By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-02-20 14:04:17
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。
圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马 (1) 在2025年1月25日星期六于巴黎举行的巴黎奥运会NBA篮球赛下半场与印第安纳步行者队的后卫克里斯·保罗 (3) 交谈。(美联社图片/蒂博·卡穆)
奥斯汀 – 克里斯·保罗和他的队友们都明白，马刺队不可能制定出一个可以替代维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)这种级别的球员的计划。
“相信我，你无法取代文班，”他说。“我不可能站在别人的肩膀上，盖掉所有到篮筐的投篮。”
马刺队周四上午宣布，他们身高7英尺3的全明星中锋，在攻防两端都极具统治力，并且被誉为勒布朗·詹姆斯退役后NBA的下一张面孔，由于被诊断出右肩深静脉血栓，将缺席本赛季剩余的比赛。
这种情况是在他上周日从旧金山的全明星赛返回圣安东尼奥后被发现的。
文班亚马的队友们在周四上午的球队会议上得知了这位21岁法国人的病情，会议是为了准备当晚在穆迪体育馆对阵菲尼克斯的比赛。
他们立即开始互相支持，表现出一种比赛必须继续的精神。
“我们很多人在一起的时间比和家人在一起的时间还多，所以我们成为了一个家庭，”保罗说。“所以在看待生活和它的意义时，你会保持客观。但是当比赛来临时，就像我说的，我们有工作要做。那是让我们把一切都抛到脑后，这样我们才能竞争，才能打我们热爱的比赛。”
39岁的未来名人堂成员保罗在赛前演练后接受了记者的采访。
在首先表达了他和他的队友对文班亚马的深切关注之后，这位职业生涯20年的老将谈到了球队计划如何在没有文班亚马以及查尔斯·巴锡(Charles Bassey)的阵容下继续本赛季的比赛，巴锡是替补中锋，他在2月3日对阵亚特兰大的比赛中遭遇了内侧副韧带扭伤。
马刺队在巴锡受伤后表示乐观，认为他可以在全明星赛后复出，但他们在周三晚上宣布他将缺席周四的比赛。
“这是个好问题，”保罗在谈到球队的计划时说。“我们都会在前进的过程中尝试解决这个问题。”
在巴锡倒下后，马刺队签下了流浪大个子俾斯麦·比永博，这是一份为期10天的合同，原定于周四的比赛后到期。但是比永博尚未在马刺队完成首秀，马刺队一直在使用小球阵容，当文班亚马下场时，由杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)和哈里森·巴恩斯担任中锋。
结果是，他们一直处于篮板劣势，并且经常在争夺二次进攻得分时表现不佳。
一种解决方案是更加坚定地执行小球战术，这将需要更多地让新秀替补后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)与保罗和最近获得的控球后卫达龙·福克斯一起上场。
有一件事是肯定的：对手不会因为马刺队的倒霉而放他们一马。
“没有人会同情我们，”保罗说。“现在球员们可以进入内线而不看到文班在那里，他们绝对不会为此感到恼火。所以，我们只需要想办法以其他方式影响比赛。”
保罗还说，马刺队（23胜29负）仍然致力于争取进入附加赛。他们在周四的比赛开始前落后金州勇士队3.5场，后者排名西部联盟第10位。
“这就是计划，”当被问及球队是否仍然可以获得附加赛席位时，保罗说。
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) talks with guard Chris Paul (3) and guard Devin Vassell (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) stands with guard Chris Paul (3) during the second half of their NBA game with the Memphis Grizzlies at the Frost Bank Center on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 in San Antonio. Memphis beat the Spurs 140-112.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Victor Wembanyama #1 and Chris Paul #3 of the San Antonio Spurs high five during the first quarter of the game against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center on January 19, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 25: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers is defended by Chris Paul #3, Tre Jones #33, and Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the second quarter at The Accor Arena on January 25, 2025 in Paris, France.
点击查看原文：Spurs determined to carry on without Victor Wembanyama
Spurs determined to carry on without Victor Wembanyama
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) talks with guard Chris Paul (3) during the second half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
AUSTIN – Chris Paul and his teammates understand there is no conceivable plan the Spurs can come up with to replace a player of Victor Wembanyama’s magnitude.
“Trust me, you can’t replace Vic,” he said. “I can’t stand on a guy’s shoulders and block every shot that comes to the rim.”
The Spurs announced Thursday morning their 7-foot-3 All-Star center – a force on both ends of the court who is being touted as the next face of the NBA after LeBron James retires – is out for the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
The condition was discovered after he returned to San Antonio from playing in the All-Star Game last Sunday in San Francisco.
Wembanyama’s teammates learned of the 21-year-old Frenchman’s condition at a team meeting before their shootaround Thursday morning in preparation for that night’s game against Phoenix at Moody Coliseum.
Immediately, they began to rally around each other in a show-must-go-on approach.
“A lot of us are together more than we’re actually with our own families, so we become a family,” Paul said. “So you keep things in perspective as far as life and what it means. But when the game comes around, like I said, we got a job to do. That’s a time for us to get everything off of our mind actually so we can compete and play this game we love.”
Paul, the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer, spoke to reporters after the walkthrough.
After first expressing the deep concern he and his teammates harbor for Wembanyama, the 20th-year pro addressed how the team plans to continue the season without Wembanyama and a frontcourt also depleted by the sprained medial collateral ligament backup center Charles Bassey suffered Feb. 3 in a game against Atlanta.
The Spurs had expressed optimism after Bassey’s injury that he would be able to return after the All-Star break, but they ruled him out for Thursday’s game Wednesday night.
“That’s a good question,” Paul said of the team’s plans. “We all going to try to figure this thing out as we go.”
The Spurs added journeyman big man Bismack Biyombo after Bassey went down on a 10-day contract that was set to expire after Thursday’s game. But Biyombo has yet to make his debut with the Spurs, who have used a small-ball lineup featuring Jeremy Sochan and Harrison Barnes at center when Wembanyama is on the bench.
As a result, they have been consistently out-rebounded and have come up well short on many nights in the battle for second-chance points.
One solution is to make an even bigger commitment to playing small, which would require playing rookie reserve guard Stephon Castle together more with Paul and recently acquired point guard De’Aaron Fox.
One thing is certain: Opponents aren’t going to give the Spurs a pass just because of their bad luck.
“No one is going to feel sorry for us,” Paul said. “The fact that guys get to go into the lane now and not see Vic in there, they’re definitely not going to be mad about it. So, we just got to figure out how to affect the game in other ways.”
Paul also said the Spurs (23-29) remain committed to trying to secure a berth in the play-in tournament. They entered Thursday’s game 3½ games behind Golden State for the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference.
“That’s the plan,” Paul said when asked if the team can still gain a play-in berth.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News