J.A.Adande

The NBA playoffs are here， so scoring is about to go down， right？ Not exactly.

NBA季后賽來了，所以得分就得下降，對嗎？未必！

Youve heard it so much that you probably just accept it as fact： The NBA playoffs are here， which means scoring is about to go down， as if teams indulge themselves in points throughout the regular season then suddenly give them up like its Lent^①.

有些話聽了太多遍，以至于你很可能把這當(dāng)作真正的事實：NBA季后賽就在眼前，這意味著比賽的得分將開始走低，就好像球隊在常規(guī)賽期間一門心思為得分，但突然間又像過大齋節(jié)要禁欲了一般。

Theres nothing in the leagues collective bargaining agreement that says it has to be that way. （Ive even checked with Larry Coon^②.） And this year it wont be that way， at least not in the Western Conference.

聯(lián)盟的勞資協(xié)議里沒有任何一條有這樣的明確規(guī)定（我已經(jīng)跟拉里·科恩確認(rèn)過了）。而今年也不會出現(xiàn)這種情況，至少在西部季后賽是不會這樣的。

Scoring doesnt go down because of the time of year. Scoring goes down when teams make it their business to bring it down -- and thats not on the agenda for most of the Western playoff teams.

得分不會因為到一年的某個時間就會出現(xiàn)下降，得分下降是因為球隊決定少得分而已——但這并不是大部分西部球隊的計劃。

Seven of the top nine scoring teams in the league qualified for the playoffs in the West. The only outlier in the group is Memphis； everyone else wants to treat the game like Pop-A-Shot.

聯(lián)盟中九支得分能力超強(qiáng)的球隊中，有七個打進(jìn)了西部季后賽，唯一的例外是孟菲斯灰熊。而其他任何球隊眼中，比賽就像投籃機(jī)游戲那樣。

So bring on the buckets. The rules -- no hand-checking， defensive three seconds --encourage it. Coaches are letting their teams play loosely. This is the current state of the game. Did you know that last years NBA Finals， when the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by an average score of 102-98， was the highest-scoring Finals since 2002？

讓表演開始吧。那些規(guī)則——不允許“伸手犯規(guī)”，防守三秒——也在鼓勵這樣的比賽形式。教練也在讓球隊更自由地打球，這就是籃球現(xiàn)在的狀態(tài)。你是否知道，去年邁阿密熱火場均以102比98戰(zhàn)勝俄克拉荷馬雷霆的總決賽，是聯(lián)盟自2002年以來，得分最高的一場總決賽。

These playoffs will feature the team（Knicks） and player （Stephen Curry） that just set single-season records for made 3-pointers. They will include a Denver Nuggets team that averaged more fast-break points than any playoff qualifier since the 2007 Golden State Warriors （and we all remember how much fun that team was）.

今年季后賽的參與者包括尼克斯這種球隊和斯蒂芬·庫里這樣的球員，他們分別創(chuàng)下了單賽季球隊和球員的三分球紀(jì)錄。今年的季后賽里，還有丹佛掘金這樣一支自2007年的金州勇士以來場均快攻得分最高的球隊（我們當(dāng)然都記得，那支勇士隊帶給我們多少樂趣）。

Im not the only one whos skeptical of the idea that the playoffs demand slower pace and lower scores.

我不是唯一一個對季后賽意味著慢節(jié)奏和低得分，這種理論持懷疑態(tài)度的人、

"Ive been doing this for a long time，" Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said midseason."And ... Every. Single. Year. You hear the same stuff： Well， its going to be half court now. Its going to do this. Its going to be that. It just sort of fades away. Nobody has any proof of anything. Its just psycho-babble， really.

“我干這一行已經(jīng)很久了?！瘪R刺主教練格雷格·波波維奇在賽季中期說道，“每，一，年，你都會聽到同樣的調(diào)調(diào)：‘現(xiàn)在要打半場進(jìn)攻了。該做這個了，該是那樣了。該消停點(diǎn)了，但沒人有任何真正的證據(jù)證明。這不過是胡言亂語，真的?！?img src="https://cimg.fx361.com/images/2024/06/12/qkimagesklanklan201309klan20130920-1-l.jpg"/>

"It slows down maybe in some respects because [of] defense， energy， anxiety. Everybodys out there playing their best basketball. When it gets slowed down， its not a purposeful thing. Its just a natural progression of the way things go. Coaches and teams dont go into the playoffs and say， Were going to play slower. Were going to have fewer possessions. Were going to slow this thing down. That doesnt happen."

“在某些方面可能會慢下來，因為防守、體能、焦慮這些原因。每一個上場的球員都會拿出最好的狀態(tài)。當(dāng)比賽節(jié)奏慢下來時，那并不是有意識的。這不過是自然的過程罷了。教練和球隊不會進(jìn)入季后賽了然后說什么：‘我們會打得更慢，我們的進(jìn)攻回合會變得更少，我們會讓比賽節(jié)奏慢下來。這種事，不會發(fā)生。”

When Steve Nash got to Phoenix and started running Mike DAntonis system， they averaged 110 points per game during the 2004-05 season. During the playoffs that number went up， to 112 points per game. The postseason undoing of those Suns teams wasnt that they stopped scoring； it was that they couldnt stop anyone else -- particularly the Spurs -- from scoring.

當(dāng)史蒂芬·納什來到菲尼克斯，掌控起麥克·丹特尼的體系時，太陽在2004-05賽季的場均得分是110分。到了季后賽，他們的得分繼續(xù)上升，到了場均112分。那時的太陽在季后賽里遇到的問題不是他們得不了分，而是他們無法阻止對手得分，尤其是馬刺。

"Theres times and theres series and theres opportunities where you get to run more，" Nash said. "Its just a matchup thing.

“總有時間，總有系列賽，也總有機(jī)會能讓他更多地跑起來。”納什說道，“其實就是對位的問題?！?/p>

"I think our biggest problem was we never had a center that could guard the rim. Teams that win in the playoffs eventually have somebody that can protect the rim. Thats just something we never had."

“我想我們那時最大的問題是，我們從沒有一個能防守籃下的中鋒。那些在季后賽里贏球的球隊總有一個能保護(hù)籃下的人，而那是我們從來沒有的?！?/p>

Popovich lamented that the undoing of the 2012 Spurs was their inability to get fourthquarter stops. Then again， when youre in the playoffs， eventually youre going to go up against players who are simply unstoppable.

波波維奇總結(jié)2012年馬刺失敗的原因時，將此歸結(jié)于無法在第四節(jié)打出必要的防守。不過我們要再次強(qiáng)調(diào)，當(dāng)你身處季后賽，你總會碰到那些就是無法阻擋的對手。

Michael Jordan averaged 30 points per game during the regular season -- and 33 per game during the playoffs， when hed presumably face better defenses on a nightly basis. Likewise， Kevin Durant and LeBron James have higher scoring averages in the playoffs than the regular season.

邁克爾·喬丹常規(guī)賽時場均能得到30分，到了季后賽，則是場均33分，可以預(yù)見的是，他在季后賽里每場比賽都會遇到更好的防守。同樣的，凱文·杜蘭特和勒布朗·詹姆斯在季后賽的得分也都比常規(guī)賽高。

Midway through their second-round series last year， the Indiana Pacers had held the Miami Heat below their season average of 98.5 points in each of the first three games. Then the Heat went off for an average of 107 points to win the final three games. What happened？ A couple of superstars happened.

去年季后賽第二輪中，印第安納步行者在與邁阿密熱火的前三場季后賽里，每場比賽都把熱火的得分限制在了他們常規(guī)賽平均得分（98.5）之下。但熱火在隨后三場比賽里打出了場均107分，并且贏下了系列賽。發(fā)生什么了？不過是幾個超級巨星挺身而出了。

"I think LeBron and Wade just raised their game to a level that nobody had seen with those two playing together，" Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Wade had been on that level before. LeBron had been on that level in Cleveland. Nobody had seen that together."

“我覺得勒布朗和韋德把自己的競技水平提升到了，自兩人成為隊友后，所有人都沒見過的高度?！辈叫姓咧鹘叹毟ヌm克·沃格爾說，“韋德以前有過這樣的狀態(tài)，勒布朗在克利夫蘭時也有過，但沒人見過兩人都處于這樣的巔峰狀態(tài)?！?/p>

Maybe well see Durant and Russell Westbrook combine for 80. Perhaps Stephen Curry hits 10 3-pointers. Im looking for more， not less.

也許我們會看到杜蘭特和拉塞爾·韋斯布魯克聯(lián)手拿下80分。也許史蒂夫·庫里能投進(jìn)10個三分。我期待更多，而不是更少。

Ill close with a thought that came to mind with the passing of longtime football broadcaster Pat Summerall this week. Technically its a John Madden story， but I realized it was Summerall who allowed Madden to flourish-- to become the Hey！ Boom！ John Madden that we loved -- because Summerall didnt hog the microphone. In this particular game， Washington had just scored a touchdown at RFK Stadium^③， and the jubilant fans were so excited they were swaying. The director cut to different shots of the celebratory crowd， as Summerall kept quiet as usual. Finally， Madden weighed in： "You know， touchdowns equal happiness."

文章的結(jié)尾，我想到了本周剛剛?cè)ナ赖拿朗阶闱蚪庹f帕特·薩摩奧爾。本質(zhì)上講，這本該是約翰·梅登的故事，但我意識到，是薩摩奧爾給了梅登成名的機(jī)會——他讓梅登成為了我們喜愛的那個“嘿！嘣！梅登！”——薩摩奧爾沒有把持著麥克風(fēng)不放。在那場特別的比賽里，華盛頓紅皮剛剛在RFK體育場完成了達(dá)陣，興奮的球迷們開始玩起人浪。導(dǎo)播把鏡頭切向不同的慶祝人群，而薩摩奧爾像往常一樣保持著沉默。終于，梅登插話了：“你知道，達(dá)陣等于快樂?！?/p>

Thats the way I feel about scoring in the NBA. Points equal joy. And these should be a joyous playoffs.

這也是我對NBA得分的看法。得分等于快樂，而今年應(yīng)該是充滿樂趣的季后賽。

①指復(fù)活節(jié)前為期40天的齋戒及懺悔，以紀(jì)念耶穌在荒野禁食。也可以指中世紀(jì)的封齋期，從圣馬丁紀(jì)念日延續(xù)到圣誕節(jié)。

②ESPN的勞資協(xié)議及薪金問題專家，他的CBAFAQ（勞資協(xié)議常見問題）網(wǎng)站是解讀NBA勞資協(xié)議最權(quán)威的網(wǎng)站。

③全稱Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium，即羅伯特·F·肯尼迪紀(jì)念體育場，1961到1996年是NFL華盛頓紅皮隊的主場。