Stephon Castle Draws Ire for Sophomoric and Whiny Antics
It seems as though Stephon Castle is yet another young player who wants every call to go his way. All throughout the OKC series he was hacking and fouling SGA only to whine about it when he got called for it. His whiny antics weren’t just on the court, they carried into the postgame pressers where he whined about the officiating, his hypocrisy on full display as he cried foul, even though the Spurs had more free throw attempts than the Thunder. (Through their 7-game playoff series in the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs out-attempted the Oklahoma City Thunder at the free-throw line. In total, the Spurs attempted 193 free throws, while the Thunder attempted 166) Throughout the series his talent was overshadowed by his poor temper. Twice in the series he had to be consoled and pulled away from altercations when he was fouled while driving to the rim, as if the relatively common fouls were somehow egregious. Perhaps the funniest moment came when he punched the air after he received a common foul from Caruso when driving to the bucket. The moment may forever haunt him as it was many NBA fans’ first glimpse of the young player and rather than remembering his talent they will probably remember his whining and wild air punching antics.
