By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-03-03 13:45:45
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。
圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (5) 在得州奥斯汀穆迪中心2025年2月20日（周四）第一节比赛中，完成对菲尼克斯太阳队中锋博尔·博尔 (11) 的扣篮后，在球迷的欢呼声中做出回应。
马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)刚刚在周日晚上对阵强悍的俄克拉荷马雷霆队的比赛中砍下32分，这或许是他迄今为止证明自己应该被视为NBA年度最佳新秀领跑者的最好例证。
然而，他并不开心。
“得分什么的很酷，” 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在马刺队以146-132失利后表示，“但我们仍然想赢，所以老实说，这对我来说意义不大。”
从输赢的角度来看，对于斯蒂芬·卡斯尔来说，这是一个艰难的赛季。
在康涅狄格大学的唯一一个赛季里，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔经历了37胜3负的冠军征程。然而，他在NBA的第一个赛季中遭遇的失利次数是大学时期的11倍以上。
马刺队将于周二在霜冻银行中心迎战布鲁克林篮网队，战绩为25胜34负，比过去两个赛季有所进步，但远未达到斯蒂芬·卡斯尔希望的胜利程度。
在证明自己作为联盟第四顺位新秀的价值，并为自己定位为未来由维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama) 领衔的马刺队的核心球员方面呢？
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔作为职业球员的头五个月再顺利不过了。
“他仍然在学习比赛，但他非常有天赋，运动能力也很强，” 从萨克拉门托国王队交易而来，迅速对这位20岁的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔印象深刻的新援达龙·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)说。“即使你不知道自己在场上做什么，当你天赋异禀时，你也会弄清楚。我认为他现在正在这样做。”
当费城76人队的贾里德·麦凯恩(Jared McCain)在12月份因半月板撕裂赛季报销时，NBA年度最佳新秀的竞争局面彻底打开。
在文班亚马(Wembanyama)去年全票赢得该奖项一年后，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔很有可能连续第二个赛季将它带回圣安东尼奥。
身高6尺6的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔以场均13.2分领跑所有符合条件的NBA新秀，同时还能贡献3.1个篮板和3.5次助攻。他已经算是马刺队中顶尖的持球防守者之一，并正在成长为联盟最佳防守者之一。
文班亚马因血栓问题赛季报销，这为其他马刺球员展示他们的能力打开了大门。不知疲倦的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔将此视为一个信号，毫不犹豫地冲了过去。
“没有文班亚马打球很困难，”斯蒂芬·卡斯尔说。“我们正在尽我们所能来填补这个空缺。不是自私地想自己承担一切，而是尝试作为一个完整的团队来做到这一点。他实际上是唯一一个可以做到他所做的一切的人。”
在周日输给西部联盟头名雷霆队的比赛中，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔展示了当他将比赛的所有元素结合在一起时会发生的可怕景象。
他拿到了本赛季第二个30分，21次投篮命中12次，包括4个三分球。在教练组的挑战下，他努力争抢篮板，并抢下了全队最高的8个篮板，其中4个是进攻篮板。
连续四场比赛至少得到20分，可以说斯蒂芬·卡斯尔已经走出了全明星赛后的低迷期。
“我认为他只是回到了那个毫不掩饰的、充满侵略性的、顽强的孩子，我们已经爱上了他，”代理教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)说。“很高兴看到他回到场上努力拼搏，并相信自己的本能。”
整个赛季一直担任斯蒂芬·卡斯尔导师的资深控球后卫克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)表示，他对斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在周日的比赛中表现出的超越得分的方面印象深刻。
“有时候在这个联盟里，人们会被得分和数据所迷惑，”保罗说。“但归根结底，你是在努力赢得比赛，并努力确保你做出制胜的举动。总有人要在那些输球的球队中得分。所以你只是想尝试找出影响胜利的方法。”
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔的三分球仍然有待提高。他对阵俄克拉荷马雷霆队时尝试了赛季最高的10次，对于一个三分球命中率仅为28.4%的球员来说，这是一种勇敢的做法。他在对阵雷霆队的比赛中命中了其中的四次。
马刺队一直对斯蒂芬·卡斯尔的投篮机制充满信心，他们相信他的三分球效率终有一天会赶上他比赛的其他方面。
“我会说我的数据在整个赛季都在提高，但我感觉我对它的信心一直差不多，”斯蒂芬·卡斯尔说。“我在这上面投入了很多精力。我觉得尽量不要根据进球和失误来判断它是最重要的事情。”
然而，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔至少会部分根据输赢来判断他的NBA首个赛季。
这就是为什么他对周日对阵雷霆队的表现感觉不太好的原因。
得分不如获胜有趣。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔相信有一天他可以两者兼得。
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies forward Lamar Stevens in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2), del Thunder de Oklahoma City, ataca la canasta con la presión defensiva de Stephon Castle y Jeremy Sochan, de los Spurs de San Antonio, durante la primera mitad del juego de baloncesto de la NBA, el domingo 2 de marzo de 2025, en San Antonio. (AP Foto/Darren Abate)
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) walks off the court following a 125-110 loss against the Detroit Pistons at Moody Center on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Austin, Texas.
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) disagrees with a referee call during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Moody Center on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Austin, Texas. The Spurs fell to the Pistons 125-110.
点击查看原文：Spurs' Stephon Castle making Rookie of the Year push
Spurs’ Stephon Castle making Rookie of the Year push
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) reacts as fans cheer following his dunk over Phoenix Suns center Bol Bol (11) during the first quarter at Moody Center on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Austin, Texas.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle had just put up 32 points against a rugged Oklahoma City defense Sunday night, making perhaps his best case yet for why he should be considered the frontrunner for NBA Rookie of the Year honors.
And yet, he was not a happy camper.
“The scoring and stuff is cool,” Castle said after the Spurs’ 146-132 defeat. “But we still want to win, so that doesn’t really mean much to me honestly.”
From a winning and losing perspective, it has been a rough season for Castle.
After going 37-3 during a championship-winning run in his lone college season at Connecticut, Castle has suffered through more than 11 times the losses in his first go-round in the NBA.
The Spurs enter Tuesday’s game against Brooklyn at the Frost Bank Center at 25-34, better than they have been over the past two seasons but not nearly as victory laden as Castle would like.
In terms of proving his worth as the league’s No. 4 overall pick and setting himself up to be a foundational piece of the Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs going forward?
Castle’s first five months as a professional could not have gone much better.
“He’s still learning the game, but he’s so talented and so athletic,” said newcomer De’Aaron Fox, who since arriving in a trade from Sacramento has become swiftly impressed with the 20-year-old Castle. “Even if you don’t know what you’re doing out there, when you’re that gifted you figure it out. And I think right now he’s doing that.”
When Philadelphia’s Jared McCain went down with a season-ending meniscus injury in December, it threw the NBA’s Rookie of the Year race wide open.
A year after Wembanyama won the trophy in unanimous trophy, Castle stands a good chance of bringing it back to San Antonio for a second consecutive season.
The 6-foot-6 Castle leads all eligible NBA rookies in scoring at 13.2 points per game, while also chipping in 3.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He already rates as one of the Spurs’ top on-ball defenders, on his way to becoming one of the best league-wide.
The season-ending loss of Wembanyama to a blood clot issue has opened the door for other Spurs to showcase what they can do. The indefatigable Castle took that as a cue to barge right through it.
“It’s hard playing without Vic,” Castle said. “We’re trying to do whatever we can to fill that void. Not trying to selfishly take it upon yourself to try and do it, but try and do it as a full team. He’s really the only one that could do all the things he does.”
In Sunday’s loss to the Western Conference-topping Thunder, Castle showed the hellfire that can happen when he puts all the elements of his game together.
He posted his second 30-point game of the season, hitting 12 of his 21 shot attempts including four 3-pointers. Challenged by the coaching staff to make a mark on the boards, Castle went and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds with four coming on the offensive end.
With four straight games of at least 20 points, it is fair to say Castle is over the mini-swoon he endured coming out of the All-Star break.
“I think he is just back to being that unapologetically aggressive, relentless kid that we have come to love,” acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s been nice to just see him back out there playing hard and trusting his instincts.”
Veteran point guard Chris Paul, who has been a mentor to Castle throughout the season, said he was impressed with the parts of Castle’s game that went beyond scoring Sunday.
“Sometimes in this league, people can get caught up with scoring with numbers,” Paul said. “But at the end of the day, you’re trying to win games and trying to make sure you make winning plays. Somebody’s got to score on teams that ain’t winning. So you just want to try to figure out ways to impact winning.”
Castle’s 3-point shot remains a work in progress. He attempted a season-high 10 against Oklahoma City, a brave approach for a player who clocks in at a 28.4-percent clip from behind the arc. He made four of those tries against the Thunder.
The Spurs have long believed in Castle’s mechanics, confident his 3-point efficiency will one day catch up to the rest of his game.
“I’d say my numbers have been improving throughout the year, but I feel like my confidence in it has been kind of the same,” Castle said “I put a lot of work into it. I feel like just trying not to judge it off makes and misses is the biggest thing.”
However, Castle will judge his maiden NBA season at least in part on wins and losses.
It is why he struggled to feel too good about what he accomplished against the Thunder on Sunday.
Scoring isn’t as fun as winning. Castle is confident one day he can have both.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News