火箭馬刺死磕,異樣的歷史輪迴

D'Antoni has long since been redeemed, if one had the nerve to argue his coaching acumen was in need of redemption.

如果有人急於去爭論邁克-德安東尼的執教打法需要自我救贖，那麼他早已經完成了自我救贖。

Mike After revolutionizing the NBA with his freewheeling system as the head coach of the seven seconds or less Phoenix Suns, D'Antoni's star dimmed under the league's two biggest spotlights, failing with the New York Knicks, and then the Los Angeles Lakers.

在他作爲進攻只用七秒鐘或者更少時間的鳳凰城太陽的主教練，用他的這種隨心所欲的戰術打法徹底改變了NBA之後，德安東尼的光芒在執教了聯盟兩大焦點球隊後變得暗淡，他在紐約尼克斯和洛杉磯湖人都遭遇了失敗。

But both of those franchises have proven to be beyond salvation amidst petty squabbles within ownership and out-of-touch front offices.

但紐約和湖人兩個球隊管理層和球隊老闆有太多無意義的爭吵，顯得無法拯救。

Since D'Antoni last coached, echoes of his philosophy have permeated throughout the entire NBA—his tenets gaining validation with victoriesby the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.

自從德安東尼的上次執教，對於他執教理念的響應貫穿了整個NBA-他的理念在邁阿密熱火、聖安東尼奧馬刺、金州勇士和克利夫蘭騎士的成功後獲得了人們的認可。

A season after the Houston Rockets became the lone quality team to make the Los Angeles Clippers seem like a joyous, fun-loving unit, James Harden and company have been reinvigorated; baptized and born again by shooters, pace and D'Antoni's commandments.

一個賽季之前的休斯敦火箭是一支矛盾重重的球隊，在他們面前，洛杉磯看起來就像一支歡樂、有愛的球隊。但這賽季詹姆斯-哈登和他的球隊在大量的投射、快速的節奏和德安東尼的指揮下得以經過冼禮，重新煥發生機。

That alone deserves a Coach of the Year nod.

這理應作爲一名教練在這一年獲得人們的認可。

So while there's no need for redemption, retribution would certainly be a nice capstone to the foundations he and Daryl Morey have laid in Houston this year.

所以當他不再需要自我救贖，回報將會是他和達雷爾-莫雷這一年裏爲火箭所建基礎的絕妙的頂點。

After all, it was Gregg Popovich, working with Tim Duncan, who worked as the final gatekeeper of orthodoxy to a Suns' reign that would never truly materialize.

畢竟，當年正是格雷格-波波維奇和蒂姆-鄧肯一起，像真正的終極守護神一樣使得太陽沒有實現對於聯盟的統治。

The Spurs' success against the Suns was viewed by some as a repudiation of the pace-and-space system D'Antoni teams thrived in. In reality, most of the Spurs' slight advantages stemmed from having Tim Duncan, a top 10 player all-time, to bend the math—and the series—in the Spurs' favor.

當時馬刺的成功被看作是對於德安東尼賴以成名的炮轟戰術的否認。但事實上，馬刺大多數的優勢都是因爲他們有蒂姆-鄧肯，這名能排到歷史前十的球員扭轉了場上的比分——和整個系列賽——他是受到馬刺喜愛的一名球員。

But even then, the Suns, with Steve Nash working the pick and roll with Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, forced Popovich to sprinkle more speed and shooting into the lineups, adapting to the matchup.

但即使如此，當納什與阿瑪雷-斯塔德邁爾和索恩-馬里昂不斷進行擋拆配合，太陽迫使波波維奇需要往陣容中增加更多的速度和投射，來適應這次對決。

When it opposed them, the Spurs held the D'Antoni offense at bay as best as anyone could. When it suited Popovich, he adapted the offense to fit his needs, winning a title by incorporating elements of that system in 2014.

當他們的打法受到了人們的反對，馬刺把德安東尼的進攻打法運用得比任何人都要好。當波波維奇以其需要採用了這種進攻打法，並且使其適應了自身的打法，通過將這種元素納入到自己的體系之中，他們獲得了2014年的總冠軍。

This season, the Rockets rank third in the NBA in pace (100.0) and second in offensive rating (114.7 points per 100 possessions per Basketball-Reference), mirroring those Suns, who ranked first in pace (95.8) and offensive rating (111.5 points per 100 possessions) at a time the league was slower.

這個賽季，火箭的回合數在NBA排第三（100.0），並且在進攻效率方面排第二（每100回合114.7分 根據Basketball-Reference）。而反觀之前的太陽，他們在回合數（95.8）和進攻效率（每100回合111.5分）都能排第一，那時候聯盟的節奏更慢。

These Spurs, on the other hand, rate slower (relative to the rest of the league) than the 2003 iteration of the Spurs that kicked off the Big Three era, clocking in at No. 27 (94.2), compared to No. 20 in 2003 (90.0). Though both teams are similar in terms of offensive rating (again, relative to the rest of the league in each respective season).

另一方面，這支馬刺的進攻節奏比2003年王朝更迭從此拉開三巨頭時代的那支馬刺更慢（相對於聯盟的其他球隊），他們根據記錄只能排到第27（95.2），而2003年的時候他們能排到20（90.0）。然而他們在進攻效率方面十分相似（這也是相對於各自賽季的聯盟中的其他球隊而言）。

More than ever, Popovich and D'Antoni represent a clash of opposing styles, with the Spurs—in and odd twist of fate—now squarely on the other side of the mainstream with two-big alignments and a plethora of midrange jumpers.

波波維奇和德安東尼代表着兩種不同風格的碰撞，這次對決比之前更加明顯，馬刺的命運發生了奇怪的扭曲——他們現在正好站在主流的另一邊，使用了雙塔戰術和大量的中距離跳投。

Not since Duncan's MVP days have the Spurs funneled so much of their offense through such a singular point.

在鄧肯獲得MVP的那段時間，馬刺通過這優秀的一點來推進大量的進攻。

Instead of an equal-opportunity spread motion offense, the Spurs' movement now works to find Kawhi Leonard in his spots, many of them in places Duncan used to work. From there, they find corner three-pointers and shots outside of the restricted area. And while they're still open shots outside of Leonard, they're far from the three-point barrage and layup lines that Houston can produce.

相較於之前機會均等式的團隊動態進攻，馬刺現在的進攻都在找卡瓦伊-萊昂納德這一點，很多人都在幹鄧肯過去幹的事情，在那裏，人們能夠找到底角三分和禁區外投射的機會。而當他們不管萊昂納德而自由地開火，他們的三分火力和輕鬆上籃的機會比休斯敦所能產生的火力差得遠。

Instead of an equal-opportunity spread motion offense, the Spurs' movement It also remains Popovich's preference to stay with two bigs, pairing LaMarcus Aldridge with either David Lee, Pau Gasol or Dewayne Dedmon. The Spurs' spread attack from years' past gained its versatility form Boris Diaw, who allowed San Antonio to reap the benefits of small ball while remaining big.

另外波波維奇更喜歡在場上使用兩個大個子，派上拉馬庫斯-阿爾德里奇和大衛-李、保羅-加索爾和德維恩-戴德蒙的其中一人。過去馬刺團隊式的進攻因爲鮑里斯-迪奧而變得全面，他使得馬刺能夠在保留大個子球員的情況下還能打出小球的配合。

But Leonard comes with some abilities Duncan did not, improving as a pick and roll ball handler with every game, accessing more places on the floor than Duncan did and needing fewer people to do it.

但萊昂納德有着鄧肯不具有的能力，他能在每場比賽中作爲擋拆的持球者，比鄧肯有更大的活動空間，並且幫助他完成進攻的人比鄧肯少。

These Rockets, likewise, have some wrinkles that D'Antoni's Suns did not. The problem teams often tried to pose to Steve Nash was to disrupt his balance between playmaking and scoring, daring him to stray away from pass-first tendencies.

同樣地，這支火箭隊也有德安東尼的太陽所做不到的地方。球隊常常給納什的問題就是：他們總試着破壞他在梳理進攻和個人得分的平衡，敢於讓他遠離那種傳球第一的學慣。

James Harden has no qualms about dipping into either extreme on that spectrum. He will light teams up for 40 or 50 points without a second thought while still managing to put together enough assists to keep his teammates happy.

詹姆斯-哈登在這方面並沒有遇到兩難的困境，他不會想爲球隊拿40分還是50分，而是去努力爭取更多的助攻來讓隊友打得更開心。

In these ways, Harden and Leonard are as close to proxies as Nash and Duncan as the league has.

在這個方面，哈登和萊昂納德可以近似地看作納什和鄧肯在這個聯盟中的接替者。

So it's appropriate that the Rockets should meet the Spurs in the playoffs for the first time since the David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon days, with D'Antoni meeting Popovich coaching a team in this form.

所以，這正好是火箭和馬刺自從大衛-羅賓遜和哈基恩-奧拉朱旺那次對話之後的首次對決，德安東尼碰上了以這種方式帶隊的波波維奇。

Popovich is on record as hating the three-pointer, but pragmatic enough to utilize it and appreciative enough of the Rockets and Harden to praise them. The Spurs have always gone their own way, oblivious to the narratives of the league while contributing to the evolution of the game.

有記錄指出波波維奇並不喜歡三分球，但實際上他充分利用了這種得分手段並且讚揚了火箭和哈登的打法。馬刺一直在走自己的路，不顧聯盟的反對，卻也爲比賽打法的演變作出了貢獻。

This isn't a battle for the soul of the league in the same way it was between San Antonio and Phoenix. It's not even a battle for redemption.

這不是聯盟中聖安東尼奧和鳳凰城的靈魂之間的戰爭，也不是關於自我救贖的戰爭。

A win for the Rockets would be a nice story for D'Antoni's narrative. The Spurs are the team have denied or delayed so many legacies. This series doesn't need any of that to be enticing, but it certainly makes it more fun.

如果火箭獲得勝利，這對於德安東尼的自敘將會是一個美好的故事。而馬刺已經解決或者延緩了一些以前遺留的問題。這個系列賽不需要任何誘人的地方，但這肯定會爲這個對決增添樂趣。

更多精彩內容請關注微信公衆號、新浪微博：籃球英文堂