A lot has been said about the San Antonio Spurs this season, but Stephon Castle belongs at the front of the conversation. He’s come out with a strong offensive start, and the biggest reason is what he’s doing from deep. Castle is knocking down 37.9% of his three-point attempts, and that kind of efficiency makes his downhill game all the more dangerous.
That wasn’t always the story. In his second year, Castle made real progress as a perimeter shooter. After an uneven opening stretch, he found his rhythm after the All-Star break and kept it rolling into the playoffs, where he shot 35% from range.
Now the next step is proving that touch can last over the full 82-game grind. He’s already made a strong early statement, and the way his jumper develops from here will tell us how far the rest of his scoring package can go. The more teams have to respect the shot, the more everything else opens up.
Opponents have been sagging off Castle on the perimeter since he entered the league, happy to dare him into taking the long ball. That approach may have made sense during his rookie season, but it looks a lot less smart now. Castle has shown he’s willing to fire, and he’s backed it up this season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder game was the clearest sign of that growth. He didn’t hesitate to let it fly, and he made five of 12 attempts from beyond the arc. He also punished both the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks for giving him space, hitting six combined threes in those two games.
That kind of shooting will force defenses to change course eventually. When they start staying closer to him, Castle can do what he does best: attack downhill. He’s a high-level driver who can get to the rim, absorb contact, and finish with force, whether that means a power layup or a dunk that turns heads.
That’s his sweet spot. Athleticism, footwork, and strength let him overwhelm guards and bigs alike once he gets inside. And if the three-ball keeps falling, he’ll have even more room to get to that part of his game.
There’s another layer to this too: free throws. When Castle gets into the paint, he has the tools to draw fouls with his deceleration, pivots, and pump-fakes. That ability to manufacture contact has real value for San Antonio, especially in big moments, and it showed up throughout the NBA playoffs.
He hasn’t gotten to the line much so far this season. Castle has taken just two free throws and made one. The Spurs can live with him scoring without the whistle for now, but that foul-drawing skill still matters.
And he doesn’t need to choose one or the other. The more damage he does as a shooter, the more defenders have to close hard, and that creates driving lanes. Once he attacks those close-outs, he can get a defender on his hip and put them in a bad spot.
From there, Castle can use his bag of tricks to earn contact and get to the line for easier points. That’s how one part of his game feeds the next. As his three-point shot keeps improving, his rim attacks should get even nastier, and that gives the Spurs offense another weapon to lean on.
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Luke Kornet entered the season looking like part of that backup equation, but Reeds early showing gives San Antonio a different kind of option to consider. If the Spurs want more resistance and activity in those non-Wembanyama stretches, the frontcourt mix may not stay fixed for long, and that is the sort of decision that can shape not just a game, but the rhythm of an entire rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Suddenly Have A Real Chance To Upgrade Around Wembanyama
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Two names that surface in those discussions are PJ Washington and Royce ONeale, each offering a different fit for what the Spurs are trying to build. Washington would bring frontcourt versatility, while ONeale would add another wing who can defend and space the floor, but neither idea is simple, and any move would still depend on player availability and approvals before it goes anywhere. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Have A New Frost Bank Center Feel Players Are Talking About
The Frost Bank Center has a different look these days, and it is the kind of arena tweak players tend to notice right away. San Antonio has installed a new lighting system that puts more emphasis on the court while dimming the seating areas, bringing the building in line with what many other NBA venues already do.
Luke Kornet has already picked up on the change and talked about how it alters the atmosphere inside the building, giving games a sharper focus once the lights go down. Coach Mitch Johnson, meanwhile, has not made much of the adjustment himself, which only adds to the sense that this is one of those subtle arena changes that matters more to the people on the floor than the people running the team. [Read more 🡒]