Player The blessed howl's moving Castle of Stephon Javonte
- Thread starter brazil
- Start date
Not to nitpick, but regardless of his poor shooting, he had a critical turnover late in the game during Portland's comeback run that may have been a huge reason for Portland's win (I think they hit a three off of it). I thought that was a crushing play at that moment.
Last edited:
These are the air balls I've mentioned in another thread. It's absolutely unacceptable and demoralizing to see. Fucking infuriating really when you're a shooter like myself. Anytime I air balled a shot (it was always long, I don't remember ever being short on a open shot, and that's when I was shooting from the corners, if I air balled it'd be long. Having said that, I'd be furious with myself anytime I air balled as I put a lot of work into shooting the ball). I just don't understand how you can air ball it short when it's not a shot where the defender is draped all over your and you're throwing up a prayer type of shots. Those situations I can understand an air ball, no problem as these athletes are elite, but it doesn't compute for me to just air ball wide open shots short.
Watching a player you believe in, but knowing the one area he sucks in that comes so easy to me is tough to watch. I love this kid, but man, I just don't know if he has any feel for shooting, or if he's gotten here through mechanical repetition only. I was hoping it's both, but the little I see of him shoot during practice, warmups etc. it seems he has zero consistency and that usually means not much of a feel for shooting. I am hoping he develops some touch/feel, if not, even with all the mechanical repetition he's doing, it just won't ever make him a good shooter. Gotta have some feel to go along with all that hard work he's putting in to become a good shooter.
RC_Drunkford
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2025
- Messages
- 1,208
- Reaction score
- 1,058
Airballing a shot from 5 feet is part of the Stephon Castle experience. To me he just has to stop looking for calls while driving. He's not getting those in the playoffs.
Fair point. I wasn't a driver, so what you said could be a reason for it. He's looking for the calls and like you said, he's not going to get them in the playoffs. He has to take the shot like there is no foul coming. Don't expect a bailout.
spursparker9
Spurs fan since 2003
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2025
- Messages
- 3,366
- Reaction score
- 1,369
Castle is becoming more and more like his idol...Westbrick
Quentin_Compson
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2025
- Messages
- 324
- Reaction score
- 234
I kind of expected him to struggle offensively in his first playoffs. I think he's shooting 11-33 through the first two games, which is rough. The problem with quite a number of his drives is that he doesn't even to seem to look for shooting to score but rather to get the foul.
All that said, his offensive role, especially when it comes to scoring, shouldn't be as big as it has been so far in this series. That's not just on Castle, that's also on his teammates and the coaching staff to figure out.
All that said, his offensive role, especially when it comes to scoring, shouldn't be as big as it has been so far in this series. That's not just on Castle, that's also on his teammates and the coaching staff to figure out.
For a start, he needs to let it fly and shoot the ball with confidence. He's freaking hesitating out there and it's a bad, bad thing when you're trying to shoot/play like that.
People around here don't like Stephen Jackson, but one thing you can learn from a young Stephen Jackson, he had supreme confidence in his shot and didn't give a f#@k about misses. That's the way you got to shoot the ball if you want to give it chance to go in.
People around here don't like Stephen Jackson, but one thing you can learn from a young Stephen Jackson, he had supreme confidence in his shot and didn't give a f#@k about misses. That's the way you got to shoot the ball if you want to give it chance to go in.
SpursBills
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2025
- Messages
- 217
- Reaction score
- 451
I think that Castle's counting stats this season have kind of misaligned expectations for him and made him seem like he's further along than he actually is (see: comparisons to prime Jimmy Butler)
I've got a lot of faith in his ability long term, but ultimately he's still just a 21 year old second year player who really shouldn't be depended upon to create in the playoffs as much as he does - that responsibility should really go more to the established 28 year old all-star point guard already on the team. His raw counting stats were inflated by the coaching staff feeding him high levels of usage in order to develop him, but I think people sometimes forget that this was supposed to be another "development" season in a lot of ways and that he might not be getting that kind of usage if the goal was to maximize efficiency. What was always under the surface was that he's bottom 20th percentile in creator playtype efficiency because of his poor FT shooting and high turnover rate and his spot up shooting can go through hot and cold stretches.
Ultmately, regardless of how he does this post-season, I think there'll be a lot of takeaways for him and really open his eyes in terms of ways to improve. If anything, the more he sucks it up this post-season, the more obvious those takeaways will be for him. I don't have a doubt he's going to put in the work to improve on that and it may even benefit him in the long run.
If there is a silver lining, I hope this is it. And as for the development, I really thought Mitch would cut back his usage late in the season and turn the reigns over to De'Aaron Fox, but that didn't happen. Now there is more pressure on Steph and De'Aaron. Really, I don't like the job Mitch has done. I guess, he's basically a rookie head coach himself. I just don't want to see Steph flame out in the playoffs. He's a lot better than he's showing so far.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2025
- Messages
- 7,694
- Reaction score
- 9,945
Love Steph, but in Game 3 there needs to be a deliberate point for Fox to be the primary option. Not 1A/1B... but Clear #1 when he is on the court. On the bright side, it appears that's generally what the Spurs have done this year. Fox's USG (and efficiency) get a pretty significant boost when Wemby is out, whereas Castle splits with and without Wemby are a little more consistent. What throws this off a little is that StatMuse doesn't want to cooperate so I can't pull the splits of Fox without Wemby and with/without Castle, since Fox played some games without the both of them.
Fox without Wemby playing: 18 games, 24.6 pts, 6.2 assists, 4.4 reb, 17.7 FGA, 7.0 3PA, 5.7 FTA on 49.1/38.1/80.6 (61.0 TS%), 29.6 USG
Fox with Wemby playing: 54 games, 16.5 pts, 6.2 assists, 3.5 reb, 13.5 FGA, 5.0 3PA, 2.6 FTA on 48.4/30.9/72.7 (56.4 TS%), 23.2 USG
Castle without Wemby: 8 games, 18.4 pts, 7.1 assists, 6.8 reb, 12.6 FGA, 3.8 3PA, 6.4 FTA on 44.6/50/82.4 (59.5 TS%), 26.2 USG
Castle with Wemby: 60 games, 16.4 pts, 7.4 assists, 5.1 reb, 11.9 FGA, 3.6 3PA, 5.6 FTA on 47.5/30.8/72.1 (57.2 TS%), 24.7 USG
Fox without Wemby playing: 18 games, 24.6 pts, 6.2 assists, 4.4 reb, 17.7 FGA, 7.0 3PA, 5.7 FTA on 49.1/38.1/80.6 (61.0 TS%), 29.6 USG
Fox with Wemby playing: 54 games, 16.5 pts, 6.2 assists, 3.5 reb, 13.5 FGA, 5.0 3PA, 2.6 FTA on 48.4/30.9/72.7 (56.4 TS%), 23.2 USG
Castle without Wemby: 8 games, 18.4 pts, 7.1 assists, 6.8 reb, 12.6 FGA, 3.8 3PA, 6.4 FTA on 44.6/50/82.4 (59.5 TS%), 26.2 USG
Castle with Wemby: 60 games, 16.4 pts, 7.4 assists, 5.1 reb, 11.9 FGA, 3.6 3PA, 5.6 FTA on 47.5/30.8/72.1 (57.2 TS%), 24.7 USG
I agree. I think that is what needs to happen. If Fox fails, he fails, but I believe it's the Spurs' best chance to win. I could be wrong and Steph could have an amazing game, but I believe it's their best chance to win. I also personally don't want to put that much on Steph at this moment. He may or may not be up for it, but I'd prefer not to put all that on him. All I want from Steph is to cut those turnovers, attack smart and shoot every shot with confidence and zero hesitation. I don't care if the ball goes in or not. Shoot it without hesitation and confidence. It won't have a chance to go in if he doesn't do those two things. He's done the repetitions, now it's time to not think about it and let it fly if he's open.
Last edited:
Exstatic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2025
- Messages
- 2,099
- Reaction score
- 1,635
Shit the fuck up, fool.
he got demolished because he still thinks he's a great defender that needs to cover for everyone else.. if he stays with his assignment (NOT A WING), then he can be great. I'm not worried with his offence, he's a sopho, he'll get there.
Exstatic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2025
- Messages
- 2,099
- Reaction score
- 1,635
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2025
- Messages
- 5,061
- Reaction score
- 4,769
Max_power
Member
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2025
- Messages
- 43
- Reaction score
- 39
He's going to play better the next game, the problem with him is that he's playing too agressive, like he's trying to show those portland guards that he is better than them, but he's getting outplayed. If he plays more calm and focused, he's going to help himself great time
Scoot.
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2025
- Messages
- 5,061
- Reaction score
- 4,769
Go rewatch the game and count how many shots Scoot made over Castle.
guards don't need to shoot over him, he's too busy pretending to help to be in position
Interesting, you could be onto something here. Steph is definitely not someone that shies away from big games and moments, so maybe he is pushing too hard and needs to step back a bit, play a bit more cerebral like prime CP3. Hopefully CP3 has given him a call and talked him through it a bit.
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2025
- Messages
- 5,061
- Reaction score
- 4,769
So you're just going to troll and deflect?
Similar threads
