Devin Vassell will be the "X factor" for the Spurs next season. What do you think?

Recently, the familiar and favorite "Red Mamba" Matt Bonner, Spurs fans (吧吧吧) gave a very interesting comment when talking about Devin Wassel - he believes that this young player still has considerable potential and is even expected to become the "X factor" of the Spurs in the new season.

To understand Bonner's point of view, we might as well clarify the meaning of "X factor". Originally derived from statistics, this term refers to unknown variables that affect the results, and now has differentiated interpretations in different fields.

If placed in the category of sports competition, the "X factor" usually points to uncertain elements that can have a key impact on the direction of the game. It may be the player's unique skills, the coach's on-site tactic adjustment, or the athlete's super-level on-site performance.

In the NBA arena, if a player or a set of tactics can directly influence the outcome of the game, it will be regarded as the "X factor". This is quite similar to what we often say, "Success is Xiao He, failure is Xiao He". When the winner and lose in a game are deeply bound to the same person, then this person is the well-deserved "X factor".

However, Bonner's view may make many fans feel doubtful: After all, Wasser's performance last season is really hard to describe as "sighted", and it can even be said to be a bit terrible. Why can he be called the "X factor" like this?

But if you analyze Wassel's growth trajectory and his specific performance last season carefully, you will find that Bonner's judgment is not unreasonable.

Look at the data level first. Last season, Vassel averaged 31 minutes per game, contributing 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, with a three-point shooting percentage of 36.8%, and also had 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks.

Personal view of this data may not be bad, but compared with the average score of 19.5 points in the previous season, the decline in scoring efficiency can be seen from the naked eye.

What is even more worrying is his defensive performance - 118's defensive efficiency ranks outside the 250th place in the league, and his contribution on the defensive end is far from expectations.

In addition to data fluctuations, Vassel's playing field status is also extremely uncertain. He often had "gods and ghosts and ghosts", and even in a single game, his performance in the first and second half was completely different: as an example of the data in the previous season, sometimes his shooting percentage in the first half was only 41.1%, but in the second half, he could increase to 46.6%. His state fluctuations were puzzling.

In addition, his problems in handling key balls have also been criticized - he is always used to "increasing difficulty" himself, which often leads to a sluggish shooting percentage, and even falls into "invisibility" at critical moments and fails to bear the team's expectations.

What made fans even more dissatisfied is that Vassel's performance seriously does not match his contract. He holds a five-year, $146 million contract, but handing over such an answer, so he naturally cannot escape doubts and criticism.

You should know that Fox and Vinban Yama had already shared a lot of defensive pressure for him last season. Under such circumstances, they still failed to play at their due level, which made the outside world doubt his ability.

In this case, why does Bonner still believe that Vassel can become the "X factor"? In fact, it is not difficult to find the shining points and room for improvement through the appearance.

First, in the offseason last season, Wassel failed to train systematically due to injury and missed the opportunity to practice with the team, which directly led to serious problems in his running-in with the team at the beginning of the season, and it is reasonable to decline in his condition.

Secondly, the Spurs lacked a stable main attacker before, and Vassel was forced to shoulder the banner of offense, but his creativity on the offensive end was already limited, and forcibly taking on the core role was inevitably "difficulty". In the new season, with the team's main offensive firepower clear, Vassel no longer needs to bear excessive offensive pressure, which may allow him to release his true strength.

Specifically, Vassel's value is first reflected in the offensive end. He has excellent sense of running without the ball and stable three-point shooting ability - his career three-point shooting percentage is stable at around 37%, and he is still an indispensable firepower point for the Spurs' outside.

In the new season, when Vinbanyama or Fox attracts the opponent to focus on defense, Vassel will get more open shots. If the stability of the catch shot can be improved, he is fully capable of becoming an efficient scoring point. On the defensive end, Vassel also has room for improvement. Although his overall defensive efficiency was not good last season, he showed positive changes at the end of the season, such as his performance of contributing 3 steals and 1 block in a single game, proving that he does not lack defensive ability, but just needs to adjust his defensive habits. If he can strengthen his lateral movement speed and awareness of assisting defense during the offseason and change his bad habit of over-assistance, he is expected to reverse the negative comments on the defensive end in the new season.

In addition, the turmoil of the team last season also affected Vassel's performance to a certain extent. Popovich's absence affected the team's tactical execution and atmosphere, and Vassel's own injury and the adjustment of his substitute role also fluctuated his mentality, further affecting his performance on the field.

Now, the Spurs' new coaching seat has been established, and several defensive coaches have been specially added. If Vassel can remain healthy in the new season, successfully adapt to Coach Mickey's tactical system, and insufficient improvement under the guidance of the defensive coach, it may be able to reproduce the previous progress trajectory.

Currently, Vampangyama and Fox are already recognized by the Spurs as the top two scoring points. The team urgently needs Vassel to assume the role of "third scoring point" and share the offensive pressure for core players. Especially when the substitute firepower is insufficient, if Vassel can output stably, it will greatly enhance the Spurs' overall competitiveness.

In this way, Vassel's "X factor" attribute tends to "high risk and high return". What kind of performance he can deliver in the end depends on the offseason adjustment results, and is also closely related to the tactical positioning of the new season..

For the Spurs, if they can design more off-ball tactics for him and appropriately reduce the burden on their defensive end, it may allow this big contract player to truly unleash his potential and become a surprise for the team's new season.

When he plays well, it is naturally the best result for us. But if he still doesn't perform well, everyone will probably still have a strong desire to trade him. However, it is very likely that the transaction is impossible. His contract is so big that we don't want it ourselves, who do we expect to be this "sucker"?

No matter what, look forward to it first, maybe there will be a turning point.