Stephon Castle is one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders. As such, the second-year San Antonio Spurs guard will likely serve as the primary on-ball defender against New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson for the majority of the NBA Finals.
During his NBA Finals media day availability on Tuesday, Castle was asked about his defensive plan for matching up against the Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
“What’s worked for me is trying to be physical with him, he’s obviously shorter than me, but he’s a very physical guard,” Castle said, via Spurs insider Tom Petrini. “He gets to his spots well, uses deception well, has great footwork. So, trying to be as disciplined as I can, crowd his space, but not give him the angle that he’s looking for. At this point, he’s seen pretty much every coverage, been guarded all kinds of ways.”
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Brunson has been one the best players in the playoffs so far, averaging 26.9 points and 6.6 assists per game as the Knicks cruised their way through the Eastern Conference. New York enters the NBA Finals on an 11-game win streak, notching back-to-back series sweeps over the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Castle has been excellent in his debut playoff campaign, averaging 19.2 points, 6.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds and one steal per game.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
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