Spurs Fall to Celtics And One Truth Becomes Clear

The Spurs were led by De'Aaron Fox's 23 points. The new star guard in San Antonio added five assists and shot 10-16 from the floor. Victor Wembanyama added 17 points and 13 rebounds but shot only 1-6 from 3-point range. Hopefully, a well-deserved break will do him good, although he will be playing in the All-Star Game. 

Chris Paul added only five points and eight assists, and Devin Vassell shot 0-4 from 3-point range on the way to only eight points. Stephon Castle, however, led all bench scorers with 20 points. Over the last 15 games before this contest, he was averaging 17.1 points and was shooting a manageable 33.9 percent from deep, and in the last five games, he improved that mark to 43.8 percent.

He is leading the Rookie of the Year race, and after a solid showing against one of the best teams in the league, it's clear that he deserves a starting nod, especially over Paul, who doesn't offer much in the way of size, defense, or scoring next to Fox. Having the experienced Paul lead the second unit while Castle plays next to Wembanyama and Fox would clearly be the right choice for Mitch Johnson to make for both the present and future.

The Spurs won't play again until next Thursday, Feb 20 against the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs will technically be the home team, although the game will be played in Austin.