Stephon Castle’s night against Minnesota was the kind players usually try to forget, but the Spurs had a bigger takeaway than the box score. Even with a migraine hanging over him before San Antonio’s Halloween matchup, Castle suited up and stayed on the floor for 22 minutes in a 121-111 win, giving the team everything he had on a night when his shot never came around.
Castle went scoreless, missed all four of his field goal attempts, and came away with three turnovers and four fouls. But he still found ways to help, grabbing five rebounds, handing out four assists and recording a steal as the Spurs picked up their fourth victory of the season.
“A lot of people wouldn’t have went into work if they were feeling like Steph Castle,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said postgame on Saturday. “Steph Castle clocked in for work tonight and we needed every second of it. He probably shouldn’t have.”
Castle said the issue was unusual, but manageable once the game got going.
“It was more of a random thing, kind of,” Castle said of his migraine. “I’ve had a couple in the pas ... in the morning, it was kind of bad. But as I came into the game, it got better.”
Johnson wasn’t exactly shocked by Castle pushing through it. Back in February, before a game against the Golden State Warriors, he described the guard in similar terms.
“He’s a tough kid,” Johnson said at the time. “He’s one of those where you don’t need to ask, if he says he can’t … that tells you all you need to know.”
De’Aaron Fox also pointed to the way Castle plays as part of why his effort stood out. The guard’s game is built on nonstop defensive pressure, and that kind of motor doesn’t exactly come with an off switch.
“It’s big for us because ... especially the ways he plays, he gives so much effort,” Fox said. “That’s something that’s tough to do.
To be able to go out there and your body’s not feeling right, your head hurts. But he went out there and he gave us what he gave us.”
Through seven games, Castle is averaging 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and five assists, down from 16.7 points and 7.4 assists per game last season. His shooting has also slipped to 40.8 percent from 47.1 percent, a dip shaped in part by the small sample and in part by the Spurs adjusting to a new starting group that includes Dylan Harper.
There was a better version of Castle on display Monday against the Utah Jazz. He scored 16 points on 7-for-16 shooting, added five rebounds and four assists, and didn’t turn the ball over once. His teammates saw that as a sign he was getting back to himself.
“We don’t expect anything less,” Fox said. “Whatever he has in the tank, he’s willing to give.”
Castle said he trusts the Spurs’ offense to keep moving even if he has another rough night down the road.
“Whether one guy’s having a bad night,” Castle said, “or a couple guys aren’t shooting the ball well, I feel like we have so many ... guys that can make a play out of nothing.”
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