The San Antonio Spurs were without Stephon Castle in their most recent win, and head coach Mitch Johnson explained their injury mindset moving forward after a playoff spot has been clinched.
The San Antonio Spurs have officially clinched their first playoff berth since 2019, and are expected to go on a postseason run backed by Victor Wembanyama's stellar play.
Of course, there are still 12 games left in the season, and only three games separate San Antonio from the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. It would take an epic collapse for the Spurs to lose home-court advantage in the first two rounds, and they could fight their way up to the top seed, as OKC still needs to play nine games against teams in the playoff picture.
However, the Spurs aren't the most durable team. Wembanyama has lingering injuries, and Stephon Castle missed the last game as a last-minute scratch. While the Spurs could make a push, Mitch Johnson outlined their mentality to finish out the season.
Mitch Johnson Offers Spurs Injury Update
The Spurs will play the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, and Stephon Castle, even if he plays, will not be at one hundred percent.
"He's banged up again," revealed Johnson. "He does...more than anybody else in the league, so he is rightfully so beat up after this long of a season. Don't see it being long at all. But we will be mindful, obviously, 70 games in, of making sure we don't overextend anybody, as we've seen lately."
That worry of "overextending" players doesn't just concern Castle, and Johnson made it clear that he is willing to be conservative to end the successful campaign.
"We have numerous guys that are banged up, and we're just trying to be mindful of that while also still being sharp and getting our fitness ready and things like that," he added. "I think the North Star is just getting better. And sometimes keep getting better is taking a day off so you can let your mind rest and your body rest, and then you can really be ready to go the next day."
For those who are counting, Victor Wembanyama can miss two games before he is ineligible for individual awards like MVP, DPOTY, and All-NBA honors. He's made it clear that those awards mean a lot to him, so expect him to play through a bit of pain and exhaustion if needed down the stretch.