Stephon Castle’s impressive postseason play suddenly isn’t enough

Stephon Castle’s debut playoff series for the Spurs has been a good one so far. He’s playing aggressively and confidently, impacting the game on both sides of the ball. Now, though, with Victor Wembanyama out with a concussion (and De’Aaron Fox struggling), San Antonio needs Castle to go from good to great. He’s capable of making that leap, but he’ll need to clean some things up to get there.

Stephon Castle earns a “B” grade for his play in Games 1 and 2 versus Portland

There were certainly some people questioning how well Castle would adjust to the postseason, especially in his very first series. Some aspects of his game, mainly his unproven three-ball and turnover tendencies, don’t always bode well for playoff translation. So far, though, he’s overcome those weaknesses and been a difference maker.

The sophomore stud averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.0 steals across the first two games against the Trail Blazers. In those contests, he did a lot of what he does best—getting downhill with determination.

The pressure Castle puts on the defense inside the arc is what allows him to be a dynamic playmaker for himself and others. His slashing is his star trait, and it’s shone through early in this series.

As always, Castle has been engaged and effective on defense, coaxing Blazers players into tough shots and hard decisions. He forced three turnovers in Game 1 and four in Game 2.

Those positives outweigh the negatives for Castle for now, but there have been some negatives, and he’ll need to stamp some of them out in Wemby’s absence to help keep San Antonio afloat.

Castle has to clean up his efficiency and score like he’s never scored before

Castle is currently sitting at 33% from the field through two games—27.3% from three and 36.4% from two. The lack of success from three is not awesome, of course, but it’s more acceptable because it’s not usually one of his strengths. The two-point inefficiency is what needs to improve.

Portland is big and physical, and they do a pretty good job defending the paint, specifically when Donovan Clingan or Robert Williams are in the game. They’ve bothered Castle on his drives, altering the angles of his layups and just overall making his life tough.

As a star on this team, Castle has to find a way to crack the code and get more buckets for the rest of this series, or at least as long as Wemby is on the sidelines. Everyone in San Antonio knows what the kid is capable of. It’s time for him to show it.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow