By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-09-28 13:31:17
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。
今年夏天，当维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)踏上迄今为止他人生最重要比赛的舞台时，他的马刺队友们分散在世界各地观看比赛。
在巴黎奥运会男篮决赛中，当文班亚马带领法国队迎战美国队时，前锋朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)看到的一切并没有让他感到惊讶。
但这确实让他兴奋不已。
“原谅我的措辞，”尚帕尼说，“但这家伙简直是个怪物。”
尽管文班亚马率领的法国队在与星光熠熠的美国队的比赛中以87-98败北，无缘金牌，但他在这场事关重大的比赛中面对世界上最优秀的篮球运动员时，砍下了26分和7个篮板——要知道他才20岁——这再次预示着NBA即将发生的巨变。
随着本周联盟各地球队训练营的陆续开营，很少有球员能像上赛季全票当选最佳新秀的文班亚马那样备受关注。
当然，文班亚马将面临比上赛季胜场数不到30场的任何球队中任何球员都更耀眼的聚光灯。
在文班亚马第二个NBA赛季即将到来之际，一个迫切的问题是：形象地说，这位身高7英尺3英寸的“外星独角兽”还能成长多少？
“他肯定会更上一层楼，”尚帕尼说。“他会变得更强壮，他会变得更好，他会更多地了解比赛。他才20岁。我很期待看到他在未来几年会取得怎样的成就。”
文班亚马在第二个赛季可能会带来怎样的进步，将是马刺训练营中值得关注的故事情节之一，他们的第一次训练将于周二开始。以下是另外五个值得关注的方面：
- 马刺的更衣室里终于有足够的“成年人”了吗？
上赛季，马刺派出了NBA最年轻的阵容。这种年轻的过剩经常显现出来，尤其是在比分胶着的比赛的第四节。
球队82场比赛中，恰好有一半的比赛以联盟所说的“关键时刻”告终——在比赛还剩最后5分钟时分差在5分以内。马刺队输掉了其中28场比赛。
克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)来了，这位39岁的12届全明星球员被普遍认为是他那个时代最好的控球后卫，马刺队在这个休赛期与他签下了一份为期一年的合同。尽管“时间老人”已经将保罗排除在联盟MVP的常年讨论范围之外，但他的篮球智商和老将经验在本赛季那些关键时刻的比赛中发挥作用是合情合理的。
哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)也是如此，这位32岁的前锋是从萨克拉门托国王队挖来的，他也带来了丰富的经验。
人们相信，这两位久经沙场的老将会帮助年轻的马刺队学会如何赢得胜利。我们很快就会知道了。
- 谁将暂时顶替瓦塞尔(Vassell)的首发位置？
马刺队在上周五宣布，五年级得分后卫德文·瓦塞尔（上赛季球队的二号得分手）将缺席训练营、季前赛以及常规赛至少第一周的比赛，因为他正在从休赛期右脚手术中恢复，他的右脚一直困扰着他。这使得他的首发位置暂时空缺。
也许最有可能暂时顶替他的是朱利安·尚帕尼，这位前落选秀上赛季在小前锋位置上首发了59场。
瓦塞尔的缺阵可能意味着凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)将短暂回归首发阵容，他在上赛季中期被移至替补席，而在此之前，他的职业生涯大部分时间都是作为首发出场的。
其他潜在的人选包括三年级后卫马拉基·布拉纳姆(Malaki Branham)，他也有一些首发经验，以及备受瞩目的新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)。然而，明智的做法是，马刺队将允许这位19岁的首轮新秀从替补席开始，以一种压力较小的方式适应NBA。
有一点是肯定的：无论谁在训练营中赢得了这份工作，都只是瓦塞尔的替补，瓦塞尔会在恢复健康后重新回到这个位置。
- 杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)的最佳位置究竟是什么？
在文班亚马去年夏天突然出现之前，杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)是马刺队近25年来选秀顺位最高的球员。
这位来自贝勒大学的球员在2022年选秀大会上被选中，在他的前两个职业赛季中，他一直在努力寻找自己的定位。主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)在2023-24赛季开始时做出了一个（不）明智的决定，他让身高6英尺8英寸的索汉尝试打控球后卫，但最终还是让他回到了自己熟悉的大前锋位置。
保罗的到来意味着，除其他方面外，索汉不用再客串控球后卫了。然而，巴恩斯的到来可能会将索汉挤出他喜欢的大前锋位置。
如果索汉要继续留在首发阵容中——这似乎是A计划——他可能会被移到小前锋的位置。但这可能只是一个语义上的问题。在马刺队的进攻体系中，这两个位置并没有太大区别。
对于这位21岁的球员来说，这可能是一个“要么成功，要么闭嘴”的赛季。
索汉在他的前两个赛季中已经证明了自己是一位多才多艺、防守顽强的球员，教练们都喜欢让他上场。如果他能找到进攻端和投篮手感的一致性，他将有望取得更大的进步。
他如何融入马刺队调整后的首发阵容将是季前赛中更有趣的看点之一。
- 球队最新的乐透秀还需要多久才能兑现天赋？
马刺队在6月份的选秀大会上用4号签选中了卡斯尔，这是他们在三个夏天里的第三个前十顺位新秀。球队选中了备受好评的卡斯尔（他在康涅狄格大学两次获得NCAA总冠军），希望将他培养成他们未来的控球后卫。
马刺队签下保罗，部分原因是为了让这个未来至少推迟一个赛季。
身高6英尺6英寸的卡斯尔将从替补席开始他的职业生涯。他甚至可能不会以控球后卫的身份开始，因为他将与主力控卫特雷·琼斯(Tre Jones)一起在第二阵容中打无球。
这样的安排应该会给卡斯尔足够的时间来适应NBA的比赛。这种循序渐进的方式可能会降低马刺队连续第二个赛季获得最佳新秀奖的可能性，但会增加卡斯尔在最终接过指挥棒时能够胜任这个角色的可能性。
毫无疑问，马刺队相信卡斯尔，他为他们最需要的位置之一带来了身高、防守韧性和组织能力。这位球队最新的“年轻新星”可能只需要等待一段时间就能在马刺队中展现他的存在感。
- 球队的阵容中有足够的3分球射手吗？
这是一个值得反复提及的数据：上赛季，马刺队全队投进了1036个三分球，创下了俱乐部纪录。这一数据在NBA排名第16位，平平无奇。只有两支球队（孟菲斯灰熊队和波特兰开拓者队）的三分球命中率低于马刺队的34.7%。
马刺队在休赛期为解决这一缺陷做了一些努力，但力度不大。
巴恩斯上赛季的三分球命中率为38.7%，高于上赛季留队的任何一名球员。保罗的三分球命中率为36.7%，还算不错。但他们两人都无法赢得NBA三分球大赛的冠军。
马刺队休赛期另一位引人注目的新援卡斯尔有很多优点。但他糟糕的大学三分球命中率不在其中。
总的来说，马刺队指望内部提升来帮助他们在下个赛季提高他们的三分球命中率。而随着他们最好的三分球射手瓦塞尔的缺席，这在短期内变得更加困难。
训练营将是马刺队弄清楚他们在这一方面有什么（或没有什么）的时候。
马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马开始了他的第二个赛季，他在巴黎奥运会上代表法国队打进了金牌争夺战，这让他积累了更多经验，同时球队阵容中也有了更多经验丰富的球员。
克里斯·保罗为马刺队提供了一名经验丰富的老将控球后卫，为上赛季NBA最年轻的球队阵容增添了一剂经验。
杰里米·索汉（右）在上赛季开始时尝试打控球后卫，这是一次以失败告终的实验，最终这位来自贝勒大学的球员回到了他熟悉的大前锋位置。
点击查看原文：What to watch for in Wembanyama's second Spurs camp
What to watch for in Wembanyama’s second Spurs camp
As Victor Wembanyama took the floor for what was the biggest game of his life so far over the summer, his Spurs teammates watched from locales scattered across the globe.
What forward Julian Champagnie saw, as Wembanyama took it to Team USA in the gold medal game of the Paris Olympics, did not surprise him.
But it did excite him.
“Excuse my language,” Champagnie said, “but he’s a mother(bleeper).”
Though Wembanyama’s French team fell short of the gold in a 98-87 defeat against a star-studded American squad, his 26-point, seven-rebound performance in a high-stakes, for-all-the-marbles contests against some of the best basketball players in the world — at age 20, no less — provided another signal of the sea change coming to the NBA.
With training camps set to open across the league this week, few players will garner more attention than Wembanyama, last season’s unanimous Rookie of the Year.
Certainly, Wembanyama will face a brighter spotlight than any player on any team that finished with less than 30 wins last year.
The burning question, on the cusp of Wembanyama’s second NBA season: Figuratively speaking, how much more can a 7-foot-3 alien-slash-unicorn grow?
“He’s bound to make a jump,” Champagnie said. “He’s going to get stronger. He’s going to get better. He’s going to learn the game a little bit more. He’s only 20. I’m excited to see where he goes these next couple of years.”
What Wembanyama might do for a Year 2 encore step will be one story line worth monitoring in Spurs training camp, which begins with its first practice Tuesday. Here are five others:
1. Are there finally enough adults in the Spurs’ huddle?
The Spurs fielded the youngest roster in the NBA last season. That youthful surplus often showed, particularly in the fourth quarter of tight games.
Exactly half of the team’s 82 games wound up in what the league calls “clutch time” — a margin within five points inside of the final five minutes. The Spurs lost 28 of those decisions.
Enter Chris Paul, the 39-year-old, 12-time All-Star generally regarded as the best point guard of his generation who the Spurs signed to a one-year deal this offseason. Though Father Time has taken Paul out of the perennial league MVP discussion, it stands to reason his basketball IQ and veteran experience will pay dividends in those crunch time games this season.
Same for Harrison Barnes, a 32-year-old forward the Spurs snagged from Sacramento who comes with his own healthy dose of “been there, done that.”
The belief is a pair of playoff-tested veterans might help the younger Spurs learn how to win. We’ll find out soon enough.
2. Who gets to keep Vassell’s starting spot warm?
The Spurs announced on Friday fifth-year shooting guard Devin Vassell — the team’s second-leading scorer last season — would miss camp, the preseason and at least the first week of the regular season recovering from offseason surgery on a troublesome right foot. That leaves his starting spot up for grabs, for now.
Perhaps the most likely candidate to keep the seat warm is Champagnie, a former undrafted free agent who started 59 times at small forward last season.
Vassell’s unavailability could mean a brief return to the starting five for Keldon Johnson, who was moved to the bench in the middle of last season after spending the majority of his career as a starter.
Other potential options include Malaki Branham, a third-year guard who also has starting experience, as well as prized rookie Stephon Castle. Smart money, however, says the Spurs will allow the 19-year-old first-round rookie a less pressurized place to acclimate to the NBA from the bench.
This much is certain: Whoever wins the job out of camp will be a placeholder for Vassell, who will reclaim the role when healthy.
3. What, exactly, is Jeremy Sochan’s prime position?
Before Wembanyama swooped onto the scene last summer, Jeremy Sochan was the Spurs’ highest draft pick in nearly a quarter of a century.
Selected ninth overall in 2022, the Baylor product spent his first two professional seasons trying to find his niche. Coach Gregg Popovich (in)famously began the 2023-24 campaign trying the 6-foot-8 Sochan out of place at point guard before returning him to his natural position of power forward.
Paul’s arrival means, among other things, no more point guard duty for Sochan. Barnes’ arrival, however, could push Sochan from his preferred power forward slot.
If Sochan is to remain in the starting lineup — and that seems to be Plan A — he might slide to the small forward slot. That could simply be a matter of semantics. In the Spurs’ motion offense, there isn’t much difference between the positions.
It could be a put-up-or-shut-up type season for the 21-year-old.
Sochan has made his bones over his first two seasons as the kind of versatile and dogged defender coaches love to put on the floor. If he can find some consistency in his offensive game and shooting stroke, he could be poised to take a bigger step forward.
How he fits in the Spurs’ revamped starting lineup will be one of the more interesting subplots of the preseason.
4. How long before the team’s latest lottery ticket pays off?
The Spurs used the No. 4 pick in the June draft on Castle, their third top-10 selection in as many summers. The team nabbed the highly regarded Castle — a two-time NCAA national champion at Connecticut — in hopes of turning him into their point guard of the future.
The Spurs signed Paul, in part, to put off that future for at least a season.
The 6-foot-6 Castle is ticketed to begin his professional career coming off the bench. He might not even begin it as a point guard, as he is slated to play off the ball alongside mainstay Tre Jones with the second unit.
That configuration ought to give Castle plenty of time to adjust to the NBA game. That slow-and-steady approach probably decreases the Spurs’ chances of producing a second consecutive Rookie of the Year award winner, but enhances Castle’s chances of being able to grow into the role when he is finally handed the reins down the line.
Make no mistake. The Spurs believe in Castle, who brings size, defensive tenacity and playmaking ability to one of their greatest positions of need. The team’s latest teenager-come-lately might just have to wait awhile to make his presence felt in silver and black.
5. Is there enough 3-point shooting on the roster?
It is a statistic that bears repeating: As a team, the Spurs made a club-record 1,036 3-pointers last season. That figure ranked a pedestrian 16th in the NBA. Only two teams (Memphis and Portland) converted worse that the Spurs’ 34.7% from beyond the arc.
The Spurs did a little — but not a lot — to address that deficiency in the offseason.
Barnes made 38.7% of his 3-point tries a season ago, better than any holdover from last year’s roster. Paul is serviceable at 36.7%. Neither will win an NBA 3-point shooting contest.
Castle, the Spurs’ other notable offseason addition, comes with a lot to like. His poor 3-point percentage in college isn’t one of them.
Mostly, the Spurs are counting on internal improvement to help boost their long-distance numbers in the season to come. It is a prospect made more difficult in the short term with the absence of Vassell, their best returning 3-point gunner.
Training camp will be a time for the Spurs to figure out what they have — or don’t have — in that department.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama begins his second season with more experience around him on the roster and more experience under his belt after his run through to the gold medal game with France in Paris.
Chris Paul gives the Spurs a veteran point guard, adding a dose of experience to what was the youngest roster in the NBA last season.
Jeremy Sochan, right, started last season playing point guard in an ill-fated experiment that ended with the Baylor product’s move back to his natural position at power forward.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News