By Jacob Douglas | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-10-17 15:00:00
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。
马刺队将在最后一场季前赛中迎战宿敌火箭队。
圣安东尼奥马刺队在常规赛开始前还有一场季前赛要打。他们将与季前赛状态火热的宿敌休斯顿火箭队进行最后一场热身赛。马刺队刚刚以 120-117 输给了迈阿密热火队，他们在比赛中看起来很糟糕，或者从乐观的角度来看，可能只是有些生疏。用主教练格雷格·波波维奇的话来说，马刺队还有“很多地方需要改进”，他们将力争反弹，以积极的状态迎接常规赛。
圣安东尼奥马刺队 (2-2) vs. 休斯顿火箭队 (2-1)
2024 年 10 月 17 日 | 美国中部时间晚上 7:00
观看：CW35 | 收听：WOAI (1200 AM)
（注：季前赛期间，伤病报告不需要在比赛前一天完成）
马刺队伤病情况： 德文·瓦塞尔 – 缺阵（脚），小大卫·杜克 – 出战成疑（未透露）
火箭队伤病情况： 乔克·兰代尔 – 缺阵（休息）
比赛看点
新秀后卫对决
里德·谢泼德(Reed Sheppard)和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)是 2024 年NBA 选秀中最引人注目的两位后卫。谢泼德在卡斯尔之前一位被选中，他已经展现出令人兴奋的投篮能力和防守能力。卡斯尔在四场比赛中的表现起起伏伏，但他看起来已经为 NBA 比赛的身体对抗做好了准备。随着马刺队和火箭队竞争的升温，考虑到他们的选秀顺位，这两个人可能会被联系在一起。卡斯尔可能在身体素质上更有优势，但谢泼德是一位基本功扎实的球员。周四，他们风格的碰撞将很有趣。
首发阵容的磨合
到目前为止，我们已经在两场季前赛中看到了马刺队的首发阵容。在这两场比赛中，这套阵容在进攻端看起来都很不协调。正如我们去年看到的那样，与维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)一起打球需要一个适应的过程。几场季前赛不足以建立球队的化学反应——他们可能需要几周的时间才能真正开始产生化学反应。在季前赛结束之际，你所期待的只是他们在整体进攻配合方面取得一些进展。
查尔斯·巴斯回归
马刺队上一场在迈阿密的比赛中最精彩的故事之一是查尔斯·巴斯(Charles Bassey)的回归。这位大个子自去年十字韧带撕裂以来已经缺阵了 10 个月。他在 10 分钟的比赛中得到 4 分和 4 个篮板。考虑到他伤势的严重程度，圣安东尼奥可能会让他慢慢恢复。尽管如此，作为一名替补中锋，他已经展现出了很大的潜力，并为他们在第二阵容中提供了阵容灵活性。季前赛是波波维奇让他重新找回状态的最佳时机。
点击查看原文：Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets
Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets
The Spurs take on the rival Rockets in their last tune-up game.
The San Antonio Spurs have one more preseason contest before the games really count. They’ll play their last tune-up game against the rival Houston Rockets, who are off to a hot preseason start. The Spurs are coming off a 120-117 loss to the Miami Heat in which they looked sloppy, or maybe rusty if you take an optimistic view. With “plenty to work on,” according to coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs will look to bounce back and head into the regular season on a positive note.
San Antonio Spurs (2-2) vs. Houston Rockets (2-1)
October 17, 2024 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: CW35 | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
(NOTE: Injury reports do not need to be completed a day before the game during the preseason)
Spurs Injuries: Devin Vassell – Out (foot), David Duke Jr. – Questionable (undisclosed)
Rockets Injuries: Jock Landale – Out (rest)
What to watch for
Rookie guards clash
Reed Sheppard and Stephon Castle are the two standout guards from the 2024 NBA Draft class. Sheppard was drafted one spot ahead of Castle and has shown flashes of exciting shooting ability and defense. Castle has been up and down through four games but looks ready for the physicality of the NBA game. As the Spurs and Rockets rivalry heats up, these two will likely be linked together, given their draft position. Castle may have the physical advantage, but Sheppard holds his own as a sound fundamental player. Their clash of styles will be interesting to watch on Thursday.
Cohesion in the starting lineup
We’ve gotten a look at the Spurs starting lineup in two preseason games thus far. In both games, the unit looked disjointed offensively. As we saw last year, it’s an adjustment playing with Victor Wembanyama. A few preseason games won’t be enough to build team chemistry – it’ll likely take multiple weeks for them to really start clicking. All you are looking for is a bit of progress in overall offensive cohesion as they wrap up the preseason.
Charles Bassey coming back from injury
One of the best storylines from the Spurs’ last game in Miami was the return of Charles Bassey. The big man has been out for 10 months since he tore his ACL last year. He finished the game with 4 points and 4 rebounds in 10 minutes. San Antonio will likely bring him back slowly, given the severity of his injury. That said, he has shown a lot of promise as a backup big and gives them lineup flexibility in the second unit. The preseason is the perfect time for Pop to let him get his legs back underneath him.
By Jacob Douglas, via Pounding The Rock