By Jeje Gomez, Marilyn Dubinski, Mark Barrington, Jacob Douglas, J.R. Wilco | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-07-31 22:00:00
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。
文班亚马在国际篮联的比赛中与传统中锋并肩作战表现出色，但这能延续到NBA吗？有人能击败美国队吗？本期PTR圆桌会议将探讨这些问题以及更多内容。
美国队在奥运会上开局良好。你认为有哪支球队能挑战他们夺金吗？
Marilyn Dubinski： 如果他们发挥出自己的潜力，他们在几乎所有比赛中都应该是夺冠热门，但他们不能像在热身赛中那样轻视任何对手。在对阵塞尔维亚的首场比赛中，他们看起来认真多了，并且通过了尼科拉·约基奇(Nikola Jokic)这一关（尽管他们的所有优势都来自于他不在场的时候，因为他的正负值为0），希望他们能继续保持下去。总的来说，我认为加拿大是他们最大的障碍。如果法国的后卫阵容更好，他们会构成更大的威胁（但永远不要低估文班），澳大利亚看起来也不像过去几届奥运会那样是奖牌的有力争夺者（但永远不要低估国际篮联帕蒂）。
Mark Barrington： 我认为他们是夺冠热门，但一旦他们从小组赛中突围，如果他们有一个糟糕的投篮之夜或者没有拿出强度，他们很容易被其中一支顶级球队淘汰。加拿大和塞尔维亚是他们的主要对手。美国队在小组赛中果断地击败了塞尔维亚，但如果他们再次相遇，比赛可能会更加艰难。法国队有维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)，但他们在一起打得并不好，看起来也没有很大的机会获得奖牌。在我看来，对法国队来说，最好的情况可能是获得铜牌。南苏丹队在巴黎的表现令人难以置信，他们有机会从小组赛中突围，这对一个2011年才建国的国家来说将是一个了不起的成就。
Jesus Gomez： 老实说，看到其他任何一支球队夺冠都将是令人震惊的。加拿大有能与之竞争的后卫，但没有大个子。法国有大个子，但缺少后卫。澳大利亚缺乏顶尖人才。塞尔维亚没有第二个球星。这可能是美国队最后一次在奥运会上没有真正的挑战者了，因为诺兰·特雷尔(Nolan Traore)和扎克·伊迪(Zach Edey)可以分别提供法国和加拿大所缺少的东西。但就目前而言，美国队就是处于另一个级别。
Bill Huan： 当然可以！塞尔维亚拥有世界上最好的球员，而加拿大拥有（除美国之外）最深的阵容，同时也是人类已知的最伟大的国家！
说真的，如果美国队没有带着金牌离开，我会感到震惊，但毫无疑问，他们至少会经历一场势均力敌的比赛。三分球的差异可以改变任何比赛，而且国际篮联的规则也与NBA的规则大不相同。美国在世界上的优势已经不像以前那么大了，但它仍然应该会取得胜利。
文班在法国队与鲁迪·戈贝尔(Rudy Gobert)并肩作战时表现出色。马刺队是否应该让他在大前锋的位置上再尝试一下与另一名大个子球员搭档？
Dubinski： 从技术上讲，马刺队在上个赛季已经尝试过这种做法，并在赛季中期放弃了，尽管至少在纸面上，扎克·科林斯(Zach Collins)比戈贝尔更适合与文班并肩作战的中锋类型。话虽如此，假设文班今年夏天的三分球投射并非昙花一现，那么当比赛需要的时候，让他在大前锋的位置上打一些时间也无妨（在我的脑海里，比如灰熊队让小贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson Jr.)和扎克·伊迪一起上场的时候）。2014年马刺队最伟大的一点是，他们可以根据对手的不同，让蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在大前锋和中锋之间调整，并让他与蒂亚戈·斯普利特(Tiago Splitter)或伯瑞斯·迪奥(Boris Diaw)中的一个搭档首发。如果他们将来也能对文班这样做，那就更好了。
Barrington： 哦，当然不！在国际篮联的规则下，你可以让两个大个子球员都站在油漆区内，但这在NBA就行不通了。这是不同的比赛，规则也不同。马刺队在上个赛季末才开始弄清楚如何在进攻端使用维克托，而这与法国队在奥运会上使用的体系完全不同。
Gomez： 考虑到马刺队没有戈贝尔这样级别的中锋，完全没有理由这样做。我相信法国队也很希望戈贝尔能神奇地变成一名球星后卫，让文班亚马全职打中锋，但由于他们最好的两名球员都是中锋，他们只能想办法让这个组合发挥作用。我仍然认为波波维奇会尝试这种做法，因为他在上赛季末就曾短暂尝试过，他们仍在努力探索文班能做什么，不能做什么。这种做法是否奏效，将取决于文班亚马作为一名射手的进步。
Huan： 如果我能插入达斯·维达(Darth Vader)说“不——！”的表情包，我会毫不犹豫地插入。法国队之所以使用双中锋阵容，主要是因为国际篮联的规则使得这是通往胜利的最佳途径，因为三秒违例在那里并不存在。文班在中锋位置上是终极作弊码，如果马刺队为了更多的“实验”而选择双中锋阵容，我会非常失望。
除了篮球，你还会观看奥运会的其他比赛吗？有没有什么你平时不看的运动，你在这次奥运会上却很喜欢？
Dubinski： 我一直很喜欢看体操，尽管我知道我的身体从来没有也不会那么灵活。（我一年级上体操课的时候，能在蹦床上做翻筋斗。这算吗？）我也喜欢看足球（那是我从小就从事的运动）、游泳和沙滩排球。在这届奥运会上，我发现自己看的最随机的项目是水球。
Barrington： 我看了很多不同的运动。橄榄球和七人制橄榄球非常精彩，尽管我不太懂规则。我看了一些自行车比赛，前几天车手们在潮湿的赛道上展现出的技术令人印象深刻。
手球？那是什么东西？看起来很有趣，但我完全不知道发生了什么。有很多有趣的东西可以看。
Gomez： 我曾经是一个奥运迷，会尽可能多地观看每一场比赛。在过去的几届奥运会上，我已经没有那种兴奋感了，所以现在我主要关注我年轻时玩过和喜欢的运动（手球、排球、篮球和足球）。我仍然会尽量抽出时间去看一些我知之甚少但看起来很有趣的运动，比如击剑或体操，我也会尽量去关注我的祖国阿根廷有希望取得好成绩的项目。我对七人制橄榄球队在世界巡回赛上占据统治地位却没能获得奖牌感到失望，但我仍然希望女子曲棍球队能走得更远，所以我会一直关注她们。
Huan： 我喜欢把自己想象成一个运动能力稍逊一筹的安东尼·爱德华兹(Anthony Edwards)，因为我也喜欢浏览即将举行的比赛，然后为一个我直到那一刻才知道其存在的球员/球队摇旗呐喊。话虽如此，短跑和接力赛总是很有趣，尽管它们通常在我还没来得及从沙发上站起来开始欢呼之前就结束了。
点击查看原文：The Wembanyama - Gobert duo could make the Spurs rethink how they use their star
The Wembanyama - Gobert duo could make the Spurs rethink how they use their star
Wembanyama is doing fine next to a traditional center in FIBA play, but will that translate to the NBA? Can someone beat Team USA? That and more in this edition of PTR’s roundtable.
Team USA started the Olympics well. Do you think any team can challenge them for the gold?
Marilyn Dubinski: If they play to their potential, they should be heavy favorites in almost any matchup, but they can’t afford to take anyone for granted like they seemed to in warmups. They looked a lot more serious in their opener against Serbia and passed one big test against Nikola Jokic (although all of their advantage came when he was off the floor, as he had a +/- of 0), and hopefully that carries on. Overall, I’d say Canada is their biggest obstacle. France would be a bigger threat if they had better guard play (but never count out Wemby), and Australia doesn’t look quite like the medal contender it has been in past Olympics (but never count out FIBA Patty).
Mark Barrington: I think they’ve got to be the favorites, but once they get out of group play, they could easily get knocked out by one of the top teams if they have a bad shooting night or don’t bring the intensity. Canada and Serbia are their main rivals. The US beat Serbia decisively in the group stage, but if they meet again, it could be tougher. France has Victor Wembanyama, but they just aren’t playing well together and don’t look like they have a great shot at a medal. The likely best-case scenario for Les Bleus is Le Bronze, in my opinion. The South Sudan team is having an incredible run in Paris, and they have a shot at advancing past the group stage, which would be an amazing achievement for a country that has only existed since 2011.
Jesus Gomez: It would be shocking to see anyone else win gold, honestly. Canada has the guards to compete but not the big men. France has the big men but lacks the guards. Australia lacks top-end talent. Serbia doesn’t have a second star. This is probably the last Olympics Team USA will have no true challengers, since Nolan Traore and Zach Edey could provide exactly what France and Canada are lacking, respectively. But for now, Team USA is just on another level.
Bill Huan: Heck yes! Serbia has the best player in the world, and Canada has the deepest team (outside of the states) while also being the greatest nation known to man!
In all seriousness, I’ll be shocked if the US doesn’t walk away with gold, but they will undoubtedly be in at least one close game. Three-point variance can swing any game and FIBA rules are significantly different than NBA ones as well. The US doesn’t have as big an advantage over the world as it used to, but it should still emerge victorious.
Wemby has looked good playing next to Rudy Gobert for France. Should the Spurs give him another look at power forward next to another big man?
Dubinski: Technically the Spurs already tried that last season and abandoned ship midway through, and that’s despite at least on on paper, Zach Collins is more the type of center to play next to Wemby than Gobert. That being said, assuming Wemby’s three-point shooting this summer is no fluke, it wouldn’t hurt to see him play some spot minutes at power forward when the match-up warrants it (off the top of my head, if the Grizzlies play Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey together). One of the greatest things about the 2014 Spurs is they could adjust Tim Duncan between power forward and center and start either Tiago Splitter or Boris Diaw next to him based on match-up. If they can do the same with Wemby in the future, all the better.
Barrington: Oh, heck no! With FIBA rules you can have two bigs camp out in the paint, but that just doesn’t work in the NBA. It’s a different game with different rules. The Spurs were beginning to figure out how to use Victor on offense towards the end of last season, and that doesn’t look anything like the system the French are using in the Olympics.
Gomez: Considering the Spurs don’t have a center of Gobert’s quality, there’s really no reason to do it at all. I’m sure France would love to have Gobert magically transform into a star guard and have Wembanyama play center full time but since two of their best players are centers, they have to make it work. I still think Pop will try it because he did it toward the end of last season for short stretches and they are still trying to discover what Wemby can and can’t do. Whether it works or not will come down to Wembanyama improving as a shooter.
Huan: If I could insert that GIF of Darth Vader saying NOOOoooooOOOOOOooo, I would. The main reason why France has played two bigs is because FIBA’s rules make that the best path to victory, given that three-second violations aren’t a thing. Wemby at center is the ultimate cheat code, and I’ll be seriously disappointed if the Spurs go with two bigs for the sake of more “experimenting.”
Are you watching the Olympics outside of basketball? Is there any sport you don’t normally watch that you have been enjoying?
Dubinski: I’ve always enjoyed watching gymnastics while knowing my body never was and never will be that flexible. (I could do summersaults on a trampoline when I took gymnastics in first grade. Does that count?) I also enjoy watching soccer (that was my sport growing up), swimming, and beach volleyball. The most random thing I’ve found myself watching during these Olympics is water polo.
Barrington: I’ve been watching a lot of different sports. Rugby and Rugby 7s are pretty amazing, even though I don’t really understand the rules. I’ve watched some of the bike races, and the skill of the riders in the first couple of days navigating wet courses was impressive.
Team handball? What even is that? Fun to watch, but I have no idea what’s going on. There have been so many interesting things to watch.
Gomez: I used to be an Olympics fiend, watching absolutely everything I could. I haven’t had that same excitement for the last couple of editions, so now I mostly catch up on the sports I played and enjoyed when I was younger (handball, volleyball, basketball and soccer). I still try to find time for some other sports that I know little about but seem fun, like fencing or gymnastics, and I also try to catch up on the ones my native Argentina has a chance to do well on. I was disappointed by the rugby 7 team that dominated the world circuit but couldn’t get a medal but I’m still hopeful the women’s field hockey team can get far, so I’ll be keeping an eye on them.
Huan: I like to fancy myself as a slightly less athletic version of Anthony Edwards given that I also like to peruse whatever events are coming up and bandwagon for a player/team I didn’t know existed until that moment. With that said, the short distance sprints and relays are always entertaining, even though they usually end before I even have the time to get up from the couch and start cheering.
By Jeje Gomez, Marilyn Dubinski, Mark Barrington, Jacob Douglas, J.R. Wilco, via Pounding The Rock