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His ability to get to the line makes him a closer especially in close games
Castle's ability to get to the line kind of turned out to be an unexpected wild card to his overall potential as a prospect. It elevates him to a different tier of scoring potential going forward and if his shooting splits tick up the next 3-4 seasons we could be seeing a legit number 2/fringe all-star level player. I thought he would score ~9ish ppg this year and that would be a solid outcome (obviously the tanking/Wemby & Fox injuries have boosted his stats a bit) but he has far surpassed that.
He still has a ways to go in terms of decision making and feel for the game but rookie guards are notoriously bad in those areas so that isn't a surprise. I am excited at the prospect of him and Fox becoming a 2 headed monster in the back court that are both capable of torching teams.
His ability to get to the line makes him a closer especially in close games
I would give my left nut for him to develop a reliable jumper.
Get that work done in the offseason kid. Spurs too, move Earth and Heaven to find out what's missing on Castle's technique.
If Castle could make his bunnies he scarcely needs to shoot jumpers.
You do realize he is way ahead of the curve right ? It just takes time…
Wait to this man starts playing in the post; we have only scratched the surface.
Before we knew about Ben Simmons' terrible work ethics and mentality, I haven't seen in a while a rookie who is this much destined for s om if he could only do that. Castle didn't even hit the rookie wall all season long. He responded emphatically to Mitch Johnson pulling the 'hierarchy card' when Vassell/Sochan came back from injuries in December and gradually earned back his minutes--all on merit.
Chris Paul said in December that the most surprising thing about Castle for him was how he plays: "it like he is a 30-year old vet and not a 20 yo rookie". That's the ultimate compliment coming from one of the greatest floor generals of all time. He sees all the intangibles from up close. So, it is really all about his shooting because the rest (finishing, TO rate etc) will improve with more experience and seasoning..
i would also give your left nut for that
Bovada has Steph -750 for ROY with two weeks left in the season. Sarr at +850, Risacher at +1400, Edey at +3000, and Wells at +4500 to close out the top 5.
I just watched the game and thought Steph was very inefficient. I haven't been too happy with his play since that high assist game. I love that he's aggressive, but man, his shooting and efficiency isn't good lately. He's trying his ass off out there and fighting, but he's turning it over, is taking quite a few shots, and he keeps leaving points on the table at the free throw line. Maybe the team has given him the green light and told him to go for it to see what he can do? He also had a critical turnover the last couple of minutes that may have cost the Spurs the game as it swung the momentum back to the Cavs. Not saying the Spurs would have won if he didn't make that turnover, but still, would have loved to have seen what would have happened. Spurs rebounding was also terrible down the stretch. This was a rare game without Victor and De'Aaron that actually hurt a little bit to lose.
Edit : Probably being way too hard on him as he won me over early in the season and I expect so much from him that I completely forget he's a rookie. Freaking great pick from the Spurs IMO. He was my number one choice when people were talking about him pre-draft, so I'm super happy he fell to the Spurs.
Last edited by Ice009; 03-28-2025 at 11:39 AM.
Me... the dumbass who had a $100 bet queued up in the machine at +1800 last November, but I changed my mind at the last minute
I don't bet on sports so I always second guess myself when it comes time to pull the trigger
I think it's a lot like the Devin situation, where he's now being asked to fulfill a role that isn't really the role we need from him in the long-run, and as a rookie he's going to have some struggles at times. I think the good thing though is that this provides an environment where the team can observe his full range of skills at work and evaluate how those skills best fit in his true role (3rd option/secondary ball handler). So in that sense I think it's good that he's able to highlight the things he can do, we can take inventory the things that he needs to work on, and observe the things we'll need to hide by structuring the lineup the right way.
19-20 YO rookies are always going to be inefficient given how enormous a jump the NBA is from the NCAA and other pro leagues (unless you're Doncic playing for Real Madrid). But you definitely see elite tools that should make him at least a very good starter with his size, athleticism, ability to get to the line, court vision both offensively and defensively, strength, and some good looking footwork at the rim. I thought it would take a couple of years to see this Steph Castle but with his growth this year I'm enormously excited about his future.
I think he's been playing within his role, it's just that he's been missing too many easy layups at the rim. Still, as someone pointed out recently (maybe it was even you), his efficency is great considering the difficult of layups his takes, most being consted by multiple defenders. I'm not worried at all. Just some more finesse and strength and we'll have ourselves a Jimmy-lite who can get even better.
As for playmaking, he's not a natural point guard and of course there will be bad decisions, but it's not like he's throwing random passes, it's just about execution.
The thing that's been most annoying for me are his free throws.
He's at 20ppg over the past 16 games, 46% FG is fine, even 30% 3PT is fine considering he takes 5 per game and a lot are well behind the line, but 68% FT is absolutely not fine.
Free throws -> reliable pull up jumpshot from around FT line -> 3pt would be my order of priority for Castle over the summer.
Even Doncic averaged 21ppg on 42/32/71 in his rookie season.
His and Castle's FG% and FT% is actually identical, Castle is 3% worse from 3PT.
Interestingly enough, Castle averages more FTs per 36.
I don't think people realize how good Castle will be in a couple of years.
Maybe not superstar level, but I don't think Jimmy/Jrue comparisons are unrealistic.
He's definitely playing within his current role, I'm saying that wouldn't be his role if Wemby and Fox were healthy. Basically, his USG wouldn't be nearly as high and thus his efficiency (or currently lack thereof) wouldn't be so glaring (because it's actually not bad for a rookie, it's just on higher volume so the absolute number of misses are amplified).
His ability to get to the stripe while he's still getting a rookie whistle is definitely a secret weapon, one I hope our next coaching staff learns how to exploit. Fox also does a good job of getting to the line (22nd in the NBA this season, which was actually a "down" year for him, and his FTA/gm dropped off once he was forced into this two PG lineup with CP3 here)... I'm looking forward to all these free points were going to get in the future.
Do you think he’ll play the Manu role next year? I have a feeling CP3 will be with the Spurs the next couple of years, especially if it’s certain that Wemby is coming back and the FO will be ALL IN on his 3rd year. CP3 will start with Fox, Wemby, and who knows they’ll bring in from the draft, trade or free agency. But I think Castle is best suited to play the Manu role at least for now.
If CP3 is back as a starter next season, then we have nothing to talk about. It would be a disaster of monumental proportions.
Castle should play young Jimmy role with the starters and backup playmaker role when he's with the bench unit.
Not just next season... but a COUPLE OF YEARS with CP3... kill me now.
Is there anything wrong with playing the Manu role? Manu was a HOFer coming off the bench.
There's nothing wrong with a player coming off the bench, but that's not a role for Castle.
Being the first option isn't his best role yet and he's the most well-rounded utility player we have.
Point of attack defender, good rebounder for his position, a good secondary playmaker.
Fox/Devin backcourt would be awful and Devin has shown time and time again he's better when he has the ball instead of being just a spot-up shooter.
If we're talking current roster without major changes, it's a no-brainer who should be the 6th man. At least that's how I see things.
Manu was a rare breed. We need to stop trying to shoehorn every player we draft into some historical reference point.
But beyond that, there are practical ramifications for why a top draft pick isn't going to be overly receptive to being asked to be a bench player - that player is trying to earn his second contract, and his earning ability is going to be severely diminished if he's a bench player. Josh Giddey asked for a trade from OKC when they asked him to be a bench player for this very reason. These guys aren't going to be super excited to cost themselves $100MM so we can do something stupid like have CP3 start next to De'Aaron Fox. Why would you want this anyway? That is a horrible backcourt construction to begin with.
I don't think a Fox/Devin backcourt would be awful, if were paired with the right forwards and a system that kept Devin from dribbling the air out of the ball... but it is certainly suboptimal when you have Castle, and it's obvious Devin should be the 6th man.
But John B seems to be suggesting that we cater to the CP3/Fox backcourt, which is insane.
That sounds Diddy.
D’elia
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