Spurs won't stay down long after tumble in NBA power rankings

The Spurs took a hit in the NBA power rankings update of the week. They deserved it. The Silver and Black dropped from 15th to 20th among the 30 teams in the league based on the three-game losing streak that had fans ready to blow up the roster. The loss to Denver was one thing, but those back-to-back losses to Chicago and Milwaukee were ugly. Thankfully, things have changed since then.

The tragedy of the wildfires in California forced San Antonio and the Lakers to postpone one of their head-to-head matchups. While Julian Champagnie described the inconvenience as a "vacation nobody wanted," it may have been what they needed. They had some additional time to practice, and the time to reflect on what's important amid a crisis may have helped the guys refocus.

On Monday, they lined up against LA and blew their doors off due to strong fourth-quarter play and a performance from Devin Vassell that suggests he's woken up.

Spurs will win their fair share of tough games with Vassell hooping

Some may believe that Vassell needs to prove that he's truly back on track before making any proclamations, but where's the fun in that? I'm going to lean into the optimistic side paired with a sensible take based on math and familiarity.

Fans have watched Dev hoop for years, so we know he can get buckets. His struggle to see the ball go through the net with any consistency was weird and unexpected. When a player is shooting the rock a little too well, they usually plummet after a while, and we call it a regression to the mean.

Steph Curry is one of the few players in NBA history whose mean is just higher than we've ever believed possible. Vassell isn't that, so his 50% shooting won't continue forever, but it's the same concept as regressing to the mean; it's just flipped. He's shot the ball so poorly lately that he may shoot like the greatest shooter we've ever seen for a while until his average evens out reasonably.

There have been more than a handful of games this season that left fans feeling like something was missing from this Spurs team. Part of that is getting Vassell to play with consistency because it changes everything from how San Antonio can run their offense to how defenses will defend the players on the floor.

Right now, Wembanyama gets all the attention, while Vassell is shooting more open shots than he's ever had. He hasn't made teams pay enough for them to respect him more, and it's hurt spacing at times. That won't continue with Dev back on track. They'll win some of the tough games lined up in January and make more room for themselves to move up the power rankings.

He picked the perfect time to course-correct, too. The Silver and Black have back-to-back games against Memphis, and the Grizzlies are a problem this season. Fortunately, they'll now have more answers to the crazed defense teams are prepared to play against them on their upcoming schedule.