By August Bembel | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-11-25 01:18:08
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。
马刺队突然之间不仅能够保持领先优势，还能够克服落后局面。
作为一个足球俱乐部——抱歉，是足球俱乐部（用这个词真的违反我的直觉）——和NBA球队的球迷，我最喜欢的事情之一就是看到新来的球员一开始并没有让我感到特别兴奋，然后看着他们证明我错了。利物浦足球俱乐部在新任主帅拉斐尔·贝尼特斯(Rafael Benitez)的指导下经历了一场“西班牙革命”，就是一个典型的例子。
贝尼特斯于2004年夏天上任，立即对球队阵容进行了重大调整，卖掉了许多我非常喜欢的球员，包括勤奋的中场丹尼·墨菲(Danny Murphy)。（在我看来，利物浦球员能做的最好的事就是在对阵曼联的比赛中打进制胜球。墨菲不仅做到了一次，两次，而是三次。）
墨菲的实际替代者，来自西班牙的哈维·阿隆索(Xabi Alonso)加盟了。我很难理解这笔转会。不仅仅是因为我很喜欢墨菲，还因为利物浦已经拥有了一名脚步缓慢的防守型中场迪特马尔·哈曼(Dietmar Hamann)。但阿隆索消除了我的疑虑。他给之前依靠拼搏的利物浦中场带来了智慧。
把他想象成足球界的场控后卫或四分卫——因为他能看到别人看不到的东西。他很快成为了我的最爱，当他效力于皇家马德里和拜仁慕尼黑时，他仍然是我的最爱，如果我要组建我的历史最佳十一人阵容，他将是名单上的首选之一。我现在对一位新的马刺球员也有类似的感受。
在今年的选秀中，我只希望马刺不要再选一个不会投篮的球员。但他们还是选了——我必须承认我不喜欢这个选择。但在11月初，我开始有点喜欢这个选择了。而现在我绝对爱上了这个选择（尽管我还不确定他最终是否会进入我的历史最佳五人阵容）。
在最近的圆桌讨论中，玛丽莲认为斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)让她想起了德里克·怀特(Derrick White)和德章泰·穆雷(Dejounte Murray)的结合体。虽然我一开始对这种比较感到相当惊讶，但你可以相信玛丽莲说的话是“靠谱的”，就像我们在德国这里所说的“Hand und Füße”（字面意思是“手和脚”），用来赞赏那些清楚自己在做什么或说什么的人。不过，对我来说，卡斯尔更像另一位前马刺球员。我真诚地希望我接下来要说的话也同样“靠谱”。
卡斯尔最让我想起的前马刺球员是，如果你想笑就笑吧，科怀·伦纳德(Kawhi Leonard)。和伦纳德一样，卡斯尔的面部表情完全没有情绪。这种表情——实际上是毫无表情——是在对对方的球员说：“你没必要进入我的内心。它已经上锁了，我把钥匙扔掉了。”
卡斯尔最棒的地方在于——同样，像伦纳德一样——他看起来真的像终结者一样冷静。当卡斯尔犯错时——或者做得好时——他不会让它影响接下来发生的事情。从这个意义上说，他几乎与马拉基·布拉纳姆(Malaki Barnham)和布莱克·韦斯利(Blake Wesley)截然相反。相比之下，反而是卡斯尔，这个新秀，让他们看起来像新秀。
然而，不仅仅是心理方面与伦纳德相似。也许卡斯尔与伦纳德最惊人的相似之处在于他的位置力量，他自然会展现出更多这样的特点。即使面对比他更高大的球员，伦纳德也经常能够把他们挡在外面，有条不紊地到达他的位置。这就是我在卡斯尔攻击篮筐时所看到的。他不是特别有爆发力，也不是运球天才，但他能到达他想去的地方，而且他在近距离的终结效率非常高。如果这还不够的话，他还经常能站上罚球线——这是马刺教练都没能教会穆雷或朗尼·沃克(Lonnie Walker)的事情。
也许卡斯尔迄今为止最像伦纳德的时刻出现在昨晚第三节的倒数第二个回合。在马穆克·拉什维利(Mamukelashvili)的帮助下，卡斯尔在三分线外断掉了对方控球者的球，他跑动，犹豫了一下，然后上篮得分——经典的科怀·伦纳德。
要点
- 我对本赛季的乐观预期是，我可以看到马刺队以接近40胜的战绩结束赛季。赛季进行了17场比赛，根据Power Ranks Guru的数据，马刺队打完了第六难的赛程，多年来第一次以正胜率进入感恩节周。谢谢你，马刺！
- 上个赛季以及上上个赛季的马刺队，经常在领先时挥霍优势——这是一个球队尚未成熟的明显标志。过去的三场比赛表明马刺队已经走出了困境。他们成功地顶住了对阵雷霆的领先优势，甚至更棒的是，他们在下半场克服了两位数的落后，不仅战胜了摆烂的犹他爵士队，还战胜了金州勇士队，一支带着联盟最佳战绩之一进入比赛的球队。问题是：他们是怎么做到的？
- 答案是：a) 通过齐心协力的团队努力，以及 b) 通过老将的存在。克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)为马刺所做的，尽管并不总是体现在数据统计中，甚至可能不会直接体现在球场上，但也不容低估。在《The Athletic》最近一篇关于斯蒂芬·卡斯尔的的文章中，在勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)在马刺惜败湖人后与卡斯尔进行了简短的交谈之后，保罗谈到了他如何在整场比赛中一直与卡斯尔交谈。但不仅仅是保罗在指导球员。39岁的保罗在关键时刻一次又一次地成为稳定的灯塔。
- 说到关键时刻，很多马刺球员都值得称赞他们在第四节的表现，但我想特别表扬一位球员在四节比赛中的表现：哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)。多年来，巴恩斯一直被认为是某些竞争者会在截止日期前交易的对象。但这从未发生。随着多曼塔斯·萨博尼斯(Domantas Sabonis)来到萨克拉门托，巴恩斯在国王队进攻中的作用逐渐下降，以至于许多人认为他已经过了巅峰期。也许他已经过了巅峰期。但无论他处于什么状态，他都是马刺昨晚的关键人物——又一次。他不是传统意义上的核心球员，但每当年轻的马刺队黔驴技穷，每当他们在浪费球权的边缘时，都是巴恩斯用手中的球做出了合理的事情。他作为——我希望我没有用我的德语比喻让你感到厌烦——“Feuerwehrmann”（在德语中，它既指消防员，也指疑难解答者）为马刺带来的价值，和保罗一样，也不容低估。
- 最后但同样重要的是，马刺队最近表现出了令人惊讶的阵容深度。像马拉基·布拉纳姆、布莱克·韦斯利或桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利这样的球员的长期未来还远未确定，他们都有明显的弱点，但是（是米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)的指导吗？）他们最近都有过重要的闪光时刻，尤其是在昨晚。
点击查看原文：What We Learned From the Spurs’ Win Over the Warriors
What We Learned From the Spurs’ Win Over the Warriors
The Spurs are suddenly not just able to hold on to leads, they’re also able to overcome deficits.
One of my very favorite things as a fan of a football club — sorry, soccer club (it’s so against my intuition to use that term) – and an NBA franchise, is when new players arrive that I’m not terribly excited about, and then watch as they prove me wrong. A prime example of that took place when Liverpool FC experienced a “Spanish revolution” of sorts under the tutelage of then newly appointed manager Rafael Benitez.
Benitez started in the summer of 2004 and immediately made major changes to the squad, selling a number of players I had been rather fond of, including hard-working midfielder Danny Murphy. (The best thing a Liverpool player can do from my perspective is scoring the winning goal against Manchester United. Murphy did that not once, not twice, but thrice.)
In came Murphy’s de facto replacement from Spain, Xabi Alonso. I had huge trouble understanding the transfer. Not just because I had liked Murphy so much, but because Liverpool already had a slow-footed defensive midfielder in Dietmar Hamann. But Xabi Alonso erased my doubts. He brought smarts to a Liverpool midfield that had previously existed on hustle.
Think of him as the soccer equivalent of a floor general or quarterback – in the sense he saw things no one else did. He quickly became a favorite of mine, he stayed a favorite of mine when he played for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and if I were to compile my all-time starting eleven, he’d be one of the first names on the team sheet. I’m currently experiencing something similar with a new Spurs player.
All I wanted the Spurs to do in this year’s draft was not to pick another non-shooter. They did – and I have to admit I didn’t like it. But I kinda liked the pick by early November. And I’m absolutely loving it by now (though I’m not yet sure he’ll end up in my all-time starting five).
In a recent roundtable post, Marilyn argued Castle reminded her of a mixture of Derrick White and Dejounte Murray. Though I was rather surprised at the comparison at first, you can trust what Marilyn says has “Hand und Füße” (“hand and feet”), as we say over here in Germany in appreciation of someone who clearly knows what they do or talk about. Still, to me there’s a former Spur whom Castle resembles even more. And I sincerely hope what I’m about to say has “hand and feet” as well.
The former Spur Castle reminds me most of, laugh if you want to, is Kawhi Leonard. Like Kawhi, Castle has that completely emotionless facial expression. The kind of expression – non-expression, actually – that says to opposing players: “No need for you to and get into my head. It’s locked, and I threw away the key.”
The great thing about Castle is that – again, like Kawhi – it appears that he really is as level-headed as a or the Terminator. When Castle makes a mistake – or does something good, for that matter – he doesn’t let it affect whatever happens next. In that sense, he’s pretty much the polar opposite of Malaki Barnham and Blake Wesley. In comparison, it’s Castle, the rookie, who makes them look like rookies.
However, it’s not only mental things that bear resemblance to Kawhi. Maybe the most striking resemblance that Castle shows, and he’s naturally bound to show even more of that, is his positional strength. Even when matched up with guys bigger than him, Kawhi routinely managed to keep them away and methodically get to his spots. That’s what I see in Castle when he attacks the basket. He’s not particularly explosive, he’s not a dribble genius either, but he’s getting to where he wants to be, and he’s finishing remarkably efficiently from close range. And if that wasn’t enough already, he’s also getting to the line – something no Spurs coach was able to teach to either Dejounte or Lonnie.
Maybe the most Kawhi moment Castle has had so far came last night in the penultimate possession of the third quarter. Helped by Mamu, Castle stripped the opposing ball handler at the break of the arc, he ran the floor, he hesitated, and he layed it in – classic Kawhi Leonard.
Takeaways
- My optimistic expectation going into the season was that I could see the Spurs finish the season with a high-thirties figure in the wins column. 17 games into the season, and with the sixth-most difficult schedule played, according to Power Ranks Guru, the Spurs, for the first time in years, are entering Thanksgiving week with a positive record. Thank you, Spurs!
- The Spurs of last season, and the season before that, routinely squandered leads when they had one – a clear sign of a team that isn’t ready. The past three games are suggesting the Spurs have moved on. They managed to hold on to a lead against OKC, and, even better, they overcame two-digit deficits in the second half not only against the tanking Utah Jazz, but also against the Golden State Warriors, a team entering the game with one of the best records in the league. The question is: How are they doing that?
- The answer is: a) through concerted team efforts and b) through the presence of veterans. What Chris Paul is doing for the Spurs, though it doesn’t always show in the box office stats, though it might not even show directly on the court, mustn’t be underestimated. In a recent article by “The Athletic” about Stephon Castle, following the short conversation LeBron James had with him after the Spurs narrow loss to the Lakers, Paul talked about how he’s talking to Castle all the time, all game. But it’s not only Paul advising players. At age 39, Paul is a beacon of stability in crunch time, again and again.
- Speaking of crunch time plenty of Spurs could be singled out for praise for what they did in the fourth quarter, but there’s one I’d like to single out for what he did in each of the four quarters: Harrison Barnes for years had been thought of as a guy some contender would trade for before the deadline. It never happened. And with the arrival of Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento, Barnes’ role on the King’s offense gradually declined, so much that many thought he was past his peak. Maybe he is past his peak. But wherever he’s at, he was the Spurs’ linchpin last night – again. He’s not a go-to guy in the classic sense, but whenever the young Spurs are running out of ideas, whenever they are on the border of squandering a possession, it’s Harrisson Barnes that does something reasonable with the ball in his hands. The value he brings to the Spurs right now as a – I hope I’m not boring you with my German metaphors – “Feuerwehrmann” (in German it means firefighter as well as troubleshooter), must, as Paul’s, also not be underestimated.
- Last but not least, the Spurs have been showing they’re a surprisingly deep team as of late. The long-term future of guys like Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, or Sandro Mamukelashvili is far from certain, all of them have glaring weaknesses, but (Is it the guidance of Mitch Johnson?) all of them have had major spark plug moments as of late, and in particular last night.
By August Bembel, via Pounding The Rock