By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-11-23 07:49:33
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。
几位大牌球员因伤缺阵，但这却给了其他不太引人注目的球员闪耀的机会。
赛季初，马刺在球员健康方面运气不佳。维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)膝盖受伤，已经缺席了几场比赛。德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)错过了前九场比赛，目前总共缺席了12场，特雷·琼斯(Tre Jones)也因脚踝受伤缺席了同样多的比赛。杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)拇指骨折，预计还需要一段时间才能复出。我们还没有看到圣安东尼奥马刺全员出战。
轮换球员受伤也有好处，那就是他们为其他球员腾出了上场时间。银黑军团正在努力争取胜利，而不是强行给潜力球员上场时间，但球员发展仍然很重要，而且大多数获得机会的球员都充分利用了这一点。
朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)是第一个被要求顶替德文·瓦塞尔进入首发阵容的球员。这位侧翼球员对这个角色并不陌生，上赛季他首发了59场比赛，但马刺引进了老将哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)来取代他的位置。他首先是因为瓦塞尔的健康问题，然后是因为索汉的受伤而保住了首发位置，而且看起来他很适合这个位置。尚帕尼场均得到11分和5个篮板，同时在大量的远投出手中保持着36%的命中率。他的防守依然稳固，尤其是在不用防守速度更快的后卫时，而且在一支失误较多的球队里，他的失误并不多。他似乎完全适应了传统的3D角色，同时也能够抓住机会，高效地攻击对手的防守漏洞。尚帕尼的突破命中率高达70.6%，而上赛季只有40.9%。
尚帕尼在类似的适度角色中的经验使得他的进步并不令人意外。很少有人预料到斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)——一名来自一个看似被正确评价为实力较弱的选秀届的球员——会在进入首发阵容后展现出如此强的NBA即战力。在七场首发比赛中，卡斯尔场均得到13.8分和4.7次助攻，同时在超过四次的场均三分球出手中保持着34%的命中率。这些数据并不亮眼，但卡斯尔的进攻原本预计是一个需要重点改进的环节，现在看来比预期的要更加成熟。他能够造犯规，很好地控制球，并且展现出了类似东契奇的减速突破能力，利用他的力量来弥补他缺乏爆发力的第一步。虽然有一些新秀的稚嫩时刻，但他在攻防两端都表现出色，无论是在侧翼还是控球后卫的位置上。
这两个人让重要球员的缺席显得不那么致命。其他人并没有产生很大的积极影响，但已经展现出个人的进步。桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利(Sandro Mamukelashvili)可能仍然在位置之间摇摆不定，但他对自己的投篮更加自信，并且仍然是一个优秀的篮板手和不知疲倦的空切者。布雷克·韦斯利(Blake Wesley)在进攻端仍然只是偶尔闪光，但他是一个充满活力的球员和顽强的防守者。马拉基·布拉纳姆(Malaki Branham)的外线投篮已经开始有所起色，虽然他在防守端仍然是一个能力有限的球员，但他偶尔也能做出一些贡献。查尔斯·巴塞(Charles Bassey)在获得上场时间时表现出色，并凭借他在比赛中的活力和精彩表现迅速成为球迷的最爱。这些球员中没有一个在球队阵容完整时能强有力地争取到轮换位置，但后卫们已经证明他们并非无可救药，而大个子们也证明了他们在需要的时候可以提供帮助。
当马刺所有球员都回归时，他们的轮换阵容可能会与赛季前大家预期的一样，首发阵容很可能是克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)、德文·瓦塞尔、杰里米·索汉、哈里森·巴恩斯和维克托·文班亚马。然而，值得庆幸的是，教练组还有其他选择，比如让卡斯尔或尚帕尼中的一人继续担任首发，或者如果巴塞的运动能力持续产生影响，就让他担任替补中锋。球队的一线和二线阵容都有足够的天赋，即使在伤病和板凳席深处的一些不确定因素的情况下也能保持竞争力。更深厚的阵容让圣安东尼奥拥有了重建时期所缺乏的阵容多功能性。
目前身披银黑战袍的一些球员将无法见证球队崛起成为争冠队伍。重建的本质就是积累然后整合年轻球员，并引进一些能够帮助建立球队文化的即将离开联盟的老将。从马刺管理薪资空间和囤积选秀权以最终取代那些将继续在其他地方发展职业生涯的球员的方式来看，他们非常清楚这一点。对那些在整个赛季中表现出色的非核心球员过于依恋，可能会很快导致心碎。
即使着眼于长远，像尚帕尼和巴塞这样的球员的贡献也应该得到赞扬，即使我们知道他们可能几年后就不会在这里了。而且，看到斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在新秀赛季就扮演更重要的角色，并且表现如此出色，我们不可能不感到兴奋。
伤病显然阻碍了马刺，但也揭示了他们意想不到的阵容深度，并为球员提供了闪耀的机会。尽管看到一些大牌球员出现在伤病报告中令人沮丧，但圣安东尼奥在赛季初经历的逆境可能会让球队在未来变得更好。
点击查看原文：Injuries have revealed that the Spurs are deeper than expected
Injuries have revealed that the Spurs are deeper than expected
Several big names have missed time for the Spurs, but the absences have provided less heralded players with an opportunity to shine.
The Spurs have not been lucky in the health department to start the season. Victor Wembanyama hurt his knee and has been out for a few games. Devin Vassell missed the first nine games and 12 in total so far, the same number Tre Jones missed with an ankle injury. Jeremy Sochan broke his thumb and is not expected back for a while. We haven’t been able to see San Antonio at full strength.
The upside of the injuries to rotation players is that they have freed up minutes for others. The Silver and Black are trying to win and not force-feed playing time to prospects but development remains important and most of the players getting an opportunity have made the most of it so far.
Julian Champagnie was the first to be asked to step up and fill in for Devin Vassell in the starting lineup. The wing was not a stranger to the role, as he played 59 games as a starter last season, but the Spurs brought in veteran Harrison Barnes to take his spot. He got to keep it first because of Vassell’s health issues and then because of Sochan’s injury and has looked like he belongs. Champagnie is averaging 11 points and five rebounds while shooting 36 percent on a large number of three-point attempts. His defense remains solid, especially when he’s not asked to guard quicker guards, and he doesn’t turn the ball over much on a team that does. He seems perfectly comfortable in a traditional 3-and-D role while also being opportunistic and efficient at attacking closeouts. Champagnie is shooting 70.6 percent on drives, up from 40.9 last season.
Champagnie’s experience in a similar and moderate role makes his improvement not surprising. Few expected Stephon Castle, a member of a draft class that was seemingly correctly pegged as weak, to be as NBA-ready as he’s looked once he was slotted into the starting lineup. In seven games as a starter, Castle is averaging 13.8 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 34 percent on over four attempts from beyond the arc. The numbers are not blinding, but Castle’s offense was expected to be a major work in progress and appears to be more developed than anticipated. He gets to the line, takes good care of the ball, and has shown a Doncic-like ability to decelerate on drives and use his strength to make up for his lack of an explosive first step. There are rookie moments but he’s been good both as a wing and a point guard on both ends.
Those two have made the absences of important players not as damming. Others have not had a big positive impact but have shown individual development. Sandro Mamukelashvili might still be stuck between positions but is much more confident in his shot and remains a good rebounder and relentless cutter. Blake Wesley still only shows intermittent flashes of offensive competence but is an energizer and a dogged defender. Malaki Branham’s outside shot has been falling and while he remains a limited player on defense, he’s made the occasional play. Charles Bassey has been productive when he’s gotten playing time and is quickly becoming a fan favorite by changing games with his activity and highlight plays. None of those players have made a strong case for a rotation spot when the team is at full strength but the guards have shown they are not lost causes and the bigs have proved they can help when needed.
When the Spurs get everyone back, their rotation will likely look similar to what everyone expected it to be before the season and the starting lineup will probably be Chris Paul, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Harrison Barnes and Victor Wembanyama. It’s good to know, however, that the coaching staff has options, like keeping one of Castle or Champagnie as a starter or giving Bassey the backup center minutes if his athleticism continues to make an impact. There’s enough talent in the first and second units for the team to be competitive even through injuries and a few wildcards in the deep bench that can handle small roles. Having a deeper roster gives San Antonio a level of lineup versatility it lacked during the rebuild.
Some of the players currently wearing Silver and Black will not be there to see the rise to contender status. It’s the nature of rebuilds to accumulate and then consolidate young talent and to bring in veterans who can help establish a culture on their way out of the league. The Spurs are keenly aware of this, going by how they’ve managed their cap and hoarded picks to eventually replace contributors who will continue their careers elsewhere. Getting too attached to non-core players who step up throughout the season might result in heartbreak sooner rather than later.
Even with the long view in mind, the contributions of guys like Champagnie and Bassey should be celebrated even while understanding they might not be here in a few years and it’s impossible to see what Stephon Castle is doing in a bigger role as a rookie and not get excited.
Injuries have hindered the Spurs in obvious ways, but they have also revealed unexpected depth and provided opportunities for players to shine. As frustrating as it has been to see some of the biggest names in the injury report, the adversity San Antonio has experienced early in the season could make the team better in the long haul.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock