The San Antonio Spurs’ latest 107-101 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday night improved their record to 5-0, the longest undefeated streak to begin a season in franchise history.
San Antonio has established themselves as one of the most promising rising teams in the NBA, and they’ve done so on the defensive side of the ball.
Of course, the Spurs’ superstar center Victor Wembanyama’s incredible 4.8-block average has led the group to a No. 2 ranked 104.2 defensive rating, but their second-year guard Stephon Castle has improved plenty on that end to assist his team.
The reigning 2025 Rookie of the Year has increased his defensive productivity by an enormous margin, as evidenced by a fantastic 100.3 defensive rating to begin this year. Still, according to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, the 6-foot-6 guard feels as though his impact on that end might not be felt as much in certain areas.
“They talk highly of my on-ball defense but pretty lowly of my off-ball,” Castle told Weiss Thursday night.
“So I’m working on that.”
Castle’s development as an off-ball defensive threat could eventually prove to help the Spurs advance even further as a group.
He already has the physical tools to be a good one-on-one stopper, but his hopeful evolution into a solid team defender with great help-defense IQ and the ability to jump passing lanes would open up another level of defensive productivity.
Through five games to start the new season, Castle has averaged 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists and a career-high 1.8 steals while shooting 53.4% from the field.
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