Stephon Castle led the San Antonio Spurs in scoring against the Los Angeles Lakers in their Monday night showdown.
It was the beginning of the game, though, playing against Luka Doncic that sticks out most to the standout rookie. Often assigned to guard the opponent’s best player, Castle drew the recently acquired Lakers superstar.
The result: the 20-year-old from UConn picked up three fouls in the span of 54 seconds in the first quarter.
Discussing his assignment against Doncic after the game, Castle admitted the situation was challenging.
“I don’t really want to talk about the fouls, really,” Castle admitted. “It was a tough situation.”
The first two fouls came only three seconds apart as he checked one of the game’s best players.
“I thought the second one was tough. I thought there was no advantage gained,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “He jumped, he stopped and Steph was right there with his hands up. I was a little disappointed in that call.”
The national champion with the Huskies last year responded. Despite the early foul trouble, Devin Vassell was the only Spur who played significantly more. In 28 minutes, his 23 points were second only to the 30 by Lakers guard Austin Reaves.
Stephon Castle weathers early foul trouble
One of the Spurs’ top two perimeter defenders (along with Jeremy Sochan) and one of the best – if not, the best – rookie defenders in the NBA, Castle admitted the three first-quarter fouls affected him when he reentered the game.
“I was trying to play defense without fouling. At some point, it felt like I couldn’t really touch people, but I was just trying to make an impact on that end of the floor without putting them on the free-throw line,” Castle revealed.
“It’s up to me whether they call it or not because, obviously, it’s a foul or not. Yeah, that’s their judgment. It kind of got me off to a rough start to the game, but I was happy that I was able to come back in and try and impact.”
The Covington, Georgia native’s 19 shots were easily a team-high vs. the Lakers. Three of his eight field goals came from beyond the arc, and his eight rebounds tied Vassell, who trailed him in shots and attempts. In Johnson’s opinion, this game was a learning experience for Castle, as he had to work through the struggles to learn how to play in the NBA.
“It’s hard for a younger player when they get in those spots – and the next one was just an incidental trip – to continue their aggressiveness because they’re not trying not to get the next foul,” Johnson added.
“I thought he did a better job of just playing. Just playing and not worrying about if he fouled out… Screw it. I don’t think we’ve had many guys foul out this year, so just need to continue to play through it.”
Averaging almost 21 points per game in March, Castle is scoring nearly 14 per night this season. He is also widely expected to win Rookie of the Year.
“He’s a very, very advanced, elite cerebral basketball player, as we know,” Johnson concluded.
Pretty much everyone knows now by this point, and so does Castle; even when it doesn’t seem like it to begin the game.
The post Why foul trouble clouded Spurs’ Stephon Castle’s success vs. Luka Doncic, Lakers appeared first on ClutchPoints.
