By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-11-30 04:21:30
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。
虽然赛季尚早，但卡斯尔似乎展现出了马刺所需的后卫技能组合，完美地补充了球队的核心阵容。
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)作为一名新秀并没有承受证明自身价值的压力。马刺在选秀大会上以第四顺位选中了他，而这次选秀普遍被认为实力较弱。球队还引进了一些老将以完善首发阵容。卡斯尔原本预计会从替补席出发，承担一些防守任务，并在克里斯·保罗的指导下学习。
显然，没有人告诉卡斯尔这些。他最近作为首发球员的表现非常出色，以至于他可能会永久获得这个位置。他已经展现出成为基石球员的潜质，并且很快就能与维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)组成一个令人生畏的攻防兼备的二人组。
卡斯尔在赛季初表现不佳，这与大多数观察家的预期一致。在他最初的七场比赛中，他都是替补出场，只有一次得分上双，投篮命中率也惨不忍睹。虽然偶尔会展现出投篮的潜力，而且他的防守大部分时间都很稳固，但他看起来像是一个需要时间打磨的璞玉。自从进入首发阵容后，除了在一场比赛中之外，他的得分都达到了10分或以上。在一支过去11场比赛中赢了7场的马刺队中，他是上场时间最多的球员之一，投篮命中率也很好，并且在关键时刻发挥了至关重要的作用。伤病给了卡斯尔获得更多出场时间的机会，而他也不负众望，成为了这支令人惊喜的圣安东尼奥球队中不可或缺的一员，尽管核心球员缺阵，但球队胜率仍然超过了50%。
乍一看，他最近一段时间的数据——场均15分、3个篮板和5次助攻——并没有预示着未来的巨星潜质，但仔细观察就会发现，这位20岁的球员自从获得更多上场时间和自由发挥的空间后，表现是多么令人印象深刻。他的三分球出手次数很多，命中率也接近联盟平均水平，这在生涯初期很少有人认为他能做到。他在关键时刻表现出色，在过去五场比赛的最后五分钟内，当马刺领先或落后五分或更少时，他是马刺队得分最高的球员，11次出手命中了7球。这位新秀的罚球总数也并列全队第一，助攻数排名第二。他经常被安排防守对方最好的外线得分手，尽管经验不足，但他做得很好。
最重要的是，也是最令人鼓舞的是，他目前擅长的东西使他与文班亚马完美互补。他作为首发的上述数据表明，卡斯尔能提供三分、罚球、组织进攻、关键时刻得分和防守，而马刺队直到现在才拥有一个能满足所有这些条件的球员。
马刺队年轻控球手的一大问题是他们不会投篮，这使得对手可以放空他们去协防，甚至让中锋换防他们，用更矮小、更灵活的球员来防守文班。他们不能对卡斯尔这样做，因为他会毫不犹豫地出手，无论是运球投篮还是定点投篮。至少目前来看，卡斯尔还不是一个稳定的射手并不重要。他敢于出手的意愿就足以改变对方的防守策略。卡斯尔也有信心创造自己的投篮机会，主要依靠突破。同样，他目前还不太擅长完成这些突破上篮，但他提供了急需的篮下冲击力，迫使对手轮转防守，并利用文班在五外阵容中吸引的注意力。如果在比赛后期球无法传到文班手中，卡斯尔似乎是一个不错的第二选择。如果他的防守能像预期的那样进步，那么“51区二人组”将会成为对手的噩梦。
关于卡斯尔的上限仍然存在疑问。缺乏爆发力的第一步和顶级视野可能会限制他的潜力，使他停留在德里克·怀特/朱·霍勒迪/马库斯·斯马特的水平，而不是达到谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大/卢卡·东契奇的梯队。对马刺来说，好消息是，即使是这样——现在下结论还为时过早——这种类型的球员对于一支拥有未来超级巨星和大量资产可以进行一笔大交易的球队来说仍然非常宝贵。通过选中卡斯尔并似乎获得了成功，管理层找到了一位能够提升球队下限的球员，并让自己在未来能够承担更大的风险。因为如果卡斯尔像看起来那样稳固，并且与文班的配合如此天衣无缝，那么圣安东尼奥已经拥有了一个核心阵容，随着两人的共同成长，他们应该能够赢得足够的比赛并保持竞争力。
卡斯尔作为一名球员有很多令人兴奋的地方，但他与文班亚马的适配性更令人期待。马刺应该不再孤立地寻找天赋，而是开始专注于打造一个有凝聚力的团队，而文班-卡斯尔二人组似乎是一个很好的基础。当他们这对备受瞩目的年轻后卫和大个子同时在场时，圣安东尼奥每百回合净胜对手超过五分，这个净效率值可以排在联盟前十。在仅仅几场比赛之后就用这样的数据下结论当然需要谨慎，但正如前文所述，观看比赛的过程表明，对这对组合的乐观是有一定道理的。
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔只有20岁，作为一名职业球员只打了19场比赛。这位新秀还没有机会与杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)和德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)——马刺核心阵容的另外两名重要成员——一起打很长时间的比赛。他肯定还没有拿出足够的证据表明自己注定会成为一名球星。
但他已经证明，即使犯了错误，即使还有很多不足之处，他也是那种能够在文班亚马身边闪耀并帮助这位大个子最大限度地发挥天赋的球员。对于一支应该停止盲目地堆积天赋，转而专注于打造球队的圣安东尼奥来说，这一点至关重要。
点击查看原文：Stephon Castle is a perfect fit next to Victor Wembanyama
Stephon Castle is a perfect fit next to Victor Wembanyama
It’s early, but Castle seems to bring the exact combination of skills the Spurs needed from a guard to round out their core.
Stephon Castle was not under pressure to prove his worth as a rookie. The Spurs picked him fourth overall in what was considered a weak draft and brought in veterans to round out the starting lineup. Castle was expected to come off the bench, play some defense, and learn under Chris Paul.
Apparently, no one told Castle that. He’s been performing so well lately as a starter he could earn that spot permanently and already looks like a foundational piece that could form a terrifying two-way duo with Victor Wembanyama sooner rather than later.
Castle had a rough start to the year, which was in line with what most observers were expecting from him. During his first seven games, all coming off the bench, Castle scored in double digits just once and had dismal shooting numbers. There were flashes of shot-making potential and his defense was solid most of the time, but he looked like a project. Since then, after moving into the starting lineup, he’s scored 10 points or more in all but one game, is one of the players receiving the most minutes for a Spurs team that has won seven of the last 11, is shooting well, and has been crucial in crunch time. Injuries gave Castle the opportunity to get a bigger role, and he delivered by becoming an integral piece on a surprising San Antonio team that is over .500 despite having core members miss time.
At a glance, the stats from his latest stretch — around 15 points, three rebounds and five assists a game — don’t scream future star, but a closer look paints just how impressive the 20-year-old has been since getting more minutes and the green light to be himself. He’s taking threes at a high rate and making them at just under league-average pace, something few thought would be possible this early in his career. He’s been a killer in the clutch, leading the Spurs in total points and connecting on seven of his 11 shots with the Spurs up or down five points or fewer in the last five minutes of the game. The rookie is also tied for first in total free throws in the entire team and is second in assists. He’s been assigned to the best perimeter scorer on defense often and has done a good job despite his inexperience.
The most important and encouraging part of it all is that what he already does well makes him a perfect fit next to Victor Wembanyama. Those aforementioned numbers from his stint as a starter show that threes, free throws, playmaking, clutch scoring and defense are what Castle brings, and the Spurs didn’t have anyone who could check all the boxes until now.
One of the big issues the Spurs had with young ball handlers was that they couldn’t shoot, which allowed opponents to play off them to help or even hide their center on them and guard Wemby with a smaller, more agile player. They can’t do that with Castle because he’ll pull the trigger, both off the dribble and spotting up. It doesn’t really matter, at least for now, that Castle is not a consistent shooter. The willingness to let it fly makes the defense act differently. Castle also has the confidence to create his own shot, mostly on drives. Again, he’s not the best at finishing those forays into the paint yet, but he provides much-needed rim pressure that gets opponents into rotations and takes advantage of the attention Wemby receives in five-out units. If the ball can’t get to Wemby late in games, Castle seems like a good second option. And if his defense progresses as expected, the Area 51 duo could be a nightmare for opponents.
There are still questions about Castle’s ceiling. The lack of an explosive first step and next-level vision could likely cap his potential at a Derrick White/Jrue Holiday/Marcus Smart level instead of the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander/Luka Doncic echelon. The good thing for the Spurs is that even if that’s the case, and it’s too early to tell, that type of player would still be incredibly valuable for a team that has a future superstar in place and plenty of assets to make one big move. By hitting on the Castle pick like they seemingly have, the front office has found a floor raiser and allowed itself to take bigger risks in the future. Because if Castle is as solid as he seems and the fit with Wemby is so seamless, San Antonio already has a core that should get enough wins to be competitive as the two grow together.
There is a lot to be excited about Castle as an individual player, but there’s more to like about his fit next to Wembanyama. The Spurs should be past looking for talent in isolation and starting to focus on building something cohesive, and the Wemby-Castle duo seems like a great foundation. When their prized young guard and big man are on the floor together, San Antonio has outscored opponents by over five points per 100 possessions, a net rating that would rank in the top 10 in the league. Caution is advisable with numbers like that after only a few games, but, as mentioned, watching the games shows that optimism about the pairing is warranted.
Stephon Castle is 20 years old and has only played 19 games as a professional. The rookie hasn’t had a chance to spend a lot of time on the floor with Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell, the two other major pieces of the Spurs’ core. He definitely hasn’t done enough to suggest that stardom is inevitable for him.
What he has done is show that, even through the mistakes and despite the rough edges, he’s the type of player who could shine next to Wembanyama and help maximize the big man’s talent. And that’s huge for a San Antonio team that should be done indiscriminately adding talent and focusing instead on building a team.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock
