By Lee Dresie | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-06-02 14:00:00
我在2014年10月开始为 Pounding the Rock 撰稿，那是当年6月“救赎总决赛”后温和的秋日余晖。当时没有人预料到，那会是马刺在此后十多年里最后一次打进NBA总决赛。
因为我既是一个坚定的马刺球迷，也是一个纯粹的篮球迷，所以即使没有马刺参与，我每个赛季也依然会观看NBA总决赛。老读者都知道，我每次看体育比赛都必须选一边来支持。这些性格特点促使我写了一个年度专栏，探讨在2014年之后每一个没有马刺参与的总决赛中，马刺球迷应该支持哪支球队。
去年，总决赛在俄克拉荷马雷霆队和印第安纳步行者队之间展开。在我2025年6月5日的文章中，我给出了选择印第安纳步行者队而非雷霆队的六个理由，并在文章结尾写道：
就像当年的那支勇士队一样，这支雷霆队在未来的许多个赛季里，都将是整个联盟以及马刺队的巨大威胁。因此，即使马刺球迷现在还没有这么做，也不妨开始站在雷霆队的对立面。在可预见的未来，我们肯定会这么做。步行者队加油！
当我在将近一年前写下这些话时，没有人（包括我自己）会料到，在这个赛季，成为“联盟巨大威胁”的会是我们马刺，而不是雷霆。因此，至少在今年，我可以让我那篇关于马刺球迷在总决赛中应该支持哪支球队的年度分析文章“退役”了。我还有一些其他的想法想和大家分享，但如果你读到这里是为了弄清楚我认为马刺球迷在2026年NBA总决赛中应该支持谁，我不需要提供冗长的分析，也不需要列出一堆支持某支球队的理由。马刺加油（Go Spurs Go）！
其他一些想法
在去年的文章中，我探究了“juggernaut”（不可阻挡的庞然大物/主宰）这个英文单词的词源。我曾以为它源自德语。（试着用德语口音读一下“juggernaut”，是不是很有德语范儿？）结果发现，这个词其实源自印度，而不是德国：
“一种要求盲目崇拜或无情牺牲的观点、习俗或时尚等，”1854年，这是对“Juggernaut”一词的隐喻性用法。该词源于17世纪30年代的“Iaggernat”，指“载有克里希纳神像的巨大战车”，特别是在普里镇，每年在游行中拉动，期间（据传）信徒们会让自己被压在车轮下献祭。该词由“Jaggernaut”（克里希纳——毗湿奴的化身——的称号）演变而来，源于印地语“Jagannath”，字面意思是“世界之主”。
我今年再次提起这个词，是因为在马刺本赛季确立了自己作为真正争冠球队的地位后，许多专家开始将马刺和雷霆描述为联盟中仅有的两个真正的“巨无霸（juggernauts）”。许多人认为，西部决赛的胜者——大家都默认要么是雷霆，要么是圣安东尼奥——会像克里希纳的信徒被压在巨大战车轮下一样，无情地碾压东部冠军。但事实证明，我们可能迎来了第三个巨无霸——纽约尼克斯队。尽管他们的对手实力无法与西部相提并论，但尼克斯在季后赛中以真正具有历史意义的方式横扫了对手。以下内容来自《运动报》(The Athletic)：
“尼克斯队以NBA季后赛历史上状态最火热的球队姿态挺进总决赛。他们已经取得了11连胜，先后击败了老鹰队、76人队和骑士队。在打出12胜2负的季后赛战绩期间，他们的场均比分为尼克斯120分，对手101分。纽约场均19.4分的净胜分，目前比NBA与ABA合并以来任何其他季后赛球队都高出整整6分。”
尽管拥有如此历史级的统治力，且尼克斯有着巨大的休息优势，但在面对一支在赛季开始前被预测可能只能打附加赛的球队时，尼克斯依然是以1赔2的赔率被看衰的一方。当然，尼克斯在夺得上一次冠军后的50多年里，历史战绩起伏不定，而马刺则在尼克斯年年折戟的同时，夺得了一两个（或者五个）总冠军。而且，马刺拥有几位外线防守者，他们的防守水平可比尼克斯后卫在东部决赛中打爆的哈登/米切尔后场要好上不少。即便如此，1赔2的赔率看起来还是有点高了。
在抢七大战中，马刺队的本场最佳球员是朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie)。他三分球10投6中，用11次出手砍下20分，在出场的38分钟里贡献了全场最高的+16正负值。在这场客场作战、必须拿下的抢七大战的关键决胜阶段，主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在大部分时间里派出了他的四位前五顺位乐透秀，外加一个朱利安·尚帕尼。
与此相关的是，本场比赛最绝对的制胜一球，是卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 封盖了以赛亚·哈尔滕施泰因 (Isaiah Hartenstein) 的快攻扣篮尝试。
那次防守发生在第四节还剩不到七分钟、马刺以97-91领先的时候。如果没有那次盖帽，雷霆就会将分差缩小到4分，这可能会迫使马刺请求暂停，而雷霆球迷的欢呼声也会震耳欲聋。相反，马刺抢回球权并得分，将比分改写为99-91，确立了8分的领先优势，让局势变得轻松（且安静）得多。在出场的6分钟里，科内特贡献了和维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 一样多的盖帽（1次），并且多抢了2个前场篮板（3比1）——他积极拼抢，完成了这一关键回合，将马刺送进了总决赛。
为什么我要把尚帕尼和科内特放在一起提？他们大学毕业后都是落选秀。这非常符合马刺的风格。他们加入了过去那些同样是落选秀或次轮秀的马刺关键球员行列：艾弗里·约翰逊 (Avery Johnson)、马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili)、帕蒂·米尔斯 (Patty Mills)、丹尼·格林 (Danny Green)！以及其他许多人。马刺队引以为傲的队史，不仅建立在像“海军上将”大卫·罗宾逊、伟大的邓肯和文班亚马这样的顶级选秀权之上，也建立在那些被其他NBA球队认为不够好、无法在联盟立足的球员之上。
我已经很久没有写过“玩转数据（Fun with Box Scores）”栏目了，很大程度上是因为Pounding the Rock网站有位老兄写得比我好得多。但第七场的数据统计表中还是有一些值得注意的项目。例如，两队投篮命中率都是45%，但马刺三分球40投17中，而雷霆则是35投12中。换句话说，马刺多投了5个三分球——并且把这多出来的5个全投进了。
此外，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 打出了一场“恶魔般”的比赛：6个篮板、6次助攻和6次失误。不过马刺的修女们还是原谅了他，因为他贡献了16分和4个前场篮板。莱恩·哈珀 (Ryan Harper) 抢下了3个前场篮板，这意味着马刺的这两位年轻后卫合力抢下了7个前场篮板。
另一个很酷的数据是——雷霆在半场抢下9个前场篮板后，整个下半场只抢到了1个。你觉得马刺教练组在半场休息时是不是重点强调了这一点？是的，我也这么认为。马刺全场比对方多抢了5个前场篮板（15对10），并且少了一次失误（13对12），这意味着在这场分差只有8分的比赛中，马刺多了6次得分机会。顺便说一句，111-103的最终比分是这轮系列赛中分差第二小的比赛。这是一个非常奇特的系列赛，两场精彩的对决分别作为首尾，夹着中间五场在第四节毫无悬念的比赛。
最后一个问题：为什么 ESPN 的马刺数据表上总是把迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 排在最后一位？这肯定不是按字母顺序排列的，也不是根据他的球衣号码。也许是因为他上的是罗格斯大学（Rutgers）？？如果有人有合理解释，请在评论区留言。
最后一个数据：来自第七场半场结束时。马刺当时领先3分，比分为46-43。上半场，马刺罚球8投7中，而雷霆则是8投4中。这意味着，尽管上半场有那么多的投篮、篮板、抢断和防守，但马刺之所以领先，是因为他们在同样8次罚球机会中比雷霆多罚进了3个球。
这也让雷霆主教练在下半场开局时选择撤下两位首发显得有些奇怪。我认为这给一支在过去两个赛季拥有联盟最佳战绩的球队传递了一个不同寻常的信号。或许更好的做法是告诉他的队员们：“我们能行”，“这是我们的主场，我们已经挺过了难关”，以及“我们是卫冕冠军，让我们上场去向世界展示自己。”然而，雷霆却让两位首发坐了板凳。
相比之下，当卡斯尔在第三节吃到第4次犯规，以及文班亚马在比赛还剩七分钟多、吃到第5次犯规时，米奇·约翰逊只让他们各自下场休息了不到两分钟，随后就又把他们派上场。他信任自己的球员能够在不犯规的情况下打球，并在剩余的大部分时间里让卡斯尔不再对位防守SGA。（在文班亚马仅一分钟的休息时间里，科内特完成了他的追身大帽——随后立即被换下，赢得了马刺替补席的满堂彩。）约翰逊深知，马刺要想在客场赢下第七场，必须让卡斯尔和文班亚马留在场上，事实证明他是对的。马刺主教练干得漂亮——他同样是一位第一次经历季后赛的菜鸟主帅。
还有几句精彩的语录值得一提。首先是安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 谈到马刺，特别是当文班亚马不在场时他们的进攻：“这让我们很难办，因为现在（马刺的）每个人都在自由地打球，”爱德华兹说，“他们本来打的就是无私的篮球，但这让比赛变得更艰难了一点。”
作为一名教练，我希望对手能用“无私（egoless）”来形容我球队的进攻。太赞了。第二句语录来自雷吉·米勒 (Reggie Miller)，当时住在农场的凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 在第四节投中了两个关键三分球，米勒调侃道：“他的山羊们现在非常开心。”
最后，我的哥们儿费格（Ferg）用这样一句妙语形容了切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren) 在第七场中4分4篮板的表现：“他‘切特’（拉）在床上了（Chet the bed，谐音shat the bed，意为表现砸锅）。”
既然这是一篇关于“支持谁”的文章，在结尾我想指出的是，马刺显然是西部决赛中更受球迷青睐的队伍。除了俄克拉荷马本地人或雷霆球员的直系亲属外，似乎所有人要么在支持马刺，要么在反对雷霆。我不知道这种氛围是否会延续到总决赛。外面有非常多的纽约尼克斯球迷，而我用“非常多（awful lot，双关糟糕/极其）”这个词来形容尼克斯球迷时，确实带有贬义。（致我的尼克斯球迷朋友们：抱歉开了个无伤大雅的玩笑。）
无论如何，因为我一贯不支持来自纽约的球队，所以我的选择变得加倍简单。我只是不相信这轮系列赛会打得同样轻松。
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：Who should Spurs fans root for in the NBA Finals?
Who should Spurs fans root for in the NBA Finals?
I began writing for Pounding the Rock in October 2014 in the soft autumn afterglow of the Redemption Finals in June of that year. No one predicted that would be the Spurs’ last trip to the NBA Finals for over a decade.
Because I am both a Spurs fan in particular and a basketball fan in general, I would still watch the NBA finals each season, even without the Spurs involved. Long-time readers know that I cannot watch a sporting event without rooting for one team or the other. Those parts of my personality led me to write an annual column about which team Spurs fans should root for in each of the Finals which did not once include the Spurs after 2014.
Last year, the Finals were between OKC and Indiana. In my June 5, 2025 piece, I gave six reasons to choose the Indiana Pacers over OKC, and concluded with:
Like that Warriors team, this Thunder will be a massive problem for the league, and the Spurs, for many seasons to come. As a result, even if they aren’t already doing so, Spurs fan might as well start rooting against the Thunder. We certainly will be doing exactly that for the foreseeable future. Go Pacers!
When I wrote that nearly a year ago, no one (including mylsef) knew that our Spurs, not the Thunder, would become “the massive problem for the league” this season. As a result, for this season at least, I can retire my annual analysis of which team Spurs fans should root for in the NBA Finals. I have some more thoughts to share, but if you are reading this to determine who I think Spurs fans should root for in the 2026 NBA Finals, I don’t need to provide a lengthy analysis or a list of reasons to root for one team or another. Go Spurs Go!
Other thoughts
In my piece from last year, I explored the English derivation of the word “juggernaut”. I assumed it was Germanic. (Try saying “juggernaut” with a German accent. Very Germanic, right?) It turns out that the word comes from India, not Germany:
“An idea, custom, fashion, etc., that demands either blind devotion or merciless sacrifice,” 1854, a figurative use of Juggernaut, 1630s (Iaggernat), “huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna,” especially at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession during which (apocryphally) devotees allowed themselves to be crushed under its wheels in sacrifice. Altered from Jaggernaut, a title of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), from Hindi Jagannath, literally “lord of the world.”
I raise this word again this year because after the Spurs established themselves as true contenders this season, many pundits began describing the Spurs and Thunder as the two true juggernauts in the league. Many assumed that the winner of the Western Conference Finals — assumed by all to be either OKC or San Antonio — would crush the Eastern Conference winner like the Krishna devotees under the massive wheels of his huge wagon. It turns out that we may have a third juggernaut — the New York Knicks. Although their competition was not up to Western Conference standards, the Knicks smote their playoff competition in a truly historic manner. From The Athletic:
“The Knicks enter as the hottest team in the history of the NBA playoffs. They have won 11 games in a row, against the Hawks, 76ers and Cavaliers. In running up a 12-2 playoff record, the average score of their games has been Knicks 120, Opponents 101. New York’s 19.4-point margin per game is, for the moment, six points ahead of any other postseason team since the NBA-ABA merger.”
Despite this historic dominance, and the Knicks’ massive rest advantage, the Knicks are 2-1 underdogs to a team who was picked as a possible Play-In Tournament participant at the start of the season. Of course, the Knicks have had a spotty history in the 50+ years since their last title, while the Spurs won a crown or two (or five) while the Knicks were flaming out each year. And the Spurs have several perimeter defenders a little bit better that the Harden/Mitchell backcourt that the Knicks’ guards torched in the Eastern Conference Finals. That being said, 2 t0 1 still seems a bit high.
The player of the game for the Spurs in Game 7 was Julian Champagnie. He went 6 for 10 from three, scored 20 points on 11 shots, and was a game-leading +16 during his 38 minutes on the floor. For much of the time down the stretch of an absolute must-win Game Seven on the road, Mitch Johnson went with his four top-5 lottery picks, and Julian Champagnie.
In a related note, the absolute play of the game was Luke Kornet’s block of Isaiah Hartenstein’s breakaway dunk attempt.
That play happened with just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Spurs up 97-91. Absent that block, OKC would have cut the lead to four, probably forcing a Spurs time-out with the OKC fans making it impossible for anyone to hear. Instead, the Spurs got the ball back and scored, turning the game into a much more comfortable (and quiet) 99-91 eight-point lead. During the six minutes he played, Kornet had the same number of blocks as Victor Wembanyama (1), and two more offensive rebounds (3 to 1) — and hustled into the key play of the game that sent the Spurs into the NBA Finals.
Why do I mention Champagnie and Kornet together? Each of them were undrafted out of college. Very Spursian. They join other key Spurs from the past who were either undrafted or second round picks: Avery Johnson, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, DannyGreen! and many others. The Spurs’ proud franchise was built not only on top picks like the Admiral, the Great Duncan and Victor, but also on players other NBA teams decided were not good enough to play in the league.
I haven’t done a Fun with Box Scores edition in quite a while, largely because Pounding the Rock has a guy who does it much better than I can. But Game Seven’s box score has some notable items. For instance, both teams shot 45% from the field, but the Spurs went 17/40 from three, while OKC was 12/35. Put another way, the Spurs shot five more threes — and made all of them.
Also, Stephon Castle had the devil of a game: 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 turnovers. The Spurs’ nuns still forgave him because he had 16 points and 4 offensive rebounds. Ryan Harper had 3 offensive rebounds, meaning the two young Spurs guards combined for 7 offensive rebounds.
Another cool stat — after OKC got 9 offensive rebounds in the first half, they had only 1 in the entire second half. You think the Spurs coaching staff may have emphasized that at halftime? Yeah, me too. The Spurs got 5 more offensive rebounds for the game (15-10), and had 1 fewer turnover (13-12), which means 6 extra opportunities to score in a game decided by 8 points. By the way, the 111-103 final was the second closest game of the series. A very odd series, with two excellent games bookending five contests which were not in doubt in the fourth quarter.
One final question: why does ESPN always have Dylan Harper listed last on the Spurs box score? It is certainly not alphabetical, or based on his uniform number. Maybe because he went to Rutgers?? If anyone has a logical answer, please drop it in the comments.
One last stat: this one from halftime of Game Seven. The Spurs were up 3 points, 46-43. In the first half, the Spurs were 7 for 8 from the free throw line, while the Thunder were 4 for 8. Which means that with all the shooting and rebounding and steals and defense in the first half, the Spurs were ahead because they made three more free throws than OKC on their eight attempts.
That also made it odd that OKC’s coach chose to replace two of his starters to start the second half. I thought that sent an unusual message to a team that had the best record in the league the past two seasons. It might have been better to tell his guys “we got this”, “we are at home and we weathered the storm”, and yes, “we are the defending champs, let’s go out and show the world.” Instead, OKC benched two starters.
In contrast, when Stephon Castle got his 4th foul in the third quarter, and Victor got his 5th foul with over seven minutes left in the game, Mitch Johnson subbed them out for less than two minutes each, and then sent them back into the game. He trusted his guys to play without fouling, and switched Castle off SGA for much of the remaining game. (During Victor’s minute-long rest, Kornet has his chase down block — and then immediately subbed out to much adulation from the Spurs’ bench.) Johnson knew that the team needed Castle and Victor on the court for the Spurs to win Game Seven on the road, and he was right. Nice job by the Spurs’ head coach — also a rookie in his first playoffs.
Several good quotes to mention. First, Anthony Edwards said this about the Spurs, and in particular their offense when Victor was not in the game: “It made it hard on us because now everybody (on the Spurs) was playing free,” Edwards said. “They play egoless basketball anyway, but they made it a little tougher.”
As a coach, I want opposing players to describe my team’s offense as “egoless”. Love it. The second quote was from Reggie Miller after Keldon Johnson, who lives on a farm, drained two key threes in the fourth quarter: “His goats are very happy.”
Finally, my buddy Ferg dropped this dime describing Chet Holmgren’s four point, four rebound performance in Game Seven. “He Chet the bed”.
Because this is my “rooting for” post, I end by pointing out that the Spurs were clearly the fan favorites in the Western Conference Finals. Other than people from Oklahoma, or the OKC players’ close relatives, it seems that everyone was either rooting for the Spurs or against the Thunder. I don’t know if that will carry over to the Finals. There are an awful lot of New York Knicks fans out there, and I mean awful when describing Knicks’ fans. (To my Knicks fan buddies, sorry for the cheap shot.)
Anyway, because I traditionally root against teams from New York, my choice is doubly easy. I just don’t believe the series will be.
By Lee Dresie, via Pounding The Rock