The playoffs are all about toughness, getting great performances from your stars, and standout games from your role players. In Game Five of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs only got one of those things. The result was a 127-114 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Julian Champagnie had the best game of his playoff career, but it was wasted thanks to dud performances from the majority of the team, especially Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. Now, down 3-2, the Spurs will head back home with their backs against the wall. San Antonio is a -158 favorite on FanDuel to win Game Six and force a Game Seven.
We’ll break down how each player performed in today’s player grades. As a quick reminder, player 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
38 minutes, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-for-15 shooting, 0-for-5 threes, -8
This was Wembanyama’s moment. Coming off a stellar Game Four performance and facing a beat-up Thunder squad, this was his chance to cement himself as the best player in the league and take a 3-2 advantage back to San Antonio. That did not happen.
Wembanyama looked tired, floating around the perimeter, getting out of position defensively, and not rising to block shots he’d usually contest. The result was by far his worst offensive night of the postseason and his least impactful defensive game.
To make matters worse, Wembanyama ducked the press after the game. Spurs fans should hope that this is the low point before Wembanyama’s rise in Games Six and Seven. If not, this will be a game that haunts Wembanyama and the Spurs for a while.
Grade: D
De’Aaron Fox
33 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 4-for-15 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, –10
Fox settled for bad shots for most of the night. He hit a couple of nice shots in the paint over the top of the defense, but was an inefficient 4-of-15 from the field. He picked up 3 steals, but didn’t feel all that impactful defensively. Fox deserves a lot of credit for playing through his ankle injury. San Antonio needs him to find his shot if they are going to win two straight games against the Thunder.
Grade: C-
Stephon Castle
33 minutes, 24 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 7-for-11 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, -9
Castle was one of the few players who understood the moment and rose to it. He was a force all game on both ends, playing fast in the pick-and-roll and in transition, and playing tough defense on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He still committed some silly fouls on defense, but that can mostly be forgiven when he’s getting bullied on screens nearly every possession.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
30 minutes, 22 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 8-for-15 shooting, 4-for-8 threes, -20
This was the Champagnie game. After struggling to hit threes for most of the series, he finally found his stroke. Champagnie came out of the gates on fire and finished the game with four three-pointers. He got to the basket and scored with touch around the rim. On defense, he played with active hands. Hopefully, this was a sign of things to come, rather than a single-game flash.
Grade: A
Devin Vassell
36 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-11 shooting, 2-for-9 threes, -2
Vassell played a strong defensive game but missed a lot of shots. The Thunder seemed to key in on him a bit on the perimeter, as he didn’t get as many open looks.
Grade: C
Dylan Harper
25 minutes, 5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, -7
For the first time in these playoffs, Harper looks like a rookie. Since suffering an adductor injury, he hasn’t been able to get to the rim. That’s forced him to take some tough mid-range jumpers and threes. He had some silly turnovers, including one where he crossed over right in front of the defender, leading to an easy bucket on the other end.
Grade: D
Keldon Johnson
20 minutes, 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls, 7-for-13 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, +3
Johnson led the team with his effort. He made some awesome plays around the basket on offense and competed defensively. There has been a lot of talk about his ability to play in this series. He answered with his best game in the WCF.
Grade: B+
Luke Kornet
8 minutes, 1 rebound, 3 fouls, 0-for-1 shooting, –6
Kornet got screwed out of his only shooting attempt, a clear goaltend that the officials missed. Even without that, his minutes have been rough. OKC is pushing him around inside and getting to the basket any time he is in the game.
Grade: D
Harrison Barnes
4 minutes, -6
Mitch Johnson went away from Barnes in Game Five after he played so well in Game Four. They probably could have used his hustle and offensive playmaking ability.
Grade: Incomplete
Carter Bryant
5 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 fouls, 3-for-5 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, –6
Bryant made bad rookie mistakes on defense, like helping off SGA and allowing an open three. He did make a nice three-pointer and a powerful dunk in meaningful minutes. Bryant has moments of impact, but Barnes may be the safer option for Game Six.
Grade: C
Jordan McLaughlin
2 minutes, 4 points, 1-for-1 shooting, +1
McLaughlin got to the basket and knocked down a pair of free throws to get 4 points in garbage time.
Grade: Incomplete
Kelly Olynyk
2 minutes, 2 points, +1
Olynyk to the free-throw line in a somewhat chippy garbage-time run.
Grade: Incomplete
Bismack Biyombo
2 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 1 foul +1
Biyonbo got into it with the Thunder bench in the final minutes of the game. Had a hard foul on Jared McCain, hitting him in the face.
Grade: Incomplete
Mason Plumlee
2 minutes, 1 rebound, 2 fouls +1
Plumlee will get a lot of flak for his hard foul on McCain. It’s hard to imagine that it was intentional.
Grade: Incomplete
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