No Ceilings专栏作者Tyler Metcalf对Castle的防守有比较细致的描述，原文转述，个人觉得写得不错
Over the last two years, we’ve seen Castle act as a defensive stopper, an off-ball scorer, a primary facilitator, and an on-ball scorer. Castle proving that he can thrive in a myriad of these roles makes his translation to the NBA all the more encouraging. Castle has been adamant that he’s a point guard and wants to play point guard in the NBA, but that role can come in a myriad of forms. After measuring in at 6’5.5” and 201 pounds with a 6’9” wingspan, there are a lot of different ways that Castle can be deployed while stWhile Castle has immense upside on the offensive end, it was his defense that was the biggest surprise this season. Simply put, Castle was one of the best perimeter defenders in the country this season. When Castle was on the court, UConn had a defensive rating of 95.5 (98th percentile) compared to 101.5 when he was off, per CBB Analytics. That -6.0-differential ranked in the 80th percentile.
I know, your initial thought is: “well, duh, he got to play with Donovan Clingan, who was a dominant defensive center.” That thought process is incredibly fair, but it also does a disservice to Castle’s dominance. Basketball is a team sport but let’s just focus on how those two affected UConn’s defense all season. In the 757 possessions that Castle and Clingan shared the floor, UConn had a defensive rating of 89.5 (99th percentile). In the 715 possessions that Castle played without Clingan on the floor, UConn’s defensive rating jumped to 102.3 (80th percentile). That’s still a terrific rating, but it is a substantial drop off. So, clearly Clingan was the determining factor for UConn’s defense, right? Well, not exactly. In the 521 possessions that Clingan played without Castle on the floor, UConn’s defensive rating was 101.8 (83rd percentile). Whenever one played without the other, UConn still had a stifling defense, but they experienced a similar drop off. What Clingan meant to UConn’s interior defense is eerily similar to what Castle meant to their perimeter defense.
As a defensive playmaker, Castle’s numbers were encouraging as he had a steal rate of 1.8 (45th percentile), a block rate of 2.0 (90th percentile) and a Hakeem percentage (block plus steal) of 3.9 (79th percentile), per CBB Analytics. Castle doesn’t gamble much, which makes sense as to why his steal rate is lower than his block rate. Instead, Castle utilizes his footwork, positional size, and strength to consistently disrupt ball handlers, force turnovers, and block shots. What makes Castle’s defensive playmaking even more impactful is how quickly he can turn it into transition offense either using his size to attack the rim or playmaking vision to set up teammates.
Castle is a quality defensive playmaker, but that’s only a tiny fraction of where his defensive impact resides. His dominance comes from being a suffocating on-ball defender and making every possession a nightmare for his opponent. With his combination of size and strength, it is incredibly difficult for opposing guards to separate from him. Castle has impeccable footwork, which allows him to cut off drives and react to sudden changes in direction, and he has the strength to absorb contact around the rim and bump ball handlers off their spot on drives. Even when a screen comes, there were few better in the country at navigating them. Castle consistently changes up his pursuit angles, changes his positioning to nullify the screener, and has the pursuit capabilities to recover on the rare occasions he does get screened. Per Synergy, Castle ranked in the 94th percentile defending the pick-and-roll ball handler, the 69th percentile defending handoffs, and the 80th percentile defending in isolation. Throughout the playoffs, we’ve seen the importance of having elite screen navigation at the point of attack on defense, and Castle fits right in with that crowd.
What makes Castle such a special defender, though, is that he consistently puts it all together with his team defense and on-ball defense on every possession. Here, Castle is initially guarding his man on the left wing. As his assignment circles through the lane to the opposite corner, Castle recognizes that DePaul’s motion is to just set up an empty corner pick-and-roll. Instead of blindly following his man to the corner, Castle stays in the lane to tag the roller and take away the dunk. As the ball handler kills his dribble and kicks it to Castle’s man in the corner, Castle immediately closes out under control. His footwork ensures that he’s balanced and able to react to the bounty of dribble moves. Castle absorbs multiple shoulders and doesn’t allow his man to get a sliver of separation. The prayer of a floater ends up going in, but this is essentially perfect defense by Castle.
Castle consistently makes life easier for his teammates on defense. They can always rely on him being in the right spot and executing his defensive responsibilities. They don’t have to worry about him ball-watching or closing out sloppily. On a nightly basis, Castle combined his stellar fundamentals, physical tools, and IQ to be one of the most devastating defenders in the country.
No Ceilings专栏作者Tyler Metcalf对Castle的防守有比较细致的描述，原文转述，个人觉得写得不错
Over the last two years, we’ve seen Castle act as a defensive stopper, an off-ball scorer, a primary facilitator, and an on-ball scorer. Castle proving that he can thrive in a myriad of these roles makes his translation to the NBA all the more encouraging. Castle has been adamant that he’s a point guard and wants to play point guard in the NBA, but that role can come in a myriad of forms. After measuring in at 6’5.5” and 201 pounds with a 6’9” wingspan, there are a lot of different ways that Castle can be deployed while stWhile Castle has immense upside on the offensive end, it was his defense that was the biggest surprise this season. Simply put, Castle was one of the best perimeter defenders in the country this season. When Castle was on the court, UConn had a defensive rating of 95.5 (98th percentile) compared to 101.5 when he was off, per CBB Analytics. That -6.0-differential ranked in the 80th percentile.
I know, your initial thought is: “well, duh, he got to play with Donovan Clingan, who was a dominant defensive center.” That thought process is incredibly fair, but it also does a disservice to Castle’s dominance. Basketball is a team sport but let’s just focus on how those two affected UConn’s defense all season. In the 757 possessions that Castle and Clingan shared the floor, UConn had a defensive rating of 89.5 (99th percentile). In the 715 possessions that Castle played without Clingan on the floor, UConn’s defensive rating jumped to 102.3 (80th percentile). That’s still a terrific rating, but it is a substantial drop off. So, clearly Clingan was the determining factor for UConn’s defense, right? Well, not exactly. In the 521 possessions that Clingan played without Castle on the floor, UConn’s defensive rating was 101.8 (83rd percentile). Whenever one played without the other, UConn still had a stifling defense, but they experienced a similar drop off. What Clingan meant to UConn’s interior defense is eerily similar to what Castle meant to their perimeter defense.
As a defensive playmaker, Castle’s numbers were encouraging as he had a steal rate of 1.8 (45th percentile), a block rate of 2.0 (90th percentile) and a Hakeem percentage (block plus steal) of 3.9 (79th percentile), per CBB Analytics. Castle doesn’t gamble much, which makes sense as to why his steal rate is lower than his block rate. Instead, Castle utilizes his footwork, positional size, and strength to consistently disrupt ball handlers, force turnovers, and block shots. What makes Castle’s defensive playmaking even more impactful is how quickly he can turn it into transition offense either using his size to attack the rim or playmaking vision to set up teammates.
Castle is a quality defensive playmaker, but that’s only a tiny fraction of where his defensive impact resides. His dominance comes from being a suffocating on-ball defender and making every possession a nightmare for his opponent. With his combination of size and strength, it is incredibly difficult for opposing guards to separate from him. Castle has impeccable footwork, which allows him to cut off drives and react to sudden changes in direction, and he has the strength to absorb contact around the rim and bump ball handlers off their spot on drives. Even when a screen comes, there were few better in the country at navigating them. Castle consistently changes up his pursuit angles, changes his positioning to nullify the screener, and has the pursuit capabilities to recover on the rare occasions he does get screened. Per Synergy, Castle ranked in the 94th percentile defending the pick-and-roll ball handler, the 69th percentile defending handoffs, and the 80th percentile defending in isolation. Throughout the playoffs, we’ve seen the importance of having elite screen navigation at the point of attack on defense, and Castle fits right in with that crowd.
What makes Castle such a special defender, though, is that he consistently puts it all together with his team defense and on-ball defense on every possession. Here, Castle is initially guarding his man on the left wing. As his assignment circles through the lane to the opposite corner, Castle recognizes that DePaul’s motion is to just set up an empty corner pick-and-roll. Instead of blindly following his man to the corner, Castle stays in the lane to tag the roller and take away the dunk. As the ball handler kills his dribble and kicks it to Castle’s man in the corner, Castle immediately closes out under control. His footwork ensures that he’s balanced and able to react to the bounty of dribble moves. Castle absorbs multiple shoulders and doesn’t allow his man to get a sliver of separation. The prayer of a floater ends up going in, but this is essentially perfect defense by Castle.
Castle consistently makes life easier for his teammates on defense. They can always rely on him being in the right spot and executing his defensive responsibilities. They don’t have to worry about him ball-watching or closing out sloppily. On a nightly basis, Castle combined his stellar fundamentals, physical tools, and IQ to be one of the most devastating defenders in the country.
