Castle Locks Down Cade Cunningham, Newton and Bouknight Hot from Three
Stephon Castle
In a nationally televised game Monday night against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, Stephon Castle turned some heads. Not because of his offense, though he was solid in that department as well, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-1 from three and 1-of-3 from the free-throw line, but because of his suffocating defense, particularly against MVP candidate Cade Cunningham. The Pistons star missed 21 shots (5-of-26), including 2-of-10 with Stephon Castle as his primary defender and it clearly frustrated Cunningham:
Castle continued to get the best of Cunningham, check out this sequence:
The Spurs took down the Pistons 114-103. Then on Wednesday, it was Steph’s defense again coming through:
Husky fans have always known Steph for his tenacious defense. Now the NBA world is starting to see Castle’s abilities on the defensive end. Also, sign me up for an Pistons-Spurs NBA Finals. That was a fun game to watch!
Donovan Clingan
It was quite the Tuesday for Donovan Clingan, as the former Bristol Central star announced on social media that he and his high school sweetheart, Madeleine Ross, are now engaged, congratulations to the happy couple! And to celebrate, Clingan recorded his 23rd double-double of the season in the Portland Trail Blazers 124-121 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. DC finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 1-of-2 at the free-throw line. He added 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 36 minutes. It marked his second straight double-double and his third in the past four games.
Dan Hurley’s advice for the newly engaged Clingan, “Just learn how to apologize.”
Tage Thompson
Tage Thompson received a hero’s welcome when the Buffalo Sabres returned to the ice after the Olympic break, but this ovation came on the road in front of New Jersey Devils fans.
Jack Hughes, who scored the golden goal to lift Team USA to a 2–1 overtime win over Team Canada in the Gold Medal Game this past Sunday, was being honored pregame and made sure his Olympic teammate could share the moment, despite being opponents:
Thompson carried that momentum by scoring his 31st goal of the season halfway through the second period. The Sabres (33-19-6) defeated the Devils 2-1.
Tristen Newton (G League)
Heading into Wednesday night, Newton was on a bit of a slump from behind the arc, hitting only 5-of his 21 three-pointers in the first three games since the All-Star break. Well, Newton was able to find his stroke against the San Diego Clippers on Wednesday, converting 7-of-15 three-pointers to help lead Rio Grande Valley Vipers to a 109-102 victory over the San Diego Clippers (Los Angeles Clippers G League affiliate). The 2024 Consensus All-American finished with 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting overall and added six rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes of work. It is the 12th 30+ point game of the season for the former Husky.
James Bouknight (G League)
On Tuesday night, Bouknight stayed hot from behind the arc, knocking down 6-of-10 three-pointers and scoring 24 points in the Mexico City Capitanes (No G League affiliate) 122-118 win over the Salt Lake City Stars (Utah Jazz G League affiliate).
Remember when James Bouknight’s biggest question mark at UConn and heading into the draft was his three-point shooting? Bouknight has knocked down 38.5 percent of his three-pointers across 77 career G League games over four seasons. For context, he shot 32.0 percent from beyond the arc in two seasons in Storrs.
His G League career high is 11 made three-pointers, set on March 18, 2023, when he also scored a career-high 44 points with the Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte Hornets G League affiliate)
Cam Spencer
Spencer is only averaging 5.5 points per game in four contests since the All-Star break. But with the Memphis Grizzlies getting healthier, Spencer’s role has changed to be a more traditional point guard, and he has delivered. In the same four game stretch, Spencer has 20 assists to just two turnovers. The former Husky has been asked to play a wide variety of roles this season, sometimes he needs to score more, other times he needs to distribute. Right now with the Grizzlies current roster, it seems like Spencer’s job is to help facilitate the offense with his passing.
Andre Drummond/Tyrese Martin
After starting the first three games following the NBA All-Star break, Drummond returned to the bench Tuesday night in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 135–114 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The move coincided with Joel Embiid’s return after his five-game absence due to right knee management and right shin soreness. Drummond logged just seven minutes and finished with two points.
As for his Husky teammate, Martin was inactive Tuesday. Martin, who is on a two-way contract, is eligible to play in 13 of the 76ers’ final 24 regular-season games. If he appears in all 13 games, he would no longer be eligible to suit up for the remainder of the regular season. The only way for Martin to exceed that limit or be eligible for the postseason is if the Philadelphia 76ers convert his two-way deal into a standard NBA contract. Martin is one of three players signed to two-way contracts with the Philadelphia 76ers, Dalen Terry and MarJon Beauchamp are th two others with the same contract.
Andre Jackson Jr./Jordan Hawkins
Neither Jackson Jr. nor Hawkins saw any action on the floor since our last update on Monday morning. Dejounte Murray made his season debut for the in the Pelicans 113-109 win over Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Murray’s return pushes Hawkins even further down the depth chart as 10 out of 12 active Pelicans players saw the floor, but Hawkins was not one of them against the Warriors.
Tyler Polley (G League)
Polley did not play in the College Park Skyhawks’ (Atlanta Hawks G League affiliate) 132-129 win over the Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors G League affiliate) this past Tuesday due to a right ankle injury. It is unclear the severity or a timeline for Polley’s return.
Liam McNeeley
McNeeley remains sidelined with a left ankle sprain he suffered during the first week of the month. Since being recalled to Charlotte on February 9th, he has missed six straight games, most recently following the Charlotte Hornets’ 131–99 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. The Hornets have not provided an update on the status of the 2025 Big East Rookie of the Year ankle injury.
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