Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images Castle plays much better as a starter than a reserve, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to start full time. On the surface, Stephon Castle has had a pretty typical rookie season so far. There have been plenty of highs, such as offensive explosions, flashes of his high defensive upside, and his growing chemistry with Victor Wembanyama to create the “Area 51” duo, and there have been the typical lows that often come with rookies, such as defensive lapses, shooting struggles, and inconsistency. But overall, he has been very solid and is in the running for Rookie of the Year in a wide-open race that may just come down to whoever is hottest at the end of the season. However, when you dig a little deeper, the beginning of Castle’s NBA career has been much more complex. While the highs and lows are typical of rookies, the scenarios they come in are very defined. Anyone who has watched the Spurs closely this season will assess that his highs tend to come as a starter while his lows are when he comes off the bench, and they would be correct. For proof, here are his stat splits as a starter vs. as a reserve, courtesy of basketball-reference.com: basketball-reference.com Some of the stat jumps (like nearly doubling in points and assists when starting) can be attributed to the minutes per game differential of 30 as a starter versus jus t18 as a reserve, but the efficiency stats, such as shooting and offensive rating, suggest he truly does thrive more as a starter than coming off the bench. As a result, this has led many to declare that because Castle should start full time. Some have even gone as far as accusing the Spurs of doing him a “disservice” by bringing him off the bench because “it hurts his confidence”. This is the wrong mindset, at least in my opinion, and raises it a few of questions. While Castle thriving as a starter is obviously a good thing, are his struggles as a reserve a cause for concern? Is it a sign that he’s not yet versatile enough to play with different lineups? Does he need more talent around him to thrive? Does he benefit too much from playing off the ball and being directed on the court by Chris Paul? Is he mentally impacted by his role, as those who advocate for him to start suggest? Of course, we’re talking about a rookie who has played in 37 NBA games so far, so I’m not trying to knock Castle but rather assess if crowning him starter for these reasons is the right approach. The Spurs shouldn’t just keep Castle in a niche role where he is comfortable. Instead, he should be challenged to do better in various roles and lineups. If their goal is for him to be their starting point guard of the future (maybe even as soon as next season), then he needs more time in an on-ball role, which will mostly come with the second unit. He also needs experience playing with and learning the tendencies of all of his teammates, not just the starters. The fact is, Castle wasn’t even expected to start much to begin the season, but he got the opportunity thanks to various injuries to Jeremy Sochan. Considering Sochan has only come off the bench in three of the 21 games he’s played, odds are he will continue to start when healthy, and there’s no reason for him not to. He too is (and needs to continue) building chemistry with Wemby, plus he’s an All-NBA caliber defender. Assuming Sochan once again returns to his starting role once his back is better, then Castle will have to adjust and find ways to contribute more when he’s playing in a reserve role. It probably wouldn’t hurt to give him more than 18 minutes per game so he can get more develop in those scenarios we discussed, but he still needs to find a way to contribute at the same level regardless of role. Castle has had a good rookie season, but his role will likely continue to fluctuate depending on situations such as injuries. He needs to show he can handle different roles, scenarios and lineups if we wants to take the next step. Once he does, the sky will be the limit for a player who is presumably a part of an exciting Spurs future.