By Devon Birdsong | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-11-07 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。
伤病和疾病让马刺失去了动力。
在约翰·F·雷诺兹(John F. Reynolds)坠马前的几分钟和几小时里，他对这场争夺宾夕法尼亚州小镇葛底斯堡的战役的整体范围表现出了敏锐的理解。
作为一名精明且经验丰富的部队指挥官，雷诺兹或许是内战中联邦方面最受爱戴和尊敬的将军。事实上，就在葛底斯堡战役打响前不到两周，雷诺兹刚刚拒绝了亚伯拉罕·林肯让他全面指挥久负盛名的波托马克军团的提议。
他当时一定是带着讽刺的微笑。因为他觉得林肯无法保证减少政治和其他外部势力的干预，所以他把这个机会让给了乔治·米德(George Meade)少将。然而，现在却是雷诺兹在为米德和整个联邦军队选择战场位置。
作为宾夕法尼亚州人，他比大多数人都更了解这个地方的重要性，以及北方在撤退或失败中将失去什么。葛底斯堡距离华盛顿特区仅85英里（直线距离65英里），这座不起眼的制造业小镇不仅可以为需要补给的南方邦联军队提供补给，而且一旦失守，首都华盛顿将完全暴露在罗伯特·E·李(Robert E. Lee)将军同样精锐的北弗吉尼亚军团的入侵之下。
雷诺兹预见到葛底斯堡将成为关键地点，并且对李将军的战术才能保持警惕，因此他命令他信任的骑兵指挥官约翰·布福德(John Buford)准将率领骑兵先行保卫该镇，而他的步兵则紧随其后。
布福德和他的部下是抵御南方邦联军队最初向该镇进军的唯一力量。面对优势兵力，他们采取了一系列战略性撤退和攻击，以拖延敌军，直到援军到来。
雷诺兹认识到布福德对高地的宝贵防守，立即亲自将他的师部署到战场上的战略位置。这将是这场充满关键时刻的战役中最关键的时刻之一，并最终使雷诺兹付出了生命。
我很想告诉你雷诺兹倒下后发生了很多事情。我想告诉你，他的部下坚守阵地，阻止了南方邦联军队进入该镇。我想告诉你，他的部下打了一场漂亮的仗，战斗就此结束。但战争不是童话，雷诺兹在爱戴他的士兵的众目睽睽之下被狙击手的子弹击中颈部，士兵们在绝望中逐渐被从他们的阵地，穿过树林和城镇，推到了雷诺兹和布福德希望保住的山丘和山脊上。
我写这些并不是想暗示雷诺兹的部下失去了他们的勇气。根据所有记载，他们勇敢地对抗了数量更多的敌人。但是，失去一位敬爱的指挥官会改变战场的形势。
在人类彼此发动的似乎数不清的战争中，你可以找到无数这样的例子。有时军队会反弹。但更多的时候，他们会失去阵地，迷失方向，失去信心，失去方向。
这就像你在场边看不到格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)时观看圣安东尼奥马刺队的比赛一样。
马刺队在本赛季开始时就已经实力不足，但在他们睿智的领袖的指导下，他们设法克服了困难。然而，波波维奇（和杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)）的长期缺席似乎是球队难以承受的损失。
从上一场对阵洛杉矶快船队的最后时刻到昨晚对阵休斯顿火箭队的整场比赛，马刺队的防守形同虚设，在过去的两场比赛中，他们的防守效率排名倒数第5，而此前他们一直排名前五。
再加上进攻效率排名倒数第5，感觉就像在赛季仅仅进行了8场比赛之后，关键的积木就被抽掉了。
德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)和特雷·琼斯(Tre Jones)的回归仍然悬而未决，这在很大程度上代表了这支球队在艰难的开局赛程中的希望，但波波维奇无限期缺席的消息（关于病因严重程度的各种传言）让球迷和球员都感到泄气。
即使他们健康回归，仍然有一些问题会在幕后挥之不去。球员们在交流时会更加谨慎和保守，以免加重波波维奇的病情吗？他们会足够安心，不去担心他们的教练是否每天都会在场吗？他们的忠诚会在一位传奇的主教练和可能有不同做事方式的助理教练之间摇摆不定吗？
随着波波维奇即将迎来76岁生日，这些都是球队和球迷一直在回避的问题，现在感觉像是到了就一些重要对话和加速计划进行讨论的临界点。
当然，这一切可能都是杞人忧天。波波维奇最终可能会执教到2028年，到那时这一切看起来都很愚蠢。不过，这是他在马刺的第33个年头，不知为何，感觉这并非无关紧要。
无论如何，在他缺席的情况下，球场上现在什么也没发生。恕我直言，米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)（他几乎肯定不想要这样）带领下的马刺队看起来杂乱无章，缺乏协调性；一支在攻防两端都在寻找领导力和连续性的球队，因为沟通不畅导致了一个又一个的失误。
这当然不是球迷们所希望看到的赛季，而且，我可以想象，也不是球员们所期待的赛季。索汉至少要缺席20场比赛，可能还会更久，而波波维奇的情况还没有消息。更简洁地说，这感觉像是又一个失败赛季的开始。
但这就是战局的潮起潮落——它会受到涨落的影响。
约翰·雷诺兹将军几乎肯定明白这一点，因为他一生中的大部分时间都参与了一场又一场的战争。在安排他的部下防守麦克弗森山脊和树林时，他确保给他们留下了清晰的撤退路线，然后亲自指派并带领他最好的部队（包括传奇的铁旅）前往最激烈的战斗区域，冒着巨大的个人风险。
雷诺兹痛苦地意识到，李将军的主力部队正迅速向葛底斯堡推进，他希望拖延时间，直到米德的部队到达并加强防御，但他如此全身心地投入到这场关键的拖延战中，以至于将自己置于危险之中。
在历史上，致力于一项不会给领导者带来立即荣耀的战略是罕见的——保存本身就是一场不太光彩的战斗。
如果这预示着他的教练生涯的结束，那么这位篮球界最伟大的赢家之一在忍受失利以支持和补充他球队不断增长的天赋储备方面所做的贡献，可能超过了职业体育史上任何一位教练。
在他去世前的最后时刻，在一片烟雾弥漫的战场上，人们听到约翰·F·雷诺兹不断地劝告并激烈地鼓励他的部下将南方邦联士兵赶出树林，当时他正骑着同样勇敢的战马与他们一起站在炮火之下。
对于一名士兵来说，这是一个光荣的牺牲。
要点
- 即使缺席，杰里米·索汉本赛季迄今为止的进步怎么强调都不为过。很明显，他已经成为马刺队防守端的首席协调员，而没有他承担艰难的个人防守任务和呼叫团队调整的能力，圣安东尼奥的外线防守出现了各种漏洞。无论他是否会成为三分线外的投篮威胁，他的整体价值和对球队的影响已不再是问题。索汉在扰乱对手、卡位和防守自由发挥方面表现出色，他现在显然是球队的防守领袖和定音器，也是所有丹尼斯·罗德曼式比较的当之无愧的接受者。其他球员需要站出来做他留下的脏活累活，但我毫不怀疑，没有这位常驻的对抗者，马刺队是一支“更软”的球队。
- 另一方面，很高兴看到西迪·西索科(Sidy Cissoko)获得一些上场时间。事实上，由于缺乏能够胜任索汉类型角色的球员，给他一些上场时间，看看他是否能做出差强人意的模仿可能是明智之举。西索科是一位高球商的球员，他坚持自己的比赛风格，在防守端非常努力，并且可以偶尔送出漂亮的传球。看起来他的投篮姿势也得到了很大的改进，如果他能保持稳定的命中率，那么攻防两端都能从中受益。至少，在球员受伤和波波维奇缺席的情况下，感觉是时候真正尝试一些阵容，直到他们回归。在这一点上，这几乎肯定不会造成伤害。
- 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)度过了一个艰难的夜晚，他从休斯顿的老将们那里吸取了教训，他在当晚的正负值是-17。虽然正负值是一个众所周知的不稳定的数据，但他还没有准备好面对对方球队的首发后卫。我理解让他和克里斯·保罗一起获得上场时间的逻辑，但防守通常是新秀最后发展起来的东西，他可能更适合替补阵容，替补阵容急需一个主要的组织者，而不是通过委员会来组织进攻。此外，卡斯尔的投篮还没有准备好迎接黄金时段，这不是首发阵容需要为他们的进攻挣扎增添的负担。然而，他对空间的直观理解令人愉快！
斯蒂芬突破人群 pic.twitter.com/GlvZVypXjd
—— 圣安东尼奥马刺队 (@ spurs) 2024年11月7日
今晚的主题曲：
Leader of the Band 丹·弗格尔伯格
点击查看原文：What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Rockets
What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Rockets
Injury and illness has knocked the wind out of the Spurs’ sails.
In the minutes and hours before falling from his horse, John F. Reynolds displayed a keen understanding of the full scope of a battle for the Pennsylvania hamlet known as Gettysburg.
A shrewd and highly experienced commander of troops, Reynolds was perhaps the most beloved and respected General on the Union side of the Civil War. In fact, Reynolds had just turned down Abraham Lincoln’s offer of full command of the prestigious Army of the Potomac less than a fortnight prior to the battle.
He must have smiled at the irony. Having allowed the offer to pass to Major General George Meade because Lincoln would not promise him a reduced amount of political and outside interference, there Reynolds was, essentially selecting both the site and battlefield position for Meade and the Union Army at large.
A Pennsylvania native, he understood better than most the significance of the location and what the North stood to lose in withdrawal or defeat. A mere 85 miles (65 as the crow flies) from Washington D.C., not only would the humble manufacturing town help replenish a Confederate army in need of supplies, but a loss would leave the nation’s capital wide open to invasion from General Robert E. Lee’s equally accomplished Army of Northern Virginia.
Anticipating Gettysburg as a key location, and wary of Lee’s tactical brilliance, Reynolds tasked his trusted cavalry commander Brigadier General John Buford to ride ahead in defense of the town while his infantry followed feverishly on foot.
Buford and his men served as the only resistance to the initial Confederate march on the town, and facing a vastly superior force, made use of a series of strategic retreats and attacks to delay the opposition until reinforcements arrived.
Recognizing Buford’s valuable defense of the high ground, Reynolds immediately worked to personally deploy his divisions to strategic positions on the battlefield. It would serve as one of the single most critical moments in a battle full of critical moments, and ultimately, cost Reynolds his life.
I’d like to tell you a great many things about what happened after Reynolds fell. I’d like to tell you that his men held their positions and denied the Confederates access to the town. I’d like to tell you that his men fought the good fight and the battle ended right then and there. But war is no fairy tale, and Reynolds took that sharpshooter’s bullet to the neck in clear view of his soldiers, who loved him, and in their despair were gradually pushed from their places, through the woods and the town and into the hills and ridges that Reynolds and Buford had hoped to preserve.
I don’t write that to insinuate that Reynold’s men somehow lost their valor. By all accounts, they fought bravely against the greater enemy numbers. But there’s something about losing a beloved commander that alters the field of battle.
You can find seemingly countless examples in the seemingly countless wars that human beings have waged against each other. Sometimes the armies rally. More often they lose their ground, lose their way, lose their confidence, lose their direction.
It’s the kind of effect you witness watching the San Antonio Spurs play without Gregg Popovich on the sideline.
The Spurs had already come into the season at less than full strength, something they’d managed to weather with guidance from their wizened leader. The loss of Popovich (and Jeremy Sochan) for any extended stretch, however, appears to be one loss too many.
From the ending frames of their last game against the Los Angeles Clippers, to the entirety of last night’s game against the Houston Rockets, the Spurs have been an absolute sieve defensively, ranking an abysmal 28th in defensive rating over their last two contests after sitting inside the top five in that category previously.
Combined with an offensive rating inside the bottom five, it feels like the catalystic jenga brick has been pulled only 8 games into the season.
The still-pending returns of Devin Vassell and Tre Jones have largely represented the hopes for this team as they navigated a rough opening schedule, but the words ‘indefinite’ tacked to Popovich’s absence (with varying whispers on the severity of the cause) have knocked the proverbial wind out of both the fan-base and his players.
Even with a healthy return, there are still questions that will hover apprehensively in the background. Will his players be more careful and reserved in their communication for fear of upsetting a health condition? Will they feel secure enough not to worry about whether or not their coach will be there on a daily basis? Will they find their loyalties split between a legendary head coach and assistants who might have a different way of doing things?
These are the kinds of questions that both the franchise and fan-base have been ignoring as Pop approaches his 76th birthday, and it feels a little like a tipping point for some important conversations and accelerated planning.
Of course, this could all be much ado about nothing. Pop could end up coaching until 2028 and this will all look silly in the end. This is his 33th year with the Spurs though, and somehow it doesn’t feel like nothing.
In any case, nothing is what’s happening on the floor right now in his absence. With all due respect to Mitch Johnson (who almost certainly didn’t want this), the Spurs have looked unorganized and uncoordinated; a team in search of leadership and continuity on both ends, as poor communication has led to miscue after miscue.
It’s certainly not the season fans were hoping for, and, I have to imagine, not the season the players were looking forward to either. Sochan is out for at least 20 games, likely more, and there’s been no word on Popovich’s. Put more succinctly, it feels like the beginning of another lost season.
But that’s the thing about the tide of battle — it falls subject to ebbs and flows.
General John Reynolds almost certainly understood this as a man who had spent most of his life involved in one war or another. Arranging his men in defense of McPherson’s Ridge and Woods, he made sure to leave them clear avenues for retreat, and then personally assigned and led his best units (including the legendary Iron Brigade) to the most contested areas at great personal risk.
Painfully aware that Lee’s main army was rapidly advancing on Gettysburg, Reynold’s hope was to delay until Meade’s forces arrived to fortify, and yet he so personally dedicated himself to the critical postponement that he endangered himself.
Commitment to a strategy that earns a leader no immediate glory is a rare thing in the annals of history — preservation itself, a less-than-glorious battle.
If this were to signal the end of his coaching career, one of basketball’s greatest winners has done more in enduring loss to bolster and restock his franchise’s still-growing talent reserve than perhaps any coach in professional sports history.
In the final moments before his demise, in a congested haze of smoke and sulfur, John F. Reynolds was heard endlessly exhorting and fiercely encouraging his men to drive Confederate soldiers from the woods as he stood under fire with them, astride his equally courageous steed.
For a soldier, it was a good death.
Takeaways
- Even in absentia, not enough can be said about the leap that Jeremy Sochan has made so far this season. It’s become painfully obvious that he had become the chief coordinator on the defense end for the Spurs, and San Antonio’s perimeter has sprung all kinds of leaks without his ability to take on tough individual assignments and call out team adjustments. Whether or not he ever becomes a shooting threat from three, it’s no longer a question regarding his overall value and effect on the team. Brilliant in agitation, positioning, and defensive freelancing, Sochan is the clear defensive leader and tone-setter right now, and a deserving recipient of all Dennis Rodman-lite comparisons. Other players will need to step up and do the dirty work that he’s left on the table, but there’s little doubt in my mind that the Spurs are a ‘softer’ team without their resident antagonist on the court.
- On the other hand, it was nice to see Sidy Cissoko get some playing time. In fact, due to the lack of players who can fill a Sochan-type role, it might be wise to give him some of those minutes and see if he can pull off a passable impression. Cissoko’s a high-IQ basketball player who sticks to his game, makes a real effort on the defensive end, and can make the occasionally nifty pass. It also looks like he’s really improved his shooting stroke and both units could really use an injection of that if he can convert regularly. At the very least, between player injuries and Pop being out, it feels like time to really experiment with some lineups until they get back. At this point, it almost certainly couldn’t hurt.
- Stephon Castle spent a rough evening learning lessons from Houston’s vets as he registered a -17 +/- on the night. And while plus-minus is a famously fiddly stat, he’s just not ready to face the opposing team’s starting guards just yet. I understand the logic in trying to get him court time with Chris Paul, but defense is one of the things that usually develops last with rookies, and he might be better suited to a bench unit that badly needs a lead distributor, rather than approach by committee. Additionally, Castle’s shot really isn’t ready for prime time yet, which is not something the starting unit needs to add to their offensive struggles. His intuitive understanding of spacing, however, is delightful!
Steph thru traffic pic.twitter.com/GlvZVypXjd
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) November 7, 2024
Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:
Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg
By Devon Birdsong, via Pounding The Rock