Mike Finger: 马刺队的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)已准备好学习,也已准备好成长

By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-10-26 15:16:07

由生成式人工智能翻译,译文内容可能不准确或不完整,以原文为准。

斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)用眼角的余光瞥见了一丝动静,有人正在靠近。这位新秀目视前方,保持专注。

19 年 11 个月零 23 天,卡斯尔终于迎来了这一刻,而这一刻的重大意义几乎让他难以承受。周四晚上,他站在达拉斯的记录台前,等待着自己的 NBA 首秀,努力地想要清空思绪。

但就在这时,一位未来的名人堂成员从卡斯尔左侧的板凳席走了过来,大声地发号施令。

“我没看到他,”卡斯尔谈到克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)时说道,“但我听到了他的声音。”

那天晚上晚些时候,在这位马刺队最新选中的首轮秀完成自己的首秀后,他说他感觉自己属于这里。

他还说,他永远不会忘记保罗在最后一秒的指示。

“他让我把球衣塞好,”卡斯尔说道。

在新赛季开始之际,马刺队需要记住,进步有时是多么的微不足道,这一点很有帮助。并非每一步前进都能成为精彩集锦,也并非每一课都能改变职业生涯。

马刺队希望本赛季能比上赛季赢得更多比赛。他们希望卡斯尔,这位身高 6 英尺 6 英寸的后卫,上赛季带领康涅狄格大学赢得了全国冠军,能够成为球队的重要组成部分。这些期望是合理的。

但同样合理的预测是,偶尔会有人提醒这些关键球员还需要学习多少东西。在保罗向卡斯尔解释了不塞好球衣可能会导致比赛延误警告,如果在比赛后期出现失误,可能会让球队损失一分之后,这位 39 岁的控球后卫表示,像卡斯尔这样的新秀不应该因为在 NBA 的基本功上被教训而感到生气。

“他本来就不知道,”保罗说道。

至少现在还不知道。虽然马刺队不会像对待文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)那样,在新秀赛季就对卡斯尔委以重任,但他们也不打算让他慢慢来。

在揭幕战以 120 比 109 输给达拉斯的比赛中,卡斯尔是马刺队九人轮换阵容中的一员。在周六主场迎战休斯顿的比赛中,他很有可能顶替受伤的特雷·琼斯(Tre Jones)担任控球后卫。

在过去的几年里,格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)可能会对如此迅速地将如此多的责任交给一名新秀感到担忧。但即使他在记住着装规则方面可能还需要一些努力,即使他可能还没有准备好带领球队在三分球命中率上领先,但他已经至少拥有一项 NBA 技能赢得了波波维奇的信任。

无论面对的是速度型后卫还是体型更大的前锋,卡斯尔的防守都非常出色。

“他是个很有竞争力的家伙,”波波维奇说道。“他很积极主动,无所畏惧,而且渴望学习。”

不过,他并不是从零开始。在上赛季马刺队考察卡斯尔在康涅狄格大学的表现时,他们发现,作为一名大学新生,他已经对比赛有了很好的感觉。圣安东尼奥的球探经常出现在康涅狄格大学的比赛和训练中。

他们喜欢卡斯尔似乎总是知道如何做出正确的选择,即使是带球突破为队友创造投篮机会。这种理解在卡斯尔的第一次 NBA 助攻中就可见一斑。

在周四的第二节,卡斯尔替补上场后不久,他从三分线外运球到左侧篮下。他吸引了两名防守球员,包括独行侠队的中锋德雷克·莱弗利(Dereck Lively)。卡斯尔的突破非常坚决,看起来他好像为自己创造了一个可以上篮的机会。

但他没有。他在靠近篮筐的过程中,将球从莱弗利身边传给了右侧的队友扎克·柯林斯(Zach Collins),后者轻松上篮得分。

这是一个知道自己在做什么的球员的表现,无论他是不是新秀。

“比赛感觉很自然,”卡斯尔说道,他在自己的首秀中得到 8 分、5 次助攻和 3 个篮板。“篮球(和大学时)没什么区别,只是级别不同了。”

是的,新的级别有时会是一个挑战。在周四所有那些令人鼓舞的迹象中,卡斯尔也出现了几次失误,这暴露出他的经验不足。其他失误也一定会接踵而至。

但正如文班亚马在谈到卡斯尔的成长曲线时指出的那样,他“将会实现飞跃,如果不是每场比赛,那也会是每个月。”

尽管在他眼角的余光中,偶尔会出现沮丧的波动,但马刺队希望卡斯尔能够目视前方,继续前进。

当然,要把球衣塞好。

spursGalleryMark
2024 年 10 月 17 日,在休斯顿丰田中心举行的 NBA 篮球比赛中,圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(5 号)在下半场试图突破休斯顿火箭队前锋阿门·汤普森(1 号)和后卫里德·谢泼德(15 号)的防守。

Image
2024 年 10 月 17 日,在休斯顿丰田中心举行的 NBA 篮球比赛中,休斯顿火箭队前锋塔里·伊森(17 号)在上半场与圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(5 号)对抗。

Image
2024 年 10 月 17 日,在休斯顿丰田中心举行的 NBA 篮球比赛中,休斯顿火箭队前锋塔里·伊森(17 号)在上半场与圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(5 号)对抗。

点击查看原文:Spurs' Stephon Castle is ready to learn, and ready to thrive

Spurs’ Stephon Castle is ready to learn, and ready to thrive

Out of the corner of his eye, Stephon Castle detected a flutter of movement. Someone was approaching. The rookie kept looking straight ahead.

Nineteen years, 11 months and 23 days had led Castle to this moment, and the magnitude of it was almost too much to process. Standing at the scorer’s table in Dallas, waiting to make his NBA debut Thursday night, he tried to clear his mind.

But from the bench to Castle’s left, here came a future Hall of Famer, barking orders.

“I didn’t see him,” Castle said of Chris Paul, “but I heard him."

Later that night, after the Spurs’ newest first-round draft pick had a game under his belt, he said he felt like he belonged out there.

He also guessed he’ll never forget Paul’s last-second instructions.

“He told me to tuck in my jersey,” Castle said.

It’s helpful, during a season like the one the Spurs just began, to remember how mundane progress can be sometimes. Not every step forward makes a highlight reel. Not every lesson changes a career.

The Spurs expect to win more games this season than they did last year. They expect Castle, the 6-foot-6 guard who won a national championship at Connecticut last spring, to be a big part of that. These expectations are reasonable.

But it’s just as reasonable to anticipate occasional reminders of how much key players need to learn. After Paul explained to Castle that untucked jersey could lead to a delay-of-game warning, which could cost a team a crucial point if there’s a slip-up getting the ball out of the net later in the game, the 39-year-old point guard said a rookie like Castle shouldn’t take offense to being lectured on NBA basics.

“He ain’t supposed to know,” Paul said.

Not yet, anyway. Although the Spurs won’t lean as heavily on Castle as they did on Victor Wembanyama as a rookie, they aren’t exactly planning to take it slow with him either.

In the 120-109 loss at Dallas on opening night, Castle was right in the middle of the Spurs’ nine-man rotation. Heading into Saturday’s home game against Houston, he was a safe bet to pick up some of the point-guard minutes vacated by the ailing Tre Jones.

In some previous years, Gregg Popovich might have had a few qualms about awarding so much responsibility to a rookie so quickly. But even though he might have some work to do on remembering the wardrobe rules, and even though he might not be ready to lead the team in 3-point percentage, he already has at least one NBA skill that commands Popovich’s trust.

Whether he’s matched up against a quick guard or a bigger forward, Castle defends the heck out of people.

“He’s a competitive son of a gun,” Popovich said. “He sticks his nose in. “He’s not impressed by anything. He wants to learn.”

He’s not starting from scratch, though. What the Spurs discovered during their months of scouting Castle last season at UConn – where San Antonio scouts were regulars at the Huskies’ games and practices – was that he already had a tremendous feel for the game as a college freshman.

They liked how Castle always seemed to know how to make the right play, even when it was a drive to set up a shot for someone else. And that understanding was evident on Castle’s first NBA assist.

In the second quarter Thursday, shortly after he’d entered the game for the second time, Castle took a couple of left-handed dribbles from the top of the key to get to the left side of the lane. He drew two defenders, including Mavericks center Dereck Lively. Castle made such a strong move, it looked like he might have created a tiny window to get a shot off the glass.

Instead? He saw a bigger window elsewhere. On his way toward the rim, Castle wrapped a pass around Lively to teammate Zach Collins on the right side of the lane, where he got a wide-open layup.

This was the play of a guy who knew exactly what he was doing, rookie or not.

“The game felt natural,” said Castle, who had eight points, five assists and three rebounds in his debut. “Basketball hasn’t changed (since college). It’s just the level.”

Yes, the new level will be a challenge at times. Mixed in among all of those encouraging signs Thursday, Castle had a couple of turnovers in which his inexperience showed. Others will be sure to follow.

But as Wembanyama pointed out when talking about Castle’s growth curve, he’s “going to make a leap – if not every game, every month.”

And although there will be occasional flutters of frustration in the corner of his eye. The Spurs expect Castle to keep looking straight ahead.

With his jersey tucked in.

spursGalleryMark
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) tries to pass against Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) and guard Reed Sheppard (15) during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Houston.

Image
Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) battles San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Houston.

Image
Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) battles San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Houston.

By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News