him a viable option as a frontcourt defender who can switch onto wings, and he has a fluidity to his offensive game that belies his awkward-looking mechanics. The strides he’s taken between his rookie season to his sophomore campaign have been well beyond “noticeable,” and while there’s still a long way to go, you can see a pathway developing toward more run at the four and small-ball five. (Very interested to see him play more minutes alongside Wemby and Collins, not in place of them.)
Grade: B+ (Was active against Sacramento but predictably got pushed around by the Kings’ big-man rotation, which led to limited minutes even in Wembanyama’s absence. Against the less-imposing Warriors, though? What a game. If there was a hockey-style “three star” grading system after every basketball game, he would’ve had a chance to crack the list. (This actually kinda sounds like a good idea for the newsletter…)
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Inc.
Just didn’t get much time and didn’t play very well when he did. Kind of crashed around without impacting the game much, and when he’s not making things happen offensively he can’t really stay on the floor given his issues on the defensive side of the equation.
