Spurs Film Study: Stephon Castle’s offensive game needs work but has potential
The newest Spur has some work to do on the offensive side of the ball, but if he can fix it, his ceiling is very high.
The Spurs used the 4th overall pick on 6’6” guard Stephon Castle, who enters the league with a well-earned defensive reputation. And while defense is a great way to earn minutes in the NBA, it’s how he does offensively that will contribute to how much he sees the court. Castle will be one of five guards on the roster looking for minutes. Let’s take a look at how he did in college and see what might translate to the next level.
Going through his UConn film, he isn’t an offensive dynamo, but he has some potential along with some immediate concerns. At first glance, although he isn’t a strong shooter (26.7 percent from three) he still has decent spacing. He’s good a drifting and lifting to be in the right position. He then makes use of the space defenses give him and can use it to slash or drift toward the paint to get a look. A slot cut like this can very well translate at the next level, especially in a two-man game with Victor Wembanyama.
Castle has also found some success on mid-rangers and floaters. He shows he can use his big man in dribble-hand-offs or screens and get into the space for open looks.
However, he will need to improve his finishing abilities at the rim. Castle has a tendency to hesitate or double-clutch instead of finishing through contact. Sometimes he can make it work, hanging in the air and redirecting the ball.
But other times it’s unnecessary and can lead to missed shots.
Double clutching around the rim is ok, if the player can make it work, and Castle might in the future. He’ll need to learn when to go straight up and potentially even draw a foul, or develop his athleticism to get the advantage and finish over the defender. His finishing appears to be at its best the more fluid his attack is.
As a guard, he isn’t the primary initiator, and since he isn’t a catch-and-shoot threat, that means he is either cutting or hunting his shot unassisted for most of his buckets. When he does get the ball to find his spot, he plays with a pace that can be seen as either patience or hesitation, and it’s a little of both. He only really dunks the ball or finishes strong when he has a clear runway. The balance between waiting for the right opening and forcing one, which isn’t something he does often, might be tricky for him.
This could be due to his ball-handling skills, which appear to have limitations. He may not be comfortable enough to go for strong finishes in traffic yet. That said, he has shown some flashes of potential alongside some bad turnovers where he loses the ball unprovoked.
As a passer, Castle has shown some potential but nothing overwhelming. At UConn, he had a near 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which isn’t great but playing with Donavan Clingan gave him experience feeding a rim runner and dumping off to the dunker spot. He can fit the ball in tight spaces but also can have those dishes jumped by the defense.
In general, he will need to take care of the ball better. There were a few times last year where he either was too strong with his offhand and was called for an offensive foul, shuffled his feet too much before establishing a dribble, or just made a bad pass. Each of those issues on its own isn’t terrible and can be expected from young players, but he’ll need to tighten up the mistakes to avoid getting pulled off the floor.
As mentioned, shooting isn’t Castle’s strong suit, but his jumper isn’t broken, just inconsistent. It’s possible he could become a decent shooter which would make him a genuine spacer if it along with the finishing comes to speed to compliment his cutting.
Overall, Castle’s offensive game has some limitations but there is something there to work with. His main focus should be on his finishing and shooting, if those polish up he’s easily a good role player along the lines of Alex Caruso. If he ramps everything up, he could even be a player similar to Derrick White.
