Spurs show promise of youth in Philadelphia

The San Antonio Spurs game in Philadelphia against the 76ers promised to be interesting for a number of reasons: Brett Brown’s return to Philadelphia, the first of a back-to-back, and . . . I can’t remember the third reason. Wait, was it something to do with some guy with a beard? The Bally Sports announcers, Dan Weiss and Sean Elliott, also mentioned the historic nature of the game during the Spurs 50 year anniversary season - the Spurs played their first game in the NBA exactly 50 years ago … visiting Philadelphia.

Devin Vassell notched 20 points before the half going 4 of 5 from 3 like this nice shot which he saved, passed to Jakob Poeltl, and got it back for the 3:

Vassell also had a strong dunk over Joel Embiid and Danuel House Jr.:

Vassell provided offense and points in a number of different ways. His first half 20 points saw him hit threes, layups, and a dunk, but he was also assisting his teammates like this dime to Joshua Primo:

Vassell is shaping up to be a true team leader helping on both ends of the floor and creating opportunities for his teammates. The 76ers turned up the defense on him in the second half and he only scored two points, but luckily, his teammates picked up the slack.

Not to be out-hustled by his teammate, Keldon Johnson also performed from three:

This physical and-1 from Johnson has him in gold medal form:

Isaiah Roby didn’t score much, but his box score line had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block on Tobias Harris that led to a great shot by Vassell:

It also really helps to have a veteran who you can count on for points like Doug McDermott who went 4 for 5 from distance:

And Josh Richardson also contributed to steadying the team:

Joshua Primo and Gorgui Dieng may have had a quiet night point-wise, but they teamed up for a solid sequence of an assist to a dunk:

The young San Antonio team may have its issues, but they can be fun to watch when they are running with energy. Here’s hoping that trend continues.

The Spurs next opponent on this 4 game road trip will be the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, October 24 where they will be facing a newly acquired Rudy Gorbert.