By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-10-25 14:09:09
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。
2025年10月22日，星期三，在达拉斯举行的一场NBA篮球比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊在下半场面带微笑。在对阵达拉斯独行侠队的比赛中，ESPN的镜头捕捉到约翰逊在一次暂停期间恳切地告诉他的队员们要“拥抱平实”。而马刺队似乎正身体力行这一点，取得了自2020-21赛季以来的首次2胜0负开局。
如今，那段视频已在网上疯传。而米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 却宁愿它没有。
就像他之前那位马刺主帅一样，约翰逊也更希望ESPN的摄像机不要监听他在暂停期间的战术布置。
这并非因为他担心在全国电视直播中泄露什么宏伟计划或战术，他只是单纯不希望给自己的哥们儿们提供下次在群聊里调侃他的素材。
“老实说，看到自己（在电视上）的样子，真让人觉得尴尬，”约翰逊说道。
在周三马刺队于达拉斯取得的赛季揭幕战大胜中，摄像机捕捉到了约翰逊向球队传达的三个词的指令，而这三个词或许将定义他作为格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 继任者的第一个完整赛季。
波波维奇曾有句名言：“给我打出些血性。”
如今约翰逊的口号是：“拥抱平实。”
这是什么意思呢？
“就是保持稳定，”约翰逊说。“我们当时打得很好，所以我不想让比赛中的兴奋情绪影响我们的比赛方式。”
就激励人心的口号而言，“拥抱平实”或许不像波波维奇的一些经典语录那样适合直接印在T恤上。
但这或许正是这支马刺队最需要听到的信息。
这到底是什么意思呢？
“不要松懈，不要自满，坚持做那些行之有效的事情，”后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 说。“不要厌倦用正确的方式做事。”
马刺队本赛季的开局可一点都不“平实”。
他们将以2胜0负的战绩进入周日下午在Frost Bank中心对阵布鲁克林篮网队的主场揭幕战，这是自2020-21赛季以来首次。
在达拉斯取得一场大胜，又在新奥尔良经历一场鏖战后惊险取胜，马刺队队史第二次以客场连胜开启新赛季。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) —— 这位可以说是地球上最不“平实”的、会使用欧洲步的篮球运动员 —— 在前两场比赛中已经成为一个名副其实的“怪物”，总共砍下69分、26个篮板、12次盖帽，并贡献了大约二十几次令人摇头赞叹的精彩集锦。
想让这些变得“平实”，祝你好运吧。
然而，即使是面对身高7英尺4英寸的文班亚马那超凡脱俗的表现，马刺队仍然相信，当他的身材和技巧与扎实的基本功相结合时，他才能发挥出最佳水平。
这对整支球队同样适用。
2025年10月24日，星期五，在新奥尔良举行的一场NBA篮球比赛中，新奥尔良鹈鹕队前锋赫伯特·琼斯 (Herbert Jones) (2号) 在上半场试图封盖圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) (24号)。(美联社照片/彼得·福雷斯特 (Peter Forest))
“我们必须确保做好那些小事，处理好那些小细节，”摇摆人德文·瓦塞尔说。“无论是卡位挡人，还是参与防守轮转——你都必须处理好这些小细节。这才是你一步步赢下比赛的方式。”
如果可以按约翰逊的想法来，马刺队最近的这场胜利本应远没有那么激动人心，而是更加，嗯，平实。
马刺队本有机会甩开新奥尔良队，让关键时刻毫无悬念。但事与愿违，他们未能完全避免自乱阵脚，不得不通过加时赛才在冰沙王中心以120-116惊险取胜。
文班亚马犯满离场，凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 也是如此。卡斯尔出现了10次失误，其中4次在加时赛，并且在加时赛中罚丢了三球。
但卡斯尔也在常规时间命中了一记关键三分球，并在加时赛中为朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 送出关键助攻，助其命中底角三分。
最终，依靠队内最年长的球员——哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) ——的两记罚球，才在比赛仅剩1.9秒时终结了这场疯狂的比赛，锁定了胜局。
“你看到一些球员能很快地从犯错转变为建功，”米奇·约翰逊说。“能够克服这些困难并强势收尾，这说明了这些球员的品格。”
曾几何时，由蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 率领的马刺队正是通过在近二十年的时间里，一遍又一遍地做对那些小事，才铸就了一个NBA王朝。
这种方式或许没能产出过多的“体育中心”十佳球集锦，但它确实为Frost Bank中心带来了五面总冠军旗帜。
人们称邓肯为“大基本功”不是没有道理的。
从某种意义上说，约翰逊正要求这支由文班亚马率领的马刺队回归本源，并将“乐趣”（fun）重新注入“基本功”（fundamentals）之中。
2025年10月24日，星期五，在新奥尔良举行的一场NBA篮球比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) (7号) 在上半场试图单打新奥尔良鹈鹕队中锋德里克·奎恩 (Derik Queen) (22号)。在维克托·文班亚马于加时赛开始43秒后犯满离场的情况下，科内特在防守端挺身而出，帮助马刺队以120-116惊险取胜。
“有些时刻看起来可能非常吸引人，非常不可思议，”曾在2024年帮助波士顿凯尔特人队赢得NBA总冠军的中锋卢克·科内特说。“但很多时候，成功归根结底就是做那些非常简单、可重复的事情。这才是真正能够带来持续成功的关键。”
或许马刺队中没有谁比科内特更能“拥抱平实”了——他正是马刺队与文班亚马组成的所谓“法式香草”前场组合中，朴实无华的“原味”那一半。
在新奥尔良，科内特贡献了14分和12个篮板——其中包括9个前场篮板——并在文班亚马于加时赛开始43秒后犯满离场时，稳住了马刺队的禁区防守。
无论是恰到好处的掩护、精妙的空切传球，还是对新奥尔良“小钢炮”锡安·威廉姆森 (Zion Williamson) 的完美沉退防守，科内特都上演了一场教科书级的“平实高效”教学课。
“他可能是唯一一个打出了一场真正干净利落比赛的球员，”约翰逊说。“没有太多非受迫性失误。”
现在，马刺队正以不败金身和高昂的势头返回圣安东尼奥，迎接周日备受期待的主场揭幕战。
Frost Bank中心届时必将座无虚席，球迷们也必定翘首以盼，现场气氛定会火爆异常。
如果一切按计划进行，马刺队的目标就是让这个下午变得尽可能地“平实”。
点击查看原文：How Mitch Johnson aims to help the Spurs 'embrace the mundane'
How Mitch Johnson aims to help the Spurs ‘embrace the mundane’
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson smiles during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. Johnson was caught on ESPN cameras imploring his team to “embrace the mundane” during a timeout against the Mavericks, and the Spurs seem to be doing that in their first 2-0 start since 2020-21.
By now, the clip has gone viral. Mitch Johnson kind of wishes it hadn’t.
Like the man who preceded him as Spurs coach, Johnson would rather the ESPN cameras were not allowed to eavesdrop on his timeout huddles.
Not because he is worried about giving away some grand plan or strategy on national television. He would simply prefer not to provide his buddies with ammunition to roast him on their next group chat.
“It makes you cringe to see yourself, to be honest with you,” Johnson said.
In the Spurs’ resounding season-opening victory at Dallas on Wednesday, the cameras captured Johnson offering his team three words of instruction that might come to define his first full season as Gregg Popovich’s successor.
Popovich once had “Give me some nasty.”
Now Johnson has “Embrace the mundane.”
What does that mean?
“Just be consistent,” Johnson said. “We were playing well, so I didn’t want the excitement of what was happening in the game to affect our approach.”
As far as rah-rah mantras go, perhaps “embrace the mundane” isn’t as ready-made for T-shirts as some of Popovich’s greatest hits.
It might be the message this particular group of Spurs needs to hear the most.
What does it mean again?
“Don’t get lackadaisical, don’t get satisfied, just stick to what is working,” guard Stephon Castle said. “Don’t get bored of doing things the right way.”
Little has been mundane about the Spurs’ start to the season.
They head into Sunday afternoon’s home opener against Brooklyn at the Frost Bank Center 2-0 for the first time since 2020-21.
Having won in a blowout at Dallas and a nailbiter at New Orleans, the Spurs have opened a season with consecutive victories on the road for only the second time in club history.
Victor Wembanyama — arguably the least mundane basketball player to ever Eurostep the planet — has been a certified Monstar, totaling 69 points, 26 rebounds, 12 blocks and about two dozen head-shaking highlights over the first two games.
Good luck making that mundane.
Even when it comes to the otherworldly exploits of the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, however, the Spurs believe he is at his best when his size and skill blends with basic fundamentals.
That goes for the entire team.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (2) tries to block San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
“We have to make sure we’re doing the little things and taking care of the little details,” swingman Devin Vassell said. “Whether it’s boxing out, whether it’s getting in (defensive) shift — you’ve got to take care of the little details. That’s how you walk down the game.”
If Johnson had his druthers, the Spurs’ most recent victory would have been far less exciting and far more, well, mundane.
The Spurs had chances to pull away from New Orleans and siphon crunch time of all dramatics. Instead, they couldn’t get completely out of their own way and had to work overtime to rescue a 120-116 win at the Smoothie King Center.
Wembanyama fouled out. So did Keldon Johnson. Castle committed 10 turnovers, four of them in OT, and missed three foul shots in the extra period.
Castle also hit a crucial 3-pointer in regulation and made a key pass to Julian Champagnie for a corner 3-pointer in OT.
In the end, it took a pair of free throws from Harrison Barnes — the Spurs’ oldest player — to stop the madness and seal the victory with 1.9 seconds remaining.
“You saw some guys that went from making mistakes to making plays pretty quickly,” Mitch Johnson said. “To be able to play through some of that and finish strong said something about those guys’ character.”
Once upon a time, the Tim Duncan-led Spurs forged an NBA dynasty by doing the little things right over and over and over again, for darn near two decades.
That approach might not have produced an overabundance of SportsCenter highlights, but it did result in five championship banners for the Frost Bank Center.
They didn’t call Duncan “The Big Fundamantal” for nothing.
In a way, Johnson is asking the Wembanyama-led Spurs to return to their roots and put the “fun” back in “fundamentals.”
San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) tries to make a move against New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in New Orleans. Kornet picked up the slack on defense after Victor Wemanyama fouled out 43 seconds into overtime to help the Spurs escape with a 120-116 win.
“Some moments can look very attractive, very incredible,” said center Luke Kornet, who helped Boston win an NBA title in 2024. “But a lot of times it just comes down to doing very simple, repeatable stuff. That’s what actually allows for sustained success.”
Perhaps no player on the Spurs better embraces the mundane than Kornet, the “vanilla” half of the Spurs’ so-called “French vanilla” frontcourt combo with Wembanyama.
In New Orleans, Kornet had 14 points and 12 rebounds — including nine on the offensive end — and steadied the Spurs’ paint protection after Wembanyama fouled out 43 seconds into overtime.
Whether it was a properly set screen, a nifty backdoor pass or the perfect drop coverage on New Orleans bulldog Zion Williamson, Kornet put on an absolute clinic of mundane effectiveness.
“He was probably the only guy that played a really clean game,” Johnson said. “Not a lot of self-inflicted mistakes.”
Now the Spurs are headed back to San Antonio, unbeaten and riding high on their way to Sunday’s highly anticipated home opener.
The Frost Bank Center is sure to be packed. Fans are sure to be primed. The atmosphere should be electric.
If all goes to plan, the Spurs aim to make the afternoon as mundane as possible.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News