By Mike Finger / San Antonio Express-News, 2026-10-10 14:42:52
米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 曾用“脆弱的生态系统”来形容某件事。当时，他谈论的是马刺进攻体系中的某一个特定环节。
但这句话，或许同样适用于这位马刺主教练本赛季努力守护的一切。
夏威夷、日本等地的机场检疫人员之所以对某些新鲜水果和植物严防死守、绝不允许登岛，是有原因的。一旦错误种类的入侵物种混了进去——无论是咖啡果小蠹还是瘿蜂——都可能引发连锁反应，摧毁整个咖啡产业，甚至让森林荡然无存。
而当你试图重现一段横空出世的NBA总决赛之旅的魔力——那段旅程中，每一名球员都以恰到好处的方式扮演着完美的角色——情况也是如此。各种“入侵性”的想法和细微的变动，都可能打破更衣室氛围的微妙平衡。
顺便说一句，在NBA更衣室里，氛围的重要性，就如同蜜蜂之于全球粮食生产。当它们开始消失时，你可能不会立刻察觉。但不知不觉间，整个生态系统就可能轰然崩塌。
周四晚马刺季前赛首战结束后，约翰逊并未提及这些。他那番“脆弱”的言论，说的是转换进攻中的空间拉开问题。尽管如此，即便放眼整个联盟——哪怕只是十月初——争冠热门球队中已经出现了不少前车之鉴。
距离在 frost Bank Center（ frost银行中心）球馆捧起奖杯还不到四个月——上赛季，尼克斯是唯一一支在球技和氛围上都压过马刺的球队——如今，纽约尼克斯的团队情谊和内部善意正早早接受考验。围绕这支卫冕冠军的季前赛头条新闻，几乎全都与卡尔-安东尼·唐斯和约什·哈特未能获得续约合同所引发的余波有关。
而在费城，76人通过交易得到杰伦·布朗并签下勒布朗·詹姆斯，完成了休赛期最重磅的两笔操作，但那里已经出现了一场风波——一位现场解说员撤回了一段“令人遗憾”的轶事，随后乔尔·恩比德发出了“为什么是我？”的感慨。
提起这两个例子，并不是说尼克斯或76人陷入了什么麻烦。它们只是提醒我们：一支球队的舆论风向，转变起来并不需要太多契机。
而当故事变了，我们才会发现，这个生态系统究竟有多脆弱。
这将以一种 admittedly（不得不承认的）迂回方式，引出约翰逊即将做出的首发阵容决定。但首先，我们需要承认几点。
毫无疑问，媒体和球迷往往夸大了首发与替补的重要性。从数据分析、战术板的角度来看，这其实没那么关键。比如，你知道一套典型的首发阵容在一场NBA比赛中实际同场打球的时间有多长吗？
上赛季马刺的季后赛之旅中，他们的首发五人组场均同场时间仅为11.25分钟。这还不到一节，而且大部分时间集中在上、下半场开局的几分钟里。比赛的其余时间，场上组合中至少都有一名替补球员。
但正因为媒体和球迷如此关注首发问题，球员们也不可避免地在意。人人都想首发，这是天性。马努·吉诺比利——联盟历史上最伟大的第六人之一——当年也是不情愿地接受替补角色的。
所以，像迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 这样作为新秀就在季后赛中大放异彩的球员，自然会觉得自己配得上一次“晋升”。而像朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 这样在上赛季帮助马刺杀入总决赛的过程中出色完成各自角色的球员，自然也不太愿意为新来者让位——无论是哈珀，还是自由球员签约的托拜厄斯·哈里斯 (Tobias Harris)——哪怕他们的出场时间保持不变。
毕竟，我们谈论的是人。而每个人，多少都有一点自尊心。
好消息是，自尊心是可以被管理的。吉诺比利做到了。凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 也做到了，并在上赛季一路拿下年度最佳第六人奖。而未来几个月里，尚帕尼或瓦塞尔——或者两人一起——大概率也会做到。尽管达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 最终缺席了周四的季前赛首战，但约翰逊在赛前表示，他本计划让福克斯、哈珀和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 同时首发。
这正是自哈珀被选中以来，许多人希望看到更多运用的三后卫阵容，它有潜力给对手造成毁灭性打击。如果一切如马刺所愿，他们不仅能延续上赛季的良好氛围，还能让这份化学反应一直延续到明年六月。
但约翰逊深知脆弱生态系统的特性，因此他在调整阵容时会谨慎而有分寸。每一处改动，无论多么细微，都可能引发连锁反应。
而到明年春天，当马刺回望这些微小改动所带来的结果时——
如果约翰逊处理得当，那些蜜蜂，依然会嗡嗡作响。
由生成式 AI 翻译，翻译内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
查看原文：How Spurs can make changes while preserving 'delicate ecosystem'
How Spurs can make changes while preserving ‘delicate ecosystem’
Mitch Johnson called it a “delicate ecosystem.” At the time, he was talking about one particular aspect of the Spurs offense.
But he might as well have been describing everything the Spurs head coach is trying to preserve this season.
There’s a reason why airport agents in places like Hawaii and Japan are such sticklers about not letting certain kinds of fresh fruit and plants onto their islands. If the wrong kind of invasive species sneaks through, whether it be a berry borer or a gall wasp, it can create a chain reaction that devastates a coffee industry or wipes out forests.
And when you’re setting out to recreate the magic of an out-of-nowhere NBA Finals run in which every player filled the perfect role, in just the right way? Well, there are all sorts of invasive thoughts and subtle changes that can knock the vibes out of balance.
In an NBA locker room, by the way, vibes can be as important as honeybees are to worldwide food production. When they start to disappear, you might not notice right away. But before you know it, entire ecosystems can collapse.
Johnson did not mention any of this after the Spurs’ preseason opener Thursday night. His “delicate” answer was about spacing the floor in transition. Even so, if he looks around the league, even in early October, there already are some cautionary tales among the NBA’s top contenders.
Less than four months after raising a trophy on the Frost Bank Center floor, having been the only team to out-play and out-vibe the Spurs last season, the New York Knicks are putting their camaraderie and goodwill to an early test. The biggest headlines around the reigning champs this preseason all have to do with the fallout from the contract extensions that Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart aren’t getting.
And in Philadelphia, where the Sixers pulled off two of the biggest moves of the offseason by trading for Jaylen Brown and signing LeBron James, there’s already been a controversy involving a retracted “unfortunate” anecdote from a play-by-play announcer, and a subsequent “Why me?” moment from Joel Embiid.
The point in bringing up both of these examples is not to say that either the Knicks or the Sixers are in any kind of trouble. They’re just reminders that it doesn’t take much for the story around a team to change.
And when the story changes, we start to find out how delicate the ecosystem really is.
This will bring us, in an admittedly roundabout way, to Johnson’s forthcoming decision about his starting lineup. But first, we need to acknowledge a couple of things.
There’s no doubt that the media and fans tend to overstate the importance of who starts and who comes off the bench. In an analytical, X’s-and-O’s sense, it just doesn’t matter that much. For instance, do you know how much a typical starting lineup actually plays together during an NBA game?
During the Spurs’ playoff run last year, their starting five averaged 11.25 minutes per game together. That’s less than a quarter, with most of the time coming in the first few minutes of the first and second halves. The rest of the game features combinations featuring at least one bench guy.
But in part because the media and fans tend to pay so much attention to it, players can’t help but care about it, too. It’s only natural that everybody wants to start. Manu Ginobili, one of the greatest sixth men in league history, went to the bench reluctantly.
So of course a guy like Dylan Harper, a playoff revelation as a rookie, feels like he merits a “promotion.” And of course guys like Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell, who played their roles so beautifully in helping lift the Spurs to the Finals, might not be eager to step aside for someone new, whether it be Harper or free agent signee Tobias Harris, even if their minutes stay the same.
After all, we’re talking about human beings here. And every human being has at least a little bit of pride.
The good news is that pride can be managed. Ginobili did it. Keldon Johnson did it on his way to the Sixth Man of the Year award last season. And chances are, either Champagnie or Vassell – or both – will do it in the months to come. Even though De’Aaron Fox wound up being scratched in Thursday’s preseason opener, Johnson said before the game he planned on starting Fox, Harper and Stephon Castle together.
That’s the three-guard lineup many wanted to see more of ever since Harper was drafted, and it has the potential to be devastating to opponents. If it goes like the Spurs hope, they not only will preserve last season’s good vibes, they can make them last through next June, too.
But knowing something about delicate ecosystems, Johnson will be careful and intentional about how he tinkers with his. Every change, no matter how subtle, has the potential to lead to others.
And next spring, when the Spurs look around at what those little changes have wrought?
If Johnson handles this right, the honeybees still will be around.
By Mike Finger / San Antonio Express-News