Spurs win comes with an extremely obvious move they must make immediately

Spurs fans were treated to a very memorable game in Portland last night. The Silver and Black mounted a monstrous 17-point fourth-quarter comeback, powered by Victor Wembanyama, Jeremy Sochan, Julian Champagnie, and none other than the constantly underrated Devin Vassell.

Vassell has even been undervalued by members of San Antonio's fan base lately. They've insinuated he should remain on the bench for Stephon Castle. But last night was a reminder of the impact Vassell has on the court, leading us to the reason we've gathered here today. It's time to insert Dev back into the starting lineup after another efficient scoring night.

The Spurs' starting lineup is better with Vassell

To be honest, it's a little ridiculous that this needs to be said. But last season's second-leading scorer and fourth-year player is a better option right now than rookie Stephon Castle. The fourth-overall pick has had a stellar start to his young career, and he's further along offensively than most would expect from a first-year player, but he's still not as polished and dynamic as Dev.

Vassell is shooting 44% from three and 50% overall. That's ridiculous efficiency for a player who shoots as many jump shots as he does. Last night, he played the most minutes he's played to date this season (30). He put up 23 points—eight in the fourth quarter—six rebounds and five assists while shooting 57% from beyond the arc and 56% from the field.

The Spurs were clear when they began the process to reintegrate the Florida State shooter into the rotation. The plan was always to bring him off the bench for however long it takes for everyone to feel comfortable with his insertion into the lineup with his regular minutes and rotation. It's time to take the bubble wrap off.

After the game, Vassell was asked if he was more aggressive intentionally, his answer was—probably unintentionally—interesting.

"Yeah, for sure. I felt like I was being more aggressive like I needed to be more aggressive," Dev said, "There was a couple of times where maybe I was too passive and got myself into a turnover. As I continue to get back, as I continue to get better and better, I'll cut those out."

I can't help but feel like the process of getting him to midseason form is being slowed by this snail-paced reintegration plan.

He's played in ten games this season. The last game he missed was in the middle of a six-game stretch of availability, and he only sat because it was the second night of a back-to-back. Vassell has had some injury issues in the past, so some caution is understandable. But he's either going to be a reliable player, or he's not. You can't really manage a player's health if he's injury-prone.

It's too early to say whether that's the case for Dev, but the question is on the mind of at least a few Spurs fans who are not shy about sharing their doubt on social media. One thing is for sure: Vassell is still the second-best player on the team, and he needs to get back to running with the starters.