By Charlie Thaddeus | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-11-20 00:14:16
在欣赏 Peacock 平台的《NBA 东西岸周二夜》 节目时，一个令人警醒的想法总是挥之不去：或许，我们真的需要习惯这样的场面。维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 站在场边，看起来既像一头笼中困兽，又像一个被告知不能玩玩具而困惑的幼儿。我所指的不仅仅是这个赛季，而是更宏大的层面——作为一支围绕着身高7尺5寸的法国巨像建队的球迷，我们必须接受这个现实。他似乎决心要将自己的身体推向篮球场上可能达到的极限。我们正航行在一片未知的海域，而整件事的根基，或许比我们愿意承认的要脆弱得多。
从他作为潜力新星声名鹊起，到经历选秀过程，再到他身披马刺球衣首次亮相，我们一遍又一遍地听到这样的话：这家伙会变得不可思议， *如果 *他能保持健康。这个“如果”承载了太多的分量。表面上看，这当然像是一个适用于任何年轻球星的通用论调。谁的职业生涯不会因为避免了常年伤病而变得更好呢？但对于维克托而言，他的一切都与众不同。他太高了，臂展太长了。他需要增重以预防伤病，但同时又不能增重太多，以免受伤。他那套复杂的拉伸程序必须每天都执行，且要做到如拆弹专家般的精准。这一切都让人感觉比你所期望的要更加岌岌可危。
我发誓，我并不是想危言耸听，仅仅因为他的小腿有点酸痛就告诉你天要塌下来了。我只是认为，这是我们需要坦然接受的现实。维克托·文班亚马受伤的风险比许多其他球员都要大。他的身体构造是独一无二的。这给他的关节、肌肉、膝盖、脚踝和骨骼带来了其他人几乎无需应对的压力。他遭遇那种让他缺阵两个月、一个赛季，甚至（呸呸呸，但愿不会）更长时间伤病的可能性，感觉很高。比大多数人都要高。看看过去的 比尔·沃顿 (Bill Walton) 、 姚明 或 格雷格·奥登 (Greg Oden) ，或者，天呐，看看现在的 乔尔·恩比德 (Joel Embiid) 和 安东尼·戴维斯 (Anthony Davis) 。在这个联盟里，大个子球员百分之百保持健康是几乎不可能发生的事情，而维克托·文班亚马是我们见过的最高大的球员之一。如果你还看不清棋盘上这些拼图碎片所预示的局面，那你就是在刻意选择视而不见了。
现在，让我从这种恐慌情绪中抽离片刻，重申一下，是的，这一切都只是推测。维克托现在受伤了，但他很快就会回来。我们没事的。我们很好。我们一切安好。
我只是想承认，马刺队，作为一个团队、一支球队和一个商业实体，将大量的赌注押在了维克托·文班亚马的长期健康上。他是所有事情的核心。所以，只要有机会，他们就会采取极度谨慎的态度。这意味着他将会缺席一两周，或是三周。而且会是常态。如果他早上醒来脚抽筋，他就会轮休。如果他睡觉时胳膊压麻了，他就会轮休。如果他眼睛里掉进了一根睫毛，他还是会轮休。球队的首要任务永远不会是你、我，或是 Peacock 平台的《NBA 东西岸周二夜》。他将会轮休。他将会频繁地轮休。
蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 也未能幸免于此，但结果相当不错，对吧？我的意思是，不管怎样，马刺队几乎就是“DNP - 这场比赛我们不在乎”这一概念的发明者。这已经刻进了我们的DNA！他当时也经常轮休，而球队因此变得更好。他为季后赛保留了更充沛的体能，其他球员也在赛季中得到了成长。现在的这支马刺队也会因此变得更好，这是我们应该庆幸的事情。这其中有一个平衡点，而这一切都不是世界末日。
只是，有点扫兴罢了。
本场看点
- 最后再谈一件关于伤病的事，我保证之后我们就聊球员们真正上场打球的部分。雅虎体育的汤姆·哈伯斯特罗 (Tom Haberstroh) 昨天有篇文章，基本点明了一个令人警觉的“球星出勤危机”。文章非常敏锐地审视了联盟的顶级巨星们身着西装革履的频率有多高，以及为什么感觉每一场焦点对决，比如“灰熊 vs 马刺之《东西岸周二夜》”，总是在开球前就分崩离析。去读读吧。汤姆是比我更优秀的作者，而且他真的懂行！至少，看看下面这张图，和我一起稍微绝望一下。
来自 @YahooSports 的新消息：NBA球星缺席的比赛场次是2023-24赛季的两倍。今晚NBC的比赛，文班和莫兰特都将缺阵。
情况已经糟糕到近半数的NBA球星目前都处于伤病状态：pic.twitter.com/ZZ31NlAqgG
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) 2025年11月18日
- 不管怎样！说回比赛！我们昨晚从中有所收获的那场比赛！（抱歉）。这其实是一场相当有趣的小比赛。一场节奏非常快、你来我往的对决，我真的很享受观看的过程。 哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 在比赛的某些时段看起来就像是联盟最佳球员，说实话，这是我本赛季没料到会写下的话。 德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 把一切都控制得很好，似乎完全有能力在一段时间内独自带领这支球队，这让我感到非常安心。 凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk) 替补上场后说：“你们想要球星？我给你们看球星。” 接着他完成了一次非常酷的得分，抢断了对手的发球，然后造成犯规，这一连串操作让观众（我）兴奋不已。是的，伙计，对马刺来说这是一场不错的胜利。任何一场胜利我们都欣然接受。
- 看起来我们的小伙子们在没有文班亚马在场上像吸尘器一样不断吸走篮板球的情况下，需要花点功夫来重新学习如何抢篮板。我真的感觉我能看到他们本能地在原地等待那双巨大的臂膀伸过来抢下防守篮板，然后每当球最终回到灰熊球员手中时，他们都显得很震惊。当你被对手在篮板上爆成这样时，你绝对是不应该赢球的，但谢天谢地，马刺队阵中拥有联盟最佳球员，哈里森·巴恩斯挺身而出拯救了我们。
- 我真的对巴恩斯那件事耿耿于怀。比如，我们到底在看什么？在第四节的某个时刻，他在90秒内大概得了7分。他能命中勾手和抛投。他的三分球感觉就像是自动导航。我们……我们难道要靠哈里森·巴恩斯的强势表现来安然度过这次伤病危机吗？也许吧！
- 我确实认为，观察这支球队在缺少一些对战术计划至关重要的球员后，如何继续执行他们作为一支快节奏、重防守队伍的身份，将会非常有趣。即使没有文班、哈珀 (Harper) 和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔，我们仍然有能快速执行战术的球员，而且我们仍然有，你懂的，一些高个子球员，对吧？他们没有理由不能积极地压迫持球人、扑防射手，并在轮转换防中保持敏锐。结果不必是顶级的，但付出的努力应该要体现出来。你可以感觉到我们的小伙子们在第四节末段收紧了防守，并真正地为一支决心不肯轻易认输的灰熊队关上了胜利的大门。这很酷。这是在我们都假装不焦虑的时候值得关注的事情。专注于防守轮转吧！就这么做！
WWL 赛后新闻发布会
– 如果你想写关于文班亚马伤病的事情，你就应该直接写一篇关于伤病的文章。这个版块是用来回顾已经发生的比赛的。你正在无视这个版块的初衷！
– 嗯，说到无视这个版块的初衷，这里本该是一场新闻发布会，但我没看到里面有任何一个问题。
– *叹气* 你为什么选择关注文班亚马的长期伤病出勤率，而不是球场上实际发生的事情？
– 听着，我希望球场上发生的事情能比维克站在场边闲逛的事实更重要。真的，我希望如此。但它不是！观看这场比赛给我最突出的感受是，一个现实正在降临，那就是很多马刺队的比赛可能都会是这个样子，不仅是短期内，未来也是如此。而且这不仅仅是文班的问题，在常规赛期间能看到马刺队所有成员都健康出战的漫长时段，这种想法在现在看来几乎有点不切实际了！我厌倦了看比赛时，因为球队并非全员出战而对我的所见大打折扣。根本没有球队永远是全员健康的！为什么那应该成为标准？
– 你认为NBA有让常规赛变得毫无意义的危险吗？
– 它不可能是毫无意义的。你总得赢一些比赛，对吧？它必须得有一点意义，否则……我的意思是，我甚至想不出一个“否则”。整个赛季不可能都只是季后赛吧？
– 足球就是这么运作的。整个赛季就是积分的累积，每场比赛都同等重要，谁的积分最多谁就赢得联赛冠军。
– 如果有一支球队在赛季过半时就明显积分最多，并且显然会是最终的冠军，那会发生什么？
– 那样就会变得有点无聊。
– 感觉体育运动可能比我们想象的更容易变得有点无聊。
– 这就好像我们本不应该有全天候、24小时的新闻周期来报道它们一样。
– 伙计，你先别急，照你这么说，下一步你是不是就要说我们不应该在基于互联网的球迷网站上，让那些风度翩翩、思想复杂又备受尊敬的作者们，以专栏的形式发表长篇大论和喜剧段子，假装是在探讨从比赛中学到的东西了。
– 绝不，那样的话民众会暴动的。
– 完全正确。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Grizzlies
What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Grizzlies
A sobering thought that I could not quite keep at bay while otherwise enjoying NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesdays on Peacock was that this might just be something we need to get used to. Victor Wembanyama standing on the sidelines, looking like a cross between a caged animal and a confused toddler who had been told not to play with his toys. I am not talking about only this season either. I am talking about the larger idea of being fans of a team built around a 7 foot 5 French colossus who seems determined to push his body to the outer limits of what is possible on a basketball court. We are in uncharted waters and the whole thing is probably more wobbly than we are comfortable acknowledging.
We heard it over and over during his rise as a prospect, through the draft process, and again in the lead up to his Spurs debut. This guy is going to be amazing if he can stay healthy. That “if” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in there. On the surface, sure, it sounds like a generic talking point that applies to any young star. Who isn’t going to have a better career if they can manage to avoid getting injured all the time? The thing with Victor, though, is that everything about him is different. He is so tall. He is so long. He needs to put on weight to prevent injuries, but he also needs to not put on too much weight in order to prevent getting injured. His elaborate stretching routine has to be carried out every day with the precision of a bomb technician. It all just feels more precarious than you want it to be.
I swear I am not trying to Chicken Little this situation and tell you the sky is falling just because his calf is a little sore. I just think this is a reality we need to get comfortable with. The risk of Victor Wembanyama getting hurt is greater than it is for a lot of other players. His anatomy is unique. It puts strain on his joints and muscles and knees and ankles and bones in ways that no one else really has to deal with. The chances of him suffering something that keeps him out for a two month stretch or a season or, knock on wood, even longer feel high. Higher than most. Look at Bill Walton, Yao Ming, or Greg Oden in the past or, shoot, look at Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis right now. Big men in this league staying healthy one hundred percent of the time is not something that happens and Victor Wembanyama is one of the biggest men we have. If you cannot see the pieces of that puzzle sitting on the board then you are being willfully ignorant at this point.
Now let me pull back from the hysteria for a second and restate that, yes, this is all conjecture. Victor is hurt right now, but he will be back soon. We are good. We are fine. We are okay.
I just want to acknowledge that the Spurs, as a team and a franchise and a business, have a lot riding on the long term health of Victor Wembanyama. He is central to everything. They are going to exercise extreme caution whenever they can. That means he is going to miss a week or two or three. Regularly. If he wakes up with a cramp in his foot he is going to sit. If he slept funny on his arm he is going to sit. If he has an eyelash stuck in his eye then he is going to sit. The priority is never going to be you or me or NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesdays on Peacock. He is going to sit. He is going to sit a lot.
Tim Duncan was not immune to this either and that turned out pretty great, right? I mean, for better or worse, the Spurs practically invented the concept of “DNP – We Don’t Care About This Game.” This is in our blood! He sat all the time and the team was better for it. He was fresher for the playoffs and other guys developed over the course of the season. These Spurs are going to be better because of this too and that’s something we should celebrate. There is a middle ground here and none of this is the end of the world.
It is just a bit of a bummer.
Takeaways
- One last injury thing then I promise we can talk about the part where guys actually played basketball. Tom Haberstroh over at Yahoo Sports had an article yesterday basically outlining an alarming “star availability crisis.” It’s a really sharp look at how often the league’s biggest names are in street clothes and why it feels like every marquee matchup, like, for example, “Grizzlies vs Spurs on NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesdays,” keeps falling apart before tipoff. Go read it. Tom is a better writer than me and actually knows what he is talking about! At the very least, look at this graph and despair with me just a little.
NEW @ YahooSports: NBA Star players are missing twice as many games as they did in 2023-24. Wemby, Ja now out tonight on NBC.
It’s gotten so bad that nearly half of all NBA stars are injured now: pic.twitter.com/ZZ31NlAqgG
— Tom Haberstroh (@ tomhaberstroh) November 18, 2025
- Anyway! The game! The one we learned something from last night! (sorry). It was actually a pretty fun little game. A very uptempo, back and forth affair that I genuinely enjoyed hanging out with. Harrison Barnes looked like the best player in the league for a stretch here and there which, I have to be honest, is not something I expected to type this season. De’Aaron Fox kept everything nice and controlled and seemed more than capable of running this team on his own for a while which I found very reassuring. Kelly Olynyk checked into the game and said, “you want stars? I’ll give you stars,” and then proceeded to execute a really cool little score, steal the inbound pass, get fouled combo that got the people (me) extremely fired up. Yea man, nice little win for the Spurs. We will take any and all wins we can get.
- Seems like our boys have a little work to do remembering how to rebound without having Wembanyama around to just hoover the ball up constantly. I seriously felt like I could see them instinctively waiting around for those giant limbs to pop over and grab a defensive rebound and then being shocked every time it ended up back in the hands of a Grizzly. You are definitely not supposed to win when you get out-rebounded to that degree but, thankfully, the Spurs employ the best player in the league on their roster and Harrison Barnes was available to save our hides.
- I seriously can’t get over the Barnes thing. Like, what are we watching here? At one point in the fourth he scored like seven points in ninety seconds. He is hitting hook shots and floaters. He feels automatic from three. Are we… are we going to just cruise through this injury crisis on the strength of Harrison Barnes? Maybe!
- I do think it is going to be interesting to watch how this team continues to execute on its identity as a fast paced, defensive minded group in the absence of some of the dudes who are crucial to that plan. Even without Wemby, Harper, and Castle, we still have guys who can work quickly and we still have, you know, some tall dudes, right? There is no reason they cannot be aggressive pressuring the ball and closing out on shooters and staying sharp on their rotations. The results do not have to be elite, but the effort should still be coming across. You could feel our guys tighten up defensively down the fourth and really shut the door on a Grizzlies team who was determined not to go away quietly. It’s cool. It’s something to monitor while we are all pretending not to be stressed. Focus on the defensive rotations! Do it!
WWL Post Game Press Conference
– If you want to write something about the Wembanyama injury stuff, you should just write something about the injury stuff. This space is designed to be a recap of the game that happened. You’re ignoring the purpose of this place!
– Well, speaking of ignoring the purpose of this place, this is supposed to be a press conference and I didn’t see a single question in there.
– *sigh* Why did you choose to focus on the long term injury availability of Wembanyama instead of what actually took place on the court?
– Look, I wish that what happened on the court felt more important than the fact that Vic was just chilling on the sidelines. Truly, I do. But it wasn’t! The most important thing that stood out to me about watching this game is that it felt like a reality setting in that this is what a lot of Spurs games are probably going to look like, not just in the near term, but in the future as well. It’s not just Wemby either, the idea of seeing long stretches of play where every member of the Spurs is available to play during the regular season seems almost quaint at this point! I’m tired of watching games and discounting what I see based on the fact that the teams weren’t at full strength. No one is ever at full strength! Why should that be the standard?
– Do you think the NBA is in danger of rendering the regular season meaningless?
– It can’t be meaningless. You have to win some games, right? Like it has to matter a little bit otherwise…I mean I don’t even have an “otherwise.” The whole thing can’t be playoffs can it?
– That’s how it works in soccer. The whole season is just a cumulative accruement of points and every game matters the same and whoever has the most points wins the league.
– What happens if one team just clearly has the most points and is obviously going to have the most points half way through the season?
– Then it get s a bit boring.
– Feels like sports maybe have more of a capacity to be a bit boring than we give them credit for.
– It’s almost like we shouldn’t have a round the clock, 24 hour news cycle covering them.
– Hold your horses there partner, next thing you know you’re going to be saying we shouldn’t have robust coverage of specific teams on internet based fan sites featuring dashing, complicated, and respected writers delivering diatribes and comedic bits in the guise of a column about learning things.
– Never, the people would riot without that.
– Exactly.
By Charlie Thaddeus, via Pounding The Rock