By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-01-22 09:45:30
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。
索汉拥有一套基本但宝贵的技能，这些技能在圣安东尼奥的阵容中应该更常见。
在过去的五场比赛中，索汉全部缺席，马刺的防守效率排名垫底，进攻篮板排名第25位。索汉通常防守的对手主要得分创造者，完全摧残了圣安东尼奥的外线防守。
当索汉缺阵时，银黑军团的胜率是五成，现在则低于五成三个胜场。由于在此期间他们面对的是强劲的对手，即使索汉在场上，他们也可能会输掉大部分比赛，但他们的输球方式清楚地表明，马刺需要索汉。
一支球队在失去首发球员后陷入困境并不奇怪。有趣的是，他们如此迫切地需要他，是因为他们没有其他人能够提供这位年轻前锋所拥有的那些相当普通的技能，而这些技能在这个阵容中却显得如此宝贵。
索汉是队中最好的球员之一，年轻，而且他偶尔会打出一些精彩的表现，展现出他仍然拥有多少未开发的潜力。目前，他主要提供的价值是作为一名对球防守者和充满活力的篮板手，这些都是角色球员的技能。他的缺席不应该像现在这样被如此强烈地感受到。通常情况下，只有核心球员受伤才会导致球队崩溃，因为这些球员是球队围绕其打造的。达拉斯独行侠队在没有卢卡·东契奇(Luka Dončić)的情况下苦苦挣扎是完全可以理解的；他是他们的进攻核心。即使是非单核进攻的球队，在关键球员缺席时也会受到影响，而过度依赖一名优秀防守中枢来弥补错误的防守，显然也会错过他的存在。有些球员拥有一些不可替代的技能。尽管索汉擅长他所做的事情，但他不应该是那种类型的球员。
问题是马刺没有其他具有类似特点的角色球员，这感觉像是管理层的疏忽。对位数据显示，索汉大部分时间都在防守对方的主要持球人和组织者，无论他们的位置如何。从这些数据中得出的一个结论是，索汉是一位极其全能的外线防守者，这是事实。更令人担忧的结论是，圣安东尼奥完全缺乏其他任何能够长时间高水平完成这项工作的人。如果克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)和德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)能够防守精英级别的控球后卫和得分后卫，那么索汉就不需要去做了，但他们通常做不到，需要被隐藏。快速浏览一下替补席和其他轮换球员，就会发现真的没有其他人能够高水平地防守对方箭头人物。布雷克·韦斯利(Blake Wesley)是最接近的。
索汉的篮板和积极拼抢也是类似的情况。即使有这位年轻的前锋在，马刺在保护对手的投篮不中和通过进攻篮板获得额外的球权方面充其量也只是平庸。没有他，在这两个方面都没有人能脱颖而出。哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)是一名出色的球员，但他从未有过特别高的积极性或对篮板球的渴望。凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)精力充沛，并且在他所处的位置上篮板球不错，但他的影响主要体现在进攻端，作为一名强硬的得分手。朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)和瓦塞尔打得像后卫，而且经常出现在外线。唯一一个在攻防两端都能提供稳固篮板球、持续移动和充沛精力的非中锋球员是桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利(Sandro Mamukelashvili)。他不在轮换阵容中。
如前所述，管理层犯了一个错误，没有其他球员能够完成索汉的大部分工作，或者至少有几名球员能够分别复制他最好的一个特点。这使得索汉，一个理论上拥有普通技能的球员，变得像球星或让特定体系运作的独特专家一样重要。用目前轮换阵容中的球员甚至无法组合模拟他的作用，因为没有足够体型来帮助抢篮板的对球防守者，也没有足够活力和身体素质来补充一些小个阵容的前锋。米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)可以更多地使用韦斯利和马穆克拉什维利，减少保罗和巴恩斯的上场时间，但这可能会导致其他问题。随着索汉的缺席，整个阵容缺乏多功能性和攻防两端的影响力已经变得不容忽视。
与此同时，也很难对总经理布莱恩·莱特(Brian Wright)和其他管理人员过于苛刻，因为尽管索汉的主要技能听起来很普通，但要找到一个能够像他一样出色地执行这些技能的人并不容易。NBA和世界各地的其他联赛都充斥着不会投篮但努力拼搏、防守出色、充满激情地抢篮板的锋线摇摆人，但由于他们的局限性，很多这样的球员都无法上场。圣安东尼奥曾拥有过一个低配版的索汉——凯塔·贝茨-迪奥普(Keita Bates-Diop)，尽管格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)尽力了，但他还是无法让他成为一名轮换球员。迈克尔·基德-吉尔克里斯特(Michael Kidd-Gilchrist)是那一届选秀的榜眼，却在26岁就离开了联盟。如果一个人不会投篮，仅仅在小事上做得扎实是不够的；他们需要像今年的索汉一样，做到精英级别或接近精英级别。
这是一个难以解决的问题。索汉会受伤，如果投篮没有进步，在面对某些球队时会被换下，所以马刺需要一个能做他所做的事情的人，或者几个球员的组合，他们能够提供他的作用而不会造成其他问题。与此同时，签下与索汉风格相似的球员将是一个错误，因为投篮太重要了。显而易见的答案是找到一个既能做索汉所做的事情又能投篮的人，这应该是目标，但这说起来容易做起来难，因为拥有所有这些技能的球员既有价值又稀有。
解决方案可能需要对阵容进行彻底的调整，重点放在多功能性上，但也可能只是耐心等待的问题。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)应该会成为马刺需要的那种对球防守者，而阵容的延续性可以帮助弥补防守漏洞。巴恩斯是一个很好的补充，但不是另一个前锋位置的长期解决方案，所以最终——很可能是通过选秀——他将被一个可能在篮板球方面做得更好的人取代。
目前，所能做的就是希望索汉尽快回归，并且不再遭受任何挫折。无论是因为糟糕的阵容构建，还是仅仅是因为处于重建中的球队自然存在的漏洞，他已经成为马刺不可或缺的一员。
点击查看原文：Why Jeremy Sochan has become irreplaceable for the Spurs
Why Jeremy Sochan has become irreplaceable for the Spurs
Sochan has a set of basic but valuable skills that should be more common on San Antonio’s roster.
Over the past five games, all of which Jeremy Sochan has missed, the Spurs rank dead last in defensive rating by a mile and 25th in offensive rebounding. The opponents’ main shot creator, whom Sochan often guards, has absolutely feasted on San Antonio’s perimeter defense.
The Silver and Black were at .500 when Sochan was sidelined and are three games below it now. They would have probably dropped most if not the same amount of games because they faced quality opponents in that stretch, but the way they have lost has made it clear that the Spurs need Sochan.
A team struggling after losing a starter is not surprising. The interesting part is that they need him so badly because they have no one else who can provide the rather ordinary skills that make the young forward so valuable in the context of this roster.
Sochan is one of the best players on the team, is young, and he occasionally makes plays that show how much untapped potential he still has. He also at this point mostly offers value as a point-of-attack defender and energetic rebounder, which are role-player skills. His absence shouldn’t be felt as much as it has. Normally, only centerpieces getting hurt unravels teams because those are the guys rosters are built around. It’s completely understandable for the Mavericks to struggle without Luka Doncic; he is their offense in a very real way. Even non-heliocentric attacks suffer when key players are out, and defenses that over-rely on one elite anchor that erases mistakes would obviously miss that presence. Some players simply have irreplaceable skills. Sochan, for as good as he is at what he does, shouldn’t be that type of player.
The problem is the Spurs don’t have other role players with similar traits, which feels like an oversight by the front office. Matchup stats show that Sochan spends most of the time on the other team’s main ball handler and creator, no matter their position. One conclusion from looking at that data is that Sochan is an extremely versatile perimeter defender, which is true. The more concerning conclusion is that San Antonio completely lacks anyone else who can do the job at a high level for extended periods. If Chris Paul and Devin Vassell could defend elite point guards and shooting guards, then Sochan wouldn’t need to do it, but they often can’t and need to be hidden. A quick glance at the bench and the other rotation players shows that there’s really no one else who can defend the point of attack at a high level. Blake Wesley comes the closest.
Something similar happens with Sochan’s rebounding and energy plays. Even with the young forward around, the Spurs are mediocre at best at securing opponent’s misses and getting extra possessions off offensive boards. Without him, no one stands out in either area. Harrison Barnes is a solid player, but he’s never had a particularly high motor or desire to attack the boards. Keldon Johnson is a ball of energy and rebounds well for his position, but his impact is mostly felt on the offensive end as a physical scorer. Julian Champagnie and Vassell play like guards and are often on the perimeter. The only non-center who offers solid rebounding on both ends and constant movement and energy is Sandro Mamukelashvili. He’s not in the rotation.
As mentioned, the front office made a mistake by not having anyone else who can do most of what Sochan does or at least several players who can each at least replicate one of his best traits. It made Sochan, a player who in theory has an ordinary skill set, as essential as a star or a unique specialist that makes a very particular system work. It’s impossible to even recreate him in the aggregate with the players currently in the rotation because there are no point-of-attack defenders with enough size to help on the boards or forwards with the high motor and physicality needed to complement some smaller lineups. Mitch Johnson could play Wesley and Mamukelashvili more and Paul and Barnes less, but that would likely cause other issues. The lack of versatility and two-way impact across the roster has become impossible to ignore with Sochan gone.
At the same time, it’s hard to be too harsh on General Manager Brian Wright and the rest of the executives, because as pedestrian as Sochan’s main skills can sound, finding someone who can perform them at the level Sochan does is not that easy. The NBA and other leagues around the world are filled with tweener forwards who can’t shoot but play hard, defend well and rebound with passion, but a lot of those guys are unplayable because of their limitations. San Antonio had a lesser version of Sochan in Keita Bates-Diop, and as much as Gregg Popovich tried, he couldn’t make him work as a rotation player. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was the second pick in his draft class and was out of the league at age 26. If someone can’t shoot, it’s not enough for them to be solid at the little things; they need to be elite or close to it, as Sochan has been this year.
It’s a tough issue to solve. Sochan will get injured and if the shot doesn’t develop, played off the floor against certain teams, so the Spurs need someone who can do what he does or a combination of players who can offer it without creating other issues. At the same time, signing someone with a similar game as Sochan would be a mistake because shooting is too important. The obvious answer is to get someone who can do what Sochan does and also shoot, and that should be the goal, but that is easier said than done, because a player with all those skills is valuable and rare.
The solution might require a dramatic overhaul of the roster with a focus on versatility, but it might also simply be a matter of patience. Stephon Castle should become the type of point-of-attack defender the Spurs need, and continuity could help plug defensive holes. Barnes has been a great addition but is not the long-term solution at the other forward spot, so eventually — and likely through the draft — he’ll get replaced with someone who might be better on the boards.
For now, all that can be done is hope Sochan returns soon and doesn’t suffer any more setbacks. Whether it happened because of poor roster building or just as a result of the natural holes that a team in the middle of a rebuild has, he has become irreplaceable for the Spurs.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock