By Jacob Douglas | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-02-21 22:00:00
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。
献给在艰难时刻寻找希望的马刺球迷。
对于圣安东尼奥马刺队的球迷来说，这消息犹如晴天霹雳。 维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama) 将因右肩深静脉血栓缺席2024-25赛季剩余的比赛。充满无限可能的赛季，就此急转直下。
现在，马刺队陷入困境。他们落后附加赛资格3.5个胜场，而 俾斯麦·比永博(Bismack Biyombo) 是阵容中唯一活跃的中锋。本赛季余下的前景一片黯淡。然而，情况本可能更糟。
首先，关于文班亚马伤病的所有信息都表明，他躲过了一场严重的伤病。据马刺队和球队内部人士的消息，他们很早就发现了文班亚马的伤情。现在还处于早期阶段，但所有迹象似乎都表明这位21岁的年轻人避免了更严重的伤病。他不得不缺席本赛季剩余比赛的原因是，他需要在康复期间服用血液稀释剂，这将限制他的身体活动和旅行能力。
他也不是第一个遭遇这种伤病的球员。 布兰登·英格拉姆(Brandon Ingram) 也曾遇到过类似的问题，从2018-19赛季开始缺席了7个月，然后复出后没有再次出现问题。有些人担心文班亚马可能存在某种潜在的医疗问题，导致血栓复发，就像迫使 克里斯·波什(Chris Bosh) 退役那样，但同样，球队没有表示任何担忧，并声明这是一起孤立事件。时间会证明一切，但文班亚马有可能只是遇到了一个小小的挫折，而不是一个长期的顽疾。
球队进入附加赛的机会很可能已经破灭。没有文班亚马，马刺队将依靠他们的新星 达龙·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox) 来保持体面的比赛水准。福克斯也一直受到手指伤病的困扰，这可能会需要在休赛期进行手术。现在，提前进行手术并让他本赛季报销可能更明智。
目前，马刺队在2025年选秀中获得状元签的几率排名第10。他们有13.9%的机会获得前四顺位的选秀权。有人称这次选秀为“人才济济”，但真正指的是排在最前面的大约有4-5名球员具有极高的潜力。现在可能是马刺队采取行动，争取进入这个选秀范围的时候了。马刺队领先于费城76人队四个胜场，后者在选秀中获得第六好顺位的几率，并且有34.8%的机会进入前四。没有文班亚马，甚至可能没有福克斯，圣安东尼奥可能会如愿以偿。
在这样的时刻谈论摆烂让人感到沮丧，但为了收获大奖，这个过程是值得的。 库珀·弗拉格(Cooper Flagg) 在杜克大学的表现堪称惊艳。由福克斯、 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle) 、弗拉格和文班亚马组成的核心阵容，将立即成为联盟中最令人兴奋的组合。弗拉格将使马刺队成为一支可怕的防守球队，并且将是与文班和福克斯搭档的完美激进型侧翼。即使他们没有获得状元签， 迪伦·哈珀(Dylan Harper) 、 艾斯·贝利(Ace Bailey) 和 V.J. 埃奇科姆(V.J. Edgecombe) 也将是马刺队的绝佳补充。圣安东尼奥正处于领先地位，可以为他们的年轻核心阵容再添一名球星。
最终，对于卡斯尔、 杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan) 和 德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell) 来说，这可能是一次很好的经验，他们将需要在文班亚马缺席期间挺身而出，扮演关键角色。这意味着卡斯尔将获得更多的持球机会，他应该比同龄人更有优势赢得年度最佳新秀。索汉可能会获得更多的上场时间，并有机会在一支需要他做很多不同事情的球队中展示他的多功能性。对于球队中的其他球员来说，这将是证明他们有资格长期留在马刺队的关键时刻。
再美好的粉饰也无法掩盖一个糟糕的消息。文班亚马因如此可怕的伤病缺席本赛季剩余的比赛，让人难以接受。然而，圣安东尼奥似乎躲过了一劫，并且仍然拥有从这样的打击中恢复过来的资产和基础设施。本赛季的目标从来都不是赢得总冠军。如果文班亚马保持健康，并且他们能够从糟糕的处境中有所收获，那么他们仍然很有可能在未来竞争总冠军。
点击查看原文：Looking for hope in the face of the Victor Wembanyama injury
Looking for hope in the face of the Victor Wembanyama injury
For Spurs fans looking for some good news in a tough time.
The news hit like a shotgun blast to the chest for San Antonio Spurs fans. Victor Wembanyama will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Just like that, a season filled with possibilities took a dark turn.
Now the Spurs are left scrambling. They are 3.5 games out of a Play-In spot, with Bismack Biyombo as the only active center on the roster. It’s a bleak outlook for the rest of this season. Yet, things could be much, much worse.
First, all of the messaging around Wembanyama’s injury indicates that he’s missed a serious injury. According to the Spurs and reports from people close to the team, they caught Wembanyama’s injury early in the process. It’s still early, but all accounts seem to point to the 21-year-old avoiding a more serious injury. The reason he has to sit out for the rest of the season is the blood-thinning medication he will need to take in the recovery which will restrict his physical activity and ability to travel.
He’s also not the first player to experience the injury. Brandon Ingram had a similar issue, missed 7 months starting in the 2018-19 season, and then came back with no repeat problems. Some have expressed concerns that Wembanyama could have some sort of underlying medical issue that causes repeat blood clots, like what forced Chris Bosh to retire, but again, the team has not expressed any concerns and stated this is an isolated incident. Time will tell, but there is a chance this is just a bump in the road for Wembanyama, and won’t be a long-term nagging injury.
The team’s Play-In chances are likely dead. Without Wembanyama the Spurs will rely on their new superstar De’Aaron Fox to keep them playing respectable basketball. Fox also has been dealing with a nagging finger injury that could potentially warrant surgery in the offseason. Now it may be prudent to move that surgery up and shut him down for the rest of the year.
As it stands, the Spurs have the 10th-best odds at the number one overall pick in the 2025 draft. They have a 13.9% chance of landing a top-4 pick. This draft has been called “loaded,” but what that really means is there are about 4-5 players at the top of it that have high-level potential. Now may be the time for the Spurs to make a move toward getting a selection in that range. The Spurs are four games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers, who hold the 6th best odds in the draft and a 34.8% chance of landing in the top 4. Without Wembanyama and potentially Fox, San Antonio could get there.
It’s a bummer to talk about tanking at a time like this, but the prize is worth the process. Cooper Flagg has been nothing short of spectacular at Duke. A core consisting of Fox, Stephon Castle, Flagg, and Wembanyama would instantly become the most exciting in the league. Flagg would make the Spurs a terrifying defensive unit and would be the perfect aggressive wing to play alongside Wemby and Fox. Even if they don’t land the number one pick, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, and V.J. Edgecombe would be terrific additions to the Spurs. San Antonio is in the driver’s seat to add yet another stud to their young core.
Ultimately, this may be a good experience for the likes of Castle, Jeremy Sochan, and Devin Vassell, who will need to step up and play key roles in Wembanyama’s absence. That means more on-ball reps for Castle, who should have the advantage over his peers for Rookie of the Year. Sochan will likely get more playing time and has a chance to show off his versatility for a team that will need him to do a lot of different things. This will be a crucial time for the rest of the team to show they belong with the Spurs long-term.
There is no sugarcoating an awful bit of news. Wembanyama missing the rest of the season with an injury as scary as this one is a tough pill to swallow. However, San Antonio seems to have dodged a major bullet and still has the assets and infrastructure to recover from a blow like this. It was never about winning a championship this season. If Wembanyama is healthy and they can make good out of a bad situation, there is a real chance they’ll still be in a good spot to compete for a title down the road.
By Jacob Douglas, via Pounding The Rock