By David Aldridge | The Athletic, 2026-06-05 11:30:35
圣安东尼奥——毫无疑问，这是文班的世界。
这座城市、这支球队、它辉煌的历史和球迷群体——现在都在随着维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的节奏而律动，理应如此。在霜冻银行中心球馆里，为主队响起的所有音乐、欢呼声以及发生的一切，当然还有胜利，都以文班为中心。如果文班亚马不打出超凡脱俗的篮球表现，马刺就无法战胜那支坚韧而难缠的纽约尼克斯队，夺得NBA总冠军，正如他本赛季以及季后赛前三轮所做的那样。
但如果马刺在关键时刻不给予他们两位出色的控球后卫——新秀迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 和老将达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)——更多的信任，并不把球交到他们手中，马刺同样无法赢球。这不是一个二选一的问题，而是一种战术调整，以确保进攻能以最佳方式发起，从而调动尼克斯队的防守。
周三，圣安东尼奥在比赛尾声阶段的进攻陷入了停滞。文班亚马展现了他的本色，依然奉献了几次不可思议的表演，包括在比赛还剩3分24秒时，顶着卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 的强硬防守打成了一次极具身体对抗的2+1。一分钟多钟后，文班的两记罚球让圣安东尼奥以95-94领先，但在最终105-95失利的比赛中，马刺在最后2分16秒内一分未得。
随着文班亚马试图挑战尼克斯队重兵把守的防线，马刺本赛季标志性的传导球陷入了停滞。这在一定程度上是因为马刺无法像上半场那样打出快攻反击，但在第四节，马刺更需要福克斯杀入禁区，以及哈珀展现出远超新秀的篮下沉着，而不是文班亚马一味地寻求持球单打。
在第一场比赛的前10分半钟里，马刺砍下了27分，获得了各种绝佳的出手机会。但在剩下的37分30秒里，他们仅得到了68分。正如圣安东尼奥本赛季有时所做的那样，他们在关键时刻让哈珀坐在了替补席上，在第四节还剩4分04秒时将他彻底换下，换上了德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell)。
“迪伦最后没有留在场上，并不是因为他做错或没做好什么，”马刺主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在周四表示，“这是我做出的决定。我知道让迪伦留在那个阵容里是有道理的。但我认为场上的那个组合在那个阶段打出了一些效果，所以我坚持了那个选择。”
在季后赛的关键时刻，马刺也曾让哈珀、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和福克斯同时在场，因此把球交到哈珀或福克斯手中并不是什么新鲜事。作为去年选秀的榜眼秀，哈珀在他的NBA季后赛首秀中表现得非常靠谱，在第一场比赛中替补出场27分钟，10投6中贡献16分，外加8个篮板。
“我觉得每个人都想在那个时刻留在场上收割比赛，”哈珀在周四说道，“但是，我的意思是，我们赢了62场比赛，走到了这一步。所以我会继续信任教练组，信任米奇，并坚信他们知道什么对球队最好。如果他们认为那是对球队最好的安排、最能帮我们赢球，那我完全支持。”
从罗格斯大学毕业以来，哈珀的表现完全名副其实：他是一位球风丝滑、打法高效且具备基石型球员潜力的控卫。而福克斯是在2025年2月从国王队交易而来的，在从一支需要他担任主要得分手的球队，转型到一支讲究团队篮球、人人皆有球权的球队的过程中，他有时表现得不够稳定。
外界有一些声音认为马刺最终必须在哈珀和福克斯之间做出选择，选出一位主控，这忽略了这支球队辉煌的历史。
名人堂后卫托尼·帕克 (Tony Parker) 和马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili) 曾并肩作战了15个赛季，并取得了巨大的成功。吉诺比利在职业生涯的大部分时间里都同意为格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 担任替补，如果他当年坚持要求首发时间，他本可以打出更华丽的数据，但他选择了牺牲。这对他来说并不容易接受，但他做到了——并且依然入选了名人堂。
“这不（像）是给我一个选择；而是，你他妈的得去打替补，”吉诺比利在2024年接受The Athletic采访时说道。
“我觉得这不公平，”吉诺比利说，“我不喜欢这样。但在某种程度上，我也能理解。我说，‘好吧，他是教练，我会照办。我会努力发挥出最大的作用。’所以刚开始的时候，我很不喜欢。我花了几个月，也许是整整一个赛季，我不大记得了。然后，我想我曾短暂地回到过首发阵容。之后的几年里，每年有一次，他都会来找我说，‘马努，我们需要（你再次这样做）。’然后我开始说，‘好的，波波，没问题；如果你觉得这是正确的方式，我没意见。’我不喜欢首发的部分原因是，比赛开局太慢了，我们一开始需要频繁把球给蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan)，然后球又在托尼手里。所以我觉得在第六分钟被换下场时，我他妈啥也没干。这让我很不爽。”
本赛季，马刺场均助攻超过28次，位列联盟前十。在季后赛的前三轮中，他们场均依然能送出25次以上的助攻。但在对阵纽约的第一场比赛中，这一数据骤降至16次。这显然远远不够。球不运转，尼克斯队的防守自然也无需移动。让乔什·哈特 (Josh Hart)、OG·阿奴诺比 (OG Anunoby) 和米卡尔·布里奇斯 (Mikal Bridges) 这样的人可以肆无忌惮地去骚扰突破者或低位单打者，简直是正中尼克斯防守体系的下怀。
“你必须对比赛有感觉，看看谁的手感热，谁找到了节奏，”卡斯尔在第一场比赛后说道，“对位防守也绝对非常重要。这就是为什么当我们几个人同时在场时总是很有利。无论维克是在持球还是无球，他都能创造优势，所以（我们）只是在努力为每一次球权做出正确的选择。”
在与俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的西部决赛前两场比赛中，马刺疯狂失误的势头在福克斯复出后急剧放缓，这绝非巧合。福克斯在第二轮对阵森林狼队的比赛中遭遇了高位踝关节扭伤。在周三进行的NBA总决赛第一场比赛中，福克斯手感挣扎，全场13投仅3中，但很多投丢的球都是他平时闭着眼睛也能投进的。
因此，最理想的打法是让福克斯和哈珀利用他们的控球和/或身材优势来掌控进攻节奏，迫使尼克斯队的防守脚步发生移动，然后让文班亚马在跑动中参与进来，利用他的长臂和身材优势在向篮下移动时吞噬空间。马刺在第四节仅21投6中，三分球10投2中，并伴随着5次失误。
“这其中有一个平衡，”福克斯在周四说道，“但对我们来说，当我们传导球、让对方防守轮转起来时，球自然会回到该去的人手里。显然，我们不一定非要刻意去想，除非维克说‘我要球’，或者他到了某个位置并要球。除此以外，我们的进攻非常流畅，其中冲击禁区是关键。然后当我们让对方的防守动起来时，维克就能得到轻松出手的机会。他不需要一直去一对一单打，也不需要一直进行身体对抗。要么是这样，要么是迪伦得到上篮机会，或者德文得到空位三分的机会。”
其目标是让尼克斯队在多次轮转中顾此失彼，而不是让他们看穿进攻意图，或者仅仅对一次传球和投篮做出反应。如果纽约能轻易扑防投手，那么即使那个出手是底角三分也毫无意义。
“当那种情况发生时，防守根本没有移动，”马刺锋卫摇摆人朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 说道，“我们想让防守轮转起来。这样你最终才能得到空位三分的机会，然后你就可以突破并做出判断。这才是最棒的三分球机会的来源。”
这座城市的每个人都知道，这支马刺队成也文班亚马，败也文班亚马。这不会因为现在是NBA总决赛，或者因为马刺面对的是一支已经一个月没有输过球的尼克斯队而改变。赌注更高了，但取胜的方法依然没有变。
让球运转起来。
由生成式 AI 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：Spurs must trust Dylan Harper or De'Aaron Fox with the ball down the stretch
Spurs must trust Dylan Harper or De’Aaron Fox with the ball down the stretch
SAN ANTONIO — This is Wemby’s World, to be sure.
The city, the franchise, its stellar history and fan base — they all now move to Victor Wembanyama’s syncopation, as they all should. The music and chanting and everything that transpires at Frost Bank Center for the home team — along with, again, the winning — is Wemby-centric. The Spurs will not win the NBA championship over a gritty and grimy New York Knicks team if Wembanyama doesn’t play otherworldly basketball, as he has throughout this season and the first three rounds of the playoffs.
But the Spurs also won’t win if they don’t put more faith — and, the ball — in the hands of their two capable point guards, rookie Dylan Harper and veteran De’Aaron Fox, down the stretch. It’s not an either-or. It’s a calibration to make sure the offense is initiated in the best way to manipulate the Knicks’ defense.
Wednesday, San Antonio’s late-game offense ground to a halt. Wembanyama, being Wembanyama, still made a few incredible plays, including an uber-physical and-1 over Karl-Anthony Towns with 3:24 left. Two Wemby free throws a little more than a minute later gave San Antonio a 95-94 lead, but the Spurs didn’t score in the final 2:16 of play in a 105-95 loss.
The Spurs’ ball movement, one of their trademarks all season, ground to a halt as Wembanyama tried to challenge the Knicks’ loaded-up defense. Part of that stemmed from the Spurs not being able to get out in transition, as they had in the first half, but the fourth quarter was also one where the Spurs needed Fox’s trips into the paint and Harper’s amazing-for-a-rookie poise around the basket more than they needed Wembyanama looking to attack off the dribble.
The Spurs scored 27 points in the first 10 and a half minutes of Game 1, getting all manner of great looks. They managed just 68 points in the final 37:30 of play. San Antonio, as it has done at times this season, sat Harper on the bench down the stretch, subbing out of the game for good with 4:04 left in the fourth in favor of Devin Vassell.
“Dylan did not finish the game by nothing he did or did not do,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Thursday. “It was a decision I made. I understand that there would be logic in having Dylan in that group. I thought that group that was out there did some things during that stretch, and that’s what I rolled with.”
The Spurs have also played Harper, Stephon Castle and Fox together in crunch-time lineups during the postseason, so it’s not like putting the rock in one of Harper’s or Fox’s hands would be new. And Harper, the second pick in last year’s draft, has been more than credible in his NBA postseason debut, including scoring 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, along with 8 rebounds, in 27 minutes off the bench in Game 1.
“I feel like everyone wants to be out there in those times and close the game out,” Harper said Thursday. “But, I mean, we won 62 games, we made it this far. So I’m going to keep on trusting the coaching staff, trusting Mitch, and just having that trust that they know what’s best for the team. And if they think that’s the best thing for the team and helps us win the most, then I’m all for it.”
Harper has been everything he was advertised to be coming out of Rutgers: a smooth, efficient point guard with franchise-player potential. Fox, acquired from the Kings in February of 2025, has been inconsistent at times while he adjusts from a team where he was expected to be a primary scorer to one where everybody eats.
The noise from some quarters that the Spurs must ultimately pick between Harper or Fox as a primary ballhandler ignores the team’s storied history.
Hall of Fame guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili flourished together for 15 seasons, with Ginobili stunting his likely production had he demanded starter’s minutes by agreeing to come off the bench for Gregg Popovich for the bulk of his career. It was not easy for him to accept, but he did it — and still got to Springfield.
“It was not (like) I was given an option; it was, you’re f—ing coming off the bench,” Ginobili told The Athletic in 2024.
“I thought it was unfair,” Ginobili said. “I didn’t love it. I understood it, sort of. I said, ‘All right, he’s the coach, and I’ll run with it. I’ll try to be the most productive I can be.’ So at the beginning, I didn’t like it. It took me a few months, maybe a whole season, I don’t remember exactly. And then, I think I went back to being a starter, briefly. And for a few years, once a year, he would come to me and say, ‘Manu, we need to (do it again).’ And then I started to say, ‘OK Pop, no problem; I’ll be fine, if you think it’s the right way.’ The part of starting that I didn’t love is that the game started too slow, that we needed to go through Tim (Duncan) a lot early, then Tony had the ball in his hands. So I felt like going back to the bench at minute six, I didn’t do s–t. And I was, like, pissed.”
This season, the Spurs were in the top 10 in assists per game, at more than 28. Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, they still distributed more than 25 dimes per contest. But in Game 1 against New York, that total plummeted to 16. Not nearly good enough. The ball didn’t move, so the Knicks didn’t have to, either. Allowing the likes of Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges free rein to rake at drivers or on post-ups is chum in the Knicks’ defensive waters.
“You have to have a feel for it and see who’s got it going, who’s got the rhythm,” Castle said after Game 1. “Matchups are definitely important, too. That’s why it’s always beneficial when a couple of us are out there together. Vic creates advantages whether he’s on the ball or off the ball, so (we’re) just really trying to make the right play for the possession.”
It’s not coincidence the Spurs’ turnover hemorrhage in the first two games of the Western Conference finals series with the Oklahoma City Thunder slowed dramatically after Fox returned from the high ankle sprain he suffered against the Timberwolves in the second round. Fox struggled shooting the ball in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, going just 3-of-13 from the floor, but a lot of the misses were shots Fox normally makes in his sleep.
The sweet spot, then, is letting Fox and Harper dictate the terms of the possession with their ballhandling and/or size, force the Knicks to slide their feet in response, then incorporate Wembanyama on the move, where his length lets him inhale the space towards the basket. The Spurs were just 6-of-21 from the floor in the fourth quarter, and 2-of-10 on 3s, with five turnovers.
“There is a balance to it,” Fox said Thursday. “But for us, when we have ball movement, getting the defense to rotate, it naturally comes back to the guys that it’s supposed to come back to. We’re not necessarily thinking, obviously, unless Vic’s like, ‘I want the ball,’ or he’s getting to a spot and he’s demanding the ball. Other than that, we have a pretty free-flowing offense, where paint touches are key. And then when we get the defense moving, Vic gets easy shots. He doesn’t have to go one-on-one or have to fight the physicality the whole time. That, or Dylan gets a layup. Or Dev gets a 3.”
The goal is to put the Knicks on their heels for multiple rotations, rather than allowing them to see what’s coming or react to a single pass and shot. It doesn’t matter if that shot is a corner 3 if New York can close out on the shooter easily.
“The defense isn’t moving when that happens,” Spurs’ swingman Julian Champagnie said. “We want to get the defense in rotations. That’s how you end up getting open 3s, and then you get to drive and make a read. And that’s kind of where the best 3s come from.”
Everyone in this town knows this Spurs team goes as Wembanyama goes. That doesn’t change just because it’s the NBA Finals, or because the Spurs are playing a Knicks team that hasn’t lost a game in a month. The stakes are higher, but the method for achieving them is the same.
Get the ball moving.
By David Aldridge, via The Athletic