By Mike Finger | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-02-20 17:05:15
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31日星期五在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的 Frost Bank Center 以 144-118 战胜密尔沃基雄鹿队后离开球场。
奥斯汀报道——格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的中风是轻微的。
维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)的血栓不被认为是会威胁职业生涯的。
这两句话包含了好消息，马刺队对此深表感激。
然而，这两句话仍然令人感到不安。
如果这两句话是关于球队中任何两个人说的，无论是负责卖爆米花还是在前台工作的，都会让人感到震惊。中风这件事没有轻重之分。深静脉血栓形成也不是什么稀松平常的事情。
而在这个马刺队赛季，现在可能将在球队中最重要的两个人缺席的情况下结束？
现在还没有真正松一口气的时候。
需要重申的是，波波维奇和文班亚马预计都会没事的。76岁的主教练波波维奇自11月初以来一直在从中风中恢复，同时与他的教练团队和球员保持联系。21岁的球队基石文班亚马可能会在下赛季开始时重返赛场。
但像星期四这样的日子会动摇球队的根基。而像本赛季这样的赛季，提供的视角比任何球队想要或需要的都要多。
原本这应该是一个一切都回归篮球的年份。随着文班亚马作为年度最佳新秀逐渐适应NBA，以及老将控球后卫克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)的加盟来教导年轻阵容如何获胜，马刺队已经准备好向前迈进一步。在多年主要关注球员培养之后，波波维奇也准备好在真正重要的比赛中再次布置战术。
然而，赛季开始不到一个月，波波维奇的中风迫使球队做出了一项没有人能够预料到的巨大临时调整。尽管从代理主教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)到他身边的人都处理得很好，但现在马刺队不得不做出另一项没人预料到的改变。
尽管球员们可能会坚持说不是这样，但本赛季最后两个月已经不再是争夺附加赛席位了。也不再是关于让文班亚马与达龙·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)建立化学反应。也不再是关于在阵容中拥有联盟最有前途的球星之一的情况下，定义他们在球场上的个性。
相反，最后这两个月将是搭建另一座通往未来的桥梁。
一座通往波波维奇可能回归的桥梁？
也许吧。
一座通往健康的文班亚马在下赛季开始时回归的桥梁？
马刺队当然希望如此。
令人鼓舞的消息是，球队并不认为本周在文班亚马右肩发现的深静脉血栓，与最终导致全明星球员克里斯·波什(Chris Bosh)退役的血栓问题相似。马刺队认为，更好的比较对象是布兰登·英格拉姆(Brandon Ingram)和奥萨尔·汤普森(Ausar Thompson)的病例，他们在被诊断出血栓后大约八个月都重返赛场。
汤普森与文班亚马同年被马刺队选中，去年3月9日缺席，错过了活塞队本赛季剩余的比赛，并于11月11日获得参加五对五比赛的医疗许可。如果文班亚马遵循同样的赛程，他或许可以参加今年10月的训练营。
与此同时，马刺队并不一定会被困住。本赛季剩余的比赛对卡斯尔，以及像德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)和杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)这样的角色球员来说仍然很重要。但当然，失去文班亚马改变了整个前景。
“相信我，你无法取代文班，”保罗周四说。“我不能站在一个人的肩膀上，盖掉每一个来到篮筐前的投篮。除了他的篮球能力之外，我认为我们最怀念的是他的人格魅力以及他给更衣室带来的东西。”
很有可能，在接下来的几周里，马刺队会发现他们怀念文班亚马的新理由，就像自11月以来他们一直被提醒他们怀念波波维奇的事情一样。他们都是巨人，不仅仅是在字面意义上，你不能只是掩盖他们的缺席，并期望一切都按计划进行。
现在，说了这么多之后呢？
当然，马刺队心存感激。波波维奇还在。如果一切都如所愿，文班亚马将会以最佳状态回归。马刺队以希望开始了本赛季，而周四并没有改变这一点。
至于那声松一口气？
文班亚马还需要一段时间。
马刺队也一样。
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama talks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama shown Feb, 12 against the Celtics in Boston. The game appears to be his last for the season, due to a blot clot in his shoulder the Spurs announced Thursday.
Chuck’s Global Stars’ Victor Wembanyama (1) gestures after sinking a basket against the Kenny’s Young Stars during Game 1 of the NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates as he comes off the court during the first half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich talks with forward Victor Wembanyama during a time out in the first half of their NBA game with the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Frost Bank Center on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. San Antonio beat Minnesota 113-112.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is introduced during the NBA All-Star basketball game Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) pulls down a rebound between Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun (31) and guard KJ Simpson during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
点击查看原文：Victor Wembanyama's loss another sobering turn in Spurs surreal season
Victor Wembanyama’s loss another sobering turn in Spurs surreal season
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) walks off the court following a 144-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Frost Bank Center on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas.
AUSTIN – Gregg Popovich’s stroke was mild.
Victor Wembanyama’s blood clot is not considered career-threatening.
Those two sentences contain good news, for which the Spurs are profoundly grateful.
Those two sentences are scary nonetheless.
Had those two sentences been uttered about any two members of the organization, from popcorn sales to the front office, they would have stopped people cold. There is no such thing as a routine stroke. There is no such thing as run-of-the-mill deep vein thrombosis.
And in a Spurs season that now might conclude without the two most important men in the franchise in their usual roles?
There is no such thing yet as a true sigh of relief.
It needs to be reiterated here that both Popovich and Wembanyama are expected to be OK. Popovich, the 76-year-old head coach, has been recovering from his stroke since early November, while staying in contact with his staff and players. Wembanyama, the 21-year-old organizational cornerstone, could be back in action to start next season.
But days like Thursday can shake a franchise to its core. And seasons like this one offer more perspective than any team wants or needs.
This was supposed to be the year when it was all about basketball again. With Wembanyama having gotten his NBA feet wet as the Rookie of the Year, and with veteran point guard Chris Paul in the fold to teach a young roster how to win, the Spurs were ready to take a step forward. And after years of focusing mainly on development, Popovich was ready to call plays in games that actually mattered again.
Less than a month into the season, though, Popovich’s stroke forced the organization to make a massive on-the-fly adjustment nobody could have anticipated. And as well as everyone handled it, from acting head coach Mitch Johnson to those around him, now the Spurs have to make another change no one saw coming.
As much as the players might insist otherwise, the final two months of the season aren’t about vying for the play-in tournament anymore. They’re no longer about letting Wembanyama build chemistry with De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. They’re no longer about defining their on-court personality with one of the league’s most promising stars in the middle of their lineup.
Instead, these final two months will be about building yet another bridge to what’s next.
A bridge to a possible Popovich return?
Perhaps.
A bridge to getting a healthy Wembanyama back for the start of next season?
The Spurs sure hope so.
The encouraging news there is that the organization does not believe the deep vein thrombosis discovered in Wembanyama’s right shoulder this week is similar to the blood-clot issue that eventually caused perennial All-Star Chris Bosh to retire. Better comparison, the Spurs believe, are the cases of Brandon Ingram and Ausar Thompson, who both returned to action in about eight months following their blood-clot diagnoses.
Thompson, who was drafted by Detroit the same year the Spurs selected Wembanyama, was sidelined last March 9, missed the rest of the season for the Pistons, and was medically cleared for five-on-five action on Nov. 11. If Wembanyama follows that same schedule, he could be able to participate in training camp this October.
In the meantime, the Spurs aren’t necessarily stuck. The rest of this season still can be important for Castle, and for supporting-cast members like Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan. But of course losing Wembanyama changes the entire outlook.
“Trust me, you can’t replace Vic,” Paul said Thursday. “I can’t stand on a guy’s shoulders and block every shot that comes to the rim. And aside from his basketball ability, his charisma and what he brings into the locker room, I think is what we’ll miss the most.”
Chances are, there will be moments in the next few weeks when the Spurs will discover new reasons why they miss Wembanyama, the same way they kept being reminded of things they missed about Popovich since November. Those are giants, in more than one sense of the word, and you can’t just plaster over their absences and expect everything to keep going as planned.
Now, with all that being said?
Of course the Spurs are grateful. Popovich is still around. If everything goes as hoped, Wembanyama will be back as good as new. The Spurs began this season with hope, and Thursday didn’t change that.
But as for that sigh of relief?
Wembanyama will need a while for that.
The Spurs will, too.
By Mike Finger, via San Antonio Express-News