The San Antonio Spurs will face the New York Knicks in a rematch of the NBA Cup Final on Wednesday, December 31, but they may be without one of their best players.
Stephon Castle is listed as questionable with a left thumb sprain on the official injury report. The guard had 15 points, four rebounds and eight assists in a 113-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, December 29.
Castle is following up his Rookie of the Year campaign with a solid second season in the NBA, averaging 18.5 points, five rebounds and seven assists while shooting 50.3% from the field and 27.4% from three. Defensively, he averages 1.3 steals per game and usually guards the opponents best perimeter player.
Is Stephon Castle Playing Tonight?
Castle missed nine games earlier this year with a left hip flexor strain, but he appears to have picked up this thumb injury more recently. He did not have a great shooting night on Monday — going 5-13 from the field and 0-3 from downtown — and this ailment may have had something to do with it.
San Antonio won’t take any chances with Castle against the Knicks if he is not feeling 100%. The team will likely evaluate him in pregame warmups and then make a final decision on his status.
The Spurs are still plenty deep at guard tonight with Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox, who returned to the lineup Monday after missing a game against the Utah Jazz on Saturday, December 27.
San Antonio Spurs Deep Backcourt
Castle has been a key piece of San Antonio’s young back court, which also includes Harper and Devin Vassell, who is out for tonight’s game with a left adductor strain. The guards have helped San Antonio to the second best record in the Western Conference (the Spurs are also 3-0 this season against the defending NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder).
The rookie Harper is averaging 11.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 46% from the field and 25.9 % from three. A sixth-year player, Vassell is averaging 15 points, four rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 42.2% from the field and 37.9 % from beyond the arc.
After they play the Knicks at home on New Year’s Eve, the Spurs will travel to face the Indiana Pacers on Friday, January 2 before returning to the Frost Bank Center for a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, January 3.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Spurs Get Concerning Injury Update On Stephon Castle appeared first on Heavy Sports.