By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-03-27 00:17:43
马刺队目前正处于七连胜之中，且似乎在季后赛临近的关键时刻达到了巅峰状态。一段时间以来，他们看起来已经是联盟中最顶尖的球队之一，但自全明星周末以来，他们的表现更像是一支真正的争冠球队，并已完全拉开了与西部后续梯队的差距。
这支球队不仅展现出了极高的上限，近期表现也愈发稳健，其背后的原因有很多，从个人表现的提升到极佳的化学反应不一而足。而在这份稳定性中，一个常被低估的因素便是阵容配置的优化。接下来，让我们深入探讨哪些组合发挥了作用，以及其中的原因。
全新的首发阵容势不可挡
鉴于哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 近期陷入挣扎，米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 决定让朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 进入首发，并让这位老将前锋出任替补。这一调整效果显著。自变阵以来，由德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)、德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell)、尚帕尼以及维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 组成的新首发阵容，每百回合净胜对手超过 21 分，这是一个惊人的数据。本赛季至今，该组合的净效率值高达 17.7，在所有共同出场至少 100 分钟的阵容中名列前茅。
马刺之前的首发阵容同样表现出色，但不及这组新阵容高效。当然，这套阵容也存在一些弱点，尤其是在面对拥有强力前锋的对手时，但投射能力是其一大杀手锏——当这五名球员同时在场时，圣安东尼奥的三分命中率高达 41.7%。在这种配置下，面对顶级强敌时篮板球是否会成为隐患仍有待观察，但目前的成功表明约翰逊的变阵是正确的，而且他不盲目依赖任何固定阵容，这让他能够灵活调整。
“法式香草”虽好，但切勿贪杯
休赛期签下卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 时，最引人关注的看点之一不仅是他能作为文班亚马的替补，还在于他能与这位明星中锋并肩作战。科内特此前在波士顿曾成功搭档过克里斯塔普斯·波尔津吉斯 (Kristaps Porzingis) 和艾尔·霍福德 (Al Horford)，他与其他大个子兼容的能力让马刺具备了摆出“巨无霸”阵容的潜力。这对双塔组合甚至得到了一个绰号：“法式香草 (French Vanilla)”。
然而，现实并未如预期般美好。当两名中锋同时在场时，马刺的得分能力严重受限，进攻效率值甚至不足 100。陷入困境的主因并不令人意外：双塔阵容的投射能力堪忧，尤其是外线表现，三分命中率仅为 26.4%。文班在远投的稳定性上还无法与波士顿的那些大个子相提并论，而将科内特这样一位缺乏射程的球员放入阵容，会严重破坏整体的空间感。在全明星赛后的阶段，这对组合的出场时间有所下降，这也在情理之中。
不过，这些阵容在应对特定对位时仍有其价值，这也是为何它们没有被完全弃用的原因。它们在防守端表现出色，每百回合仅失 103.5 分，并且在进攻篮板上占据统治地位，马刺能抢回 41% 的投篮打铁。如果其中的一些二次进攻机会能转化为得分，进攻端或许会有所改善。作为一种改变节奏的手段而非核心战术，这套阵容在季后赛的短时间内仍有一席之地。
马刺正逐渐摸索出“非文班时间”的生存之道
与大多数球队一样，马刺在缺少超级巨星压阵的情况下也难以维持阵容的高效运转。当文班亚马的出场时间较长时，这并不是大问题，因为科内特领衔的阵容只需在衔接段稳住局势，而不必非要大比分领先对手。但圣安东尼奥承担不起那些成为场上负担的组合，而他们此前使用的一些阵容恰恰存在这种风险。
在全明星周末之前，由科内特和至少两名其他替补球员组成的最常用阵容包括这位大个子、迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)、凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson)、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔以及尚帕尼。这套阵容在短短 32 分钟内就输掉了 17 分，防守端漏洞百出。诚然，样本量太小无法得出绝对结论，但总体而言，由科内特、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔和哈珀组成的单元确实打得挣扎。进攻端表现乏力，很大程度上是因为对手可以肆无忌惮地封锁禁区。
目前看来，解决方案是让福克斯或瓦塞尔与科内特、哈珀以及凯尔登这三位主要的替补轮换球员共同分担时间。全明星赛后，科内特搭档至少两名替补球员的最常用阵容加入了这两位年轻后卫——凯尔登和瓦塞尔，在 27 分钟内仅输掉 6 分。第二常用的阵容则是巴恩斯和福克斯配合替补三人组，在 21 分钟内净胜对手 2 分。除此之外，还有一套包含哈珀和卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 的阵容，表现相当混乱，但在季后赛中不太可能被重用。
必须强调的是，每场比赛仅共同出场几分钟的阵容数据具有很大的随机性，但优秀的教练组会察觉其中的规律，并进行微调以争取边际优势。当文班不在场时，某些球队可能会在得分上压制马刺，因此目标是找到能够稳住阵脚的组合，并逐步淘汰那些低效的阵容。随着季后赛的临近，约翰逊似乎正在这样做，这让我们对马刺能在季后赛走得更远有了更多乐观的理由。
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：The Spurs are finding the right lineups at the perfect time
The Spurs are finding the right lineups at the perfect time
The Spurs are on a seven-game win streak and seem to be peaking at the right time, just as the playoffs near. They’ve looked like one of the best teams in the league for a while, but they have been playing like a true contender since the All-Star break and have fully separated themselves from the pack of teams below them in the West.
There are many reasons why the team seems to not only have a high ceiling but has looked more stable recently, from improved individual performances to pristine chemistry. One of the more underrated causes for the steadiness it has been displaying has been the optimization of some lineups. So let’s look at what has been working and why.
The new starting lineup is a juggernaut
With Harrison Barnes struggling, Mitch Johnson decided to start Julian Champagnie and have the veteran forward come off the bench. The results have been great. Since the change, the new starting lineup of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Champagnie, and Victor Wembanyama has outscored opponents by over 21 points per 100 possessions, a ridiculous amount. For the season, that group sits with a 17.7-point net rating, one of the best among units that have played at least 100 minutes together.
The Spurs’ previous starting lineup was also among the best, but not as effective as this new group. There are some weaknesses to this unit, particularly against opponents who have big forwards, but the shooting is a major plus, as San Antonio connects on 41.7 percent of its three-pointers with those five players on the floor. It remains to be seen whether rebounding will be an issue with this configuration against elite opponents, but the success it has had so far suggests Mitch Johnson was right to make the change, and the fact that he doesn’t over-rely on any lineup allows him to adjust.
A scoop of French Vanilla is fine, but don’t overdo it
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Luke Kornet signing in the offseason was the potential for him to not only back Victor Wembanyama up but also play next to the star center. Kornet had done it successfully with Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford in Boston and his ability to slot in with another big gave the Spurs the potential to play jumbo lineups. The duo even got a nickname: French Vanilla.
The reality hasn’t been as exciting as the idea. The Spurs simply can’t score enough with both centers on the floor, posting a sub-100 offensive rating. That main reason for the struggles won’t surprise anyone: lineups with both in them struggle to shoot, especially from distance, where they connect on just 26.4 percent on three-pointers. Wemby is not as reliable as the Boston bigs from long range, and adding a non-shooter like Kornet to groups that likely feature others hurts the spacing in general. The minutes for the combination are down in the post All-Start stretch, which isn’t surprising.
Those lineups could still have a place against specific matchups, which is why it’s good that they haven’t been scrapped completely. They are great defensively, allowing just 103.5 points per 100 possessions, and they dominate the offensive glass, with the Spurs recovering 41 percent of their misses. If some of those second-chance opportunities turn into points, the offense might improve. As a change of pace option rather than a go-to strategy, it could have a place in the postseason in short stints.
The Spurs are slowly figuring out the non-Wemby minutes
Like most teams, the Spurs have struggled to make units that don’t feature their superstar work. It’s not a huge issue when Wembanyama plays heavy minutes, as the Kornet-led lineups are just expected to keep pace for short stints instead of vastly outscoring opponents, but San Antonio can’t afford to have combinations that are liabilities, and some of the lineups they were using were just that.
Before the All-Star break, the most used lineup featuring Kornet and at least two other bench players consisted of the big man, Dylan Harper, Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, and Julian Champagnie. It bled points, getting outscored by 17 points in just 32 minutes. Granted, no sweeping conclusions can be drawn with such a small sample size, but in general, units featuring Kornet, Castle, and Harper struggled. The offense simply wasn’t good enough, largely because opponents could simply wall off the paint.
The apparent solution has been to have De’Aaron Fox or Devin Vassell share minutes with Kornet, Harper and Keldon Johnson, the three main bench rotation players. Post All-Star break, the most used Kornet plus at least two bench players unit has featured the two young guards, Keldon and Vassell, and has only been outscored by six points in 27 minutes. The second most used has Harrison Barnes and Fox along the bench trio, and has outscored opponents by two in 21 minutes. After that, there’s a unit featuring both Harper and Carter Bryant that has been a mess, but won’t likely be used much in the postseason.
It can’t be stressed enough how noisy the data of lineups that only share the floor for a few minutes a game can be, but good coaching staffs notice patterns and make small adjustments to try to win on the margins. Some teams are probably going to outscore the Spurs when Wembanyama isn’t on the floor, so the goal is to find units that can hold the fort and phase out those that can’t. It seems that Johnson is doing just that as the playoffs approach, which provides even more reason for optimism about a deep run.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock