Both Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle have been utterly unreliable as of late, and the San Antonio Spurs are starting to lose patience.
The San Antonio Spurs lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, falling 104-103. Fans were right to point out plenty of issues the Spurs had. Not only did they blow a 19-point lead, but they were unable to match up with the Wolves' physicality. On top of that, both Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox missed would-be game-winning shots.
However, the lackluster play as of late from both Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper reached its head in the loss. Harper went scoreless, getting benched early in the game. Castle, meanwhile, played solid defense on Anthony Edwards, although he went a putrid 2-of-11 from the floor.
As the two young guards both hit a cold streak, the Spurs have to grapple with depleted depth in the backcourt.
Spurs Express Concern About Castle and Harper
Since the New Year, Castle is averaging 14.2 points per game, much less than fans had come to expect. Harper has fallen out of the Sixth Man of the Year race, averaging only 6.5 points in 2026.
Neither of them is shooting over 35% from the floor, and both have been terrible from deep. Their one-dimensional scoring game (relying on getting to the rim) has become predictable, and defenses have caught up.
"Part of it is they're missing some good shots," said head coach Mitch Johnson. "They just got to learn their balance of what this game calls upon when you have the basketball in your hands a lot, whether that's being aggressive, whether that's understanding time and score, whether that's on-time, on-target passes to your teammates, whether that's getting the ball out of your hands early to let your teammates touch it and find energy throughout the possession for everybody else."
While their play has been bad--even costing the Spurs some games--Johnson isn't concerned. To start the season, both players looked polished, although it's worth remembering that their NBA experience is lacking.
"There's some stuff there that they just got to go through," Johnson added. "It's no different than when they were flying high, and the box scorers were full. That's part of the deal when you're 21 and 19 in this league."
As the Spurs enter win-now mode, the pressures are mounting. It's up to Castle and Harper to keep up, but for now, the Spurs don't seem too concerned. The clock is ticking, though.