The San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 17-point deficit to upset the Golden State Warriors,104-94, on Saturday, and it was the stellar two-way play of their two young building blocks that brought them home.
Victor Wembanyama was all over the place defensively and got his offense going in the second half on his way to 25 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three blocks. Stephon Castle, who just turned 20 and was taken fourth overall by San Antonio in this summer’s draft, finished with 19 points while playing some of the best defense you’re likely to see on Stephen Curry.
Curry finished with just 14 points on 16 shots. Three of those points came on a high-arcing desperation 3 that he somehow made with a little over a minute to play. The shot didn’t end up mattering, but it was an indicative illustration of the difficulty he had finding clean looks all night.
There were long stretches of this game in which Curry couldn’t find an inch of space as Castle tracked him all over the court, He never took his eyes off the sharpshooter. He fought over on- and off-ball screens and stayed attached to Curry when he gave the ball up rather than relaxing for the split second that Curry loves to exploit with quick relocations. Look how glued Castle is to Curry for the entire length of the court on this late possession:
This was Curry’s life all night. Castle was relentlessly physical and focused. He is going to be an All-NBA defender very soon and for years to come, His offense will determine if he’s going to be a star, and that is coming along quickly as well.
The shooting is hit or miss right now, but he has the ability to make any shot on the court and can attack at all three levels. His midrange pull-up could be a bread-and-butter shot in the near future and he finishes at the rim with extreme strength and balance. He’s an instinctual cutter. He read a collapsing coverage when Harrison Barnes was posting on Saturday and raced straight down the lane for a difficult lefty finish.
Castle can drive and collapse defenses and create looks for teammates. Maybe the most impressive play in the following package was actually an airball that he followed up not by pouting, but by immediately getting back and creating a steal on Curry to pretty much ice the game.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama, as usual, was utterly dominant in the paint. His recovery range allows him to take so many shots at disrupting plays away from the basket because he knows he can still get back to protect the rim with basically just a step and reach.
He does it again here, following up his deep 3-pointer, which the play-by-play tracking pegged at 32 feet, by coming from the elbow to snuff out a shot at the rim from behind on the ensuing possession.
That 3-pointer is obviously a shot the Wembanyama can make, but it shouldn’t be the bulk of his diet. Yes, he hit a couple big ones in the fourth quarter on Saturday, but he missed seven of his first nine from deep and was still just 4 for 13 for the game — the same line he authored in a loss to the Lakers on Friday. That makes him eight for his last 26 from three following a three-game run where he was 20 for 37.
Without that little run, Wembanyama’s season 3-point mark would be even lower than his current clip, which is below 34%. What got him going in this game, and where he should be looking to do a bigger percentage of his scoring as he moves forward, was inside the arc, catching on the move, cutting and flashing into crack that basically don’t exist for normal-sized players.
Wemby is wonderful when facing up and operating from the high post, either at the elbow or in the middle of the floor, where he can see double-teams coming and use his already advanced passing skills when he isn’t just shooting short jumpers over helpless defenders trying to reach the top of a building. He can legit put the ball on the floor and make plays.
It bears repeating that yes, he can also make 3s, obviously. But the rhythm is important, and it’s the work inside the arc that tends to get his rhythm going rather than jacking 3s early and often. It did on Saturday, and then the big 3s fell later.
It’s a hair-splitting assessment, perhaps, but the Spurs are in the exploration period with both Wemby and Castle, and figuring out when and where to attack is a big part of the equation. Even with an inverted shot diet, Wembanyama is going to put up extraordinary numbers because he’s an extraordinary talent. Look at his last five games for crying out loud:
Victor Wembanyama last five games
- Nov. 9 vs. Jazz: 24 points 16 rebounds, 3 blocks
- Nov. 11 vs. Kings: 34 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks
- Nov. 13 vs. Wizards: 50 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
- Nov. 15 vs. Lakers: 28 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks
- Nov. 23 vs. Warriors: 25 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks
And this is with over half his shots coming from 3! One of two things is going to happen: Either his 3-point percentage is going to go up, or he’s going to trade in some of those 3s for most paint attacks, which is a surefire bet to increase his efficiency. Either way, you could argue that what we’re currently seeing is damn near his baseline level of offensive production. Crazy.
Suffice it to say, this is beyond an exciting time to be a Spurs fan knowing that Wemby and Castle are going to be the anchors of what should be a contending team before long. Honestly, to have this elite of a perimeter defender funneling scorers to this elite of a paint protector is, on its own, a strong foundation for contention. Add in Wembanyama’s limitless offensive upside and Castle’s emerging abilities on that end as well, and San Antonio’s (potentially near) future looks awfully bright.
