Spurs film room: Stephon Castle's processing
Yesterday at 04:26 PM
The rookie looks ahead of schedule with his basketball IQ.
Stephon Castle is ahead of schedule. Even though he was a top-5 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, expectations for the rookie were tempered in what was supposed to be a "weak class." Castle has exploded since joining the starting lineup, averaging 15.1 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 43.1% from the field and 33.9% from three. With his recent performance, he's firmly in the conversation for Rookie of the Year and looks like one of the best players in the draft.
Throw the numbers aside for a minute and focus on his play. It's evident in Castle's tape that he's already adjusting to the NBA game and processing it at a high level. He's cutting to the right places and finding open teammates off the dribble. For someone who was criticized for not being a "pure point guard" coming out of UCONN, he sure looks like someone who can handle point guard duties.
Castle made a striking play on Tuesday's game against the Utah Jazz. It shows Castle's processing ability in real-time, and how his slower pace of play in the half-court allows him to make positive decisions without getting sped up. Let's break down the play dribble by dribble.
On the first bounce, Castle is seeing whether Keyonte George is going to overplay the screen coming from Zach Collins. George jumps the screen to push Castle into the drop defender, Drew Eubanks.
Castle uses his second dribble to quickly crossover and hesitates to get George on his hip. Now he has an advantage in the pick-and-roll with George scrambling to recover and Eubanks stepping up to cut off his drive.
On the third dribble, Castle's head turns to Collins, who is open for the pick-and-pop three. This freezes Eubanks who will need to recover onto Collins when he catches. He does a good job of attacking George's front foot to keep him on his back, maintaining his advantage of Eubanks commits to Collins.
The fourth dribble is an explosive one to the basket for a smooth lefty finish. That one dribble pause he took to look off Eubanks gives him enough room to get his layup off before the shot blocker can get there. This is excellent defensive manipulation in the half court, and shows that Castle is reading the defense well in just his 18th game.
You can find plays like this throughout Castle's tape. He's just processing the game at a level most rookies don't find until midway through the season. Combine that awareness with his great physical traits and high motor, and you have a young player that should have a lot of success at the pro-level.
I still think his shooting will be the skill that decides his ceiling, as he will be much easier to guard if he's not an offensive threat outside of the paint. So far the shooting has been respectable. If that continues and improves the Spurs may have another All-Star alongside Victor Wembanyama. But even if it doesn't they'll have a high-IQ player who can manipulate a defense, and shut down opposing guards on the other end. Pretty good stuff for a rookie in a "weak" class.
