Mitch Johnson makes colossal 4th quarter mistake in infuriating loss to 76ers

The San Antonio Spurs just dropped a very winnable game against a Philadelphia 76ers that didn't have their best player. Joel Embiid was ejected in the first half, and while that should have given the Spurs an advantage, it simply changed Philly's style of play. The new format gave SA more trouble and it took them a while to adjust.

Acting head coach Mitch Johnson has done a fantastic job in Gregg Popovich's absence, but he made a fateful error when he opted not to re-insert Stephon Castle back into the ball game. He left Julian Champagnie and Jeremy Sochan in instead, and while Champagnie made many important baskets in the fourth quarter, he wasn't who San Antonio needed in the lineup to finish the night with a win.

With about five and a half minutes to go in the game, Castle approached the scorer's table with Wembanyama, but he didn't enter the game, and that was a huge error in judgment.

Stephon Castle was having one of his best nights of the season

It's hard to completely fault Champagnie for how the game concluded, and that's why that's not what's happening here. It's the coach's job to put the right players in at the right time to increase the likelihood of success. Julian made some big shots and finished the night with 15 points and 10 rebounds on 50% shooting, but ball security was an issue all night and that needed to take priority.

Castle played great defense when he was in the game, and as good as Champagnie's night was offensively, the rookie was shooting 7/9 from the floor. Despite his extreme efficiency on a night where the Spurs were not only turning the ball over at a high rate (18 turnovers) and were struggling to find the bottom of the net, he only played 13 minutes.

Two of those turnovers were a direct result of a lack of attention to detail in the waning moments of the game and cost the Spurs what would have been an exhilarating, confidence-boosting win.

To be honest, I can be convinced that Champagnie needed to remain on the floor, but I won't be persuaded to believe that Castle shouldn't have been. It was a rough fourth quarter for Jeremy Sochan offensively (0-2 FG), who was great for most of the night, but when Tyrese Maxey started to go ballistic, there was nothing he could do to slow him down.

A smaller guard with quicker feet may have been exactly what was needed to affect Maxey's game. Usually, coaches like to put a bigger defender on smaller guards, but the Philly point guard is too fast for that strategy to be a factor. He had 32 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists and threw in three steals for good measure.

Somebody needed to match his energy and grit. Castle was having the type of game that makes one believe he was that player. The 76ers have bona fide superstars, so Victor Wembanyama couldn't do it on his own despite his best efforts, and Devin Vassell laid another egg as his shot-making was off.

San Antonio is still one game over .500, but they have their work cut out for them on Christmas Day in New York against the Knicks team with an 18-10 record—good for third in the Eastern Conference. It's a learning experience for Coach Johnson. I expect he will be more dialed into which players are necessary based on what's happening in the game at the time.