By Jacob Douglas | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-08-21 06:30:36
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。
距离训练营开营还有一个多月的时间，NBA的各路名嘴和专家们已经开始对下赛季的走向进行预测。每个休赛期，人们都会问同样的问题。哪支上赛季无缘季后赛的球队将在新赛季突出重围？哪支青年军已经准备好实现飞跃？而今年夏天，这些问题的答案几乎都毫无悬念地指向了圣安东尼奥马刺队。
前NBA球员如杰夫·蒂格 (Jeff Teague)以及全国知名的评论员如扎克·洛维 (Zach Lowe)都表示，马刺很可能将从一支为乐透签位而战的球队，转变为季后赛席位的有力争夺者。大多数体育博彩公司为圣安东尼奥设定的预测胜场数为43.5场。上赛季，43场胜利足以让一支西部球队拿到第九名的位置，并获得一个参加附加赛的资格。外界的期待正向马刺倾斜。
这样的情景我们似曾相识。近年来，俄克拉荷马城雷霆队、休斯顿火箭队和孟菲斯灰熊队都曾经历过从一支充满斗志的青年军，蜕变为被全国媒体认定为板上钉钉的季后赛球队的过程。那些球队都拥有多位年轻球星和一个激动人心的年轻核心。圣安东尼奥正追随着他们的脚步，由维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 和达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 领衔，辅以斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)、迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)、德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 和杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 组成的年轻核心阵容。
但马刺真的准备好完成这一飞跃了吗？上赛季，他们距离附加赛仅有5个胜场的差距，而且可以说，如果文班亚马和福克斯没有遭遇赛季报销的伤病，圣安东尼奥本有机会获得一个附加赛名额。一个拥有全勤明星球员的完整赛季，加上卡斯尔在二年级的飞跃，以及像哈珀、卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 和凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk) 等新援的贡献，即便是在竞争残酷的西部，也可能足以帮助他们不负众望。
对许多马刺球员来说，这将是一个成败在此一举的关键赛季，而外界的期望可能会决定他们的沉浮。哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 即将进入合同年，他对在强队中打球并不陌生。索汉尚未签下他的续约合同。如果他不续约，他将在2026年夏天成为一名受限制自由球员——看看约什·吉迪 (Josh Giddey) 和乔纳森·库明加 (Jonathan Kuminga) 的遭遇就知道那会是什么结果了。如果他想在明年的合同谈判中获得筹码，他就必须打出一个出色的赛季。即便是已经手握一份稳固合同的瓦塞尔，也可能会为了保住首发位置而感到压力，并且一旦他陷入状态低迷，就可能面临更严厉的审视。
对年轻球队的期望总是伴随着批评。拥有文班亚马的马刺，整个赛季都将处于全国媒体的聚光灯之下。多达22场的全国直播比赛，将让球队暴露在那些并非每晚都关注他们的球迷的挑剔目光之下。这支球队拥有应对这一切的天赋。如果他们没有这样的实力，也不会被视为最值得关注的青年军。这支马刺队已经正式告别了“潜力十足的年轻核心”这一标签，升级为西部一位名副其实的季后赛竞争者。
点击查看原文：The Spurs are the league’s new young core with expectations
The Spurs are the league’s new young core with expectations
With a little over a month to go to training camp, talking heads and experts around the NBA are starting to make their predictions for next season. Every offseason, people ask the same questions. Which team that didn’t make the playoffs last year will make it next season? What young team is ready to make the leap? This summer, the answer to those questions has almost unequivocally been the San Antonio Spurs.
Former players like Jeff Teague and national talking heads like Zach Lowe have said the Spurs are a team likely to go from playing for lottery odds to playoff seeding. San Antonio’s win total has been set at 43.5 by most sports books. Last season, 43 wins would earn a Western Conference team the 9th seed and a spot in the Play-In Tournament. The hype is on the Spurs’ side.
We’ve seen this before. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, and Memphis Grizzlies, in recent memory, went from plucky young squad to a playoff team written in Sharpie by the national media. Those teams all had multiple young stars and an exciting young core. San Antonio follows in those footsteps with Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox leading the way, backed up by a young core of Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan.
But are the Spurs ready to make that leap? They were just 5 games out of the play-in last season, and you could argue that had Wembanyama and Fox not experienced season-ending injuries, San Antonio was in line to earn a play-in spot. A full season with their stars, a second-year leap from Castle, and contributions from new additions like Harper, Luke Kornet, and Kelly Olynyk, even in a tough Western Conference, could be enough to help them live up to the hype.
It’ll be a make-or-break season for a lot of Spurs, and those expectations could help them sink or swim. Harrison Barnes is entering a contract year and is no stranger to playing on contending teams. Sochan has yet to sign his contract extension. If he doesn’t, he’s slated for restricted free agency in the summer of 2026, and just ask Josh Giddey and Jonathan Kuminga how that has turned out for them. He needs to have a big season if he wants leverage in contract disputes next year. Even Vassell, who is locked into a solid contract, could feel pressure to keep his spot in the starting lineup, and could face harsher scrutiny if he goes on a cold streak.
Expectations for young teams bring about criticism. With Wembanyama, the Spurs will be under the magnifying glass of the national media all season long. With 22 nationally televised games, the team will be under the critical eye of fans who don’t watch the team night in and night out. This team has the talent to handle it. They wouldn’t be identified as the young team to watch if they didn’t. This Spurs squad has officially moved out of the intriguing young core, to a legit playoff contender in the West.
By Jacob Douglas, via Pounding The Rock