With home court advantage in Game 1, the San Antonio Spurs found themselves in a favorable position to get the NBA Finals rolling. Unfortunately, a 105-95 loss against the New York Knicks left a bad taste in their mouths. While the loss undoubtedly hurts, Spurs guard Stephon Castle remains undeterred.
During his recent media availability, Stephon Castle shed light on the team’s mentality going into Game 2 on Friday. While addressing the loss in Game 1, he shared:
“If I had to think of one thing, I think it’s most of our [team’s] first time being in the Finals. Obviously, a big moment for a lot of us, and obviously, we are overly excited to get out there and play. So, that could definitely be a part of it.”
“We’ve been down in a series before. I think Coach Mitch said it best. All playoffs, it’s taken us more than a half to get settled into a game. So, just trying to be ourselves.”
“I think Vic said it best. I don’t think we have anything to be too worried about,” he added. “Obviously, we feel like we’re the better team. We didn’t play well, but still had a chance to win. So, if we take one thing from that, it’s just going back to being ourselves and focusing on the right things.”
While Stephon Castle pointed out some key issues, many of which involved the Spurs playing their unique brand of basketball, his confidence in his team being better is remarkable, but not surprising.
Considering that Castle displayed this sentiment during the series against the Thunder as well, the guard’s faith in his team seems rock solid. Thus, even while facing a 1-0 deficit, the Spurs’ confidence appears unshaken.
Stephon Castle And Spurs Point Out Key Adjustments Before Game 2
As inspiring as Stephon Castle’s confidence in his team is, it goes without saying that the Spurs are in a vulnerable position. Given that the team struggled to get going offensively, with Victor Wembanyama (26 PTS, 12 REB, 6-21 FG) also having one of the poorest shooting nights of his playoff career, San Antonio must make adjustments.
Castle touched upon this during a recent press conference, highlighting one critical error that needed to be addressed.
“I think for the most part, we just didn’t make the extra pass as much as we usually do. We kind of settled a lot more than we usually do,” he stated.
“Coach preaches a lot about trying to find better [looks] in each possession, try and find a better shot. I think we got satisfied with probably a decent look, not knowing that we can make those kinds of shots. I think we got satisfied with that a lot more than we usually do throughout the year. I think it cost us.”
Stephon Castle was one of the better performers for the Spurs on Wednesday night, posting 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists for the game. But when noting that he shot 43.8% (7-16) from the field and 20.0% (1-5) from three-point range, he was as culpable as any of his teammates.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson also reiterated this point during his media availability, as he commented:
“I thought our offense in general did not put a lot of people in the right situations and spots last night. New York had a lot to do with that; they did a good job… But the way that we played, offensively, just in terms of our team and our brand, we didn’t play the pass enough. We didn’t put enough pressure on the rim in the paint… I think we have a lot of room for improvement on that moving forward.”
Both Stephon Castle and Mitch Johnson highlighted the importance of playing Spurs basketball. But Victor Wembanyama simplified this concept further, as he preached the meaning of returning to “normal” after losing Game 1. He explained:
“‘Normal’ means trusting each other, trusting the basketball gods, trusting the game plan, executing, and not relying on talent so much to make shots or to save the day. We’ve been playing a certain way all season. We’ve been successful this way. There’s no reason to change the day the Finals start.”
Compared to his teammate and his coach, Victor Wembanyama’s opinion may strike many as slightly esoteric, but the essence is simple: play the game the way it has always been played.
In the regular season, the Spurs racked up a 60-22 record by playing their brand of basketball. Having punched a ticket to the NBA Finals by implementing this style of play, there is no reason to lose faith now that the context has changed.
Overall, the Spurs’ outlook and mental state after a tough loss seem promising. Given that the team has displayed terrific resilience throughout the postseason, it will be intriguing to see how they bounce back at this juncture.
