By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-04-13 14:43:51
2026年4月12日，周日，在圣安东尼奥弗罗斯特银行中心对阵丹佛掘金队的第三节比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) (11) 向队友示意。马刺队在常规赛收官战中以118-128不敌掘金队。
如果你想在周二晚上9点左右找马刺前锋卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant)，还是算了吧。
届时，菲尼克斯太阳将在主场迎战波特兰开拓者，这场西部附加赛将决定马刺七年来的首个季后赛对手。布莱恩特已经安排了一个雷打不动的行程：守在电视机前。
“关掉手机，谁也别来打扰我，我会带着笔记本坐在那儿看球，”布莱恩特说道，“我非常期待看那场比赛，看看我们的对手到底是谁。”
马刺以周日118-128负于丹佛掘金结束了他们十年来最好的一个常规赛，那场比赛双方都没有派出全主力阵容。
马刺本赛季取得了62胜20负的战绩，追平了队史第三好成绩，足以锁定西部第二号种子。
现在，他们静待接下来的挑战。
周二太阳与开拓者之战的胜者将获得第七号种子，并在季后赛首轮对阵马刺。无论对手是谁，该系列赛的第一场比赛都定于周日晚上8点在弗罗斯特银行中心开打。
“我们一直在为这一刻做准备，”前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 在马刺即将结束队史最长季后赛荒时表示，“我们将利用这一周进行备战，为周日晚上8点的比赛做好准备。”
在进入周日的收官战之前，马刺季后赛之路的一些细节仍未确定。
如果获胜，马刺本可以将丹佛掘金挤到第四号种子，从而避免在第二轮可能遭遇这支本赛季给他们制造了不少麻烦的球队。
掘金似乎也接受了这种结果，全明星中锋尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic) 下半场休战，另外五名关键球员则缺席了整场比赛。
尽管如此，丹佛还是赢下了比赛，锁定了第三号种子，留在了马刺所在的半区。
马刺在缺少两大内线——维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 和卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) ——的情况下作战。他们显然想赢，但还没到要在季后赛开始前让最重要的球员冒受伤风险的地步。
输球后，主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 迅速让球队转入季后赛备战模式。
“这些小伙子们打出了一个了不起的82场赛季，”约翰逊说，“现在显然是重新集结的时候了。”
在进入常规赛最后一个比赛日之前，马刺在首轮有三个潜在对手。
洛杉矶快船曾与波特兰开拓者为了第八名的位置激战到最后一刻。随着开拓者击败萨克拉门托国王，快船最终落至第九，从而从马刺的首轮潜在对手名单中消失。
这对马刺球探部门那些辛苦工作的员工来说是个好消息，他们现在只需要分析两支球队的录像，而不是三支。
“我们有几个人已经分析了很长时间的录像了，”米奇·约翰逊说，“希望他们能睡个好觉。”
面对漫长的一周备战期，马刺周一放假，周二、周三和周四安排了训练，周五再次休息。
到周二晚上结束时，马刺就可以开始专注于单一的对手了。
太阳还是开拓者？
至少有一名马刺球员承认，他在周二的附加赛中有明显的倾向。
“飞往波特兰的路程太长了，”后卫德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 笑着说道。
撇开差旅后勤不谈，对于这支自2019年以来首次重返季后赛的马刺新军来说，无论哪个对手都将是严峻的挑战。
马刺本赛季与太阳交手四次，双方各胜两场，不过这些比赛双方都没有全员出战。而在与开拓者的三次交锋中，马刺赢下了两场。
菲尼克斯由全明星后卫德文·布克 (Devin Booker) 领衔，此外还有防守悍将狄龙·布鲁克斯 (Dillon Brooks)，后者可以说是全联盟给文班亚马制造麻烦最多的人之一。
在波特兰，前马刺冠军成员蒂亚戈·斯普利特 (Tiago Splitter) 执教着一支以全明星后卫德尼·阿夫迪亚 (Deni Advija) 为核心、深度极佳且才华横溢的球队。开拓者在常规赛最后14场比赛中赢下了10场，巩固了他们在附加赛争夺中的地位。
“两支都是非常出色的球队，”来自亚利桑那州的新秀布莱恩特说，“我们很期待看到对手是谁，然后专注于那些细节。”
马刺表示，无论面临什么样的挑战，他们都已做好了准备。
“无论如何，这就是季后赛，”后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 说道，“排名对我们来说真的不重要。无论对手是谁，我们都必须赢下眼前的比赛。”
周二深夜，马刺终于能够确定他们期待已久的季后赛征程的首个对手。
布莱恩特很清楚在菲尼克斯的终场哨响之前自己会在哪里。
坐在沙发上，关掉手机，渴望迎接未来，无论未来如何。
“这是了不起的一年，”布莱恩特说，“很多人整个职业生涯都无法在单赛季拿到60胜。现在我们对季后赛感到兴奋。解决一些小问题，保持专注。是的，我们真的很兴奋。”
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：Suns or Blazers? Spurs await what is next
Suns or Blazers? Spurs await what is next
San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) signals to his teammates during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Sunday, April 12, 2026. The Spurs lost 128-118 to the Nuggets in their final regular-season game.
If you’re trying to locate Spurs forward Carter Bryant around 9 p.m. Tuesday, don’t.
With Phoenix hosting Portland in a Western Conference play-in game that will determine the Spurs’ first playoff opponent in seven years, Bryant has a non-negotiable appointment in front of his television set.
“Phone off, nobody bothering me, watching with my notebook sitting there,” Bryant said. “I’m really excited to watch that game and find out who we get to play.”
The Spurs capped their best regular season in a decade with a 128-118 loss against Denver on Sunday, a game in which neither team fielded a full roster.
At 62-20, the Spurs matched the third-best record in franchise history, enough to earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Now, they await what is next.
The winner of Tuesday’s contest between the Suns and Trail Blazers will earn the seventh seed and first-round date against the Spurs. No matter the opponent, Game 1 of that series is set for 8 p.m. Sunday at the Frost Bank Center.
“We’ve been building towards this moment,” forward Keldon Johnson said as the Spurs are poised to end the longest playoff drought in club history. “We’re going to prepare our week and be ready come Sunday at 8 o’clock.”
The Spurs headed into Sunday’s finale with some details of their playoff path still in flux.
With a victory, the Spurs could have pushed Denver to the No. 4 seed and avoided a potential second-round matchup with a Nuggets team that has given them issues this season.
The Nuggets appeared to be on board with that outcome, sitting All-Star center Nikola Jokic for the second half and resting five other key players for the duration of Sunday’s contest.
Denver won anyway, locking down the third seed to stay on the Spurs’ side of the bracket.
The Spurs played without their top two big men – Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet – in a game they clearly wanted to win, but not badly enough to put their most important player in harm’s way before the start of the playoffs.
After the loss, coach Mitch Johnson was quick to flip the team into playoff preparation mode.
“That’s a heck of an 82 games by those guys,” Johnson said. “Now it’s time to obviously regroup.”
Entering the final night of the regular season, there were three possible teams the Spurs could have drawn in the first round.
The Los Angeles Clippers were locked in a down-to-the-wire battle with Portland for the No. 8 spot. The Blazers’ win over Sacramento knocked the Clippers permanently into ninth, removing them from the Spurs’ list of potential first-round foes.
That was good news for the poor souls in the Spurs’ scouting department, who could then limit themselves to pulling film of two teams instead of three.
“We’ve got a couple guys that have been breaking down tape for a long time,” Mitch Johnson said. “We hope they get some sleep.”
With a long week of prep ahead, the Spurs took Monday off, with practices scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before another day off Friday.
By night’s end Tuesday, the Spurs can begin to home in on a single opponent.
Suns or Blazers?
At least one Spurs player admits to having a strong rooting interest in Tuesday’s play-in game.
“Portland’s a long flight,” guard De’Aaron Fox said with a laugh.
Travel logistics notwithstanding, either opponent will present a stiff challenge for an upstart Spurs team making its first playoff appearance in 2019.
The Spurs split four meetings with the Suns this season, though none of those games featured a full roster on both sides. They won two of three meetings against the Blazers.
Phoenix is led by All-Star guard Devin Booker and, in defensive menace Dillon Brooks, features a player who has arguably given Wembanyama as much trouble as anyone in the NBA.
In Portland, former Spurs champion Tiago Splitter coaches a deep and talented roster built around All-Star guard Deni Advija. The Blazers won 10 of their final 14 games of the regular season to solidify their standing in the play-in hunt.
“They’re both really good basketball teams,” said Bryant, a rookie from Arizona. “We’re looking forward to seeing who we draw and then focusing on those details.”
The Spurs say they will be prepared for whatever challenge awaits.
“Regardless, it’s playoff basketball,” guard Stephon Castle said. “Seeding to us really doesn’t matter. We have to win the game ahead of us, no matter who it is.”
Late Tuesday night, the Spurs will at last be able to name the foil of their long-awaited postseason run.
Bryant knows where he will be until the final horn sounds in Phoenix.
On his couch. Phone off. Eager to face the future, whatever it holds.
“It’s been a hell of a year,” Bryant said. “A lot of people don’t to get 60 wins in a single season over their whole career. Now we’re excited for the postseason. Work out some kinks, focus down. Yeah, we’re real excited.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News