After Cavs, Three Playing for No. 2 in East 1/31/2010 12:14 AM ET By Tim Povtak ORLANDO, Fla. -- After watching a weekend round-robin of Boston-Atlanta-Orlando -- three of the four Eastern Conference contenders -- one thing has become increasingly clear in this race: These guys are all just playing for second. 经过上周 波士顿-亚特兰大-奥兰多 东区四强之三彼此对战後, 有件事变得明朗了: 他们 在争第二. That Cavaliers-Lakers NBA Finals that everyone wanted -- but didn't get -- last June is coming this time. Even with more than 30 regular season games and six weeks of playoffs remaining, it's hard now to imagine 2010 turning out any other way. 骑士和湖人的争冠戏码众所期待, 去年没实现但今年该来了. 虽然还有三十多场季赛与季 後赛要打, 不过很难想像今年的冠军战会有别的结果. The Cavs and Lakers are on a delightfully unavoidable collision course. The standings don't lie. 骑士与湖人的对决无法避免. 战绩说明一切. There is nobody in the West within five wins of the Lakers. And the Cavs are six wins better than anyone in the East. 湖人领先西区其他球队五场以上的胜差, 而骑士领先东区其他球队六场以上. "Nobody in the East is playing close to the level Cleveland is at right now,'' said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy on Saturday night. "We've got a long way to go -- and funny things can happen in a series -- but if you're talking about who's playing at the highest level, it's clearly Cleveland.'' "东区目前没有一支球队与骑士同等级," 魔术队教练Stan Van Gundy说. "我们还有很长 的路要走, 在系列战中强队不一定胜出, 不过如果你要问哪队是最强的, 毫无疑问是骑士 ." Van Gundy was speaking shortly after his team had just beaten both Boston and Atlanta in back-to-back games. He should have been thrilled. He needs only to beat the Pistons in Detroit Sunday night to become the Eastern Conference coach at All-Star Weekend next month. Van Gundy在魔术接连击败塞尔提克和老鹰之後这麽说. 他应该要有点兴奋, 因为只要周 日击败活塞, 他就能成为东区明星队教练. But even that honor will be tainted in his eyes because the Cavs are so decidedly better today. Cavs coach Mike Brown is ineligible to coach the All-Stars two consecutive years. Much of the luster will be lost. 但他无视这项荣誉, 因为骑士今天的表现是这麽地好. 骑士教练Mike Brown因为去年已担 任过东区明星队教练而失去资格. "It's only an honor if you've got the best record. That's how I look at it, but that's just not the case,'' Van Gundy said. "If they make you go, they make you go.'' "只有在获得最佳战绩的时候这才是项荣誉. 我是这麽认为的, 但今年并非如此."Van Gundy说. "他们要我担任, 我也只好做了." Van Gundy already knows he doesn't have the same team he had that beat Cleveland in the East final last spring and sidetracked the Cavs-Lakers matchup. Van Gundy知道他们球队并非去年那支淘汰骑士的球队. It won't happen this time. The Magic (31-16), Hawks (30-16) and Celtics (29-15) all are a cut below the Cavaliers (37-11), even as they dominate each other. 今年不会再发生了. 魔术(31-16), 老鹰(30-16), 和塞尔提克(29-15)与骑士之间(37-11) 有很大落差. The Hawks completed their four-game sweep of the Celtics on Friday. The Magic beat the Hawks on Saturday for the third consecutive time. Cleveland is a combined 3-0 against the Magic and Hawks. The Cavs have played more road games than any of the other contenders in the East, clearly establishing their dominance. 老鹰本季横扫了塞尔提克. 魔术对老鹰则获得三连胜. 骑士今年对魔术及老鹰总共是 3-0. 骑士本季目前为止比东区其他球队都完成了更多的客场比赛, 更显示出骑士的实力. The Magic have been winning, not because of newly-acquired but rapidly-fading Vince Carter, but in spite of him. And that problem isn't going away anytime soon. The Celtics are wrestling with an aging roster, including a clearly-slowed Kevin Garnett, whose troublesome knee has robbed him of much of his effectiveness. The Hawks still may be a team on the rise, but they are another year or two away from challenging the Cavs. Without an inside presence, they couldn't even seriously challenge the Magic. "They (Magic) pretty much have their way with us,'' said Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson after a 104-86 loss Saturday. "We match up well with anyone else except this team, but I don't know what to do with them.'' 魔术队Vince Carter的加入并不成功. 塞尔提克的主力阵容老化. 老鹰还要一两年才能挑 战骑士. "魔术对付我们很有一套,"老鹰的Joe Johnson说. "我们和其他队打得不错, 但 就是拿魔术没办法." The Cavs still may be a one-man scoring show, but NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James just refuses to lose now. And unlike last season, James has Shaquille O'Neal protecting him, which will make a matchup against Dwight Howard and the Magic a whole different game if they meet again. 骑士也许还是一人球队, 但MVP-LBJ拒绝失败. 与去年不同, O'Neal的加入可对抗Dwight Howard, 两队再次相遇会有不同的结果. "We've matured in the last couple games (against Boston and Atlanta), but we have to keep it going to get where we want to be,'' Howard said. "We're going to peak sooner or later, but this is like a brand new team.'' "我们最近几场更成熟了, 但我们还要持续下去," Howard说. "我们迟早会达到巅峰, 但 目前还像是支全新的队伍." The Cavs, meanwhile, begin a seven-game homestand Sunday night, expecting to widen the gap with everyone else in the East. 骑士接下来在主场迎接七连战, 可望继续拉开领先差距. The Celtics will send three players to the All-Star Game next month, while the Hawks have two going. The Cavs have only one, but he's the most important one who makes them so much better than everyone else in the conference. 塞尔提克有三名球员入选全明星, 魔术也有两位. 骑士只有一个, 但却是联盟中最能提升 球队实力的一位. --

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