Castle is out for Friday's game against the Trail Blazers due to a left shoulder contusion, Paul Garcia of ProjectSpurs.com reports.
Castle banged his shoulder in the second quarter of the 121-116 win over the Pelicans on Dec. 8, a game in which he finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists across 34 minutes. Even though the early diagnosis was just a bruise, the rookie will receive some extra rest and will sit out Friday's rematch against Portland. His next chance to play will come against the Timberwolves on Sunday.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Explodes after trip to locker room
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Castle amassed 22 points (8-15 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 4-5 FT), five rebounds, four assists and one steal across 34 minutes during Sunday's 121-116 victory over the Pelicans.
Castle banged his shoulder in the second quarter, forcing a brief trip to the locker room. He was back on the bench before halftime and inflicted significant damage for the remainder of the game. Castle scored 12 points in the fourth quarter when he converted two three-point attempts, adding a rebound and a steal. The Spurs are headed into a four-day break before their next game, so Castle's injury is unlikely to be a burden after the rest period.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Returns to bench
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Castle (shoulder) returned to the bench during the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Pelicans, Paul Garcia of ProjectSpurs.com reports.
Castle's trip to the locker room was a short one, as he was spotted back on the bench with a few minutes to spare before halftime. He'll presumably be available for the rest of the game as needed.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Heads to locker room
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Castle went to the locker room during the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Pelicans due to a left shoulder injury, Jeff Garcia of KENS 5 San Antonio reports.
The severity of the injury is unknown at this time, but he'll head to the locker room to be examined further. Castle will be considered questionable to return until the team releases another update.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Drops 16 points in loss
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Castle racked up 16 points (5-14 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 5-6 FT), one rebound, three assists and one steal across 34 minutes during Tuesday's 104-93 loss to the Suns.
Although the rookie has a few growing pains to endure, Castle is successfully holding onto a starting role, which he acquired after Devin Vassell was injured. Castle has yet to give up the role, although Vassell's condition is improving and he's grabbing more minutes from Harrison Barnes in the short-term. As long as Castle continues to produce, he should have a consistent presence with the first unit.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Stuffs stat sheet Saturday
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Castle contributed 19 points (7-15 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 3-4 FT), three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 33 minutes during Saturday's 104-94 victory over the Warriors.
Castle has settled in well as a starter, and his streak of games with at least 10 points has now reached nine appearances. The rookie forms an excellent backcourt tandem with Chris Paul, and all signs point to the rookie continuing to flourish as a starter with a rebuilding San Antonio team. Castle is averaging 14.3 points and 4.5 assists per game since being promoted to a starting gig 10 games ago.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Continues to flourish
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Castle closed Thursday's 126-118 victory over Utah with 18 points (6-14 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 5-5 FT), three rebounds, six assists, one block and one steal across 34 minutes.
Castle was San Antonio's second-leading scorer during Thursday's victory over the Jazz. Since moving to the starting lineup, the rookie guard is averaging 13.8 points, 4.7 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 30.3 minutes across his last nine appearances. However, Castle is somewhat struggling with his efficiency, as he is shooting just 42.2 percent from the field over that span.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Best scoring output of young career
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Castle supplied 23 points (8-16 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 4-5 FT), two rebounds, three assists and two steals over 35 minutes during Saturday's 111-110 loss to the Jazz.
Saturday marked a second consecutive strong performance by the rookie, who appears destined to return to a bench role as early as Monday against the Kings following a strong season debut by Devin Vassell. Castle has started three straight games for the Spurs in Jeremy Sochan's (thumb) absence and is averaging 14.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals during this brief stretch.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Drops career high in loss
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Castle put up 11 points (4-10 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 3-4 FT), four rebounds, an assist and a block over 20 minutes in Monday's 113-104 loss to the Clippers.
Castle started the second half of Monday's game against the Clippers in place of Jeremy Sochan (thumb), which paved the way for him to reach double digits in points for the first time in his young career. With Sochan out for an extended period, Castle will likely see an increased role moving forward.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Limited off bench again
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Castle contributed three points (1-5 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 0-2 FT) and three rebounds in 15 minutes during Saturday's 113-103 win over the Timberwolves.
Castle was used sparingly once again Saturday, continuing his underwhelming season. Although he was highly touted coming out of the draft, it appears he will have to bide his time, playing limited minutes off the bench. He is certainly a candidate to be thrust into a larger role if and when San Antonio is eliminated from playoff contention. Until then, it's hard to see him playing more than about 15 minutes per night.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Coming off bench Thursday
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Castle will come off the bench in Thursday's regular-season opener versus the Mavericks, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports.
Castle did not enter the starting five during the preseason, so it does not come as a shock that the rookie will be part of the bench unit. The 19-year-old will back up Chris Paul and Julian Champagnie in the backcourt, though Castle will likely receive significant minutes in his first NBA game coming off the bench.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Scores team-high 16 points
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Castle finished with 16 points (6-14 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 3-4 FT), four rebounds, three assists and two steals across 24 minutes off the bench in Thursday's 129-107 preseason loss to the Rockets.
Castle led the Spurs in points and was a disruptive presence on both ends of the court. The fact that he also led the team in minutes played is an encouraging sign of his role in the rotation. He's not likely to open the regular season as a starter, but he should see decent minutes off the bench at both guard spots.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Makes presence felt Wednesday
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Castle delivered 17 points (4-9 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 7-10 FT), two rebounds, four assists and two steals across 22 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's 107-97 preseason win over the Magic.
Castle led the Spurs in scoring and showed some interesting traits, mainly his passing ability and an underrated skill to get to the charity stripe. The Spurs have big hopes for the rookie, and he's in contention to open the season in a starting role alongside Chris Paul in the backcourt while Devin Vassell (foot) is inactive.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Back at practice
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Castle (wrist) was a participant in Tuesday's practice, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News reports.
Castle sprained his wrist during Summer League but has fully recovered from the injury and is practicing with the team. The rookie figures to play a significant role early on considering starting SG Devin Vassell (foot) is expected to be sidelined into November. Castle will compete with Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley for a starting role while Vassell is inactive.
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Spurs' Stephon Castle: Looks sharp in win
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Castle recorded 22 points (8-21 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 4-6 FT), five rebounds, four assists and one steal over 29 minutes in Saturday's 83-77 Summer League win over the Trail Blazers.
Coming off a national championship with UConn, the 6-foot-6 guard finds himself with an exciting opportunity in San Antonio. Castle is likely to begin his career as a key reserve for the Spurs while learning from the likes of Chris Paul and Devin Vassell, though a starting spot may not be out of the question depending on how he fares during training camp.
