San Antonio Spurs: 2 Players with the most to prove in the final month

These San Antonio Spurs players have the most to prove right now

It’s absolutely flown by but the San Antonio Spurs have just over one month left in the season 2020-21 NBA season. They wrap up their regular season on May 16th in San Antonio against the Phoenix Suns.

This final month is going to be a brutal slog for the Spurs. They’ve got one of the toughest final months in the NBA, with plenty of games against title-contending teams such as the Jazz, Nets, Suns, 76ers, and Bucks.

The once-promising playoff hopes are looking more like lottery odds for San Antonio now. But even if the losses begin to pile up there is still a lot we can learn from this final month of the season.

With a mix of veteran players approaching free agency and young guys trying to show that they deserve more playing time next season, everyone on the Spurs has something to prove before the season is over. But these two stand out more than the rest.

Will Devin Vassell show what he can do for the San Antonio Spurs?

One of the players San Antonio Spurs fans have been wanting to see most is the rookie, Devin Vassell. Vassell has appeared in 44 games this season, far more than we see for most Spurs rookies, but there is still an argument that he hasn’t been playing enough.

Vassell has performed solidly when he’s seen the court. He’s hit 39 percent of his threes – the highest figure on the team – and has held his own on the defensive end of the floor as well. There have been some off shooting nights but that’s to be expected of a rookie playing through some mistakes.

It’s not like we’re asking for him to be put into the starting lineup or totally supplant Rudy Gay in the rotation but a total of 14 minutes over the last five games isn’t enough for a player who is going to be a key part of the future and has proven that he can contribute to winning right now.

I know this isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples comparison but look at what the Warriors went through with James Wiseman. They struggled to balance playing Wiseman and playing the way Steve Kerr wanted to but eventually, the importance of developing Wiseman won out and he became a fixture in the starting lineup.

It should be equally important for the Spurs to get Vassell the minutes he needs and they can do that pretty easily, it doesn’t even involve putting him in the starting lineup.

Next: What does the future hold for Lonnie Walker?