Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images The Spurs are suddenly not just able to hold on to leads, they’re also able to overcome deficits.  One of my very favorite things as a fan of a football club — sorry, soccer club (it’s so against my intuition to use that term) – and an NBA franchise, is when new players arrive that I’m not terribly excited about, and then watch as they prove me wrong. A prime example of that took place when Liverpool FC experienced a “Spanish revolution” of sorts under the tutelage of then newly appointed manager Rafael Benitez. Benitez started in the summer of 2004 and immediately made major changes to the squad, selling a number of players I had been rather fond of, including hard-working midfielder Danny Murphy. (The best thing a Liverpool player can do from my perspective is scoring the winning goal against Manchester United. Murphy did that not once, not twice, but thrice.) In came Murphy’s de facto replacement from Spain, Xabi Alonso. I had huge trouble understanding the transfer. Not just because I had liked Murphy so much, but because Liverpool already had a slow-footed defensive midfielder in Dietmar Hamann. But Xabi Alonso erased my doubts. He brought smarts to a Liverpool midfield that had previously existed on hustle. Think of him as the soccer equivalent of a floor general or quarterback – in the sense he saw things no one else did. He quickly became a favorite of mine, he stayed a favorite of mine when he played for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and if I were to compile my all-time starting eleven, he’d be one of the first names on the team sheet. I’m currently experiencing something similar with a new Spurs player. All I wanted the Spurs to do in this year’s draft was not to pick another non-shooter. They did – and I have to admit I didn’t like it. But I kinda liked the pick by early November. And I’m absolutely loving it by now (though I’m not yet sure he’ll end up in my all-time starting five). In a recent roundtable post, Marilyn argued Castle reminded her of a mixture of Derrick White and Dejounte Murray. Though I was rather surprised at the comparison at first, you can trust what Marilyn says has “Hand und Füße” (“hand and feet”), as we say over here in Germany in appreciation of someone who clearly knows what they do or talk about. Still, to me there’s a former Spur whom Castle resembles even more. And I sincerely hope what I’m about to say has “hand and feet” as well. The former Spur Castle reminds me most of, laugh if you want to, is Kawhi Leonard. Like Kawhi, Castle has that completely emotionless facial expression. The kind of expression – non-expression, actually – that says to opposing players: “No need for you to and get into my head. It’s locked, and I threw away the key.” The great thing about Castle is that – again, like Kawhi – it appears that he really is as level-headed as a or the Terminator. When Castle makes a mistake – or does something good, for that matter – he doesn’t let it affect whatever happens next. In that sense, he’s pretty much the polar opposite of Malaki Barnham and Blake Wesley. In comparison, it’s Castle, the rookie, who makes them look like rookies. However, it’s not only mental things that bear resemblance to Kawhi. Maybe the most striking resemblance that Castle shows, and he’s naturally bound to show even more of that, is his positional strength. Even when matched up with guys bigger than him, Kawhi routinely managed to keep them away and methodically get to his spots. That’s what I see in Castle when he attacks the basket. He’s not particularly explosive, he’s not a dribble genius either, but he’s getting to where he wants to be, and he’s finishing remarkably efficiently from close range. And if that wasn’t enough already, he’s also getting to the line – something no Spurs coach was able to teach to either Dejounte or Lonnie. Maybe the most Kawhi moment Castle has had so far came last night in the penultimate possession of the third quarter. Helped by Mamu, Castle stripped the opposing ball handler at the break of the arc, he ran the floor, he hesitated, and he layed it in – classic Kawhi Leonard. Takeaways My optimistic expectation going into the season was that I could see the Spurs finish the season with a high-thirties figure in the wins column. 17 games into the season, and with the sixth-most difficult schedule played, according to Power Ranks Guru, the Spurs, for the first time in years, are entering Thanksgiving week with a positive record. Thank you, Spurs! The Spurs of last season, and the season before that, routinely squandered leads when they had one – a clear sign of a team that isn’t ready. The past three games are suggesting the Spurs have moved on. They managed to hold on to a lead against OKC, and, even better, they overcame two-digit deficits in the second half not only against the tanking Utah Jazz, but also against the Golden State Warriors, a team entering the game with one of the best records in the league. The question is: How are they doing that? The answer is: a) through concerted team efforts and b) through the presence of veterans. What Chris Paul is doing for the Spurs, though it doesn’t always show in the box office stats, though it might not even show directly on the court, mustn’t be underestimated. In a recent article by “The Athletic” about Stephon Castle, following the short conversation LeBron James had with him after the Spurs narrow loss to the Lakers, Paul talked about how he’s talking to Castle all the time, all game. But it’s not only Paul advising players. At age 39, Paul is a beacon of stability in crunch time, again and again. Speaking of crunch time plenty of Spurs could be singled out for praise for what they did in the fourth quarter, but there’s one I’d like to single out for what he did in each of the four quarters: Harrison Barnes for years had been thought of as a guy some contender would trade for before the deadline. It never happened. And with the arrival of Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento, Barnes’ role on the King’s offense gradually declined, so much that many thought he was past his peak. Maybe he is past his peak. But wherever he’s at, he was the Spurs’ linchpin last night – again. He’s not a go-to guy in the classic sense, but whenever the young Spurs are running out of ideas, whenever they are on the border of squandering a possession, it’s Harrisson Barnes that does something reasonable with the ball in his hands. The value he brings to the Spurs right now as a – I hope I’m not boring you with my German metaphors – “Feuerwehrmann” (in German it means firefighter as well as troubleshooter), must, as Paul’s, also not be underestimated. Last but not least, the Spurs have been showing they’re a surprisingly deep team as of late. The long-term future of guys like Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, or Sandro Mamukelashvili is far from certain, all of them have glaring weaknesses, but (Is it the guidance of Mitch Johnson?) all of them have had major spark plug moments as of late, and in particular last night.