I disagree. I think he's very far away from being an All-Star. The list of "snubs" between the roster and Castle isn't exactly small. Part of that isn't even his fault, it's just how the league emphasizes offense over defense.
I think winning overcomes a lot of that. I agree offensive is what’s emphasized but there’s a long history of winning rosters sporting 2-3 all stars and not everyone is scoring 25ppg.
Amen is certainly viewed as a more impactful defender right now (whether that is deserved or not), and has a higher PPG and TS% than Castle, but isn't even remotely considered a snub.
I don't see that at all. Steph is an awful three point shooter but you can look past that a bit because of how great he is defensively. Definitely looks like he'll be an All NBA defender for years. Meanwhile Harper is a worse three point shooter without the incredible defensive skill Steph has. I think Harper has more upside but I can't imagine thinking Harper is better right now. I know Castle's 31.8% catch and shoot three point percentage is really bad but Harper's is 28.9%. Steph's floor is a rich man's Caruso.
Saying a player is receiving hate is pretty common among sports forums. Should I have used “Castle criticism” to be more formal? If it wasn’t about the words I used and more of a direct thing towards me and my past posts in defense of Castle, then I apologize for whatever I did that caused you to be irritated to make this sort of post.
That paints a picture of just how far away Castle is from being an all-star. Darn.
Every thread in this place recently devolves into Castle or Mitch chat
this is like the kings trying to make derozan/lavine work
IMO, it's just unnecessary hyperbole that I think we've largely done a good job moving away from on this forum. There is criticism, then there is actually irrational hate that some people in this community engage in regularly. The former is good discussion, the latter is... well, not. By conflating the two you are effectively dismissing the valid criticism without any actual consideration of those criticisms.
I mean, All Star is a really high bar and only when teams are REALLY good (especially in markets like San Antonio) does a team get two unless they are mega-stars in glamor markets (LA, for example). I think it will be difficult for Castle to put up the kind of offensive stats required to be an an All Star (or even All NBA), especially considering how balanced the Spurs typically like to make their teams from an offensive POV. Typically when a team has two All-Stars, those two guys tend to be the clear 1-2 punch on a team (some of the Spurs dual All Star nods not withstanding)
Amen you flat out do not have to guard anything but the drive. He shoots 20.3% on catch and shoot threes, which is why the Spurs could get away playing the COVID defense of giving him six feet of separation on the perimeter. Steph's three point shooting is bad but it's 10.5% higher than Amen on catch and shoot. When it comes to three point catch and shoot Amen Thompson::Steph Castle : Steph Castle:: Donovan Mitchell.
Guess what... they aren't inviting either of them to the 3 point contest. Trying to make a case for Castle being an All Star because he's better than Amen at 3s... you might as well make a case for Bismack to be an All Star because he rebounds better than Sochan.
I myself think Harper is the better prospect of the two and only disagreed with the idea Harper is better right now. I do think Harper has a quite a bit lower floor though. The shooting puzzles me so much since he was 40%+ on catch and shoot at Rutgers and he misses wide open practice shots routinely.
I could see Castle making a "spurs have the best record and it would be silly for them to only have one all star" appearance like Chet is doing this year.Tbh gun to my head the safe bet is that Castle may make a random AS game or 2 randomly during a stellar year, but certainly not a perennial all star. With that said I really feel like him and Harper, if used properly, will make a great backcourt for years to come. I’d love it if Wemby was MVP, Harper was all NBA, and Castle was all defensive and that’s our core, and all these boys learn to shoot consistently at a good clip. A man can dream.
Anyway what’s this thread about again?
Amen looks completely hopeless of ever developing a shot you have to guard outside of 12 feet. He might as well be Bismack at the three point line. Castle if he stops the idiotic Steph Curry fire the three up off the dribble early in the shot clock still looks to be a good offensive weapon and there's hope of inching towards that 35% mark with better shot selection.
Despite that, Amen has a higher scoring average and TS% than Castle right now. And Amen still isn't anywhere close to being an All-Star.
Castle:
Lower floor, really?
For me the thing that separates Castle from Amen is just 1 more year of experience. I believe that Castle will be a better player than Amen and closer to All Star selection next year. We have to study these players on a curve. Amen has improved as a distributor and finisher this year compared to last year where he was wreaking havoc on defense but not so much on offense.
Does Caruso guard guys like Derek Queen or Sengün?
