By Stephen Michael | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-01-04 23:46:57
那种认为马刺“只会赢雷霆”的说法，在西部联盟的排名面前不堪一击。尽管在过去五场比赛中输掉了三场，但当时间来到2026年时，圣安东尼奥马刺队取得了25胜10负的战绩，其中还包括击败了本赛季大部分时间里战绩联盟第一的球队。而这段强势表现，很大程度上是在维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 缺阵的情况下取得的，期间德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 等人也因伤缺席过比赛。
马刺也并非只在俄克拉荷马城身上讨到便宜。他们曾在丹佛客场从落后17分的情况下逆转掘金，在洛杉矶击败湖人挺进季中锦标赛，并接连战胜了一系列实力不俗的对手。宏观来看，情况依然明朗：这是一支非常出色的篮球队。
尽管如此，近期的失利——尤其是输给克利夫兰那场——暴露了一个重要问题。这并非致命缺陷，而是圣安东尼奥马刺队若想更进一步所必须解决的下一个难题。
克利夫兰揭示了对手的下一步棋
十一月初马刺输给菲尼克斯太阳队后，那是第一次有球队对维克托·文班亚马祭出强硬防守，而且必须称赞太阳队：这确实影响了文班亚马的心态。再到最近输给克利夫兰这场，同样，必须称赞的是：骑士队打出了一场极其出色的防守。他们的积极性、防守干扰和轮转换位都非常出色，延续了近期强度提升的势头，看起来更接近上赛季那支高居东部榜首的克利夫兰队。
面对马刺，克利夫兰还展示了一种很可能在未来被频繁效仿的防守策略。他们没有用自己的后卫去对位马刺的后卫，而是派上前锋迪恩·韦德 (Dean Wade) 对位斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)，并用德安德烈·亨特 (De’Andre Hunter) 防守迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)。这给马刺带来了麻烦，他们无法应对骑士队的身材优势。这迫使卡斯尔和哈珀只能选择外线跳投，而不是冲击内线——而后者才是他们的主要得分手段。
克利夫兰防守的结果就是马刺的进攻陷入停滞。面对克利夫兰，圣安东尼奥全场只创造了19次定点投篮机会，这是他们自赛季揭幕战以来的最低值，远低于赛季场均30次的水平。由于那些身材更高大的防守者能够单防持球人，克利夫兰无需过度协防，从而切断了马刺的突分传球路线和空位投篮机会。
一支年轻崛起球队的挑战
这是一支年轻竞争者崛起过程中的必经阶段。首先是爆发期，依靠速度和天赋压倒对手。然后是适应期，对手会找出你的弱点并迫使你做出回应。对马刺而言，这个弱点很明显：对手们笃定马刺的年轻后卫们无法持续用跳投来击败身材高大的防守者。
从长远来看，答案很简单。卡斯尔和哈珀必须继续开发他们的急停跳投能力。联盟中的顶尖后卫——想想谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)、杰伦·布朗 (Jaylen Brown)、多诺万·米切尔 (Donovan Mitchell)——都会惩罚那些放投不放突的防守策略。而短期内，马刺需要发挥创造力。
马刺如何立即反击
这正是拥有德阿龙·福克斯的奢侈之处。福克斯因内收肌受伤错过了对阵爵士的比赛，并且在对阵克利夫兰时表现挣扎，但单是他的在场就能改变马刺的整个进攻节奏。福克斯是一名拥有闪电般速度的后卫，如果防守者让哈珀和卡斯尔打得很难受，他可以自己突破篮下，也可以急停跳投三分。
另一个思路是让卡斯尔或哈珀与福克斯打配合，迫使那些高大的防守者进行换防或协防。这将帮助哈珀或卡斯尔获得错位单打小个防守者的机会，甚至能为福克斯创造出一条直通篮下的康庄大道。这样一来，优势瞬间又回到了圣安东尼奥这边。本赛季至今，由于后卫线的高效发挥，圣安东尼奥得以依赖相对简单的进攻——早期单打、快速战术和直线突破。但随着各队逐渐摸清他们的套路，这些将不再总是奏效。
好消息是？还有时间。从现在到四月中旬，马刺可以进行试验、调整和成长。而更好的消息是，这个问题的出现本身就因为圣安东尼奥已经足够出色——已经强大到对手需要专门为他们量身定制防守计划来加以限制。
球队不会为重建中的队伍如此费心设计战术。他们只会为真正的竞争者这么做。
想看更全面深入的分析，请在YouTube上观看《Hoops Tonight》栏目。
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：Recent losses highlight new challenges for the Spurs
Recent losses highlight new challenges for the Spurs
The narrative that the Spurs can “only beat the Thunder” doesn’t survive even a small glance at the Western Conference standings. Despite losses in three of their last five games, San Antonio is 25-10 as the calendar turns to 2026, and that record includes beating NBA’s best team by record for most of the season. That run came largely without Victor Wembanyama, with De’Aaron Fox and others also missing time along the way.
The Spurs didn’t just feast on Oklahoma City, either. They rallied from 17 points down to defeat the Nuggets in Denver, beat the Lakers in Los Angeles to reach the In-Season Tournament, and stacked up wins against a variety of solid opponents. The bigger picture remains clear: this is a very good basketball team.
Still, the recent losses — particularly the one against Cleveland — exposed something important. Not a fatal flaw, but the next problem San Antonio must solve if it wants to take that next step.
Cleveland showed team’s the next move
After the Spurs lost to the Phoenix Suns in early November, it was the first time a team had thrown tough defense at Victor Wembanyama, and give the Suns credit: it got inside his head. Now to this recent loss against Cleveland, and again, give credit where it’s due: the Cavaliers played an excellent defensive game. Their activity, deflections and rotations stood out, continuing a recent rise in intensity that looks much closer to last season’s Cleveland team that was atop the Eastern Conference.
Against the Spurs, Cleveland also unveiled a defensive approach that’s likely to show up again — and often. Instead of putting their guards on the Spurs’ guards, they put foward Dean Wade on Stephon Castle and De’Andre Hunter on Dylan Harper. This caused issues for the Spurs, who could not counter the Cavs’ size. It forced Castle and Harper to take outside jumpers instead of driving into the paint, which is their bread and butter.
The result of Cleveland’s defense was a stalled Spurs offense. San Antonio generated just 19 spot-up opportunities against Cleveland, its lowest total since opening night and well below its season average of 30 per game. Because those bigger defenders could contain the ball on their own, Cleveland didn’t need to overhelp, taking away kickouts and clean looks.
A challenge for a young, rising team
This is a familiar step in the rise of a young contender. First comes the breakout, when speed and talent overwhelm opponents. Then comes the adjustment, as teams identify weaknesses and forces a response. For the Spurs, that weakness is clear: opponents are betting the Spurs’ young guards won’t consistently beat size with jump shooting.
In the long term, the answer is straightforward. Castle and Harper must continue developing their pull-up games. Elite guards around the league — think of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell — punish defenses that play so far off. In the short term, the Spurs will need creativity.
How the Spurs can counter — right now
This is where having De’Aaron Fox becomes a luxury. Fox missed the game against Utah with an adductor injury and struggled against Cleveland, but his presence alone changes the entire offensive flow for the Spurs. Fox is a guard with lighting quick speed and if defenders are giving Harper and Castle fits, he can drive to the rim or pull up for a shot from three-point range.
Another idea is to put Put Castle or Harper in actions with Fox and force those bigger defenders to switch or help. This will help Harper or Castle get a smaller defender on them or even give Fox a free path to the rim. Suddenly, the advantage swings back to San Antonio. So far this season, San Antonio has been able to rely on relatively simple offense — early isolations, quick-hitting actions and straight-line drives — because of how effective its guards have been. As teams figure this out, that won’t always be enough.
The good news? There’s time. From now until mid-April, the Spurs can experiment, adjust and grow. The even better news is that this problem exists because San Antonio is good — good enough that opponents are already tailoring defensive schemes to slow it down.
Teams don’t scheme this way for rebuilding clubs. They do it for contenders.
For a full and complete breakdown, watch Hoops Tonight on YouTube.
By Stephen Michael, via Pounding The Rock