By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-07-16 16:47:50
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。
马刺正在围绕维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)快速建队，并希望在他的2023-24赛季NBA最佳新秀奖杯之外再添新彩。
去年冬天一个寒冷的日子，格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)聊起了他最喜欢的话题之一。当然，讨论涉及到葡萄、发酵和风味的复杂性。
不过，当谈到耐心时，这位马刺队主教练告诫不要过度。他承认，大多数好酒都会随着时间的推移而变得更醇厚。
“但我打开过几瓶酒，却非常失望，”波波维奇说，“因为我等得太久了。”
即使有周密的计划和最好的意图，时机也很难把握。通常情况下，巨大的回报会降临到那些愿意等待的人身上。
但拖延也有其局限性。在某些时候，你最好还是打开那该死的瓶塞。
这比任何篮球分析都更清晰地解释了为什么克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)和哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)今年夏天会来到圣安东尼奥。马刺知道他们拥有好东西。他们知道他们有瓶瓶罐罐的好东西，堆积在一个7英尺3.5英寸的板条箱里，堆积如山，数量之多足以维持十年甚至更长时间。
但马刺最不想做的事情就是在未来的某一天回首往事，感叹自己浪费了一滴。
因此，今年夏天，在维克托·文班亚马即将在美国达到法定饮酒年龄的六个月前，马刺决定是时候开始“倒酒”了。
很明显，他们不会一次性全部打开。他们太聪明了，不会那样做。马刺的目标一直是确保他们在五年后、六年后、七年或八年或九年后，当他们预计文班亚马达到巅峰状态时，仍然有足够多的好东西可以使用。
但这并不意味着他们必须把所有的存货都留到以后。如果他们能适当地控制节奏，他们就可以通过一次打开一点，让它醒酒，让它呼吸，从而最大限度地享受它。
老将哈里森·巴恩斯的加入表明，马刺不会在维克托·文班亚马的下一个阶段等待太久。
找到合适的搭配会有所帮助。这就是保罗和巴恩斯这类球员的作用所在。
当然，马刺队本可以再等一年，然后再为文班亚马配备经验丰富的赢家。如果他们把上赛季22胜60负的阵容全部带回来，他们也会进步，因为文班亚马很出色，而且他身边的年轻球员也在进步。
然而，那样做对他来说是一种伤害。他现在已经准备好赢球了。尽管可能还需要几年时间，才能现实地开始考虑最有价值球员奖和NBA总冠军，但现在就开始为此做准备也为时不晚。
“你不可能快速积累经验，”32岁的前锋巴恩斯说，他在金州勇士队赢得了一个NBA总冠军，之后加入了达拉斯和萨克拉门托的重建项目。“作为一个团队，你必须经历某些事情。”
这是棘手的部分。如果文班亚马像他之前的那些超级巨星一样，那么在他季后赛取得成功之前，他需要先在季后赛中失败。在他迎来季后赛的巨大突破之前，他需要先接近突破，然后功亏一篑。保罗和巴恩斯都不会在他身边待太久，无法帮助他克服障碍。
但这并不意味着他们不能在将文班亚马——以及他周围的年轻球员——提升到边缘方面发挥巨大作用。通过让他现在就与历史上最伟大的挡拆控球后卫之一搭档，马刺正在开启他比赛的另一个方面，即使在39岁的保罗离开后，这也可能被证明是有用的。
通过让巴恩斯投中一些三分球，让马刺队的首发阵容在本赛季更加平衡，他们正在为文班亚马创造条件，让他参加更有意义的比赛，并赢得其中的一些比赛。
克里斯·保罗可能无法在维克托·文班亚马达到巅峰状态时还留在马刺队，但保罗的加入将有助于加快这一进程。
毕竟，赢球应该是这里的目标，不是吗？
保罗说:“我认为，如果你打球只是为了好玩，那你就没必要打球。”
这种心态也会帮助文班亚马。去年，马刺队在原本可能非常糟糕的六个月里始终保持乐观，这证明了他们积极的态度令人钦佩。在文班亚马的第二个NBA赛季，他身边将会有几位老将，他们会告诉他，认真对待失败也是可以的。
他需要这样，就像每个年轻球员一样。马刺队迟早会让他经历这个过程。一年前，他们可能还没有意识到“迟早”会来得这么快。
但如果说文班亚马在新秀赛季教会了他们什么，那就是他们不需要为了任何事情而等待他。
那么，在今年冬天一个寒冷的日子里呢？
波波维奇比以往任何时候都更早地打开了好东西，但他似乎并没有感到失望。
点击查看原文：Spurs see no need to wait for Wembanyama to age; time is now to win
Spurs see no need to wait for Wembanyama to age; time is now to win
Spurs are building faster around Victor Wembanyama and hope to add more to his 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year trophy.
On a cold day last winter, Gregg Popovich got to talking about one of his favorite subjects. The discussion involved grapes, of course, and fermentation, and complexity of flavor.
When it came to patience, though, the Spurs coach cautioned against excess. Yes, he conceded, most good wine ages well.
“But I’ve opened a couple of bottles and been very disappointed,” Popovich said, “because I waited too long.”
Even with careful planning and the best of intentions, timing can be tricky. More often than not, a huge reward comes to those willing to wait for it.
But stalling has its limits. At some point, you’re better off just popping the dang cork.
This, as illuminatingly as any basketball breakdown, explains why Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes came to San Antonio this summer. The Spurs know they have the good stuff. They know they have bottles and bottles and bottles of it, stacked high and deep in a 7-foot-3½-inch crate, with more than enough to last a decade or longer.
But the last thing the Spurs want to do is to look back one day and lament wasting a drop of it.
So this summer, six months before Victor Wembanyama was set to reach legal drinking age in America, the Spurs decided it was time to start pouring.
Obviously, they’re not going to open it all at once. They’re far too smart for that. The Spurs’ goal all along has been to make sure they have plenty of the good stuff to go around in five years, in six years, in seven or eight or nine years, when they expect it to be at its peak.
But that doesn’t mean they have to save the whole stash for later. If they pace themselves properly, they can maximize their enjoyment by opening a little at a time, letting it decant, and letting it breathe.
The addition of veteran Harrison Barnes is a sign the Spurs aren’t waiting too long on Victor Wembanyama’s next phase.
Finding the right pairing can help. And that’s where guys like Paul and Barnes come in.
Sure, the Spurs could have waited another year to add experienced winners around Wembanyama. Had they brought the whole gang back from last season’s 22-60 finish, they would have improved, because Wembanyama is amazing, and because the youngsters around him are getting better, too.
That would have done him a disservice, though. He’s ready to win now. And even though it might be a few years before it becomes realistic to start thinking about Most Valuable Player awards and NBA championships, it’s not too early to start building up to that.
“You just can’t fast-track experience,” said Barnes, the 32-year-old forward who won an NBA title at Golden State before joining rebuilding projects in Dallas and Sacramento. “There’s certain things you have to go through as a group.”
This is the tricky part. If Wembanyama is like most of the superstars who preceded him, before he succeeds in the playoffs, he will need to fail in them. Before he has his huge postseason breakthrough, he will need to come close to one and fall just short. And neither Paul nor Barnes figures to be around long enough to get him over the hump.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t play huge roles in lifting Wembanyama — and the young group around him — to the edge. By giving him one of the greatest pick-and-roll point guards in league history as a partner now, the Spurs are opening another piece of his game that might prove useful even after the 39-year-old Paul is gone.
By letting Barnes knock down some 3-point jumpers that make the Spurs’ starting lineup a little more balanced this season, they’re putting Wembanyama in position to play in more meaningful games, and to win some of them.
Chris Paul may not be with Spurs when Victor Wembanyama reaches his prime but Paul’s addition will help speed the process.
After all, winning is supposed to be the goal here, isn’t it?
Said Paul: “I don’t think you should play anything if you’re just doing it for s---- and giggles.”
That mentality will help Wembanyama, too. Last year, the Spurs’ penchant for staying upbeat through what could have been a miserable six months was an admirable testament to their positive attitude. In Wembanyama’s second NBA season, he’ll be around a couple of veterans who will show him that taking losses hard is OK, too.
He needs that, just as every young player does. The Spurs were bound to let him go through that process sooner or later. A year ago, they might not have realized “sooner” would come so soon.
But if Wembanyama taught them anything during his rookie season, it was that they don’t need to wait for him for, well, just about anything.
And on a cold day this winter?
Popovich, opening a little more of the good stuff earlier than he ever expected, doesn’t figure to be disappointed.
By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News