By J.R. Wilco | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-05-06 12:51:46
在对阵明尼苏达森林狼队 (Minnesota Timberwolves) 的G1开始前，我与我们姐妹网站 Canis Hoopus 的蒂洛·威德 (Thilo Widder) 聊了聊马刺需要如何在进攻端更具创意，以应对森林狼的身高优势。我们在马刺惜败的一场防守大战——G1中看到了这一点的体现。今天，我们将讨论他们需要做出哪些调整，以及这支年轻、缺乏经验的队伍是否具备做出这些调整的素质，还是说那支刚刚连续两次闯入分区决赛、久经季后赛沙场的森林狼队会给他们好好上一课。
J.R. Wilco
真是场精彩的比赛！当然，我更希望看到不同的结果，但这正是马刺球迷在过去9年里一直渴望的东西：高水平的竞争、重要的比赛、高昂的赌注、巨大的压力，以及……存在感。
关于这轮系列赛，我们在G1之后了解到的是：如果这轮系列赛不打满七场，那将是一种遗憾。这听起来可能有点奇怪，所以我解释一下。作为马刺球迷，我当然希望系列赛在五场内结束，由圣安东尼奥完成“绅士横扫”并赢下所有比赛——无论这多么不切实际。但作为篮球迷，我最想看到的就是这两支球队在336分钟的比赛里互掷重拳、见招拆招。
我是说，拜托，周一晚上的前三个回合全是高个法国人的盖帽！比赛的胶着程度，简直比奶奶放了十年的草莓酱罐头盖子还要紧。两支球队都没有领先过两位数？每当我以为马刺要获得一点喘息空间时，穿着白色球衣的球员就会做出一些运动天赋惊人且及时的动作，终结圣安东尼奥的势头。
例子1：马刺喜欢在每节结束前至少打出一波小高潮，通过设置“2换1”（two-for-one）的策略，让他们先出手一球，留给对方大约30秒左右的时间。好吧，明尼苏达不仅知道这一点，他们还意识到达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 通常是执行最后一投的人。甚至当他在朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 的掩护下跑位，并在他最擅长的油漆区跳投出手时（那位置甜到简直能让他得糖尿病），伯恩斯·海兰德 (Bones Hyland) 漏掉了朱利安，从后面封盖了福克斯，随后朱利叶斯·兰德尔 (Julius Randle) 完成了压哨扣篮。例子2：第二节末段，迈克·康利 (Mike Conley) 和杰伦·克拉克 (Jaylen Clark) 破坏了德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 和福克斯的挡拆，尽管福克斯最终突入禁区且面前只有兰德尔，但他并没能完全控制住球，最终丢球。
在上半场的两节比赛中，马刺在最后一攻里甚至都没能完成出手。人们都在批评米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 没有在第四节末段叫暂停。但我认为，如果让森林狼的防守站好位那是愚蠢的，因为他们已经在比赛过程中展现了破坏你常规节末进攻的能力。总之，这种防守需要放在显微镜下仔细研究才能理解，从而更好地进行攻击，而这正是圣安东尼奥教练组目前正在做的事情。
这就引出了克里斯·芬奇 (Chris Finch) 及其团队的备战工作，以及对下一场比赛的期待。随着森林狼连续两年闯入西部决赛，你们已经经历过漫长的季后赛征程，你们习惯看到什么样的调整？你期待他们下一步做什么？以及你现在感觉有多爽？
Thilo
那确实非同寻常。虽然你们可能怀念这种感觉（漫长的季后赛征程），但我认为森林狼的球迷永远不会对此习以为常。我是说，我们以前甚至不得不为了现金补偿卖掉首轮签，这样才能付得起解雇教练的钱！我们就是那样一支球队！！而我们刚刚击败了一个只有+400左右赔率会被我们横扫的二号种子！
这支森林狼总是带有惊喜元素。我试着保持现实，结果他们却打破了这些预期，而就在我开始相信的时候，他们又让我失望。这发生在2023-24赛季对阵掘金的抢七大战中，也发生在2024-25赛季对阵太阳的第四场比赛中。现在我又开始相信了，我等不及看它再次发生了。
关于调整，我要自我表扬一下，我预言了福克斯会成为目标，也就是教练组认定的所谓最弱一环。这一直是芬奇和教练组其他成员在季后赛中做出的第一个改变。
芬奇明白，正如大多数教练一样，常规赛是看你能保持多少自己的风格，而季后赛则是看你能多好、多快地做出改变，同时阻止对手打出他们最舒服的表现。
从旁观者的角度看，马刺似乎想让福克斯、哈珀 (Harper) 和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 配合文班亚马突入禁区，在进攻端彻底在三分线内欺凌对手，同时在防守端将所有人驱赶到内线的文班面前。
好吧，他们确实做到了后半部分。唯一的问题是？明尼苏达森林狼队是一群疯子。
文班封盖了一切，但这并不重要。明尼苏达在禁区内仍然获得了50多次出手。这就是芬奇意识到的有趣之处：盖帽并不总是能终结进攻回合，而文班能做的也有限。
森林狼的问题在于，他们似乎在第三轮系列赛临近时就会耗尽能量。每支球队都被明尼苏达踢了屁股，结果森林狼自己却精疲力竭了。这就是为什么我仍然难以完全相信。
至于期待什么，我假设禁区的出手量不会改变。最大的变化将是谁来执行这些投篮。阿约·多孙姆 (Ayo Dosunmu) 将会回归，他曾对掘金做过同样的事。我认为最大的区别将在于鲁迪·戈贝尔 (Rudy Gobert) 的部署。也许他不会与文班正面对位（说实话，兰德尔做得更好），而是被用来在文班不在场的分钟里压制对手。
这就是我的第一个问题。维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 虽然不是两大核心中表现最令人失望的，但他比福克斯关键得多。你认为应对方式会如何改变？或者你认为这只是一个投进球还是投丢球的问题？此外，文班那华丽的盖帽数据是否掩盖了他的篮板/防守收尾表现仍有待提高的事实？你如何处理这个问题？
J.R.
首先，当你在比较两场比赛时，绝不仅仅是因为单一因素，哪怕是投篮命中率。假设你观察一个球员的平均得分，并认为可以依赖他贡献这么多。好吧，在一个赛季中是可以的，但在单场比赛中变量太多了。说“我们周三会没事的，因为那些外线投篮会进”很容易，但也许明尼苏达获得了更多罚球机会并全部命中。或者圣安东尼奥的失误翻倍，开始在快攻中疯狂丢分。每场比赛涉及的因素实在太多，无法想象单一类别的提升，然后期望其他一切保持不变。
至于文班的表现，在他在一场比赛中拿到12次盖帽和15个篮板时，还认为他的防守和篮板可以做得更好，这听起来很疯狂，但事实确实如此。文班在篮下时仍然会因为假动作而起跳，我认为除了时间和磨练，没有什么能治愈这一点。我不知道这是否属于常规的篮球智慧，但我坚信，跳起来挑战中距离或外线投篮在原理上是正确的。但当涉及到篮下的大个子时，他们应该举起手臂去干扰，但要保持双脚着地以便冲抢篮板。这对文班来说更是如此，因为他太高了，有时即使他不做封盖动作也能影响投篮。底线是，防守的目的是完成防守回合，而不是拿盖帽。我喜欢他拒绝对手，但我更喜欢终结对手的进攻回合。
森林狼决定无论他拿到多少个盖帽，他们都会继续进攻，你无法反驳这个结果。至于如何应对，我不确定，但这必须是一个团队任务。当戈贝尔在场上，求着被无视时，将突破者驱赶到文班面前确实有效，但当明尼苏达打小阵容时，你必须为文班找一个比香农 (Shannon) 更好的防守对象。他太快了，文班一旦被掩护挂住，防守就结束了。
但并非全无希望。我不认为福克斯会连续两场表现拉胯，而且三分球命中率回归球队均值也是可以预期的，除非森林狼有什么魔力药水，能让他们对阵的球队忘记如何投进空位三分。这听起来很可笑，但它似乎发生在丹佛身上，我们也知道G1发生了什么。
你对G2有什么看法：你认为会像周一那样接近吗？你觉得马刺能破解芬奇计划中的一部分吗？
Thilo
我今天其实给另一份工作的上司（我们中谁没有好几份工作呢？）发了短信说：“我预计圣安东尼奥会赢20分，因为任何其他结果都会敲响警钟。”
所以我们就这么说吧，我认为圣安东尼奥会解决一些问题，我只是好奇那会是什么。
客场赢球很难，尤其是考虑到霜冻银行中心 (Frost Bank Center) 在第四节某些时段表现出的狂热程度。在客场连赢两场更是难上加难。在第二轮对阵更高顺位的球队时，在客场赢下系列赛的前两场，简直是不可能完成的任务。
我记得上一次客队经常取得2-0领先还是在泡泡园区时期，而现在的情况完全不同。
不过我要说的是，我在本系列赛的第一期（？）中就反复强调过季后赛经验，我认为这将继续发挥作用。米奇·约翰逊不是格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich)。他没经历过这些。如果波波维奇身体健康能留下来，他可能根本不会坐在这个位置上。
是的，客场赢球很难，但当你拥有成功记录时（森林狼现在竟然有了），想象在客场赢球可能比你的轮换阵容中90%的季后赛经验都来自老将哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 时要容易得多。
也许这个答案太简短或太轻率了，但我真心认为归根结底就是经验。经验很重要，而马刺——那支拥有王朝底蕴、长盛不衰的马刺——现在正缺乏这一点。
就此而言，很难看出谁会在这轮系列赛中领导这支球队。对于文班来说，在承担所有场上职责的同时接管领导权似乎有点过早，而福克斯肯定需要打得更好才能实现这一点。卡斯尔和哈珀在这方面也还不够优秀，无法掩盖他们的年龄。
人们会嘲笑这个对比，但活塞队有托拜厄斯·哈里斯 (Tobias Harris)。森林狼有康利。雷霆需要亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 和以赛亚·哈滕施泰因 (Isaiah Hartenstein)。老将很重要，而马刺没有多少老将能让大家团结在周围。
每支球队都需要那样的人。每一支冠军球队都会强调这些球员的重要性。谁会成为那个被低估、经常被忽视但却挺身而出的人？比赛结果如何还有待观察，但这将是我关注的重点。
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：Experience prevailed in Game 1, how the Spurs must adjust for Game 2
Experience prevailed in Game 1, how the Spurs must adjust for Game 2
Before Game 1 against the Minnesota Timbwolves, I chatted with Thilo Widder from our sister site Canis Hoopus about how the Spurs would need to get more creative on offense to counter the Wolves’ size advantage. We saw that play out in a tight, defensive-minded Game 1 loss for the Spurs, so today, we discuss what adjustments they’ll need to make and if the young, inexperienced squad has what it takes to make them, or will the play0ff-hardened Wolves, fresh off two straight Conference Finals appearances, show them how it’s done.
J.R. Wilco
What a game! Of course I would have preferred a different outcome, but this is what Spurs fans have been missing for the last 9 years; a high level of competition, important games, high-stakes, pressure, and … relevancy.
Here’s what we know about this series after Game 1. It’ll be a shame if this doesn’t go the distance. That might sound weird, so I’ll clarify. As a Spurs fan, of course I want it to end in five games with San Antonio completing the Gentleman’s Sweep and running the table – no matter how unrealistic that is. But as a basketball fan, I’d love little better than to sink my teeth into 336 minutes of these two teams trading haymakers.
I mean, come on now, Monday night’s first three plays were all blocks by tall French dudes! The game was tighter than the lid on a 10-year-old jar of grandma’s strawberry preserves. Neither team ever got a double-digit lead? Every time I thought the Spurs were going to get some breathing room, someone in a white jersey did something laughably athletic and timely to end San Antonio’s run.
Example #1: The Spurs like to end quarters on at least a mini-run by setting up a two-for-one such that they take a shot, giving the other team the ball with about 30-ish seconds left on the clock. Well, Minnesota not only knows this, they’re aware that Fox is often the player taking the last shot, and even as he works around the Champagnie screen and gets free for a paint jumper that’s so in his sweet spot it’s in danger of giving him diabetes, Hyland leaves Julian, blocks Fox from behind and Randle gets a dunk at the buzzer. Example #2: End of the 2nd quarter Conley and Clark mess up Vassell and Fox’s pick and roll, and even though De’Aaron ends up getting into the lane with just Randle in front of him, he’s not fully in control and loses the ball.
In neither quarter of the first half were the Spurs able to even get a shot off in their final possession. And people were criticizing Mitch Johnson for not calling a time out at the end of the 4th. But I think it would have been foolish to allow the Minny defense to get set when they’ve already shown the ability to blow up your usual end-of-quarter offense during the flow of the game. Anyway, that’s the kind of defense that needs to be put under a microscope in order to understand it so that it can be better attacked, and that’s precisely what I believe San Antonio’s coaching staff is doing right now.
Which brings me to Finch and Co’s job prepping their team, and the expectation of the next game. With the Wolves getting to the Western Conference Finals two years in a row, you’ve been through long postseason runs, what kinds of adjustments are you used to seeing, what do you expect them to do next, and how much fun are you having?
Thilo
That was certainly something. While you guys may have missed that (long postseason runs), I don’t think Wolves fans will ever get used to it. I mean we used to have to sell first round picks for cash considerations so we could fire our coach! We’re that team!! And we just upset a two seed that was only +400 or so to sweep us!
There’s always that element of surprise with these Wolves. I try to be realistic only to have them blow those expectations out of the water, only to let me down the second I start believing. This happened during Game 7 against the Nuggets in 2023-24 and during Game 4 of the Suns series in 2024-25. I can’t wait for it to happen again now that I’m believing.
On the point of adjustments, I will give myself a quick pat on the back for calling that Fox would be the target, the supposed weakest link named by the coaching staff. That has always been the first change Chris Finch and the rest of the bench have done in the playoffs.
Finch understands, as most coaches do, that while regular season games are about how much you can keep your formula intact, the playoffs are all about how well and how quickly you can change while preventing the opposing team from getting what they’re most comfortable doing.
From the outside looking in, the Spurs seem like they want Fox, Harper, and Castle to get to the paint alongside Wembenyama to absolutely bully opposing teams inside the arc offensively while funneling everyone inside towards Wemby.
Well, they certainly did the latter half. The only issue? The Minnesota Timberwolves are a team of psychopaths.
Wemby blocked everything and it didn’t matter. Minnesota still got 50+ shots in the paint. That’s the funny realization that Finch came to. Blocks don’t always end possessions and Wemby can only do so much.
The issue with the Wolves is that they seem to flame out as that third series approaches. Every team gets the crap kicked out of them only for Minnesota to burn themselves out. It’s why I still struggle to fully believe.
As far as what to expect, I assume that nothing will change as far as paint volume goes. The biggest change will be who is taking those shots. Ayo Dosumnu will be coming back and did the same to the Nuggets. I think the biggest difference will come with how Rudy Gobert is deployed. Maybe he isn’t a head-to-head matchup with Wemby (Randle did a better job, truth be told), and is instead used to overwhelm the Wemby-less minutes.
That’s where my first question comes in. Wembanyama was not the biggest let down of the two main stars, but he is far more crucial than Fox. How do you think the approach changes, or do you think it’s just a question of hitting shots instead of missing them? Additionally, do Wemby’s gaudy blocked shot numbers actually hide the fact that his rebounding/defensive play finishing left a lot to be desired? How do you deal with that?
J.R.
First, when you’re talking about comparing one game to the next, it’s never just about one factor, even if it’s hitting shots. Let’s say that you look at the average score of a player and figure that he can be depended on to deliver that. Well, over a season he can, but in a single game there are too many variables. It’s easy to say, “We’ll be fine on Wednesday because those outside shots will drop,” but maybe Minnesota gets to the line more and hits all of their free throws. Or San Antonio doubles their average turnovers and starts hemorrhaging transition points. There are just far too many factors involved in every game to imagine a single category improving and then expect everything else to stay the same.
As for Wemby’s play, it’s wild to think that in a game when he tallied a dozen blocks and 15 boards, that his defense and rebounding could have been better, but there it is. Wemby still leaves his feet for fakes when he’s around the basket, and I don’t think anything besides time and seasoning will cure it. I don’t know whether this is conventional basketball wisdom, but it’s my firm belief that jumping to challenge midrange or perimeter shots is fundamentally sound. But when it comes to big men around the basket, they should raise their arms to challenge but keep their feet to be available for the rebound. This goes doubly for Wemby because he’s so tall that he affects shots sometimes even when he doesn’t make a move to block. Bottom line, the idea of defense is to get a stop, not to get blocks. I like it when he denies a guy, but I like ending an offensive possession even more.
The Wolves decided that they’d just keep attacking regardless of how many blocks he got, and you can’t argue with the results. As to how you deal with that, I’m not sure but it’s got to be a team thing. Funneling drivers to Wemby definitely works when Gobert is on the court, begging to be ignored, but when Minnesota goes small you’ve got to find someone better than Shannon for Vic to guard. He’s so fast that the instant Victor gets hung on a screen, it’s over.
But all is not lost. I don’t expect Fox to have two stinkers in a row, and some regression to the team’s mean for threes can be expected unless the Timberwolves have some magic potion that makes the team they’re playing forget how to shoot open looks from deep. That would sound laughable, but it seemed to happen to Denver, and we know what happened in Game 1.
How about your take on Game 2: do you think it’ll be as close as Monday, and do you see the Spurs solving some part of what Finch has planned?
Thilo
I actually texted a boss at another gig (who among us does not have too many jobs?) about this today and said “I’m expecting a 20-point win for San Antonio because anything else would set off alarm bells.”
So let’s just say, I think San Antonio will solve something, I just wonder what that will be.
It’s hard to win a game on the road, especially with how intense the Frost Bank Center looked to be during stretches of that fourth quarter. It’s even harder to win two games on the road. It’s impossibly hard to win the first two games in a series on the road in the second round against a higher seed team.
The last time I can remember away teams taking 2-0 leads regularly was during the bubble and this is so vastly different.
I will say though, I harped on about playoff experience during the first episode (?) of this series, and that is something that I think will continue to be relevant. Mitch Johnson is not Gregg Popovich. He has not been here. He likely wouldn’t be here if Pop had the health to stick around.
Yeah, it is hard to win on the road, but it’s probably easier to imagine winning on the road when you have a track record (which the Wolves now shockingly do) than when your rotation has 90% of its career playoff minutes coming from old man Harrison Barnes.
Maybe that’s too short or dismissive of an answer, but I truly think it comes down to that. Experience matters and the Spurs – the dynastic, ever relevant Spurs – lack that right now.
To that point, it’s kind of hard to see who will lead the team in this series. It feels a little premature for Wemby to take that over alongside all his on-court roles, and Fox surely needs to play better for that to happen. Castle and Harper are not good enough to outshow their age in that regard too.
People will laugh at this comparison, but the Pistons have Tobias Harris. The Wolves have Mike Conley. The Thunder needed Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. Vets are important, and the Spurs don’t have a ton of them to unite behind.
Every team needs that. Every single championship team stresses the importance of those guys. Who will be that underappreciated, often unutilized guy to step up? It remains to be seen how the game will turn out, but that’s what I’ll be watching for.
By J.R. Wilco, via Pounding The Rock