By Fred Katz | The Athletic, 2026-06-03 09:00:21
圣安东尼奥——OG·阿奴诺比 (OG Anunoby) 知道该往哪儿看。
首先，他会观察球出手的弧线。是投长了？还是短了？球可能会砸中篮筐的哪个部位，又会往哪个方向反弹？接着，当他站在球场底角时，他的目光会扫向防守他的球员。如果他有机会争夺篮板，对手站立的位置将决定他是否以及如何去冲抢这个投失的球。
“（我可能会）从底线切入，或者从中间穿过去，”他说。
纽约尼克斯队希望，他能在圣安东尼奥马刺队身高7英尺4英寸的球星维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 身后找到那片空间。
当NBA总决赛于周三晚上开打时，尼克斯将文班亚马拉离篮下的战役就将打响。而且，这项任务并不会在任何一个自以为能在现役NBA最佳防守球员头上得分的家伙出手后就宣告结束。马刺会竭尽全力锁死中路。因此，纽约必须做出回应，努力利用文班亚马身前防区的外围以及他身后不易察觉的空间。
第一步是拼抢篮板。
在系列赛开始时，文班亚马可能不会去防守内线大个子，而是去防守尼克斯的侧翼乔什·哈特 (Josh Hart)。
在某些方面，这种防守布置对哈特来说并不陌生，因为他并不是一个稳定的三分投手。他以前也曾面对过对方中锋的防守，而那些中锋往往会缩在禁区，而不是紧贴着他。但是，如果文班亚马完全舒展开来，他甚至不需要脚后跟离开人行道，就能擦干净克莱斯勒大厦的每一扇窗户。这绝非等闲之辈。面对其他7英尺大个子的经验，根本无法套用到他身上。
文班亚马会统治他所占据的区域。而尼克斯则必须在没有他的地方占据主导地位。
在两队上一次交手时，马刺默认的防守对位就是让文班亚马防守哈特，当时尼克斯在三月份横扫了他们。在他们另外两场“常规赛”对决中，文班亚马在大部分时间里也都在防守哈特，纽约和圣安东尼奥在那两场比赛中平分秋色——尼克斯在NBA杯决赛中险胜，而马刺在两周后险胜。
这种对位让文班亚马能够退守到他在场上最舒服的区域：禁区，在那里，他会让任何敢于冲击篮筐的理智对手望而却步。
马刺致力于让文班亚马留在低位。如果对手试图通过战术配合将他拉出来，他们通常会通过换防让他去防守其他球员，以确保他留在篮下。哈特在东部决赛中刚刚面对过类似的策略，当时克利夫兰骑士队让他们的中锋贾勒特·阿伦 (Jarrett Allen) 来防守他。这在第一场比赛中搅乱了尼克斯的进攻。而哈特在第二场比赛中做出了回应，投中了5个三分球。
哈特投中三分球显然是应对文班亚马收缩防守最直接的方法，但这并不是唯一的手段。尼克斯在三月份马刺尝试这种策略时就让他们付出了代价。
在那场比赛中，哈特虽然只投中了一个远投，但他出手了六次，这足以让文班亚马觉得仍有必要上前干扰。但是，这些防守干扰——伴随着像尼尔·阿姆斯特朗 (Neil Armstrong) 登月般巨大的跨步——会将文班亚马拉离禁区。而守在他们中锋身边的另外四名马刺球员，身材可没那么高大。
这就是阿奴诺比和其他队友发挥作用的地方。
在尼克斯与马刺上一次交手的第三节中，哈特接到了米卡尔·布里奇斯 (Mikal Bridges) 的分球。他在右侧翼起跳投三分，球砸在篮筐后沿弹开。然而，圣安东尼奥依然陷入了麻烦。因为文班亚马在防守哈特，体型较小的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)——一位防守神奇的后卫——不得不去对位卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns)。卡斯尔可以与唐斯对抗，但身高差距（卡斯尔身高6英尺6英寸，唐斯是7英尺的大个子）让马刺在保护篮板时显得非常脆弱。
尽管身边围着四名马刺球员，唐斯最终还是抢下了这个篮板。
到了第四节，同样的一幕再次上演。哈特在弧顶接到了杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 的击地传球。文班亚马飞身扑防他随即出手的三分球。球砸在篮筐前沿。当时禁区内有四名马刺球员，而尼克斯球员只有一人。这一次，轮到另一名后卫德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 负责卡位挡住唐斯。但他没能做到。唐斯抢下篮板并上篮得分。
如果文班亚马去防守哈特，这对于唐斯来说将是一个至关重要的系列赛，因为防守他的将是卡斯尔、瓦塞尔或朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 之一。他们的体型都更小。对于阿奴诺比、布里奇斯以及如果能获得替补出场时间的乔丹·克拉克森 (Jordan Clarkson)（他已经变成了冲抢进攻篮板的“鬣狗”）这些侧翼冲抢者来说，这同样将是一个极其关键的系列赛。
尼克斯需要拉开文班亚马——而且不能仅靠哈特。增加投射是挑战他的一种方式。如果哈特投不进三分，主教练迈克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 可以在一套包含布伦森、布里奇斯、阿奴诺比和唐斯的阵容中，穿插使用另一个武器。
在对阵克利夫兰的第一场比赛中，当哈特投篮失准、进攻陷入停滞时，兰德里·沙梅特 (Landry Shamet) 成为了收官阵容中的第五人，从而促成了季后赛历史上最伟大的逆转之一。迈尔斯·“麦克”·麦克布莱德 (Miles “Deuce” McBride) 也能拉开空间。布伦森的急停三分球提供了一种特殊的战术变化，这是俄克拉荷马城雷霆队在拥有两届卫冕MVP谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 的情况下所不具备的。
当布伦森绕过掩护运球时，一旦出现一丝空间，他就会果断出手远投。刚刚在西部决赛中面对过马刺的吉尔杰斯-亚历山大，在这方面就没有那么无拘无束。如果布伦森在打挡拆时连续不断地出手三分，这可能会迫使文班亚马调整他的防守策略，而这种策略通常是让他深扎在低位。
空间拉开大有裨益，尤其是在从文班亚马不在的区域（外线和底线）发起进攻的任务中。
这就是为什么米切尔·罗宾逊 (Mitchell Robinson) 在这个系列赛中尤为重要。罗宾逊因上周小拇指骨折而在第一场比赛中出战成疑，他不仅是一名防守者和篮板手，同时也是一个空中接力的威胁。
就像三分投手能将文班亚马拉到外线一样，罗宾逊也能将他牵制在禁区极深的位置，以至于像布伦森或布里奇斯这样擅长中距离急停跳投的球员，可能会获得足够的空间来轻松出手。如果文班亚马扑向布伦森、布里奇斯或其他任何人，只要罗宾逊还能接得住球，他们就可以给罗宾逊送出空中接力。
但在小拇指骨折的情况下，在空中接球说起来容易做起来难。而且在任何情况下，想要让文班亚马感到不舒服都不是一件容易的事。无论如何，这位地球上无可争议的最伟大防守者都会在球场中央制造混乱。
然而，如果尼克斯能在其他方面取得成功，那么马刺算是遇到了一个强劲的对手。
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：How Knicks plan to pull Victor Wembanyama away from the rim — unlocking their offense
How Knicks plan to pull Victor Wembanyama away from the rim — unlocking their offense
SAN ANTONIO — OG Anunoby understands where to look.
First, he checks the shot’s release. Is it long? Short? Which part of the rim might it hit, and where might it ricochet from there? Then, as he stands in the corner of the court, his eyes pan to the man defending him. If he has a chance at the rebound, wherever his opponent stands will dictate if or how he chases after the miss.
“(I could be) cutting under or maybe going through the middle,” he said.
The hope for the New York Knicks is that he can find that space behind the San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 star Victor Wembanyama.
When the NBA Finals tip off Wednesday night, the Knicks’ quest to pull Wembanyama away from the basket will begin. And the mission will not stop once a shot slides off the fingertips of any dope with the pretension to think he can score on the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The Spurs will do all they can to take away the middle. So, New York must respond by trying to exploit the areas far in front of Wembanyama and sneakily behind him.
The first step is the rebounding.
Wembanyama will likely begin the series not guarding a big man but instead guarding Knicks wing Josh Hart.
The setup will, in some ways, be familiar to Hart, an inconsistent 3-point shooter. He’s looked into the eyes of centers before, only for them to roam into the paint instead of sticking to him. But Wembanyama, if spread all the way out, could clean each window of the Chrysler Building without his heels leaving the sidewalk. This is no regular chap. And experience against other 7-footers doesn’t translate to whatever he may try.
Wembanyama will win the areas he occupies. The Knicks will have to dominate the spots where he is not.
Wembanyama on Hart was the Spurs’ default look the last time these two teams played, when the Knicks steamrolled them in March. He guarded Hart for much of their other two “regular-season” matchups, which New York and San Antonio split — a close Knicks win in the NBA Cup final and a narrow Spurs victory two weeks later.
The matchup allowed Wembanayma to sag into his cushiest area of the court: the paint, where he scares away any reasonable actor who dares to approach the basket.
The Spurs are dedicated to keeping Wembanyama down low. If an opponent tries to pull him into an action, they will often switch him onto a different player to keep him down low. Hart just faced a similar strategy in the Eastern Conference finals, when the Cleveland Cavaliers placed their center, Jarrett Allen, on him. It mucked up the Knicks’ offense in Game 1. He responded by hitting five 3-pointers in Game 2.
Hart hitting his 3s is the obvious counter to Wembanyama sinking off him, but it’s not the only one. The Knicks made the Spurs pay when they tried this in March.
Hart sank only one long ball in that game, but he took six of them, enough that Wembanyama still felt the need to contest the shots. But those contests, preceded by a step as giant as Neil Armstrong’s, pull Wembanyama away from the paint. And the four Spurs around their center aren’t so huge.
That’s where Anunoby and the rest of the crew enter the equation.
In the third quarter of the last Knicks-Spurs matchup, Hart received a kickout pass from Mikal Bridges. He rose from the right wing for a 3 that clanked off the back of the hoop. However, San Antonio was still in trouble. Because Wembanyama was on Hart, the smaller Stephon Castle, a magical defensive guard, took Karl-Anthony Towns. Castle can battle with Towns, but the height difference (Castle is 6 foot 6; Towns is a 7-footer) leaves the Spurs vulnerable on the glass.
With four Spurs around him, Towns still ended up with the rebound.
The next quarter, the same scenario occurred. Hart fielded a bounce pass from Jalen Brunson at the top of the key. Wembanyama leaped to contest an immediate 3-pointer. The shot smacked off the front of the rim. Four Spurs and only one Knicks player were in the paint. This time it was another guard, Devin Vassell, tasked with blocking out Towns. He couldn’t do it. Towns corralled the rebound and hit a layup.
If Wembanyama defends Hart, this will be a major series for Towns, who will have either Castle, Vassell or Julian Champagnie guarding him. All are smaller. It will be a massive series for the crashers on the wings, Anunoby, Bridges and, if he gets time off the bench, Jordan Clarkson, who has morphed into a hyena on the offensive glass.
The Knicks will need to spread out Wembanyama — and not just with Hart. Adding shooting is one way to challenge him. If Hart isn’t hitting his 3s, head coach Mike Brown could splice another weapon into a unit that includes Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby and Towns.
In Game 1 against Cleveland, when Hart couldn’t hit a jumper and the offense went stale, Landry Shamet was the fifth guy in a closing lineup that spurred one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history. Miles “Deuce” McBride can spread the floor. Brunson’s pull-up 3-pointer presents a special wrinkle, one the Oklahoma City Thunder did not wield with two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
When Brunson dribbles around a screen, he will pop a deep ball as soon as daylight emerges. Gilgeous-Alexander, who just faced the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, isn’t as uninhibited in that sense. If Brunson chucks up 3 after 3 while running pick-and-rolls, it could force Wembanyama to adjust his coverage, which usually keeps him deep down low.
Spacing helps, especially in the mission to attack Wembanyama from the spots where he is not, from the outside and from the baseline.
That is why Mitchell Robinson is especially important in this series. Robinson, who is questionable for Game 1 after breaking his pinkie last week, isn’t just a defender and rebounder. He’s also a lob threat.
The same way that 3-point shooters pull Wembanyama to the perimeter, Robinson can drag him into the paint, so far down low that guys like Brunson or Bridges, who thrive in the short midrange, might garner enough space to get comfortable. If Wembanyama steps up on Brunson or Bridges or anyone else, they can hit Robinson for a lob, as long as he’s able to catch a basketball.
But snagging a ball out of the air is easier said than done with a broken pinkie. And making Wembanyama uncomfortable is not easy in any scenario. The planet’s undisputed greatest defender will wreak havoc in the middle of the floor, no matter what.
However, if the Knicks succeed in other areas, the Spurs have found a worthy foe.
By Fred Katz, via The Athletic