By Jacob Douglas | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-02-09 00:57:30
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。
达龙·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)不应该总是需要拯救前三节表现糟糕的圣安东尼奥。
在以116-117惜败于夏洛特黄蜂的比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺的努力显得为时已晚。诚然，看到福克斯在关键时刻挺身而出，几乎为马刺赢下比赛令人激动。但说实话，他们本不应该陷入需要英雄挺身而出的境地。如果马刺想要打进季后赛，这些比赛就必须以压倒性的优势取胜。
这并非对黄蜂不敬。他们打出了一场精彩的比赛，展现了本赛季大部分时间里都难以看到的投篮能力。但马刺却让一支缺少多名关键球员的12胜球队在周五晚上的大部分时间里予取予求。他们经常漏掉射手，让对手轻易突破，并让夏洛特抢到前场篮板。在大部分时间里，圣安东尼奥在争抢五五开球权时总是慢人一步。一支天赋不足的球队就是这样占据上风的。
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)表示，马刺“低估”了黄蜂。圣安东尼奥的主教练，米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)，则将原因归咎于缺乏身体对抗。这些说法似乎都属实，但在福克斯加盟圣安东尼奥的前两场比赛中，也浮现出一个潜在的问题——这次引援带来了一些明显的阵容问题。
由福克斯、克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)、德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)、哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)和维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)组成的首发阵容，在22分钟内，进攻效率为124.5（不错），防守效率为147.8（非常糟糕），净效率为-23.3。虽然样本量很小，但福克斯/保罗组合的效果与预期基本一致。他们在进攻端表现相当稳定，但在防守端却惨不忍睹。夏洛特无情地攻击保罗，尤其是当他对位迈尔斯·布里奇斯(Miles Bridges)时，这使得后者以25分领衔黄蜂的得分。
我理解让保罗首发并打较长时间的必要性。他来到圣安东尼奥是为了打球，而不是当导师。他一直是本赛季球队中最有效的球员之一。但当像卡斯尔和杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)这样的球员在替补席上表现如此出色时，继续让他和福克斯搭档就变得难以自圆其说。让一名身材较小的控球后卫和四名能够防守并为球队提供所需体型的侧翼/内线球员一起首发和结束比赛更有意义。
这个阵容是马刺输给夏洛特的原因吗？不是的。事实上，可能是卡斯尔的关键防守失误导致了布里奇斯的大空位三分，从而让夏洛特领先，而不是保罗。但如果这支球队想要优化目前的阵容，那么错开保罗和福克斯的上场时间，而不是让他们同时上场，会更有意义。这仅仅是两场比赛，也许一周后这看起来会是过度反应。但也许输给夏洛特正是整个球队所需要的警钟，以使球队为潜在的季后赛之旅做好准备。
要点总结
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卡斯尔在周五表现出色。他在比赛末段的防守失误不应掩盖他那个令人难以置信的夜晚。他是少数几个积极冲击内线的马刺球员之一，也是唯一一个持续这样做的球员，最终替补出场砍下33分。他在篮筐周围的力量和意识继续给人留下深刻印象。他最近的表现可能正是他在最佳新秀的竞争中脱颖而出所需要的。关于他是否能成为一名球星的讨论已经很多。在对阵夏洛特的比赛中，他看起来确实像一个球星。
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索汉应该获得更多的上场时间。让他每晚的上场时间少于28分钟对球队来说是一种损害。他总是能通过在篮板和防守端的积极性来创造机会。在进攻端，他的空切和终结能力为马刺提供了在篮筐周围所需的进攻威胁，尤其是在文班亚马在 perimeter 附近游弋时。如果索汉仍然受到上场时间的限制，那也无可厚非。但他已经缺席数周，如果球队想要冲击附加赛，他们需要他。
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文班亚马可能需要再休息一个晚上。自从上周生病以来，他看起来精疲力尽。他不再能全场奔跑了。他没有在深远的防守位置干扰投篮，而黄蜂队就惩罚了这一点。他在进攻端也无法在内线发挥作用。不幸的是，他是目前阵容中唯一可用的中锋，因为他的身体状况明显不佳。
点击查看原文：What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Hornets
What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Hornets
De’Aaron Fox shouldn’t have to save San Antonio from three-quarters of bad play.
It was too little, too late for the San Antonio Spurs in a 117-116 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Yeah, it was exciting to see De’Aaron Fox come alive in the clutch and nearly win the game for the Spurs. But if we’re being honest, they probably shouldn’t have been in that position where they needed a hero to begin with. These are the games San Antonio has to win resoundingly if the Spurs are going to make the playoffs.
This is no disrespect to the Hornets. They played a great game and showed shot-making ability that has eluded them for most of the season. But the Spurs let a 12-win team missing multiple key players walk all over them for much of Friday night. They routinely lost shooters, gave up dribble drives, and surrendered offensive rebounds to Charlotte. San Antonio was slow to most 50-50 balls for most of the game. That’s how a team with a talent deficiency ends up on top.
Stephon Castle said the Spurs “underestimated” the Hornets. San Antonio’s head coach, Mitch Johnson, blamed a lack of physicality. Those things seem to be true, but there has been a bubbling theme in the first two games of the Fox era in San Antonio – the acquisition creates some clear lineup issues.
The starting lineup of Fox, Chris Paul, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, and Victor Wembanyama has a 124.5 offensive rating (good) and 147.8 defensive rating (very bad) with a -23.3 net rating in 22 minutes. It’s a small sample size, but the results of the Fox/CP3 combo have been about what you’d expect. They are pretty solid offensively and atrocious defensively. Charlotte attacked Paul relentlessly, especially when he matched up with Miles Bridges, allowing the swingman to lead the Hornets in scoring with 25 points.
I understand that there is a clear imperative for Paul to start and play heavy minutes. He came to San Antonio to play, not mentor. He has been one of their most effective players this season. But it becomes harder to justify his minutes alongside Fox when guys like Castle and Jeremy Sochan are playing so well off the bench. It just makes more sense to start and finish games with one smaller ball handler and four wings/bigs that can defend and give the team some needed size.
Was this lineup the reason the Spurs lost to Charlotte? No. In fact, it was likely Castle who made the key defensive mistake that led to Bridges’ wide-open three to put Charlotte ahead, not Paul. But if this team is trying to optimize the current roster, it makes sense to stagger Paul and Fox’s minutes more than they play together. It’s only been two games, and this may look like an overreaction in a week. But maybe losing to Charlotte is the wake-up call the whole organization needed to whip the team into shape for a potential playoff run.
Takeaways
- Castle was special on Friday. His defensive lapse near the end of the game shouldn’t dampen what was otherwise an incredible night. He was one of the few Spurs aggressively attacking the paint and the only one doing it consistently, leading to 33 points off the bench. His strength and savvy around the basket continue to impress. His recent stretch of play may be just what he needs to set himself apart in the Rookie of The Year race. There has been a lot of talk about whether or not he can become a star. He sure looked like one against Charlotte.
- Sochan deserves more playing time. It’s an active detriment to the team to play him less than 28 minutes a night. He’s always making things happen with his activity on the glass and defensive end. Offensively, his cutting and finishing give the Spurs a needed presence around the basket, especially when Wembanyama floats around the perimeter. If Sochan is still on a minutes restriction, fair enough. But it’s been weeks now since he was out and the team needs him if they are going to make a run at the play-in.
- Wembanyama probably needs another rest night. He’s looked gassed since going down with an illness last week. He’s not running end-to-end anymore. He’s not contesting shots in the deep drop, which the Hornets punished. He’s not making an impact on the game inside offensively. It’s unfortunate he’s the only available center on the roster right now because he’s clearly not right physically.
By Jacob Douglas, via Pounding The Rock