'Ready to Go!' Stephon Castle Closes Out 1st Preseason with Strong Effort

Stephon Castle led the San Antonio Spurs in scoring Thursday night against the Houston Rockets.

The former UConn star scored 16 points in 24 minutes as the Spurs lost their final preseason game to the Rockets, 129-107 at the Toyota Center. And with the preseason behind him, Castle is ready to get a jump on the regular season. He enjoyed his first preseason, now ready to play the games which count in the standings.

"I feel like I'm ready to go," he said. "Just trying to gauge the speed of the game, the physicality. It's starting to slow down now. ... I found those games were really needed and useful."

Castle said the biggest thing he got out of Thursday's game and the entire preseason was the different combinations of players Spurs coach Gregg Popovich used. Thursday night was a night for the reserves as many of the usual starters, such as Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama, did not see action.

"We are just building chemistry," Castle said. "Understanding each other."

Castle said over the next week the Spurs will work on their team defense. He added when they play their best team defense, it makes transition buckets easier.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) looks to pass against the Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28). — Oct 17, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) looks to pass against the Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

"We will be focusing in on our defense. I feel like when we play our best game of defense we are at our best, running our transition and scoring points," Castle said. "We don't have to play half court the whole time. We are just trying to lock in on that."

Despite the loss, Popovich was optimistic. He, too, is ready for the season to begin.

"I saw a lot of things I liked," Popovich said. "We hung tough in the first and third quarters, but the second and fourth got away from us. We will concentrate on the things we saw on both sides that we did good. I was impressed with a good number of the players and seeing their corporate knowledge pick up a little bit.

"We will continue to get better."

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