By Jacob Douglas | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-12-01 08:00:00
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。
圣安东尼奥将迎来本赛季第一场“非赢不可”的比赛。
在经历了两个赛季的“无意义”篮球之后，圣安东尼奥马刺队下周将迎来一场某种程度上的淘汰赛。2024年NBA杯小组赛仅剩最后一场比赛，马刺队目前在西部B组排名第一。他们只需要在客场战胜菲尼克斯太阳队即可。
马刺队、太阳队和俄克拉荷马城雷霆队目前在小组中以2胜1负的战绩并列第一。小组赛的第一决胜因素是相互之间的胜负关系。由于在杯赛中战胜了雷霆队，圣安东尼奥在与雷霆队的交锋中占据优势。这意味着圣安东尼奥只需要击败太阳队，就能晋级淘汰赛阶段。菲尼克斯在之前的一场NBA杯比赛中输给了雷霆队，所以他们需要雷霆队输球，并且自己击败马刺队才能赢得小组第一。雷霆队需要赢球，而马刺队需要输球，雷霆队才能晋级。
理论上，即使输给菲尼克斯，马刺队也有可能晋级淘汰赛，但这不太可能。每个赛区战绩最佳且净胜分最高的球队将作为外卡球队晋级NBA杯下一阶段。达拉斯独行侠队目前以2胜1负和+41的净胜分占据有利位置。如果雷霆队输给犹他爵士队（并且输球分差很大程度地影响了他们的净胜分），独行侠队遭遇惨败，而马刺队在输球的情况下将比分控制得非常接近，那么他们有可能成为西部的外卡球队。
圣安东尼奥只需要赢球就可以避免这种复杂的情况。太阳队刚刚输给了布鲁克林篮网队，他们将在周六迎战金州勇士队。许多人还会记得上赛季初马刺队连续两场爆冷击败太阳队的比赛。太阳队仍然拥有凯文·杜兰特、德文·布克和布拉德利·比尔等众多天赋球员，以及以特雷·琼斯的兄弟泰厄斯·琼斯为首的更强大的替补阵容。
无论你是否相信NBA杯的宣传，这都是自2021-22赛季参加附加赛以来，马刺队最接近“非赢不可”的比赛。随着杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)可能伤愈复出，马刺队可以以完整的阵容迎接这场战斗。
点击查看原文：The Spurs control their NBA Cup destiny
The Spurs control their NBA Cup destiny
San Antonio enters its first “must-win” game of the season.
After two seasons of “meaningless” hoops, the San Antonio Spurs are somewhat in an elimination game next week. With just one game left in the group stage of the 2024 NBA Cup, the Spurs are in pole position to win Western Conference Group B. It’ll just take a win against the Phoenix Suns on the road.
The Spurs, Suns, and Oklahoma City Thunder are tied for first in their group with a 2-1 record. The first tie-breaker in the group stage is the head-to-head record. San Antonio owns the head-to-head advantage over OKC thanks to a cup win over the Thunder. That means all San Antonio needs to do is beat the Suns, and they make it into the elimination rounds. Phoenix lost to the Thunder in a previous NBA Cup game, so they’ll need the Thunder to lose and beat the Spurs to win the group. OKC needs to win, and the Spurs need to lose for the Thunder to move on.
It’s also technically possible the Spurs could make it into the knockout rounds, even with a loss to Phoenix, but it’s unlikely. One team from each conference with the best record and point differential makes it into the next stage of the NBA Cup as a wild card team. The Dallas Mavericks are in a prime position with a 2-1 record and a +41 point differential. If the Thunder lose to the Utah Jazz (by a margin that significantly hurts their point differential), the Mavs get blown out, and the Spurs manage to keep it VERY close in a loss, they could possibly be the West’s wild card team.
San Antonio just needs to win to avoid that convoluted situation. The Suns are coming off a loss to the Brooklyn Nets and will face the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Many will remember the Spurs’ surprising takedown of the Suns in back-to-back games early last season. The Suns still have a lot of talent with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, plus an improved supporting cast headlined by Tre Jones’ brother, Tyus.
Whether you’ve bought into the hype of the NBA Cup or not, this is the closest the Spurs have gotten to a “must-win” game since their Play-In Tournament appearance in the 2021-22 season. With Jeremy Sochan potentially coming back healthy, the Spurs could have their whole roster ready for the battle.
By Jacob Douglas, via Pounding The Rock