[PtR] 从马刺负于灰熊一战中，我们学到了什么 ▶️

[PtR]

By Charlie Thaddeus | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-01-07 16:26:44

这可不是我们想看到的结果。

当然，天还没塌下来。我们也不像雷霆那样陷入了全面危机，你能想象那种情况吗？！?!? 但没错，这场球打得确实不行。现在，一些问题开始浮现了。一些趋势、一些主题、一些回响，甚至是一些反复出现的固定模式。那些宏观层面的问题，正从华丽外表下的裂缝中悄悄探出头来。

显然，我们还没到惊慌失措的地步。但我确实认为，我们可以正式将警戒级别提升到电影里演的那种程度了——所有人都神情严肃地站在指挥室里监控局势，直到终于有人开口说：“老大，你最好过来看一下这个。”

问题在于，这场失利感觉并非偶然。它更像是球队整个赛季以来靠天赋掩盖的几个老问题，突然间集中爆发，声音比以往任何时候都更加刺耳。在身体对抗中落入下风、第三节习惯性松懈、关键时刻表现不稳——这些都是我们反复看到的老毛病。

诚然，到目前为止，这些问题只导致了11场失利。球队的战绩非常出色。但这也造成了很多个夜晚的比赛都打得比预想中更胶着，本可以干净利落拿下的比赛，最终却变成了胜负难料的抛硬币。既然联盟其他球队已经开始认真对待这支马刺了，或许现在也是马刺自己该好好审视一下自己的时候了。

对我而言，一切都回归到“控制力”这个问题上。这支球队的状态总是在两种模式间摇摆：一种是全神贯注、充满杀气的状态；另一种则像是磁铁被拿走，一切都开始失控乱飞。你在上半场看到了好的那一面，当时他们在防守端活力四射，让灰熊毫无喘息之机。他们积极且富有侵略性，但又不失冷静。节奏飞快，却有条不紊。就像轨道上飞驰的子弹头列车。

这种控制力体现在细节之中。马刺迫使对手失误，将防守转化为快速的早期进攻，并且从未让孟菲斯打得舒服。即便投篮命中率不高，他们的每次进攻回合也都合乎逻辑。球在运转，后卫们持续冲击篮下。比赛有一种节奏感，这种节奏让圣安东尼奥能够顶住孟菲斯的追分势头，而不至于陷入混乱。

我不想再听到有人说投篮是这支球队的问题。这种讨论完全是只见树木，不见森林，抓不住问题的关键。

投篮不是问题。这支球队能否得分甚至都算不上一个问题。真正的问题在于他们如何得分，以及为什么这种得分方式会时常消失。

因为你看，朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 能命中投篮，巴恩斯 (Barnes) 能命中投篮，福克斯 (Fox)、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)、哈珀 (Harper)、文班亚马 (Wembanyama)，名单上的人都能投。天赋摆在那里，我们都见识过。这与是否需要再补强一个射手或组织者无关，而在于球队是否有一套清晰的计划来创造投篮机会——无论谁在场上——并且有能力将这套计划稳定执行四节比赛。

当一切运转流畅、马刺掌控局势时，那些好的出手机会自然而然就来了。它们诞生于闪电般的快速攻防转换，或是由执行到位的半场阵地进攻所制造出的混乱。如果进攻体系能为尚帕尼创造机会，他整晚都能获得并命中空位投篮。看看本场比赛的上半场，或者前几天他打出超神表现击败尼克斯那场比赛。但当进攻陷入停滞时，就像下半场那样，每个人似乎都站着不动，等着文班 (Wemby) 或福克斯来拯救球队，那么进攻的源泉很快就会枯竭。

我说的这些，你们也都心知肚明。这些问题整个赛季都一直萦绕在马刺的周围，只是随着赛季的深入，它们的声音变得更大了。到了这个阶段，你就得开始环顾四周，掂量一下竞争对手的实力，搞清楚自己究竟身处何方。

因为当我们看到这支球队能够摧毁雷霆时，我们不可能不开始幻想一次真正的季后赛之旅会是什么样子。然后，我们又看到他们在面对像爵士、开拓者或灰熊这样的球队时松了油门，局面突然就让人有点捏把汗了。这支队伍的上限显而易见，他们非常出色，天赋异禀到令人难以置信，并且带来了马刺近十年来未曾有过的兴奋感。

但他们同样也相当稚嫩。他们有时会缺乏纪律性，会失去专注力。他们并不总是知道如何在一场场比赛、一节节对决、一个个回合之间调节自己的能量和努力程度。我毫不怀疑所有人都意识到了这一点，并且有很多人正在埋头苦干，试图解决这些问题。麻烦的是，比赛接踵而至，永不停歇。犯错的空间正在缩小，我们一直以来面对的那些理论上的考验，即将变得无比真实。

时局之紧迫，远超你想象。

几点观察

• 我很难完全搞明白，马刺究竟是如何做到既能碾压像雷霆这样的强队，又会在面对像灰熊这样的队伍时，反而在对抗中处于下风。我不想这么说，我讨厌这么说。但我能想到的唯一答案就是……拼劲？真是讨厌这个词！我从不想用“拼劲”来质疑职业运动员，因为我知道他们训练得非常刻苦，可能比我这辈子任何时候都要努力！但是，当你在篮板争夺、对地板球的拼抢和二次进攻得分上都输给对手时，那就不是天赋或者战术问题了。这关乎紧迫感，关乎你是否能匹配比赛的强度。对阵雷霆时，马刺用力量和决心回应了对方的身体对抗。而对阵孟菲斯时，他们没能持续做到这一点。这种差距至关重要，如果他们想让最好的自己更稳定地出现，就必须弥补这个鸿沟。抱歉！别拿我这个传话的出气！
• 你知道谁看起来真的在场上拼身体、制造麻烦吗？杰里米·该死的·索汉 (Jeremey Freakin’ Sochan)。或者用我们这儿更熟悉称呼，“那个备受诟病的杰里米·该死的·索汉”。他充分利用了得到的上场时间，拼抢篮板，奋不顾身，干着那些其他马刺球员大多难以匹敌的脏活累活。我喜欢看到他上场。虽然感觉我们与他在马刺的时光可能快要结束了，但像今晚这样的表现提醒了我，当他不在轮换阵容中时，我为什么会想念他。他打球带着一种锋芒和个性，这种特质很难被简单归类，但当它奏效时，我真的非常欣赏。
• 我们可能还应该注意到，维克托 (Victor) 在短暂伤休后回归的状态看起来相当不错。他很棒。维克托 (Victor) 非常棒。我准备好正式为此言论负责了。但我们绝对、绝对没有准备好讨论当他在场时，球队进攻有时会显得有点滞涩的问题。不，差得远呢。那根本不是个真正的问题，不值得讨论。不过，你看到了吗，在遥远的地平线上，那边那个小小的斑点？怎么会有人担心那么小的东西呢？它几乎都不存在。肯定不会变大。估计什么都不是。别再提了。
• 你看，这多有持续性！根本不用担心。

维克这球算进

@ FanDuelSN_SW
https://t.co/frD28T3bmx pic.twitter.com/h4awTzV034

— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) January 7, 2026

WWL 赛后虚拟新闻发布会

– 恕我冒昧，从你的话里我似乎听出了……你可能真的在担心维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 融入马刺进攻体系的问题。

– 我不担心。我刚才说得很清楚了。我特意强调了我们甚至都不需要讨论这事，因为它根本不是问题。你见过他有多高吗？

– 见过。维克托非常高。

– 他太高了！而在篮球运动中，身高是你所能拥有的最宝贵的财富之一。

– 没错。

– 所以，是的，他又高又强，马刺也很强，而且他又高，所以，当他们进攻的时候，他们自然……嗯，你懂的，他们会想办法利用他身高的优势，再结合其他那些同样很棒但没那么高的优点。

– 听起来是个不错的计划。

– 是吧，我的意思是没有人现在就把所有细节都搞定，但这没关系，也不是问题。

– 如果你这么说的话。

– 他有7尺5寸。

– 我听说了。

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 loss to the Grizzlies

What We Learned from the Spurs loss to the Grizzlies

Not what you want.

It’s not the end of the world or anything. It’s not like we’re in a full-on crisis like the Thunder, can you even imagine?!?!? But yeah, this wasn’t it. There are things starting to show up now. Trends. Themes. Echoes. Motifs, even. Big-picture issues peeking their little heads up through the cracks in the facade.

We’re not panicking yet, obviously. But I do think we can officially escalate this to the stage of the movie where everyone is standing around in the control room, solemnly monitoring the situation, and someone finally says a line like, “Boss, you better come and take a look at this.”

It’s just that this didn’t feel like a one-off. It felt like a handful of familiar issues the team’s talent has been able to paper over all season suddenly colliding and sounding louder than usual. Losing the physical battle. Taking their foot off the gas in the third. Looking a little dicey in crunch time. These are all things we’ve seen crop up again and again.

Sure, it’s only resulted in 11 losses so far. The record is great. But it’s also led to a lot of nights that were closer than they needed to be. Games that turned into coin flips instead of clean put-aways. And now that the rest of the league is starting to take this team seriously, it might be time for the Spurs to take a long look in the mirror and do the same.

For me, it all comes back to control. This team tends to fluctuate between a locked-in, killer demeanor and one where it feels like the magnet gets pulled out and everything starts flying around on its own. You saw the good version in the first half, when they were buzzing around defensively and never letting the Grizzlies come up for air. They were active and aggressive without being reckless. It was fast, but it was calm. A bullet train on the tracks.

That control showed up in the details. The Spurs were forcing mistakes, turning defense into early offense, and never letting Memphis get comfortable. Even when shots were not falling at a high clip, the possessions made sense. The ball moved. The guards stayed downhill. There was a rhythm to it, one that let San Antonio absorb Memphis’ runs without spiraling.

I do not want to hear about shooting being a problem with this team. That conversation misses the forest for the trees.

Shooting is not the issue. Whether or not this team can score is not even the question. The real questions are how they score, and why that process seems to disappear from time to time.

Because look, Julian Champagnie can hit shots. Barnes can hit shots. Fox, Castle, Harper, Wembanyama, all the way down the line. The talent is there. We’ve seen it. This isn’t about needing another shooter or playmaker. It’s about having a plan for how those shots are created, regardless of who’s on the floor, and being able to replicate it for four quarters.

When everything is flowing and the Spurs are in control, those looks come naturally. They’re born out of quick, lightning-strike breaks in transition or the chaos generated by a well-executed half-court attack. Champagnie can get, and hit, open looks all night if the offense is generating them. Look at the first half of this game, or the other night when he went supernova to beat the Knicks. But when things bog down, like they did in the second half when it felt like everyone was standing around waiting for Wemby or Fox to bail them out, the well dries up fast.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. These are issues that have been pinging around the edges of the Spurs’ season all year. They just feel louder now that we’re deeper into it. This is the point where you start looking around, sizing up the competition, and figuring out where you actually stand.

Because we can all watch this team go out and dismantle the Thunder and it’s impossible not to start dreaming about what a real playoff run might look like. Then we watch them take their foot off the gas against teams like Utah, Portland, or Memphis, and suddenly it gets a little sweaty. The ceiling with this group is obvious. They are so good. Unbelievably talented. Exciting in ways the Spurs haven’t been in a decade.

They’re also pretty green. They can be undisciplined. They lose focus. They don’t always know how to modulate their energy and effort from night to night, quarter to quarter, moment to moment. I have no doubt everyone involved is aware of it, and that there are a lot of heads down, getting to work on it. The problem is that the the games keep coming and they don’t stop coming. The margin for error is shrinking and all these theoretical tests we keep getting about to get very real.

The hour is later than you think.

Takeaways

• I have a hard time circling the square of exactly how the Spurs are able to bully a team like the Thunder, and then still look like they are losing that battle against a team like Memphis. I don’t want to do this. I hate to do this. But the only answer that sticks out to me is effort? Hate that! Never want to call professional athletes out on the “effort” question because I know that they work hard. Harder than I’ve probably ever worked in my life! But, when you’re losing rebounding battles, loose balls, and second-chance points, that’s not a talent issue or a schematic one. That’s about urgency, about meeting the game where it is. Against the Thunder, the Spurs matched physicality with force and intent. Against Memphis, they didn’t do it consistently enough. That gap matters, and it’s something they’re going to have to close if they want their best version to show up more reliably. Sorry! Don’t shoot the messenger!
• You know who did seem like he was out there banging bodies and making noise? Jeremey Freakin’ Sochan. Or as he’s better known around these parts, the “much maligned Jeremy Freakin’ Sochan.” He made the most of the run he got, grabbing boards, throwing his body around, and doing the kind of dirty work the rest of the Spurs largely struggled to match. I like seeing him. It certainly does feel like we might be winding down our time with him here in Spursland, but a night like this reminded me why I miss him being out there when he’s not in the mix. He plays with an edge and a personality that doesn’t fit neatly into a box, but when it works, it really works for me.
• We should probably also note that Victor looked pretty good coming back from his little injury sabbatical. He’s good. Victor is very good. Ready to officially go on record with that one. We are absolutely, positively not ready to have the conversation about how the offense can sometimes look a little clunky with him on the floor. Nope. Not even close. That is not a real issue. Not something worth discussing. Do you see it though, way off on the horizon, that tiny little dot over there? How could anyone possibly be worried about something that small? It’s barely even there. Definitely not getting bigger. Probably nothing. Stop bringing it up.
• See, this is sustainable! Don’t even worry about it.

COUNT THAT FOR VIC

@ FanDuelSN_SW
https://t.co/frD28T3bmx pic.twitter.com/h4awTzV034

— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) January 7, 2026

WWL Post Game Press Conference

– Forgive me for reading between the lines here, but I’m starting to think you might actually be worried about Victor Wembanyama’s fit into the Spurs offense.

– I’m not worried. I was very clear about that. I went out of my way to say that we don’t even need to discuss it because it’s not a problem. Have you seen how tall he is?

– Yes. Victor is very tall.

– He’s so tall! And in basketball, being tall is one of the best things you can be.

– Right.

– So, yea, he’s tall and he’s good and the Spurs are good and he’s tall and so, when they’re on offense, they can just, you know, they’ll figure out a way to use the tall part to their advantage along with all the other good stuff that is also good just not as tall.

– Seems like a good plan.

– Right, I mean no one has all the details sorted out right now but it’s fine and it’s not a problem.

– If you say so.

– He’s 7’5”.

– I’ve heard.

By Charlie Thaddeus, via Pounding The Rock

[PtR]

热评：

@zhouprodigy

我觉得我们是时候重启“冷板凳”了。

这支球队里有不少球员真的需要去板凳上坐个15分钟，好好想想他们到底想在球队里扮演什么角色。问题在于，这些球员中很多都是我们眼里的队内前五，我想没人愿意看到他们坐板凳。但他们需要这样，因为他们年轻气盛，打球花活儿太多，干货太少，他们还没到那个随心所欲的阶段（而且我们作为一支球队，无论从赛季进程还是战绩排名来看，都还没到可以这么打球的地步）。

米奇（教练）……我必须提醒自己，我们仍然排在西部第二。某种程度上我有点理解他——我也没想到那两个罚球都没进，只要进一个，他可能就叫暂停了。但两个都丢了，我们落后一分，而且我们还打出了快攻，场上还有联盟里速度最快的球员之一。我能理解。而且我敢肯定，事后诸葛亮的话，他可能会做出不同的决定。但话又说回来，那种球通常福克斯都能打进。只是在那个我们急需一个好球的节骨眼上，这成了一次糟糕的处理。

这一切都关乎“敲石不止”的精神。我不想揪着一个回合不放，因为输掉这场比赛并非一个回合所致。就像敲开石头的是在那之前的99次敲击一样，我们输掉这场比赛，是因为我们在前47分钟里根本没有付出足够的努力来确保那块石头一定会被敲开。

但是……我们毕竟是西部第二。“老大，你最好过来看看这个”，确实如此。这可能没什么大不了的，是能轻易解决的问题。但是……

@GdayMate8

当瓦塞尔回归后，是不是该让尚帕尼继续留在首发阵容，然后把巴恩斯放到替补席？我认为是时候了。除了他的三分投射能力，他全面的技术也给我留下了深刻印象，包括他的突破能力、篮板拼抢和防守。我敢肯定他的横向移动速度比巴恩斯快得多。

我不太明白为什么这支球队的替补席上没有索汉的位置。也许是出于阵容适配性和整体空间的考虑，但看起来他们在合适的阵容中可以更多地使用他。

@RedFirebird

抱歉了查理，我必须反对你的观点。投篮就是个问题。我没有你那样的生花妙笔来解释，但过去几场比赛，投篮问题一直存在。至于你说的“如何”和“为何”，在我看来就像是鸡生蛋还是蛋生鸡的问题。但现在就连空位机会都投不进。所以，如果我可以借用波波在他新秀赛季时在场边对文班说的话，那就是：“站稳脚跟，保持平衡，保持平衡”。我们的球员需要珍惜每一次球权，站稳脚跟，在出手时调整好他们需要调整的一切。在我看来，他们最近扔了太多祈祷式的投篮，指望球能蒙进去，这浪费了宝贵的球权。当对手在另一端投进他们的球时，这个问题就更严重了。

一如既往，我很喜欢你这篇超棒的文章。说实话，在我们球队输球后，我反而更期待读到你的文章。

@GaryWayne

我认为作者可能有点夸大我们的投射能力了。它或许不是最大的问题，但它绝对是一个问题。

事实上，哈珀和卡斯尔并没有证明他们能投进球。他们俩的三分命中率都只有27%，罚球命中率在70%出头，而且在篮下被盖帽的频率高得惊人。巴恩斯的整个职业生涯都经历过漫长的投篮低迷期，现在他显然又陷入了其中。福克斯和KJ的三分投得不错，但在他们漫长的职业生涯中，俩人都各自只有一个赛季称得上是好的三分年。

这样一来，就只剩下尚帕尼、文班，以及在某种程度上还有瓦塞尔了，我认为瓦塞尔会继续保持一个不错的投篮赛季。米奇需要设计一些战术来为尚帕尼创造投篮机会。他无疑是我们队里最纯粹的射手。

这支球队有能力在任何地方击败任何对手，但他们没有经历过季后赛的考验，而且卡斯尔和哈珀都缺乏经验。

在我看来，我们需要文班打出天神下凡般的表现，我们才能在季后赛走得更远。而且，他能在本赛季剩下的时间和几轮艰苦卓绝的季后赛中保持健康吗？

@eaglemike

马刺队看起来不像那支击败了雷霆的球队。他们打得急躁、慌乱，很不成熟。他们看起来又像是过去几年那支需要时间来磨合的队伍了，而不是那支能够依靠攻防两端执行力赢下比赛的强大、沉稳的球队。
是的，杰里米（索汉）是个亮点。他应该上场打球。如果不是在马刺，也该在别的地方。

@Fkj

不叫暂停，以便在对手防守立足未稳时得分，这是一个有充分依据且不错的策略。问题不在于策略，甚至不在于执行。福克斯已经到了他习惯的位置，得到了一个高命中率的出手选择。（他作为马刺球员已经用这样的投篮赢下过比赛了）亚当斯完成了一次很好的防守。

比赛不是因为那个决定而输的，而是和进攻篮板以及投篮挣扎有关。我认为，派上一个更好的篮板阵容而不是得分阵容，或许是一个解决方案。

@Los Diablo

我学到的是，当德阿隆（福克斯）出手18次只命中4球时，赢球是很难的。

我学到的是，11场失利中有8场是输给了西部实力较弱的对手，这会在四月中旬让他们追悔莫及。特别是如果这种趋势持续下去的话。

我学到的是，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 最终需要更好地保护球。他的场均助攻排在联盟第12，但场均失误却排在第4。

我学到的是，米奇是一位伟大的教练……在对阵雷霆时。句号。

@Radha

写得太棒了，查理·撒迪厄斯 (Charlie Thaddius)。我认为你的分析非常到位，也很喜欢你那种幽默的风格。

@darint

如果你在赛季初告诉我，我们能取得25胜11负的战绩，排在西部第二，打进了NBA杯的决赛，三次击败雷霆，并且在过去十场比赛中，我们的战绩在西部季后赛（前六）球队里高居第二，而这一切还是在文班和其他人缺席了大量比赛、以及有没有文班我们胜率都一样的情况下取得的——我肯定会说你疯了，但我绝对会欣然接受这个结果。

不过，也许我就是没各位那么聪明吧。就这样吧。

@HRutherfordHill

……事实是，我们打球会迁就对手的水平，”文班亚马说。“好处是，我们能和任何对手抗衡，直面任何敌人。但坏处也正是我们直面任何敌人，有时候我们本该直接终结比赛的。大多数时候，我们的战术执行得不错，但我们没能完成进攻回合。我们总是让对手在比赛中留有悬念……”

这是对这支球队现状最好的总结……状态起伏太大……必须达到一个水准并始终按照那个标准去打球。他们能做到，但这并不容易。

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：

@zhouprodigy

I feel like we need to bring back the doghouse.

There are a number of players on this team who simply need to have a seat for 15 minutes, to really think about what they’re trying to accomplish on the team. The problem is that many of those players are who we’d consider a top 5 player on the team, and I don’t think anybody wants that. But they need it, because they’re young and exuberant, and doing entirely too much flash, not enough substance, when they aren’t yet ready for that (and we, as a team, aren’t far enough into the season/standings to be playing like this).

Mitch… I have to remind myself we’re still 2nd in the West. And part of me kinda gets it - I didn’t expect the 2 missed FTs either, and if just one of those were made, maybe he takes that timeout. But both missed, we’re down by one, and we have a fast break with one of the fastest players in the NBA on the court. I get it. And I’m sure, in retrospect, he’d probably make a different decision. But then, in retrospect, that’s the type of play that Fox can typically turn into buckets. It was just a bad play when we REALLY needed a good one.

It’s all about Pounding The Rock. I hate egging on just one play, because one play didn’t lose us this game. In the same way that it was the 99 hits before that cracked the rock, we lost this game because we simply didn’t put in the work for the first 47 minutes to guarantee a cracked rock.

But… We’re 2nd in the West. “Boss, you may want to come take a look at this”, indeed. It might be nothing. Something easily fixed. But…

@GdayMate8

When Vassell returns, is it time to keep Champagnie in the starting line-up and send Barnes to the bench? I would argue it is. Beyond the three-point shot making, I’m impressed with his all around game. His ability to drive, get rebounds, and defend. I’m sure he has a lot more lateral quickness than Barnes.

I’m not totally sure why there isn’t a bench role for Sochan on this team. Maybe it’s about fit and overall spacing, but it seems like they could use him more in the right line-ups.

@RedFirebird

Sorry Charlie I have to disagree. Shooting is a problem. I don’t have your gift of words to explain but there is an ongoing problem of shooting these last few games. The why and the how seems to me like the egg or chicken first kind of thing. But even the open ones are bricked. So, if I may borrow Pop’s courtside talk to Wemby in his rookie year, “get your feet set, balance, balance”. Our guys need to take each possession with care, get their feet set, balance whatever it is they need to balance when taking a shot. It seems to me lately that they’re heaving too many hail Mary’s and hope it will go through the basket. Wasted valuable possession. To me that’s a shooting problem and it gets worse when the opponents make theirs on the other side.

I enjoyed your awesome article as always. I wait for it more when our team lost a game TBH.

@GaryWayne

I think the author might be overselling our shooting. It may not be the biggest issue, but it’s most certainly an issue.

Harper and Castle have in fact, NOT shown they can make shots. They both shoot 27% from downtown, the low 70s on FTs and are getting stuffed at the rim at an alarming rate. Barnes has gone thru long shooting slumps his whole career and he’s most certainly going thru one now. Fox and KJ are shooting well from long range, but both have only had one good 3 point shooting year a piece, in their long careers.

That leaves Champs, Wemby and to a lesser degree Vassell, who i think will continue to have a good shooting year. Mitch needs to be devising ways to get Champs shots. He’s by far our best pure shooter.

This team is capable of beating any team anywhere, but they aren’t battle tested in the playoffs and Castle and Harper are inexperienced.

IMO it will take an otherworldly run by Wemby, for us to make a deep run. And can he stay healthy for the rest of the year and thru several grueling playoff rounds?

@eaglemike

Spurs didn’t look like the team that beat OKC. They looked rushed, and frantic. Immature. They looked like the teams of the last few years that needed time to gel, again instead of the strong, controlled team that can win games with execution on both ends.
Yes, Jeremy was a positive. He should be playing. If not on the Spurs, somewhere.

@Fkj

Not calling a time out inorder to score against a non set defense is a well founded and good strategy..It was not the strategy, not even execution. Fox got to his spot, for his high % shot. ( A shot he has won games with as a Spur already ) Adama made a good play on defense.

The game was not lost because of that decision, it has to do with offense rebounding and shooting struggles. I think playing a better rebounding line up vs scoring line up may be an answer.

@Los Diablo

I learned that winning is difficult when De’Aaron is taking 18 shots and hitting 4 of them.

I learned that having 8 out of 11 losses to inferior Western Conference opponents is going to haunt them in mid April. Especially if that trend continues.

I learned that Stephon needs to eventually take better care of the ball. He is 12th in assists per game but 4th in Turnovers per game.

I learned that Mitch is a great coach vs the Thunder… full stop.

@Radha

Great write-up Charlie Thaddius. I thought your anaylsys was right on and love the comedic spin.

@darint

If you had told me at the beginning of the season that we would be 25-11, in second place in the West, made the finals of the NBA Cup, have beaten OKC three times, AND have the second best record over the last ten games among the playoff (top six) West teams, all while Wemby and others have missed so much time AND having the same winning percentage with and without Wemby, I would have told you that you are nuts, and I would have totally taken it.

But maybe I am just not as smart as y’all. Peace.

@HRutherfordHill

…The fact is we play down to the level of the opponent," Wembanyama said. "The good thing is we can match up with anybody and look everybody in the eyes. But the bad thing is we look everybody in the eyes, and sometimes we should just put people away. Most of the time, we execute well. But we don’t finish plays [and] possessions. We just keep people in the games…

Best summation of what is going on with this team… Too much fluctuation… Gotta get to a level and play to that standard. They can get there, but it won’t be easy.

via Pounding The Rock