Devin Vassell is key to blowing the lid off this series and the entire playoffs

The Spurs have been a strong fourth-quarter team as a whole all season, but that doesn't mean every individual player can say the same. Devin Vassell has struggled in that segment of the game all year long, and those issues have journeyed to the playoffs with him. If he can fix that, San Antonio would shut this Timberwolves series down immediately.

Vassell's fourth-quarter woes are strictly about his shooting

It's important to recognize all areas of the game, so it would be irresponsible to claim he absolutely folds during winning time. That's not the case. Vassell spends many of his nights as the next man up to defend the opponent's best perimeter players after Stephon Castle, and due to his strength, he'll sometimes guard athletes larger than him.

He has done a tremendous job of it from start to finish, and his value doesn't depend only on whether or not his jump shot is falling. The former Seminole does all of the little things you expect from a winning player.

However, all of those things take an immense amount of energy, and for someone who uses his legs in his jump shot as much as Dev does, it could be impacting his offensive performance late. In the four games played this series, the Georgia-born guard is only shooting 37.5% from the floor in the final period.

That's very slightly down from 38% in the regular season. Getting that number up to just 43% would make a world of difference.

Vassell is a heady player. He often finds his way to open spots on the floor, leading to good shots he's very capable of making. Only he's missing too many of them, leaving the door open for the Timberwolves to keep making their last-quarter desperation runs.

Devin Vassell has the tools to make an impact late in games

The Spurs trust their sixth-year shooter—as they should. So, when he makes himself the obvious best option for a good bucket, they're going to pass him the ball. He has to cash in with more efficiency and ensure that San Antonio was right to do so. You can only say, "Well, it was a good shot," so many times. If you can seldom make the shot, there's nothing good about it.

The skills are there. The effort is there. But the shots aren't falling for him. Most fans wouldn't be opposed to seeing Vassell put his head down and get into the lane. He'd be using his tendencies against his opponents, since everyone knows he loves the midrange pull-up. No. 24 was an 82% free throw shooter in the regular season, but he's barely shooting over one attempt a night. He could be more forceful.

At the end of the day, Dev is the professional basketball player, so it's on him and his coaches to figure out how he could be more effective offensively in the fourth quarter. The games are only going to get tighter as the Silver and Black make their push for a championship. Winning more possessions on both sides of the floor is more crucial than ever because every single one of them matters.

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