KD & Curry still finding a balance - NBA

Warriors schedule week 12: Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry still finding a balance
勇士本季的第12週: KD跟Curry依然再找共處的平衡點 http://tinyurl.com/hy57c9k

In between Friday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and Sunday's win over the
Sacramento Kings, it felt a lot like the beginning of the Golden State
Warriors' season. They talked about needing to grow, figuring each other out
and peaking come playoff time. Observers opined about how coach Steve Kerr
should handle late-game situations. There was concern about how Kevin
Durant's presence has affected Stephen Curry, and balancing his ability to
create his own shot with the Warriors' beloved ball movement.

週五輸給灰熊以及週日擊敗國王, 金州勇士感覺還像是剛開季在磨合, 依然說著還需要
繼續成長, 繼續熟悉彼此, 好以顛峰狀態進入季後賽; 觀察者認為Kerr應該好好控制住
比賽後段的局面, 外界也有著KD加盟後對於Curry造成影響的關心, 以及KD 在一邊融入
勇士引以為傲的流動球時, 該如何平衡替自己創造出手機會的能力

I'm not going to say all this was unwarranted. Golden State showed some
previously unseen flaws in last year's playoffs, and they came to light again
in its Christmas Day loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and its collapse against
Memphis. The Warriors have clearly been the best team in the league over the
course of the season, but there are lingering questions about them that
cannot be answered in the couple of games they play this week. That makes
them more interesting, doesn't it?

我不會去說這些都是沒有根據的, 勇士的確在上季季後賽中露出了弱點, 之後這季輸給
騎士跟灰熊亦然, 勇士顯然已是聯盟最好的隊伍, 但卻仍有著揮不去的問號纏在身上,
這些都讓勇士更讓人感興趣, 不是嗎?

Durant's isolations

After arriving in the Bay Area, Durant said his new team showed him that he
had a lot to learn about the game. He had never played in a system like this,
so reliant on movement, misdirection and timing. For the most part, he has
adjusted well. He is holding the ball and dribbling it less than he did with
the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he has cut down his turnovers and increased
his shooting percentage. Durant is benefiting from open looks created by his
teammates, and in some games he's been equal parts facilitator and scorer.
When you factor in his defense, he has perhaps never been better.

關於KD的單打 -- 加盟勇士之後, KD說過勇士讓他感受到關於比賽他還有很多需要學習
的地方, 勇士更加的依賴流動性 & 錯位 & 時機, KD從沒在這樣的系統打過球; 但大多
數時間裡KD適應得不錯, 控球跟運球都比以前在雷霆時更少, 失誤減少然後命中率提升
, KD受益於勇士隊友們替他創造出的空檔, 在某些場次的比賽中, KD甚至傳球跟得分都
同時做得很好, 而他的防守還可能是生涯最好的

Still, there is a natural tension between his ability to get buckets and the
philosophy that has guided Golden State since Kerr took over. After Draymond
Green screamed at him on Friday, that tension has come back into the
conversation.

但他的進攻能力跟Kerr的籃球哲學之間仍有著自然而然的緊張, 在週五Draymond Green
朝著他大吼之後, 這緊張感便浮上檯面成為話題

"I know how to play, I know how to move," Durant said Saturday, via the San
Jose Mercury News' Anthony Slater. "When coach calls the play, I just run the
play. So if he calls for me to get in the pick-and-roll. I'ma get in the
pick-and-roll. If he wants me to ISO, I'ma ISO. [If he wants me to] move
around, I'll move around. I know how to play. It's not that I'm just, like,
restricted. But yeah, our offense has been good throughout the whole season.
There's certain times throughout the game where we get a little stagnant, but
when you have guys that move around so much and you have guys that can ISO,
it's kind of hard to figure out, 'All right, what do we need to do, how's the
game flowing, do we need more ISOs, do we need to run more movement stuff?'
So it's a good problem to have, but sometimes you get lost in the middle and
you don't know the balance between them both."

KD週六說到:"我知道該怎麼去打, 真的, 教練安排的戰術無論是擋拆/單打/跑動, 我都
會照著去做; 這季我們的進攻都很好, 雖然有些時候我們打得有點停滯, 但當大家跑動
的那樣多, 又有著可以打ISO的隊友, 要在當下找出最佳進攻方式真的有點難, 會去想
"現在我們需要做什麼? 比賽局面如何呢? 需要更多ISO嗎? 還是更多跑動呢?" 所以我
覺得這是對我們來說很棒的問題, 但真的有時會在抉擇之間迷失, 會忘記之間的平衡點

Part of the reason the Warriors wanted Durant was to create shots for himself
quickly. This is useful in short-clock situations and against switching
defenses, and it's generally accepted to be an asset in crunch time.

有部分的原因是勇士想要KD快速的替自己創造出手機會, 這在讀秒階段跟對手換防時很
管用, 也被視作關鍵時刻的利器

"I think he's capable of getting almost anything he wants, and I wouldn't
know what the hell that would feel like, but sometimes, I guess if you have
so many options, maybe it's harder," Kerr said, via the San Jose Mercury
News' Anthony Slater. "Because there's uncertainty as to which option you
should choose. But I think part of that is playing as a group, playing all
five guys together, getting used to one another. It's different. It is
different for him and for us, and we've gotta continue to grow together and
become more comfortable with the new group that we have."

Kerr則表示:"KD很萬能, 我不曉得有著那樣豐富的技能欄會是怎樣的感覺, 但有時我想
當一個人有著這樣多進攻武器時做判斷應該是更難的吧, 因為你是在一個團隊中打球,
跟其他四名隊友一起奮鬥, 所以要做判斷會有不確定性在, 這對他跟對我們來說都很不
同, 我們會持續一起成長, 讓這個新的團隊變成更舒適"

Fourth-quarter issues! 第四節毛病

Last week, we went with "Fourth-quarter issues?" After the debacle against
the Grizzlies, an exclamation point seems appropriate. Also, just a week
later, it's pretty funny that I wrote, "I'm not ready to call this a real
problem, but I'll keep it in mind."

上週在勇士輸給灰熊後我們聊到了"第四節毛病", 其中一個觀點看來是對的, 然後才過了
僅僅一週, 對於我當時寫的"我還沒準備好去說這是個真正的問題, 我會先放在心裡繼續
觀察"這句話就變得很好笑了

Green gave an honest assessment of the Warriors' late-game offense, and I
loved every second of it. Not only is it true that it's easier to work on
weaknesses when you're losing, it's easier to work on them when they're out
in the open. This was the first time anyone around Golden State had said
publicly that this was an issue, and Green must hope it will be a turning
point.

對於勇士比賽後段的進攻, Draymond Green給了個很中肯的評論, 這是第一次有勇士球員
公開的指出這個問題, 而他也必定希望這會是球隊的轉捩點

Over the last couple of years, the Warriors have tended to avoid close games
and have found ways to win them when necessary. All of this is new, and the
league is watching to see if they'll reverse this trend.

前幾季的勇士都不太需要去在比賽後段努力去贏下比賽, 但需要時他們也往往能找出方法
去終結比賽; 現在的狀況是全新的, 而整個聯盟也正在看他們是否能扭轉這趨勢

"We're not used to these fourth-quarter struggles," Kerr said Saturday, via
the Mercury News' Anthony Slater. "We've really closed teams well the last
couple years. So it feels different. It feels weird."

Kerr表示"我們不太習慣這些第四節的崩潰, 前幾季我們都是能好好結束比賽的球隊, 現
在的狀況很不同, 也很怪"

Curry being Curry?

Just as the noise about Curry having a subpar season (by his standards) got
louder, the back-to-back MVP dropped a total of 105 points on 72 shots
against Portland, Memphis and Sacramento. In all three games, he led Golden
State in points and shot attempts.

當質疑Curry有著對比上季低迷的聲音越來越多時, 兩屆MVP的Curry前三戰共72次出手拿
下105分, 這三場比賽他都是全隊出手最多並且得分最高的

Curry's usage rate is 28.5 percent compared to last year's 32.6 percent, and
nobody should expect that number to get back to where it was. It'll be
significant, though, if Curry takes over more games and/or starts making more
deep 3s off the dribble. Those things happened all the time pre-Durant.

使用率方面Curry上季32.6%這季28.5%, 我們不該去期待使用率在回到上季的水準

當然啦, 如果Curry像上季KD還沒來之前那樣去接管更多比賽, 或是開始出現更多的運球
後出手大號三分, 會是很讚的!

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