Thoughts on Vassell?

PaKii94 · Post #1 » by **PaKii94** » Tue Feb 2, 2021 11:08 pm

Hey spurs fans,

I'm a Bulls fan coming in peace! I really wanted Vassell for the bulls predraft but I am content with the PWill pick.

What are y'alls thoughts on Vassell so far? The raw box stats don't pop but the advanced stats paint a pretty nice picture on him.

I expected him to be a stud on defense from the beginning with offense being the cherry on top. Does that still hold up with the eye test? My only concern with him was his slight frame but if he can hold his own on the court that's all that matters.

Peace!

imagump1313 · Post #2 » by **imagump1313** » Wed Feb 3, 2021 12:02 am

You're thoughts are pretty spot on.
He would already be one of our 5 best players if he would ever get the green light to play a little more. The team seems to have a love affair with Lonnie Walker which cuts into his minutes. I also think he could actually play some PG in our offense and he would do better than Murray, but thats just me....

DevinVassell · Post #3 » by **DevinVassell** » Wed Feb 3, 2021 1:01 am

Ahh, Vassell was my favorite player before the draft, hence the username love.

Seems he can't seen to get any cohesive playing time. Is he in Pops doghouse for some reason? Must be frustrating watching the #11 pick sit on the pine. Over the last two Spurs loses, the #11 pick has averaged 11mpg, (including lots of garbage time) while Bane (#30) and Tillman (#35) have averaged 23 and 22.5mpg for the Griz in the same period.

imagump1313 · Post #4 » by **imagump1313** » Wed Feb 3, 2021 1:49 am

DevinVassell wrote:Ahh, Vassell was my favorite player before the draft, hence the username love.

Seems he can't seen to get any cohesive playing time. Is he in Pops doghouse for some reason? Must be frustrating watching the #11 pick sit on the pine. Over the last two Spurs loses, the #11 pick has averaged 11mpg, (including lots of garbage time) while Bane (#30) and Tillman (#35) have averaged 23 and 22.5mpg for the Griz in the same period.

I hear you, its frustrating.

Like I said above, I don't think he's in Pop's doghouse. Guy is one of the few players we have that actually plays defense. IMO its because of the love affair they have with Walker and giving the vets like Gay the most playing time pushing to make the playoffs for no reason.

He does struggle from time to time getting lost offensively and just sitting in the corner. But there is way more good with him than bad. He should be playing more.

DevinVassell · Post #5 » by **DevinVassell** » Wed Feb 3, 2021 2:18 am

Yeah it looks like there are literally 9 or 10 players on the Spurs roster getting more time then Vassell. Thanks for the reply.

imagump1313 · Post #6 » by **imagump1313** » Wed Feb 3, 2021 3:50 am

Yes, and really only Keldon Johnson deserves it

Post #7 » by **G R E Y** » Wed Feb 3, 2021 11:48 am

PaKii94 wrote:Hey spurs fans,

I'm a Bulls fan coming in peace! I really wanted Vassell for the bulls predraft but I am content with the PWill pick.

What are y'alls thoughts on Vassell so far? The raw box stats don't pop but the advanced stats paint a pretty nice picture on him.

I expected him to be a stud on defense from the beginning with offense being the cherry on top. Does that still hold up with the eye test? My only concern with him was his slight frame but if he can hold his own on the court that's all that matters.

Peace!

Hello and welcome!

Funny you say that, because while Devin was my early favourite, PatWill grew as my #1 choice over time. I wasn't surprised he went so high.

But I'm thrilled that we got Devin at #11.

Your eye test is pretty much spot on. He's a defensive stud whose solid 3 has a terrific high, quick release. He does need to put on some weight as well as work on his handles. But his 3 and D are giving him minutes.

Here's a metric of where he ranks so far:

Read on Twitter

And here's a brief video of some of his defensive acumen on display for us this season:

Watch on YouTube

One minor point of disagreement with the evaluator in the YouTube video. He states that Lonnie is one of our core defensive young defensive studs, but as the chart above shows, while he may be in the future, right now he has some ways to go.

Back to Devin. A very intelligent defender. And he's just scratching the surface!

Post #8 » by **G R E Y** » Wed Feb 3, 2021 12:06 pm

DevinVassell wrote:Ahh, Vassell was my favorite player before the draft, hence the username love.

Seems he can't seen to get any cohesive playing time. Is he in Pops doghouse for some reason? Must be frustrating watching the #11 pick sit on the pine. Over the last two Spurs loses, the #11 pick has averaged 11mpg, (including lots of garbage time) while Bane (#30) and Tillman (#35) have averaged 23 and 22.5mpg for the Griz in the same period.

Hey, if we look beyond the two-game sample, Devin is actually averaging 17.6 minutes per game. It's hard to stress enough just how rare this is for a Spurs rookie. Probably not since #2 has a rookie been ready enough to get consistent minutes. By comparison, Lonnie averaged 16.2MPG last season. Speaking of Lonnie, it's a fair point to argue whether he's doing that much more with that many more minutes this season (28) especially defensively.

Nevertheless, as strong as Devin's D is, there are other aspects of his game that need a lot more development especially on the O end besides the 3 (ie/ FG efficiency, handles are two that stand out as most pressing, eventually getting to the FT line more as his game grows). He has all the tools and intelligence to make a big leap sooner rather than later. Sort of like Keldon did, but in Devin's own way.

As to these two games, it's a function of Derrick returning and coming off the bench to get his legs under him.

Derrick and Dejounte started together in the bubble so I expect the tandem to be reunited soon and for Lonnie to return to the bench. Frankly, we need both to happen. And when they do, I expect Devin's minutes will go back to the ones he's had.

Keldon fought his way through to force us to play him. I'm not sure we anticipated him to bulldoze his way into in indispensable role so quickly, but here he is, our second leading scorer with 15/7.5 and second in FTA's with 3.8. The point is that Pop always says for guys to play in such a way that he would look stupid to not play them. Devin's not there yet, but he's not that far away either. I really don't think we had Keldon penciled in as a starter, but here we are. It's up to Devin. I can't wait to see how he develops. Frankly, we need him to make a jump. Like, by next game lol

Captain Ballmer · Post #9 » by **Captain Ballmer** » Sat Feb 6, 2021 10:49 am

I couldn't decide about Devin or Keldon on whom I like most on this team. It's Keldon for now by a small margin. Needs to steal those minutes away from Derozan-Lonnie-Gay-Murray as he always does to opponents.