By Tanner Bowen | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-12-29 16:00:00
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。
银黑军团将在本次四场客场之旅的最后一场比赛中与森林狼进行本月第二次交锋
赛季初，恐怕没多少人会预料到圣安东尼奥马刺和明尼苏达森林狼在2024年即将结束时会拥有几乎相同的战绩，但现实就是如此。上赛季取得56胜并自2004年以来首次晋级西部决赛后，人们对安东尼·爱德华兹(Anthony Edwards)和森林狼在本赛季的期望值无疑很高。不过，他们似乎在12月找到了状态，今晚的比赛是他们在接连战胜德克萨斯州另外两支球队后进行的。赛季还很漫长，看到他们重回积分榜前列也不会令人意外。
如果不是在对阵费城76人和圣诞节对阵纽约尼克斯的两场非常有机会获胜的比赛中失利，马刺目前的处境会比过去几年更加美好。本赛季，圣安东尼奥打得非常轻松，因为许多人曾认为他们会在四月份计算乐透签的概率。然而，他们看起来比预期要超前一些，整个阵容中还有很多未开发的潜力。他们能否继续保持领先于所有人的预期还有待观察，但随着2024年的结束，后邓肯时代的马刺从未像现在这样令人兴奋。
圣安东尼奥马刺 (16-15) 对阵 明尼苏达森林狼 (16-14)
2024年12月29日 | 晚上7:00 (中部时间)
观看: | 收听: WOAI (1200 AM)
马刺伤病： 无
森林狼伤病 : 卢卡·加尔扎(Luka Garza)，脚踝（每日观察），戴申·尼克斯(Daishen Nix)，脚踝（每日观察）
比赛看点
- 鲁迪·戈贝尔(Rudy Gobert)和文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)的对位将是这两支球队每次交锋时的焦点。尼克·克拉克斯顿(Nic Claxton)在周五晚上战胜布鲁克林篮网的比赛中做得很好，他依靠自己的身高臂展和卡位让这位身高7尺4寸的球员打得很艰难。戈贝尔，四届年度最佳防守球员，也是该奖项的最新获得者，拥有让文班同样辛苦的技巧和智慧。但是，如果文班能够早早投进三分球，这场对决的形势就会发生逆转。
- 随着卡尔-安东尼·唐斯(Karl-Anthony Towns)现在为纽约尼克斯效力，安东尼·爱德华兹无疑成为了森林狼进攻的核心。他的风格结合了运动型的终结能力和远距离投射，在联盟的这段时间里，他的投篮能力得到了显著提升。本赛季，他的三分球出手次数和命中率都比以往任何时候都要高（场均出手近10次，命中率42%）。恰如其分的是，在周五晚上对阵休斯顿火箭的比赛中，爱德华兹在第四节最后时刻投进了一记侧翼三分，帮助明尼苏达队从16分的落后中完成逆转，并最终赢得了比赛。
- 德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)在过去的四场比赛中都没能突破15分大关。在周五晚上的比赛中，他在马刺下半场拉开比分时命中了几个关键球，但他的投篮命中率只有16投4中，而且没有留在场上完成比赛。今晚的比赛并不会轻松多少，他应该会与爱德华兹的对位中忙得不可开交。话虽如此，如果马刺想要达到他们所追求的更高一级的稳定赢球水平，他们需要他在进攻端有所表现。在对阵一支至少拥有西部决赛雄心的球队时，这一点尤其重要。
想了解森林狼球迷的视角，请访问 Canis Hoopus.
如果您愿意，您可以关注我们的推特账号 (@poundingtherock) 或访问我们的比赛讨论专区来关注比赛！
点击查看原文：Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves
Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves
The Silver & Black clash with the TWolves for the 2nd time this month as their 4-game road trip comes to an end
Not many people at the start of this season would have expected the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves to have nearly identical records as the 2024 portion of the season was coming to a close, but here they are. Coming off a 56-win season and the franchise’s first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2004, expectations were certainly high for Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves coming into the year. They seem to have found their footing in December though and come into tonight after peeling off back to back wins over Texas’ two other teams. With plenty of season left to play, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them climb their way back up to the upper reaches of the standings.
If not for 2 losses in very winnable games against the Philadelphia 76ers and on Christmas Day against the New York Knicks, the Spurs would be sitting even prettier than they are now compared to the situation the last couple of years. San Antonio is playing with house money this season, as many had them pegged to be counting lottery balls in April. Instead, they look like they’re a bit ahead of schedule, with plenty of untapped potential up and down the roster. Whether they continue to push ahead of where everyone had them remains to be seen but as 2024 comes to a close, there’s never been more reasons to be excited about the Spurs in the post-Tim Duncan years than there are right now.
San Antonio Spurs (16-15) at Minnesota Timberwolves (16-14)
December 29th 2024 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: None
TWolves Injuries: Luka Garza, ankle (day to day), Daishen Nix, ankle (day to day)
What to watch for
- The Rudy Gobert - Victor Wembanyama match-up will be the one to watch every single time these two face one another. Nic Claxton did a good job making Wemby work in the win over the Brooklyn Nets Friday night, relying on his length and positioning to make things as difficult as they can be on a guy who is 7’4. Gobert, a 4x Defensive Player of the Year recipient and the most recent winner of the award, has the tools and the smarts to make Victor work just as hard. If Wemby gets the 3 going early though, it flips the match-up on its head.
- With Karl Anthony Towns now playing for the New York Knicks, Anthony Edwards is the undisputed center of the Timberwolves offense. His style combines athletic finishing with long range shooting, as he’s stepped up his shooting capabilities significantly during his time in the league. This season he’s taking and making more 3-pointers than he has throughout his entire career (42% shooting on nearly 10 attempts per game). Fittingly, Edwards capped off a Minnesota rally from 16-points down against the Houston Rockets Friday night with a wing 3 in the waning seconds of the 4th that ended up being the game winner.
- Devin Vassell hasn’t been able to crack the 15 point mark in each of his last 4 games. He hit a few huge buckets as the Spurs were pulling away in the 2nd half on Friday night, but he shot just 4/16 from the field and wasn’t out there to close the game. Things don’t get much easier tonight though, and he should expect to have his hands full matching up with Edwards. That being said, the Spurs need him to play well offensively if they want to start winning with the next level of consistency that they’re looking for. This is especially true going against a team with, at minimum, Western Conference Finals aspirations.
For the Timberwolves fan’s perspective, please visit Canis Hoopus.
If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!
By Tanner Bowen, via Pounding The Rock
