LBJ應該很樂見勇士最近的敗北 - NBA

LBJ應該很樂見勇士最近的敗北
LeBron James should be salivating over the Warriors' recent losses

http://goo.gl/2wCIMu


"If it bleeds, we can beat it." -- LeBron James, probably.
LBJ可能會這樣說：「只要它流血，我門就能擊敗它。」

And on the third day (of this week), LeBron James rested.
LBJ在這周的第三天休息了。

With the NBA regular season winding down, the Cleveland Cavaliers more or
less know where they stand. As of Wednesday, they're 2.5 games ahead of the
Toronto Raptors for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Not much is going
to change; there's no need for LeBron to overexert himself and try to will
Cleveland to a few meaningless regular season wins. So the King took the
night off against the Indiana Pacers, because he can.

例行賽即將進入尾聲，騎士已經很清楚他們應該是東區第一名了，因為已經領先第二名的
暴龍2.5場勝差，一切都應該不會有太大的變化，LBJ已經不需要再為了接下來意義不大的
幾場例行賽再下場打拼。在對溜馬的比賽，他可以不用上場。

Besides, after the Golden State Warriors' loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves
on Tuesday, LeBron has to be feeling pretty good.

除此之外，前晚勇士輸給灰狼，LBJ對此感到挺不錯的！

If it were just one loss for the Dubs, that'd be one thing. Flukes happen; as
we're always keen to point out, even the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls lost to the
expansion Raptors. But combined with their previous home loss to the Boston
Celtics, Stephen Curry's team is suddenly looking pretty vulnerable.

如果只是一時不小心翻船輸的話就算了，因為95-96公牛也輸給暴龍過。但是加上上次在主
場勇士輸給超賽，Curry的勇士隊現在看起來到是有點脆弱了。


And that's really all that LeBron needs.

而這正是LBJ所希望看到的。

As long as the Warriors seemed invincible, Cleveland was doomed -- because
the Cavs are mortal. They have chemistry concerns. There are questions about
how good they really are. And they went through a coaching change this year,
if you've somehow forgotten. That typically doesn't bode well for a team's
championship odds.

如果勇士感覺起來是隻無敵的隊伍的話，騎士就沒戲唱了。因為騎士相較起來平凡多了，
他們有球隊的化學作用問題、他們被質疑是否真的強大、季中更換主帥，這些對於企圖衝
擊總冠軍的隊伍來說都不是些好事。

Now, the Cavs know that the Warriors face similar issues. Sure, it's
something LeBron already knew. He's played 178 playoff games in 13 seasons
and made five straight Finals. He's seen it all.

現在，騎士對知道勇士也一樣有同樣問題，而LBJ當然也知道，他13年生涯可是已經打過
178場季後賽，他已經就看穿了。

But his teammates haven't. In fact, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Kevin
Love, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov have
combined to play in 186 playoff games in their careers. Sixty-nine of those
belong to Smith; 115 of those games came in last season's playoff run for the
Cavs. They're still novices when it comes to the rigors of a championship
run. To look at Golden State's sucess prior to the past week must have been
an incredibly intimidating experience for the likes of Thompson and Love.

但他的隊友沒有，事實上，KI、TT、Love、JR、香波、澳洲人和Moz加起來也不過打了186
場季後賽而已，其中JR占了69場、115場是上季打的，對於季後賽來說他們都還只是新手，
幾周前勇士隊的所向披靡對TT或是LOVE這些人來說應該會覺得非常恐怖。

Yet for all the drama and upheaval in Cleveland this year, the Cavs are still
an incredibly talented team. Start with James, naturally. He might have
surrendered his crown as the NBA's best regular-season player to Curry, but
in one game -- or one series -- there's not a player we trust more to
absolutely take over a game. We saw it last year in the Finals, when LeBron
was without Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving and still willed the Cavs to two
victories against the Warriors.

儘管今年的騎士隊還有很多不定的因子，他們依然是隻充滿天賦的球隊。從LBJ開始說起，
雖然CURRY看似已經把原本屬於LBJ的NBA最佳球員光環奪走，但是以一場比賽、一個系列賽
來說，LBJ依然是我們所相信最具有主宰力的球員。去年總冠軍賽我們就看到沒有KI和LOVE
他還是從勇士隊那裏拿走兩勝。

This year, though, Love and Irving will be healthy. And although questions
persist about how Cleveland's three stars fit together, LeBron has taken it
upon himself over the past month to show precisely how good this team can be
and what they need to do to reach that level.

今年KI和LOVE都處於健康狀態，儘管這三巨頭還有一些磨合問題，LBJ依然以他這幾個月的
表現告訴大家這支球隊有多棒、以及如何去達到那境界。

The short answer: dunks.
簡單來說，就是灌籃。

The slightly longer answer: All of the dunks, as the Wolves and the Celtics
before them demonstrated in their recent wins over the Warriors. The dirty
little secret in Golden State is the Warriors' inability to protect the rim
at times. They give up the sixth-most points per game in the paint of any
team; even when you adjust for the Warriors' increased pace, they still
surrender an inordinate amount of easy looks in the lane. To wit, both
Minnesota (33.4-percent season average; 43.5 percent against Golden State)
and Boston (37.4-percent average; 44 percent against Golden State) scored a
much higher percentage of their points in the paint than they typically do.

再詳細點來說，看看灰狼和超賽在贏勇士隊的比賽中他們所展示出來的灌籃。勇士隊的灰
暗小祕密就是他們無法一直保護藍下。灰狼和超賽在贏了勇士的比賽中，他們禁區的得分
都比他們的平均來得高。(灰狼33.4%=>43.5%；超賽37.4%=>44%)

And oh, what a coincidence: LeBron is attacking the rim with renewed purpose
over the past month or so, probably because his back is finally healthy.
Through February 29, James attempted 55.2 percent of his field goals within
10 feet; since March 1, that number has jumped to 63.5 percent, at the
expense of catch-and-shoot and pull-up jumpers.

剛好，或許是因為背傷痊癒的關係，LBJ最近攻擊籃框的企圖比之前幾個月要來的更高！
229之前LBJ有55.2%是在10呎內出手；3月1號以來大幅上升到63.5%

The plan seems simple, then. LeBron is going to have the ball in his hands,
and he's going to put his head down and barrel to the rim. If the Warriors
can't stop him, he'll lay the ball in the hoop. If they can, he'll kick it
out to Love and Irving. If they're open, they'll knock down easy 3s. If not,
Irving can put the ball on the floor, and Love can operate from the elbow as
the Cavs enter their next action -- which should inevitably lead to another
LeBron pick-and-roll.

這計劃很簡單，LBJ就是要持球不斷的攻擊禁區。如果勇士欄不住他，他就會上籃。如果
攔得住，就外傳給KI或LOVE、若剛好他們是在大空檔，就可以有很大的三分出手機會。如
果沒有空檔的話，就可以由KI持球而LOVE可以從側翼進攻，再由LBJ跑擋拆。

That lets the Cavs run out their best lineup: Irving, Iman Shumpert or J.R.
Smith (depending on whether they want defense or shooting), Love, LeBron and
Tristan Thompson. James becomes the ostensible power forward on offense; on
defense, he can lean on Love to guard power forwards as the former Wolves big
man has done for his entire career.

這讓騎士可以根據進攻或是防守安排出最好的陣容：KI、香波、JR、TT、LOVE、LBJ，LBJ
在進攻可以扮演強力前鋒，在防守時可以跟前灰狼前鋒LOVE一起防守對方的前鋒。


Will it be enough to knock off the Warriors -- or the Spurs, should San
Antonio defeat Golden State? Probably not. Those two Western Conference teams
are playing at a historic level, and they're better top-to-bottom than the
Cavs. Love's still not a very good defender, and whether Cleveland can stop
either the Spurs or Warriors is an open question. In order to win a title,
LeBron might need to outscore one of the greatest offenses ever. It's an
incredibly tall task that he faces.

但這些足以打敗勇士、或是馬刺嗎？或是乾脆希望讓馬刺打敗勇士？這兩支隊伍正處於一
個裡史性的層級，而且從頭到尾都比騎士更好。LOVE的防守還不是很好，是否可以打敗這
兩隊都還是個問號，為了去贏得冠軍頭銜，LBJ在進攻端必須發揮得比以往更好，在他面前
的是座高牆。

But that's not the point. The Cavs now know that they have a chance, and
that's all LeBron can ask for.

不過這些都不重要，重要的是現在騎士知道他們有機會了，這也是LBJ一直在
尋求的。



http://i.imgur.com/WCNP0Rz.jpg

--