Spurs coaches must come to realization fans knew from beginning

It's been an odd year for San Antonio. The team has gone through injuries, the absence of their head coach, and now the unexpected midseason addition of De'Aaron Fox. There's been a lack of cohesion all year, sometimes making it difficult to know what works for this team. But there's one decision the coaches should make that the fans were right about all along: Devin Vassell should go back to the bench.

I was a proponent of putting Vassell back in the starting lineup when he finally recovered from his offseason surgery a couple of months ago. They brought him along slowly, playing the fifth-year shooting guard with the second unit. He played well in that role, and I believed he would play even better once he retook his starting spot. I was wrong, and it's time the Spurs acknowledged the same.

The Spurs have not benefited from Vassell's role as a starter

Let's look at two players, in particular here: Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie. When Vassell came off the bench (11 gms), he averaged 16 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.1 rebounds a game, shooting 47.1% FG and 40% 3PT in 24.7 minutes. Those are great numbers off the bench; a potential Sixth-Man of the Year candidate.

The output is not much different as a starter, and that's a large part of the issue. He's putting up 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 42.4% FG and 33.7% 3PT in 32.9 minutes over 26 games. The sample size is large enough to see that another change must be made, but let's look at how it affected the player who had to go to the bench when Vassell got his spot back.

Champagnie was contributing 12.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in the 26 games he started this season. He shot 42.9% from the field and 35.6% from deep. Since he's gone to the bench, his 3PT efficiency has increased (37.2%), but his field goal efficiency has dropped (40%). He's been putting 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and one assist in games off the bench (26).

A very easy observation to make is that Vassell has gotten worse, and Jules has stayed about the same, but since his opportunities have lessened, so have his raw numbers. Dev hasn't shown that he's a better defender than Champagnie either, so that can't be the reason that he remains in the starting lineup.

Vassell's contract would be the only reason he keeps his starting spot, but that can't be the driving force for basketball decisions. Stephon Castle has been shooting the ball well over the past 10 games (39.5%), so sending Vassell to the bench won't hurt the spacing of the team. It may actually improve it.