Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper were both slumping to kick off 2026, although Mitch Johnson thinks they've found a new rhythm after the San Antonio Spurs beat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Since their Christmas Day masterclass against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the second-place San Antonio Spurs have taken a bit of a step back. The Spurs have gone 5-6 since the holiday, and slumps from Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and Harrison Barnes have not helped.
Harper slowing down is simply due to him hitting the "rookie wall." As a first-year player, his game is somewhat limited, and opponents have started to figure him out. Castle, meanwhile, has been used as a primary paymaker as of late, puzzling since De'Aaron Fox is more than capable of running the offense.
In the Spurs' latest game, a win over the Milwaukee Bucks, both Castle and Harper stepped up to a degree, and Mitch Johnson isn't too worried about them remaining cold.
Mitch Johnson Alleviates Concerns
Granted, Harper shot 0-for-5 from deep against the Bucks, but still scored 13 points to go with five assists. Castle, meanwhile, recorded a double-double. As both players have struggled to score effectively as of late, they have instead turned to their playmaking abilities, and Johnson is thrilled.
"I thought he and Steph specifically did a really good job tonight of keeping their dribble," offered the head coach. "They've been picking up their gathers a little early at times, which I think has put them in a bad spot where they get caught in the air, and if they don't have a clean finish or a clean pass out, they can get in trouble a little bit. I thought they did a really good job of playing off two and keeping their dribble alive, and they did a great job of finding people and finding them on time and on target with tempo and rhythm so that guy that caught the ball had the ability to either shoot a really good shot or take advantage of the initial advantage they created."
While the outside shots are yet to fall with any degree of success, the fact that both young guards can be multi-faceted offensive weapons is a small win. If either of them can emerge as a league-average shooter (36% from deep), then it's only a matter of time before they break out as one of the very best players in the entire league.