Steph Castle picked up Steph Curry 94 feet from the basket, ready to put the two-time MVP through one last possession from hell.<\/p>\n
With one minute left in a game San Antonio led by eight points, the rookie rode the hip of Golden State\u2019s superstar down the sideline, chased him toward help in the corner, stayed down on a pump fake and forced him to give up the ball. Then, as an exhausted Curry trudged back to receive a dribble-handoff, Castle was once again cloaked on him like a shadow from which the former could not separate.<\/p>\n
It was a full 10 seconds of defensive wreckage that ruined any sort of last-ditch comeback attempt from a Warriors team that managed only 13 points in the final 12 minutes of play \u2014 a microcosm of what the Spurs accomplished during a 40-13 run to seal a 104-94 victory. And right there at the point of attack every time down the floor was Castle, chopping off the head of Golden State\u2019s snake.<\/p>\n
RELATED | Wembanyama returns from three-game absence to help Spurs rally past Warriors, 104-94<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAfter the game I said (to Castle), \u2018He be moving, don’t he?\u2019\u201d laughed Chris Paul, who acknowledged how nice it is to not be the guy tasked with chasing Curry around anymore. \u201cIt is cool though there\u2019s not a lot of guys that play both ways [defense and offense]. With Steph being a rookie, I just love that he ain’t ducking nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s true. Castle wants every bit of responsibility the Spurs can throw at him, and he\u2019s been asking for it since his first day in the practice facility. The way he sees it, it\u2019s one of the main reasons the team drafted him, so he\u2019s going to do his job \u2014 a job that includes defending some of the best in the world as a 20-year-old rookie.<\/p>\n \u201cThey know I have the abilities to do it. I feel like my teammates really believe in my abilities to do it. So just staying in the gym watching film has been the main thing,\u201d Castle said. \u201cBut I mean, I love doing it. I feel like it helps our team tremendously. I feel like if we set the tone on the defensive end, especially at the point of attack, that sets the tone for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Castle recorded just one steal Saturday \u2014 though it was a critical theft of Curry\u2019s dribble in the closing minutes \u2014 but he allowed only one basket on five field-goal attempts all night from the man he was guarding, and was the direct reason for two more forced turnovers in the game, per Synergy data.<\/p>\n On the whole, San Antonio\u2019s starting group has allowed only 99.4 points per 100 possessions since Castle entered the lineup on Nov. 6 in place of the injured Jeremy Sochan, the second best mark of any five-man lineup in the NBA that\u2019s registered at least 50 minutes of court time during that span. With Castle up top, Victor Wembanyama playing backstop, and all the other contributors in between, the Spurs have managed to remain a top-eight defense in the league despite the loss of Sochan.<\/p>\n But it isn\u2019t just on defense where the rookie do-it-all has shined. Castle\u2019s comfort on the offensive end has become more and more evident with each passing day, and his general feel as connector and initiator has been everything San Antonio hoped it would be at this point. The team knew how intelligent Castle was when it drafted him, though; what it may not have expected was the contributions he\u2019d already be providing in a couple of areas of greatest need.<\/p>\n After starting his career without a single made 3-pointer through his first four games, and only three through his first nine, Castle has hit nearly two 3s per game at a 37.5-percent clip over the last eight contests \u2014 a major development for a kid whose perimeter shooting was a concern coming out of school, and for a team that needs all the spacing it can get around Wembanyama.<\/p>\n Perhaps even more critically: Only Harrison Barnes has attempted more free throws per game than Castle since he was inserted into the starting lineup, and nobody on the team has averaged more shots from the stipe in the clutch. The leap in perimeter shooting is massive \u2014 the dagger he hit from nearly 30 feet out to give the Spurs the lead for good with just under four minutes remaining ignited the Frost Bank Center \u2014 but for a team that ranked 28th in the league in freebies attempted per game last season, drafting a player who\u2019s already finding ways to get to the line in high-leverage situations as a rookie is a godsend.<\/p>\n