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Stephon Castle’s aggressive playmaking helped keep the San Antonio Spurs competitive, but it also pushed him into unwanted NBA playoff history.
The Spurs guard has been forced into a massive on-ball role against the Oklahoma City Thunder’s pressure defense.
Through two Western Conference Finals games, that responsibility has produced points, assists, and a turnover total nobody wants beside their name.
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Stephon Castle breaks unwanted NBA playoff record after San Antonio Spurs Game 2 loss
Legion Hoops highlighted Stephon Castle’s turnover problem after the San Antonio Spurs lost Game 2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Castle has now committed 19 turnovers over a two-game postseason stretch, the most in NBA playoff history.
The number came after another difficult night handling Oklahoma City’s pressure. Castle had nine turnovers in Game 2, following a double-digit turnover night in San Antonio’s double-overtime Game 1 win.
The rough stat line does not mean Castle was ineffective. He finished Game 2 with 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds while shooting 10-of-17 from the field.
The problem was that every mistake became expensive against a Thunder team built to turn chaos into points.
Stephon Castle’s burden grows as Oklahoma City Thunder squeeze San Antonio Spurs guards
The record says plenty about Castle’s struggles, but it also explains how heavily San Antonio is leaning on him right now.
De’Aaron Fox missed Game 2 with an ankle issue, and Dylan Harper left during the game with a leg injury, leaving Castle to carry even more creation duties against one of the NBA’s most disruptive defenses.
Oklahoma City forced 21 Spurs turnovers in the 122-113 win and turned them into a 27-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, and the Thunder’s perimeter pressure repeatedly sped up San Antonio’s ball-handlers, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30 points helped Oklahoma City tie the series at 1-1.
That is the key for Castle entering Game 3. San Antonio needs his aggression, but it cannot afford another night where his playmaking becomes Oklahoma City’s best transition weapon.
Read more:
- Stephon Castle explains key difference in defending Wolves and Trail Blazers
- Draymond Green snubs Wembanyama while naming Spurs’ most important playoff player so far
- It’s not just Wembanyama: Spurs star mirrors Tony Parker vs Portland as stats confirm
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