The San Antonio Spurs may have lost to the Thunder, but they also might have found a bright spot in Stephon Castle s shooting. Castle had 24 points and 7 rebounds while making 5 of his 12 three-point attempts. The five threes set a career high for him in threes in a game. If Castle can consistently make his threes, it makes the Spurs a much harder team to defend.
Stephon Castle Gives the Spurs a New Offensive Dimension
If opponents have to worry about Castles three-point shooting, then it will open up the lane for others. If the defense has to start respecting him outside the arc, then fewer people are able to crowd Victor Wembanyama. Castles’ 24 points came on 21 shot attempts, which isn’t the best, but he was being aggressive and shooting.
His shooting ability can open up the Spurs’ offense. If he is making threes, then that forces teams to guard him closely, and he’ll be able to attack more. He never once looked discouraged from shooting them and his confidence was looking sky high. Castle needs to consistently take the open shots that are given to him to be a bigger threat.
Shooting Consistency is a Must
Most teams, as we saw from the Thunder, are going to leave Castle wide open. This is why he needs to be a consistent shooter for San Antonio. He has free opportunities to shoot because, as of right now, opponents aren’t worried about him making shots. Against Oklahoma City, he had the easiest catch-and-shoot opportunities because they were standing in the paint as opposed to being near him.
Castle shot 33.2% from three last season, and in yesterday’s game he shot 41.7% from three. It’s just one game, and he’s going to need to prove that he can perform like that more. He is going to get a lot of chances to shoot open threes with how teams will guard him. He needs to consistently make his open ones to pull the defense out more.
How This Helps Wembanyama and Others, and the Balance
Wembanyama has fewer people focused on him if they have to start worrying about Castle’s three-point shooting. He is then free to attack his guy one-on-one when standing near the side that Castle is on. For the Spurs guard, he’ll also have to find the balance between scoring and distributing, as he is capable of. He only had one assist, which needed to be higher, but it was only one game, so it’s nothing to worry about right now.
The Spurs will be in a great spot if they get a version of Castle that is scoring and playmaking. We’re used to seeing him out up high scoring games with a lot of free throws, but last night he only shot 1 free throw. Castle will have a lot of opportunities to shoot the ball this year with teams playing back. It’s up to him to keep his confidence high and not shy away from taking those shots.
This shooting performance from him is an encouraging sign. His consistency over the next month could determine what the Spurs’ offensive ceiling looks like. It was only one game; now we need to see him be able to do it again and again over the next month.
The Shooting of Stephon Castle Could Change the Spurs’ Offensive Ceiling