Jalen Brunson took over the fourth quarter, but Stephon Castle’s post-game insight revealed something unexpected. Castle, who was on duty to slow down the Knicks’ dominant guard, had success for most of Game 1 until Brunson exploded in the last quarter. He ended up being yet another victim of JB’s fourth-quarter heroics. Despite that, reflecting on the matchup after the game, Castle compared Brunson to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and took a subtle swipe at the reigning MVP on his foul-drawing reputation.

The Spurs’ sophomore guard drew a lot of attention for his defensive capabilities, especially after the Western Conference Finals. He almost emerged as the SGA stopper. With that reputation in place, a reporter asked him to compare guarding SGA and Brunson.

“The biggest difference, I’d say, they’re very similar in ways. Obviously, Jalen’s left-handed, Shai’s right-handed. But I think Shai, he’s more of a threat to get all the way downhill, all the way to the basket,” Castle said. Castle then drew another distinction.

“I think Jalen likes to use angles a lot more, uses quite a little bit more pump fakes than Shai.”

Although it may seem like a genuine comparison, with SGA facing criticism from fans for drawing contacts and frequently heading to the free-throw line, this comment can be perceived as a jab at the reigning MVP. Whereas Castle described Brunson as a player focused on creating angles and getting to his sweet spots (mid-range).

“Most of it is just angles and trying to get to his (JB) spots and not really trying to draw fouls as much, but trying to get to his mid-range and get to the spots where he likes. So just trying to keep him from doing that,” Castle concluded.

Castle is uniquely positioned to make this comparison. The Spurs guard spent the entire Western Conference Finals trying to slow down SGA. Across the grueling seven games, Castle guarded Shai for 43 minutes and restricted him to 45.5 % FG.

Most importantly, he took out the perimeter shooting from the equation. Castle clamped down on SGA’s perimeter shooting, holding him to 25% from three and also forcing 9 turnovers.

This massively impacted SGA’s output, as he recorded 25.9 ppg in the series, over six points less than his regular-season average. Castle credited much of his defensive capabilities to his time spent at UConn. “My competitive nature, not wanting to take plays off, just having pride in guarding one on one, and I think just the success that I had at UConn with it,” he said following the WCF success. 

Castle’s insight matters because the Spurs must now find a way to stop Brunson in Game 2.

How can Stephon Castle & Co. stop Jalen Brunson?

Jalen Brunson finished Game 1 with 30 points on an inefficient 12-32 from the field. Stephon Castle played a huge role

e in it, restricting him to just 2-5 FG on his match-ups against him.

Brunson himself acknowledged Castle’s defensive prowess before Game 1. He said: “He’s great. I think his intensity and tenacity is special.     He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s had that since I’ve seen him at UConn.”

However, the Knicks superstar found his way in the fourth quarter, dropping 13 points to take the game away. This is where the Spurs need to tighten up their defense.

While Castle already mentioned that it’s necessary to restrict Brunson from exploiting angles and getting to his spots, the Spurs have to employ length against him. Speaking after the game, he added, “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.”

Victor Wembanyama, who has the league’s longest wingspan, can do that, but it will leave the paint exposed. So, the Spurs need to find the right mix to switch to guard to protect the rim.

Maybe playing both Luke Kornet and Wemby could help.

Critically, the Spurs must stay disciplined on Brunson’s pump fakes. Finally, in the clutch, the Spurs need to crowd him up, double-team him, and take the ball out of his hand. You know what he does with the ball in the fourth quarter. 

 70% of teams that win Game 1 of the Finals go on to win the championship. So, can the Spurs defeat the odds? Only time will tell.