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Stephon Castle really took a huge leap this season, a big reason why the San Antonio Spurs won 60 games and claimed the second seed in the Western Conference. He averaged 17 points per game, five rebounds, and seven assists on 47 percent shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The one concern coming into the playoffs though was whether or not his jump-shooting would be good enough for the Spurs\u2019 offense to continue to succeed. The playoffs is where the floor shrinks and spacing becomes imperative to success.<\/p>\n
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Castle did show promise in that area as the season came to a close, as he shot 43 percent from three-point range on about four attempts per game. The question became whether or not he would be able to sustain it and San Antonio has its answer.<\/p>\n
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Castle has been a little off from two-point range against Portland, as he is only making 41 percent of his two-point attempts, but that hasn\u2019t neutralized his offense. He is still averaging 21 PPG, four rebounds, and six assists, while knocking down 43 percent of his threes on five attempts.<\/p>\n
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This includes his stellar 33-point performance in game three without Victor Wembanyama. Castle was in complete control of the offense, en route to shooting 56 percent from the field and only missing one of his four three-point attempts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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While the Blazers have given Castle the space to shoot, he has been making them pay and as a result, it has opened up the Spurs\u2019 offense. With the shooting threat he has provided, he is able to attack the paint and either finish at the rim or trigger ball movement that gets Portland into rotation defensively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Additionally, he has been part of a guard rotation that has helped San Antonio tremendously. The backcourt trio of Castle, De\u2019Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper has given Portland fits all series, but Castle-Harper lineups have been extremely deadly with a +21.2 net rating.<\/a> The Fox-Castle pairing has not been as clean<\/a> offensively, but it has not been detrimental enough for the Spurs to go away from it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is only a four-game sample, but Castle has so far quieted the noise about whether or not he would be an offensive liability because of his shooting this playoffs. The Spurs are in great position to close out the Blazers, as they are up 3-1, and if they do get deeper into the playoffs, Castle will have to continue the momentum he has built during this series.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n