Spurs Insider Podcast, 2025-03-19 10:30:00
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。
专栏作家迈克·芬格尔(Mike Finger)以及马刺队的随队记者杰夫·麦克唐纳(Jeff McDonald)和汤姆·奥斯本(Tom Orsborn)讨论了达隆·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)选择手术，实际上结束了马刺队在本赛季变得更具竞争力的希望，以及斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)现在是如何锁定年度最佳新秀的。
建议阅读：
以下是播客的文字稿：
从北美各地高度安全的绝密地点网络，这里是马刺内部人士：道德摆烂版。我是你们的主持人，迈克·芬格尔，一如既往地与我们的《圣安东尼奥快报》马刺随队记者小组，汤姆·奥斯本和杰夫·麦克唐纳，以及体育编辑尼克·塔尔博特(Nick Talbot)一起。就像我们报道的球队一样，我们可能最终无法赢得这场播客的胜利，但在道德摆烂中，我们都会做出真诚的努力。包括杰夫·麦克唐纳。汤姆一大早就从他在西海岸的安全地点签到，他在那里看到当地的篮球运动员又一次做出了诚实的努力，汤姆。他们他们他们他们没有他们没有崩溃，但他们也没有赢。马刺队在南加州的最新情况如何？
当地的篮球运动员开局不顺，一度落后28分。但正如马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇(Greg Popovich)过去常说的那样，你知道，有理由为他们感到骄傲，因为他们他们奋力反击，在第四节追到只差11分，然后卢卡·东契奇(Luka Dončić)做到了他该做的事，奥斯汀·里夫斯(Austin Reeves)也做到了他该做的事，湖人队最终以125-109获胜。值得注意的是，在那场比赛中是斯蒂芬·卡斯尔。他在第一节进行到一半时就领到了三次犯规。其中两次判罚值得商榷，但他反弹了，展现了他的心理韧性，得到23分、8个篮板和3次助攻。
当我们在谈论道德摆烂时，杰夫·麦克唐纳，正如我们过去几个赛季在这个播客中提到的那样，当我们经历像这样的三月、二月和四月时，阵容，球队，球员们不是在摆烂。你仍然有斯蒂芬·卡斯尔，正如汤姆提到的，试图从这个月的最后时间里得到一些东西。你仍然看到德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)在过去几场比赛中有所进步。失利会自行解决，选秀顺位会自行解决，但仍然存在一些竞争。
是的，很难看下去。我认为是的。每个人都在努力，但你知道，当宣布维克多本赛季报销时，赛季的大部分激情都消失了。然后，你知道，你仍然可以关注达隆·福克斯一段时间，看看他的过渡情况。现在他也赛季报销了。真的，剩下的就是斯蒂芬·卡斯尔的年度最佳新秀的追逐了，而且他很可能会赢得它，你知道。他可能本来就是领跑者，然后他被提升到首发阵容，在那里他将获得大量的机会和大量的时间来积累这些数据，这些数据可能会为他赢得这个奖项。所以，对我来说，这就是马刺队真正结束这个赛季所值得关注的事情。但这会导致一些非常糟糕的时刻。你知道，上周输给那支伤兵满营的达拉斯队。他们没有太多机会对抗那些为季后赛做好准备和具有季后赛实力的球队。你喜欢上周五与夏洛特队的比赛吗？夏洛特队的比赛，他们让一支联盟中三分球最差的球队之一投进了创球队纪录的26个三分球。这很难做到。也是NBA历史纪录吧？非常接近。是的，如果不是第四节马刺队在失利中拿出的防守，他们让对手得到140分。夏洛特队也可能打破NBA纪录。再说一次，夏洛特队并不是什么三分球强队。他们之前的命中率在联盟中排名第28位，但在霜冻银行中心投疯了。所以我的意思是，马刺队会因为他们无法防守而挣扎。自从维克多离开后，他们就没有机会进行防守，没有身高。没有人能在篮筐附近吓唬任何人。这为其他球队打开了一切。因此，他们将很难对抗那些能够利用这一点的优秀球队，并且这将使他们与弱队的比赛变成一场赌博。所以这就是你在胜负方面的情况。但是，你知道，如果你们想找到一线希望或值得关注的东西，那也没关系。这就是我们在这里的原因。
汤姆，汤姆昨晚在洛杉矶发生了一件有趣的小事，我震惊地发现谁参与其中。汤姆发生了争执？是和比利·赞卡(Billy Zabka)吗？
可能就是。但在比赛中，你看到了，而且索汉(Sochan)先生有时很难搞。他很有趣，但这确实是双向的愚蠢行为，不是吗，汤姆？
是的，是的，我喜欢米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)在赛后如何评价它。你知道，范德比尔特(Vanderbilt)的一次小小的碰撞，然后是两名球员的一些男子气概的东西。但有趣的是，杰里米一直都在咧嘴笑，你知道，在他说话之后。他就是这样的。我知道。不过这很有趣。很高兴看到球迷的反应。这是职业摔跤的东西。你知道，尼克·塔尔博特，你可以参与进来。杰里米会是一个好的反派，我想。所以，是的，当他离开球场前往更衣室时，人群用嘘声向他致意，他笑得合不拢嘴。
我相信他们会称他为反派。在摔跤中，他们会称他为反派。在摔跤中，这是正确的。但你会是什么？你会是那个有着鲜艳头发的小丑吗？那是我们拥有的最可比的人吗？
自从何塞·拉里奥(Jose Lario)时代以来，我就没看过摔跤了，但是……我希望我们能在这里得到更多关于你的建议的反馈，尼克，但我认为你独自一人。我们会相信你的话。我们可以称他为新约翰·塞纳(John Cena)，我们会非常及时。约翰·塞纳现在是个坏人。这使得它很及时。演员约翰·塞纳也是一名摔跤手？那是正确的。是的。接下来你要告诉我巨石强森(The Rock)也是一名摔跤手。也是一名摔跤手。哦，天哪。还有《银河护卫队》里的戴夫·巴蒂斯塔(Dave Batista)那家伙和……什么？那个瘦小的家伙是一名摔跤手？没错。我每天都学到一些新东西。虽然自从何塞·拉里奥时代以来我就没看过摔跤了，圣安东尼奥的传奇人物。我曾经见过安德烈·巨人(Andre the Giant)……大约在我18岁的时候。而且……是的。不如讲讲这个故事吧。我们不会在这集节目中分析朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champani)的投篮选择。所以你不如告诉我们你是如何见到安德烈·巨人的。
好吧，我当时正在搬出房子，搬出在350 Waxwood的奥斯本的住所。我和一个朋友，还有我的兄弟和我的侄子，当时还是个小侄子，我们去了这家酒店，这家酒店……你知道，这家酒店正在出售，赠送一些家具。所以我去了那里，我们去那里给我一些家具。安德烈·巨人也在那里。只是为了那些正在听的孩子们，因为这是一个非常重要的时刻，我们的许多年轻听众都不知道在那些日子里你是如何发现的。哦，几十年前，有一家酒店在赠送家具，你可以去拿。你是如何发现的？哦，我爸爸，我爸爸告诉我的。他工作。我爸爸在军队退役后当了很长时间的理发师。他就在这家酒店旁边。我想，你知道，和酒店员工聊天时，他们告诉他，嘿，我们有一些家具。你正在把你的儿子赶出家门，我们有一些家具给他。所以，但这太棒了。但无论如何，我们早上很早就进入大厅，那是德克萨斯州和佐治亚州在棉花碗比赛的那天。我认为是1983年。很多很多年前。是的。很多很多年前，是的。所以安德烈·巨人就在大厅里。我走到他面前。你知道，我走到他面前，我说，你昨晚表现如何？因为他在圣安东尼奥有一场比赛。他的头，和我躯干一样大，他低着头，可能拿着一杯咖啡，他早上眼神模糊。他慢慢地抬起头，看着我的眼睛，他说，你应该来的。换句话说，我不会告诉你任何关于你错过的这场精彩比赛的信息。你应该来的。我有点轻笑。但我的侄子，我的小侄子哭了。他非常害怕这个巨大的男人，他基本上让他的叔叔滚开。等等。所以你见到了安德烈·巨人，《公主新娘》的演员？是的。那是我最喜欢的电影。那是个很棒的故事。是的，是的。他显然是坐着的。你说他抬头看着你。他坐在椅子上，他的头和我躯干一样大。你称呼他为安德烈还是巨人先生？哦，我想我说了，嘿，安德烈什么的。你昨晚表现如何？他说你应该来的。你看，伙计们，这就是你听这个播客的原因。即使在18岁的时候，当汤姆·奥斯本被赶出家门，他看到了，他看到了一个超级巨星，一个最大的名人，字面上地，字面上地，是这个国家最大的名人之一，就体型而言，他的第一反应不是要签名，不是要成为一个狂热的崇拜者，而是要获取信息。而是要报道。而是要找出发生了什么。汤姆·奥斯本天生就有体育记者的本能，即使在他……他很多年前见到安德烈·巨人的时候也是如此。那是个很棒的故事。这之前我在圣安东尼奥学院开始学习新闻学课程。所以，是的，我考虑过这一点，迈克。你很敏锐。是的。
我很敏锐。谢谢你指出这一点。我们想多谈谈马刺队吗？你有很多其他，但敏锐是其中之一。我们一周前在这个播客上告诉了所有人。从技术上讲，新闻已经曝光了，但是汤姆·奥斯本，天生的体育记者，天生的新闻爆料者，在这个播客上告诉了所有人，在我们录制下一期节目的时候，达隆·福克斯可能不会再上场了。但是我们确实需要回顾一下，因为汤姆提前说达隆可能会在马刺队去洛杉矶的时候做这个手术。结果确实如此。他在那之前提前几场比赛就结束了这个赛季。但是，伙计们，这似乎是达隆·福克斯应该采取的显而易见的……正确的举动。尽管马刺队希望看到他在赛季末多打几场比赛。不如现在就把它解决掉，对吧？
我认为这主要是为了给他一个完整的休赛期。我想从技术上讲，他可以完成这个赛季。我认为他们说需要12周的恢复期。所以从技术上讲，他可以完成这个赛季，并在训练营开始前获得批准。但是我认为他们认为休赛期是应该优先考虑的事情。他们希望他能在六月份球队非正式地重新集合时，准备好参加公开训练和训练，并通过这种方式增进化学反应，所以这只是为了及时完成。而且，你知道，正如我们在这个播客中已经讨论过的那样，赛季末的比赛并不重要。本周需要处理的其他与健康相关的问题。汤姆再次，天生的记者，在上周的一次训练中注意到年轻的维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wenyama)正在骑固定自行车，这显然是他被允许做的事情的一部分，老实说，这非常……我认为听到他能够做一些身体上的事情令人鼓舞。这不是篮球，可能也不是超级激烈，但是……他们能够放心地让他骑自行车，这可能是个好消息，不是吗？
是的，米奇说他也在做重量训练，还有一些其他的体能训练，所以他正在努力。进展得相当不错。达隆·福克斯在手术后将能够做很多事情，他可能就在我们在洛杉矶说话的时候刚刚做完手术。而且……他在医院里有点紧张？是的，我想他在手术前有点紧张。有史以来第一次手术。我听说他有点紧张。但是我在想，就像我们作为体育作家，作为人，就像一直在关注体育的听众一样，你听说这些家伙做了这些小手术，你不会多想，因为人们一直在做这些手术。但是如果你一生中，你知道，作为听众，我作为……汤姆，作为一个必须为任何程序而感到担心的人，如果他们要让你接受麻醉，那肯定是一件大事。你显然对它感到紧张，你显然……人们总是问，为什么这些家伙不做这些手术，把它们解决掉？就像可以理解的那样，人们不喜欢做手术。这是一件大事。我认为我们有时会忽略这一点。你提到了麻醉，我认为根据我所听到的，那是他感到紧张的部分。从来没有……是的。哦，伙计，他会喜欢的。那是最好的。
是的，是的，是的，杰夫，你说得对。我已经做过几次手术和另一次手术。是的，你醒来后会觉得，伙计，我可以回去吗？那是我睡得最好的一次。你知道，互联网上有很多关于我们在这个播客上有多么不喜欢彼此的说法，但我不得不承认，这个播客的一个成员曾经从我做过的唯一一次麻醉手术中接我。如果那不是手术，那就是一个程序。某些年龄段的男性或某些年龄段的人会接受的程序。但是……那非常好。这个播客上的另一个人，是的，也鼓励你这样做。这是真的。这是真的。我们互相照顾。我们只会提到这么多关于那个程序的信息，但我会……你知道，人们应该这样做。这是一件负责任的事情。是的，绝对的。无论如何，最棒的部分是当你发现那个人甚至不是医生。我们为什么要拐弯抹角？做这件事是好事。检查你的结肠。是的。哦，原来是这样。好吧，现在大家都明白了。是的。是的，去做吧。对于我们所有的听众来说，请做这件事。当你达到一定的年龄时，去做吧。也许能救你的命。这就是你本周从马刺播客中学到的东西。我们将跃升到体育NBA播客排行榜的榜首。因为我们谈论了1980年代在一家酒店里的安德烈·巨人。那家酒店在市中心吗，汤姆？不，它不在市中心。它在环路410附近，靠近魔术时光机。哦，是的。是的。无论如何，有那个故事，还有结肠镜检查的谈话，这将使我们登上顶峰。有些NBA播客会分析三分球命中率，以及……你知道，球队正在运行的新战术，但那不是我们在马刺内部人士这里所做的事情。这个整个播客都是一次结肠镜检查。我认为每个人都应该负责任地体验一下。我认为我们的读者和听众现在不必做结肠镜检查，因为他们现在正在做一个。那是完全错误的信息。是的，人们对它的恐惧是可笑的。去做吧。是的。我……汤姆会开车送你。任何想去的听众，当他从洛杉矶回来时，汤姆都会开车送你。他还开车送来访的法国记者。汤姆提供全方位服务，是圣安东尼奥商会。非常非常好的公民。我简直不敢相信我想不出一个回到篮球的过渡，但我在这里很挣扎。如果连我们都是结肠镜检查，马刺队明天再比赛。我们提到了……他们甚至不用为此镇静。你说对了。汤姆正在努力。汤姆正在努力。你提到了德文·瓦塞尔，他打得很好，而且不仅仅是几场比赛。现在已经有大约两周的时间了。我认为昨晚是他连续第10场得分上双的比赛，而稳定性一直是他的问题，而且他打得非常稳定，有一些非常非常好的20多分比赛，我认为他得到了职业生涯最高的37分。所以是的，我的意思是，这些都很好。要成为杰夫·麦克唐纳这样的人，连续10场得分上双。这就是德文·瓦塞尔的问题，我们用什么标准来衡量他？对于一个球员来说，得分上双应该是一件令人乏味的事情，一些球迷会觉得没什么大不了的。这真的是对他进步的一个标志吗？这就是德文·瓦塞尔的困境，你想让他成为什么样的人？杰夫在这个播客中多次指出，如果你的期望是他成为一支季后赛球队中可靠的四号球员，那么他仍然……他正在成为这样的人。我认为你会很放心地称他为这样的人。晋升到第三选择，这就是变得有点不确定的时候。他在本赛季末的情况如何，现在他被认为是得分手，而且他处理得很好，他是一个糟糕的球队的得分手，这支球队大多数晚上都会输球。并不是每个人都能做到这一点。他能够处理这一点表明他比他不能处理这一点要好。但这仍然是一种我不确定我们是否知道德文·瓦塞尔的长期定位的情况。也许……也许我们知道。当马刺队拥有他们所有的球员时。假设在明年初。我希望看到德文·瓦塞尔专注于成为一名篮板后卫。在防守端积极主动，然后从那里得到的任何分数……我不想说是额外的，但我不知道……我不认为你要根据他得了多少分来判断他。是的。我认为他出现在那里是因为……当然要投进一些球。但在一个完美的世界里，根据德文·瓦塞尔每晚得了多少分来判断他并不是一个好方法。因为对我来说，我希望看到他在其他方面做出贡献，这样他的价值就不会因为他那晚是否进球而起起落落。是的，米奇指出，他是一名角色球员。是的，昨晚他抢篮板。他抢了8个篮板。我认为前几天他也抢了8个篮板。他也在做其他事情。你知道，他正在非常努力地成为一名全面的球员。我认为他在这方面取得了成功。我认为……如果他打出他职业生涯中最好的篮球，杰夫的安全地点让我很抓狂。我不知道你是否能修复你的互联网连接，杰夫，但我们几乎听不懂你在说什么。我想回到德文的事情，他职业生涯中一直在处理的一件事，这是一个挑战，那就是他被要求做很多不同的事情，这取决于他身边的人。这又是另一个例子。他从……他被要求成为头号得分手，因为维克多·文班亚马不在，因为达隆·福克斯不在。这类似于他在几年前的一个赛季末的情况，当时他有点像头号得分手。当维克多在身边，当达隆·福克斯在身边，当克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔等人参与进来时，你要求他成为杰夫·麦克唐纳刚才所说的，他应该成为的样子，那就是篮板后卫，他得分与否并不重要。我认为这可能是一个挑战。看起来好像是，你要被要求做两件完全不同的事情，有时是三件完全不同的事情，这取决于谁在你身边打球。找到一个角色，接受一个角色可能不是最容易的情况。是的，我认为他们仍然认为他是他们正在建设的长期重要组成部分。合同显然表明了这一点。我认为如果他能接受杰夫所说的那样，我认为这对他们长期来说会很好。我只是不知道接下来一个月左右的时间对此有多大帮助。是的，不，我认为你是对的。米奇·约翰逊前几天也谈到了这一点，只是不同的人员，不同的……你知道，这如何影响德文的比赛，让他有点不知所措，习惯了文班亚马，然后习惯了卡斯尔，然后习惯了福克斯。所以是的，随着赛季的进行，值得关注的是，看看他是否能保持这种稳定性，迈克·芬格尔敏锐地指出，稳定性是德文自己的问题。
冒险过多地依赖杰夫的安全地点的连接，本周我想提到的另一件事是我在本周的报纸上看到的最愉快的事情之一。报纸上充斥着不愉快的东西，但在Expressnews.com，《圣安东尼奥快报》的纸质版和马刺国度时事通讯上。有一篇关于才华横溢、狡猾、恶作剧的桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利(Sandro Mamukashvili)和杰夫在霜冻银行中心犯下的本世纪罪行之一的精彩故事，那是上周五晚上。杰夫对这一切是如何发生的进行了精彩的分析，其中有机械师、同谋和整个犯罪网络中的人的评论。杰夫，如果你重新上线了，请为我们分解一下。桑德罗是如何做到的？是的，汤姆会告诉你那个故事。你说得对，杰夫。汤姆也帮助完成了那个故事。是的，那是……霜冻银行中心一个有趣的夜晚，你知道……斯蒂芬·卡斯尔的车轮被卸掉了。让汤姆讲讲这个故事吧，因为他也参与其中。是的，背景故事是……你知道，我们当时在夏洛特，迈克，你也在那里，对吧？你在那次旅行中。在夏洛特。是的。在那里他们挑战了我的衣柜。是的。我们在更衣室里，达隆·福克斯走进来，看着他的座位，看着他的储物柜。哦，是的。他说，他基本上说，这支球队到底是怎么回事？这些新秀像……你知道？我的毛巾在哪里？他……是的，他看着克里斯·保罗说，这些新秀在这里做什么？他们在这里做什么？是的。你经营的是什么组织，克里斯·保罗？所以那个应该把毛巾放好的人是斯蒂芬·卡斯尔。斯蒂芬一直在他的新秀职责方面有所懈怠。你知道，新秀必须做一些照顾老将的事情。斯蒂芬在这方面有所懈怠。所以，马穆基本上整个赛季都在告诉他，你知道，你必须振作起来，伙计。你必须振作起来。振作起来，否则我就拿走你的轮胎。基本上威胁他，你知道，如果你不参与进来，我就把你的轮胎卸掉。我在这里插一句，因为你提到这件事确实在夏洛特在牛仔竞技表演的公路旅行期间的更衣室里发生了。当达隆走出来说那些话时，我走到斯蒂芬那里，问他，发生了什么事？他真的很生气吗？斯蒂芬认真地说，自从他当新秀以来，事情已经发生了变化。斯蒂芬的态度是，不，那是老年人的事情。新秀不再做那些事情了。无论如何，我认为他对我说的这句话在接下来发生的事情中发挥了作用，因为斯蒂芬并没有把它当回事，他认为这是一个玩笑。但继续吧。是的，所以桑德罗组织了我们，你知道，我们有时会谈论马刺队在球场上缺乏执行力。他们能执行一个恶作剧吗？马穆是负责人。他策划了整个事情。让他在United Collision Car Center的朋友帮忙，尼克·塔尔博特不幸地熟悉这家店。不幸的是。是的，他在战胜达拉斯队之后策划了这个恶作剧，他有精心设计的手势。马穆偷偷溜进，在中场休息时拿走了斯蒂芬的车钥匙。然后通过一系列精心设计的手势，当马刺队似乎控制了比赛并且要获胜时。如果你输了，你不想做这件事。是的，没错。所以桑德罗向他身后的女友发出信号，他的女友向马刺的安保人员发出信号。然后她向United Collision Car Center的人发出信号，计划开始了。这就是他们跳出来的时刻，他们去了球员停车场，从斯蒂芬的跑车上卸下了车轮，然后欢闹和美好的时光随之而来。斯蒂芬处理得还不错，尽管我认为他最初有点不安。但这是因为他的所有车轮都被卸掉了。他的跑车在这个比赛之后，在马刺的停车场里被放在了车轴上。所有的球员都跟在他身后，拍摄这一切，看着他对他的车没有车轮的反应。为了明确起见，正如汤姆暗示的那样，这不仅仅是一个调皮的球员桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利在做这件事。需要有保安人员在霜冻银行中心外面，允许这个碰撞专家进入停车场。所以所有这些人都要被拉进来，让他们参与进来，让这个人，这个机械师，汽车车身修理工进来，把这些车轮卸下来。那是个有趣的小故事。
我认为路易斯·卡雷拉(Luis Carrera Jr.)是United Collision Car Center的老板。是的，我和他谈过，他说了一句名言，是的，桑德罗把这件事组织得一塌糊涂。基本上就是这样。桑德罗完成了这件事。这是马刺队本赛季执行得最好的时刻之一。好吧，这是一个亮点。你可以找到你可以拿走他的地方。我认为斯蒂芬受到了……我们将离开杰夫了。对不起，杰夫，你听起来像个机器人，你听起来像人工智能，而且你可能一直都是人工智能。我们将不得不离开你。我们不需要杰夫·麦克唐纳在这个播客上发表更多评论。我们为杰夫听起来比平时更没用向听众道歉。他在他工作的其他领域都在努力工作。下周他会更加努力。我们下周都会更加努力。在那之前，照顾好彼此，保持真实。
点击查看原文：Have the wheels come off San Antonio’s season?
Have the wheels come off San Antonio’s season?
Columnist Mike Finger and Spurs beat reporters Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn discuss De’Aaron Fox opting for surgery, effectively ending the Spurs’ hopes to be more competitive this season and how Stephon Castle is now a lock for rookie of the year.
Suggested reading:
Castle’s perseverance pays off vs. Doncic, Lakers
Redick a big fan of Wembanyama
Who enjoys a rebuild? In the NBA, misery can be worth the price
Pity parties not part of Spurs routine
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Here is the transcript of the podcast:
From a highly secure network of top-secret locations across North America, this is the Spurs Insider: Ethical Tank Edition. I’m your host, Mike Finger, joined as always by our panel of Express-News Spurs beat writers, Tom Orsborn and Jeff McDonald, along with sports editor Nick Talbot. Like the team we cover, we may not end up prevailing at the end of this podcast, but in the ethical tank, we’re all going to give a sincere effort. Jeff McDonald included. Tom’s checking in bright and early from his secure location on the West Coast, where he saw the local cagers give another honest effort, Tom. They’re they’re they’re they’re not they’re not folding, but they are they are not winning either. What’s the latest from the Spurs in Southern California?
Local cagers got off to a rough start, fell behind by 28 points eventually. But Spurs, as Spurs coach Greg Popovich used to say many times, you know, there was reasons to be proud of them because they they battled back, they pulled within 11 in the fourth before Luka Dončić did his thing, and Austin Reeves did his thing, and the Lakers pulled away for a 125-109 win. It’s notable in that game was Stefan Castle. Started out with three fouls about midway through the first quarter. Two of the calls were questionable, but he bounced back, showed his mental toughness, had 23 points, eight boards, three assists.
When we’re talking about the ethical tank, Jeff McDonald, we’re talking about as we mentioned on this podcast in seasons past, where we’ve gone through marches and Februarys and Aprils like this, the the the roster, the the team, the players aren’t the ones tanking. You still have Stefan Castle, as Tom mentioned, trying to get something out of this last month. You still have Devin Vassell’s come along a little bit over the past couple of over the last couple of games. The the the losses are going to take care of themselves, draft positioning is going to take care of itself, but there there there’s still some competition to be had.
Yeah, it’s tough to watch. I think yeah. Everybody’s trying hard, but like you know, a lot of the juice went out, I don’t want to be this guy today, but I guess I am. A lot of the juice the juice went out of the season when you know, Victor was announced out for the year. And then, you know, you still had Deron Fox to kind of watch for a while and see how he transitions. Now he’s out for the rest of the year. Really, all that’s left is Steph Castle’s rookie of the year chase, and he’s probably going to win it, you know. He was probably the front runner anyway, and then he’s elevated to the starting lineup where he’s going to get a lot of opportunity and a lot of minutes to compile these sort of counting stats that will probably bring that award over the top for him. So, to me that’s that’s kind of what is worth watching as the Spurs kind of really play out the string here. But it leads to some very rough moments. You know, losing losing to that Dallas team last week that was just decimated. They’re not going to have a much of a chance against like teams that are playoff ready and playoff caliber. Did you enjoy that Charlotte game last Friday? The Charlotte game where they gave up a franchise record 26 three-pointers to a team that was one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league coming in. That’s hard to do. All time NBA record too right? Pretty close. Yeah if I mean that if it wasn’t for that fourth quarter defense the Spurs pulled out in that loss where they gave up 140 points. Charlotte might have broke the NBA record too. And again, it’s not like Charlotte is some three-point shooting powerhouse. They were 28th in the league percentage coming in and just just shot the lights out at the Frost Bank Center. So I mean they’re the Spurs are going to because they can’t play defense. Since Victor’s gone, they have no shot at playing defense, no size. Nobody around the rim to scare anybody. just opens up everything for every other team. So they’re going to struggle against the good they’re they’re they’re going to have almost no shot against most of the good teams that can take advantage of that and it’s going to turn the games against the bad teams even into a crapshoot. So that’s that’s where you are win loss wise going down the stretch. But, you know, if you guys want to find silver linings or stuff to watch, stuff to look at, that’s that’s fine too. That’s kind of what we’re here for.
Tom, any, Tom got an entertaining little set to, little fracas in Los Angeles last night, and I was shocked to find out who was involved in that. Tom got in a fracas? Was it with Billy Zabka?
It might have been. But but during the game you had and and that was man, it’s it can be hard with Mr. Sohan sometimes. He’s entertaining, but that that that was on both ways that was some silliness, wasn’t it, Tom?
Yeah, yeah, I like how Mitch Johnson characterized it after the game. you know, a little a little bump by Vanderbilt and then some macho stuff he said by both players. And but it was funny because Jeremy grinned the whole time, you know, after he’s addressed. That’s what he does. Yeah, I know. It’s funny though. It’s it’s great to see the fans react to it. It’s pro wrestling stuff. You know, Nick Talbot, you can you can weigh in on this. Jeremy would be a good villain, I guess. And so, but yeah, the crowd crowd serenaded him with booze as he went off the floor to the locker room grinning from ear to ear.
I believe they would call him a heel. They would call him a heel in wrestling. In wrestling that is correct. But what would you be? Would you be the Joker with that bright hair? Is that the most comparable person we have?
I haven’t watched wrestling since the days of Jose Lario, but um well I I wish we could have more feedback here to your suggestions, Nick, but I think you’re on your own there. We’ll take your word for it. We can call him New John Cena and we’ll be very timely. John Cena is a bad guy now. That’s making this timely. The actor John Cena is also a wrestler? That is correct. Yes. Next next you’re going to tell me the Rock was also a wrestler. Also wrestler. Oh my gosh. And that Dave Batista guy from Guardians of the Galaxy and What? That little skinny guy was a wrestler? Correct. I did something new every day. Although I I haven’t watched wrestling since the days of Jose Lario, San Antonio legend. I did meet Andre the Giant once um when I was about 18 years old. And uh yeah. Might as well tell the story. We’re not going to be breaking down like the Julian Champani shot selection on this on this episode. So you might as well tell us how you met Andre the Giant.
Well, I went to I was moving out of the house, moving out of the Orsborn abode at 350 Waxwood. Um, and me and a buddy and my brother and my nephew, my young nephew at the time, we went to this hotel that was uh, you know, that was selling, giving some furniture away. So I went there, we went there to give me some furniture. And Andre the Giant was there. Just for the kids who are listening, like because this is such a moment in time uh that that many of our young listeners have no idea how you would have found out in those days. Oh, those many decades ago that there was a hotel giving furniture away and that you could pick it up. How did you find that out? Oh, my dad, my dad tipped me off to it. He worked. My dad was a barber out of the military for a long time. And he was next to this hotel. I think, uh, you know, just shooting the bull with the hotel employees, they told him, hey, we got some furniture. You’re kicking your dad you’re kicking your son out of the house and we got some furniture for him. So, but that’s an awesome. But anyway, we go in the lobby um, early in the morning, and it was the night, it was it was the day that Texas and Georgia played in the Cotton Bowl. Think it was 1983. Many, many years ago. Yes. Many, many years ago, yeah. Uh so Andre the Giant’s there in in the lobby. And I went up to him. You know, I went up to him and I said, how did you do last night? Because he had a card here in San Antonio. And his head, which was as big as my torso, he had his head down, maybe a cup of coffee, he was, you know, blurry eyed early in the morning. He raises his head up ever so slowly, looks me in the eye and he said, you should have come. In other words, I’m not going to give you anything about this great card that you missed. You should have come. Well I I kind of chuckled over it. But my nephew, my young nephew broke out in tears. Who was so scared of this enormous enormous man who who basically told his uncle to go to hell. So But hold on. So you you met Andre the Giant, the actor from The Princess Bride? That’s yeah. It’s my favorite movie of all time. Yeah. That’s a great story. Yeah yeah. He was sitting down apparently. You said he looked up at you. He was sitting down in a chair. and his head was as big as my torso. Did you address him as Andre or Mr. the Giant? Oh, I said I I think I said hey Andre or something. How did you do last night? He said you should have come. Even at see, folks, this is why you listen to this podcast. Even at the age of 18, when Tom Orborn is getting getting kicked out of his house, and he sees, he sees a a superstar, one of the biggest celebrities, literally, literally the one of the biggest the the biggest celebrity in the country, size-wise, uh his first instinct is not to ask for an autograph, is not to is not to be a fawning admirer, it’s to get information. It’s it’s to it’s to report. It’s to it’s to find out what happened. Tom Orsborn just has the national natural instincts of of a sports reporter, and that was true even when he uh he met Andre the Giant low those many years ago. That’s a great story. You before I started taking journalism courses at San Antonio College. So yeah, I’ve thought about that Mike. You’re very astute. Yes.
I I I am astute. Thank you for pointing that out. Um, do we want to talk more about the Spurs? You have many other but astute is one of them. Uh, we did tell everyone on this podcast a week ago. It’s technically the news has broken since then, but Tom Orsborn, uh natural born sports reporter, natural born news breaker, had told everyone on this podcast that by the time we taped our next pod the Aaron Fox probably wasn’t going to be playing again. But we do need to review that because Tom was out ahead of it saying that Deron’s probably going to get this surgery done when the Spurs go to Los Angeles. That turned out to be the case. He ended up uh calling it a season a few games before then. But that that seems to be fellas, uh the obvious um uh correct move for uh for Deron Fox to make. As much as the Spurs would like to see him uh play a little more down the stretch. might as well get it out of the way now, right?
I think it was mostly to give him a full off season. Like I think technically he could have finished this season. I think they said it was a 12 week recovery. So he technically could have finished the season and been cleared to start training camp. Um but I think I think they found the off season part to be something to prioritize. Like they want him to as soon as the team kind of reconvenes informally in June, they want him to be ready to go to do the the open gyms and the the workouts and um kind of gain chemistry that that way and so it was a matter of just getting it done so we could be done in time for that. And you know, the the the games don’t matter down the stretch as we’ve as we’ve um already covered on this podcast, so. Other health-related housekeeping issues to to take care of this week. Tom again, natural born reporter, noted at a a shoot around last week that young Victor Wenyama was riding the stationary bike, and that apparently is part of uh something that he is allowed to do, which is honestly pretty um I I I think that’s encouraging just to hear that he’s able to do some uh physical stuff. Um and it’s it’s not basketball and it’s probably not super intense, but um the fact that they’re comfortable letting him ride the bike, that’s that’s probably good news, isn’t it?
Yeah, he’s doing weights too, Mitch said, and some other conditioning work, so he’s he’s going at it. going at it pretty well. Um, um, Deron Fox uh will be able to do quite a bit after he gets he’s probably just out of surgery as we speak here in Los Angeles. And uh he’s a little not at the hospital? Yeah, he was a little bit nervous going into it, I think. First surgery ever. I was told he was a little nervous about it. But I’ve thought about that before just um uhhuh when just as sports writers, as people, like the listeners out there who follow sports all the time and you hear about these minor surgeries that these guys have, you kind of don’t give it a second thought because guys go through them all the time. But if ever in your life, you know, as a listener out there, me as a, you know, Tom, as somebody who has to for any procedure at all, like if they’re going to put you under for something, that’s got to be I mean that’s that’s a huge thing. You’re you’re clearly nervous about you’re clearly uh like people ask all the time like why why don’t these guys have these surgeries and get them out of the way? Like people don’t like understandably, people don’t like having surgery. That’s a huge thing. I think we tend to overlook that sometimes. You mentioned going under and I think that that from what I was told, that was the nervous part of it. Never never had. Yeah. Oh man, he’s going to love it. It’s the best.
Yeah, yeah, yeah Jeff, you’re right. I’ve I’ve I’ve had a couple of surgeries and another procedure. And yeah, you you come out of it and it’s like, man, can I go back? That was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. You know there there’s there’s all this talk out there on the on the internet about how much we dislike each other on this podcast, but I got to admit, one member of this podcast picked me up from one of the is that the only surge I’ve ever had where I’ve been under? It might be. If it wasn’t a surgery, it was a procedure. Which uh which men of a certain age or or people of a certain age undergo. But uh that was very nice. Another person on this, another person on this podcast, yeah, encouraged you to do that too. That’s true. That’s true. we look out. It’s all we’re going to mention about that procedure but I would you know, it’s it’s a thing that people should do. It’s a responsible thing. Yeah, absolutely. Anyway The best part is when you find out that that guy wasn’t even a doctor. Why are we tiptoeing around it? It’s a good thing to do. Get your get your colon checked. Yeah. Oh, that’s what it was. Okay, now everyone understands. Yeah. Yeah, go do that. And the thing for for all our listeners, please do it. When you reach a certain age, get it done. Might save your life. This is the stuff that you learn on this Spurs podcast this week. We’re going to vault to the top of the charts of the sports NBA podcast. Because of talki about Andre the Giant in 1980 in a hotel. Which hotel was it downtown Tom? No, it wasn’t downtown. It was off of uh Loop 410 near the Magic Time Machine. Oh yeah. Yeah. Anyway, there’s that story and there’s colonoscopy talk and this is going to get us to the top. That’s where we’re like some some NBA podcast break down like uh three-point percentage and uh uh you know, new new plays that teams are running the that’s that’s that’s not what we do here on the Spurs Insider. This this whole this whole podcast is a colonoscopy. It’s like I think everyone should experience responsibly. I think our I think our readers and listeners don’t have to get a colonoscopy now because they’re getting one right now. Well that’s the absolute wrong message where we’re. The fears about it. Yeah, the fears about it are ridiculous. Get it done. Yeah. I’ll so Tom will drive you. Any any listener that wants to go, Tom will drive you when he gets home from LA. He’s also he drives the the French reporters who are who who visit. Tom’s Tom’s full service uh San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. Very very very good citizen. Um I cannot believe I can’t come up with a a segue back to basketball, but uh I’m I’m I’m struggling here. If we’re even colonoscopies, the Spurs play again tomorrow. Well, we mentioned we mentioned They don’t even get to be sedated for that. There you go. Tom’s trying here. Tom’s trying. You mentioned Devin Vassell and and he is playing well and it’s more than just a couple of games. It’s been about, you know, a two week stretch now. I think he last night was his 10th consecutive double digit game and consistency’s been an issue with him and he’s he’s he’s you know, he’s scoring pretty consistently, had some really really good 20 point games in there, had a career high uh 37, I believe. So yeah, I mean he’s And those are good. The the the the to to be the Jeff McDonald’s here, the 10 consecutive uh double digits. Like that’s that this is the issue with Devin Vassell is what standard are we holding him to? Like that’s that that’s a guy who double digit scoring should be a uh kind of a yawn like a so what type of thing in in in some fan’s minds. Like is that really um a mark of uh progress for him. And that’s that’s thery of Devin Vassell is what do you want him to be? Jeff has pointed out many times on this podcast that if your expectations are for him are to be a solid, reliable like number four on a playoff team, then he’s still he’s he’s he’s he’s he’s becoming that. I think that then you’re comfortable having him calling him that. Um moving up to a third option, like that’s where it gets kind of iffy. Um what’s the situation at the end of this season, he’s now being looked to to be the scorer, and he’s handling that well, the scorer on a bad team that loses most nights. and that’s not everybody can do that. Um and the fact that he’s handling that speaks better of of him than if he wasn’t handling it. But it’s still a situation where I’m not sure uh we know what exactly what Devin Vassell is long term. Do we maybe maybe maybe we do. Do we know When the Spurs have all their players. Let’s say at the beginning of next year. I would like to see Devin Vassell um sort of concentrate on, you know, being a rebounding guard. being active defensively and then whatever points come out of that um is kind of I don’t want to say gravy but I I don’t know that I don’t know I think that you judge on how many points he scores. Yeah. I think the reason he’s out there. Knock down some shots, sure. But I think in a perfect world, judging Devin Vassell on a night to night basis on how many points he scores is the way to go. Um because he’s he’s to me I would like to see him to contribute in other ways so that so that his worth is not is not rising and falling with whether the ball’s going in that night. Yeah, and he is uh Mitch pointed out. He’s a role player. Yeah, he’s rebounding last night. He had eight boards. Uh he had eight boards the other night, I think as well. He’s he’s doing other stuff too. Um, you know, being trying really hard to be a a well-rounded all-around player. I think he’s he’s succeeding at that. I think If he’s playing the best basketball of his Jeff’s secure location is just getting driving me crazy here with. And I don’t know if you can fix your internet connection there, Jeff, but we’re we’re barely understanding anything that you’re saying. Um the uh I I I will I I will go back to the Devin thing of something that he’s dealt with in his career and this has been a challenge is he’s been asked to do so many different things depending on who’s been around him. This is yet another example of that. Like he goes from um these situations where he’s being asked to be the go-to scorer because Victor Wenyama isn’t around because Deron Fox isn’t around. This is similar to what he was at the end of uh a couple of seasons ago when he was kind of the go-to guy. And then when Victor is around and when when Deron Fox is around and when Chris Paul and Stefan Castle and all these guys are involved, well then you’re asking him to be what Jeff McDonald was just saying that he should be, which is the rebounding guard who it doesn’t matter if he scores or not. And uh I think that is probably a challenge. It seems like it would be to where you’re you’re being asked to do two totally different things, sometimes three totally different things depending on who’s playing around you. That probably hasn’t been the easiest situation to find a role, to to embrace a role. So um yeah, I I I think they still see him as a long-term uh important piece to what they’re building. Uh the the contract obviously shows that. Um I I think if he could embrace what what Jeff was talking about, I think that would be good for them long term. I just don’t know how much the next month or so helps there. Yeah, no, I I think you’re right. Mitch Johnson talked about that the other night about just the different personnel, different different, you know, how that affects uh Devin’s game, throws him off, threw him off a little bit, you know, adjusting to Wby and then adjusting to Castle and then adjusting to uh Fox. So yeah, it’s something to watch as the season goes on just just I mean as the season winds down just to see if he can maintain that consistency, which Mike Finger astutely pointed out is the bugaboo for Devil himself.
Uh at at the risk of uh depending too much on on the connection that in Jeff’s secure location, the the other thing I wanted to mention this week was one of the most enjoyable things that I saw in the newspaper this week. The newspaper is filled with stuff that isn’t enjoyable, but uh on Expressnews.com, the hard hard copy edition of the San Antonio Express News and the Spurs Nation newsletter. There was a great story about uh the brilliant, the conniving, the mischievous Sandro Mamukashvili and one of the uh one of the crimes of the century, Jeff, that he pulled off in Frost Bank Center was it last Friday night. and Jeff had a great breakdown of how it all came to pass with comments from mechanics, from accomplices, from uh people throughout the uh the crime network. Jeff if if if if you are back online here, break it down for us. How did Sandro pull it off? Yeah, Tom will tell about that one. There you go, Jeff. Tom helped out with that one too. Yeah, it was um interesting interesting uh night there uh Frost Bank Center when you know, um Steph Castle got his uh wheels taken off his car. Let let let Tom tell the story because he was involved in in that as well. Yeah, the back story is um, you know, we’re in Mike you were there in Charlotte, right? You’re on that trip. In Charlotte. Yeah, that’s where challenged me that my my wardrobe. Yeah. We’re in the locker room and Deron Fox comes in, looks at his, looks at his seat, looks at his locker. Oh yes. Says, he basically says, what in the heck is going on with this team? With the rookies like. You know? Where’s my towel? He yeah, he looks to Chris Paul says, what are the rookies doing here? What do they do here? Yeah. What kind of an outfit are you running, Chris Paul? And uh so the guy who’s supposed to put the towels out there was Steph Castle. And Steph Steph has been lagging in his rookie duties. you know, rookies have to do things that take care of the vets. Steph’s been lagging in that. So, Mammu basically uh kept telling him all season, you know, you got to pick it up, man. you got to pick it up. Pick it up or I’m going to take your tires. Uh basically threatening him, you know, I’m going to I’m going to have your tires removed if you don’t get into it. One little uh interjection I’ll make there because you mentioned I the the that that this did come up in the locker room in Charlotte uh during the rodeo road trip. And when uh Deron came out and was saying all that stuff, I walked over there to Steph and kind of was like, what’s what’s up with that? Like is he really mad at you? And and Steph, seriously, he’s he was like things have changed since he was a rookie. Like that we rookies don’t do that anymore. Steph’s attitude was like, no, that’s that’s for that’s for old people. Like like we rookies don’t. Rookies don’t have to do that anymore. Anyway, I think that little line that he that he said there to me plays into what happens next because Steph was not taking this he thought it was a joke. But proceed. Yeah, so so Sandro organizes us and you know, we talk sometimes about the Spurs lacking execution on the court. Uhhuh. Can can they execute a caper, a prank? And uh Mammu was uh the guy in charge. He orchestrated the whole thing. Got his friends at United Collision Car Center, which which our Nick Talbot is familiar with, unfortunately. Unfortunately. And and uh yeah, he just orchestrated this prank after the win over Dallas uh had elaborate hand signals. Uh Mammu, you know, snuck in, got Steph’s car keys at halftime. Then with an elaborate series of hand signals, uh when it when it appeared that the Spurs had the game in in control and we’re going to win. You don’t want to do this if you lose. Yeah, exactly. So Sandro signals to his girlfriend behind the bench who signals to Spurs security. Uhhuh. And then she signals to the United uh Collision Car Center folks, the plan is on. And uh so that’s when they jumped uh jumped at it, got to the player’s parking lot, removed uh Steph’s wheels from his sports car and uh, you know, jocularity and good times ensued. Uh, Steph handled it okay, although I think he initially was a little perturbed by it. But uh yeah, it was a Because all the wheels are off his car. his his his his sports car is on the axles in the in the Spurs parking lot after this game. And all of all the players following out there, videoing this, watching his reaction to having no wheels on his car. And to be clear like this this this wasn’t just uh as Tom alluded to, it’s not just one player uh uh mischievous player Sandro Mamo Kavili doing that. there there there needs to be security guards outside Frost Bank Center allowing this collision guy into the parking lot. So all these people have to be roped in and involved to let this guy, this mechanic in, auto body guy in to take the to take these uh wheels off. That was Yeah. That was a fun little story.
I thought Luis Luis Carrera Jr. Uhhuh. uh the owner of United Collision Car Center. Uh, yeah, I talked to him and he his great quote was, yeah, Sandro organized the crap out of this. And that’s basically what happened. Sandro pulled it off. It was one of the best executed moments of the season for the Spurs. Well, that was a that’s a highlight. You can you find where you can take him. I think Steph was uh We’re going to we’re going to move on from Jeff here. Sorry Jeff, uh we you’re you sound like a robot and you sound AI and you might have been AI all along. We’re going to have to move on from you. We don’t need any more Jeff McDonald comments on this podcast. We apologize to the listeners for Jeff sounding uh more useless than usual. Uh he he’s he’s he’s he’s working hard in all the other areas of his job. He’s going to try harder next week. We’ll all try harder next week. Until then, take care of each other and keep it real.