By Charlie Thaddeus | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-11-18 00:21:50
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。
要重新投入看马刺这场比赛，感觉有些艰难。我仍未从被勇士双杀的阴影中走出，那种体育赛事带来的宿醉感，总比预想中停留得更久。拉上窗帘，呷一口蓝色的佳得乐，带着一丝不易察觉的苦涩接受现实——“轻微小腿伤势”这几个字，是你能听到的关于维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 最糟糕的消息之一。然后，只想回到安全的床上躺平。这本是我的计划。
但NBA的赛程表可不管我精神上的萎靡。商业和娱乐的齿轮必须永远向前转动，从不顾及痛苦、喜悦、恐惧或任何沾点人情味的东西。充其量，它们只能让你从“那些恐怖之事”中暂时解脱，提供一丝转瞬即逝的慰藉，仅此而已。于是，我怀着一种如同仓鼠不情愿地爬回滚轮上的责任感，在一个本该无比灿烂的周日下午三点，将注意力转向电视，观看马刺对阵国王的比赛。
痛击一支烂队有助于缓解我的情绪吗？比我想象中要多，但比我期望中要少。我的意思是，对手可是国王队啊。他们那边到底是什么情况？我看着他们的每个球员，心里想，好吧，单拎出来看，我挺欣赏这些球员的。萨博尼斯？他是个正儿八经的NBA球员，声誉什么的都还不错。德玛尔？或许在我们都化为尘土后，他依然是个砍分机器。施罗德？他简直是德国国家队的迈克尔·乔丹。拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克？？？他可是拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克！话虽如此，一旦你不再用朦胧的眼光去看，你就会记起你眼前是怎样一盘散沙。这几乎让你恼火，为什么马刺没能把他们打得更惨一些。
听着，这是一场不错的胜利。很高兴看到球队并没有像我一样，对输给勇士的比赛那么耿耿于怀。很高兴看到他们在没有那位高大的法国安全毯的情况下，依然打得有模有样。很高兴看到德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 执掌帅印，真正地掌控了比赛节奏。真的！这一切都很好，我对结果感到满意。这是一场本就该手拿把攥的胜利，而球员们也确实是这么做的。非常公事公办，非常职业。我写完这篇稿子后，大概就再也不会想起这场比赛了。干得好，各位！
没能更深地享受这场胜利，是我自己的问题。我明白这点。长久以来，我们已经习惯了那些虽然“有趣”，但最终无关紧要的比赛。我们正在培养天赋，正在一步一个脚印地成长为一支真正有分量的球队。我们一直在教，一直在学。我们一直对失利不以为意，因为它们当时还不会真正影响任何事。我们一直在埋头苦干，我们一直在“埋头锤炼（pounding the rock）”。我们在不断扩大的螺旋中盘旋，步履蹒跚地走向那名为“重返重要舞台”的伯利恒。
不过，与勇士的那几场比赛，对我来说感觉无比真实。那种强度、那种利害关系、那种篮球水平的展示，其激烈程度达到了一个马刺比赛许久未曾触及的高度。观看那样的比赛，正是我们热爱这项运动的原因。它们让你感受到当年蒂姆、托尼和马努黄金时代的那份激情与狂热。赢球时，它们让你呐喊、尖叫，拥抱身边的陌生人；输球时，它们让你像被人猛击腹部一样，浑浑噩噩地过上一周。那几场比赛是如此激动人心。它们给我带来的打击感，是常规赛的马刺比赛在很长一段时间里都无法做到的。我感到寒冷和羞耻，赤身裸体地躺在地板上。该死的体育，老兄！当它动真格的时候，那感觉真是无与伦比，你懂吗？
然而，这场对国王的比赛嘛。嗯，就像我说的，挺不错的。
几点观察
- 嘿！我可不是那个会为斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 的臀部伤势而恐慌的人！不，这里完全没有这回事。记者说他在赛前移动时臀部就有点僵硬？我假装没看见。那只是个小碰撞，一点擦伤，轻微的瘀青。我可不会担心这会变成什么挥之不去的、不断恶化的伤口，从而毁掉一个本可能充满希望的赛季。顺便说一句，我也对迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 仍然只是“缺阵”状态感到OK。我们最爱听“增加篮球活动强度”这种说法了，我们完全明白这意味着什么。一切都很酷，一切都很顺利。马刺是不是不小心给文班亚马选了那个吓人的“小腿受伤”选项，而他们真正的意思是“一次巧妙的小轮休”？哈哈，真会开玩笑。我们都爱开玩笑。我们没有在恐慌。
- 我知道我这整篇文章的调子，都是在说这场比赛感觉无关紧要，但它对德阿龙·福克斯来说绝对重要，而且他也确实打出了这种态度。我无意轻视他的表现。他真的打得很好。他推快了节奏，让球队进入了一种真正流畅的运转状态，这感觉就像是在一个不总是围绕文班亚马位置展开的平行宇宙里，马刺队应有的样子。我敢肯定，即便有文班在阵中，马刺也有一个愿景是打出这种风格，所以让每个人都通过这种方式得到一些锻炼，或许是件好事。没有在恐慌！
- 我不知道何时、何地、以何种方式才能抽出时间来做这件事，但我觉得凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 值得为他写一本书，一本纯粹赞美他的书。在德玛尔离队和文班到来之间那段尴尬的过渡期里，他所肩负的重担没有得到足够的认可。看着他在担任球队第一核心的角色时有些挣扎，这可能在全联盟范围内损害了他的价值，而且坦白说，在马刺球迷内部对他的看法也造成了比我们承认的更大的影响，因为我们忍不住会去关注那些他做不到的事情。现在，他终于回到了那个为他量身定做的角色。他能量满溢，做着所有能将这支球队粘合在一起的小事。每次他替补上场我都感到兴奋，因为我知道他上场后就会拼尽全力去做贡献。他热爱圣安东尼奥，他热爱成为一名马刺球员。他太完美了，我希望他能永远在这里打球。
- 看到德玛尔总是很开心。我对他有太多的喜爱之情，却感觉没有足够真诚的方式来表达。你懂那种感觉吗？就是你只想给某人一个拥抱，让他们知道他们对你意义非凡。但你又想起他是一个非常著名的篮球运动员，对你来说也是个彻头彻尾的陌生人，如果你突然走过去拥抱他，他可能会觉得很奇怪？有人吗？还有人有过这种感觉吗？
WWL 赛后新闻发布会
– 你觉得这个赛季有多少篇赛后总结专栏会同时引用W.B. 叶芝和娜塔莉·安博莉亚来表达他们对一支篮球队的感受？
– 我可以告诉你，远远不够。总的来说，我认为如果你没有把观看体育比赛与世界失控、滑向一个可怕且不确定的未来联系起来，没有联想到你曾信以为真的一切表象在你周围崩塌，让你在情感上赤裸裸地暴露出来，不知如何继续，那你就没看对路。
– 你认为叶芝和安博莉亚是能为你触及这种感受的两位艺术家？
– 我能感觉到你的语气带着优越感，但我几乎可以肯定，对大多数人来说，世界末日、一场毁灭性的分手和一场极其艰难的体育失利，在情感共鸣的层面上是处于同一平面的。
– 这听起来很不健康。这三件事对你的身心健康构成的威胁程度并不相同。你为什么会以同样的方式对它们做出情绪反应？这就像被蝴蝶攻击和被熊攻击时，你的皮质醇飙升水平是一样的。
– 你听起来像是那种试图将逻辑应用于人类情感领域的人，而这感觉像是一项从一开始就注定失败的任务。这与逻辑无关。这关乎的是说：“哇，马刺挥霍掉领先优势让我感觉糟透了。我要通过想象如果世界末日和我妻子提出离婚申请发生在同一天，我会作何反应”来处理这种情绪。
– 所以你只是夸大你的痛苦程度，以便让你的非理性情绪与之相匹配？
– 我还是不喜欢你的语气，不过，呃，是的，大概就是这个意思。
点击查看原文：What We Learned from the Spurs Win over the Kings
What We Learned from the Spurs Win over the Kings
It felt hard to log back into the Spurs for this one. I was still carrying the weight of that double dip with the Warriors, the kind of sports hangover that lingers longer than it should. Close the blinds. Sip a blue Gatorade. Accept, with a quiet wince, that the words “slight calf injury” are among the worst things you can hear about Victor Wembanyama. Drift back toward the safety of bed. That was the plan.
But the NBA schedule cares not for my metaphysical malaise. The gears of commerce and entertainment must forever grind forward with no concern for pain, joy, fear, or anything remotely human. At best, they offer a temporary distraction from “the horrors,” a passing comfort and nothing more. So, with the reluctant duty of a hamster crawling back onto the wheel, I turned my attention to the TV at 3:00 PM on an otherwise gorgeous Sunday afternoon to watch the Spurs face the Kings.
Did stomping around on a bad team help my feelings? More than I thought, but less than I wanted. I mean, it’s the Kings. What is even happening over there? I kept looking at each player and thinking that, sure, in a vacuum, I like the concept of this. Sabonis? He’s a real NBA player with, like, a good reputation and stuff. DeMar? Will probably still be a bucket long after we’re gone. Schröder? He’s like the Michael Jordan of the German national team. Russell Westbrook??? He’s Russell Westbrook! All that said, once you stop unfocusing your eyes you remember what a mess you’re looking at. It almost makes you mad that the Spurs aren’t blowing them off the court even more.
Look, it was a nice win. It was nice to see that the team wasn’t feeling quite as hung up on the Warriors games as I was. It was nice to see them look competent without their tall French safety blanket. It was nice to see De’Aaron Fox grab the car keys and really run the show for a bit. Truly! It was all very nice, and I’m pleased with the result. It’s the kind of game that needs to be an automatic W, and the guys treated it as such. Very businesslike. Very professional. I will finish writing this and hopefully never think about this game again. Well done everyone!
It’s my own problem that I didn’t enjoy this more. I know that. We’ve spent a long time around here getting fed a steady diet of games that were “interesting” but ultimately didn’t matter. We’re developing talent and we’re growing, incrementally, into a real team that matters. We’ve been teaching and learning. We’ve been not feeling bad about losses because they didn’t really affect anything yet. We’ve been grinding. We’ve been “pounding the rock.” We’ve been turning and turning in the widening gyre and slouching our way toward the Bethlehem that is “being relevant.”
Those Warriors games felt real to me, though. The intensity, the stakes, the level of basketball on display, it was operating at a frequency that Spurs games haven’t touched in a really long time. Watching games like that is why we do this. They make you feel the passion and fervor that you felt in the heyday of Tim, Tony and Manu. They make you shout, scream and hug strangers when you win, and they make you walk around for a week like you were punched in the gut when you lose. Those games were electric. They devastated me in a way a regular season Spurs game has not had the capacity to do in a while. I’m cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor. Sports, man! They’ve really got the goods when they’ve the goods, you know?
This Kings game, though. Well. Like I said, it was nice.
Takeaways
- Hey! This is a guy who isn’t panicking about Steph Castle’s hip! Nope, none of that here. Reporters saying he was moving a little stiffly with it before the game too? I pretend I do not see it. It’s a bump. A scratch. A slight bruise. This is a guy who isn’t worried about it becoming some lingering, festering wound that derails what could have been a promising season. While we’re at it, this is also a guy who feels fine that Dylan Harper is still just “out.” We love to hear about “ramping up basketball activities,” and we know exactly what that means. Everything is cool and groovy. Did the Spurs accidentally choose the scary “calf injury” option for Victor when what they really meant was “a cheeky little rest?” Haha, what jokesters. We love to joke. We’re not panicking.
- I know my whole bit in this thing was about the game not feeling like it mattered, but it definitely mattered to De’Aaron Fox, and he certainly played like it. I don’t mean to be dismissive of it. He was really good. He pushed the pace and got the team into a real flowing motion that feels like what the Spurs might look like in a universe where things don’t always revolve around where Wembanyama is at all times. I’m sure there’s a vision for the Spurs looking like that even with Vic in the lineup, so it’s probably good that everyone is getting some reps in playing this way. Not panicking!
- I don’t know when, where or how I will ever find the time to do it, but I feel like Keldon Johnson deserves a book written about him that just sort of sings his praises. He doesn’t get enough credit for the load he shouldered during the weird limbo years between DeMar’s departure and Vic’s arrival. Watching him struggle a bit in the 1A role probably hurt his stock league-wide and, frankly, internally with Spurs fans more than we acknowledge, because we couldn’t help but focus on what he wasn’t capable of doing. He’s now in the role he was destined for. He’s overflowing with energy and he does all the little things that glue this roster together. I’m excited every time he checks in because I know he’s just going to get out there and do stuff. He loves San Antonio and he loves being a Spur. He’s perfect and I hope he plays here forever.
- Always really happy to see DeMar. I have so much affection for that dude, and I feel like I don’t have enough genuine ways to show it. You know that feeling where you just want to give someone a hug so they know they meant something to you? But then you remember he’s a very famous basketball player who is also very much a stranger to you, and he might get weirded out if you came up and hugged him out of nowhere? Anyone? Does anyone else get that?
WWL Post Game Press Conference
– How many recap columns out there this season do you think reference W.B. Yeats and Natalie Imbruglia to get across how they feel about a basketball team?
– Not enough of them, I’ll tell you that much. In general, I think if you aren’t associating watching sports with the world spinning out of control into a frightening and uncertain future, where the façade of everything you thought was true collapses around you and leaves you emotionally exposed and unsure how to go on, then you’re not doing it right.
– And you think Yeats and Imbruglia are the two artists who tap into that for you?
– I can feel you being patronizing, but I’m almost positive that the end of the world, a devastating breakup and a really tough sports loss exist on the same plane of emotional resonance for most people.
– That seems unhealthy. Those three things don’t represent the same level of threat to your well-being. Why would you react emotionally to them in the same manner? It’s like having the same cortisol spike to a butterfly attack and a bear attack.
– You seem like the type of guy who is trying to apply logic to the realm of human emotion, and that feels like a mission that is doomed from the start. It’s not about logic. It’s about saying, “wow, the Spurs blowing that lead made me feel bad. I’m going to process it by imagining how I would react if the apocalypse commenced on the same day my wife filed for divorce.”
– So you just exaggerate the extent of your pain to make your irrational emotions match up accordingly?
– I still don’t like your tone, but, uh, yea that’s about the gist of it.
By Charlie Thaddeus, via Pounding The Rock