Spurs' Devin Vassell Discusses Recipe for Defeating Sixers
The San Antonio Spurs shocked the basketball world on Saturday night. Going into their matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on the road, the home team was favored heavily.
Despite the Spurs having the better record at 1-1, while the Sixers entered the matchup 0-2 with losses against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, the entire NBA is well aware of the fact that a young San Antonio team has a low chance at cracking the playoffs this year.
Meanwhile, the Sixers entered the regular season as playoff favorites in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers have yet to earn that title. While they lost their first two games within single digits, they needed to earn their spot in the winner’s column this week.
Against a rebuilding San Antonio team, they struggled to do that.
Everything went well for the Sixers in the first quarter as they held the Spurs to under 20 points while they scored 25. But an impressive second-quarter showing from Devin Vassell and the Spurs put the Sixers behind going into halftime.
San Antonio guard Devin Vassell was a perfect 7-7 from the field and knocked down all three of his threes. He scored 17 of the Spurs’ 35 second-quarter points. While high-percentage shooting helped the Spurs rally to get out in front, San Antonio’s emphasis on keeping Philly’s talented backcourt out of the paint helped them find success against the Sixers.
“At the end of the day, we’re all just aware on defense,” said Vassell after the game. “We’re making sure that we didn’t let them get to the paint. We’re showing crowds, and that’s the biggest thing that we’re doing. [Tyrese Maxey and James Harden are] both great players and like getting downhill and creating for others. So we had to make sure that we kept them out of the paint.”
The Sixers put up 17 shots from beyond the arc in the first half. Overall, they hit 35 percent of their attempts while shooting under 40 percent from the field. In the second half, their shooting numbers didn’t get much better.
From deep, the Sixers drained just 28 percent of their shots. Meanwhile, the Spurs spread the ball around and got scoring contributions from several players, as four players notched double-digits in the second half.
The Sixers always say their success or failures start on the defensive end. The Spurs felt the same way about Saturday’s game. As the visiting team kept Philly’s backcourt in check, holding Harden and Maxey to a combined 37 points, the Spurs managed to run away with an upset 114-105 victory over the Sixers. Now, Philly is left looking for answers as they begin the year 0-3.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
