By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-03-14 10:29:01
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。
失去福克斯令人惋惜，但马刺的乐透抽签概率可能因此提高，并将有机会专注于球员发展。
仅仅打了 17 场比赛，德阿隆·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)作为马刺球员的赛季就结束了。这位明星控球后卫将因手术修复手指上持续存在的伤病而缺席本赛季剩余的比赛。自从去年十月在国王队训练营中，这个伤病就一直困扰着他。
对于福克斯来说，现在就接受手术而不是等到休赛期是明智的，因为马刺进入附加赛的可能性不大。他仍然有机会与队友见面，身穿银黑战袍打了几场比赛，并在赛季报销前向主场球迷展示了他32分准三双的统治力。
虽然福克斯优先考虑健康，以便在下赛季开始时能够保持最佳状态是一件好事，但他的缺席将对今年的球队产生影响。所以让我们来看看在没有福克斯的情况下，马刺队会面临什么。
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔获得年度最佳新秀的机会大大增加
马刺队有很多不同的方式来填补首发位置的空缺，但斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)和杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)似乎是最好的选择。两者之间，卡斯尔更有可能获得首发机会，因为索汉与比斯马克·比永博(Bismack Biyombo)的搭配并不完美，并且在查尔斯·巴锡(Charles Bassey)缺席的情况下，一直是球队的替补中锋。在所有可能性中，卡斯尔将首发，这将有助于他获得年度最佳新秀。
现在，卡斯尔替补出场时，每百回合的数据略好，因此乍一看，这个转变可能会损害他争夺 RoY 的机会。但是，还需要考虑其他两个因素。首先，卡斯尔首发时出场时间更多，而他最需要的就是出场时间来提高他的数据。他效率不是特别高，但他很有成效。其次，卡斯尔仍然有可能带领球队。随着福克斯的离开以及这位新秀很可能进入首发位置，第二阵容将没有控球手。布雷克·韦斯利(Blake Wesley)可能会获得一些上场时间，也许马拉奇·布兰纳姆(Malaki Branham)会被释放，但如果卡斯尔与他们分享球场，得分和创造机会的责任将落在卡斯尔身上。
除了获得年度最佳新秀的数据之外，尽可能多地与老将和瓦塞尔相处应该还有其他好处。卡斯尔仍然有可能替补出场赢得该奖项，但他通过每天面对对手最好的球员而获得的经验应该会加速他的发展，这应该是未来最重要的优先事项之一。
更好的乐透抽签概率可以弥补失去的培养化学反应和连续性的机会
事实是，当维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)缺阵时，马刺队的赛季就结束了。进入附加赛成了一个不太可能实现的目标。球队坚持让克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)首发并给他大量的上场时间，以及让索汉打不熟悉的位置的决定，意味着放弃了建立那种对下赛季非常有益的连续性的机会。即便如此，仍然有机会让新来的福克斯与其他重要的球员培养一些化学反应。但不幸的是，这个机会现在已经消失了。
积极的一面是，马刺队短期内可能会变得更糟，并且如果他们能够超过公牛队和开拓者队，那么在乐透抽签概率方面可能会提升几个名次。预计今年的选秀大会前几顺位会非常出色，因此更有机会获得前三顺位的选秀权，对于因健康问题而脱轨的赛季来说，这并不是最糟糕的安慰奖。由于老鹰队的选秀权越来越有可能落在十几顺位，因此让圣安东尼奥的首轮选秀权进入前七顺位将非常有益。即使没有管理层认为适合球队核心的潜力新秀（这种情况不太可能），他们仍然可以像过去选秀大会用第八顺位选秀权一样，交易这个选秀权来换取一名老将或未来的首轮选秀权。摆烂原本应该成为过去式，但情况会发生变化，球队也会做出调整。
仍然有理由观看剩下的比赛。正如前面提到的，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔的发展可能会因为球队所处的这种不幸局面而加速。其他一些角色缩减或被埋没在板凳上的球员可能会获得新的机会。伤病使得球队无法在本赛季的基础上再进一步，但仍然有很多个人成长可以发生，并且追踪这些成长将会很有趣。
点击查看原文：What De’Aaron Fox being out for the season means for the Spurs
What De’Aaron Fox being out for the season means for the Spurs
Losing Fox hurts, but the Spurs could see their lottery odds improve and will have the opportunity to focus on development.
After just 17 games, De’Aaron Fox’s season as a Spur is over. The star point guard will be out for the rest of the year as he recovers from surgery to fix a lingering injury on his finger that has been bothering him since training camp with the Kings last October.
It makes sense for Fox to not wait until the offseason to go under the knife, as the play-in looks unlikely for the Spurs. He Still got to meet his teammates, wear Silver and Black for a few games, and show the home fans how dominant he can be with a 32-point near triple-double before being shut down.
While it’s a good thing Fox is prioritizing being healthy to start next season, his absence will have an impact on this year’s team. So let’s take a look at what being without Fox the rest of the way means for the Spurs.
Stephon Castle’s Rookie of the Year chances improve drastically
The Spurs could go a lot of different ways in how they fill the starting spot left vacant but Castle and Jeremy Sochan seem like the best bets. Between the two, Castle is more likely to get the nod, as Sochan doesn’t fit seamlessly next to Bismack Biyombo and has been the team’s backup center with Charles Bassey out. In all likelihood, Castle will start, which should help him get Rookie of the Year.
Now, Castle has had slightly better numbers per 100 possessions coming off the bench, so the switch could at a glance hurt his case for RoY. But two other factors need to be considered. First, Castle has played a lot more minutes when he has started, and minutes is what he needs to get his counting stats up more than anything. He’s not particularly efficient, but he is productive. Second, Castle will likely still get to lead units. With Fox gone and with the rookie likely moving into the starting spot, the second unit will have no ball handlers. Blake Wesley will likely get some playing time and maybe Malaki Branham will be let out of the doghouse, but the responsibility to score and create will be on Castle if he shares the floor with them.
Beyond getting the numbers for Rookie of the Year, spending as much time as possible with veterans and Vassell should have other benefits. Castle could still win the award coming off the bench, but the experience he’d get by facing the opponent’s best players on a nightly basis should speed up his development, which should be one of the main priorities going forward.
Better lottery odds could make up for the lost opportunity to build chemistry and continuity
The truth is the Spurs’ season was over when Wembanyama was sidelined. The play-in became an unlikely goal. The commitment to starting and giving Chris Paul heavy minutes and the decision to play Sochan out of position meant forfeiting the chance to build the type of continuity that would have been fantastic to have for next season. Even then, there was still the opportunity to get Fox, the newcomer, to develop some chemistry with the other important players on the roster. That opportunity is now unfortunately gone.
The upside is the Spurs will likely be worse in the short term and could realistically move up a couple of spots in terms of lottery odds, assuming they can out-tank the Bulls and Trail Blazers. This draft class is projected to be very good at the top, so having a better chance to land a top-three pick is not the worst consolation prize for a season that was derailed by health issues. With the Hawks’s pick increasingly looking like it will land in the teens, getting San Antonio’s first-rounder in the top seven would be hugely beneficial. Even if there are no prospects at the range that the front office thinks could fit the core, which seems unlikely, they can still move the pick for a veteran or trade for a future first, as they did with the eighth overall selection in the past draft. Tanking was supposed to be a thing of the past, but circumstances change and teams adjust.
There are still reasons to watch the remaining games. As mentioned, Stephon Castle’s development could be accelerated by the unfortunate situation the franchise finds itself in. Others who had seen their role shrink or who have been buried on the bench could have new opportunities. Injuries have made it impossible to build on this season as a team, but there’s still a lot of individual growth that can happen and will be fun to track.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock