By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-06-08 02:45:22
马刺发现自己在大比分上0-2落后，而他们陷入这一境地的方式并不令人意外。在相当长的一段时间里，尼克斯一直是一个极其难缠的对手，这在很大程度上是因为圣安东尼奥在锋线位置上缺乏体型，这个问题已经显现了很久，但直到最近才变得棘手。而约翰逊原本被期望成为解决方案的一部分。
凯尔登之所以能荣膺最佳第六人，是因为他在进攻端影响显著，并且做好了那些细节工作。他一直是马刺能够信赖的大前锋，但他季后赛的挣扎却是实实在在的，这也限制了他在对阵尼克斯时的发挥。截至本文撰写时，FanDuel上约翰逊在第三场比赛中至少获得8.5个得分与篮板总和的赔率为-102，而未达这一数据的赔率为-130，这凸显了人们如今对这位在常规赛场均贡献13.2分和5.4个篮板的球员期望值有多么低。
球队如此迫切地需要凯尔登，这并不是他的错
马刺在进入本赛季时就深知大前锋位置是一个弱点。曾被视为该位置长期答案的杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 在上赛季后期失去了米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 的信任，由于他的投篮一直没有改善，他在交易截止日前被裁掉之前就淡出了轮换阵容。哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 作为首发阵容中的过渡人表现尚可，主要是通过不犯错和投中空位球，但随后他的跳投失准，对手开始放空他去协防文班亚马。临时拼凑的解决方案是让天生是小前锋的朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 首发出任大前锋。这一调整起到了效果，因为尚帕尼提供了强硬的篮板、更出色的换防能力以及更具威胁的投篮，帮助圣安东尼奥找到了最佳状态。
首发阵容的变动对约翰逊的发挥产生了一些影响，但他作为第六人的地位稳固，他的职责并没有真正改变。然而，由于马刺的阵容变小，他在体型和对抗上所能提供的帮助变得更加重要。在面对许多球队时，这并不是什么大问题，米奇·约翰逊有时会用巴恩斯、凯尔登甚至新秀卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 来填补大前锋位置的时间，为球队提供吃下轮换时间的人手。尽管如此，隐忧依然存在：除了这位最佳第六人之外，马刺没有可以信赖的前场体型。
约翰逊在整个季后赛都表现挣扎，但在过去的系列赛中，马刺依然能够挺过来
除了少数几场比赛外，约翰逊在整个季后赛的表现都很糟糕。他的出场时间有所减少，由于无法在内线完成终结，他的得分效率呈断崖式下跌，而且他的篮板球也不再像以前那样是他的强项。即使在他挣扎的情况下，马刺依然表现尚可，部分原因是迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 在替补席上有过几次杰出的表现，提供了内线得分和篮板，并成为一个可靠的外线投篮威胁。凯尔登产出的匮乏确实是个问题，但对圣安东尼奥来说还算不上致命，这主要是因为对位关系。
在过去的系列赛中，马刺面对的球队首发都是局限于油漆区的传统中锋，这让维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在篮下有防守目标。当那些球队换上能够将“外星人”拉出禁区的空间型大个子时，确实出现了一些麻烦，但圣安东尼奥的单人区域防守帮助缓解了这些问题，其代价是偶尔出现糟糕的防守篮板。而这正是约翰逊可以派上用场的地方，他虽然个头不高，但足够强壮，可以防守大前锋，并且在冲抢篮板时拥有无穷的活力。尽管如此，马刺在此之前一直都在勉力支撑。
马刺迫切需要一个可用的大前锋来更好地对位尼克斯
尼克斯带来的独特难题有一个名字：卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns)。如果文班亚马去防守投篮神准的唐斯，他就会远离油漆区，而他在本系列赛中在禁区外的防守显得并不舒服。毋庸置疑，这对圣安东尼奥来说是一个麻烦，因为这位可以说是联盟历史上最好的护筐者在很大程度上被限制了。其他球队（以及马刺在其他机会中）会让他们的中锋去防守乔什·哈特 (Josh Hart)，并用一个能跟上唐斯突破的大前锋来防守这位大个子。银黑军团并没有这样的人选。最接近的是约翰逊，但他几乎在所有方面都毫无建树，以至于成了一个被边缘化的存在，在两场比赛中总共只打了24分钟。
除了阵容的多样性之外，当文班亚马换防到外线时，无法指望约翰逊也会影响到马刺。当这种情况发生时，他们需要在油漆区有一个强壮的身躯，阻止唐斯和尼克斯抢下进攻篮板。约翰逊在得到的有限机会中未能做到这一点，但他似乎是替补席上唯一可行的选择。布莱恩特身体太单薄且容易犯错。巴恩斯会勤勉地卡位，但他缺乏约翰逊所拥有的年轻活力和运动能力。期望凯尔登解决唐斯的问题是愚蠢的，但马刺需要他在进攻端表现得足够稳健以获得上场机会，并寄希望于他至少能在篮板和身体对抗上提供帮助。
总体而言，约翰逊的领导力和活力也能带来帮助
即使约翰逊无法帮助解决与唐斯相关的严重问题，拥有另一个能产生积极影响的替补球员也能给马刺带来极大的帮助。在状态最好时，凯尔登在进攻端是一个合格的射手，能够通过直线突破直击篮筐。圣安东尼奥在得分方面并没有太大的问题，但在外传球后多一个威胁点，以及一个能积极奔跑下快攻的球员会非常有用，哪怕仅仅是为了让其他球员保持体力。目前，第二阵容中只有迪伦·哈珀值得信赖，这显然并不理想。
除了纯粹的数据产出，约翰逊还能对球队的精神面貌产生影响。他是更衣室的领袖，乐于通过场上的表现来激发队友的斗志。每当他迎着防守球员的胸膛强行突破、在身体接触中完成终结并大喊“二加一！”，或者在多名对手头顶抢下进攻篮板时，都会给球队带来极大的士气提升。随着马刺试图在总决赛中从0-2的落后局面中逆转——这在联盟历史上只有五支球队做到过——他们将需要这位阵中效力时间最长的球员倾其所有。
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：The Spurs Need More From Keldon Johnson Right Now
The Spurs Need More From Keldon Johnson Right Now
The Spurs find themselves 0-2 in the Finals, and the way they got there isn’t surprising. The Knicks have been a horrific matchup for a while in no small part because San Antonio lacks size at the forward spots, an issue that has been apparent for a while but has only recently become troublesome. And Johnson was expected to be part of the solution.
Keldon won 6MoY because he impacted the offense significantly and did the little things. He’s been the big forward the Spurs have been able to count on, but his struggles in the playoffs have been real and have limited his impact against the Knicks. As of this writing, FanDuel had the odds of Johnson having at least 8.5 combined points and rebounds in Game 3 at -102 and the odds of him not getting there at -130, underscoring how little is now expected of a player who averaged 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in the regular season.
It’s not Keldon’s fault that the team needs him so badly
The Spurs came into the season knowing that the big forward spot was a weakness. Jeremy Sochan, once considered the long-term answer at the position, had lost Mitch Johnson’s trust late last season and as his shot never improved, he faded out of the rotation before being waived at the deadline. Harrison Barnes was doing well as a placeholder in the starting lineup, mostly by not making mistakes and hitting shots, but his jumper abandoned him and opponents were playing off him to help on Wembanyama. The patchwork solution was to start Julian Champagnie, a natural small forward, at the power forward spot. It worked, as Champagnie offered strong rebounding, more switchability, and more dangerous shooting, helping San Antonio find its best shape.
What happened in the starting lineup had some effects on Johnson’s play, but he was entrenched as the sixth man and his duties didn’t really change. What he brought to the table in terms of size and physicality, however, became more important simply because the Spurs got smaller. Against a lot of teams, it wasn’t as big of an issue, and Mitch Johnson filled out the minutes at power forward with Barnes, Keldon, and even rookie Carter Bryant at times, giving the team bodies to sop up minutes. Still, the concern remained: the Spurs didn’t have frontcourt size that they could rely on except for the Sixth Man of the Year.
Johnson has struggled all playoffs, but in past series, the Spurs could still survive
Johnson has been bad all playoffs, except for a few games. His minutes are down, his scoring efficiency fell off a cliff, as he can’t finish inside, and his rebounding is not the strength it once was. The Spurs have been fine even with his struggles, in part because Dylan Harper has had several standout performances off the bench, providing interior scoring and rebounding and being a credible outside shooting threat. Keldon’s lack of production was an issue, but it was not a killer for San Antonio, mostly because of matchups.
In past series, the Spurs faced teams that started paint-bound centers, which allowed Victor Wembanyama to have someone to guard close to the rim. Some trouble emerged when those teams went to their stretch bigs who could draw The Alien out, but San Antonio’s one-man zone helped alleviate those issues, with the drawback being occasionally poor defensive rebounding. That’s where Johnson, who is not particularly tall but is strong enough to guard big forwards and has boundless energy on the boards, would come in handy. Still, the Spurs made do until now.
The Spurs desperately need a viable big forward to match up better against the Knicks
The unique problem the Knicks present has a name: Karl-Anthony Towns. If Wembanyama guards the sharpshooting Towns, he’s away from the paint, where he’s not looked comfortable defending this series. Needless to say, that’s been a problem for San Antonio, since the best rim protector arguably in league history is largely neutralized. Other teams (and the Spurs in other opportunities) have placed their center on Josh Hart and have had a big forward who can hang with Towns on drives, guarding the big man. The Silver and Black don’t have one of those. The closest is Johnson, but he’s been so ineffective at everything that he’s become an afterthought, logging 24 total minutes in two games.
Outside of lineup versatility, not being able to rely on Johnson affects the Spurs when they have Wembanyama switching on the perimeter. When that happens, they need a big body in the paint, keeping Towns and the Knicks from getting offensive rebounds. Johnson has not been able to do that in the opportunities he’s had, but he seems like the only viable option off the bench. Bryant is too light and mistake-prone. Barnes will box out diligently, but he lacks the youthful energy and athleticism Johnson has. Expecting Keldon to solve the Towns issue would be foolish, but the Spurs need him to be solid enough on offense to be playable and hope he can at least help with rebounding and physicality.
Johnson’s leadership and energy could also help in general
Even if Johnson doesn’t help solve the serious Towns-related issues, having another bench player who can have a positive impact could really help the Spurs. At his best, Keldon is a passable shooter who gets to the rim on straight-line drives on offense. San Antonio hasn’t had huge issues putting points on the board, but another threat after kickouts and someone who will run the floor could be useful, if for no other reason than to keep others fresh. Right now, only Dylan Harper can be counted on to show up for the second unit, and that’s clearly not ideal.
Beyond the sheer production, Johnson could also have an impact on the team’s mentality. He’s a locker room leader who has a penchant for making plays that get his teammates excited. Every time he drives at a defender’s chest, finishes through contact, and screams “and-one!” or gets an offensive board over several opponents provides a mini morale boost. As the Spurs try to come back from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals, something that only five teams have done in league history, they’ll need everything their longest tenured player on the roster can offer.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock