By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-11-11 13:45:22
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11月9日星期六，在弗罗斯特银行中心举行的NBA比赛下半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)（24号）在犹他爵士队前锋劳里·马尔卡宁（中锋）和前锋约翰·科林斯面前传球。爵士队以111-110击败了马刺队。
在周六对阵犹他的比赛中，马刺队后卫德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)受益于克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)的不断指导。
“这太重要了，”瓦塞尔谈到这位未来名人堂控球后卫给予他的指导时说道。
瓦塞尔此前因脚伤接受手术，缺席了2023-24赛季的最后八场比赛以及本赛季的前九场比赛。在以111-110输给爵士队的比赛中，瓦塞尔全程都倚重保罗的指导。
“他告诉我该去哪里，我的位置在哪里，该攻击谁，”瓦塞尔说道。“在防守端，我听到他掌控着一切。”
这是瓦塞尔自3月29日以来的首场比赛，他在22分钟的替补出场时间里以13投8中的高效表现砍下21分。赛后，他很快就将功劳归于保罗。
“他将是一个重要的声音，一个重要的领袖，”瓦塞尔说道。
已经进入联盟第五年的瓦塞尔表示，他希望从39岁的保罗身上学到很多关于领导力的知识。保罗目前正处于他的第20个NBA赛季，也是他在马刺队的第一个赛季。
“我正在承担一个重要的领导角色，但是，我的意思是，他的职业生涯，他所做的一切，他已经功成名就，是一位名人堂成员，”瓦塞尔说。“我只想向他学习和成长。我整个赛季都会像海绵一样吸收知识。”
保罗并不是唯一一个受到瓦塞尔称赞的马刺队新援。他还对新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)表示了赞赏，后者得到了赛季最高的23分。
“他打得很自信，很有侵略性，”瓦塞尔说。“我一直告诉他，‘我总是看到你在训练馆里。不要害怕投篮。不要害怕做你自己。拥抱当下。拥抱你在这里的事实。’他做到了，所以我将继续给他信心。”
瓦塞尔说，卡斯尔同样也给了他支持。
“我一上场，他就告诉我，‘德文，别担心犯错。’我们正在努力将这种理念灌输给彼此。我们会让彼此变得更好，让彼此变得伟大。但要为他点赞，他拼尽了全力。”
瓦塞尔的回归有望帮助创造空间
马刺队希望瓦塞尔的外线投射能帮助维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)获得更多空间。
“我们都能投篮，”瓦塞尔谈到他自己、朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)和其他空间创造者时说道。
瓦塞尔在对阵犹他的比赛中三分球6投3中，上赛季他的三分命中率为37.2%。
“他可以在三个区域得分，所以这无疑为我们的球队带来了不同的活力，”凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)说道。“他可以拉开空间。他可以持球突破。仅仅有他在场上对我们来说就意义重大。”
在目睹对手用双人和三人包夹文班亚马，同时放空他的队友后，拉开空间已经成为马刺队的首要任务。
“对手们显然会围攻维克托，”尚帕尼说道。“他们中的很多人也会派更矮小的球员来防守他。我们必须能够拉开空间，给每个人操作的空间。很多时候我们突破时，有人在内线，或者我们的某个队友在内线。空间将会非常重要。
“你也必须投进空位投篮。很多时候我觉得我们放弃了一些投篮机会，包括我自己。我们必须准备好投篮，也要拉开空间。”
约翰逊渴望与导师交流
约翰逊表示，他期待在周一晚上的比赛前与前马刺球员德玛尔·德罗赞(DeMar DeRozan)一起聊聊天，分享一些快乐的时光。
“他就像我的大哥一样，”约翰逊谈到这位征战了15个赛季的老将时说道。
35岁的德罗赞在2019年这位来自弗吉尼亚州的肯塔基大学一年级生以20岁的年纪进入联盟时，曾担任约翰逊的导师。
“他有点像把我置于他的羽翼之下，在我需要帮助的时候帮助我，给我很好的建议，”约翰逊说。“和他一起打球很棒，和他对位也很棒。他有着好胜心，他会在每场比赛中都全力以赴。”
德罗赞曾在2018-21赛季为马刺队效力了三个赛季，他在周日晚上国王队在菲尼克斯以127-118加时战胜太阳队的比赛中得到了赛季最高的34分。
“这令人印象深刻，”约翰逊说。“他并没有放慢脚步。”
伤病困扰仍在继续
虽然瓦塞尔的加入提升了后场实力，但马刺队仍然缺少替补控球后卫特雷·琼斯(Tre Jones)。
周一标志着琼斯连续缺席的第10场比赛，他在赛季揭幕战对阵达拉斯的比赛中扭伤了右脚踝。
“他正在恢复中，”代理主教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)说道。“情况正在好转，正在改善。我不确定他确切的回归时间表，但情况正在好转。”
点击查看原文：In return, Vassell received boost from Paul
In return, Vassell received boost from Paul
San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) passes the ball past Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, center, and forward John Collins during the second half of their NBA game at the Frost Bank Center on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. Utah beat the Spurs 111-110.
Spurs guard Devin Vassell benefited from having Chris Paul constantly in his ear Saturday against Utah.
“It was huge,” Vassell said of the guidance he received from the future Hall of Fame point guard.
In his return from a foot injury that required surgery and forced him to miss the last eight games of 2023-24 and the first nine this season, Vassell leaned on Paul throughout the 111-110 loss to the Jazz.
“He was telling me kind of where to go, where to put my spots at, who to attack,” Vassell said. “Defensively, I hear him anchoring everything.”
Vassell was quick to credit Paul after scoring 21 points on efficient 8-for-13 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench in his first game since March 29.
“He’s going to be a huge voice, a huge leader,” Vassell said.
Vassell, a fifth-year pro, said he hopes to learn plenty about leadership from the 39-year-old Paul, who is in his 20th NBA season and first with the Spurs.
“I’m stepping into a big leadership role, but, I mean, his career, what he’s done, he’s established, a Hall of Famer,” Vassell said. “I just want to learn and grow from him. I am going to be a sponge this whole season.”
Paul wasn’t the only newcomer to the Spurs who received praise from Vassell. He also tipped his hat to rookie Stephon Castle, who scored a season-high 23 points.
“He’s playing confident, aggressive,” Vassell said. “I keep telling him, ‘I see you in the gym all the time. Don’t shy away from shooting. Don’t shy away from being yourself. Just embrace the moment. Embrace the fact you’re here.’ And he is, so I’m going to keep giving him confidence.”
Vassell said Castle, likewise, offered him support.
“As soon as I checked in, he’s telling me, ‘Dev, don’t worry about a mistake.’ We’re trying to instill that into each other. We’re going to make each other better, make each other great. But shout out to him, he played his butt off.”
Vassell’s return expected to help create space
The Spurs are hopeful Vassell’s outside shooting will help free up Victor Wembanyama.
“We can all shoot it,” Vassell said of himself, Julian Champagnie and other space creators.
Vassell connected on 3 of 6 tries from 3-point range against Utah after shooting 37.2% from deep last season.
“He can score the ball at all three levels, so it definitely brings a different dynamic to our team,” Keldon Johnson said. “He can space the floor. He can put it on the floor. Just having him out there is huge for us.”
Spacing has been a priority for the Spurs after watching opponents swarm Wembanyama with double- and triple-teams while sagging off his teammates.
“Guys are going to obviously bombard Victor,” Champagnie said. "A lot of them are putting smaller guys on him too. We have to be able to space the floor, give everybody their space to operate. A lot of times we drive and someone is in the paint or one of our guys is in the paint. Spacing is going to be really important.
"You also have to shoot the open ones. A lot of times I feel like we have passed up some shots, myself included. We have to be ready to shoot as well as space the floor.”
Johnson eager to visit with mentor
Johnson said he was looking forward to sharing a few laughs before Monday night’s game with former Spur DeMar DeRozan.
“He is like a big brother to me,” Johnson said of the 15-year veteran.
DeRozan, 35, served as a mentor to Johnson when the Virginia native came into the league as a 20-year-old one-and-done Kentucky alumnus in 2019.
“He kind of took me under his wing, helped me out whenever I needed help, giving me great advice,” Johnson said. “It was great playing with him and it’s great playing against him. He has that competitive edge and he is going to bring it every game.”
DeRozan, who played three seasons for the Spurs from 2018-21, scored a season-high 34 points in the Kings’ 127-118 overtime win over the Suns on Sunday night in Phoenix.
“That’s impressive,” Johnson said. “He is not slowing down.”
Injury adversity continues
While the addition of Vassell gave the backcourt a boost, the Spurs are still without backup point guard Tre Jones.
Monday marked the 10th game in a row Jones has missed after he sprained his right ankle in the season opener against Dallas.
“He is coming along,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s getting better, it is improving. I am not sure of the exact timeline (for his return), but it is improving.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News