Stephon Castle
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Stephon Castle is listed as questionable on the official injury report for the San Antonio Spurs' game on Wednesday, December 31.
The San Antonio Spurs travel to Miami to take on the Heat in Kaseya Center.
The Spurs continue to comfortably hold the second seed in a tough Western Conference and aim to finish out the regular season as hot as they have been since the start of February. But the team will need its complete rotation to knock out the task.
San Antonio is coming off a relatively stress-free victory at home Saturday night over the struggling Indiana Pacers. The win gave the Spurs their fifth victory in a row and their ninth in 10 games.
The only cause for concern as of late has been the health of rising star guardStephon Castle, who has been coming into his own here in his sophomore season.
San Antonio Spurs Make Crucial Stephon Castle Update
Tonight’s game won’t be a walk-over for the Spurs. Although the Heat have lost four in a row, they were previously on a six-game winning streak. Despite being just the ninth-seed in a more top-heavy conference, Miami is 23-13 on its home floor and certainly challenging to beat.
San Antonio has been missing Castle the last two games, albeit in both wins. Castle, 21, has become a go-to table-setter in his team’s offense and a pivotal piece in helping star big manVictor Wembanyama make another leap this season. However, Castle has been battling a right hip injury ever since the Spurs’ blowout victory over the Sacramento Kings nearly a week ago.
Stephon Castle
Getty
The good news is help is on the way.
After being listed as questionable on the injury report for the last few days, San Antonio hasupgraded Castle to available for tonight’s bout in Miami. The team’s rising star is expected to be in the lineup.
It remains to be seen whether Castle will be a full-go tonight or is assigned some sort of minutes restriction. While he didn’t sustain a major injury, it is one that can nag for a while and not truly go away if a player goes all-out right away.
The Spurs will hope Castle can absorb his typical minutes load tonight. Despite already clinching a playoff berth, San Antonio cannot afford to drop any games it is heavily favored to win. You just never know in a conference like the West.
Castle Must Continue Shining as Postseason Arrives
For being quite a young player, Castle has made considerable strides from his rookie campaign to this season.
On the year, the 21-year-old is averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game on better than 46% shooting from the floor. While his 3-point percentage is still far below average, it is a notable improvement from the sub-29% he converted as a rookie. The positive takeaway is that Castle has improved his per game averages across the board this season.
With San Antonio’s postseason spot locked, all eyes turn to how this young team will fare when the lights are the brightest, starting with the duo of Castle and Wembanyama. It is commonplace to see young, talented stars struggle at first in the postseason, so that possibility cannot be ruled out, but Castle has displayed a uniqueness and edge about him that may help him overcome any “rookie” mistakes in the most meaningful games.
As the starting point guard on his team, Castle will shoulder a large load no matter how one slices it. How he handles it remains to be seen.