By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-03-30 14:27:42
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。
孟菲斯灰熊队主教练泰勒·詹金斯在2024年4月9日星期二在田纳西州孟菲斯举行的NBA篮球比赛下半场向球员喊话，对阵圣安东尼奥马刺队。(美联社照片/Brandon Dill)
上周，孟菲斯在季后赛开始前九场比赛解雇主教练泰勒·詹金斯(Taylor Jenkins)的消息震惊了整个NBA。
圣安东尼奥也感受到了震动。
“那是我们经常提及的，关于以正确的方式构建球队，不跳过任何步骤的项目之一，”马刺队代理教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)说。“看到他们从幼苗成长，然后逐步前进，这很有趣。如果不是全部，联盟中大多数关注这支球队的人都知道他在其中扮演了多大的角色。”
詹金斯于2008年至2013年在马刺队位于奥斯汀的G联赛附属球队工作，磨练了他的执教技巧，并在那里的最后一个赛季担任球队的主教练。
约翰逊于2016年开始了他的马刺生涯，担任奥斯汀马刺队的助理教练。
尽管两人在马刺队工作期间从未共事过，但他们仍然因与该项目的联系而紧密相连。
当约翰逊被委以重任，顶替本赛季生病的格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)时，詹金斯是主动联系他提供支持的教练之一。
“由于我们所处的境地和我们正在经历的经验，他显然非常友善，”约翰逊说。“我与他分享说，在我的执教生涯中，他们狠狠地击败了我们很多次。”
40岁的詹金斯被孟菲斯解雇，他是灰熊队历史上胜率最高的主教练。他带领灰熊队在他的前四个赛季中的三个赛季进入季后赛。
本赛季本应是球队在詹金斯执教下的第四次季后赛之旅。孟菲斯已任命助理教练图奥马斯·利尔萨洛为临时主教练。
“不幸的是，这个行业是残酷的，”约翰逊说。“我相信他会很快找到工作，只要他想。”
詹金斯出人意料的赋闲恰逢马刺队自身的主教练职位面临不确定性。
76岁的波波维奇自11月初中风以来一直缺席。在球队于2月下旬发布的一份书面声明中，波波维奇表示他希望下赛季重返教练席。
如果这被证明是不可能的，那么马刺队是否会继续内部选拔，将这份工作永久性地交给约翰逊，或者向外部竞争者开放这个职位，目前尚不清楚。
在后一种情况下，詹金斯很可能出现在马刺队的候选名单上。
“泰勒是联盟中最好的教练之一，”波士顿教练乔·马祖拉(Joe Mazzulla)说。“我认为他会反弹并找到一份新工作。任何地方都会很幸运能拥有他。”
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔继续在三月狂飙
马刺队新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)在周六马刺队以121-111输给波士顿的比赛中得到22分，本月第9次得分超过20分。
在周日对阵金州勇士队的主场比赛之前，他在3月份的场均得分为20.2分，有望赢得他的第二个西部月度最佳新秀荣誉。
“我并没有太在意这些，”卡斯尔谈到他得分的上升时说。“我觉得很大程度上来自于我的队友为我创造机会，处于良好的位置，在正确的位置给我球。”
在周日之前，卡斯尔已经有22场比赛得分超过20分。这个数字是榜单上排名第二的新秀的两倍多，华盛顿的亚历克斯·萨尔有9场。
赛程安排毫不留情
一周前，马刺队在多伦多结束三连胜后感觉良好。他们在周日之前已经连续输了三场，因为赛程发生了转变。
周六输给波士顿的比赛是马刺队连续七场对阵胜率超过50%球队的比赛中的第三场。在马刺队剩下的九场比赛中，只有两场是对阵胜率低于50%的对手——4月6日在波特兰，以及4月13日主场对阵多伦多的赛季收官战。
就像周四在克利夫兰一样，马刺队至少让强大的凯尔特人队为胜利而努力。
精神上的胜利在积分榜上不算数，但马刺队希望他们能从这段艰难的赛程中获得一些东西。
“我觉得我们打得还不错，尤其是在半场阵地战中，”卡斯尔说。“面对像他们这样的球队，你必须真正强调小细节才能赢得胜利。”
更糟糕的是，马刺队原本安排的休息日也被取消了，因为NBA重新安排了奥兰多前往圣安东尼奥的行程到周二，以迁就马刺队在洛杉矶湖人队的补赛日期，该比赛因1月份洛杉矶的野火而推迟。
马刺队没有享受一点休息时间，而是在周六开始了五天四赛的赛程。
点击查看原文：Taylor Jenkins' firing raises eyebrows in San Antonio
Taylor Jenkins’ firing raises eyebrows in San Antonio
Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins calls to players in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Last week’s stunning news that Memphis had fired coach Taylor Jenkins nine games before the start of the playoffs sent shockwaves across the NBA.
The reverberations were felt in San Antonio as well.
“That was one of the programs we allude to as far as building the right way and not skipping steps,” Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s been fun to see when they were babies and then the incremental steps they took. Most if not everyone around the league who has followed that team know how much of a part he played in that.”
Jenkins cut his coaching teeth on staff of the Spurs’ G League affiliate in Austin from 2018 through 2013, spending his final season there as the team’s head coach.
Johnson began his Spurs career as an assistant with the Austin Spurs in 2016.
Though the two never crossed paths during their time employed by the Spurs, they remain bonded by their connection to the program.
When Johnson was tabbed with the impossible task of filling in for the ailing Gregg Popovich this season, Jenkins was one of the coaches who reached out to offer support.
“He was obviously very gracious because of the situation we were under and the experiences we were going through,” Johnson said. “I shared with him that they have kicked our butts for a lot of my time here.”
Jenkins, 40, was ousted from Memphis as the winningest coach in franchise history. He led the Grizzlies to the playoffs in three of his first four seasons.
This season would have marked the team’s fourth postseason appearance under Jenkins’ watch. Memphis has named assistant Tuoumas Lilsalo as interim coach.
“Unfortunately, this business is ruthless,” Johnson said. “I’m sure he will be employed as soon as he wants to be.”
Jenkins’ unexpected availability comes at a time in which the Spurs face uncertainty regarding the state of their own head coaching position.
The 76-year-old Popovich has been out since suffering a stroke in early November. In a written statement released by the team in late February, Popovich indicated his desire to return to the bench next season.
Should that prove impossible, it is unclear whether the Spurs would remain in-house and hand the job to Johnson on a full-time basis or open the position up to outside contenders.
In the latter scenario, Jenkins would likely be on the Spurs’ short list of candidates.
“Taylor is one of the best coaches in the league,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I think he’ll bounce back and get a new job. Any place would be lucky to have him.”
Castle continues march through March
Spurs rookie Stephon Castle scored 22 points in the Spurs’ in Saturday’s 121-111 loss to Boston, notching his ninth 20-point game this month.
He headed into Sunday’s home game against Golden State averaging 20.2 points in March, staking a case to earn his second Western Conference Rookie of the Month honor.
“I’m not really trying to look at that too much,” Castle said of his uptick in scoring numbers. “I feel like a lot of that comes from my teammates setting me up, being in good positions, getting me the ball in the right spots.”
Heading into Sunday, Castle had logged 22 20-point games. That number more than doubled the second-place rookie on the list, as Washington’s Alex Sarr has notched nine.
Schedule offers no quarter
A week ago, the Spurs left Toronto feeling good on the heels of a three-game winning streak. They entered Sunday having lost three in a row, as the schedule took a turn.
Saturday’s loss to Boston marked the Spurs’ third in a stretch of seven in a row against teams with winning records. Of the Spurs’ remaining nine games, only two are against opponents under .500 – at Portland on April 6 and the season-finale at home against Toronto on April 13.
As it was in Cleveland on Thursday, the Spurs at least made a superior Celtics team work for the win.
Moral victories do not count in the standings, but the Spurs are hopeful they can gain something from this tough stretch of the schedule.
“I feel like we didn’t play bad, especially in the half court,” Castle said. “Against a team like that, you have to really emphasize the little things in order to win.”
Making matters tougher, the Spurs also had an originally scheduled day of rest taken away when the NBA rescheduled Orlando’s trip to San Antonio to Tuesday to accommodate the Spurs’ makeup date at the Los Angeles Lakers that was postponed by the L.A. wildfires in January.
Instead of a bit enjoying a bit of downtime, the Spurs kicked off a spate of four games in five nights Saturday.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News