By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-02-17 13:34:24
2026年2月11日，周三，在旧金山举行的NBA常规赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) (40) 与中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 以及后卫德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) (4) 在对阵金州勇士队的下半场比赛中庆祝。(美联社照片/Jeff Chiu)
在上周全明星赛前的最后一场比赛中，马刺队击败了金州勇士队。赛后不久，后卫德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 被要求评估球队在赛季上半程的表现。
“前半程？”福克斯笑着说，“我们都打完54场了。”
诚如福克斯所言，NBA一年一度的季中经典赛并非恰好出现在赛季的中点。马刺队将在休整后回归，赛季还剩28场比赛，首战是周四在奥斯汀对阵菲尼克斯太阳队。
这28场比赛将用于巩固季后赛排名，为季后赛之旅积蓄势头。这28场比赛需要球队处理好每一个细节，力争在5月——甚至大胆梦想一下——在6月继续征程。
在经历了六个赛季的低谷期后，马刺队有望自2019年以来首次重返季后赛。
以下是球队进入冲刺阶段时值得关注的五个看点：
1. 马刺能否守住西部第二的位置——甚至更进一步？
令所有人惊讶的是，马刺队在全明星赛前高居西部第二，且距离第一的差距比领先第三名的差距还要小。
凭借38胜16负的战绩，马刺在负场数上领先第三名的丹佛掘金4场，仅落后西部领头羊俄克拉荷马城雷霆2场。
随着马刺力求稳固其在分区上半区的地位，剩余的赛程可能会有所帮助。在西部前六名的球队中，只有休斯顿火箭队的剩余赛程比马刺更轻松。
与此同时，掘金队面临着全联盟最艰难的剩余赛程。雷霆队的赛程难度排名第二，而且马刺在与雷霆的相互战绩中占据优势。
马刺与丹佛还有三场正面交锋，这将在很大程度上决定常规赛榜首的归属。
2. 文班能否打满65场比赛？
对于维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 来说，职业生涯首个NBA年度最佳防守球员奖和最佳阵容席位几乎已是板上钉钉……前提是他能达到评选此类荣誉所需的65场出赛门槛。
在文班亚马因左小腿拉伤缺席了11月和12月初的12场比赛后，这一目标曾一度显得难以实现。
这位全明星中锋自那以后仅缺席了两场比赛，目前总计出场40次。他还可以再缺席三场比赛，仍能保留在NBA赛季末奖项的候选名单中。
2026年2月7日，周六，在圣安东尼奥举行的NBA常规赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 在对阵达拉斯独行侠队的第二节比赛中，在一次犯规后庆祝。
除非再次受伤（此处必须象征性地敲敲木头以求好运），文班有机会达到那个神奇的数字。
他还能缺席三场比赛，依然能达到65场。
马刺队希望在不让文班过度消耗的情况下，让他达标并开启季后赛。
3. 哈里森·巴恩斯现在固定打替补了吗？
在很久以前的马刺王朝时期，当球队年年冲击季后赛时，全明星赛后的这段时期对于固定阵容和轮换至关重要，这样每个球员在4月到来时都能明确自己的角色。
当拥有全员健康的阵容时，主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 近期心仪的首发阵容是福克斯、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)、德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell)、朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 和文班亚马。
这使得33岁的马刺锋线中坚哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 只能坐在替补席上。
直到1月的最后一天——在输给夏洛特的比赛中巴恩斯首次替补出场——在此之前，他已经连续首发了775场比赛。这是一个可以追溯到十年前、即2016年1月的纪录。
约翰逊似乎已经认定，这支球队在首发阵容中同时拥有瓦塞尔和尚帕尼来拉开空间时表现更好。
如果是这样的话，可以预见巴恩斯将继续出任替补，管他那已经作废的连续首发纪录呢。
4. 马刺能在买断市场的“废料堆”里淘到宝吗？
随着杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 现已成为纽约尼克斯队的一员，如果马刺队愿意，他们还有一个阵容名额可以填补。
目前自由球员市场的选择并不多。
对马刺而言，最值得关注的名字是克里斯·布歇 (Chris Boucher)，一位身高6尺8寸的锋卫摇摆人，近期刚在波士顿被买断。名单上的下一位可能是35岁的老牌中锋梅森·普拉姆利 (Mason Plumlee)，他已在夏洛特被裁掉。
这些名字算不上什么重磅新闻。
被买断的球员必须在3月1日之前澄清澄清期，才有资格进入另一支球队的季后赛名单，这意味着马刺还有时间观望市场是否会变得更加丰富。
即使马刺真的从买断市场签下一名球员来填补索汉留下的空缺，也不太可能成为改变局势的关键因素。
5. 卡特·布莱恩特能否通过表现挤进马刺的季后赛计划？
这位新秀前锋自2月初以来出场时间和身价都在上升，预计在接下来的几周内将获得更多机会。
卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 是否能在约翰逊的季后赛轮换中赢得一席之地仍有待观察。
这位NBA扣篮大赛亚军在进入全明星赛前打出了他短暂职业生涯中最好的篮球表现，他仅有的四场得分上双的比赛中，有三场出现在过去一周。从表面上看，他在场上的体型优势、运动能力和全面性在季后赛中是大有裨益的。
然而，季后赛的轮换往往会缩减到八或九人，而目前来看，布莱恩特似乎是马刺队的第十人。
与此同时，NBA教练在季后赛的残酷考验中，自然更倾向于信任年龄更大、经验更丰富的球员。
在重重阻力之下，布莱恩特还有一个半月的时间让自己变得不可或缺。
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：5 Storylines as the Spurs gear up for a stretch run
5 Storylines as the Spurs gear up for a stretch run
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) celebrates with center Victor Wembanyama (1) and guard De’aaron Fox (4) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Not long after the Spurs defeated Golden State in their final game before the All-Star break last week, guard De’Aaron Fox was asked to assess the state of the team after the first half of the season.
“First half?” Fox said with a laugh. “We’re 54 games in.”
Indeed, as Fox noted, the NBA’s annual midseason classic doesn’t come in the exact middle of the season. The Spurs come back from hiatus with 28 games remaining, beginning with Thursday’s contest against Phoenix in Austin.
That’s 28 games to solidify playoff seeding. Twenty-eight games to gather momentum for a postseason run. Twenty-eight games to dot Is and cross Ts in hopes of making a push into May or — dare to dream — June.
After six seasons spent in the NBA wilderness, the Spurs are poised to make a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Here are five storylines to watch as the team settles in for the stretch run:
1. Can the Spurs hang on to the No. 2 seed — or move even higher?
To the surprise of well, everyone, the Spurs arrived at the break in second place of the Western Conference — and closer to first place than third.
At 38-16, the Spurs are four games ahead of third-place Denver in the loss column, and only two games behind conference-leading Oklahoma City.
As the Spurs look to secure their place near the top of the bracket, the remaining schedule should help. Of the top six teams in the West, only the Houston Rockets face a softer schedule down the stretch than the Spurs.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, own the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA. OKC faces the second toughest, and the Spurs boast the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Thunder.
The Spurs have three games left against Denver, which could go a long way toward sorting out the top of the standings.
2. Will Wemby make it to 65 games?
For Victor Wembanyama, a first career NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and All-NBA nod are all but etched in stone … if he can reach the 65-game threshold required to be considered eligible for such honors.
That seemed in doubt after Wembanyama missed 12 contests in November and early December with a left calf strain.
The All-Star center has played in all but two games since, totaling 40 appearances overall. He can miss three more games and remain on the NBA’s postseason awards ballot.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates after a foul during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in San Antonio.
Barring another injury (insert obligatory knocking on wood here), Wembanyama has a chance to make it to the magic number.
He can miss three more games and still hit 65.
The Spurs will hope to get Wembanyama there without running him into the ground before the playoffs start.
3. Is Harrison Barnes a permanent bench player now?
A long time ago in a galaxy far away, when the Spurs were making perennial playoff runs, the period following the All-Star break was crucial for setting lineups and rotations in cement so that every player knew his role come April.
When blessed with a fully healthy roster, coach Mitch Johnson’s preferred starting lineup of late has been De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie and Wembanyama.
That leaves Harrison Barnes, the Spurs’ 33-year-old stalwart of a forward, on the bench.
Up until the final day of January, when Barnes first came off the bench in a loss at Charlotte, he had started 775 consecutive appearances. It is a streak that stretched back a decade to January 2016.
Johnson appears to have decided this year’s squad works better with both Vassell and Champagnie spreading the floor in the first unit.
If that is the case, Barnes can be expected continue to come off the bench, his now-defunct streak be darned.
4. Can the Spurs find buried treasure on the buyout scrap heap?
With Jeremy Sochan now a member of the New York Knicks, the Spurs have one roster spot available to fill should they choose to do so.
The pickings are slim at the free agent fair so far.
The most notable name available for the Spurs’ purposes is Chris Boucher, a 6-foot-8 combo forward recently bought out in Boston. Next on the list might be 35-year-old journeyman center Mason Plumlee, who was granted his release in Charlotte.
Not exactly stop-the-presses kind of stuff.
Bought-out players have until March 1 to clear waivers and still be eligible for another team’s playoff roster, meaning the Spurs have time to wait and see if the market grows a bit more robust.
Even if the Spurs do add a player from the buyout market to replace Sochan, it is unlikely to be a game-changer.
5. Will Carter Bryant force his way into the Spurs’ postseason plans?
The rookie forward has seen his minutes and his stock go up since the start of February, and can be expected to be handed more opportunities in the weeks to come.
Whether that carves a place for Bryant in Johnson’s playoff rotation remains to be seen.
The NBA slam-dunk runner up was playing the best basketball of his brief professional career heading into the break, with three of his four double-digit scoring games coming in the past week. His positional size, athleticism and versatility would ostensibly come in useful during a playoff scenario.
Rotations tend to shrink to eight or nine in the postseason, however, and at this point Bryant seems to be the Spurs’ No. 10.
NBA coaches, meanwhile, naturally tend to default to older and more experienced players in the crucible of the playoffs.
With all that working against him, Bryant has a month and a half to make himself indispensable.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News