The Spurs needed a steady hand and a versatile scorer, and Stephon Castle delivered both in San Antonio’s first win of the season, a 122-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
Castle finished with 19 points, hit three of eight shots from long range, and handed out eight assists. He also posted a plus-12 in his minutes, his best mark through the Spurs’ first three games.
What stood out most was how much he shaped the offense in different ways. With the ball, Castle repeatedly attacked the paint, using dribble penetration to create opportunities either for himself at the rim or for teammates waiting around him. A lot of that damage showed up in the first half, when he helped crack Dallas’ zone defense by getting downhill and forcing rotations.
He made an impact without the ball, too. On several possessions, Castle flashed into open space in the middle of the floor, giving San Antonio a clean target for finishes near the basket or quick kick-out and interior passes. He kept finding the soft spots in Dusty May's defense and used his passing and scoring touch to keep the Spurs moving.
Castle also stayed dangerous from deep. For the second straight game, he knocked down three three-pointers, and all of them came off the catch. He took those looks from different areas on the floor, and his early-season shooting from beyond the arc continues to be a bright sign for San Antonio.
That kind of all-around game is exactly what this offense needs from him. If the Spurs are going to make their new starting lineup work, Castle has to be the connector - the player who can initiate, screen, cut, create for others, and knock down shots both off the catch and off the dribble. It’s a long list, but he’s one of the most adaptable players on the roster, and he showed again that he can handle it.
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Lost in the final score was the debut of Tarris Reed, who got into the game for six minutes and managed two points and three rebounds. It was a small sample, but the opportunity itself mattered, especially for a team still sorting out the center rotation around Wembanyama and trying to find a reliable backup option who can hold the fort when he sits. [Read more 🡒]
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Wembanyama Sees The Spurs Rough Start Very Differently Right Now
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San Antonio did manage to get its first win of the season against Dallas, but the performance did not leave the coaching staff feeling settled. Mitch Johnson made clear he was not pleased with the defensive effort even in victory, and the Spurs remain one of the few teams, along with the Knicks, that finished their previous season in mid-June. For now, the bigger question is whether that shortened turnaround is a useful explanation or just the backdrop for a team that still has work to do. [Read more 🡒]