3 Reasons Vassell should continue coming off the bench for Spurs

2) Moving Vassell to the bench could help to offset point-Sochan.

Perhaps the biggest thing the Spurs could do to improve their chances is to stop having Sochan play point guard but that may not happen. Instead, Pop could use Vassell coming off the bench to add another ball-handler or shooter to the starting lineup, such as Devonte Graham or Malaki Branham. Graham has strangely played very little thus far but has looked good in blowouts, which has done little to dissuade Spurs fans from believing that he could help the team.

Given his previous roles as a ball-handler and spot-up shooter, he would make sense as a stop-gap starter if Pop insists on keeping his best option coming off the bench (more on that later). Graham can bring the ball up the floor, help get the team into their sets, and is a more experienced shot creator than Sochan.

He isn't going to be an elite playmaker but the Spurs just need at least an average one to make things easier on the likes of Wembanyama and Sochan. A co-point guard for Sochan to share the ball with would take the pressure off him and give him more chances to play off-ball where he's looked better, particularly with his improved 3-point shot.

Starting a third-string guard over the team's second-best player, who recently signed a $135 million contract, is indeed strange, but we passed strange a while ago, so why not?