By Charlie Thaddeus | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-02-07 02:43:19
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。
焕然一新的马刺队奠定了基调。
如果说还有什么的话，那就是这将会非常有趣。当然，我们不能仅凭一场对阵老鹰的比赛，就预测 达龙·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox) 时代的全部。前方肯定会有许多起伏、障碍和转折，而且如果过去一周的NBA新闻有任何预示的话，所有这些都将以一种完全平静、冷静，且一点也不疯狂的速度展开。然而，如果说从这第一个夜晚我们能绝对肯定地说一件事，那就是拥有福克斯为马刺队打球将会非常有趣。
感觉立刻就不一样了。开场后不久，球队就有一种明显的活力，这似乎是最近所缺失的。这可以归因于新成员的加入带来的兴奋吗？当然，但这并不能解释一切。球队的移动方式不同了——更流畅、更动态。没有像我们本赛季已经习惯的那种缓慢而刻意的累积。相反，似乎每次我们的球员拿到球，他们都准备好冲向球场。
福克斯很有活力。当他移动时，就好像鞋子里的小弹簧让他不断地上下弹跳。他似乎片刻都无法静止，因为那一刻可能就是他需要去其他地方的时刻。他疯狂地移动——向前和向后，向左和向右——无论是否带球。他总是处于运动状态，总是迫使防守去应对他。这就是改变游戏规则的人。在过去的一个半赛季里，马刺队一直围绕一个非常具体、非常高大且非常法国的重心打球。昨晚呢？一颗新的行星进入了太阳系。
维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama) 昨晚并没有打出他最好的比赛。这是那种B级的两双，你可以看出他并没有完全掌控自己的力量，但他仍然贡献了令人印象深刻的 23 分和 12 个篮板。即使我们的这位法国巨人没有发挥出 100% 的水平，观看他和福克斯在球场上相互试探也令人着迷。他们的挡拆配合就像两个人在第一次约会——有时很尴尬，但也有化学反应的闪光点。你已经可以看到一段非常特殊的合作关系的雏形。他们都非常具有活力，以至于感觉他们的节奏同步只是时间问题。
但最重要的是，你可以看到马刺队在球场上的空间看起来与很长一段时间以来都不同。 德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell) 获得了一些他很久没有得到过的空位机会。 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle) 找到了以前不存在的空间。球队最近防守马刺队的方式似乎发生了变化，突然之间，我们的球员有了更多的喘息空间。
再说一次，我不会坐在这里说我们可以放松一下，享受一场基于48分钟篮球比赛的季后赛之旅。如果说有什么的话，下半场就显示了当这支球队将目光从道路上移开时，他们的弱点是多么容易被利用。但这是一个有趣的预览，它展示了球队可以以一种比他们之前更高上限的方式进行比赛。
福克斯不会是马刺队拼图的最后一块，但他无疑是这个过程中急需的一剂强心针。我很高兴终于能把头从交易截止日的延长宇宙中拔出来，看看这些家伙在球场上真正能做什么。就像我说的那样，我还不了解太多。我只知道昨晚很开心。
我准备好投入到乐趣中去了。
收获
- 好吧，作为一名普通的NBA球迷，这些年来我看了很多福克斯打球。我不会说我看了每一场国王队的比赛，但我看过不少。我对他的比赛足够熟悉，以至于对这笔交易的前景感到兴奋，以及他在阵容中能为球队带来什么。我不太了解的是福克斯的个性。事实上，在本周之前，我认为我从未真正听过他说话。所以，像你们中的许多人一样，我基本上对福克斯的体验会是什么样一无所知。早期的回报？他真是令人印象深刻。他带到球场上的那种充满活力的能量似乎每次他说话时都会溢出到他的个性中。这很有感染力。他还带着一种我没有准备好的权威感。我太习惯了我们的年轻球员以一种谨慎、谦逊、恭敬的方式接受采访——基本上，非常“马刺”式。另一方面，福克斯已经准备好上场了。他已经在联盟待了七年了，虽然这可能是他第一次“Rodeo Road Trip”，但这肯定不是他第一次参加“rodeo”（类似斗牛表演，此处的引申含义是经历大场面）。
- 我很着迷于看到 克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul) 在这支新版本的马刺队中会是什么样子。他一直在有条不紊地将球队打造成一支受人尊敬的队伍。他们需要结构，需要有人来指挥交通。鉴于他所拥有的身体条件，这意味着放慢速度，让球队进入战术体系，并确保每个人都在他们需要去的地方。那么，当你把像福克斯这样的曼妥思放入那瓶可乐中会发生什么呢？毫不奇怪，保罗非常擅长将这个新元素融入其中。从一开始，他似乎就让每个人都更快地释放出来，把球传出去并跑起来。马刺队减少了回撤，直接开始行动。克里斯没有要求自己带球过半场，而是经常将球传给福克斯，让他向前冲。他已经足够长的时间了，可以信任福克斯来处理这个问题，让他做自己的事情，而不是强迫他做其他事情。再次强调，现在还为时过早，所以我们不会立即挂起“任务完成”的横幅，但观看这个新版本的进攻展开将会令人兴奋，我很高兴看到克里斯来促进它。
- 我们的孩子斯蒂芬·卡斯尔昨晚有一些真正的新秀时刻。有一些表现突出了他还没有完全完成，每个人都应该冷静下来。但他也做了一些非常酷的事情，我拒绝冷静下来。他在人群中完成的那个双手灌篮让我从沙发上站起来，对着月亮嚎叫。他的所有三个助攻都表现出了老将的精明，这掩盖了他作为一名仍在摸索的新秀的真实本质。在下一场比赛之前，我会一直谈论他给 朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie) 的横穿球场的传球，因为卡斯尔不可避免地会做一些同样酷的事情。冷静下来是给失败者准备的。
城堡之王。https://t.co/pKNVf8D5o9 pic.twitter.com/kwLG5sPMCl
— 圣安东尼奥马刺队 (@ spurs) 2025年2月6日
WWL赛后新闻发布会
- 这个交易截止日真的有点疯狂，是吗？
- 是我记忆中最疯狂的交易截止日。
- 当总决赛对阵是凯尔特人队对阵雷霆队时，可能会感觉有点傻。
- 非常傻。我很高兴我们花了一整周的时间谈论像 凯文·杜兰特(Kevin Durant) 不想为勇士队效力这样的事情，而不是超级碗。
- 这周有超级碗吗？
- 据说有。
点击查看原文：What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Hawks
What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Hawks
New look Spurs set the tone.
If nothing else, this is going to be fun. Of course, we can’t project everything that’s going to happen in the De’Aaron Fox era based on a single night against Atlanta. There will be plenty of bumps and snags and twists ahead, and if the past week of NBA news is any indication, it will all unfold at a totally calm, chill, and not at all insane pace. However, if there’s one thing we can say with absolute certainty from this first night, it’s that having De’Aaron Fox play basketball for the Spurs is going to be fun.
It felt different right away. Within moments of tip-off, the team had a palpable sense of energy that seemed to be missing recently. Could this be attributed to the excitement of a new addition? Sure, but that doesn’t explain everything. The team moved differently—more fluidly, more dynamically. There was no slow, deliberate buildup like we’ve become accustomed to this season. Instead, it seemed like every time our guys got the ball, they were ready to explode up the court.
Fox has bounce. When he moves, it’s as if little springs inside his shoes keep him bobbing up and down. He can’t seem to sit still for even a moment, because that might be the exact moment he needs to be somewhere else. He shifts wildly—forward and back, left and right—with or without the ball. He’s always in motion, always forcing the defense to reckon with him. That’s the game-changer. Over the past season and a half, the Spurs have played with a very specific, very tall, and very French center of gravity. Last night? A new planet entered the solar system.
Victor didn’t have his best game last night. It was one of those B-grade double-doubles where you can tell he’s not fully in control of his powers, yet he still puts up an impressive 23 points and 12 rebounds. Even with our giant Frenchman operating at less than 100%, it was fascinating to watch him and Fox feel each other out on the court. Their pick-and-roll game was like two people on a first date—awkward at times, but with flashes of chemistry. You could already see the makings of a pretty special partnership. They’re both so dynamic that it feels like only a matter of time before their rhythms sync up.
More than anything, though, you could see the spacing on the court look different for the Spurs than it has in a long time. Devin Vassell was getting open looks he hasn’t had in a while. Stephon Castle was finding pockets of space that didn’t exist before. The way teams had been defending the Spurs recently seemed to shift, and suddenly, our guys had more breathing room.
Again, I’m not going to sit here and say we can kick back and enjoy a playoff run based on 48 minutes of basketball. If anything, the second half showed just how easily this team’s weaknesses can be exploited when they take their eyes off the road. But this was a fun preview of what could be. It showed a way the team could play with a significantly higher ceiling than what they were doing before.
De’Aaron Fox isn’t going to be the final piece of the Spurs puzzle, but he’s undoubtedly a much-needed shot in the arm for this process. I’m thrilled to finally take my head out of the Trade Deadline Extended Universe and see what these guys are truly capable of on the court. Like I said, I don’t know much yet. I just know last night was fun.
I’m ready to lean into fun.
Takeaways
- Okay, so I’ve watched De’Aaron Fox play plenty of basketball over the years as a casual NBA fan. I wouldn’t say I’ve watched every Kings game, but I’ve seen my fair share. I was familiar enough with his game to feel excited about the prospect of this trade and what having him on the roster could do for this team. What I hadn’t seen much of was De’Aaron Fox’s personality. In fact, before this week, I don’t think I had ever really heard him talk. So, like many of you, I was pretty much going in blind about what the De’Aaron Fox experience would be like. Early returns? Boy is he impressive. That same bouncy energy he brings to the court seems to spill over into his personality every time he speaks. It’s electric. He also carries himself with a level of authority I wasn’t prepared for. I’m so used to our young guys giving interviews in a measured, humble, deferential way—basically, very Spursy. Fox, on the other hand, is coming in ready to roll. He’s been in the league for seven years now, and while this might be his first Rodeo Road Trip, it’s certainly not his first rodeo.
- I was fascinated to see what Chris Paul looks like in this new version of the Spurs. He’s been methodically building the team into a respectable unit all year. They needed structure, someone to direct traffic. Given what he had to work with physically, that meant slowing things down, getting the team into sets, and making sure everyone was where they needed to be. So what happens when you drop a Mentos like De’Aaron Fox into that proverbial bottle of Coke? Unsurprisingly, CP3 was awesome at incorporating this new element into the mix. Right from the start, he seemed to turn everyone loose a little quicker, getting the ball out and running. The Spurs pulled back less and just got going. Chris didn’t demand to bring the ball up, instead often flipping it out to Fox and letting him race ahead. He’s been around long enough to trust Fox to handle it, allowing him to do his thing instead of forcing him into something else. Again, it’s early days, so we won’t throw up the Mission Accomplished banner just yet, but it’s going to be exciting to watch this new version of the offense unfold, and I’m excited to see Chris facilitate it.
- Our boy Stephon Castle had some real rookie moments last night. There were some plays that highlighted he’s not quite a finished product and that everyone should calm down. But he also did some incredibly cool things that I refuse to calm down about. That two-handed dunk in traffic made me stand up from my couch and howl at the moon. All three of his assists displayed veteran savvy that belied his true nature as a rookie still figuring things out. I won’t stop talking about that cross-court pass to Julian Champagnie for three until the next game, when Castle inevitably does something equally cool. Calming down is for suckers.
KING. OF. THE. CASTLE. https://t.co/pKNVf8D5o9 pic.twitter.com/kwLG5sPMCl
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) February 6, 2025
WWL Post Game Press Conference
- This trade deadline really was kind of bananas, yes?
- As #bananas of a trade deadline that I can remember.
- Probably going to feel a little silly when the Finals matchup is just Celtics Vs. Thunder.
- Extremely silly. I’m just glad we spent all week talking about things like Kevin Durant not wanting to play for the Warriors instead of the Super Bowl.
- There’s a Super Bowl this week?
- Allegedly.
By Charlie Thaddeus, via Pounding The Rock