Spurs terrible fantastic announcement.
For San Antonio fans, January was a month with little to celebrate. After deceiving everyone into thinking they were prepared for the difficult road ahead, the team lost 4–8. The Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets by three points to begin the month. Their troubles started when they lost to the same Nuggets by 11 points just after that.
However, Stephon Castle’s play was the only bright spot in an otherwise bleak basketball stretch. The rookie was forced back into the starting lineup after Jeremy Sochan’s unlucky injury in the Clippers game on December 31 (why does he keep getting hurt versus the Clippers?).
For San Antonio fans, January was a month with little to celebrate. After deceiving everyone into thinking they were prepared for the difficult road ahead, the team lost 4–8. The Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets by three points to begin the month. Their troubles started when they lost to the same Nuggets by 11 points just after that.
However, Stephon Castle’s play was the only bright spot in an otherwise bleak basketball stretch. The rookie was forced back into the starting lineup after Jeremy Sochan’s unlucky injury in the Clippers game on December 31 (why does he keep getting hurt versus the Clippers?).
Even though the Spurs didn’t win any games in January, you may
Stephon Castle is a bright spot for the Spurs.
The statistics don’t really give Stephon Castle the credit he merits. The Kings were adamant about getting him in the deal for De’Aaron Fox for a reason. They said no and, as the kids say, “stood on business,” but to their dismay, the Spurs aren’t blind.The fan base probably would have exploded if you had traded this youngster, but it’s not quite the same as trading Luka Doncic.
Last night, the Grizzlies dominated the Spurs in the fourth quarter, but Castle once more made an impression with 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He had another successful night from deep, shooting 40% from three. He has shot 46.7% in his last three games, continuing his recent hot streak.
The Spurs are 1-2 in those games, which is unfortunate, but the NBA recognizes that a rookie shouldn’t be expected to perform that well. Because of this, Castle is a serious contender to earn Rookie of the Year, which would give the Spurs two consecutive winners of the coveted award—a rare accomplishment.
In addition, it’s a little odd that Castle won Rookie of the Month even though he didn’t spend the bulk of the month at the top of the NBA Rookie Ladder. Alex Sarr topped the rankings for three of the four weeks, but he took back the top spot in the most recent update on January 29.
It reaffirms that the final product is far more important than the beginning. That is something that the Spurs as a whole can learn from. With so many lineup changes and Coach Pop’s health concern, they’ve had a difficult season. However, maybe, once De’Aaron Fox joins the team, they’ll have enough stability to end the campaign strongly.
