Spurs: The Best and worst stat from everyone on the roster

Lonnie Walker

Best stat: 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the right corner

While he's struggling from the top of the key from downtown, Lonnie Walker has been lights out early on from the right corner of the court. With the Spurs' need to address terrible spacing from the last few seasons, one of my suggestions was to bring back the corner three, and Walker has been a weapon with that so far.

The Spurs currently lead the league in corner 3-point percentage at 49.3%.

Worst stat: 5.6 drives per game

The number of drives from a player might not seem like a significant stat, but it speaks to the overall lack of aggressiveness from Lonnie Walker. This is the year he should be unleashed to be himself. Attack, let it fly, make plays for others with the ball in your hands.

Yet Lonnie is averaging fewer drives per game than he did last season (six). A less timid Lonnie only seems to come out every once in a while, and that just isn't going to cut it for someone with his skills.

Doug McDermott

Best stat: Average offensive speed of 5.43 mph

It'd be easy to point to Doug McDermott's 40.6% shooting from deep and call it a day, but we all expect that from him by now. One underrated part of his game has always been his movement without the ball and the spacing the Spurs get because of it.

As I pointed out in a standalone article recently, the Spurs are literally running faster than any other team, and a big reason is the constant movement of McDermott. On offense, his average speed is faster than anyone in the league who's played in more than one game. That means he's being swift and smart with his movement, which is benefitting others as much as it's benefitting him.

Worst stat: Defensive Box Plus/Minus of -3.3

A defensive plus-minus stat measures the impact a player has in their time on the court per 100 possessions. McDermott's current -3.3 rate is last on the team, and much of that can be attributed to him not having Poeltl waiting after his man gets past him.

Still, Doug has never been known for his defense, which may make his role as a starter in question if the next guy on this list keeps progressing.

Devin Vassell

Best stat: 47.8% from 10-feet to the 3-point line

We learned last season that Devin Vassell should be good 3-point shooter throughout his career. The next step in his development needed to be adding other things such as mid-range jumpers and creating his own shot. So far, he's already shown some growths in his already fairly complete game.

In the 2020-21 season, Vassell shot 43.1% from 10-16 feet and just 28.9% from 16 feet to the 3-point line. So far, he's improved those percentages to 55.6 and 40, both substantial jumps.

It was evident early on that Devin is going to be an elite defender for years, but the expanding of his offensive game might be the most important development to happen on this team -- he's that promising.

Worst stat: 32.6% from three

Even though I just praised Vassell's overall shooting, his early percentage from beyond the arc isn't as encouraging. He's made just 15 of his 46 attempts for an early clip of 32.6%

Looking at his shot profile, where he's most struggling is when he's relatively open but not wide open. When a defender is 4-6 feet away, he's made just 6-of-22 for 27.3%. When he's been wide open, that number goes up to 9-of-22 (40.9%).

In looking at his shot mechanics and high release point, I'm not worried about this being a trend that lasts very long. Vassell should be just fine as the season goes on, and I expect him to hover around 37% by the season's end.