By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-10-11 12:29:05
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 10 月 7 日，星期一，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市的 Frost 银行中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋哈里森·英格拉姆（55 号）和俄克拉荷马城雷霆队前锋奥斯曼·迪昂（13 号）在圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫布兰登·波士顿（4 号）和后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔（5 号）面前争夺球权，这是一场 NBA 季前赛的下半场。马刺队以 107-112 负于雷霆队。
季前赛两场比赛过后，可以肯定地说，新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)和三年级后卫布莱克·韦斯利(Blake Wesley)作为一对极具破坏力的防守组合的出现，已经成为马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的一大亮点。
“我真的很享受布莱克和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在场上打‘D’（防守），追着对手跑，”波波维奇说。“他们在防守端的心态非常好。希望这能影响到其他球员。”
两天前，马刺队在以 107-112 输给俄克拉荷马城的比赛中，由于防守不力，首节就丢掉了 34 分，因此看到他的球队在防守端变得强硬起来，这是一个受欢迎的景象。
“我们今晚更强硬了，在防守端更具侵略性，”波波维奇说。“这对我们来说意义重大。我们必须做到这一点，因为我们去年在防守端的表现并不好，所以这确实是本赛季的重点。”
周六晚上，马刺队（1 胜 1 负）将主场迎战犹他爵士队（3 胜 0 负），波波维奇希望球队能再次展现出强大的防守。
扎克·科林斯(Zach Collins)预计将在自上赛季最后一场比赛中遭遇肩伤后首次出场。在上周训练营的第一次训练课结束后，这位替补中锋被问及他认为马刺本赛季的特色是什么。
他的回答强调了波波维奇对防守提升的要求。
“我们会在防守端变得强硬，”科林斯说。“我们必须防住对手。这必须成为我们的特色。我们有很多球员都很有得分天赋。我们仍然需要打出高效的进攻。克里斯（保罗）(Chris Paul)将在这方面提供很大帮助。哈里森（巴恩斯）(Harrison Barnes)凭借他的经验也将在这方面提供很大帮助。每个人都回来了，他们又积累了一年的经验，这将有所帮助。但如果你防不住对手，这一切都毫无意义。”
尽管拥有维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)这位防守悍将，但马刺队上赛季的对手场均得分（118.6 分）在 NBA 排名第 24 位，防守效率（每 100 回合失分 116.4 分）排名第 22 位。
拉斯维加斯的赔率制定者已经将身高 7 英尺 3 英寸的文班亚马列为年度最佳防守球员的热门人选，此前他在上赛季获得了亚军，仅次于他的法国同胞鲁迪·戈贝尔(Rudy Gobert)。在一个历史性的新秀赛季，文班亚马场均送出联盟最高的 3.6 次盖帽、1.2 次抢断和 8.4 个防守篮板。
考虑到他的智慧和对对手日益熟悉，他本赛季应该会表现得更好。他在周三的季前赛首秀中就有一个良好的开端，他送出了三次盖帽，并迫使对手在冲向篮下时突然掉头，因为他正在防守篮筐。
“这太疯狂了，因为和他交手是一回事，但当你看到（全明星球员）保罗（班凯罗）(Paolo Banchero)带球突破，以为自己有空位，然后每个人都开始把球传出去，”保罗说。
虽然文班亚马的出色防守是必然的，但上赛季的其他留队球员仍有很多需要证明的地方。但九次入选最佳防守阵容的保罗的到来，以及他坚持要求其他球员尽自己的一份力量来帮助文班亚马，应该会对球队有所帮助。
“我们都必须做好准备，因为他弥补了太多的错误，这将使我们陷入轮换，”保罗说。“这是一个学习的过程，我们将继续努力解决这个问题。”
有效的沟通是良好团队防守的必要因素，保罗应该能让马刺队在这方面立即得到提升。
“波波教练从第一天起就一直在强调沟通，”保罗说。“我已故的教练（维克森林大学的）斯基普·普罗瑟(Skip Prosser)曾经说过，‘这是一项由个人参与的团队比赛。’所以，是的，你必须一对一地防守你的对手，但你也必须进行团队防守。”
卡斯尔的加入，以及他有可能成为一名令人窒息的持球防守者，也应该会给马刺队的防守端带来急需的冲击。
“他不退缩，”波波维奇在谈到这位四号秀时说。“他总是冲锋陷阵。”
巴恩斯说：“他真正能在高水平上防守的能力给我留下了深刻印象。显然，他还很年轻，但他有一个成熟的身体，可以上场防守一到四号位，他想变得伟大。我只是喜欢他很快就能掌握防守理念并产生影响。”
马刺队还指望前锋杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)在他的第三个赛季里在这项技术上更上一层楼，索汉在上赛季经常防守对手的头号得分手。
“我的职责之一就是尽我所能成为最好的防守者，并且充满活力地去比赛，”索汉说。“这就是我的定义，就是为球队带来这种能量。”
至于上赛季的其他留队球员，文班亚马相信，他们在攻防两端都做好了更进一步的准备。
“我从今天的比赛和第一场比赛中得到的印象是，每个人在夏天都进步了，”文班亚马在周三的比赛后说。“这让我不禁想知道，如果每个人每年都在进步，那么极限在哪里。我真的不认为在所有地方都是这样，因为我看到每个人都在健身房里挥汗如雨，看来这是会有回报的。”
2024 年 10 月 9 日，星期三，在 Frost 银行中心举行的 NBA 季前赛上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔（5 号）试图从奥兰多魔术队前锋弗朗茨·瓦格纳（22 号）手中抢断。圣安东尼奥以 107-97 击败奥兰多。
2024 年 10 月 9 日，星期三，在 Frost 银行中心举行的 NBA 季前赛下半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋西迪·西索科（25 号）防守奥兰多魔术队后卫麦克·麦克朗（8 号）。圣安东尼奥以 107-97 击败奥兰多。
2024 年 10 月 9 日，星期三，在 Frost 银行中心举行的 NBA 季前赛下半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫布莱克·韦斯利（14 号）试图从奥兰多魔术队后卫麦克·麦克朗（8 号）手中抢断。圣安东尼奥以 107-97 击败奥兰多。
2024 年 10 月 9 日，星期三，在 Frost 银行中心举行的 NBA 季前赛下半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫布莱克·韦斯利（14 号）防守奥兰多魔术队后卫科尔·安东尼（50 号）。圣安东尼奥以 107-97 击败奥兰多。
2024 年 10 月 7 日，星期一，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市的 Frost 银行中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫布莱克·韦斯利（14 号）在下半场的一场 NBA 季前赛中从俄克拉荷马城雷霆队前锋亚当·弗拉格勒（14 号）手中抢走球。马刺队以 107-112 负于雷霆队。
点击查看原文：Improving defensively 'really the emphasis' for Spurs this season
Improving defensively ‘really the emphasis’ for Spurs this season
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Ingram (55) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng (13) fight for the ball in front of San Antonio Spurs guard Brandon Boston Jr. (4) and guard Stephon Castle (5) during the second half of a pre-season NBA match-up at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs fell to the Thunder, 112-107.
Two games into the preseason, it’s safe to say the emergence of rookie Stephon Castle and third-year guard Blake Wesley as a disruptive defensive duo has been a highlight for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
“I really enjoyed Blake and Steph Castle playing ‘D’ out there, getting after people,” Popovich said. “They have a great mentality that way. Hopefully, that will infuse to some other players.”
The Spurs gave up 34 points in the first period on the heels of a so-so defensive effort in losing 112-107 to Oklahoma City two days earlier, so watching his team get nasty on that end of the court was a welcome sight.
“We were more physical tonight, more aggressive at the defensive end of the floor,” Popovich said. “That makes a difference for us. We have to do that because we weren’t very good at the defensive end last year, so that’s really the emphasis this season.”
Popovich will be hoping for another strong defensive effort when the Spurs (1-1) host the Utah Jazz (3-0) on Saturday night.
Zach Collins is expected to play for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury in last season’s finale. After the opening practice of training camp last week, the backup center was asked what he thought would be the Spurs’ identity this season.
His reply underscored Popovich’s demand for defensive improvement.
“We’re going to be physical and tough on defense," Collins said. "We’ve got to get stops. That has to be our identity. We have so many guys talented enough to score. We still have to run an efficient offense. Chris (Paul) is going to help with that a ton. Harrison (Barnes), with his experience is going to help with that a ton. And everybody back, with another year under their belt, it’s going to help. But none of that means anything if you don’t get stops.”
Despite the presence of defensive dynamo Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs ranked 24th in the NBA last season in opponents points per game (118.6) and 22nd in defensive rating (116.4 points allowed per 100 possessions).
Vegas oddsmakers have established the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama as the favorite to win defensive player of the year after he finished last season as runner-up to fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert. In a historic rookie season, Wembanyama averaged a league-best 3.6 blocks, 1.2 steals and 8.4 defensive rebounds per game.
Given his intelligence and growing familiarity with opponents, he should be even better this season. He got off to a good start Wednesday in his preseason debut by recording three blocks and forcing the usual abrupt U-turns by opponents bolting into the lane only to find him defending the rim.
“It’s so crazy because playing against him is one thing, but when you see (All-Star) Paolo (Banchero) dribbling in there thinking he’s got a lane, and then everybody starts sort of kicking it out,” Paul said.
While Wembanyama’s stellar defense is a given, the rest of last year’s holdovers still have a lot to prove. But the presence of Paul, a nine-time All-Defensive honoree, and his insistence that other players do their part to aid Wembanyama should help.
“We all have to be ready because he covers up so many mistakes that it will put us into rotations,” Paul said. “It’s all a learning process and we are going to keep trying to figure it out.”
Effective communication is a necessary ingredient for good team defense, and Paul should give the Spurs an immediate boost in that area.
“Pop has been harping on communication since day one,” Paul said. “My late coach (at Wake Forest), Skip Prosser, he used to say, ‘It is a team game played by individuals.’ So, yeah, you got to play man-to-man and guard your guy, but you have to play team defense too.”
The addition of Castle with his potential to become a smothering on-ball defender should also give the Spurs a much-needed jolt on that end of the court.
“He doesn’t shy away,” Popovich said of the fourth overall pick. “He sticks his nose in all the time.”
Said Barnes, “His ability to really defend at a high level is something that has impressed me. Obviously, he is young, but he’s got a mature body to go out there and pretty much switch one through four, and he wants to be great. I just like his ability to pick up the defensive concepts pretty quickly and make an impact.”
The Spurs are also counting on forward Jeremy Sochan, who last season routinely guarded the opponent’s top scorer, being even better at that skill in his third season.
“One of my roles is being the best defender I can and to just play with energy,” Sochan said. "That’s the definition of me, just bringing that energy to the team.”
As for the other holdovers from last season, Wembanyama, for one, believes they are all poised to take a step forward on both ends of the court.
“The impression I got from playing today and also watching the first game is that everybody just got better during the summer,” Wembanyama said after Wednesday’s game. “It just made me wonder what the limit is if everyone keeps getting better every year. I really don’t think it is like this everywhere because I saw everybody get in the gym, and it looks like it’s going to pay off.”
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) tries to steal a pass by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the first half of their NBA preseason game at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2024. San Antonio beat Orlando 107-97.
San Antonio Spurs forward Sidy Cissoko (25) defends Orlando Magic guard Mac McClung (8) during the second half of their NBA preseason game at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2024. San Antonio beat Orlando 107-97
San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) tries to steal the ball from Orlando Magic guard Mac McClung (8) during the second half of their NBA preseason game at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2024. San Antonio beat Orlando 107-97
San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) defends Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) during the second half of their NBA preseason game at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2024. San Antonio beat Orlando 107-97
San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) keeps the ball away from Oklahoma City Thunder forward Adam Flagler (14) in the second half of the pre-season NBA match-up at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs fell to the Thunder, 112-107.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News
