By Ben Golliver, 2026-05-27 19:55:00
在俄克拉荷马城雷霆队于12天内第三次负于圣安东尼奥马刺队后，谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 在圣诞节当天敲响了警钟。
“你不可能在短时间内连续三次输给同一支球队，除非他们确实比你更优秀，”吉尔杰斯-亚历山大说道，“我们必须变得更好，必须进行自我反省。如果我们想实现终极目标，从上到下的每一个人都得这么做。”
到了赛季结束时，马刺在对阵卫冕冠军雷霆的五场比赛中赢下了四场，其中包括在NBA季中锦标赛（NBA Cup）半决赛中击败雷霆，当时因伤缺阵将近一个月的文班亚马迎来复出。面对联盟大多数球队时显得不可战胜的俄克拉荷马城，突然遭遇了“圣安东尼奥难题”。
步入西部决赛，人们普遍认为雷霆的球星们将挑起重担，改写对抗他们新宿敌的剧本。在这场MVP候选人之间的巅峰对决中，经验更丰富的吉尔杰斯-亚历力压马刺中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)；而因多重伤病缺席了常规赛大部分比赛的雷霆侧翼杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams)，则被寄予厚望，需要提供球队急需的火力支持。
然而，雷霆却另辟蹊径，依靠一群意想不到的奇兵一路披荆斩棘重回巅峰。尽管吉尔杰斯-亚历山大在进攻端效率挣扎，而威廉姆斯也因新伤（腿筋拉伤）高挂免战牌，但雷霆仍在周二以127-114击败马刺赢下第五场，将对手逼到了淘汰的边缘。
让我们来剖析一下那些不常被提及、却帮助雷霆重新掌控局势并取得3-2系列赛领先的关键因素：
一次显而易见的调整
雷霆主帅马克·戴格诺特 (Mark Daigneault) 针对马刺做出了许多富有创意的调整，但其中最关键、也最显而易见的一项就是：增加亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 的上场时间。
32岁的卡鲁索是世界级的防守破坏者，也是雷霆这支年轻阵容中最年长的球员。因此，在常规赛的大部分时间里，雷霆都对卡鲁索小心保护，仅在常规时间决出胜负的一场比赛中让他出场超过25分钟。在首轮横扫菲尼克斯太阳和次轮横扫洛杉矶湖人的比赛中，卡鲁索也打得相对轻松。
尽管雷霆输掉了首战，但卡鲁索在西决首场比赛中便展现了火热的投篮手感，并且在雷霆赢下的全部三场比赛中都做出了至关重要的贡献。常规赛期间，他在对阵马刺的四次出场中，场均在20.6分钟内仅得到9.5分。而在这轮系列赛中，他的场均出场时间提升至24.7分钟，场均得分飙升至17分，三分命中率更是高达58.1%。
这位征战了九年的老将不仅拿出了令人惊叹的神射表现，还展现了他标志性的防守威慑力和拼搏精神。在这五场比赛中，当卡鲁索在场时，雷霆净胜45分（+45）；而当他下场休息时，雷霆净负36分（-36）。没有任何一名球员（甚至包括文班亚马）的累计正负值比他更高。
“卡鲁索并不是那种身高6英尺7英寸、臂展7英尺3英寸、投篮神准的天赋怪，”吉尔杰斯-亚历山大说道，“但他日复一日地展现出NBA最顶级的竞争心。他为我们全队奠定了基调，在这轮系列赛中，这种影响力得到了完美的体现。”
祭出大阵容
雷霆在进入这轮系列赛时就深知文班亚马将带来巨大挑战。这位马刺的明星中锋在职业生涯的首次季后赛之旅中，效率值（PER）领跑全联盟，而且他在常规赛期间的防守威慑力曾让雷霆的进攻彻底瘫痪。
尽管文班亚马有过几次惊艳的发挥，但在雷霆获胜的三场比赛中，他的杀伤力都被限制住了。在第五场比赛中，他开局慢热，全场15投仅4中，只得到20分；而雷霆得到的127分，则是他们本赛季与马刺交手10次以来的单场最高分。
相比雷霆身形瘦长的大个子切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren)，文班亚马更高、臂展更长，且更具天赋，因此戴格诺特在常规赛中经常选择错位防守。雷霆往往会派出像卡鲁索这样体型较小的防守者去贴身逼抢文班亚马，让他打得极不舒服。
随着西决的深入，雷霆重新启用了中锋以赛亚·哈尔滕施泰因 (Isaiah Hartenstein)——这位身高7英尺、球风强悍的内线非常乐意与文班亚马进行身体对抗。哈尔滕施泰因在第五场比赛中打出了个人系列赛最佳表现，砍下12分和15个篮板。
在雷霆输掉的首场比赛中，哈尔滕施泰因缺乏投射射程成了一个大问题，这让文班亚马得以轻松在禁区蹲守。此后，雷霆开始鼓励哈尔滕施泰因主动攻击面前的空档，并迎着文班亚马使出他招牌的左手抛投。
在防守端，哈尔滕施泰因通过积极的卡位来消耗文班亚马并限制其冲抢篮板。根据ESPN Research的数据统计，在系列赛前四场比赛中投篮命中率超过50%的文班亚马，在第五场面对哈尔滕施泰因的直接防守时，命中率被限制在了27%（11投3中）。总而言之，哈尔滕施泰因教科书般地诠释了对付超级巨星的经典策略——“你无法阻止他，只能尽力去限制他”。
一张新面孔
自2018年的金州勇士队以来，还没有哪支球队能够成功卫冕。像2021年的洛杉矶湖人队 and 2025年的波士顿凯尔特人队这样极具实力的竞争者，最终都因为在艰难的卫冕征程中不可避免积攒的伤病问题而功败垂成。NBA有一句古老的格言：除非在夺冠阵容中加入一名有分量的新援，否则球队很难完成两连冠。
雷霆总经理萨姆·普雷斯蒂 (Sam Presti) 在去年夏天基本按兵不动，满足于带回2024-25赛季夺冠班底的前12名核心成员。但这种相对的沉寂在2月4日的交易截止日打破，当时他用一个2026年首轮签和三个次轮签作为筹码，从费城76人队交易得到了后卫贾里德·麦凯恩 (Jared McCain)。
作为2024年的首轮秀，麦凯恩在费城已经失宠，因此这笔交易在当时并没有在全美范围内引起太大的轰动。毕竟，俄克拉荷马城已经拥有了充足的年轻后卫储备，而且相比队内的其他选择，麦凯恩缺乏大场面的比赛经验。
但在西决期间，威廉姆斯和阿杰·米切尔 (Ajay Mitchell) 的相继受伤，迫使戴格诺特不得不重用麦凯恩。在第五场比赛中，迎来职业生涯首次季后赛首发的麦凯恩不负众望，砍下20分并命中3记三分球。麦凯恩分担了部分运球和组织进攻的职责，减轻了吉尔杰斯-亚历山大的负担，而他在第四节毫无惧色的三分出手更是帮助球队锁定了第五场的胜局。
“在这样一场关键的比赛中，有人能挺身而出承担起这样的重任，我绝不会认为这是理所当然的，”戴格诺特说道，“但我当然也不觉得意外。他拥有极强的大心脏和自信心。”
开放的执教思维
许多教练除非到了别无选择的地步，否则极不情愿调整他们的首发阵容。底特律活塞队和克利夫兰骑士队就是今年季后赛中两个显而易见的例子，他们本应该在阵容调整上表现得更加主动。
与此同时，戴格诺特在对阵马刺的五场比赛中已经排出了四套不同的首发阵容。虽然伤病迫使他不得不频繁变阵，但他长期以来在阵容使用上都保持着灵活且勇于尝试的风格，即便是在2025年的夺冠历程中也是如此。
在失去威廉姆斯和米切尔之后，戴格诺特在第四场比赛中让防守悍将卡森·华莱士 (Cason Wallace) 提上首发。然而，这位22岁的后卫在新角色中表现不佳，而雷霆那套包含多名非投手成员的首发阵容，也很难为吉尔杰斯-亚历山大拉开进攻空间。
在第五场中将麦凯恩放入首发阵容彻底激活了雷霆的进攻，尤其是在第三节开局打出的一波9-0高潮期间。这一调整也让华莱士发挥了更大的作用，他在替补出场的31分钟内贡献了2次盖帽、2次抢断，并拿下了全场最高的+29正负值。
麦凯恩在临危受命时做好了充足准备，而华莱士也欣然接受重回替补的角色，这两点都彰显了雷霆队内极佳的团队文化。
悬念再起？
雷霆现在还不能高枕无忧：在第四场82-103惨败的比赛中，他们得到了惨痛的教训，深知马刺依然有能力给他们制造大麻烦。对于马刺而言，要想避免被淘汰，文班亚马在第六场比赛中必须参与度更高、打得更具侵略性（美东时间周四晚8:30，NBC/Peacock直播）。考虑到马刺的后卫群表现得越来越平庸且失误频频，他们其实别无选择。
在马刺赢球的两场比赛中，文班亚马有81%的出手来自三分线以内；而在输掉的三场比赛中，这一比例降至了63%。为了应对雷霆的多重防守策略，他必须重新成为球场上最具统治力的绝对核心。
“他必须出手15次以上，”马刺主帅米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在谈到这位建队基石中锋时表示，“毫无疑问，他必须得20分以上才行。”
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：NBA playoffs: How Thunder flipped series vs. Spurs in Game 5
NBA playoffs: How Thunder flipped series vs. Spurs in Game 5
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sounded the alarm on Christmas after his Oklahoma City Thunder suffered their third loss in 12 days to the San Antonio Spurs.
“You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We have to get better [and] look in the mirror. That’s everybody from top to bottom if we want to reach our ultimate goal.”
By season’s end, the Spurs had won four of their five games against the defending champion Thunder, including in the NBA Cup semifinals with Wembanyama returning after missing nearly a month. Oklahoma City, which had looked unbeatable against most of the league, suddenly had a San Antonio problem.
Entering the Western Conference finals, conventional wisdom held that Oklahoma City’s stars would be responsible for flipping the script against their new rivals. The more experienced Gilgeous-Alexander would need to outplay Spurs center Victor Wembanyama in a showdown between MVP finalists, and Thunder wing Jalen Williams would be asked to provide a much-needed scoring boost after missing most of the season with multiple injuries.
Instead, Oklahoma City has turned to a cast of unlikely heroes to claw its way back to the top. With Gilgeous-Alexander struggling to score efficiently and Williams sidelined by another injury (hamstring), the Thunder pushed the Spurs to the brink of elimination Tuesday with a 127-114 victory in Game 5.
Let’s examine some of the less-heralded factors that have helped Oklahoma City reassert control and take a 3-2 series lead:
An easy adjustment
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has made a long list of creative adjustments against the Spurs, but the biggest one was also the most obvious: Play Alex Caruso more minutes.
Caruso, 32, is an all-world defensive disruptor and the oldest player on Oklahoma City’s youthful roster. As such, the Thunder kept Caruso in bubble wrap for most of the regular season, playing him more than 25 minutes in just one game that was decided in regulation. Caruso also got to take it relatively easy during a first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns and a second-round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Caruso opened the West finals with a blistering shooting performance in a Game 1 loss, and he has provided crucial contributions to all three of Oklahoma City’s wins. During the regular season, he averaged just 9.5 points in 20.6 minutes in four appearances against the Spurs. He is up to 17 points per game in 24.7 minutes while shooting 58.1% from beyond the arc in this series.
The nine-year veteran has supplemented the uncharacteristic deadeye shooting with his signature defensive impact and hustle plays. Through these five games, Oklahoma City is plus-45 with Caruso on the court and minus-36 with him on the bench. No player, not even Wembanyama, has a higher raw plus-minus total.
“[Caruso] is not some uber-talented 6-foot-7 guy with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and shoots lights-out,” Gilgeous-Alexander. “But he’s one of the best competitors in the NBA, night in and night out. He sets that tone for us as a group. It’s coming full-fledged in this series.”
A bigger look
The Thunder entered this series knowing Wembanyama would pose major challenges. San Antonio’s star center has led the NBA playoffs in player efficiency rating during his first playoff run, and his defensive presence short-circuited Oklahoma City’s offense during the regular season.
Though Wembanyama has enjoyed several sensational performances, the Thunder have limited his effectiveness in their three victories. He got off to a slow start in Game 5 and mustered only 20 points on 4-15 shooting, and Oklahoma City’s 127 points were the most it scored in 10 games against San Antonio this season.
Because Wembanyama is taller, longer and more talented than Chet Holmgren – Oklahoma City’s lanky big man – Daigneault regularly opted for crossmatches during the regular season. Often, the Thunder would deploy smaller defenders such as Caruso to crowd Wembanyama and make him uncomfortable.
As the West finals have unfolded, the Thunder have returned to center Isaiah Hartenstein, a physical 7-footer who delights in scrapping with Wembanyama. Hartenstein had his best showing in Game 5, finishing with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Hartenstein’s lack of shooting range posed a big problem in their Game 1 loss, enabling Wembanyama to camp in the paint. Since then, the Thunder have encouraged Hartenstein to attack the empty space in front of him and launch his patented lefty floater over Wembanyama.
On the defensive end, Hartenstein has sought to wear down Wembanyama and limit his rebounding opportunities with diligent boxouts. Wembanyama shot 27% (3-11) with Hartenstein as his primary defender in Game 5 after shooting better than 50% over the first four games of the series, according to tracking from ESPN Research. All in all, Hartenstein has executed the “You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him” approach to battling superstars in textbook fashion.
A fresh face
No team has repeated as champion since the Golden State Warriors in 2018, with well-qualified candidates such as the 2021 Los Angeles Lakers and 2025 Boston Celtics falling short due to health concerns that inevitably mounted during taxing title defenses. There’s an old NBA adage that says a team can’t go back-to-back unless it adds a meaningful player to its championship roster.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti mostly sat on his hands last summer, content to bring back the top 12 members of his 2024-25 group. But his relative inactivity ended at the Feb. 4 trade deadline when he acquired guard Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and three second-round picks.
The acquisition of McCain, a 2024 first-round pick who had fallen out of favor in Philadelphia, didn’t generate much national buzz in its immediate aftermath. After all, Oklahoma City had a surplus of young guards and McCain had less big-game experience than the incumbent alternatives.
But injuries to Williams and Ajay Mitchell during the West finals have forced Daignault to turn to McCain, who scored 20 points and hit three 3-pointers in Game 5, his first career playoff start. McCain has picked up some ballhandling and offense initiation duties to lighten Gilgeous-Alexander’s load, and his fearless 3-point shooting in the fourth quarter helped ice Game 5.
“I never take it for granted when someone steps into a role like that in a game like this,” Daigneault said. “I’m certainly not surprised. He’s got great moxie and confidence.”
An open mind
Many coaches are loath to change their starting lineups unless they conclude they have no choice. The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers are two notable examples of teams that should have been more proactive with their lineup changes this postseason.
Daigneault, meanwhile, has deployed four different starting looks in five games against the Spurs. While he has been forced to juggle due to injuries, he has long deployed a flexible and experimental approach to his lineups, including during the 2025 championship run.
After losing Williams and Mitchell, Daigneault gave defensive ace Cason Wallace a chance to start Game 4. The 22-year-old guard didn’t play well in his new role, and Oklahoma City’s starting lineup, which featured multiple non-shooters, struggled to create space around Gilgeous-Alexander.
Moving McCain into the Game 5 starting lineup kick-started Oklahoma City’s attack, particularly during a 9-0 run to open the third quarter. The change also made better use of Wallace, who registered two blocks, two steals and posted a game-high plus-29 in his 31 minutes off the bench.
McCain’s readiness for his promotion and Wallace’s willingness to accept a demotion are both evidence of Oklahoma City’s elite culture.
Another twist?
Oklahoma City isn’t home free yet: The Thunder learned the hard way during a 103-82 loss in Game 4 that the Spurs are still capable of giving them fits. For San Antonio to stave off elimination, Wembanyama must be more involved and more aggressive in Game 6 (Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock). There’s really no other option, given that the Spurs’ guard corps has looked increasingly mortal and mistake-prone.
While 81% of Wembanyama’s field goal attempts came from inside the arc during San Antonio’s two wins, that figure dropped to 63% in the three losses. To combat the Thunder’s multipronged strategy, he must return to being the most dominant force on the court.
“He’s got to take more than 15 shots,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of his franchise center. “He’s going to have to score more than 20 points, for sure.”
By Ben Golliver, via ESPN