By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-04-05 22:34:17
周六在丹佛，圣安东尼奥马刺队打出了本赛季最精彩的比赛之一。遗憾的是，这场比赛以银黑军团在加时赛中痛苦落败告终，这似乎印证了质疑者的担忧：在具有季后赛强度的比赛中，面对顶级对手时，圣安东尼奥在关键时刻的执行力仍有欠缺。
事实上，这场失利虽然令人懊恼，但对马刺来说其实是种激励。虽然这并不能减轻失利的刺痛感，因为球队曾几次看起来胜券在握，但它展示了这支团队的上限有多高——即便在他们并非处于最佳状态时。让我们来详细分析一下。
马刺犯了许多错误，却依然险些赢得比赛
当一支球队打出了近乎完美的篮球却依然落败时，这种惜败于其他竞争对手的经历是令人沮丧的。当你的最佳表现仍力有不逮，那就该重新审视你是否真的能与顶尖强队抗衡了。但马刺在关键时刻的表现远未达到最佳，却依然有机会击败一个被公认为拥有争冠实力的对手。
在回看第四节时，我发现了以下判断上的错误：
- 在尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic) 下场休息、瓦兰丘纳斯在防守端步履蹒跚时，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在进攻时间还剩18秒时就选择了一记干拔三分，而不是执行任何战术。那次进攻甚至没有一次传球。
- 当约基奇回到场上后，马刺让迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 获得了错位单打约基奇的机会，但他选择了外线投射，而不是通过突破来压缩防守或冲击篮筐——而冲击篮筐后的终结正是他的顶级强项。
- 文班亚马在防守约基奇时，双方发生了肢体接触，文班试图通过假摔引起裁判注意。裁判没有鸣哨，约基奇直接获得了空篮得分的机会。
- 在凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 三分投失后，马刺退防转换，但没人冲上去盯防拖后跟进的贾马尔·穆雷 (Jamal Murray)，导致穆雷命中了一记几乎无人干扰的三分。
- 凯尔登·约翰逊在进攻时间还剩8秒时放弃了一个不错的三分机会。马刺试图重新组织，让哈珀在进攻时间将尽时强攻，结果出现失误，给了对手转换得分的机会。
再次强调，这些只是判断上的错误，而非执行力的问题。那些球权停滞、马刺没能迅速找到空位射手的回合，或者例如德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 在防守三分时过于鲁莽地扑防导致“3+1”的情况，都没有计算在内。我们的重点在于过程而非结果，因此哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 空位三分投出三不沾，或者斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 在单打小哈达威 (Hardaway Jr.) 时走步，这些例子也不在此列。
没有球队是完美的，掘金也会犯错，但对于圣安东尼奥来说，这些错误实在太多了，尤其是面对一个能抓住这些机会的对手。看着这份清单，你可能会以为马刺在第四节被打爆了，但实际上他们只输了4分，并且在最后一分钟还曾手握两球的领先优势。
教练指导与执行力仍有巨大提升空间
目前，马刺作为真正竞争者的最大软肋是年轻和缺乏经验，有人会说，因为决策失误而输掉比赛正说明有很多理由感到担忧。但这场比赛在战略上也输了，而这在季后赛系列赛中是不该发生的，因为届时明显的调整是预料之中的。
同样只关注第四节和加时赛，代理主帅米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 本可以做出很多调整来应对掘金的打法。其中最主要的一点涉及约基奇。丹佛轮流让“小丑”去防守凯尔登、朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔。马刺并没有让这位大个子参与到核心战术中，也没有通过换防强迫他去防守文班亚马或后卫，而是很大程度上让约基奇在防守端得到了休息——他只需站在底角附近，如果球传到他防守的人手中，他才象征性地干扰一下。
那么，如果不针对约基奇，马刺在进攻端在做什么？他们让文班在罚球线延伸区执行了大量战术。当文班通过换防对上穆雷时，效果很好，他要么自己得分，要么在吸引包夹后让队友获得空位三分。问题在于，每当阿隆·戈登 (Aaron Gordon) 成功回防并对位文班时，文班在面对这位联盟顶级防守者时显得很挣扎，要么选择失去平衡的投篮，要么持球时间过长，在进攻时间快结束时才把球传出去。
调整迟迟未到是否令人担忧？只有当你认为如果这两支球队在季后赛相遇，约翰逊依然不会做出调整时，这才是值得担心的。
马刺或许需要这场失利来保持警醒
看到这支马刺队如此富有天赋，距离赢得比赛仅差那么一两个回合，这至少在某种程度上令人欣慰。如果文班在常规时间掘金投进绝平球的那一回合没有漏掉换防，或者投进了那个潜在的准绝杀，现在的舆论导向会完全不同。如果福克斯的传球再好一点，或者德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 在比赛还剩23秒、试图通过空接扣篮扳平比分时能控制住球，也许圣安东尼奥最终会带走胜利。
与此同时，很多比赛，尤其是季后赛的胶着对决，往往取决于少数几个回合。马刺需要成为更敏锐的那一方，而他们在过去一两个月里并没有受到太多真正的考验。对于竞争者来说，没有所谓的“虽败犹荣”，但有经验教训，而这就是其中之一。甚至球员们也对此表示赞同。
“像这样的比赛是我们需要的，尤其是考虑到我们过去一周半所打的比赛，对手中有些并不是在为我们所追求的目标而战，”朱利安·尚帕尼说道。 “显然，我们输了，这不是你想要的结果，但我认为当我们回头看录像时，会有很多有价值的东西可以借鉴。”
与此同时，文班亚马称这场对决“很有趣”，并提到了与尚帕尼相同的观点：
“我对这场比赛的结论是，这对我们有好处。今晚发生的一切对我们都有好处。这是一个真正的考验，对手是一支目前真正有所追求的球队。这有一点季后赛的感觉。”
一场胜利固然理想，而且也曾触手可及，但这场失利提醒了马刺，在季后赛临近之际，他们需要打磨细节，这无疑是一件好事。
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：Why the Spurs’ loss to the Nuggets is nothing to worry about
Why the Spurs’ loss to the Nuggets is nothing to worry about
The Spurs played one of the most entertaining games of the season in Denver on Saturday. Unfortunately, it ended with a painful loss in overtime for the Silver and Black, which helped confirm the concerns of the skeptics about San Antonio’s chances to execute down the stretch against top-level opponents in games with playoff intensity.
In reality, the loss, while annoying, is actually encouraging for the Spurs. It doesn’t make it sting any less, because the team seemed to have it in the bag a couple of times, but it showed just how high the ceiling of this group is, even when they are not at their best. Let’s break it down.
The Spurs made a lot of mistakes and still almost won the game
Close losses to other contenders are discouraging when a team plays almost flawless basketball, and it’s still not enough. When your best falls short, it’s time to reconsider whether you can actually measure up with the top dogs. But the Spurs did not play near their best down the stretch, and they still had a chance to beat an opponent the consensus believes can win a championship.
While rewatching the fourth quarter, here are the mistakes in judgment I could see:
- With Jokic off the court and Valanciunas reeling defensively, Wembanyama takes a pull-up three with 18 seconds on the clock instead of running anything. Not one pass on the play.
- With Jokic back on the floor, the Spurs get Dylan Harper a switch to attack Jokic and he settles for a three instead of driving to collapse the defense or try to get to the rim, where his finishing is elite.
- Wembanyama is guarding Jokic. It gets physical, and Wemby flops to get the official’s attention. They don’t call the foul, and Jokic has a clear path to score at the rim.
- After a Keldon Johnson missed three, the Spurs get back in transition, but no one rushes to pick up Jamal Murray as the trailer, and Murray hits a lightly contested three.
- Keldon Johnson passes up a good three with eight seconds in the shot clock. Spurs try to reset with Harper attacking with the shot winding down, but turn it over, and allow a transition bucket.
Again, these are just errors in judgment, not execution. The possessions in which the ball got sticky and the Spurs didn’t find an open shooter quickly enough, or, for example, when De’Aaron Fox closed out too recklessly on a three for a four-point play, are not counted. The focus is also on process over result, so Harrison Barnes airballing an open three or Castle travelling on an isolation against Hardaway Jr., for example, aren’t on this list.
No team is perfect, and the Nuggets also had their errors, but those are a lot of mistakes for San Antonio, especially against an opponent that can capitalize on them. Looking at that list, you’d imagine the Spurs got crushed in the fourth quarter, but they only lost by four and held a two-possession lead in the final minute.
The coaching and execution have plenty of room to improve
Now, since the biggest knock on the Spurs as legitimate contenders is their youth and lack of experience, some would say that the fact they lost because of poor decision-making shows that there are plenty of reasons for concern. But the game was also lost strategically, and that shouldn’t happen in a playoff series where obvious adjustments are expected.
Again, just focusing on the fourth quarter and overtime, there were plenty of tweaks Mitch Johnson could have made to counter the Nuggets’ play. One of the main ones involved Nikola Jokic. Denver hid The Joker on Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, and Stephon Castle, alternatively. Instead of getting the big man involved in the main action and forcing him to defend either Wembanyama or a guard after a switch, they largely allowed Jokic to rest on defense, as he stood near the corner, barely contesting shots if the ball moved to his man.
So if they were not hunting Jokic, what were the Spurs doing on offense? They were running a lot of their plays through Wembanyama at the elbow. When Wemby got Jamal Murray on a switch, that was a good outcome, as he either scored or someone got an open three after a double team. The problem was that whenever Aaron Gordon managed to recover and guard Wemby, he struggled against one of the best defenders in the league, either taking off-balance shots or holding the ball for too long and passing out with the shot clock about to expire.
Is it worrisome that the adjustments never came? Only if you believe that Johnson wouldn’t make them if these two teams met in the playoffs.
The Spurs probably needed this loss to keep them sharp
It has to be at least somewhat reassuring to see that this Spurs team is so talented that there were a couple of plays away from winning the game. If Wemby doesn’t botch the switch in the tying Nuggets’ bucket in regulation or hits the would-be game-winner, the discourse would be completely different. Had Fox made a slightly better pass or had Vassell been able to control the ball in the alley-oop attempt to tie it with 23 seconds to go, maybe San Antonio would have ended up winning.
At the same time, a lot of games, especially close postseason games, come down to a handful of plays. The Spurs need to be the ones who are sharper, and they were not getting tested much in the past couple of months. There are no moral victories for contenders, but there are learning experiences, and this was one. Even the players agreed.
“A game like this is something that we needed, especially with the games we’ve been playing the past week and a half, with some teams that are not fighting for what we are fighting for,” said Julian Champagnie. “Obviously, we lost, and that’s not the outcome you want to leave with, but I think that when we go back and watch the film, there will be a lot of valuable things that we can take from that.”
Meanwhile, Wembanyama called the matchup “fun” and touched on the same topics as Champagnie:
“My conclusion for this game is that it’s good for us. Everything that happened tonight is good for us. It’s a real test against a team that actually is playing for something right now. It had a little bit of playoff vibes.”
A win would have been ideal, and was within grasp, but the loss reminded the Spurs they need to clean things up as the postseason approaches, which is undoubtedly a good thing.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock