By Jacob Douglas | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-11-16 22:43:12
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。
尽管在 NBA 杯输球，但年轻的核心正在蓬勃发展。
如今的社交媒体糟透了。但偶尔，在我浏览的时候，我会发现一些真正发人深省的宝藏。这条推文（来自一个以史蒂文·亚当斯数据为基础的粉丝账号？伙计，我有时真的很喜欢互联网。）几乎与我对圣安东尼奥马刺队一直以来的想法不谋而合。
对火箭、雷霆和马刺的争冠/摆烂/重建周期进行比较（每个赛季的净效率值，从 2015-16 赛季至今）… pic.twitter.com/PUlbDBt5Az
— Steven Adams Stats (@ funakistats) 2024年11月15日
它追踪了马刺、俄克拉荷马城雷霆和休斯敦火箭的净效率值。这三支年轻的西部球队都在囤积资产，并朝着争冠的目标前进。奇怪的是，他们的轨迹是如何相互跟随的。看着这些标志在屏幕上飞速闪过，我没想到马刺会跟上节奏。即使他们落后了，圣安东尼奥也在上升。
你可能在想，“说重点，雅各布。这和马刺120-115输给洛杉矶湖人有什么关系？”重点是：在过去的三个赛季里，马刺第一次看起来真正拥有了一个优秀的年轻核心。不仅仅是一些可能发展成角色球员的“如果”，而是一些真正有前途的年轻人，可以成为这支球队的未来。
文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)不需要解释。如果你愿意，你可以抱怨他的投篮选择，但作为一名二年级球员，他在一场“重要”的比赛中（稍后会详细说明）与联盟中最好的大个子之一对抗，并打出了高水平的表现。在 NBA 杯的比赛中得到28分、14个篮板和5次助攻，对于文班来说是全明星级别的表现。
应该让每个马刺球迷兴奋的球员是今年的新秀，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)。他在全国电视直播中与有史以来最伟大的篮球运动员之一对抗，而且他毫不畏惧——拿下22分和5次助攻，并在比赛最后时刻一次又一次地打出关键表现。他在中距离投篮方面看起来充满自信，并且投进了比很多人预期更多的三分球。卡斯尔身材高大，运动能力强，他打得很努力，并且拥有赢家的血统。现在还早，我不想反应过度，但看起来马刺可能在一个“疲软”的选秀班级中发现了一块瑰宝。
再加上德文·瓦塞尔，他的投篮帮助马刺在湖人几次进攻高潮中稳住阵脚。别忘了杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)，他在拇指受伤之前正处于他职业生涯中最好的赛季。这四个人是你值得围绕他们建队的核心。这是一个真正有前途的年轻核心。
赢球固然很棒，但仅仅参加这场比赛对马刺来说就像是一个进步。当然，这场比赛“意义更大”，因为这是一场 NBA 杯的比赛，但是……即使一年之后，还会有人记得 NBA 杯的一场惜败吗？在输给湖人之后，这可能是一个过于乐观的看法，但马刺球迷应该对这支球队的未来感到兴奋。
要点：
- 湖人在转换进攻中击溃了圣安东尼奥。快速的长距离投篮导致长篮板，而洛杉矶每次都能比马刺更快回防。湖人得到了23个快攻得分，这还不包括二次快攻得分，在这些得分中，当马刺队忙于弄清楚他们在防守谁时，一名射手会获得空位机会。这些都是一支年轻球队必须清理的低级失误。
- 凯尔登·约翰逊在防守端表现得很挣扎。他多次出现位置错误，包括奥斯汀·里夫斯在比赛后期投进的一个三分球，使湖人队取得领先。在进攻端，他仍然是一名有影响力的球员，正如他在第四节充满活力的表现所表明的那样。然而，他的一些决策令人费解。米奇·约翰逊一定很相信他，因为在约翰逊顶替格雷格·波波维奇的期间，KJ 一直在为马刺队完成比赛。
- 约翰逊并不是唯一一个表现挣扎的替补球员。布莱克·韦斯利、马拉基·布拉纳姆和桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利在他们有限的上场时间里几乎没有给马刺队带来任何贡献。这迫使米奇·约翰逊缩减轮换阵容。扎克·科林斯对阵安东尼·戴维斯的比赛很艰难，有时会被压制。一旦马刺队找回特雷·琼斯和索汉，预计这套替补阵容会打得更好。
- 尽管年轻的核心令人兴奋，但老将哈里森·巴恩斯和克里斯·保罗的加入确实提升了他们。保罗用又一次两双控制了比赛，得到11分和11次助攻。他一直是文班亚马的优秀挡拆搭档。巴恩斯在防守端顶住了勒布朗·詹姆斯的进攻，并在进攻端贡献了8分。
- 瓦塞尔-文班亚马的二人组又回来了。马刺队安排了一些很棒的战术来让这两个人运转起来。瓦塞尔为文班亚马设置了掩护，让他进入内线，然后在防守队员向这个大个子球员收缩时，为自己创造出三分球的机会。圣安东尼奥队进行了一些精彩的肘区传球配合，让瓦塞尔持球向篮筐移动，一次以中距离跳投结束，另一次则以文班亚马的空接结束。这应该成为马刺队在整个赛季剩余时间里的进攻主要战术。
- 如果没有这些愚蠢的球场，NBA 杯将会好100倍。我知道你需要提醒人们这是一场 NBA 杯的比赛。但是，我不知道，比如在球场中央放一个巨大的奖杯怎么样？这使得 NBA 杯感觉像是一个噱头，而不是我们应该认真对待的东西。我将永远坚持这个观点。换掉球场！
点击查看原文：What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Lakers
What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Lakers
A young core is blossoming despite an NBA Cup loss.
Social media can be awful these days. But every once in a while, in my scrolling, I find gold that is actually thought-provoking. This tweet (from a Steven Adams stat-based fan account? Man, I love the internet sometimes.) was almost serendipitous with a thought I’ve been having about the San Antonio Spurs.
Comparison of the contend/tank/rebuild cycles for the Rockets, Thunder and Spurs (Net Rating by season, 2015-16 to today)… pic.twitter.com/PUlbDBt5Az
— Steven Adams Stats (@ funakistats) November 15, 2024
It tracks the net rating for the Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Houston Rockets. Three young Western Conference teams who hoarded assets and are building toward contention. It’s strange how their paths follow each other. While watching the logos dart across the screen, I didn’t expect the Spurs to keep pace. Even though they are behind, San Antonio is on the ascent.
You are probably thinking, “Get to the point, Jacob. What does this have to do with the Spurs 120-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers?” Here it is: for the first time in the last 3 seasons, it looks like the Spurs really have a good young core. Not just some what-ifs that can develop into role players, but some REAL promising young guys that can become the future of this franchise.
Victor Wembanyama doesn’t need an explanation. You can complain about his shot selection if you want, but as a second-year player, he’s making big time plays against one of the best big men in the league in a game that “matters” (more on that later). Having 28 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists in an NBA Cup game is All-Star level stuff from Wemby.
The player that should be getting every Spurs fan excited is this year’s rookie, Stephon Castle. He was going against one of the best players to ever touch a basketball on national TV and he didn’t flinch – 22 points and 5 assists while making big play after big play down the stretch. Looking confident in the mid-range and knocking down more threes than a lot of people expected this year. Castle is big, athletic, he plays hard and he has a winning pedigree. It’s early, and I don’t want to overreact, but it seems like the Spurs may have found a gem in a “weak” draft class.
Then add in Devin Vassell, whose shot making kept the Spurs in the game during several Laker runs. Don’t forget about Jeremy Sochan, who was having the best season of his career before his thumb injury. Those four guys are something you can build around. That’s a real promising young core.
Winning would be great, but just being in that game feels like a step forward for the Spurs. Sure it “means more” because it’s an NBA Cup game, but… will anyone remember a close NBA Cup loss in even a year’s time? Maybe this is too optimistic of a take after losing to the Lakers, but Spurs fans should come out of this one excited about the future of this group.
Takeaways:
- The Lakers crushed San Antonio in transition. Quick, long shots led to long boards and Los Angeles beat the Spurs back every. single. time. The Lakers had 23 fast break points, and that’s not counting the secondary break buckets where a shooter would get wide open as the Spurs scrambled to figure out who they were guarding. Those are the sloppy mistakes a young team has to clean up.
- Keldon Johnson struggled mightily on the defensive end. He was caught out of position several times, including an Austin Reaves three-pointer to give the Lakers a lead late in the game. Offensively he’s still an impact player, as he made clear with his energized run in the fourth quarter. Yet, some of his decision making is perplexing. Mitch Johnson must believe in him, though, as KJ has closed out games for the Spurs routinely while Johnson fills in for Gregg Popovich.
- Johnson wasn’t the only bench player to struggle. Blake Wesley, Malaki Branham and Sandro Mamukelashvili didn’t give the Spurs hardly anything in their limited minutes. That force Mitch Johnson to shrink the rotation. Zach Collins had a tough matchup against Anthony Davis, and was outmatched at times. Once the Spurs get Tre Jones and Sochan back, expect this bench unit to play better.
- As exciting as the young core is, the veteran additions of Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul have really elevated them. Paul controlled the game with another double-double, scoring 11 points and 11 assists. He’s been a good pick and roll partner with Wembanyama. Barnes held his own defensively against LeBron James and chipped in offensively with 8 points.
- The Vassell-Wembanyama two-man game is back. The Spurs ran some great sets to get these two rolling. Vassell set flex screens for Wembanyama to get him into the paint, and then open himself up for three when the defense collapsed on the big man. San Antonio ran some fun elbow dribble handoff action to get Vassell the ball going toward the hoop, once resulting in a mid-range jumper and the other a lob for Wembanyama. This should become a staple of the Spurs offense throughout the rest of the season.
- The NBA Cup would be 100x better without these stupid courts. I understand you need to call attention to the fact that it’s an NBA Cup game. But what about, I don’t know, A GIANT TROPHY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COURT? It makes the Cup feel like a gimmick and not something we should really be taking seriously. I’ll stand by this take forever. Change the courts!
By Jacob Douglas, via Pounding The Rock