Stephon Castle's return to bench came with inevitable but fixable NBA response

Stephon Castle has dropped from the leading rookie on the NBA Rookie Ladder to fourth place. The ebb-and-flow of the season dictates that this was bound to happen, so it's not a shock. The Spurs moved Castle back to the bench after getting their full cast back in the rotation after a series of injuries forced San Antonio to play guys outside of the desired spots.

Castle played extremely well, but he was always destined to come off the bench with more established players in front of him. As exciting as he is, the front office is high on all of their starters, and that's obvious based on what they've been paid and what their responsibilities are on a regular basis. Fortunately, there's plenty of time for Castle to regain the top spot, and no doubt he will.

Castle has already begun to bounce back from the lineup change

The UConn rookie was bound to see his minutes decrease with a full roster at Mitch Johnson's disposal, but the change was a bit too radical for a few games. It wasn't just Castle, Johnson made several rotational decisions that left Spurs fans scratching their heads.

Devin Vassell spent entire first quarters on the floor, while Victor Wembanyama was hooping for the whole fourth quarter on several occasions. Zach Collins, Charles Bassey, and Sandro Mamukelashvili saw their minutes dwindle to zero for a stretch, and Jeremy Sochan was spending minutes at the center position.

The experiments seem to have subsided as none of those things took place during the Clippers game on New Year's Eve, and San Antonio blew LA out by 36. An apt display after losing eight straight to the Lakers' little brother.

Castle played 23 minutes that night and dropped 15 points, having his best game in over a week. He hadn't played fewer than 20 minutes since November 2—the game before Jeremy Sochan's injury. The rookie had four such games during this recent stretch that led to his drop on the ladder.

Nobody from the recent draft class has truly stood out to show star potential other than the flashes from Stephon Castle and Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers, but McCain has been sidelined with a meniscus tear. The setback forced the Philly rook to the operating table with an indefinite injury return designation.

The Spurs have one of the most difficult schedules in January, so Castle has a great opportunity to make plays against the league's best. He could snatch his top spot back from the Pelicans' Yves Missi, zooming past Alexandre Sarr (Wizards) and his college teammate Zach Edey (Grizzlies). It could also be a detriment if he can't shine against top-tier competition, but he'll show us soon enough.