By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-07-14 12:19:25
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。
2024年7月6日，加州萨克拉门托：2024年7月6日，星期六，在加州萨克拉门托Golden1中心举行的加州经典夏季联赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在第四节对阵夏洛特黄蜂队的比赛中跑向替补席时与肯尼击掌。(雷金纳德·托马斯二世/圣安东尼奥马刺队摄)
拉斯维加斯——在托马斯和麦克中心举行的比赛中场休息时，马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)拥抱并亲吻了他的导师、前助理教练汉克·伊根(Hank Egan)，这位86岁的老人获得了美国篮球教练协会的表彰。
“我认为我所知道的一切都是从这个人身上学到的，因为他是最棒的，”波波维奇谈到他在空军的教练时说道。
对于马刺队来说，这是一个令人欣慰的时刻，他们在25年前赢得了他们的第一个NBA总冠军，当时伊根是波波维奇的首席助理教练。
但周六晚上的比赛也关乎球队的未来。
在波波维奇和休赛期引进的知名球员克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)和哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)在场边观战的情况下，新秀控球后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔得到22分、5个篮板、4次助攻和1次抢断，带领马刺队在拉斯维加斯夏季联赛揭幕战中以83-77战胜波特兰开拓者队。
19岁的卡斯尔也有一些糟糕的表现，包括5次失误，但他全面的出色表现说明了马刺队在上个月为什么选择他成为第四顺位新秀，并赢得了波波维奇的一些高度评价。
“我喜欢他作为一个如此年轻的孩子所表现出的认真态度，”这位NBA历史上的 winningest 教练在接受ESPN赛间采访时说道。
“我喜欢他的节奏——你看他的表情从不改变——他不会打得太快，也不会打得太慢。他会阅读比赛形势。他得到的出场时间越多，他的表现就会越好。他寻求对抗，他是一个出色的防守者，他做出的决定也很棒。”
在进入选秀之前，对卡斯尔的少数批评之一是，他可能不具备在下一个级别成为三级得分手的条件，因为他在上个赛季在康涅狄格大学的比赛中，场均只有2.2次三分球出手，命中率仅为26.7%。
这不是马刺队担心的问题。
“他的投篮机制是存在的，”一位球队工作人员在赛前说道。
果然，卡斯尔在上半场投进了2记三分球，其中包括接2023年第二轮后卫/前锋西迪·西索科(Sidy Cissoko)的传球后，在底角命中的一记接球就投。
“这与我们的预期差不多，”马刺队夏季联赛教练肯尼·特雷维诺(Kenny Trevino)在谈到卡斯尔的投篮时说道，他的投篮帮助马刺队在半场结束时取得了20分的领先优势。“一点也不意外。完全没有。”
卡斯尔21投8中，其中三分球6投2中，罚球5投4中，这是一场效率不高但很有侵略性的比赛。
“我们让他打了大量的挡拆，”特雷维诺说。“他今晚的挡拆次数可能比之前在萨克拉门托（加州经典赛）的两场比赛都要多。他很稳健。我仍然认为他没有得到足够的哨声。他正在冲击篮筐，他正在把对手困住。随着夏季联赛的进行，他会得到这些哨声，因为他正在冲击篮筐。”
对于这位身高6英尺6英寸、体重215磅、来自乔治亚州的健壮运动员来说，突破上篮从来都不是问题。他想证明的是，他也可以成为一个外线威胁，这是康涅狄格大学教练丹·赫尔利(Dan Hurley)在他作为防守尖兵的角色中没有要求他做到的。
马刺队也把卡斯尔视为一名防守悍将，但与哈士奇队不同的是，他们给了他开火权。
“我对自己很有信心，我觉得我们的球队和教练组也是如此，”卡斯尔说。“能够在这里打球，做我自己，对我来说是一种享受。”
虽然卡斯尔在三分线外展现出了潜力，但在本场比赛中，另一位来自康涅狄格大学的乐透秀在扩大射程方面却没有那么成功。多诺万·克林根(Donovan Clingan)是开拓者队第七顺位选中的一名身高7英尺2英寸、体重280磅的中锋，他在8次投篮中投失了7次，包括3次三分球全部投失，其中两次是三不沾。
但克林根在其他方面表现出色，抢下13个篮板，送出5次盖帽，包括在篮筐处盖掉了卡斯尔的一次进攻。
“这就是他的能力，”卡斯尔说。“他保护篮筐，所以我对他没有任何期待。与这样的球员对抗是很好的练习。他是一个高水平的盖帽手。我知道在即将到来的这个赛季，我会看到很多这样的情况。能够有这样的尝试和错误，对我来说是一次很好的经历。”
就克林根而言，他对卡斯尔得到20多分并不感到惊讶，卡斯尔在上个赛季代表NCAA冠军哈士奇队场均得到11.1分的比赛中，只有4场比赛得分超过20分。
“我知道斯蒂芬是什么样的球员，”克林根说。“我一点也不惊讶。”
除了波波维奇、保罗和巴恩斯之外，马刺队的其他几位成员也出席了活动，向伊根表示敬意，并为卡斯尔加油助威，其中包括球队首席执行官R.C. 布福德(R.C. Buford)、助理教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)和其他几位球员。
“我们有一个很棒的赛季，一个充满乐趣的赛季即将到来，”卡斯尔说。“那些是我的新队友，那是我新的教练，所以他们能来这里，并表现出他们的关心，这意味着很多。”
他在康涅狄格大学主要打无球，而现在有机会打控球后卫，这是他的天性和喜欢的职位，这也让他感到高兴。他展示了自己作为场上指挥官的技巧，完成了一些令人印象深刻的传球，包括在篮下用一记勺子传球找到快下的西索科，后者轻松完成扣篮。
“他的节奏很好，今天他控制了比赛，”西索科说道，他得到了8分、5个篮板、3次助攻和2次抢断。
“感觉很棒，”卡斯尔在谈到重回他在高中五星级高中生时期的出色角色时说道。“我之前说过，我觉得我的队友和教练组对我在这些方面很有信心。所以，只要走出去，打我的比赛，自由自在地打球，不要想太多，这对我来说就很好。”
马刺队在周日重返赛场，迎战亚特兰大老鹰队和状元秀扎卡里·里萨切(Zaccharie Risacher)。去年的状元秀维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)打出了历史性的数据，为马刺队赢得了最佳新秀奖，预计他将在未来几年与卡斯尔搭档。
“我认为他会学得很快，并且很快就能在球场上打球，”波波维奇说。
点击查看原文：With Spurs coach Gregg Popovich watching, Stephon Castle put on a show
With Spurs coach Gregg Popovich watching, Stephon Castle put on a show
July 6, 2024, Sacramento, CA: San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle high fives /eknny/ as he jogs to the bench during the fourth quarter of the California Classic Summer League game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Golden1 Center in Sacramento, California Saturday, July 6, 2024. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
LAS VEGAS - Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave Hank Egan a hug and a kiss after his 86-year-old mentor and former assistant received an honor from the National Basketball Coaches Association during halftime at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“Anything I think I know I learned from this man because he’s the best,” Popovich said of his coach at Air Force.
It was a feel-good moment for the Spurs, who won their first of five NBA titles 25 years ago with Egan serving as Popovich’s lead assistant.
But Saturday night was also about the franchise’s future.
With Popovich and high-profile offseason acquisitions Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes watching from courtside seats, rookie point guard Stephon Castle collected 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal to lead the Spurs to an 83-77 win over Portland in the Vegas Summer League opener for both clubs.
Castle, 19, had his share of bad moments, including five turnovers, but his all-around strong outing underscored why the Spurs selected him fourth overall last month and drew some high praise from Popovich.
“I love his seriousness for such a young kid,” the NBA’s all-time winningest coach said in an in-game interview with ESPN.
“I love his pace – you see his expression never changes – he doesn’t go too fast, doesn’t go too slow. He reads the situations. The more minutes he gets, the better he is going to be. He seeks contact, he is an excellent defender and he makes wonderful decisions.”
One of the few knocks against Castle entering the draft was that he might not have what it takes to become a three-level scorer at the next level after shooting just 26.7 percent from 3-point range on only 2.2 attempts per game last season at Connecticut.
It was a concern the Spurs didn’t harbor.
“The mechanics are there,” a team staffer said before the game.
On cue, Castle sank two 3s in the first half, including a catch-and-shoot basket from the corner on a kick-out feed from 2023 second-round guard/forward Sidy Cissoko.
“About what we expected,” Spurs Summer League coach Kenny Trevino said of Castle’s shooting, which helped the Spurs build a 20-point halftime lead. “No surprises at all. Zero.”
Castle hit 8 of 21 from the field, 2 of 6 from beyond the arc and 4 of 5 from the free-throw stripe in an inefficient but aggressive outing.
“We put him in a ton of pick and roll,” Trevino said. “He was probably in more pick and roll tonight than he was in his previous two games in Sacramento (at the California Classic). He was solid. I still don’t think he is getting enough calls. He is getting to the rim, he is keeping guys in jail. He will get those calls as summer league goes on because he’s getting to the hole.”
Driving to the basket has never been a problem for the sturdy, athletic 6-foot-6, 215-pound Georgia native. What he wants to prove is that he can also be a perimeter threat, something Connecticut coach Dan Hurley didn’t ask of him in his role as a defensive stopper.
The Spurs also view Castle as a shutdown defender, but unlike the Huskies, they are giving him the green light to fire away from distance.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself that way and I feel like our team and our coaching staff does too,” Castle said. “Just to have the ability to go out here and play my game has been a luxury for me.”
While Castle showed promise from downtown, the other lottery pick in the game from Connecticut didn’t fare so well in his bid to stretch the floor. Donovan Clingan, the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center selected by the Trail Blazers seventh overall, missed 7 of 8 from the field, including all three of his 3-point attempts, two of which were air balls.
But Clingan was outstanding in other areas, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking five shots, including an attempt by Castle at the rim.
“That’s what he does,” Castle said. “He protects the rim, so I don’t expect anything less from him. It’s great practice to go against a guy like that. He’s a high-level shot blocker. I know I am going to see a lot of that this upcoming season. To have that trial and error, it was a good experience for me.”
For his part, Clingan wasn’t surprised Castle had 20-plus points, a plateau he reached just four times last year en route to averaging 11.1 points per game for the NCAA champion Huskies.
“I know what kind of player Stephon is,” Clingan said. “I was not surprised.”
In addition to Popovich, Paul and Barnes, several other members of the Spurs family were in attendance to honor Egan and cheer on Castle, including franchise CEO R.C. Buford, assistant coach Mitch Johnson and a few other players.
“We have a great season, a fun season coming up,” Castle said. “Those are my new teammates, that’s my new coach, so just for them to be there and to show they care, it means a lot.”
As does the opportunity for him to play point guard, his natural and preferred position, after he played mainly off the ball at Connecticut. He showcased his skills as a field general with some impressive feeds, including finding a streaking Cissoko with a scoop pass in the lane for an uncontested slam.
“He had great rhythm and he controlled the game today,” said Cissoko, who finished with eight points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“It feels great,” Castle said of returning to the role he excelled in as a five-star recruit in high school. “I said it earlier, I feel like my teammates and the coaching staff has a lot of confidence in me with that stuff. So just to go out there and play my game, play free, and not really have anything in the back of my mind, it’s been great for me.”
The Spurs returned to the court Sunday for a game against Atlanta and No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. Last year’s top pick, Victor Wembanyama, won the rookie of the year award for the Spurs by putting up some historic numbers and is expected to team with Castle for years to come.
“He is going to be a quick study, I think, and is going to play on the court pretty quickly,” Popovich said.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News