過去一年NBA都發生了些什麼

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are both thriving.

拉塞爾-威斯布魯克和凱文-杜蘭特雙雙打出了高水平的表現。

It's late December, the perfect time to do some good old reflecting.

時間來到了十二月底，是時候來進行一下反思了。

This isn't the place for soul-searching or resolutions, so what follows is a look at what we have learned about the NBA so far this season.

不是說此時還要絞盡腦汁尋找問題的答案，而是心平氣和的來看看這一年到底NBA發生了什麼。

A top-heavy league is not a bad thing

強隊縱橫並非壞事

I'm watching NBA League Pass right now, but part of me wants to turn this game off and take another look at the Cleveland Cavaliers' one-point win against the Golden State Warriors from Christmas Day.

我現在手握聯盟通，可以盡享所有的比賽，不過此刻我還是想把電腦關掉，再來仔細審視一下騎士一分險勝勇士的那場聖誕大戰。

Like last year's NBA Finals, this slugfest somehow managed to exceed the hype.

那場比賽就像是上賽季的總決賽一般，兩隊交鋒的激烈程度遠遠超乎人們的想象。

It had the intensity, it had the incredible finish and it had an old guy dunking like it's 2004 again, literally.

比賽強度很高，還有不可思議的絕殺和堪稱老將之怒的灌籃，說實話他跟2004年的時候比起來可一點都不顯老。

This rivalry's greatness isn't just about tombstone cookies.

這場交鋒的偉大程度可不僅僅像墓碑餅乾這樣兒戲。

There are seven All-Stars on these two rosters, and anytime either team is held under 110 points -- as they both were on Christmas -- it should be seen as a minor miracle.

對陣雙方一共有7名現役全明星球員，但兩隊的得分都沒有超過110分，考慮到這還是在聖誕節上，也算是一個不大不小的奇蹟了吧。

The Cavs and Warriors have both been about as dominant as expected through two months of the season, with Kevin Durant and Love both playing as efficiently as ever before.

在過去的兩個月裏，杜蘭特和樂福都如同以往一般高效，騎士和勇士也都如人們預期的那樣統治着東西兩個賽區。看上去這兩支球隊將連續第三年會師總決賽了

While a third straight meeting in the Finals seems inevitable, who is complaining about that? I'd watch these teams play a 77-game series.

不過又有誰會抱怨這一點呢？他們就算是來上一個77場大戰的系列賽，我也會看下去的。

Russell Westbrook is your favorite solo artist

拉塞爾-威斯布魯克，聯盟中最受歡迎的獨舞者

When James Harden referred to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a "one-man show," he left out the fact that it's one of the best shows around.

當詹姆斯-哈登將雷霆隊的比賽比作是“一個人的表演”時，他忽略了一個事實，這恐怕是當前聯盟中最精彩的個人秀了。

Westbrook has been one of the league's finest players for years now, but what he's done without Kevin Durant this season is on another level.

多年以來威斯布魯克一直都是聯盟中最強的球員之一，但當凱文-杜蘭特離去之後，他的水準又上了一個新臺階

The man is leading the league in scoring, averaging a triple-double andcapable of dropping 51 points, 22 assists or 17 rebounds on any given night.

目前他在聯盟得分榜和三雙榜上獨領風騷，而且似乎隨時都能帶給你一場51分22助攻17籃板的驚人表演。

Westbrook's season has felt like one long, furious, two-handed dunk. His effectiveness, though, isn't about pure aggression.

威斯布魯克本賽季的表現就像是長途奔襲後的雙手怒扣。他的高效不僅僅體現在極具侵略性的打法上。

Without much playmaking help, Westbrook has made his teammates better by bending opposing defenses to his will.

在沒有其他戰術配合的安排下，威斯布魯克單憑一己之力就能攪亂對方的防守，並幫助隊友變得更好。

Critics can still point to his shot selection and efficiency numbers, but the Thunder are competing

然而還是有批評指出，他的出手選擇和球場效率都有待改善，但雷霆隊依然保持着強勁的競爭力，

because he is as dangerous as anybody with the ball in his hands. Buy a ticket if you can.

因爲只要他有球在手，就比任何人都更具威脅。買張球票去現場看看就知道了。

The Beard and D'Antoni can cook together

大鬍子和小鬍子相得益彰

Watching the Houston Rockets makes me want every star player to spend a few years with Mike D'Antoni.

看了火箭隊的比賽之後，我不禁遐想，要是聯盟裏每一位明星球員都能在邁克-德安東尼手下打幾年就好了。

In this system, with shooters spacing the floor, Harden is as much of a maestro as Steve Nash was.

在這樣的體系裏，射手們拉開空間，哈登儼然變成了納什那樣的球場組織大師。

When he signed his extension last summer, Harden's letter to Rockets fans mentioned that they're not a super team.

當他在今年夏天完成續約之後，哈登在給球迷們的公開信中提到，他們並不是一支超級強隊。不過火箭隊現在的得分能力看上去跟超級強隊也相去不遠了。

They have been scoring like one, though. Houston is third in the league in offensive rating, and when Harden is on the court, it has scored 115.1 points per 100 possessions .

火箭隊目前的進攻效率在聯盟中高居第三，尤其是當哈登在場時，火箭隊的得分效率高達每100回合115.1分。

if a team sustained that number for an entire year, it would be the best mark in NBA history.

如果有哪隻球隊能在整個賽季保持這樣的效率，那他們一定能打出史上最頂級的進攻火力。

Oh, and the Rockets have been a top-five defensive team in December.

噢，另外，火箭隊在12月份的防守也不錯，他們的防守效率也排進了聯盟前五。

Seriously, never doubt the Spurs

說真的，別懷疑馬刺

There were non-crazy reasons to be concerned about San Antonio heading into the season.

本賽季馬刺隊還是有許多令人擔心的正當理由。

Without Tim Duncan (and Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner), perhaps things wouldn't be quite the same. There were questions about Tony Parker's effectiveness at 34 years old,

他們失去了蒂姆-鄧肯（還有伯瑞斯-迪奧和馬特-邦納），說不定今年的情況真的不一樣了。託尼-帕克已經34歲了，他的效率或許也是個問題。

how a frontline of LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol would fare defensively and whether the numerous new pieces on the bench would fit in.

由拉馬庫斯-阿爾德里奇和保羅-加索爾組成的前場在防守端可能難承其重，替補席上的新人或許也沒法立刻融入到體系中。

Of course, the Spurs are now 26-6, 1.5 games back of the Warriors, top-five in both offensive and defensive rating.

當然，馬刺隊目前還是打出了26勝6負的戰績，只比勇士隊差1.5個勝場，而且他們的進攻效率和防守效率都排進了聯盟前五。

Kawhi Leonard keeps getting better, and Gregg Popovich once again has a convincing case for Coach of the Year honors. Also, Duncan's retirement ceremony was pretty much flawless.

科懷-倫納德仍在繼續進步，格雷格-波波維奇還是年度最佳教練的有力競爭者。而且，鄧肯的退役儀式實在是太完美了。

The Internet was right about the Greek Freak

網絡上關於希臘小怪物的看法都是對的

Sometimes, League Pass diehards can get ahead of themselves with their enthusiasm for young players.

有時聯盟通的抵制者會因爲對年輕球員的喜愛而做出一些嘗試。

They (OK, we) are basically helpless when confronted with players who combine an unusual package of skills with athleticism and personality.

他們（當然也包括我們）在面對那些擁有異常全面的身手以及超強運動能力和鮮明個性的球員時顯得毫無抵抗能力。

It happened with Giannis Antetokounmpo and his seemingly limitless potential, just like it happened with Anthony Randolph back when Don Nelson's positionless basketball seemed revolutionary.

揚尼斯-阿德託昆博和他看似無窮無盡的潛能恰好就是我們所說的這種情況, 他就像是唐-尼爾森用一體化籃球理念改造成功的安東尼-蘭多夫一樣。

Unlike Randolph, the 22-year-old Antetokounmpo has proven worthy of every bit of the attention he received since the footage of him playing in Greece's second division was published on DraftExpress in February 2013.

不過現年22歲的阿德託昆博和蘭多夫不同，他目前已經將2013年2月份在選秀報告上記錄的能力轉化爲了現實。

The 6-foot-11 point guard is clearly the Milwaukee Bucks' franchise player, and he will surely make the first of many All-Star appearances in February.

這位6英尺11英寸的控球后衛已經變成了雄鹿隊的當家球星，看上去二月份他也將完成自己的全明星首秀。

Giannis Antetokounmpo getting mean.

揚尼斯-阿德託昆博越來越厲害了。

The Raptors did not peak last season

上賽季的猛龍隊仍未達巔峯

Throughout Toronto's rise, Dwane Casey has said over and over again that his team is not a finished product. The phrase grew tiresome, but this year has proven him right.

在猛龍隊悄然崛起的這幾年裏，德韋恩-凱西多次強調，這支猛龍隊仍未達到他們的巔峯狀態。

After winning 56 games and reaching the conference finals for the first time in franchise history, the Raptors have improved again.

或許大家對這套說辭都已經膩煩了，但本賽季他的話還是應驗了。在上賽季取得了56場常規賽勝利並首次殺進分區決賽之後，猛龍隊還是在本賽季取得了進步。

Thanks largely to the efficiency of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, they have an even better offensive rating than the Warriors.

當然，這在很大程度將歸功於凱爾-洛瑞和德馬爾-德羅讚的高效發揮。他們的進攻效率甚至比勇士隊更加強勁。

The lesson here: Do not assume that All-Stars can't improve meaningfully in their mid-to-late 20s, especially after getting a taste high-level playoff competition.

從他們身上我們倒可以學上一課：別再武斷的認爲全明星球員在臨近30歲的時候就沒法再取得進步了，尤其是在經歷了高水平的季後賽洗禮之後，這一論斷更加站不住腳。

If Toronto can swing a trade to address its defensive deficiencies, watch out.

如果猛龍隊能通過交易來彌補他們在防守端的不足，那麼其他球隊可真的要小心了。

The trade deadline should be interesting

交易截止日前可能會發生有趣的事情

Outside of Cleveland and Toronto, there might not be a single Eastern Conference front office that is pleased with the way the season has gone.

除了騎士隊和猛龍隊以外，估計其他東部球隊的管理層都會對他們本賽季的表現有所不滿吧。

In the Western Conference, a genuinely bad team might wind up with the eighth seed in the playoffs.

而在西部，就算是真正的爛隊目前也都還有機會搶到季後賽的最後一張門票。

Plenty of general managers would love mulligans on contracts that were signed last offseason

許多經理人恐怕此時都在打今年夏天簽下的那些合同的主意呢。

and are trying to figure out creative ways to build contenders under the new collective bargaining agreement, a world in which it will be harder to poach other teams' stars in free agency.

他們也想在新的勞資協議框架裏想辦法提高自家球隊的競爭力，畢竟現在要想等球星們變成自由球員再下手可難多了。

All of this adds up to the possibility for serious movement before February's trade deadline.

所有這些可能都得等到明年二月份的交易截止日之前才能見分曉了。

It's unclear if any franchise-changing players will be on the market, but perhaps there could be a flurry of activity like we saw two years ago.

目前尚不清楚到底那些已經更換了球隊的球員們是否還會出現在交易市場上，不過球員交易市場上又會像是兩年前那樣激起一番腥風血雨了。

Tanking isn't cool, for now anyway

擺爛一點兒也不酷，至少現在看來是這樣的

Part of the reason the standings are all jumbled up in the middle is because nobody's really racing toward the bottom.

目前爲止許多球隊現在都還在激烈的角逐季後賽的席位，其中一部分原因在於，他們都不願意早早的向積分榜末席衝刺。

The Brooklyn Nets don't own their draft pick, the Philadelphia 76ers are theoretically trying to be more competitive,

籃網隊手裏沒有選秀權，76人隊也改變了球隊的方針，試圖打出有競爭力的比賽，

the Phoenix Suns still want to make the playoffs and the Dallas Mavericks apparently won't consider tanking until "game 75 or maybe game 70."

太陽隊則想衝擊季後賽，而小牛隊恐怕得等到“75場或者70場比賽之後”再擺爛。

The question, of course, is when this strategy will return to prominence. I'll bet it won't be long.

問題是，大家會從什麼時候開始像往常那樣開始擺爛呢？我猜恐怕也等不了多久了。

Drafting players with star potential will be more important than ever with the new CBA, and teams like the Suns, Mavs and Miami Heat have little incentive to turn their seasons around.

在新的勞資框架裏，選秀球員將比以往更加重要，像太陽，小牛，熱火這樣的球隊似乎在本賽季也沒有太大的動機去鹹魚翻身了。

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