By Mateo Mayorga | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-12-17 13:30:00
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 终究也是凡人，尽管输掉了阿联酋航空杯决赛，但圣安东尼奥马刺队也能坦然接受，毕竟有 212,373 美元的奖金等着他们，无论他们想用这笔钱来做什么。双向合同球员也能分到一半奖金，但比起金钱，主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 认为，这段经历才是他们最大的收获。
作为一支正在崛起且在赛季初未被视为争冠者的球队，马刺在比赛中所承受的压力是最小的，而队里的年轻球员们在这些高风险的比赛中成长了不少。当季后赛真正来临时，马刺将是少数几支通过了季后赛前预演的球队之一，他们的心态会更加敏锐。别忘了，往届这项赛事的亚军最终都打入了分区决赛或NBA总决赛。
然而，尽管拉斯维加斯很酷，但如果这些赛事能不在中立场举行就更好了，因为球迷在主场看球时会更加狂热。举个例子，想象一下，如果文班亚马第三节那波得分狂潮发生在冰霜银行中心，那里会变成怎样一个疯狂的海洋。再想想尼克斯队，他们自1973年以来就再未染指任何重要冠军，如果OG·阿奴诺比 (OG Anunoby) 在最后两分钟命中那记将领先优势扩大到八分的三分球，麦迪逊广场花园的屋顶恐怕都会被掀翻。
第三节是比赛中最激动人心的时段，两队合计命中了九记三分球。当双方球员不断投进三分时，我脑海里唯一能想到的就是电影《甜心先生》(Jerry Maguire) 中小古巴·古丁 (Cuba Gooding Jr.) 大喊“Show me the money”（给我钱！）的场景。
赛季进行了30%，马刺队已经充分展现了他们的篮球品性。然而，他们可以从第四节的崩盘中学到的教训是，在季后赛中绝不能犯下同样的错误，比如放空三分线，以及被对手的节奏带着走，仓促完成高难度出手。
除了没能拿到更丰厚的支票外，马刺真正的损失是，他们无法用阿联酋航空杯来畅饮自己喜欢的饮料，从而预演未来的庆祝仪式。
几点观察：
- 杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 的注册身高是6英尺2英寸，但他并非一个小个子后卫，因为他的身体极其强壮。他的力量和对急停跳投的精湛掌握使他成为防守者的噩梦。值得注意的是，自2019-20赛季以来，他的季后赛40+场次（9场）为全联盟所有球员之最，因此能将他的投篮命中率限制在40.7%已经相当不错了。他赢得了本届杯赛的MVP，但阿奴诺比才是尼克斯周二表现最好的球员，因为他在内线和外线都打爆了马刺。
- 在这方面，杯赛决赛并没有给我带来新的启示，但难道现在还不清楚吗？斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 正在追赶德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)，成为一名更具影响力的球员——如果他还没有超越的话。卡斯尔是防守端一颗冉冉升起的新星（当他不再吃假动作晃起时），他能够防守多个位置，同时他的进攻技术也正在开花结果。诚然，他的助攻失误比只有1.68，但好在他有冒险的自由，因为他最终会从错误中成长。如果他在职业生涯某个阶段没能成为联盟前十的球员，那将是一个巨大的意外。
- 最终，文班亚马作为极具毁灭性的第六人的短暂时期将会结束，但这也凸显了当他重返首发阵容时，需要有其他人站出来。从目前的情况来看，为什么迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 不能成为那位超级替补呢？他是一位真正的突破高手，也是一名出色的组织者，这应该有助于激活其他队友。他的表现每场都在进步。
- 米切尔·罗宾逊 (Mitchell Robinson) 在篮板方面化身摩西·马龙 (Moses Malone) 是击垮马刺的因素之一。除了身材高大，他体型宽厚强壮，因此能与比自己更高的球员进行身体对抗。看着罗宾逊抢下10个进攻篮板，凸显了文班需要变得更强壮，并且在某些情况下，不应去追逐每一次封盖机会，因为他至少有一次为了尝试封盖而失去了篮板位置，让对手补篮得手。
- 就像在拳击比赛中一样，有时你的身价可以在失利中不降反升。马刺在这次杯赛之旅中证明了他们比2美元的牛排还难啃。尽管打出了赛季第二差的投篮表现，他们在决赛的最后时刻依然保留着悬念。球队不可能总是打出自己的风格，所以他们必须学会如何用尽一切办法赢下比赛。这就像一个喜欢在外线游走进攻的拳手，必须在与一个技术粗糙但危险的对手的近身肉搏中幸存下来。尽管输了球，但在比赛风格不适合自己的逆境中，马刺正变得越来越善于坚持战斗。
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。
点击查看原文：What We Learned from the Spurs loss to the Knicks
What We Learned from the Spurs loss to the Knicks
Victor Wembanyama must be human after all, and despite losing in the Emirates Cup Final, the San Antonio Spurs can cope, knowing $212,373 is waiting for them for whatever they have in mind. The two-way players get half of the pot, too, but more than the money, the ride is what coach Mitch Johnson thinks they’ll take most from it.
As a team on the come-up that wasn’t labeled a contender before the season started, the Spurs were playing with the least amount of pressure, and the young guys grew up a bit in these higher-stakes games. When playoff time rolls around, the Spurs will be one of the few who passed their postseason pre-check and will be mentally sharper. Keep in mind that the runner-up in previous years reached the conference finals or the NBA Finals.
Yet, as cool as Las Vegas is, these events would be better without a neutral court because fans are rowdier when they are seeing their team at home. For example, imagine how the Frost Bank Center would have turned into a madhouse if Wembanyama’s third-quarter flurry happened there. Or consider how the Knicks, who haven’t won anything important since 1973, and how Madison Square Garden’s lid would have flown off when OG Anunoby buried a triple to put them up eight in the last two minutes.
The third quarter was the most exciting sequence of the game as both squads combined for nine 3-pointers. All I could think about as both sides drained them was Cuba Gooding Jr. yelling, “Show me the money,” in the film, Jerry Maguire.
The Spurs have shown a lot of their basketball character through 30 percent of the season. Yet the lesson they can take away from blowing the fourth quarter is what not to do in a playoff game, like giving up the 3-point line and being sped up into tough shots.
Aside from not collecting a bigger check, the real loss for the Spurs is that they can’t practice future celebrations by drinking their preferred liquid refreshment from the Emirates Cup.
Takeaways:
- Jalen Brunson is listed at 6’2, but he’s not a small guard because he’s jacked. His strength and mastery of pull-up shooting make him a nightmare to defend. Take note that he’s logged the most 40-point playoff games since 2019-20 (9) of any player in the league, so holding him to 40.7 percent shooting is not half bad. He won MVP of the tournament, but Anunoby was New York’s top player on Tuesday, since he killed the Spurs inside and out.
- The Cup finale did nothing for me in this regard, but is it not clear that Stephon Castle is closing in on De’Aaron Fox as a more impactful player, if he hasn’t already? Castle is a rising star on defense (when he isn’t biting on pump fakes) who can guard up and down, while his offensive game is blossoming. Sure, his assist-to-turnover ratio is only 1.68, but it’s good that he has the freedom to take risks because he will eventually grow out of the mistakes. It would be a big surprise if he doesn’t turn into a top 10 player at some point in his career.
- Eventually, Wembanyama‘s short reign as a devastating sixth man will conclude, but it highlights the need for someone to step up when he returns to the starting unit. The way things are going, why can’t Dylan Harper be the super sub? He’s the real deal as a penetrator and is a good playmaker, which should help activate the others. He gets stronger with every game.
- Mitchell Robinson turning into Moses Malone on the glass was one of the factors that did the Spurs in. Aside from being a big body, he’s wide and strong, so he can bang with those taller than him. Watching Robinson grab 10 offensive rebounds highlighted the need for Wemby to get stronger, and in some instances, not to chase every shot to block it, because he gave up rebounding position at least once for a putback.
- Like in boxing, sometimes your stock can rise in a loss. The Spurs showed through the tournament’s run that they are tougher than a $2 steak. They were even alive late in the final in spite of their second-worst shooting night of the season. Teams won’t always be able to play to their identity, so they have to learn how to get it done by any means. It’s similar to when a fighter, who likes to attack from the outside, has to survive a bar brawl with someone less skilled but dangerous. Despite the loss, the Spurs are getting better at staying in the fight when in a game that doesn’t suit their style.
By Mateo Mayorga, via Pounding The Rock