Stephon Castle woke up on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 31, with a migraine that threatened to keep him out of the San Antonio Spurs’ Halloween game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Castle had dealt with migraines before, but this one was bad in the morning, and the Spurs listed him as questionable for the game. He went through his pregame warmup, was cleared to play, and helped San Antonio to a 121-111 win at Frost Bank Center without scoring a point.
How Stephon Castle played through the migraine
Stephon Castle played 22 minutes and missed all four of his field goal attempts, including two from beyond the arc. He did not get to the free throw line. He also committed three turnovers and four personal fouls in a night when he could not find a rhythm. He still added five rebounds, four assists and a steal, and the Spurs won the game to record their fourth win of the season. Minnesota played without Anthony Edwards, who is expected to be out for up to two months, and Rudy Gobert was out with back spasms.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson spoke about Castle after the game. “A lot of people wouldn’t have went into work if they were feeling like Steph Castle,” Johnson said. “Steph Castle clocked in for work tonight, and we needed every second of it, and he probably shouldn’t have.” Stephon Castle said the migraine eased as the game went on. “It was more of a random thing, kind of,” Castle said. “I’ve had a couple in the past. In the morning, it was kind of bad. But as I came into the game, it got better.”
Why the Stephon Castle migraine game stands out
Stephon Castle came into the Minnesota game averaging 17.4 points in 30.8 minutes per game, and the scoreless night was a sharp break from that form. The migraine was listed on the injury report less than 24 hours before the game, and the Spurs had Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson as options to start if Castle could not play. He stayed in the starting lineup, and the Spurs won despite an unusually quiet night from their second-year guard. The game was the first time this season that Castle failed to score.
Castle’s start to the season had been strong before the migraine game. Through five games, he was averaging 17.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals, all career highs, along with 5.4 assists over 31.0 minutes per game. The Spurs are working with a new starting lineup that includes Dylan Harper, and Castle’s scoring and playmaking have been a big part of the early wins. The migraine game broke that run, but the Utah game showed him back near his usual level. Stephon Castle has dealt with migraines before, and he said he is confident the team can cope if they return later in the season. The Spurs will keep watching his health as the schedule moves on.
Through seven games this season, Castle is averaging 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and five assists, down from 16.7 points and 7.4 assists per game last season. His field goal percentage has also dipped from 47.1 to 40.8 percent, in part because of the small sample of seven games, one of which included the migraine game, and in part because the Spurs are working with a new starting lineup that includes Dylan Harper. Stephon Castle is 22, and he is in his second season with San Antonio.
What Stephon Castle did in his next game
Castle’s next outing gave a more encouraging sign. Against the Utah Jazz on Monday, he scored 16 points on 7-for-16 shooting, adding five rebounds and four assists without committing a turnover. The Spurs have enough offensive options to cover for a quiet night from Castle, and his return to form against Utah showed that the migraine game was a one-night problem rather than a longer slide. The Spurs will keep watching how he responds as the schedule moves on, and the guard’s next games will show whether the Minnesota night was a one-off.