OKLAHOMA CITY -- Spurs star guard Stephon Castle has turned the ball over an eye-popping 20 times in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals.San Antonio lost Wednesday's Game 2 after the second-year guard logged a team-high 25 points and eight assists, but coughed it up nine times in the 122-113 loss that evened the series at a game apiece. He's often spoken about Russell Westbrook as an inspiration, and at his old stomping grounds he looked like both the best of Brodie and the worst of Brodie.There were plenty of mitigating circumstances that Castle could have used as an excuse for the turnovers. He played 49 minutes in the double-overtime Game 1 win. His All-Star backcourt partner De'Aaron Fox missed his second game in a row. Star rookie Dylan Harper went down in the third quarter. The injuries allowed the Thunder to focus their tenacious, league-leading defense squarely on the 21-year-old playmaker, and the officials allowed a ton of physicality that caused the ball to change hands, including an uncalled yank on his hair. On the other end, he has to guard that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander guy.May 20, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) looks to shoot as San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) defends during the third quarter during game two of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | Brett Rojo-Imagn ImagesInstead of dwelling on any of the potential excuses, Castle took accountability and focused on ways to avoid this sort of sloppiness as the series heads back to San Antonio dead even."I think it's more personal on my end, just really speeding myself up, not allowing our screeners to get hits, it's putting me in a position where I have to play fast, or my screener might get an offensive foul, so I put us at a disadvantage to start the game with those," Castle said. "I mean, some of it comes with fatigue, but at this point of the season, that's really no excuse."Spurs coach Mitch Johnson was a little more forgiving of his young star's mistakes. He knows that most of them come from playing too hard when asked to perform an absurdly-long list of exceedingly-difficult tasks."He's a warrior, he's out there giving all he's got," Johnson said. "I think that when he doesn't pass the ball earlier and misses teammates, it's out of him being competitive and trying to make a play and be aggressive." The most aggressive play of the night was undoubtedly one of the most aggressive in-game dunks of the entire NBA season as he rose up against 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein, brought the ball back to 3 o'clock, and slammed it all the way to 9. Victor Wembanyama had a front-row seat.— NBA (@NBA) May 21, 2026"He's competitive," said Wembanyama, who knows a thing or two about that. "His competitiveness is definitely needed. He gets us out of a lot of tough situations."Speaking of tough situations, it's hard to think of a tougher one than on the road in Oklahoma City, facing the rabid defense of the defending champions who really needed to win this game in the Western Conference Finals. Now try doing it when the three-headed monster of a point guard rotation gets slashed down to a single Slash Bro."This team is as good as anybody turning you over, so when you're down some of your primary creators and initiators, it causes a little bit of extra strain, whether that's who to play, what to play, what to run, et cetera," Johnson said. "We'll just have to be sharper in that area, because it's tough fully loaded against these guys.""It's tough, regardless," Castle said of the injuries. "Obviously we want all of our guys to be healthy and be on the court... obviously, one person can't make up for what Fox does, somebody else can't make up for what Dylan brings for us. So, we just try to do it as a team.""Having another ball handler on the court at all times is definitely a luxury," Castle said. "I think [Jordan MacLaughlin] played big minutes today when he came in, helped me out, helped us out a ton. It's tough, but I think just with all of our energy mainly focused on the defensive end, I think me personally, I have to take my time a lot more on the offensive end and try and make the simple read as much as I can."May 20, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) drives to the basket as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) defends during the second quarter during game two of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn ImagesObviously when diagnosing how the Spurs came up short in this one, Castle's nine turnovers are an easy blemish to point to. But the Spurs won in Game 1 when he had 11, and there are plenty of ways the team can work to make his remarkably-difficult job easier."We've addressed it, and we'll continue to, just in terms of trying to help him with some of his reads, especially when he's tired, whether it's playing more off two feet or getting off the ball earlier with the early pass, and just letting the ball find the open man," Johnson said.Asked about what Fox told him before this game, Castle mentioned that same idea."A big thing is playing off two feet, not getting sped up," he said. "Obviously I didn't do a great job of that, but just trying to keep my teammates involved, trying not to do too much on the offensive end, and then trying to make the simple play as much as I can."When Castle said he wanted to avoid doing too much, he didn't mean it like being passive or lazy. His constitution would allow neither. He meant it in the sense that instead of putting it all on his own shoulders, he needs to trust his teammates and the style of egalitarian ball movement that got them here.May 20, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) looks to pass as Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) defends during the first quarter during game two of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images"They do a good job of trying to bait you into playing one-on-one, and a lot of times you can probably go create your own shot, but I think for the team and for the way that we play, we don't want to play that way," Castle said. "Trying to balance when to be aggressive versus keeping my teammates involved and trying to make the right pass, make sure everybody's in rhythm, it's tough, but I mean, we've seen them multiple times, and it's kind of been the same theme with them."Stephon Castle didn't lose this game by himself, the same way he couldn't have possibly won it by himself either. "They do such a great job of showing crowds in the paint, having multiple bodies, and so it's not just Steph," Johnson said. "He had too many turnovers, but our whole team did, and so we have to continue to not fight that moment in the game, where they're going to make you pass the ball at times, and when you have those situations, you've got to be able to connect with your teammates. If you do, you go from playing in the crowd to then more than likely getting one of your teammates, the basketball with an advantageous opportunity."May 20, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) during game two of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | Brett Rojo-Imagn ImagesMitch Johnson knows that last season's Rookie of the Year is a fantastic player who has a bit too much on his plate right now. "He's shown in two years that he's been with us, he's a hell of a passer and a hell of a creator, and we got to continue to help him, because he's asked to guard on one end and then create that much, especially without Fox and Harper, that's quite output energy wise, and so it's something that he'll be better at, we'll be better for him to try to help him, where we don't have to put maybe that much strain on him."Castle was definitely not pleased with his ball security in this one, and while he took accountability he didn't mope. Instead of hanging his head, he looked forward to the next opportunity to do better. "We're probably most comfortable playing in front of our fans," he said. "Mentally, I think we're all in a good head space. Came here, won a game on the road, and they're a good team, and they responded. Now we have a chance to play in front of our fans. I think we'll erase this game pretty quick. Obviously, gonna watch it, go through it, and scout it, but... next game is in two days. We've done a good job of having short-term memory all season, so I don't see that changing.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow