By Casey Coggins | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-12-10 13:52:51
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。
马刺比赛的最大看点就像轮盘赌而不是直线
周日晚上，圣安东尼奥马刺队迎战新奥尔良鹈鹕队。这是文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)的回归之战，他因伤缺席了前两场比赛。比赛初期，你可以看到他开始有点痛苦的表情。然后，在第一节还剩 9 分 34 秒时，他在试图封盖伊夫·米西(Yves Missi)的空接扣篮后倒地。马刺队下一次进攻后，他看向替补席，举起手，离开了比赛。当他走进球员通道时，比赛的焦点变成了他的健康状况。随着马刺队伤病的增多，伤病的情节也变得更加复杂。扎克·科林斯(Zach Collins)在重重摔倒后离开了比赛，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)在追逐一个地板球时与一名球员相撞后也暂时离场，凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)则指着自己的小腿一瘸一拐地走下了场。
以马刺队伤病为中心的故事情节持续时间很短，因为文班和卡斯尔都回到了比赛中（科林斯和凯尔登的伤势仍有待观察）。随着文班回到场上，真正的篮球比赛重新成为焦点。经过几分钟的你来我往之后，文班投进了他在本场比赛的第一个三分球，这次助攻来自克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)。于是，故事情节再次发生了变化。这是保罗职业生涯的第 12,092 次助攻，这使他超越了贾森·基德(Jason Kidd)，成为 NBA 历史助攻榜第二名。马刺队在接下来的比赛中叫了暂停，以宣布这一成就。马刺球迷起立为这位“控球之神”鼓掌致敬，同时马刺队在大屏幕上播放了一段简短的致敬视频。这是一个感人的时刻，也许正是马刺队所需要的。
就比赛中的故事而言，这个时刻只是昙花一现。一旦比赛重新开始，焦点就变成了马刺队能否扭转局面，因为他们发现自己以 45-52 落后 7 分。马刺队三分球 19 投 5 中，而鹈鹕队三分球 14 投 7 中，唯一正负值是正数的球员是查尔斯·巴塞(Charles Bassey)的 +2。如果比赛继续这样下去，马刺队将遭遇四连败，六场比赛中输掉五场。幸运的是，他们在上半场剩余的时间里最终扭转了局面。
现在的比赛剧本集中在马刺队休赛期引进的两名老将与他们最好的三名回归球员（德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)、杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)和文班亚马）共同在场上的表现。在 3 分 55 秒的比赛时间里，保罗、文班、瓦塞尔、索汉和哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)的阵容打出了一波 19-4 的进攻高潮，使马刺队以 64-56 领先。对我来说，这成为了比赛的一个故事情节，因为它可能是对如果他们主力轮换阵容完整时首发阵容的展望。目前的首发五人阵容，由朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)和卡斯尔代替瓦塞尔和索汉，在 14 场比赛中每场比赛的正负值达到了可观的 +4.1，但瓦塞尔为他们提供了一个更全面的得分手，而索汉则提供了一个更全面的防守者。
这种想法就像中场休息一样转瞬即逝。果然，一个新的情节出现了。即使在第二节以 43-28 的比分领先并且似乎掌握了比赛的势头之后，阵容残缺的鹈鹕队仍然不断地努力保持比分接近。这表明这支球队仍在磨合之中。第三节本应该是马刺队加足马力，将领先优势扩大到两位数进入第四节的时候。但三分球 7 投 0 中阻止了这种情况的发生，并将球队的 三分球命中率 变成了一个故事。进入本场比赛之前，马刺队的三分球命中率排名第 20 位。只有瓦塞尔和巴恩斯的三分命中率高于联盟平均水平（36%），他们每场比赛的出场时间至少为 15 分钟，命中率分别为 45.8% 和 41.9%。
随着第四节比赛的进行，对三分球命中率的思考逐渐减弱。马刺队，特别是卡斯尔，在前七分钟打得非常出色。这位新秀 7 投 5 中，三分球 3 投 2 中，得到了马刺队 22 分中的 12 分，并将领先优势扩大到 11 分，114-103。当你看着未来的希望在你眼前展现时，到目前为止发生的一切都感觉像是过去式了。考虑到鹈鹕队的首发控球后卫是前马刺球员德章泰·默里(Dejounte Murray)，这无疑是一个故事——卡斯尔甚至穿着与默里相同的号码。
比赛的最后五分钟再次改变了故事。从卡斯尔在比赛还剩 5 分 02 秒时上篮得分到 CJ·麦科勒姆(CJ McCollum)在比赛还剩 1 分 00 秒时上篮得分，在这四分钟的时间里，鹈鹕队打出了一波 13-0 的进攻高潮，以 116-114 反超比分。文班亚马、保罗、瓦塞尔、卡斯尔和尚帕尼的阵容打满了这段时间，合计 5 投 0 中，三分球 2 投 0 中，并出现了两次失误。在这波进攻高潮中，一度感觉主教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)会叫暂停，但他始终没有。好吧，在前面提到的麦科勒姆上篮得分之后，他确实叫了暂停。这种比赛后期的进攻高潮让你不禁思考约翰逊作为格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的代理主教练的经验。教练如何在让球队克服逆境和叫暂停让一切平静下来之间取得平衡？一位年轻的教练在那些时刻会有什么样的感受？
当文班亚马投进一记 30 英尺外的三分球，让马刺队重新领先时，这些问题瞬间消失了。随后，他抢下了鹈鹕队两次投篮不中的篮板球，并罚进了全部四次罚球，以个人 7-0 的进攻高潮结束了比赛。比赛结束时，故事又回到了文班亚马身上，他的出色表现，以及他对马刺队的重要性。
比赛结束后，球队进入更衣室，这个循环仍在继续。我们这些在媒体室等待约翰逊教练和几名被选中的球员的人，可以透过墙壁听到兴奋的声音。每个人都知道故事又回到了保罗超越基德的那一刻，这是理所当然的。当被问及这项纪录时，约翰逊教练的回答以“我一直在等着被问到这个问题”开始。如果你一直在数，从比赛开始到球队向保罗赠送比赛用球和海报，至少有九个故事情节你可以追踪。
有些比赛可能有更多，有些则更少，但这就是如今 NBA 比赛的进行方式。在整个赛季的日日夜夜里，情节不断变化。总有一些事情值得关注和密切留意。作为一名球迷，观看每支球队的所有曲折变化是令人兴奋的。作为一名作家，知道总有一个线索可以用来撰写故事也是令人兴奋的。无论如何，关于马刺队和联盟其他球队，总有一些话题可以讨论。
点击查看原文：The constantly changing story of an NBA game
The constantly changing story of an NBA game
The biggest takeaway over the course of a Spurs game resembles a roulette wheel more than a straight line
Sunday night, the San Antonio Spurs faced off against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was the return of Victor Wembanyama, who missed the previous two games due to an injury. Early into the game, you could see him start to grimace a little. Then, with 9:34 left in the first, he fell to the ground after knocking an alley-oop attempt to Yves Missi away. After the next Spurs possession, he looked to the bench, raised his hand, and left the game. As he walked into the tunnel, the story of the game became his health. The injury plot would thicken as the Spurs mounted more and more injuries. Zach Collins left the game after falling hard on his back, Stephon Castle left for a while after he collided with a player chasing a loose ball, and Keldon Johnson hobbled off the court while pointing at his calf.
The story being centered on the Spurs’ injuries lasted briefly, as both Wembanyama and Castle would return to the game (the injuries to Collins and Keldon are still a story to follow). With Wembanyama back on the court, the actual basketball was back in focus. After a couple of minutes of back-and-forth play, Wembanyama would make his first three-pointer of the game, coming off an assist from Chris Paul. Once again, the storyline changed. This last assist was number 12,092 of Paul’s career, which vaulted him past Jason Kidd for second all time in NBA history. The Spurs would call a timeout following the next play to announce the accomplishment. Spurs fans rose to their feet to give the Point God a standing ovation, while the Spurs played a short tribute video on the video board. It was a heartwarming moment that was perhaps just what the Spurs needed.
The moment was merely a flash in the pan as far as the in-game story went. Once the ball was back in play, the focal point was on if the Spurs could turn things around as they found themselves down seven, 52-45. The team was 5/19 from three to the Pelicans’ 7/14, and the only player with a positive plus/minus was Charles Bassey’s +2. Should the game keep up that way, the Spurs would’ve lost their fourth straight and fifth of six. Fortunately, they eventually flipped the script for the remainder of the half.
The game script now centered on the two vets the Spurs brought in during the offseason sharing the court with their three best returning players (Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Wembanyama). In 3:55 of gameplay, the lineup of Paul, Wembanyama, Vassell, Sochan, and Harrison Barnes would go on a 19-4 run, giving the Spurs a 64-56 lead. For me, this became a storyline of the game because it was possibly a glimpse at what the starting lineup should be if they ever get the main rotation at full go. The current starting five with Julian Champagnie and Stephon Castle in place for Vassell and Sochan is a respectable +4.1 per game over 14 games, but Vassell gives them a more versatile scorer and Sochan a more versatile defender.
That thought comes and goes just like halftime. Sure enough, a new plot to track comes into view. Even after a 43-28 second quarter and seemingly taking the momentum of the game, the patchwork Pelicans kept scratching and clawing to keep it close. It showed a bit of how this team is still a work in progress. The third quarter should’ve been the time when the Spurs put the pedal to the metal and pushed their lead to double digits heading into the fourth. An 0/7 quarter from three prevented that from happening and turns the team’s three-point shooting into a story. Entering the night, the Spurs ranked 20th in three-point percentage. Only Vassell and Barnes shoot better than league average (36%) who also play at least 15 minutes per game, 45.8% and 41.9% respectively.
The thought of three-point shooting wanes as the fourth quarter goes on. The Spurs, specifically Castle, played a strong first seven minutes. The rookie scored 12 of the Spurs’ 22 points on 5/7 shooting, 2/3 from three, and the lead ballooned to 11, 114-103. Everything that had happened up to that point felt like a thing of the past as you watched the future playing before your eyes. It was certainly a story given the fact that the starting point guard for the Pelicans is former Spur Dejounte Murray – Castle even wears the same number as Murray.
The final five minutes of the game would change the story yet again. During a four-minute stretch from the moment Castle made a layup with 5:02 on the clock to a CJ McCollum layup at 1:00, the Pelicans went on a 13-0 run to take a 116-114 lead. The lineup of Wembanyama, Paul, Vassell, Castle, and Champagnie played the entirety of that run and combined to shoot 0/5, 0/2 from three, and committed two turnovers. At one point during the run, it felt inevitable coach Mitch Johnson would call a timeout, but it never came. Well, it did after the aforementioned McCollum layup. It was the kind of late game run that made you think about Johnson’s experience as the acting head coach in place of Gregg Popovich. How do coaches balance letting the team play through adversity and calling a timeout to calm everything down? What does a young coach feel in those moments?
These questions fade away the instant Wembanyama drains a 30-footer to put the Spurs back on top. He’d then grab two rebounds on Pelicans misses and make all four of his free throws to end the game on a personal 7-0 run. The game ends with the story having circled all the way back to being on Wembanyama, his excellence, and how much he means to the Spurs.
That circle kept turning after the game and the team got into the locker room. Those of us in the media room waiting for Coach Johnson and the few selected players could hear the excitement through the walls. Everyone knew the story was back on the moment Paul passed Kidd, and rightfully so. Coach Johnson started his response when asked about the record by stating, “I was waiting to be asked about that.” If you were counting, from the time the game started to when the team was gifting Paul a game ball and poster, there were at least nine storylines you could track.
Some games might have more, and some less, but this is how the game goes in the NBA nowadays. Ever-changing plots throughout the days and nights of the season. There’s always something to follow and keep tabs on. As a fan, it’s exciting to watch all the twists and turns every team takes. As a writer, it’s exciting knowing there’s always a thread to pull on a story. No matter what, there will be something to discuss regarding the Spurs and the rest of the league.
By Casey Coggins, via Pounding The Rock