約老師和他的掘金能否再進一步?

It can be difficult to consider the Denver Nuggets a sleeping giant in the eption doesn't really allow for it, not when plenty of More-high-profile franchises made headline-dominating deals for some of the league's most recognizable stars.

我們很難把丹佛掘金想作NBA中沉睡的巨人，這個隊給人的印象就不是這樣的。更別說，休賽期各路豪門高歌猛進，用各種超級巨星的交易花式刷頭條，掘金就更沒什麼存在感了。

The Nuggets were the second-best team in the West last season, but their achievements were largely met with skepticism; there just isn't much mental real estate for most NBA fans when it comes to a team that has spent much of the past decade either on the fringes of contention or the fringes of relevance.

上賽季掘金位列西部第二，但他們的成就在很大程度上遭到了質疑；對於大多數NBA球迷來說，一支在過去十年的大部分時間裏，既不在各種爭議的邊緣上，也不在冠軍競爭的討論中，它的球迷號召力是不夠的。

But the Nuggets have earned the right to be considered one of the best teams in the NBA, even though they weren't one of the four teams in the Western Conference that landed at least one star this summer.

但是掘金已經贏得了應該被認爲是NBA最好的球隊之一的權利，儘管今年夏天，他們沒有像其他四支西部球隊那樣挖來至少一位超級巨星。

After five consecutive seasons outside of the playoffs, Denver stormed the gates last season, playing two compelling seven-game series and legitimizing Nikola Jokic's greatness. For the first time in a long time, the Nuggets will now have to live up to the rigid set of expectations that come with that.

在連續五個賽季無緣季後賽之後，丹佛上賽季終於衝進了大門，上演了兩次引人入勝的七場系列賽，並彰顯了尼古拉·約基奇的偉大。這是很長一段時間以來，掘金隊第一次面臨着一個強隊所要承擔的嚴格要求。

Jokic's brilliance in those 14 playoff games last season dramatically shifted the Nuggets' trajectory. Jokic averaged 39.8 minutes per game in the playoffs, up from 31.3 in the regular season. Against the Spurs and Trail Blazers, he managed to average an astonishing 25.1 points , 13.0 rebounds, and 8.4 assists across two series.

約基奇在上賽季14場季後賽中的出色表現極大地改變了掘金的發展軌跡。約基奇季後賽期間場均上場39.8分鐘，高於常規賽的31.3分鐘。面對馬刺和開拓者，他在兩個系列賽中平均拿下25.1分，13.0個籃板，8.4次助攻。

Jokic, altruistic in nature, became a destroyer. We can talk about his gelatinous physique or how he moves like an overgrown mutant sloth, but it'd probably be more instructive to note just how inconsequential those limiting factors have been in the grander scheme of things.

約基奇，本質上的利他主義者，成了破壞者。我們可以談談他胖碩的體形，或者他是如何像一個過度生長的變種人樹懶一樣移動的，但我們要注意到，這些限制因素在他整體的表現中是多麼的無關緊要，這樣也許會更有參考價值。

What do you do with a ballhandling center who can pull up from 3, make passes that, at 7 feet tall, no one else in the world can make, and bully people down low? He's an impossible cover, specifically because of how his mere presence, both in terms of space and skill set, alters the floor dynamics of both his team and the opposition.

如果一箇中鋒能控球，能投三分，能傳出那些其他七尺大漢根本想不到的傳球，還能到低位強吃，那你還能怎麼辦呢？他根本沒法防守，特別是因爲他的存在，無論是在空間上還是在技術上，都改變了他的球隊和對手的場上佈置。

Building around a player with such defined strengths and weaknesses requires a long view of what such a player needs to thrive.

圍繞這樣一個具有明確優勢和劣勢的球員進行構建，需要從長遠的角度考慮這樣一個球員需要什麼才能茁壯成長。

More important, however, is the stasis the Nuggets maintained. The NBA landscape these days shifts as swiftly as a volcano do, but continuity is paramount for a team like the Nuggets, who rely so heavily on Jokic's individual genius to function as an offense. The reads, the timing—it all requires an organic psychic connection, and that in turn requires familiarity.

然而，更重要的是掘金的穩定性。如今，NBA的格局就像火山爆發一樣迅速變化，但對掘金這樣的球隊來說，延續性是至關重要的，他們非常依賴約基奇的個人天賦來發起進攻。觀察、計時——這一切都需要一種有機的精神聯繫，而這反過來又需要他與球隊的熟悉與默契。

But consistency is only one part of the battle. Jokic can make passes from angles seldom attempted, but such seemingly impossible passes work only if the recipient is aware of its possibility. What the Nuggets need now, above all else, is consistency from its supporting cast.

但是一致性僅僅是戰鬥的一部分。約基奇可以從一些不可思議的角度進行傳球，但這種看似不可能的傳球只有當接球者知道它“其實可能”時纔會有效。最重要的是，掘金現在需要的是約基奇身邊幫手的穩定。

The Nuggets have built a team capable of growing together, which, for an elite team, has become exceedingly rare. The Nuggets don't need to make any drastic maneuvers to improve their ceiling.

掘金已經建立了一支能夠共同成長的球隊，對於一支精英球隊來說，這已經變得非常罕見。掘金不需要做任何激進的操作來提高他們的上限。

Do the Nuggets have another level to reach, another gear to enter? Nothing is certain, not for a team with so many young pieces still finding their way in the league. But it'll be refreshing to watch them figure it out at Jokic's pace.

掘金隊還能達到另一個級別嗎，還能進入另一個層次嗎？沒有什麼是確定的，對於一支擁有如此多還在尋找打法的年輕球員的球隊來說，更是不確定的。但看着他們跟着約基奇的步調去嘗試確實會讓人耳目一新。

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