By Jeph Duarte | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-09-09 19:00:00
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。
以积极的心态开启新的一周
距离马刺队篮球比赛回归我们的日程表还有不到一个月的时间（首场季前赛就在四周后的今天），我仍然从马刺管理层和圣安东尼奥马刺队组织中汲取灵感。
圣安东尼奥新闻快报 的作家汤姆·奥斯伯恩（Tom Orsborn）在今年夏天拉斯维加斯夏季联赛期间发布了这张照片，当时银黑军团正在参加夏季联赛。
今早在拉斯维加斯举行的马刺夏季联赛训练中发现的至理名言。图片链接
— 汤姆·奥斯伯恩 (@tom_orsborn) 2024 年 7 月 11 日
“衡量我们是谁的标准是我们如何应对不顺心的事情。”
这令人耳目一新。在一个充满着成就斐然的年轻天才的联盟里，提醒他们通往最高水平的成功并非一蹴而就，是这段旅程中必不可少的一部分。
坦率地说，我倾向于认同肖恩·埃利奥特（Sean Elliott）那种认为现代球员无法与前辈相提并论的抱怨。不要误会我的意思，保护球员的安全措施是负责任的，但它确实在一定程度上降低了比赛的精彩程度。
我一直认为，斯蒂芬·库里（Stephen Curry）永远无法通过与坏孩子军团底特律活塞队 的七场系列赛，但他并不是现代 NBA 中唯一的花朵。在强硬犯规盛行的年代，很少有球员能够拥有漫长的职业生涯。
但这还不止于此。
如今的大多数球员都是在“参与奖杯一代”中成长起来的。失败被粉饰，以免伤害孩子们的感情。那些成功晋级到这个级别的球员必须在天赋之外培养坚韧的品质。严厉的爱必须明确地指向他们，为他们进入下一个级别做好准备。
几年前，我的女儿和一个孩子是同学，他的父亲曾为马刺队效力。他的母亲经常谈到为了让一个年轻人为这项运动的严酷做好准备所付出的时间和奉献。即使在那时，职业生涯也无法得到保证，即使是在大学取得成功之后也是如此。
在拉斯维加斯的球员们都在努力争取进入球队名单，寻找一个归宿，因为球员们签下了合同，未来也已成定局。
当事情不尽如人意时，球员如何处理自己的行为，很大程度上说明了这个人的性格。
马刺队的文化一直围绕着尽可能多地网罗那些拥有必要的天赋、可塑性和“自我超越”精神的球员，并将他们纳入麾下。
他们的偶像是杜兰特（Kevin Durant）和库里，而不是乔丹（Michael Jordan）和科比（Kobe Bryant）。完全是不同的一代人。在蒂姆·邓肯（Tim Duncan）被选中之前，今年马刺队中只有两名球员出生。
你如何看待今年的马刺队？
点击查看原文：Open Thread: Spurs have positive affirmation posted during their Las Vegas Summer League stint
Open Thread: Spurs have positive affirmation posted during their Las Vegas Summer League stint
Start your week with something positive
As we count down the days until Spurs basketball is on our schedule (the first preseason game it four weeks from today), I am still finding inspiration from PATFO and the San Antonio Spurs organization.
San Antonio Express-News writer Tom Orsborn, while in Las Vegas this past summer, posted this photo while the Silver & Black were engaged in Summer League.
Words of wisdom found at Summer Spurs practice this morning in Vegas. pic.twitter.com/JGX8PirTYs
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) July 11, 2024
“The measure of who we are is how we react to something that doesn’t go our way.”
This is refreshing. In a league full of young talent who have experienced monumental accomplishment, a reminder that success at the highest level does not come easy is an essential part of the journey.
Full disclosure, I tend to subscribe to the Sean Elliott level of curmudgeonry describing how modern players often cannot hold a candle to the predecessors. Don’t get me wrong, the safety measures put in place to protect players is responsible, but it does water down the game to a certain level.
I have always contended that Stephen Curry would never have made it through a seven game series against the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons, but he is not the only daffodil in the modern NBA. Few players could have extensive careers back when hard fouls were the norm.
But it goes beyond that.
The majority of players today came up as part of the participation trophy generation. Loss was sugar coated as to not hurt the feelings of children. The players who made it through to this level had to develop grit paired to their talent. Tough love had to be explicitly aimed at them to prepare them for the next level.
A few years ago my daughter was classmates with a kid whose dad played for the Spurs. His mother spoke often of the hours and dedication that goes into preparing a young man for the rigors of the sport. Even then, a career is not guaranteed, not even after a successful collegiate run.
The guys in Las Vegas were aimed at making rosters, looking for a home as players get signed and futures become determined.
How any given player handles himself when things are not going his way says a lot about that individual.
And the Spurs culture has always centered around grabbing as many of the guys who had that essential mix of talent, teachability, and “over himself”ness necessary to bring them into the fold.
Their heroes aren’t Jordan and Kobe as much as they are Durant and Curry. A totally different generation altogether. Only two members of this year’s Spurs were born before Tim Duncan was even drafted.
What do you think of this year’s squad?
By Jeph Duarte, via Pounding The Rock