By Devon Birdsong | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-01-04 21:53:46
人生总有不顺的时候，你懂的吧？
观看马刺昨晚的比赛，让我想起了多年前一次堪称宿命的面试经历。那是一个再平常不过的早晨，在顺风顺水的一年里，我穿上了自己最体面的行头。
前一夜刚下过一场大雨，我小心翼翼地绕开去往车库路上的水洼，脑海里预演着各种面试情景。我具备该职位所需的一切经验和资历，并且信心满满，因为最初的电话沟通进行得非常顺利。
那是我梦寐以求的一份工作，有那么一瞬间，我甚至开始幻想自己成功入职的美好画面。
噗通一声。
我确信自己已经穿过了那片布满碎石和钙质土、如同雷区一般的车道上最难走的部分，却没有注意到一个格外湿滑的地方——那里的泥水在一块光滑的石头上凝结，我猝不及及地滑倒，穿着西装一头栽进了泥潭里。
我不怕承认，我就那么在泥里躺了一分钟，整理思绪。我的嘴里、鼻子里都灌满了泥浆。后来，我甚至在耳朵里也发现了一些。
说实话，我当时确实有点自怨自艾。为什么是我？明明一切都那么顺利！我到底做错了什么要遭此厄运？
我时常在想，那些常胜之师在某个状态不佳的夜晚，是否也会有同样的感受。看起来马刺队中的一些球员或许就有这种感觉，毕竟他们连续打了太多场比赛，而后面还有更多的硬仗要打。
一向飞天遁地的凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 看起来却步履沉重、反应迟缓，以至于他全场甚至没有尝试过一次三分出手。防守轮转这个词简直名不副实，协防更是无从谈起。
哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 延续着他近期的投篮低迷。卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 则像个迷失在北极的探险家一样不知所措。一向冲击力十足的迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 似乎完全耗尽了油箱，并且对攻击篮筐产生了过敏反应。恕我直言，卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 绝不应该成为圣安东尼奥马刺队的头号得分手。
然而，这并非一场彻头彻尾的灾难。尽管困难重重，马刺队差一点就逆转了比赛。只是在当时，你很难有这种感觉。毕竟，事后回顾总是更容易看清全局。
马刺队注定会输掉一些比赛。在文班不在场的情况下，他们肯定会输掉一些比赛。但关键是，到目前为止，这是一个很棒的赛季。我对这支球队几乎没什么可抱怨的，以至于大多数时候我感觉自己像是在鸡蛋里挑骨头。绝大多数情况下，马刺都会赢球。只不过，偶尔他们也会在泥地里摔个跟头。
不过，面试那天我确实是无计可施了。我从泥地里爬起来，打电话重新预约了面试时间，然后把西装送去干洗。那是我有生以来第一次也是唯一一次，干洗店老板亲自从后台走出来，当面给我解释了服务的免责条款。
三周后，我面试了一份更好的工作，并且成功得到了它。
有时候，你只需要向前看，准备好迎接下一个挑战。
赛后总结
- 我知道NBA里没有所谓的“最佳合同荣誉旗帜”，但天哪，圣安同尼奥的制服组真该挂上一面。先不提凯尔登·约翰逊和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 那些本就在逐年递减的合同，朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 和卢克·科内特两人的性价比已经超过了联盟中的大多数球员。曾一度被认为是球队边缘人物的尚帕尼，正不断为自己争取加薪和续约合同的筹码。他开始展现出超越纯粹3D球员的价值，中距离投篮也渐入佳境。赛季开始前，他看起来更像是哈里森·巴恩斯的替补或对位球员，但他的投射、篮板和防守能力让他也能顶替德文·瓦塞尔，几乎可以胜任侧翼的任何位置。如果他能再高个3-4英寸，他将是这支球队完美的大前锋。
- 虽然我敢肯定我再也不想在技术统计表的得分榜上看到卢克·科内特的名字排得那么高，但作为一名临时首发，他的表现堪称卓越。他不仅在进攻端帮助马刺紧咬比分，还几乎以一己之力阻止了波特兰在内线把比赛变成上篮训练营——当时圣安东尼奥的外线防守千疮百孔，如同筛子一般。如果马刺还像去年那样，不得不让俾斯麦·比永博 (Bismack Biyombo) 登场，他们绝对不可能取得现在这样出色的战绩。
- 话虽如此，比起米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在第一节尝试的无中锋阵容，我可能宁愿看到比永博在场上。福克斯 – 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 – 哈珀 – 约翰逊 – 布莱恩特的组合在防守端被彻底打爆，在笔者看来，这直接葬送了圣安东尼奥赢球的机会。约翰逊教练因马刺本赛季至今的表现，尤其是在维克托缺阵期间的带队成绩，理应获得很多赞誉，但这是最近几场比赛中第二次出现因为奇怪的阵容选择而束缚球队手脚的情况，他也必须为此负责。我明白让比永博上场，无异于让一个盲人驾驶泰坦尼克号穿越冰山遍布的水域，但就目前而言，任何不给索汉那些出场时间的借口，都值得反思。那套阵容给人的观感，简直比用砂纸做水疗还难受。
- 我还不太确定该如何评价卡特·布莱恩特。我确实看到过他在防守端的一些闪光点，但他似乎就是找不到任何进攻节奏。而当他的进攻和防守同时失灵时（就像昨晚），他上场就感觉像是在完全浪费时间，更糟糕的是，他的成长轨迹可能因此受挫。我知道当马刺把首轮秀下放到奥斯汀（发展联盟附属球队）时，球迷们并不喜欢，但我真心认为那可能对他来说是完美的重置方式。他有天赋，但眼下他或许需要一个压力较小的环境来找回自己。
赛后点播 – 今夜主题曲：
杰克逊·布朗 (Jackson Browne) 的《Running On Empty》（精疲力竭地奔跑）
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 Blazers
What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Blazers
Some days you just don’t have it, you know?
Watching the Spurs last night, I was reminded of a fateful interview attempt I made many years ago. It was a perfectly normal morning of an otherwise excellent year, and I was decked out in my best.
A heavy rain had fallen the night before, and as I darted around puddles on the way to my car, I ran through a variety of scenarios in my head. I had all of the experience and credentials needed for the position, and I felt confident, as my initial phone call had gone well.
It was a job I badly wanted, and for a moment, I allowed myself to fantasize about a positive outcome.
SPLAT.
Certain that I’d made it through the worst of the minefield that was my rock and caliche driveway, I’d failed to notice a particularly slick patch, where the mud and water had congealed over a smooth chunk of stone, and promptly slipped and fell face-first into the mire in my suit.
I’m not ashamed to say that I just lay there for a minute, collecting my thoughts. I had mud in my mouth. In my nose. I even found some in one of my ears later.
And I can’t lie; I let a little self-pity creep in there. Why me? Things were going so well! What have I done to deserve this?
I often wonder if winning teams feel the same way on an off night. It certainly looked like some of the Spurs might have, after playing so many games so close together, with more to come.
The usually high-flying Keldon Johnson looked earthbound and sluggish to such an extent that he failed even to attempt a three-point shot. Defensive rotation felt like an oxymoron. Help defense, doubly so.
Harrison Barnes persisted in his recent shooting slump. Carter Bryant looked as lost as an Arctic explorer. The usually hard-driving Dylan Harper seemed completely out of gas and otherwise allergic to the rim. And with all due respect to Luke Kornet, there’s no world in which he should be San Antonio’s leading scorer.
And yet, it wasn’t a total disaster. In spite of everything, the Spurs nearly pulled it out. It just didn’t feel like it at the time. Perspective is so much easier to attain after the fact.
The Spurs are bound to lose some games. They’re definitely going to lose some without Wemby on the court. But here’s the thing, it’s been a great season so far. I have so few complaints about this team that it almost feels like I’m reaching for complaints most of the time. More often than not, the Spurs are going to win. Some days they’re just gonna take a tumble in the mud.
There was nothing to be done that day, though. I picked myself up and called to reschedule my appointment. I took my suit in to be cleaned. It remains the first and only time that the owner of a dry-cleaning business came out from the back to give me an in-person service disclaimer.
Three weeks later, I interviewed for an even better job, and I got it.
Sometimes you’ve just got to move on to the next one.
Takeaways
- I know there’s no such thing as a banner for best contracts in the NBA, but boy howdy could San Antonio’s front office hang one. Bypassing the already deescalating contracts for Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell, both Julian Champagnie and Luke Kornet are providing more bang-for-their-buck than most players in the league. Once considered a near-afterthought, Champagnie continues to make his case for both a raise and a contract extension, and he’s beginning to show more than simple 3-and-D utility, as his mid-range has begun to flourish as well. Prior to the season, he seemed more like a backup/counterpart to Harrison Barnes, but his shooting, rebounding, and defense allow him to sub in for Devin Vassell as well, and just about anywhere on the wing. If he were just 3-4 inches taller, he’d be the perfect power forward for this team.
- And while I’m pretty sure that I never want to see Luke Kornet’s name so high on the scoring portion of a box-score, what he’s been able to do as a spot starter is nothing short of outstanding. In addition to keeping the Spurs in the game offensively, he almost single-handedly kept the interior from becoming a layup line for Portland, as San Antonio’s perimeter leaked like a pit bull in a dog park full of fire hydrants. There is absolutely no way that the Spurs would own such a great record if they had to keep trotting Bismack Biyombo out there like last year.
- That being said, I might would have preferred seeing Biyombo out there as opposed to the center-less lineup that Mitch Johnson tried out in the 1st quarter. The Fox – Castle – Harper – Johnson – Bryant grouping got absolutely cooked on defense, and in this writer’s opinion, forfeited San Antonio’s shot at a win. Johnson deserves a lot of praise for how the Spurs have played so far, and especially without Victor, but this is the 2nd time in the last couple of games that bizarre lineup choices have hamstrung the team, and he has to own that too. I understand that playing Biyombo is a bit like selecting Mr. Magoo to helm the Titanic through iceberg-infested waters, but at this point, any excuse not to give Sochan those minutes bears some degree of reflection. That was more jarring than a sandpaper spa day.
- I’m not sure what to make of Carter Bryant yet. I’ve definitely seen some flashes from him defensively, but he just cannot seem to find any kind of offensive rhythm, and when neither his offensive game nor his defensive game is working (like last night), he feels like a complete waste of minutes, and worse, like his development is potentially being set back. I know people don’t love it when the Spurs send 1st round picks to Austin, but I honestly think that might be the perfect reset for him. There’s talent there, but he may need a lower-pressure environment for now to figure things out.
Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:
Running On Empty by Jackson Browne
By Devon Birdsong, via Pounding The Rock