By Jeff McDonald, Spurs Writer | San Antonio Express-News, 2024-04-09 13:49:56
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准
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2024 年 3 月 17 日星期日，在德克萨斯州奥斯汀进行的 NBA 篮球比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊在加时赛中战胜布鲁克林篮网队后庆祝。（美联社照片/埃里克·盖伊）
田纳西州孟菲斯——星期日，凯尔登·约翰逊在福斯特银行中心一瘸一拐地走下球场，很可能直接进入休赛期。
这位打了五年的前锋在加时赛双倍失利时再次扭伤了他的左脚，马刺队相信这种伤势会让约翰逊在下个赛季的最后四场比赛中错过比赛。
“对他来说很难受，”前锋朱利安·香槟尼说。“幸运的是，这个赛季就要结束了。赛季快结束了，所以他将拥有整个休赛期来进行康复，让自己变得更好，为下个赛季做好准备。”
脚部疾患让约翰逊的起伏不定赛季过早地结束了，在最初因替补席而陷入困境后，他开始找到比赛的节奏。
SPURS VS. THUNDER：如何观看比赛、比赛数据、球员新闻
作为上赛季马刺队的得分王，场均得到 22 分的约翰逊在 1 月份看到了自己的角色发生转变，当时教练格雷格·波波维奇将他从首发阵容中移出，并让他成为球队的第六人。
作为首发球员，约翰逊场均得到 16.9 分，而在他作为替补球员出场的 42 场比赛中，这一数字略微下降至 15 分。
波波维奇赞扬了约翰逊，他作为球队资历最长的球员，牺牲了自己作为替补球员。
波波维奇说：“他在那方面表现出了很多领导力。” “他一直有伤病困扰着他，时不时地，时不时地，但总的来说，他这个赛季成熟了很多。”
约翰逊是周二在孟菲斯的比赛中被列为出场的六名马刺球员之一。
为了不让对手专美于前，灰熊队宣布 11 名球员缺阵。他们需要联盟提供困难豁免，才能与 G 联盟的边锋哈维尔·辛普森和杰克·怀特签下 10 天合同，以达到参加比赛所需的最低 8 名健康球员。
马刺队周三将在俄克拉荷马城再次打比赛，预计约翰逊也将无法参加那场比赛。
香槟尼说，马刺队会错过约翰逊，原因不仅在于他对比赛的贡献。
“他是球队的心脏和灵魂，”香槟尼说。“无论他进不进球，他都会带来很多能量。他在球场两端的表现都很明显，所以失去他肯定会受伤。”
23 岁的约翰逊在 2022 年夏天签下的 8000 万美元合同延长条款中仍然还有三个赛季。
他在球队中乐观向上的领导力对于一支连续第五个赛季失利远超胜利的球队来说至关重要。
约翰逊说：“我觉得当你引领度过好坏时光时，你才能真正地发现自己是谁。” “如果你只是在好日子里领导，那么你就是一个随波逐流者。”
约翰逊当时表示，他将维克多·文班亚马作为核心，对马刺队的未来持乐观态度，并渴望成为其中一员。
“艰难的时刻不会持续，”他说。“这仅仅是因为我们现在遇到了困难并不意味着我们在未来还会遇到困难。我非常相信我的团队、我的教练和我们所有的支持系统。”
波波维奇加入自闭症意识推动活动
波波维奇和其他联盟教练上周在两场比赛中穿定制的耐克 Air Force 1 鞋，作为 NBA 范围内为提高自闭症意识而采取的一项举措。
这场运动是由犹他爵士助理斯科特·莫里森想出来的，他的儿子两年前被诊断出患有自闭症。
这些鞋子根据每支球队的颜色进行了定制，并饰有无限彩虹徽章，将在为期一周的活动结束后签名并拍卖。
根据马萨诸塞州总医院的数据，每 36 个孩子中就有 1 个受到这种谱系障碍的影响。
波波维奇说：“我认为这是一种在某些方面被误解的疾病。” “就好像这是一件坏事或那个人是‘另一个’人。那个人只是与众不同，确实需要我们的关注、我们的支持和意识到他们有其他使他们与众不同的特质。他们不能像其他人一样被排挤。他们需要被纳入并给予支持。”
波波维奇赞扬‘真诚’的琼斯
波波维奇赞扬 NBA 将控球后卫特雷·琼斯选为 2023-24 年 NBA 运动精神奖的六名决赛选手之一。
波波维奇说：“他是一个真正真诚的人，他不仅关心篮球，还关心世界，关心正在发生的事情。” “他知道自己是社区的一员，他只是以这种方式表现出自己的风度，所以他受到认可真是太好了。”
联盟在 1995-96 赛季之前创造了这一荣誉，以“表彰在场上最能代表体育精神理想的球员”。
NBA 本周早些时候宣布，琼斯被选为西南分区决赛选手，其他入选选手包括费城的泰雷斯·马克西（大西洋分区）、克利夫兰的贾勒特·阿伦（中部）、迈阿密的凯文·乐福（东南）、俄克拉荷马城的谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大（西北）和萨克拉门托的哈里森·巴恩斯（太平洋）。
目前的 NBA 球员将从该组中选出获胜者。
在日食期间，耐克展示了文班亚马的新外星人标志
周一下午，当月亮遮住太阳时，耐克发布了文班亚马即将推出的签名鞋服系列标志。在耐克的社交媒体账户上发布的预告视频以计算机生成的“德克萨斯州南部某个地方”田野的特写镜头开场，然后缩小显示出一个巨大的麦田怪圈，该麦田怪圈以一个外星人头部为特色，周围环绕着几何图案和两个钩形标志。“日全食才刚刚开始”，随附的标题写道。阅读更多：76 人队的尼古拉斯·巴图姆谈及文班亚马：我告诉你
麦田怪圈设计明显是向文班亚马的绰号“外星人”致敬，而耐克决定在周一太阳日食期间小露一手，因为数千人涌向德克萨斯州，进入全食路径。据说这个著名的运动品牌将于 5 月发布这位 20 岁的马刺队明星的第一个签名鞋，而这些受宇宙启发的球鞋将在鞋跟和鞋垫上印有两张外星人面孔。
“这太棒了，因为这对他们和我来说都是一种新体验，”文班亚马在 2 月份表示，他将与耐克一起开发他的签名标志和首款零售运动鞋。“在这个过程中，我们都在学习，因为这实际上是我一生中第一次有人问我关于鞋子的任何事情，因为我一生中的大部分时间都没有选择。所以，这太棒了。但我仍在学习很多关于自己的脚和身体的事情。”
工作人员汤姆·奥斯伯恩和尼克·莫耶尔为本报告做出了贡献
原文如下：
Up-and-down season ends early for Keldon Johnson
[Image] San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson celebrates after his team’s overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets in an NBA basketball game in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Keldon Johnson hobbled off the court at the Frost Bank Center on Sunday and, most likely, directly into the offseason.
The fifth-year forward reaggravated his sprained left foot in a double-overtime loss to Philadelphia, an injury the Spurs believe will keep Johnson shelved for the final four games of the season.
“It’s tough for him,” forward Julian Champagnie said. “Lucky for him, the season’s coming to an end. It’s winding down so he’ll have to whole offseason to do his rehab, get better and be ready for next season.”
The foot malady put a premature end to an up-and-down season for Johnson, who began to find a groove coming off the bench after initially struggling with the move.<p class=“MM_onlineOnly” title=“CCI Online Only”>SPURS VS. THUNDER: How to watch the game, notable stats, player news
The Spurs’ leading scorer last season at 22 points per game, Johnson saw his role shift in January when coach Gregg Popovich moved him from the starting lineup and made him the team’s sixth man.
Johnson averaged 16.9 points as a starter, a number that dipped slightly to 15 points in the 42 games he logged as a reserve.
Popovich praised Johnson, the team’s longest tenured player, for the sacrifice he made as a bench player.
“He showed a lot of leadership in that regard,” Popovich said. “He’s had injuries that have bugged him off and on, here and there, but overall he matured a lot this season.”
Johnson was one of six Spurs players listed as out for Tuesday’s game at Memphis.
Not to be outdone, the Grizzlies ruled out a whopping 11 players. They needed a hardship exemption from the league to sign G League wings Zavier Simpson and Jack White to 10-day contracts in order to meet the minimum eight healthy players required to play.
The Spurs play again Wednesday at Oklahoma City, with Johnson expected to be unavailable for that game as well.
Champagnie said the Spurs will miss Johnson down the stretch for reasons that go beyond his on-court contributions.
“He is the heart and soul of this team,” Champagnie said. “He brings a lot of energy regardless if he’s scoring or not. His presence is definitely felt on both ends of the floor, so losing him definitely hurts.”<p class=“MM_onlineOnly” title=“CCI Online Only”>SPURS NATION NEWSLETTER: The best Spurs coverage in Alamo City, delivered to your inbox
Johnson, 23, still has three seasons remaining on the $80-million contract extension he signed in the summer of 2022.
His upbeat leadership was vital for a team in which the losses far outpaced the victories for the fifth season in a row.
“I feel like you really find out who you are when you lead through the good and bad times,” Johnson said. “If you are just leading through the good times, you are a front-runner.”
Johnson said at the time he was optimistic about the future of the Spurs with Victor Wembanyama as the centerpiece and is eager to be a part of it.
“Tough times don’t last,” he said. “Just because we’ve got a rough patch now doesn’t mean we’re going to have a rough patch in the future. I’m very confident in my team, my coaches and all of our support system.”
Popovich joins autism awareness drive
Popovich and other coaches across the league last week wore custom Nike Air Force 1 shoes for a pair of games as part of an NBA-wide initiative to raise awareness for autism.
The campaign was the brainchild of Utah Jazz assistant Scott Morrison, whose son was diagnosed with autism two years ago.
The shoes, customized with each team’s colors and emblazoned with an infinity rainbow insignia, were set to be autographed and put up for auction following the weeklong event.
According to the Massachusetts General Hospital, one in 36 kids is affected by the spectrum disorder.
“It’s a malady that I think is misunderstood in some ways,” Popovich said. “It’s like it’s a bad thing or that person is ‘the other.’ That person is just different and really deserves our attention, our support and a realization they have other traits that make them special. They can’t be put aside as others. They need to be included and supported.”
Popovich praises ‘genuine’ Jones
Popovich applauded the NBA selecting point guard Tre Jones as one of the six finalists for the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award.
“He’s a real genuine individual who cares a lot about not just basketball but the world, what goes on,” Popovich said. “He knows he’s part of a community and he just exudes class in that way, so it’s kind of neat that he is recognized.”
The league created the honor ahead of the 1995-96 season to “recognize the player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”
The NBA announced earlier this week Jones was selected as the finalist from the Southwest Division along with Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey (Atlantic Division), Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen (Central), Miami’s Kevin Love (Southeast), Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Northwest) and Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes (Pacific).
Current NBA players will select the winner from that group.
Nike teases Wemby’s new alien logo during eclipse
As the moon shrouded the sun Monday afternoon, Nike unveiled what appears to be the logo for Wembanyama’s forthcoming signature line of shoes and apparel.
The teaser video released across Nike’s social media accounts opens with a sweeping close-up shot of a computer-generated field “somewhere in South Texas” before zooming out to reveal a vast crop circle featuring an alien head bordered by geometric patterns and two swoosh logos. “The total eclipse has just begun,” the accompanying caption reads.
The crop circle design is an apparent nod to Wembanyama’s nickname – the “Alien” – and Nike decided to offer a sneak peek during Monday’s solar eclipse as thousands flocked to Texas to get within the path of totality. The marquee athletic brand will reportedly release the 20-year-old Spurs star’s first signature shoe in May, and those cosmic-inspired kicks will feature a pair of extraterrestrial faces on the heel and insole.
“It’s great because it is a new experience both for them and I," Wembanyama said in February of developing his signature logo and first retail sneakers with Nike. "We are all learning in this because it is really the first time in my life I have been asked anything about shoes really because I have had no choice most of my life. So, this is great. But I am still learning a lot about my own feet and my own body.”
Staff writers Tom Orsborn and Nick Moyle contributed to this report
By Jeff McDonald, Spurs Writer, via San Antonio Express-News