By Charlie Thaddeus | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-10-27 23:55:55
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。
感觉仍未成型。
在周日马刺与布鲁克林篮网的整场对决中，这个念头始终在我脑海中萦绕。马刺队至今保持不败。球队氛围高涨。每个人都对新赛季的火爆开局欣喜若狂。文班已然降临。卡斯尔强势崛起。哈珀实力不俗。马刺正以我们梦寐以求多年的方式蓬勃发展。那我的问题出在哪？为什么我会在派对的角落里喃喃自语，说马刺还有更多工作要做？
首先，我认为他们已经赢得了被如此审视的资格。我这是在赞美他们，真心如此。换作过去几年的那几支球队，我们只会坐在一旁，到处寻找哪怕一丝微小的进步。这里拼抢积极了一点，那里投篮手感火热了一回，偶尔还能做到“在防守端不只是个摆设”。我们希望他们看起来更好，赢下一些比赛，然后我们就可以心满意足地继续前行了。这是一种与一支正在成长的年轻球队互动交流的健康方式。
然而这个赛季，我倾向于相信这支球队的承诺——他们的目标远不止是“显著进步”。他们说他们想竞争。他们说他们想打进季后赛。他们说他们希望被视作NBA的顶级球队之一，不是在未来，而是就是现在。好吧，既然如此，那你们就必须回答一些问题，比如为什么会挥霍掉对阵布鲁克林篮网时26分的领先优势。你们必须为在与新奥尔良鹈鹕的比赛末段掉以轻心、差点输掉一场本可拿下的比赛负责。你们必须搞清楚为什么失误如此之多。你们必须停止像一只刚放出笼子的小狗一样开启比赛。
这些不是什么难题。随着更多队员回归，并逐渐融入赛季的节奏，这些都是马刺能够也应该解决的问题。但正是因为他们从赛季一开始就展现出了如此高的水准，才使得那些尚未达标的方面显得格外突出。
我认为这支球队很强。我坚信他们阵中天赋满溢，球员们个个都摩拳擦掌，渴望证明自己的实力。你能从他们的比赛方式中感受到那份饥渴。文班显然是另一个星球的生物，他为球队带来的东西无与伦比，但队里其他球员与他那种狂热节奏的差距，可能比你想象的要小。特别是 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) ，他每次持球时都像着了魔一样。上赛季新秀赛季的胆怯已经荡然无存，现在的他看起来随时都处于攻击模式。值得称赞的是， 迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 似乎也渴望匹配这种强度，当你看这支球队比赛时，他们俩的组合会让你眼前一亮。这令人振奋，也正是马刺当初引入这批年轻天才时，迫切希望能够实现的景象。
而这，也正是我在这里要讨论的问题，那就是，你不能一直都处于攻击模式。篮球不是这么打的。在这项运动中，成熟意味着知道如何、何时以及在何处发起攻击。找到你的进攻位置。与队友相互配合。现在，我感觉像在看一群冠军雪橇犬，每条都在拼命地向前拉，这种混乱的合力虽然将队伍带向了正确的方向，但一定有更好的方式抵达目的地。
成长的阵痛还会继续。我们知道这一点。 德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 会渴望重返赛场，展示他的能力。 杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 会想要证明他在马刺未来的计划中占有一席之地。 凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk) 会想要，嗯，做一些凯利·奥利尼克会做的事。关键在于，无论从哪个方面看，我们现在看到的这支球队都不是一个成品。它就像一栋正在翻修的房子，看起来比以前好多了，但还没到能安心入住的程度。用每一个搞过家庭装修的人的话来说就是：“快好了。”
听着，我很激动。我们都很激动。马刺队在比赛过程中看起来有些疯狂，却依然能走上场去赢得比赛，坦白说，这是一个相当有趣的发展。我们将迎来一个有趣的赛季，即使前方的道路上明显还有一些坎坷在等着我们。
几点观察：
- 我爱 维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 。你爱维克托·文班亚马。我们都爱维克托·文班亚马，对吧？马刺队在运转上仍然极度依赖他。听着，我对此表示同情，因为这确实是个难题。你不可能忽视场上那个大个子，而把地球上最具天赋的球员之一当作诱饵的想法，本身就与篮球的整个概念背道而驰。我们不需要他做得更少，我们只需要其他每个人在战术计划中扮演更重要的角色。对手会包夹他。他会有投篮不准的夜晚。他会陷入犯规麻烦。他甚至……（小声说）可能会有一两次伤病惊魂。文班是太阳，我们必须学会如何在阴凉处打球。
- 这场比赛我非常想念 卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 。所有人都说我们会爱上他，我起初还有所保留，因为没人能告诉我该如何去拥抱一位民间英雄般的运动员，但是，天哪，卢克这家伙真的有料。他就是我们梦寐以求的和蔼可亲的替补中锋。保持健康，卢克。我们需要你。
- 失误问题还不算是个问题，但正在演变成一个问题，你懂我意思吗？你明白吗？就是说，我并不担心，但我开始有点担心了？你跟得上吗？就好比，我没觉得这是个麻烦，但我越来越觉得麻烦了？如果这能帮你理解我的意思，我可以一直这样说下去。它不是个隐患，但正在变成一个隐患。它没吓到我，但我开始感到害怕了。我对此完全冷静，但我正在热身。我冷静得超乎你的想象，但我已经进入到开始有点出汗的阶段了。
- 真喜欢波波教练可能非常讨厌他的那面荣誉旗帜。哈，吃瘪吧，老头子！我们爱你、感激你，你对此无能为力！你让我们的人生变得更美好，我们也要相应地向你致敬，你这个大混蛋！
WWL 赛后新闻发布会
– 你在写作时，会有意识地选择一开篇就带着一股火气吗？
– 有意识的选择？不，我得说我在写作时从未对任何事做过有意识的选择。尤其是在开篇的时候。不不，在那个时候，我所有的精力都集中在战胜那种看到空白页面和闪烁光标时吞噬我整个灵魂的巨大恐慌感上。
– 你每次写作都是从进入一种巨大的恐慌状态开始的？
– 当然，这有点像一种心流状态？就像，为了触及你大脑的创造性部分，你必须首先经历一次彻底的自我否定，承认自己到底有多么愚蠢，多么不配使用文字。这有点像解锁了“战斗或逃跑”的本能，只有到那时，文字才会出现。我通常在写到大约一段之后才会恢复意识，然后试着从那里搞清楚我们要往哪个方向走。
– 这听起来很可怕？你基本上是说，你唯一能写作的方式，就是恐慌到极点，开始像动物被捕猎时那样，以最原始的方式恐惧死亡？
– 是的……对。好像是这样。说实话，这还挺美的。只有在我们最接近毁灭的时刻，我们才能真正触及到更深层次的真理，比如“当维克托·文班亚马不在场上时，马刺队就没那么强了。”
点击查看原文：What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Nets
What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Nets
It still seems unfinished.
That’s the thought that kept running through my head all throughout Sunday’s tilt with the Brooklyn Nets. The Spurs are undefeated. The vibes are high. Everyone is pleased as punch with the roaring start this new season has gotten off to. Wemby has arrived. Castle has ascended. Harper looks legit. The Spurs are thriving in a way we’ve been dreaming about for years. So what’s my problem? Why am I off in the corner of the party mumbling to myself that the Spurs still have more work to do?
Well, for one thing, I think they’ve earned that level of scrutiny. I mean that as a compliment. Sincerely, I do. With the teams of the last couple of years, we would sit around hunting for modest improvement wherever we could find it. A raised effort here, a hot shooting night there, an occasional “not being a waste of space defensively.” We wanted them to look better and win some games, and then we could just go on from there, satisfied with the progress. It was a wholesome way to engage with a young team finding its way.
This season, though, I’m inclined to take this team at their word that they have their sights set on something higher than “marked improvement.” They say they want to compete. They say they want to make the playoffs. They say they want to be considered one of the top teams in the NBA, not in the future but right now. Ok, well, if that’s the case, then you have to answer some questions about blowing a 26-point lead to the Brooklyn Nets. You have to be held accountable for messing around down the stretch in New Orleans and almost blowing a winnable game. You have to figure out why you’re turning the ball over so much. You have to stop starting games like a puppy that’s just been let out of its crate.
These aren’t hard questions. These are things the Spurs can and should be able to tighten up as they get more of their team back and ease into the flow of the season. But the fact that their level of play has been so high out of the gate only seems to highlight the places where that standard hasn’t been met yet.
I think this team is good. I really believe they’re bursting at the seams with talented players who are champing at the bit to show exactly how good they are. You can feel that hunger in the way they play. Wemby, obviously, is on a whole other planet with what he’s bringing to the table, but the rest of these guys aren’t as far off his maniacal pace as you might think. Stephon Castle, specifically, looks possessed every time he gets the ball. Any timidity from last year’s rookie campaign has been shed, and now he looks like he’s in attack mode at all times. Dylan Harper, to his credit, seems eager to match that intensity, and the pair of them together jump out at you when you watch this team. It’s exhilarating, and it’s exactly the kind of thing the Spurs were desperately hoping would materialize from this influx of young talent.
It’s also the exact thing I’m talking about here where, like, you kind of can’t be in attack mode at all times. That’s not how this works. Maturity in this game means knowing how, when, and where to attack. Finding your spots. Playing off one another. Right now, it feels a little bit like I’m watching a team of champion sled dogs all trying to pull as hard as they can, and the general chaos of that effort is moving things in the right direction, but there’s simply got to be a better way to get where we’re going.
There are going to be more growing pains. We know this. De’Aaron Fox will be eager to get back in the mix and show what he can do. Jeremy Sochan is going to want to prove he has a place in the Spurs’ future plans. Kelly Olynyk is going to want to, well, do Kelly Olynyk things. The point is that, in more ways than one, this team we’re watching right now is not a finished product. It’s a house undergoing renovations that looks a lot better than before but isn’t quite livable yet. In the words of every single person to ever do a home reno: “It’s getting there.”
Look, I’m excited. We’re all excited. The idea that the Spurs are going out there and winning games despite the fact that they look a little insane in the process is, frankly, a pretty fun development. We’re in for a fun season around here, even if there are some very obvious bumps in store for us just up the road.
Takeaways:
- I love Victor Wembanyama. You love Victor Wembanyama. We all love Victor Wembanyama, yes? The Spurs are still awfully dependent on him to make this whole thing work. Look, I’m sympathetic because, like, it’s a hard problem to solve for. You can’t exactly ignore the Tall Boy out there and the idea of using one of the most talented players on the planet as a decoy is sort of antithetical to the whole concept of basketball. We don’t need him to do less. We just need every one else to be a bigger part of the plan. Teams are going to double him. He’s going to have off shooting nights. He’s going to get in foul trouble. He’s going to *whispers* probably have an injury scare or two. Wemby is the Sun and we have to figure out how to play in the shade.
- I missed Luke Kornet a lot in this game. Everyone said we would love him and I sort of kept that at arms length because no one gets to tell me how to embrace a folk hero athlete but, hell, Luke’s got the goods man. He’s the affable back up center of our dreams. Stay healthy Luke. We need you.
- The turnover problem isn’t a problem but it’s becoming a problem if that makes sense. You know? Like. I’m not worried about it but I’m starting to worry a little? Do you follow? It’s like, I’m not concerned but I’m growing concerned? I can keep going with these if that will help drive the point home for you. It’s not an issue but its becoming an issue. It’s not scaring me but I’m getting scared. I’m totally cool with it, but I’m warming up. I’m as chill as you can possibly imagine but I’ve moved on to the part where I’m getting a little sweaty.
- Love how much Coach Pop probably hates his banner. Ha, eat that old man! We love and appreciate you and there’s nothing you can do about it! You changed our lives for the better and we’re going to honor you accordingly you big jerk!
WWL Post Game Press Conference
– Do you make a conscious choice to come out of the gates salty when you’re writing?
– Conscious choice? No, I can’t say that I’ve ever made a conscious choice about anything when I write. Especially, when it comes to starting a piece. No no, at that point in time all of my effort is concentrated on defeating the general overwhelming panic that consumes my entire soul upon seeing a blank page with a blinking cursor.
– You start every writing process by entering a state of overwhelming panic?
– For sure, it’s kind of a flow state? Like, in order to access the creative parts of your brain you have to first succumb to the total ego death of acknowledging how exactly how stupid you are. How unworthy you are of the written word. It sort of unlocks the fight or flight instinct and only then can words happen. I usually snap back into consciousness about a paragraph in and just try to figure out where we’re going from there.
– That sounds terrifying? You’re basically saying the only way you can write is to panic so hard that you begin to fear death in the primal way animals do when they’re being hunted?
– Yes….yea. That seems right. It’s kind of beautiful to be honest. Only in our moments closest to annihilation can we truly access greater truths like “The Spurs aren’t as good with Victor off the court.”
By Charlie Thaddeus, via Pounding The Rock