回顧Blatt被炒的始末 - NBA

※ [本文轉錄自 Cavaliers 看板 #1MezaGZr ]

作者: kart (=\) 看板: Cavaliers
標題: [外電] 回顧Blatt被炒的始末
時間: Sun Jan 24 03:48:30 2016


這篇文章是ESPN兩位專門cover騎士隊的記者共同所寫
我認為算是一篇不錯的回顧史，至少比隨便一個沒太多內線
的yahoo記者準確一些

http://goo.gl/Brpw22

原文非常長，我只挑重點翻譯，但是建議讀原文。

Running his hands over his hair to smooth it back into place,
David Blatt emerged from the visitors locker room at the United
Center with a bit of a dour look on his face.
Blatt剛從公牛的客場休息室走出來，一面把亂掉的頭髮撥正，
露出一點嫌惡的表情。

It was Nov. 1, 2014, only his second game as an NBA head coach,
but what he was about to say was the first crack in the
foundation, and it would lead to one of the more stunning firings
in NBA history nearly 15 months later.
2014年11月一號，這是他NBA的第二場執教。而這也是第一條裂痕。

That night, the Cleveland Cavaliers had defeated the Chicago Bulls
for their first win of the season and Blatt's first win as an NBA
coach. The players waited for him in the locker room, and when he
emerged from his office they mobbed him, mussed his hair and
yelled. They presented him with the game ball. Blatt accepted it
with a smile, but he was also annoyed.
騎士隊在今天剛拿下本季第一場勝利，同時也是Blatt的NBA第一場勝利。
球員很興奮的在休息室等著他，當他一進來他們就衝上去嚕他的頭，並且
大吼大叫著。他們給他了比賽用球。Blatt微笑著收下了這顆球，
但是他也覺得煩。

"Not all of you know me that well," Blatt told the media, "but
I've probably won over 700 games in my career."
Blatt告訴媒體
「或許不是你們所有人都對我知之甚詳，但是我已經贏了超過700場比賽了」

Image and perception of a rookie coach
作為一個菜鳥教練的待遇和形象

At the very heart of the matter, this is why the Cavs fired Blatt
on Friday, despite a record of 83-40 and a Finals appearance.
Blatt viewed himself as a coach with numerous championships in
Europe, an Olympic medal and 20-plus years on the sideline, a
career that made him one of the most experienced coaches in the
world.
我認為這第一個事件也說明了騎士為什麼最終會把Blatt火掉。
（這點跟版大的說法相去不遠）
Blatt自認為自己是有20+年經驗的教練，有無數國際賽的榮譽。
他應該是世界上享譽最久的教頭之一。

The Cavs players, especially the veterans, saw him as a rookie.
但是騎士球員，尤其老鳥們，把它當成NBA菜鳥來看。

"That's his first NBA win," Kyrie Irving said after the game. "He
deserves the game ball. It's his first time in the NBA. I call him
the virgin of the NBA."
KI該場比賽賽後說
「這是他的第一場NBA勝利呀，他應該拿到比賽球。這是他NBA的第一次，
我都叫他NBA處女哩。」

Both Blatt and his players, specifically LeBron James, made
concessions to deal with this chasm of perception. Such courtesies
probably would have continued through this season too, as James
made a glaring attempt to publicly support Blatt.
Blatt和他的球員，尤其是LBJ，之後都有在他菜鳥形象與否的巨大認知落差
上作出讓步。這樣的禮貌性互動沒有意外的話本季也會持續下去。
尤其LBJ今年公開讚揚過Blatt數次。

But the fissure between Blatt and the players was irreparable and
had been for some time, a reality general manager David Griffin
finally accepted when he executed Blatt's dismissal, despite the
Cavs' 30-11 record and Blatt's likely berth as All-Star coach.
然而Blatt和球員間的裂痕依然存在，而且已經存在一陣子了。
這也是為什麼Griffin決定做出讓Blatt走路的決定，無視於30-11
也無視於Blatt即將首次執教全明星賽。

The issues started before James returned to the franchise in July
2014. The Cavs were all over the place in their coaching search
that summer. They offered the job to numerous big names, from John
Calipari and Bill Self in the college ranks to Steve Kerr from the
broadcast booth. Griffin also interviewed Alvin Gentry, whom he
had worked alongside with the Phoenix Suns, and Tyronn Lue, a
rising assistant who learned under Doc Rivers.
這問題甚至在LBJ決定回歸前就開始了。
騎士在2014季後花了很久時間找下一任教練，詢問了無數NCAA名教頭
詢問過Steve Kerr，Alvin Gentry(Griffin在太陽的夥伴），和在
Doc Rivers下表現甚優的Tyronn Lue。

But team owner Dan Gilbert wanted to make a different kind of
hire. He didn't want a retread or an inexperienced coach, which is
why he chased the veteran college coaches. It's why he loved
Blatt, who was a legend in Israel, something that appealed to
Gilbert.
但是球團老闆Gilbert決定做一個不一樣的選擇。他不想要沒經驗的教練
或是回鍋的老教練。這就是為啥他最後選上了Blatt。

When James turned his attention to free agency after losing in the
Finals with the Miami Heat, James' representatives were surprised
the Cavs had hired Blatt and hadn't waited to see if James would
have input. They were also surprised that despite wanting James to
return, the Cavs didn't have enough cap space available to offer
James a maximum contract.
該年LBJ方面的代表對騎士的決定有點意外，因為騎士並沒有知會LBJ方
在教練上的選擇。 他們當時也很意外騎士並沒有為LBJ的可能回歸
清出足夠的薪資空間。

From the Cavs' perspective, they had no clue James was serious
about returning and had to conduct business. More proof of that
came in early July, when Gilbert sent his jet to get free-agent
small forward Gordon Hayward, whom the Cavs were seriously
considering making a huge offer before they spoke to James.
當然從騎士的角度看，他們並沒有足夠的信心LBJ一定會回歸，而他們
畢竟要有足夠的備案。就像當時Gilbert也特地坐飛機去找過Gordon Hayward。
發生在騎士和LBJ會面之前。

No welcome wagon from the King
LBJ並沒有熱烈歡迎Blatt的舉動

After James signed, he showed no interest in meeting Blatt. Weeks
passed before James took a brief break from filming a movie in New
York to have a face-to-face conversation with his new coach. It
was clear James' respect for Blatt was limited, and soon it also
became clear that Blatt assumed respect would be coming his way.
當LBJ簽約後，他並沒有興趣先行會見Blatt。LBJ一直到數週後才在
拍電影的空檔跟Blatt有一次面對面的會談。
只能說LBJ並不認識Blatt也並沒有尊敬，而也很清楚的是Blatt認為
球員對教練尊敬是自然不過的事。

This set the stage for a traumatic tenure for Blatt. In fairness,
this was not the team he had been hired to coach, as James had
signed and the young player Blatt was primarily hired to develop,
Andrew Wiggins, had been traded to acquire Kevin Love.
而兩方期待值得落差也造成了這項悲劇。
公平點說，Blatt當初被騎士請來要執教的是一隻完全不一樣的年輕球隊。

"David was hired to coach a developmental team and young players
who would've wanted to please him," one team source said. "He
ended up coaching a finished product where the players expected
him to please them."
一個球隊的內部人士說：
「Blatt是被請來執教一隻發展中的球隊和一群還沒站穩的年輕人，需要
好表現才能得教練歡心的。但是結果他卻必須執教一隻完成品，一隻
球員期待教練能有好戰術好表現來贏得他們歡心的球隊。」

To complicate matters, the Cavs hired the runner-up for the job,
Lue, to be Blatt's assistant. To keep him away from the Clippers,
the Cavs gave him a record four-year, $6.5 million deal -- for an
assistant. Gilbert would later call the coaching staff the best he
had assembled in his time as owner.
而讓事情更複雜的是，騎士隊竟然找來當初教頭的第二人選來做助教。
為了防止他繼續在快艇隊執教（防止資敵？）騎士給了Lue四年650萬的肥約。
而Gilbert也很自豪地對外宣稱這是他組合過最強的聖鬥士。

Blatt endorsed the Lue move, which many in the league saw as an
immediate undercutting of the head coach. Never before could
anyone remember the runner-up for a job being hired as the lead
assistant, and it was taken as an example of Blatt's NBA
inexperience. Blatt also didn't understand that he would have to
earn players' respect; it would not be instantly given.
Blatt替Lue的簽約背書，而當時很多聯盟其他人認為簽約Lue是在削Blatt
的權利。聯盟中不曾有過球隊會請當初的第二人選作為首席助教。
而這一點大家也認為證明Blatt是NBA菜鳥，不了解NBA的運作的象徵之一。
就如同Blatt也不了解在NBA裡教頭需要去贏得球員的尊敬而不是一個
立即絕對的關係。

"I've been a head coach for 22 years. People overlook that too
easily and, I think, unfairly," Blatt said last season. "I am not
now, nor have I have been for quite some time, a rookie coach."
Blatt上季曾經說
「我做總仔已經22年了，人們太容易忽視這一點，而我覺得很不公平。
我現在不是，也已經很久不是一個菜鳥教頭。」

Within days of the start of the past season, James began
expressing doubt that Blatt would work out as the Cavs' long-term
answer. That was crystallized during a road trip to the West Coast
in the second week of the season, when James and Irving began a
bit of a tug-of-war over control of the offense. Blatt seemed
powerless to control them, and if he tried, it didn't work.
在上季開季沒幾天，LBJ就對Blatt能否長久執教表達懷疑。
這在上一季第一次西部客場之旅表露無遺-
當Lebron和KI輪流掌控著球權而Blatt無力回天。
（註：記得有一場KI0助攻被Lebron噹，就是那一陣子）

Shortly thereafter, James changed his role in the Cavs' offense
and began playing point guard while moving Irving off the ball. In
conjunction with the move, the Cavs, naturally, started moving
away from the Princeton sets Blatt had installed during the
preseason. James nonchalantly told the media he didn't consult
Blatt on the changes.
在沒多久之後，Lebron就接管了控球的角色。
而自此以後騎士也離Blatt在季前賽練的普林斯頓戰術漸行漸遠。
而LBJ也曾表達過他在這個轉換上並沒有特別去請示教練。

"No, I can do it on my own," James said. "I'm past those days
where I have to ask."
LBJ「不，我可以自己決定，我已經到了不需要我特別去
請示什麼戰術的年紀了。」

King's connection to Lue
LBJ和Lue的好關係

From that moment forward, it was clear James gave little more than
lip service to Blatt. As the days passed, James seemed to connect
more and more with Lue. For years, he had admired Lue's former
boss, Rivers, and that helped them establish a connection. At
times over the years, James grumbled about having not played for a
former NBA player since his first season and a half, when Paul
Silas coached the Cavs. In the time since Silas, James played for
Mike Brown, Erik Spoelstra and Blatt.
從那之後可以知道LBJ對Blatt並不買單。而反之，LBJ和Lue的關係
卻越來越好。當然眾所皆知LBJ已經欣賞Lue的老大Doc Rivers很久了，
而這一點也幫助了LBJ和Lue的連結。
LBJ一直以來都想要替球員教練效命，然而在Paul Silas之後-他的前一年半，
他只替MB, Spo和Blatt打過球。

James had played against Lue, who enjoyed great success against
James' teams as a point guard for several teams. For a while,
media who covered the Cavs referred to Lue as "Killa," which was
short for "Cavs killer."
Lue的球隊曾經打敗過LBJ的騎士多次。

"It was like an 800-pound gorilla as the season moved on," one
person involved with the team said. "You could just see LeBron
connecting to [Lue] and turning his back on David."
一個球團內部人士形容：
「這就像是背上有隻800磅的大猩猩*，你可以明顯感受到LBJ跟Lue
關係太好而跟Blatt關係不那麼好。」
（*美厘語會用背上有隻猴來形容芒刺在背，如果已經不是隻猴而是隻大猩猩...）

That didn't stay a secret. James' and other players' complaints
about Blatt's style got out quickly. During games, Cavs players
complained about the coach to opposing players. Once, while on the
road, an injured Cavs player used the home team's therapy pool and
complained about Blatt, with his thoughts literally echoing
throughout the home locker room.
這也不是一個秘密。LBJ和其他球員對Blatt的抱怨擴散的很快。
騎士有些球員會跟對手球員抱怨自家教練。
有一次在客場，騎士一名受傷的球員在用主場對手的休息室做治療時，
他對Blatt的抱怨讓整個休息室都聽得一清二楚。

At one point during the challenging stretch, media members went
looking for an endorsement of Blatt from James.
而當時好事的媒體當然也不放過這個機會去詢問LBJ挺不挺教練。

"Listen, man, I don't pay no bills around here," was
James' response, though he said the players and coaches were
getting to know one another, and Blatt still had the team's
attention.
「聽著，我不是老闆。」LBJ當時如是說。
即使他也說教練和球員還在了解彼此，而Blatt依然能讓球隊聽話。

By late December 2014, with the team hovering around .500, the
Cavs realized they were at a crossroads. Griffin made it clear he
thought the struggles were partially his fault because he didn't
provide Blatt enough of a bench. After trade talks over the course
of several weeks, he was ready to execute some deals to try to
solve it. But would Blatt be retained?
當2014年12月時，球隊已經爛到五成上下，球團知道他們要做出決定了。
Griffin當時認為自己錯在沒有給Blatt足夠的人手（板凳）。
大家知道騎士會有交易，但是問題在於騎士會順便把Blatt也砍了嗎？

The issues with Blatt and the players, James especially, were
clear. Dealing with strains in his back and his knee, James needed
to take a few weeks off. The team knew it would struggle with
James out, and the pressure would mount. The Cavs had to decide
whether they would address the problem or support the coach.
Stories about Blatt's job status started to appear in the media.
Several days passed. Gilbert and Griffin debated the issue
internally. Finally, they made a decision.
當時Blatt和球員都有問題，而LBJ的問題也很明顯。
LBJ上季初一直受到膝傷和背傷困擾，而導致他決定休息數週。
球團知道LBJ不打，戰績一定會受影響，而內部壓力也會更大。
球團要決定他們是否要動教練。而當時也有一連串關於這方面的報導上報。
經過了數天，Gilbert和Griffin做出了決定。

"No change is being made, period," Griffin said in an unusual
pregame media session. "It's such a ridiculous assertion."
Griffin當時舉行了特別的賽前記者會並且宣稱
「我們不會動教練，你們在說啥我聽不懂。」

These comments were meant to get the media to back off Blatt, but
they were clearly aimed at the players as well, as they made sure
the franchise gave a strong vote of confidence for its coach.
Griffin then executed trades to bring Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith,
and Timofey Mozgov to the team. James returned from his absence
and looked vastly healthier, and the Cavs went from 19-20 at the
midway point of the season to one of the NBA's most dominant
teams.
Griffin的表態說明了當時球團的態度：媒體別來煩Blatt，球員給我
好好打球，我們不會換教練。
而之後的交易和LBJ的健康回歸翻轉了騎士去年的命運。

A truce developed. Blatt backed off and gave James space, and
James took it, whether it was calling plays, deciding when he
entered the game and when he exited or even strategy. James
stopped taking digs at Blatt in the media, and the complaints to
opposing players stopped.
戰績進步後，信任感也上升了。Blatt會退讓並且給LBJ空間。
而LBJ也變成真.球員教頭了。LBJ不再在媒體面前噹Blatt，
而球員私下的抱怨似乎也停止了。

Not the same coach
一個不一樣的教練

Those who knew Blatt from Europe, where he was known as a fire-
breather with players during games, were stunned at how he had
changed. When Blatt was the coach of the Russian national team, he
famously once kicked two of his best players off the bench because
they were talking over him in a timeout. Now, spectators watched
in awe as players barked at Blatt in timeouts. That was just one
of many adjustments he made to try to make this unwieldy job work.
認識並了解Blatt在歐洲執教風格的人都很驚訝她在NBA的轉變。
畢竟Blatt曾經在歐洲時腳踹過明星球員。
而Blatt風格的轉換也說明這個工作有多不適合他的本性。

Blatt, meanwhile, retrofitted the Cavs' defensive system with his
new players, and that helped launch the team's midseason
turnaround. He melded in the new players effectively. He showed
his experience as he found a way to give James space while looking
for other ways to make a positive difference. At the same time,
his yielding to the players -- James especially -- only further
reinforced that Blatt wasn't a coach who demanded respect.
Blatt在融入新球員進入球隊的防守陣式中居功厥偉，也是去年
能季中翻轉的主因之一。他有效地融入新球員，並且依然讓LBJ主導
進攻卻讓其他球員也有正面貢獻。
然而他對LBJ得讓權也讓他喪失了更多球員間的尊敬。

The respect issue presented itself again in the playoffs. With the
Cavs playing a vital game in Chicago in the second round, James
made perhaps the biggest undercutting of his coach of the entire
season. He changed the final play of Game 4, which resulted in his
hitting a game-winning 3-pointer that evened the series at 2-2 and
effectively propelled the Cavs to the Finals. Blatt initially
wanted James to inbound the ball, while James wanted the shot.
而尊敬這個東東在去年季後賽對公牛賽又冒出來，
在關鍵第四戰，LBJ劃掉了Blatt要她發球的戰術版，
而這也改變了戰局，最後讓騎士得以逆轉戰局淘汰公牛。

Star players consulting on a final play happens routinely. But the
way James explained what happened made his continuing viewpoint of
Blatt very transparent.
明星球員跟教練要不同的戰術在常見不過，但是LBJ賽後訪問的說法
卻證實他對Blatt的關係根本還是沒變。

"To be honest, the play that was drawn up, I scratched it," he
said.
「說實話，Blatt畫的戰術，我把它畫掉了。」
LBJ如是說
（註：我覺得這邊做這樣的解釋有點勉強）

That was after Blatt nearly cost the Cavs their chance at that
shot when he called a timeout he didn't have, and official Scott
Foster saved him by not granting the timeout, which otherwise
would've resulted in a technical. The result, even at a pinnacle
moment in the season, put Blatt in the spotlight for the wrong
reasons.
該場另一個重要的點是Blatt差點毀了比賽，他在不該喊暫停的時候示意暫停
要不是裁判沒有準這個暫停，那Blatt就成為罪人了。不論如何，這件事
也把Blatt放到聚光燈下，卻是一個不好的示範。

Timeouts had been an issue already. Blatt mismanaged them early in
the season and sometimes turned to Lue about when to execute
certain timeouts. Teams can take advantage of certain mandatory
timeouts and conserve options, something with which Blatt had
issues. When he tried to explain what happened, he made the
situation worse.
事實上，喊暫停的時機也是去年Blatt被詬病的點。
Blatt在賽中不時搞錯並且要詢問Lue。這是Blatt的缺點之一，不懂如何喊
暫停的藝術。而當他試著要解釋為什麼喊暫停時機不好時，
他讓事情聽起來更糟了。

"A basketball coach makes 150 to 200 critical decisions during the
course of a game, something that I think is paralleled only by a
fighter pilot," Blatt said.
「一個籃球教練每場球要做150-200個事關重大的決定，這就像
飛行員一樣。」Blatt說

Yet even some of the simplest tasks -- such as staying on message
about the injury status of Anderson Varejao in the days leading up
to the Finals -- he failed in executing. Varejao, out since
December because of an Achilles tear, had hoped to return to the
court in the championship round. The team decided against it.
Rather than giving a straight answer about the center's
availability in the Finals, Blatt hinted he could play by saying,
"Stranger things have happened in this world."
但是當一些最簡單的工作-譬如說了解球隊裡隊員的狀況-也沒做好時，
這就沒有藉口了。
大V2014年12月阿基里斯腱受傷，希望在冠軍賽付出。球團已經否決這項
請求。但是Blatt受訪時選擇不直說，反而說他有可能會上場
「世界上常常會發生一些奇怪的事喲」Blatt回答記者關於大V上場的問題時說

When a team source was later informed of Blatt's quote about
Varejao, he responded incredulously: "What the f--- is he doing?!"
而當球隊告訴大V Blatt的回答時，大V大吼著
「去他媽的他在說啥啊？」

It was a turbulent season. By the end, however, Blatt had won over
some critics for his managing of injuries during the postseason as
the Cavs put a scare into the Golden State Warriors in the Finals,
despite missing Love and Irving.
去年是個波濤洶湧的球季，但是Blatt卻過關了。畢竟在傷兵的影響下
能威脅到勇士是很了不起的成就。

The second season
第二季

When the Cavs entered the 2015-16 season, both Blatt and James
were determined to have a new outlook. Blatt said he wouldn't look
to engage as much as his first season and admitted there was more
of a learning curve than he had anticipated. James, after
repeatedly blistering Blatt with commentary and overt on-court
actions, decided he would attempt to support his coach as much as
possible. Also, almost everyone on the roster was happy in new,
more lucrative contracts. Everyone had decided they wanted to be
there.
本季一開始，Blatt和Lebron都決定要有一個不一樣的關係和開場。
Blatt承認他第一季對球隊要求有點太過，而成長曲線也不如他的期待。
Lebron不同於上一季不時露出對Blatt的不尊敬，也不斷地利用各種機會
力挺教練。當然，球隊上每個人都更開心了-因為幾乎每個人都拿了個肥約。

In a key moment after back-to-back losses in early November, James
was perhaps as supportive of Blatt as he had ever been publicly.
在11月一個重要的背靠背連敗後，LBJ在公開場合做出對Blatt最強而
有力的力挺之一：

"He does his job as great as any coach can do in this
league," James said. "It's up to us to go out and produce."
「他表現得不下聯盟任何一位教練，而球員必須要在場上負責」

That was the strongest quote among others along those lines, and
it seemed as if Year 2 with Blatt would be much smoother. The Cavs
were performing reasonably well on the court. Despite a bad
preseason, with Irving, Love, Mozgov and Shumpert still recovering
from injuries and James recovering from an anti-inflammatory
injection in his back, the Cavs got off to a strong 8-1 start.
這是他今年力挺教練的眾多言論之一，所以看起來Blatt的第二季
似乎很不錯呢。騎士隊季初雖然因為傷兵影響有個很糟糕的季前賽，
但是季賽開局卻打得不錯，漂亮的8-1。

But in reality, little had changed from the previous season, other
than the rancor not spilling over publicly. James still made many
decisions without consulting Blatt (once he took himself out of a
game without saying anything and received a technical foul). It
was clear the players still connected better with Lue, during both
practices and games.
可惜事實上，上季的問題幾乎沒受到解決。唯一的共識就是不要讓
休息室的不合跳到檯面上。LBJ依然在場上做自己的決定-像是何時下場
之類的。而也很明顯球員依然比較黏Lue，不論在場上或是場下。

Much of the early season was spent plugging holes as Blatt managed
a roster that was the banged up into early December. But just when
everyone got healthy, things took a turn.
季初很多時候球隊的精力都花費在如何補上傷兵的缺，這也是Blatt努力
在做的。然而當每個人都健康的時候，事情反而出現了轉變。

On Christmas Day, the Cavs made a much-anticipated visit to Golden
State for a premier game on the NBA schedule. With a fully healthy
roster, Blatt coached as if it were a playoff game, and he slashed
his rotation. Richard Jefferson didn't play for the first time all
season. Mo Williams and James Jones saw their minutes reduced.
Roles were changed on the fly. Certainly, Blatt had to make some
tough choices with the healthy roster, but all of them came as
surprises to the players, and that triggered a cascade of anger
and frustration.
在聖誕節時，騎士客場對上期待已久的冠軍復仇戰。Blatt該場比賽
用了季後賽的思維減少了他的輪替。RJ第一次一分鐘都沒打。毛威和JJ
上場時間也大幅減少。球員的角色在一夕間都變了。沒錯，健康的陣容
Blatt勢必要做出一些改變，但是Blatt並沒有對球員做溝通讓球員感受
到很驚訝，而這件不大不小的事也造成了球員間憤怒和挫折的骨牌效應。

Trouble grows on the road
客場連戰讓麻煩與日遽升

Although it might seem minor to offend back-end rotation players,
the move ripped open some wounds from the previous season
pertaining to the lack of respect for Blatt within the team.
Privately, the players cursed Blatt, and their agents started
complaining heavily behind the scenes. Whatever goodwill had been
fostered seemed to be blowing up.
是的，把板凳球員的時間減少不是大事，但是這件事卻翻開了上季
休息室不和睦的一些舊傷口-關於Blatt的尊敬問題。
私底下，球員開始幹剿Blatt，球員的經紀人也開始抱怨。
本季一些美好的假象開始被戳破。

The next night at a game in Portland, the Cavs put forth an
embarrassing effort in a blowout loss to the Trail Blazers. They
gave almost no effort and were out of the game from the start.
Calling it a boycott game might be too strong, but there was a
noticeable chill that enveloped the team.
騎士在隔天對波特蘭基本上未戰先輸，說球員杯葛比賽或許太過，
但是意思就是這樣。休息室冷到不行的氣氛也說明了此事。

James tried to stick to his edict of not attacking Blatt in the
media after the Cavs' next game, a win in Phoenix. The Suns were
going through their own turmoil, with one star suspended (Markieff
Morris) and another star out for the season because of impending
surgery (Eric Bledsoe), not to mention Jeff Hornacek's having two
of his coaches fired by ownership. Rather than pummel the Suns,
the Cavs barely pulled off a win, with James visibly frustrated
all night. He was terse in his postgame comments -- unlike his
usual, engaging self.
Lebron依然試著不公開指責教練。下一場比賽雖然打敗了問題更多的太陽，
勉強地。但是很明顯Lebron打得很挫折，在賽後訪問他也表現得很不自然。
（我記得這場比賽Lebron真的打得很爛，好像只投10球，五球是三分）

The next night, the Cavs won in Denver, with James enjoying a
turn-back-the-clock performance with family and friends in
attendance on the eve of his 31st birthday. Overall, it was a
sloppy game against a middling team, but it was a win. James was
asked about his bizarre behavior in Phoenix -- both his demeanor
on the court and his postgame remarks -- after most of the locker
room had cleared out at the Pepsi Center.
而背靠背第二戰隊上金塊隊，Lebron慶生行情打得還不錯，
尤其很多親朋好友都來觀戰。然而球隊整體來說還是打得鳥鳥的。
Lebron該場比賽賽後在休息室都清空後被問到了關於他最近表現
不好的原因。

"Thank God we play in the NBA, with a game the next day, and not
the NFL," he said. "Because if it was the NFL, I would have went
off and let the quotes fester for a week."
Lebron回答：
「感謝老天好險我們今天是在打NBA不是打NFL，否則我一場表現不好
要被做文章一個禮拜還得了。」

Watching it all was Griffin, who was on the trip with the team.
The veteran Jones came to the GM at one point and told him, "I
wouldn't want to be you," according to a source. Jones said it
because he knew Griffin was dealing with the beginnings of an
uprising.
而把一切看在眼中的是Griffin，他一直都客場隨隊。
JJ曾經跑去跟Griffin說「靠，我不會想做你的工作。」
JJ表示他知道Griffin是要負責解決這一切的人。

But the Cavs were still in first place. The team finished the trip
salvaging a 2-2 record, but there was no ignoring the growing
issues. After the players had two days off to celebrate the new
year, they gathered for practice back in Cleveland.
但是騎士隊依然是東區第一。客場連戰拿了個2-2。
雖然不能忽視這些問題。球員有機會新年放兩天假，新年之後
再回到主場練球。

Griffin sat in on a film session and jumped on James for not
getting back on defense against the Nuggets, one of his bad
habits. James accepted the criticism in stride, sources said. But
this moment only inspired less faith in Blatt because it is
supposed to be the coach -- not the GM -- holding the players
accountable.
Griffin也跟球員一起在觀影室看比賽錄像。他會指責Lebron在對
金塊時一些防守沒有到位的地方，這也是Lebron的老問題了。
Lebron很自然地接受了Griffin的指責。但是這一個景象卻給其他球員
不好的感覺，因為Blatt應該要負責做這件事，而不是球隊的GM。

Within days, both Williams and Smith showed up late for games,
arriving less than an hour before tipoff. Blatt said it was dealt
with internally. Some around the team expressed surprise that
multiple players did that, and it was thought of as another
example of a lack of accountability.
新年開始後沒多久，毛威和JR開始遲到。Blatt總是說這些事私底下
會處理。但是球團很訝異不只一個球員這樣做，他們也認為Blatt
對球員的管控已經出現裂痕。

LeBron maintains public support
Lebron依然公開的支持教練

Still, James supported Blatt when given the chance. A couple days
before the Cavs played a key game in San Antonio last week, he
offered positive comments.
然而，LBJ依然在任何機會都表達對Blatt的支持。
在對上馬刺前，他依然表達正面的態度。

"I think every game is another learning experience for Coach
Blatt," James said. "There's coaches with more tenure in our
league, obviously, and there's guys with a better résumé than he
has. But one thing he tries to do is just put us in a position to
win, and then it's up to us."
「我認為任何一場比賽對教練來說都是學習的機會。當然有些教練年資更深
也有些教練的履歷看起來更驚人。但是他試著想要把我們放在對的位置上去贏球，
接下來就是決定於球員的表現了。」

The Cavs lost to the Spurs. Then, in the most important home game
of the season, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day against the Warriors,
the Cavs were flattened by the defending champs' unrelenting
attack.
騎士輸給了馬刺。在季賽最重要的一場比賽裡慘敗給勇士。

Playing expertly, Golden State destroyed Cleveland by 34 points
and led by 43 points at one point. Gilbert sat next to the
Cavs' bench until the bitter end. James spent much of the fourth
quarter sitting in Blatt's seat on the bench and talking with Lue
while Blatt stood a few feet away.
在慘敗43分的比賽中，老闆一直坐在座位上。Lebron則一直在跟
Lue交談。

"That's my responsibility to get them ready, and our guys have got
to be better than that, and they know that," Blatt said in
accepting blame for the loss.
Blatt在賽後說
「是我的責任沒讓球員準備好，我們的球員當然也該表現更好，
他們自己知道的。」

After the game, James took care to not take aim at Blatt. He
rebuffed a reporter when he tried to get James to pile on Blatt's
comments.
即使在賽後LBJ依然對教練沒有微辭，並且擋住了記者關於Blatt
表現的提問。

Meanwhile, Love had played poorly since Irving's return to the
lineup, and he was not included effectively in the game plan
against the Spurs or Warriors. In the next two games, a win in
Brooklyn and a quality home win over the Los Angeles Clippers,
Love piled up 35 points and 34 rebounds. Asked to explain the
change, Love credited Irving -- not Blatt -- with making a
strategy suggestion.
同時間，Love在KI回來後適應不良。他對馬刺和勇士打得其爛無比。
雖然他過去兩場總共拿下了35分34個籃板。但是當被問到有什麼改變時
他把榮耀給了KI，而不是Blatt。

Blatt, for his part, chided the media for not giving the team
enough credit for being 30-11, despite an 0-3 record against the
Spurs and Warriors.
Blatt則與此同時還在跟媒體吵不要過分放大0-3對勇馬，要看30-11。

"I hear a lot of far-reaching conclusions, and personally, I don't
like it," he said. "I think this team is in pretty good position,
although people choose to overlook that, which I don't think is
fair."
「我覺得你們看圖說故事，很不公平。」Blatt說

The last straw
最後一根稻草

In the locker room after the Cavs beat the Clippers, Griffin
noticed an absence of joy over a nice win. He saw Blatt's comments
about how there isn't enough credit being given to the team,
despite its $110 million payroll and extreme expectations.
再擊敗西區強權快艇後的休息室裡，Griffin注意到休息室並沒有
愉悅的氣氛。他看到Blatt對媒體說道媒體沒有給球隊足夠的褒獎。
即使這是用錢堆積出來的。

He knew the players would use Blatt as an excuse if they came up
short again this season, and he would probably have to confront
this issue at some point. He decided to confront it now.
他看到了球員如果再次失敗會用Blatt作藉口，而他本人也必須要面對
這樣的狀況。他選擇現在就面對。

A little over one year after he and Gilbert decided to not let
Blatt go, Griffin talked with Gilbert again. This time, there
would be no vote of confidence. Griffin didn't call James or any
other player. He met with Blatt and fired him, and he promoted
Lue.
Griffin和Gilbert再次做了交談，而這次他們也不需要去詢問球員
的意見。他跟Blatt面談後火了他，然後他提拔了Lue。

When the players were called together to receive the news, some
thought a player had been traded, sources said. Several players
speculated they were going to be told Love had been dealt. But it
was Blatt.
不少消息指出當球員接到Griffin的集合令時，有些人以為有球員被交易了。
有不少球員猜測Love被交易走了。但是是Blatt。

It was nothing James or Irving or Love or anyone said that got
Blatt fired. If it had truly been up to James, sources said, Blatt
might have been fired a year earlier. As it turned out, the
actions of the entire team, Blatt included, over the past 15
months brought Griffin to this conclusion.
LKK並沒有說啥而導致Blatt被炒。消息指稱如果LBJ真的主導一切，那Blatt
去年此時就已經掰了。而結果顯示，整隊，包括Blatt自己，在過去15個月
裡面的作為讓Griffin做出這樣的決定。

"This is supposed to be a results-oriented profession, and look at
the results [Blatt] got," a source close to Blatt said. "This is
unbelievable."
一個親近Blatt的來源指出
「這應該是個只看結果的運動，看看Blatt的輝煌戰果，這結果太神扯了。」

There was surprise in the timing, but to the Cavaliers' locker
room, the clues had been piling up for a while.
然而對騎士休息室而言，他們驚訝的是時間點，但是結果應該早在
預料之中。

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