Devin Vassell losing ‘untouchable’ status with each passing game

The role of the number two option on a professional basketball team is fairly simple. You'll be expected to play defense no matter what your other responsibilities are, but on the offensive end, you're expected to be a reliable option to produce points. The goal, of course, is to score more points than your opponent, so having trustworthy guys who can help achieve that is paramount.

Devin Vassell is not holding up his end of the bargain, and it's baffling the minds of Spurs fans everywhere. The Silver and Black faithful have defended Vassell's potential to non-Spurs watchers for years as he's raised his production every season, showing an all-star caliber trajectory. He's hit a wall so far through the 21 games he's played, directly costing San Antonio wins.

Vassell is not meant to be a glorified Bruce Bowen

Not to slight Bruce, but Victor Wembanyama has been averaging 29.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 5.1 blocks over his last ten games. He's shot 49.3 % from the field and 39% from three. There is no reason the Spurs should be 5-5 over that stretch.

Even with all the other issues San Antonio has been having, Wemby has been so spectacular that all of these games have been winnable.

Unfortunately, Vassell is only averaging 14.8 points over the same ten-game stretch. He's shooting a field goal percentage of 40.8% and 27.3% from beyond the arc. His 3-point percentage has been lower than Tony Allen's career average (28.1%), and every hoops fan knows that Allen was a terrible shooter, so that's not someone you want to compare your offensive game to.

His field goal percentage over the last 10 games is the fourth-worst on the team, behind guys like Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson, and Julian Champagnie. The only players he's shooting better than are Malaki Branham, Chris Paul, and Zach Collins. That's a terrible look for your supposed second-best player.

Keldon Johnson is averaging 11 points per game, and he plays almost 11 fewer minutes a night than Dev. It's not acceptable production. His scoring average from his rookie season up until last year went from 5.5 to 12.3. In his third year, he averaged 18.5, before 19.5 last year. He's now averaging 15.4 this season, going in the opposite direction fans expected based on his history.

Wemby is a generational talent, so you can't directly compare the two. But the Alien is only in his second year and playing like an MVP candidate. The least Vassell can do is play like a borderline all-star. It's not a lot to ask for, considering it's his fifth year in the league. He averaged nearly 20 ppg last season, and he's being paid to provide that scoring punch.

If the Spurs get last year's Devin back, they're a better team, but he's been worse. He's been seen as a core piece, but things can change quickly when you're not holding up your end. Every game that goes by that Vassell underwhelms moves him further into the category of "available" that fans never expected before the season started, but nothing is guaranteed in sports.