By Charlie Thaddeus | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-03-21 02:00:00
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。
桑德罗，你有属于自己的一天！
我觉得我可能无法真正地恰如其分地描述我们刚刚目睹的一切。这个赛季已经结束了。球队的气氛跌入谷底。不确定性很高。一切都没有按照我们想要的方式发展，这些比赛越来越像我们一边分心做其他事情，一边半看半不看的东西。就我个人而言，作为一名马刺球迷，我觉得自己像是在湖里漫无目的地漂流——完全迷失，茫然地仰望着天空。
然后，不知从哪里伸出一只手，向我提供了一条出路。
桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利(Sandro Mamukelashvili)。天啊，天啊，天啊。桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利。这个人是不是联盟里最有趣的人之一？出生于纽约，在格鲁吉亚第比利斯长大。在意大利读高中。会说四种语言。显然是弗拉瓦·弗拉夫最好的朋友？最重要的是，我搜遍了整个互联网，试图找到一句关于桑德罗的坏话，结果一无所获。你意识到这有多难吗？互联网讨厌所有人。
夸大桑德罗对阵尼克斯的夜晚的重要性很容易。它并没有改变马刺的季后赛希望。它没有修复 维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama) 的肩膀或 德阿隆·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox) 的手指。它没有让 格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 回到场边。当然，它对我们的选秀顺位没有任何帮助。这是一场虚无。一场在森林里进行的34分比赛，没有人听到。
那么意义何在？
意义在于，它真的非常有趣。这真的是我见过的最令人愉悦、最随机的NBA比赛之一。这个疯狂的家伙，身上布满了纹身（但只在一侧），穿着54号球衣，仿佛在NBA新生训练营时球衣号码不够用了一样，奉献了一场绝对的精彩表演。他的投篮只有母亲才会喜欢，而那种投篮简直不可能投丢。在最高水平的篮球比赛中，桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利在一个晚上成为了最好的球员。
意义在于，我们见证了一个奇迹。
感觉就像是呼出了一口气。仿佛整个球迷群体都被其他方面的不利因素分散了注意力，以至于忘记了呼吸。从大局来看，情况并没有那么糟糕，但从小处着眼呢？感觉糟透了。这个赛季看起来不像它应该有的样子。它不是我们所有人设想的雄伟的复兴。它有起有落，然后是更多的落，随后是偶尔的上升火花，但立即被——你猜对了——更多的落所扼杀。
这令人沮丧。老实说？我对此感到有点沮丧。这不是我引以为傲的事情，但我只是不想参与马刺的事情。世界既怪异又可怕，令人迷失方向，而且我最希望的是，马刺能成为摆脱这一切的安全港。当他们不是时……好吧，我退出了。
值得庆幸的是，Pounding The Rock dot com 的幕后推手们让我们提前很长时间安排写作任务。所以我的名字在电子表格里和 3月19日——马刺对阵尼克斯 放在一起。我嘟囔着，抱怨着，叹着气，最后戴上安全帽，打卡上班，坐下来见证桑德罗爆发成一片绚丽的光辉，美得让我跪倒在地。
生活真是奇妙。
桑德罗之夜不会改变我的生活。但话说回来……也许会？我更愿意接受这样一种观点，即有趣或令人愉快的事情可能会在我不经意的时候突然冒出来，打我一个措手不及。我准备好了不再为马刺感到悲伤，即使事情并不顺利。我更愿意接受一场个人比赛在世界上的意义，而不必符合严格的自然规律。
赛后， 布雷克·韦斯利(Blake Wesley) 这样评价马穆：
“我认识的每个人都说他们喜欢他。他是一个快乐的人，无论是好是坏。一个值得相处的好人。”
这支球队正处于伟大事业的开端。未来十年将充满伟大的名字和更伟大的比赛。灯光会很耀眼，关注会让人应接不暇，胜利会让人欢欣鼓舞，失败会让人感到刺痛。在那些时刻，记住像桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利这样的人将会非常重要。
一个快乐的人，无论是好是坏。一个值得相处的好人。
换句话说，一个奇迹。
要点：
- 我不知道 克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul) 时代在圣安东尼奥会持续多久。也许我们会再得到他一年，或者他会继续在NBA各处征战。但我所知道的是，我对他在这里的 defining memories 之一将是看到他开始意识到桑德罗在发光。你可以实时地看到这一切发生——克里斯·保罗放弃了他之前的任何计划，让马刺进入了专门为桑德罗喂球的战术。就像他体内纯粹的篮球人被点燃了一样，意识到正在发生的事情的重要性。拥有一位纯粹的篮球人在球队中，对于这样的时刻至关重要。
- 我的本能是淡化弗拉瓦·弗拉夫这件事。感觉就像是马刺周边的时刻之一，任何时候，任何在篮球界之外稍微有点名气的人出现，球队都会对此有点过于渴望。这让我感到不舒服——我只是不需要它。我认为马刺本身就很酷，而不是因为哪些名人在场边观看。我们不是湖人或尼克斯，这是一件好事。
- 话虽如此，马穆实际上是弗拉夫的朋友？而且是他买了这场特定比赛的门票？然后马穆就在弗拉夫在场的这个晚上变成了 斯蒂芬·库里(Stephen Curry) ？这绝对是纯粹、干净的奇迹。整场比赛已经感觉像是一次灵魂出窍的篮球体验，而马穆在雷鸣般的掌声中走下球场——与我们这个时代最古怪的流行文化人物之一手挽着手？这是一个不可磨灭的记忆。启动“耶波”，马刺球迷们。想按多少就按多少。
“我的伙计燃起来了！”
桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利在19分钟内得到34分（三分球7投7中）
20分钟以下的最高得分
马穆：19分钟内34分（93% 命中率）
杰伦·布朗：19分钟内33分（65% 命中率）
凯文·乐福：15分钟内32分（63% 命中率）
凯文·杜兰特：19分钟内30分（77% 命中率）pic.twitter.com/4g26fRzFC0— Ballislife.com (@ Ballislife) 2025年3月20日
WWL 赛后新闻发布会
- 那么你认为你现在真的会改过自新了吗？在我们进入最后阶段时，不再有阴郁、悲惨的总结了吗？
- 我会尽力而为的，我会告诉你。我不知道这是否会是一个顺利的过程。我们不能在一夜之间都变成桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利，但这感觉像是一个值得努力的好目标。
- 在你身体的一侧纹身会有帮助吗？
- 这不会有坏处，我会告诉你！
- 我的意思是，这可能会很疼。众所周知，纹身很疼。这就像纹身的主要特点之一。
- 对。是的。针头和刺痛等等。
- 是的，针头和刺痛。以及所有这些。
- 嗯，我想我的意思是，这不会伤害到这个过程。这不会影响我所说的试图成为一个更好的人的目标。马穆的膝盖上有一个巨大的和平标志纹身。这是一个致力于这个过程的人，而这正是我们这里需要的承诺。
- 那么我可以把你记下来，在你下次发声的时候，你会有一个巨大的膝盖纹身？
- 抱歉，你的连接中断了。我这边全是静电。没听清楚最后一部分，但期待未来！好事！快乐的氛围！
点击查看原文：What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Knicks
What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Knicks
Have a day, Sandro!
I don’t think I can actually do justice to whatever it is we just witnessed. The season is dead. The vibes are in the toilet. The uncertainty is high. Nothing has gone the way we wanted, and these games are increasingly feeling like something we half-watch while trying to focus on almost anything else. Personally, as a Spurs fan, I feel like I’ve been floating aimlessly in a lake — fully adrift, staring blankly up at the sky.
Then, out of nowhere, a hand appeared and offered me a way out.
Sandro Mamukelashvili. My, my, my. Sandro Mamukelashvili. Is this man maybe one of the most interesting dudes in the league? Born in New York, raised in Tbilisi, Georgia. High school in Italy. Speaks four languages. Is apparently best friends with Flava Flav? On top of all that, I scoured the entire internet trying to find a single bad word said about Sandro, and I came up empty. Do you realize how hard that is? The internet hates everyone.
It’s easy to overstate the importance of Sandro’s night against the Knicks. It didn’t change the Spurs’ playoff hopes. It didn’t fix Victor’s shoulder or De’Aaron’s finger. It didn’t bring Pop back to the sidelines. It certainly didn’t do anything for our draft odds. It was a nothing. A 34-point game in the forest with no one around to hear it.
So what was the point?
The point is that it was fun as hell. Truly one of the most joyous, random NBA games I’ve seen in a long, long time. This crazy man, covered in tattoos (but only on one side of his body), rocking the number 54 like they ran out of jersey numbers at NBA orientation, put on an absolute clinic. He’s got a shot that only a mother could love, and that shot simply couldn’t miss. At the highest level of basketball, for one night, Sandro Mamukelashvili was the best at it.
The point is that we got to witness a miracle.
It felt like exhaling. Like the entire fanbase had been so distracted by everything else going wrong that we forgot to breathe. In the grand scheme, things aren’t all that bad, but in the small picture? It feels crummy. This season didn’t look like it was supposed to. It wasn’t the majestic return to relevance we’d all envisioned. It had ups, it had downs, then it had more downs, followed by occasional sparks of ups that were immediately smothered by — you guessed it — more downs.
It’s been a bummer. And honestly? I’ve been kind of down about it. Not something I’m proud of, but I just didn’t want to engage with the Spurs. The world is weird and scary and disorienting, and more than anything, I wanted the Spurs to be a safe haven from all of that. When they weren’t… well, I checked out.
Thankfully, the powers that be at Pounding The Rock dot com make us schedule writing assignments pretty far in advance. So my name was sitting in the spreadsheet next to March 19 — Spurs vs. Knicks. I grumbled, complained, sighed, and finally put on my hard hat, clocked in, and sat down to witness Sandro explode into a constellation of iridescent splendor so beautiful it brought me to my knees.
Funny how life works.
The Sandro Game isn’t going to change my life. But then again… maybe it will? I feel more open to the idea that something fun or joyful might just come out of nowhere and slap me in the face when I least expect it. I feel ready to not be sad about the Spurs, even when things aren’t really going our way. I feel more open to what an individual game might be in the world, without it having to conform to the strict laws of nature.
After the game, Blake Wesley said this about Mamu:
“Everybody that I know says they love him. He’s a happy person, good or bad. A good guy to be around.”
This franchise is on the cusp of something big. The next decade is going to be filled with big names and bigger games. The lights will be bright, the attention will be overwhelming, the wins will be exhilarating, and the losses will sting. And in those moments, it’s going to be important to remember guys like Sandro Mamukelashvili.
A happy person, good or bad. A good guy to be around.
In other words, a miracle.
Takeaways:
- I don’t know how long the Chris Paul era is going to last in San Antonio. Maybe we get another year of him, or maybe he moves on and continues hooping his way across the NBA. What I do know is that one of my defining memories of his time here will be watching him start to realize that Sandro was glowing. You could see it happening in real time — Chris Paul throwing out whatever plan he had and getting the Spurs into sets designed to feed Sandro the ball. It was like the pure Basketball Guy in him lit up, recognizing the significance of what was unfolding. It’s so important to have a pure Basketball Guy on the squad for moments like this.
- My instinct was to downplay the Flava Flav thing. It felt like one of those Spurs-adjacent moments where any time anyone remotely famous outside the basketball world pops up, the team gets a little too thirsty about it. It rubs me the wrong way — I just don’t need it. I think the Spurs are cool on their own merit, not because of which celebrities are sitting courtside. We’re not the Lakers or the Knicks, and that’s a good thing.
- THAT BEING SAID, the fact that Mamu is actually friends with Flav? And that he was the one who got him tickets to this specific game? And then Mamu proceeded to turn into Steph Curry for the one night Flav was in the building? That’s just good, clean miracle stuff right there. This whole game already felt like an out-of-body basketball experience, and the fact that Mamu walked off the court to thunderous applause — arm in arm with one of the weirdest pop culture figures of our time? That’s an indelible memory. Fire up the “Yeah Bois,” Spurs fans. Hit as many as you want.
“MY MAN IS ON FIRE!”
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 34 POINTS (7/7 3PT) in 19 MINUTES
Most PTS under 20 MINS
Mamu: 34 in 19 MINS (93% FG)
Jaylen Brown: 33 in 19 MINS (65% FG)
Kevin Love: 32 in 15 MINS (63% FG)
KD: 30 in 19 MINS (77% FG)pic.twitter.com/4g26fRzFC0— Ballislife.com (@ Ballislife) March 20, 2025
WWL Post Game Press Conference
- So do you think you’ll actually turn over a new leaf now? No more morose, woebegone recaps as we head down the stretch here?
- I’m going to give it the old college try, I’ll tell you that much. I don’t know if it’s going to be a smooth process. We all can’t just turn into Sandro Mamukelashvili overnight at the drop of a hat, but it feels like a good goal to shoot for.
- Would it help to get one side of your body tattooed?
- It wouldn’t hurt, I’ll tell you that much!
- I mean, it probably would hurt. Tattoos notoriously hurt. That’s like one of the main things about tattoos.
- Right. Yes. The needles and the poking and all that.
- Yes, the needles and the poking. And all that.
- Well, I guess I mean, it won’t hurt the process. It won’t detract from my stated goal of trying to, you know, be a better guy. Mamu has a giant peace sign tattoo on his knee. This is a guy committed to the process and that the kind of commitment we need around here.
- So I can put you down for a giant knee tattoo by the time we hear from you again?
- Sorry, you’re connection is breaking up. It’s all static on my end. Didn’t catch that last part but looking forward to the future! Good things! Happy Vibes!
By Charlie Thaddeus, via Pounding The Rock