For all the talk of a young team with little experience, the San Antonio Spurs did exactly what contenders should do in the first round of the playoffs: handle a lower seed in front of their home crowd. The Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers in Game One, 111-98.
The Spurs were led by their superstar big man, Victor Wembanyama, who scored a franchise-high 35 points in his playoff debut. The Blazers didn’t have an answer for the MVP candidate while raining threes from deep and dominating inside.
He didn’t do it alone. The Spurs’ supporting cast showed up when it was needed. When Portland staged a comeback in the third quarter, Devin Vassell got hot and rebuilt the Spurs’ lead.
Vassell and Wembanyama will lead the player grades for Game One. As a quick reminder, these grades are based on each player’s on-court performance, going beyond just the stat sheet. A “B” grade represents the average performance for an individual. If a player logs fewer than 5 minutes or plays only in garbage time, their grade will be incomplete.
Victor Wembanyama
33 minutes, 35 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 13-for-21 shooting, 5-for-6 threes, +4
Cold take here: Wembanyama is pretty good! The narrative that Portland’s bigs could slow him down was obviously overblown. Wembanyama creates an insane mismatch for the Spurs in this series. Not only does he neutralize most of their paint attack, but he has proven he can score against slower bigs like Donovan Clingan or over the top of smaller defenders like Toumani Camara. Oh, and he can casually go coast-to-coast for dunks and drain fadeaway corner threes.
It’s only Game One, but if Wembanyama plays like this in every game, San Antonio is going to be hard to beat. The Spurs are a -700 favorite to win Game Two on FanDuel.
Grade: A
De’Aaron Fox
34 minutes, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 7-for-15 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, +12
The Blazers struggled to stay in front of Fox in Game One. He had Portland defenders sliding as he pulled up for threes or got to the basket for twos. Most importantly, he was a steadying force with the ball in his hands. If inexperience is this team’s sickness, Fox is the cure. He had 8 assists and 0 turnovers in Game One. These are exactly the type of games the Spurs need from their veteran point guard.
Grade: A
Stephon Castle
33 minutes, 17 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-13 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, –2
Despite his inefficient shooting, Castle still made an impact on the game. He was relentlessly attacking the basket, and then went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line when he got into the paint. The first interesting strategic move of the series was Portland’s decision to guard Castle with a big man and force him to shoot from deep. He hit one three-ball, but missed a few wide-open ones off the dribble. Castle is going to be forced to hit a few deep shots in this series. We’ve seen him knock down open catch-and-shoot shots this season. It’ll be interesting to see how San Antonio attacks this matchup moving forward.
Grade: B-
Julian Champagnie
30 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, +13
Champagnie did exactly what great role players should: take advantage of the opportunities that come to you and play strong defense. Champagnie only took three shots, but he hit two of them when he was wide open. He played strong defense on the wing, grabbing three steals and snatching 5 rebounds. The playoffs are all about being exceptional at your role. Champagnie’s is to hit open threes and play solid defense. He did both on Sunday night.
Grade: B
Devin Vassell
34 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-for-13 shooting, 4-for-9 threes, +8
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Vassell won the game for the Spurs. When Portland cut a ten-point lead to just two points, it was Vassell who got San Antonio going again. He hit big-time threes in transition, made an impactful block on defense, and secured a tough long defensive rebound that led to a runout score.
Vassell is a real X-factor in this series. When he’s hitting shots and creating turnovers on defense, the Spurs go up another level. That third-quarter run was the perfect example of the value he brings to the team.
Grade: A-
Dylan Harper
23 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, +18
Harper was on the floor when the Spurs were at their best, but he wasn’t as impactful as he typically is. Harper was sound defensively and didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes on the offensive end. He just didn’t pop like he typically does offensively. He had a nice stretch in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs build a 20-point lead. Perhaps that stretch will build some confidence for the rookie heading into the rest of the series.
Grade: C
Luke Kornet
14 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5-for-6 shooting, +9
Kornet’s stellar play against Portland this season continued in the postseason. He thrived as a lob catcher and rim protector once again. The drop off from Wembanyama to Kornet, defensively at least, wasn’t all that noticeable. On the other end, it felt like he caught every lob that came his way, including a sick one-hander off a lob. Kornet’s best play was a tough offensive rebound and put-back in the second quarter. It’s the kind of winning play that swings playoff series.
Grade: B+
Harrison Barnes
11 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +/- 0
Barnes didn’t make much of an impact in his limited minutes. He grabbed one offensive rebound and went 2-2 from the free-throw line, but otherwise was held in check. As the rotation shrinks, Barnes’ minutes will likely decrease. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him have a big game at some point in the playoffs, especially if he’s hot from three.
Grade: C
Keldon Johnson
20 minutes, 3 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, +2
Johnson’s one made shot on Sunday was a big one. He hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the first quarter to give the Spurs a 9-point lead. He didn’t score the rest of the game. KJ lacked the aggression we typically see from him in big games. He was still able to power his way into the paint when he chose to, but couldn’t convert at the rim.
Grade: C+
Carter Bryant
4 minutes, 2 rebounds, 3 fouls, +1
Bryant got limited minutes on Sunday. He was super aggressive while he was on the floor, picking up three fouls in his four minutes.
Grade: Incomplete
Bismack Biyombo
1 minute, no stats
Good for Biyombo for logging a playoff minute in his fourteenth NBA season.
Grade: Incomplete
Kelly Olynyk
1 minute, no stats
Do we think Olynyk was expecting to play on Sunday? He was wearing ankle socks for the game. The broadcast team even called it out. He did buy the team black suits for Game One, so he would get an A+ for that if he had played enough minutes.
Grade: Incomplete
Lindy Waters III
1 minute, no stats
Waters got into the game but logged no stats, just like the rest of the Spurs’ depth players.
Grade: Incomplete
Inactives: Harrison Ingram, David Jones-Garcia, Emanuel Miller
