Player The blessed howl's moving Castle of Stephon Javonte

[onechance87]

27 assists in 2 games for a (21yo) who some think can't be a PG...

Cleaning TOs and FT % are easy to improve

well guys were making shots.He gonna need to make the open 3s to really help wemby and this team as well.

 

[Ice009]

27 assists in 2 games for a (21yo) who some think can't be a PG...

Cleaning TOs and FT % are easy to improve

Like I said earlier in the thread (might have been the only person that said it), that he'd get better at the PG spot the more he plays it. I thought around 10-15 games, but it seems he's getting better even quicker than that.

I feel so bad when he misses those threes though. I want them to go in more than anyone's. I'm happy that he is at least taking mid-range shots now which is good.

Just clean up those turnovers, mix in more mid-range and hopefully those threes start dropping at some point too.

 

[PanameSpur]

well guys were making shots.He gonna need to make the open 3s to really help wemby and this team as well.

For sure and he has a long way to go and a lot a stuff to fix but those a fixable.

I know I'm one of the rare who sees him as a PG, mostly bc he's a tough matchup and has the poise for the job. He's only 21 and I like his progression

 

[Splits]

10th in the league in assists/game, 8th in steals/game (1st in TOs)

 

[Fireball]

being first in TOs while bricking threes takes a lot of value away from Mr. Castle

 

[SupremeGuy]

Castle just needs to see some 3s drop tbh. Feel like it's getting in his head a little. He was forced into a role and I think he did as well as he could.

 

[couchman]

He wasn’t forced into anything. Castle wants to be a PG, or so he says. And the Assit numbers are phenomenal. He has taken a huge leap this year.

I was not a fan of the Castle pick because I assumed his broken shooting would keep him from being a good player.
I was wrong.
Castle is a good player despite being a horrible shooter.
I honestly would ask him to see an eye specialist because the TOs and the bad shooting both look like potential depth perception issues to me. Get that Lindy W surgery or something. It’s wild that he can be so good despite the shooting and we are all dreaming of the superstar he can be if he just becomes an average shooter.

 

[scott]

I think we need to abandon the rigid adherence to traditional labels like “PG”

This team has three notable guards. Castle and Harper also do some wing-y things, but ultimately they are all guards. Each of them is capable of being on ball primarily or secondarily and doing things off ball. It’s fucking awesome.

 

[Shmurs]

Here’s the thing that makes me go nuclear…at no point should castle be pulling up for a 3 with 17 seconds on the shot clock. Saw that in the Laker game and I frankly don’t understand how a play like that happens where one of the worst shooters in the league thinks they have a green light at literally any time.

That shit was over this summer. We aren’t doing the thing where we use games as ways to teach guys how to shoot.

Similarly, if we’re swinging it around or kicking it out and he finds himself wide open with, say, 14 seconds on the clock - he shouldn’t take the fucking shot. Ever. I get it that coaches have poisoned their brains trying to do math around 3 pointers. But with Steph - there is always a better shot available in those 14 seconds than you missing a 3.

If guys can’t shoot, then they shouldn’t shoot. Clanking all night doesn’t help spacing. It just reinforces the strategy of packing the paint.

This is on Mitch. Cut the shit. If someone isn’t a shooter, tell them to stop shooting unless the possession is ending or falls apart. We didn’t put Bassey in the corner waiting for kick outs for a reason.

 

[Mugen]

Here’s the thing that makes me go nuclear…at no point should castle be pulling up for a 3 with 17 seconds on the shot clock. Saw that in the Laker game and I frankly don’t understand how a play like that happens where one of the worst shooters in the league thinks they have a green light at literally any time.

That shit was over this summer. We aren’t doing the thing where we use games as ways to teach guys how to shoot.

Similarly, if we’re swinging it around or kicking it out and he finds himself wide open with, say, 14 seconds on the clock - he shouldn’t take the fucking shot. Ever. I get it that coaches have poisoned their brains trying to do math around 3 pointers. But with Steph - there is always a better shot available in those 14 seconds than you missing a 3.

If guys can’t shoot, then they shouldn’t shoot. Clanking all night doesn’t help spacing. It just reinforces the strategy of packing the paint.

This is on Mitch. Cut the shit. If someone isn’t a shooter, tell them to stop shooting unless the possession is ending or falls apart. We didn’t put Bassey in the corner waiting for kick outs for a reason.

He's less than 10 games into his sophomore season. It's way too early to say he's never going to be a competent shooter. He needs to keep shooting if he wants to get better tbh.

Yeah, those types of shots are a little WTF but I like that the kid has confidence to take them.

 

[Shmurs]

He's less than 10 games into his sophomore season. It's way too early to say he's never going to be a competent shooter. He needs to keep shooting if he wants to get better tbh.

Yeah, those types of shots are a little WTF but I like that the kid has confidence to take them.

Yeah he will improve. Not worried. But it’s not appropriate to train during games anymore. It’s a luxury that tanking teams have. You don’t see other teams do this where they just give a guy an infinite green light when they know it’s going to hurt your team’s outcomes.

It would be one thing if we saw some improvement out of the gate that we’re trying to cultivate. Nope. He’s still just bad at it. Work on it in scrimmages. Apply what you learn in games. Crazy I know.

 

[scott]

Steph has hit at least 2 (maybe 3?) triples this season that have meant the different between winning and losing. I like his confidence and lack of fear. His form looks good, I think he'll be okay.

 

[O_V]

For sure and he has a long way to go and a lot a stuff to fix but those a fixable.

I know I'm one of the rare who sees him as a PG, mostly bc he's a tough matchup and has the poise for the job. He's only 21 and I like his progression

Having him at small forward gives you four guys on the floor who can bring up the ball. That is a good thing for the best fast break team in the league.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

He's already improved his midrange shooting and should definitely shoot 3s if teams leave him wide open. Last season after the team was stuck in LA his percentage went up to 33%. That's right there, just gotta increase it little by little.

 

[ginobilized]

Castle's 3's are mostly wide open. You are challenging the basketball gods to not take those shots. In the games where he has hit pivotal 3s he also missed multiple 3s earlier. He's got to keep taking those shots when wide open and in rhythm. His FT% has improved, there's a good chance his 3's come around.

Castle is an excellent passer and is finding his rhythm with his teammates. His lobs are getting better and he's finding players in their spots and delivering simple, on the money passes. That year with CP3 was a great mentorship for Castle.Add in his defensive intensity, steals and unflappable nature and I'd say we've got ourselves a phenomenal player in the making.

 

[eric365]

I think Castle should keep shooting 3s

Wemby and him are in a shooting slump and Fox will provide them more open shot to get out of that slump

 

[OK Computer]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1987548736407412987

 

[scott]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1987548736407412987

Two games against Curry (assuming he plays) coming up. Stephon did great in the first match up against Stephen last season. Hope we see two encore performances next week!

 

[Shmurs]

math is math. If the point is that castle having an infinite green light means that he’ll hit 32% and not having a green light means his confidence tanks and he only hits 25% I think that’s a weird point.

You guys are maybe picturing tj McConnell when you want these guys to keep shooting. But he hits 40% with a form that can only exist with a guy who is wide open. So he should take the dare and hit the shot. Castle and Sochan get dared, then they miss. It’s not good to do the dare then, is it.

I’m not saying he has to never shoot. But he needs to stop using games as practice because this team now has expectations.

Teams want him to shoot open 3’s and y’all are on their side. I think you need to take a deeper look, maybe. And the clutch shots don’t prove anything. He’ll miss a bunch and the numbers will ultimately even out.

 

[bozhemoi]

He's not using games as practice, man. He's supposed to take those shots.

I don't get why people are like, "Why is Wemby standing in the corner? Why is he doing this?" Because that's what he's supposed to do. They're not playing pickup basketball at the local YMCA. They are supposed to take certain shots in certain ways. If they're launching one, maybe it's at the end of the shot clock, but pretty much every shot Castle took from deep was the right shot to take.

 

[Shmurs]

The problem with him, for example, pulling up with 17 seconds left on the clock is that in that 17 seconds, a better scoring opportunity would be created.

You try to create the best scoring opportunity on each possession. Sometimes that means castle has to shoot when he’s open and it’s the right time. Other times it means him being open is what the defense wants and him shooting it is playing into the other coach’s plan.

You guys think he’s generally doing the former. I think he’s doing the latter.

 

[Thoodee]

If we’re winning games i dont see any issues w giving castle a little leash. He’s not going anywhere and it’ll pay dividends in the long run.

 

[CGD]

I wonder were Steph gets drafted if he was in the 2025 draft?

 

[scott]

The alternative to Castle not shooting open 3s is him passing up open 3s, and then he just becomes Jeremy Sochan out there. Hard pass. His form looks good, they'll start falling.

 

[mudyez]

I wonder were Steph gets drafted if he was in the 2025 draft?

Good question. Maybe #12 to Chicago but not sure about Brooklyn and Toronto before that. Thing is his PG comments before the draft. Would they happen in '25 too?