Castle has been hitting some clutch 3s already this year. Reminding more of Ginobli everyday.

THE_CHOSEN_ONE said:

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Castle has been hitting some clutch 3s already this year. Reminding more of Ginobli everyday.

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Yep. His mechanics all look good. Just needs some time and experience for everything to come together.

Castle has 21p 6r 8a 4s 1b and shot 7-12, 2-4, 5-7. Plus only 2 turnovers.

He definitely had some deflections that turned into steals for other players, too.

Can't go 82-0 without starting 5-0

First time in Spurs history to start a season 5-0.

5-0 for the first time in franchise history!

It's not always pretty, but this young team keeps finding ways to win. As they mature, they'll start burying teams after those big second half runs.

98-0 incoming

How many wins do the kids have without the highest paid and only former All-NBA player on the team?

Spurs a top team in the West?

TyHolden said:

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Spurs a top team in the West?

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As long as Vic stays healthy we are definitely a playoff team. Shooting and turnovers will cost us some games for sure. We still don't know how this team fits together with all the pieces in place.

Wemby on if he’s worried about getting dunked on

“Until [the day] I'm getting dunked on more than I'm blocking shots, I'm going to keep going. But none of us will live to that day."

Sheesh

(Via @Wemby_Muse 🎥)

pic.twitter.com/t7piQ1Dvkd

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 31, 2025

They did pretty good with turnovers last night.
Castle only had 2 and should get even better when Fox comes back.
Of course, the West is stacked but I think the Spurs are at least a top 5 seed.

LawHall88 said:

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Wemby on if he’s worried about getting dunked on

“Until [the day] I'm getting dunked on more than I'm blocking shots, I'm going to keep going. But none of us will live to that day."

Sheesh

(Via @Wemby_Muse 🎥)

pic.twitter.com/t7piQ1Dvkd

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 31, 2025

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Cold blooded. Love it

Guitarsoup said:

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First time in Spurs history to start a season 5-0.

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it blows my mind that, even with all those great teams of the past, this is the first time the spurs have ever started 5-0.

2008and1 said:

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TyHolden said:

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Spurs a top team in the West?

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As long as Vic stays healthy we are definitely a playoff team. Shooting and turnovers will cost us some games for sure. We still don't know how this team fits together with all the pieces in place.

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Spurs have the #2 net rating in the NBA after Denver.

I would put us as 3rd best right now after Denver and OKC. Both Denver and OKC are playing great basketball and have a history of winning, plus the most recent MVPs. They are top two until proven otherwise.

I don't really think there is any question about fit once Olynyk, Sochan, Kornet, and Fox get healthy in the next few days.

Sochan is going to be a bench POA defender to rotate with Castle. On offense, he will be setting a lot of screens and rolling/cutting.

Olynyk will be our 3rd string PF/C so we don't have to play Biyumbo anymore. Not the best rim protector, but he is a good shooter and does the dirty work.

Kornet's impact is obvious and we need him back to keep Wemby from having to play 40 minutes like yesterday.

So that brings us to Fox. Fox is obviously going to take touches away from Castle primarily and Harper secondarily. I think we start Vic/Barnes/Vassell/Castle/Fox. We lose some size with Fox for Julian, but we gain so much offense and Vassell/Castle have an acceptable amount of size for 2/3. Having a top 15 scorer to take pressure off everyone is going to be a huge benefit right now as Harper and Castle are still developing.

On defense, we will see Fox do a lot of what Castle did last night. Fox isn't the best POA defender, but he is fantastic at his anticipation and jumping passing lanes. If you watched the game last night, that is what Castle did and led to I think 3 of his steals. That frustrated Sacramento because gambling like that can lead to being out of position, but Sacramento didn't have Wemby and Castle to back him up.

The way I would structure rotations is:

Start:

Wemby - Barnes - Vassell - Castle - Fox

Early sub: Harper for Fox (maybe 8min mark)

Then you run Starters with Harper and Castle at the guard positions.

Then in the late 1st when second team typically comes in, you sub most of the team. Leave Harper at SG, and run Kornet, Sochan, Keldon, Harper, and Fox. Harper is shooting 36% and Keldon is amazingly 6-11 from three for 55%. He's got that secondary spot until proven otherwise with how much he is hustling and knocking down shots.


You let Fox work his way up to his typical 35mpg range, but I think he will get fewer. Harper and Castle still get a lot of minutes.

Right now, Harper is at 26 and Castle is at 32 minutes per game. Julian is at 30mpg and he is going to lose a lot of minutes. Keldon is at 25mpg, and I think he loses some as well. Barnes is at 30mpg, and I think that likely drops some, too.

I think that realistically, Castle will end up in the 28-30mpg range, Harper will be around 28mpg.

For the 96 minutes we have at guard, Fox 32, Harper 26, Castle 28, Vassell 10.

Minute distribution:

PG: Fox 32, Castle 8, Harper 8
G: Castle 20, Harper 18, Vassell 10
W: Vassell 20, Keldon 15, Julian 13
F: Barnes: 20, Sochan 20, Keldon 5, Kornet 3
C: Wemby 32, Kornet 16

That has Sochan playing 100% of the minutes that Castle is off the floor.

Wemby 32mpg is probably what we want. Kornet plays some with Wemby and all the non-Wemby minutes.

Julian, Keldon, and Barnes will vary a lot based on if they are hot or not. Keldon has been hot and an offensive rebounding machine so far, so I distributed more minutes to him.

Even when Fox is in, Fox has been a good catch and shoot shooter, so we will see Harper or Castle initiate the offense when Fox is in. I think we see a lot of driving then secondary drives off broken defenses because of how well those three can all attack the basket. But we can also play a matchup game. If Houston has Amen on Fox, we just pass over to Harper or Castle and attack Sheppard. Most teams don't have two POA defenders they can play at the same time, but we can neutralize the other teams' POA defender by just letting the player they are defending be a spot up shooter while we attack with our other playmakers. I don't think any team has that type of flexibility that we do with Fox, Castle, Harper.

We are seeing how great our team is taking control of games with Harper and Castle getting into the paint, so adding one of the best in the league at driving in Fox is only going to improve our team. And we can play Fox with the second team a lot and have a very difficult matchup for the other team to worry about while their primary POA defender is resting.

I think we are going to fit together so well. And we are going to cause teams all kinds of foul trouble because of how well we are playing in the paint. Getting FTs was the difference against the Heat.

For his career, Fox gets about 6FTA/game. Right now, Wemby is averaging almost 10FTA and Castle is over 8. Castle is shooting .534 from the floor and 81% at the rim, which is insane. As long as Castle is driving this well, he's going to get plenty of touches.

The big thing is that when Fox and Kornet (and to a lesser degree Sochan) are back, we aren't going to see the dip in score from the 2nd team. We are going to be able to keep elite players on the floor at all times and more importantly, players that can force other teams into difficult situations. I thought the Spurs would be a 48-50win team (O/U was 44) but we are looking like my prediction was low.

I think the West is:

1. OKC
2. Denver
3. SA
4. GSW
5. LAL (with Luka/Bron back)
6. HOU
7. Portland
8. LAC

Over the last 25 years, only two players have had a 5 game stretch averaging 30+ PPG, 14+ RPG, and 4+ BPG:

- Wemby (last 5 games)
- Tim Duncan (2002) pic.twitter.com/TZoV133FlZ

— The Lead (@TheLeadSM) October 31, 2025

Cued up to 2 minutes, Sam talks about the Spurs and beating Miami.

Guitarsoup said:

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Over the last 25 years, only two players have had a 5 game stretch averaging 30+ PPG, 14+ RPG, and 4+ BPG:

- Wemby (last 5 games)
- Tim Duncan (2002) pic.twitter.com/TZoV133FlZ

— The Lead (@TheLeadSM) October 31, 2025

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This is an insane stat for Timmy given how much slower the game was. Far less scoring and rebound opportunities.

All I do is Nguyen said:

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5-0 for the first time in franchise history!

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It's been a while since they had even won 5 games in a row, per this dated tweet from January.

have you won 5 games in a row this decade pic.twitter.com/m3Dl4Otj4s

— Automatic (@automaticnba) January 9, 2025

Guitarsoup said:

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I think the West is:

1. OKC
2. Denver
3. SA
4. GSW
5. LAL (with Luka/Bron back)
6. HOU
7. Portland
8. LAC

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Barring injuries, I think the top 6 there is pretty safe (in some order). In that world, getting a 1-2 seed would be a big advantage over a 3-4 seed because 5-6 will be considerably stronger than 7-8.

The implication of MIN and MEM as outside-looking-in is wild too. Utah is playing better ball. If Dallas can tread water, they could be a scary 10-seed. The west is crazy.

Deluxe said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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I think the West is:

1. OKC
2. Denver
3. SA
4. GSW
5. LAL (with Luka/Bron back)
6. HOU
7. Portland
8. LAC

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Barring injuries, I think the top 6 there is pretty safe (in some order). In that world, getting a 1-2 seed would be a big advantage over a 3-4 seed because 5-6 will be considerably stronger than 7-8.

The implication of MIN and MEM as outside-looking-in is wild too. Utah is playing better ball. If Dallas can tread water, they could be a scary 10-seed. The west is crazy.

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I like the idea of Memphis with my guy Cedric Coward looking great and JJJ, but I don't trust Ja and don't trust their depth.

Ant is out for at least 2 weeks and even with him they didn't have a PG. Dilly is a bust. How good is a team in the rest led by 34yo Gobert, 31yo Randle, Naz Reid and McDaniels? I'm guessing that's sub.500 in the West. Their bench is kinda of trash outside Naz, who is only putting up 10/6.

Clippers are the other team that's disappointing, name people had them 2nd in the West but they are playing like dog**** despite actually being healthy. Wait until those geriatrics start getting hurt

Iowaggie said:

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All I do is Nguyen said:

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5-0 for the first time in franchise history!

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It's been a while since they had even won 5 games in a row, per this dated tweet from January.

have you won 5 games in a row this decade pic.twitter.com/m3Dl4Otj4s

— Automatic (@automaticnba) January 9, 2025

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"And I took that personally"

-Wemby, probably

God Never Makes Mistakes!

“A righteous man falls seven times, and rises again” Prov. 24:16 pic.twitter.com/XAJYREqdYk

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) October 31, 2025

LawHall88 said:

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God Never Makes Mistakes!

“A righteous man falls seven times, and rises again” Prov. 24:16 pic.twitter.com/XAJYREqdYk

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) October 31, 2025

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A righteous man reveals his MRI results to his anxious fans.

— Off Peachtree (@OffPeachtree) October 31, 2025

First reply

This read by Dylan Harper is awesome, but REALLY awesome for a 19-year-old. It's just so good. The Spurs are going to be great for a very long time and Harper is going to be a huge part of why. pic.twitter.com/JBcv2MqHDb

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 31, 2025

I've been saying, all you have to do is get the ball in Keldon's hands and good things happen.

Keldon Johnson has been great. Lowest PPG (11.8) since his rookie season, but he's doing it on 74.0% TS (8th best in the NBA) – 67% 2P, 55% 3P (2.2 3PA/G), 82% FT – while registering a 14.8% offensive rebound rate (9th best) and turning the ball over just once in five games. https://t.co/2MBikBe2uL

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 31, 2025

I've been saying for years that KJ is the heart and soul.

Ag Natural said:

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I've been saying for years that KJ is the heart and soul.

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He is. Keldons issue IMO, which I'm sure will rear its head from time to time this season though hopefully rarely, is when he tries to be the primary option and holds on to the ball too long. When he thinks he's the #1 scoring option, is when he gets in trouble. To be fair, in previous seasons and bc of injuries, he probably was at times. But with this roster, he's at best the 3rd option on the court at anytime. If someone like KJ is your 3rd option during a small stretch but normally your 5th or 6th, that's pretty good.

Re: Shooting

Spurs are 11th in the league at 38% from three.


Catch and shoot threes:
Barnes started slow, but is at 38% on catch and shoots.
Castle 50% (5 of 10)
McLaughlin 43%
Harper 50% (also 5 of 10)
Keldon 50% (also 5 of 10)
Devin 36% (but he is at 67% off 1 or two dribbles and is 41% on the season)

HummingbirdSaltalamacchia said:

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Ag Natural said:

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I've been saying for years that KJ is the heart and soul.

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He is. Keldons issue IMO, which I'm sure will rear its head from time to time this season though hopefully rarely, is when he tries to be the primary option and holds on to the ball too long. When he thinks he's the #1 scoring option, is when he gets in trouble. To be fair, in previous seasons and bc of injuries, he probably was at times. But with this roster, he's at best the 3rd option on the court at anytime. If someone like KJ is your 3rd option during a small stretch but normally your 5th or 6th, that's pretty good.

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He seems to be embracing the energy off the bench role. Flying in for offensive rebounds and scoring in the paint. It helps that he's become a pretty reliable catch and shoot guy too.

Ja Morant wearing out his welcome.

Grizzlies statement on Ja Morant pic.twitter.com/0zk9VmADwn

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) November 1, 2025

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young sustained a sprained MCL in his right knee and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, sources tell ESPN. Young underwent an MRI on Friday and multiple doctor reviews that showed he dodged major structural damage in the knee. pic.twitter.com/pgvImRrnOF

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 1, 2025

Guitarsoup said:

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Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young sustained a sprained MCL in his right knee and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, sources tell ESPN. Young underwent an MRI on Friday and multiple doctor reviews that showed he dodged major structural damage in the knee. pic.twitter.com/pgvImRrnOF

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 1, 2025

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Really need Atlanta to suck it up during the time he's out and Trae just decides not to come back this season.

WE GOT WEMBANYAMA AND ATLANTA'S FUTURE FOR THIS DUDE😭 https://t.co/OUkfX8QSt3

— CLAN the SPURS fan (@ClanTheSpursFan) November 2, 2025

With the CBB season approaching, it's only right that I release the first iteration of my 2026 NBA draft board.

Comments, questions, and concerns are all very welcome. The link to the podcast episode where I discuss these profiles in greater detail can be found below. pic.twitter.com/HYH1pZI1ic

— Finn (@FinnDraft) November 1, 2025

Not getting too deep into the draft yet, but I still assume Atlanta will have a 10-17 range pick. All the big boards have a lot of forwards this year, which is great for us.