Stephon Castle already mastered crucial skill stars take years to learn

When fans watched Stephon Castle during his rookie season, there were easy observations to make about his game that were quickly made apparent. One was that he was uniquely strong for his age because it allowed him to bully his way into the paint for finishes at the rim, and it got him to the foul line at a very high rate.

San Antonio wasn't great at this as a team, but Castle has already figured out how to force contact to get himself some easy points. In the 2024-25 season, the Spurs were 21st in free throws attempted. They were also 21st in free-throw percentage, so that's another issue that was hopefully addressed during the offseason, but getting there has to be a priority first.

The Spurs made the game too hard last season

This was a jump-shooting team with a bunch of guys who struggled to hit jump shots. The Silver and Black were 19th in points in the paint, so it's not a coincidence that they couldn't get to the charity stripe as often as you'd like. Victor Wembanyama added muscle, and Brian Wright added size and athleticism to this roster, so that should change this year.

Some of the guys could learn how to draw contact from Castle. Wembanyama is first up. The 7'4" positionless phenom was 15th in the league in field goals attempted but only 54th in free throws. Steph was 48th. That should be a major focus this season for several reasons.

Teams are almost never in foul trouble against the Spurs because they're never focused on forcing the issue. On the other hand, when our guys start racking up those infractions, it's easy to see the impact it has on the team's game plan. You force the opposing coach to start rotating guys before he wants to; star players can end up playing longer or shorter than they want in a given stretch.

Anything you can do to force the other team to adjust is a good thing. When players get into foul trouble, they can't be as aggressive, so that opens up the floor for more offensive production. I haven't even mentioned the obvious one: easy points. They call it the "charity stripe" for a reason. Nobody can get in your way. It's the player and the basket. That's it.

The guys on the floor also get a bit of a breather. Running up and down that court is exhausting, and I know these are world-class athletes, but a bit of extra rest here and there can be beneficial, depending on what's happening in the game.

Let's hope there's more effort to play physical enough to draw those fouls. Easy points and opponents in foul trouble? Sign me up.