JR不只是得分手 ORLANDO, Fla. — The streak was going to end, although it didn’t have to. The Knicks had the game well in hand, the Magic were waving white flags, players were already exchanging handshakes. 比赛接近终了时刻，魔术球员已经投降，尼克球员也开始和魔术球员握手。 And the basketball was in J.R. Smith’s hands. And there was nothing but empty hardwood between Smith and the basket. 而篮球在JR手上。在JR和篮框之间，空无一物。 Now, the version of Smith we saw last year in New York, that the rest of the NBA had seen for years before that, it’s even money — at least — that Smith takes advantage of the free pathway in front of him. Especially because Smith was sitting on 18 points, sitting on a streak of five straight games of 20 or more. 现在，我们看到的JR，和过去几年那个大家熟知的JR，有很大的不同。这样的变化，从 JR终场前站的地方可见端倪──面前是无人阻挡的篮框，而他这场得到18分，且连五场 得超过20分了。 “In the past,” Smith said, “my priorities weren’t what they are now.” 「过去，」JR说，「对我最优先的东西，并非现在这些。」 Yes. This is a new year, a new season, a new Smith. He dribbled out the clock. He handed the ball to a referee, then winced as he started to limp off the court, about seven different parts of his left leg barking at him. The Knicks had won, 114-106. That was enough. That was, in fact, plenty. 没错。新的球季，新的一年，新的JR。剩下的时间，他没有去攻击对手篮框，而是运球 直到哨响，然後将球交还给裁判，缓缓走出球场。尼克114-106赢了魔术。事实上，这 比分差距也够大了。 “Do whatever you can to help the team win,” he said a bit later, after icing his leg, after trundling around the locker, after dismissing his aches and his pains as “another day at the office.” 「做任何能帮球队赢球的事情。」他在冰敷膝盖後说。他在休息室拖着沉重的步伐，缓缓 消除身上的疼痛後，说了这麽一句话。 “That’s what everyone on this team has embraced,” he said. “That’s what I embrace.” 「这是每位队上球员的信仰。这也是我的信仰。」 One more time, Smith’s old Nuggets teammate, a fellow named Melo, turned in an MVP-worthy performance for the judges’ future consideration, scoring 40 points again, hitting one crucial shot after another as the Knicks engineered a fourth-quarter comeback to quiet the feisty Magic. JR的前金块队友甜瓜，再次做出冲击MVP的势态。他得了40分，一次又一次地为尼克送进 重要的得分，让第四节尼克得以甩开纠缠不休的魔术。 But is anyone prepared to argue who the team’s second-most-indispensible player is right now? Yes, Jason Kidd has nights when he turns back the clock (last night, for instance), and Tyson Chandler, when fully engaged, is a freak of nature in the paint. And certainly Raymond Felton’s absence has only emphasized his importance. 不过，谁来争论到底哪位球员才是尼克第二把交椅？没错，Kidd有几场在关键时刻跳出来 (比如昨晚)，老钱也很恰当，毕竟他是禁区怪咖，肥顿的缺赛更凸显了他的重要性。 But as the season has progressed, it is Smith who pops up night after night, game after game, doing something — sometimes many things — to ensure the Knicks win a basketball game, as they did last night for the 23rd time in 33 games. 但随着季赛持续进行，JR才是每晚都挺身而出的人物。他为尼克队做可以赢球的任何事情 ，并为尼克队赢下33场里的第23场球。 Sometimes it’s scoring. Sometimes it’s passing. Sometimes it’s defense. Always it is a revitalized approach to the game, one he talked about from Day One. 他有时候得分，有时传球，有时防守。他做的都是让比赛苏醒过来的事情，从开幕赛就 是这样了。 One that is a lot easier to talk about, in truth, than apply. 他做的一切，说得看似简单，执行起来永远困难得多。 “I won’t lie to you,” Smith said last night. “It’s been tough. It’s been an adjustment. It hasn’t been easy at all.” 「我不会骗你，」JR昨晚说。「这些事情不容易。必须随时调整。这些一点都不容易。」 But it has happened. For most of Smith’s career, he hinted at alternate dimensions but was, in truth, a single-dimension wonder: if he came in and sank his first couple of shots, he could carry you against anyone, drop 30 on anyone. If he came in clanking, you were probably better off cutting your losses and getting him out of the game as quickly as you could. 但变化已经发生了。JR大部份的生涯，都在用各种方式暗示你一个简单的想法──只要他 上来干进第一球，他就会试着轰下30分或更多。这样等於，他开始打铁的话，请马上换下 他，否则他会继续伤害球队。 Last night? This was the perfect example of what Smith aspired to as a player, contributing when his A-game was back on the team charter. He was in early foul trouble, banged up his ankle, his knee, his thigh. 昨晚呢？他昨晚提早陷入犯规麻烦，飞进飞出也让他身体各个部位碰撞在各个地方。但他 依旧缴出一场不错的成绩，而且也正是他蜕变的最佳佐证。 He hit a couple of shots but missed more, was off from 3-point range all night. Yet still filled up the box score — 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, five fouls which were reflected of how hard he played on both ends of the floor. 他昨晚命中率不到五成，三分一球都没进。但他仍旧有办法得分──18分6板2助攻2抄。至 於五个犯规，则可说明他在攻防两端的拚命程度。 “He’s a guy who wants to be coached,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “I think most guys in the league want that, but he’s done everything to make sure he could take advantage of the things that have allowed him to get better. He’s worked hard at it. It’s paid off.” 「他很受教，」武僧说。「我想，联盟里大部分的球员都是，但他是竭尽所能把握每个 进步的机会。他的努力开始有了回报。」 And he keeps getting better, keeps doing whatever’s necessary. Twice in December, with Anthony on the sidelines, that meant hitting buzzer-beating game-winners and adding a few salsa steps for extra flourish. Mostly, it’s meant being precisely what a Sixth Man is supposed to be: a source of energy and fire, a change-of-direction weapon that alters the flow of a game the moment he reaches the scorer’s table. 而且，他还在不断进步，不断做任何需要的事情。十二月两次甜瓜休战，他都用制胜绝杀 和庆祝的舞步留住了胜利。大部份时间，他完美诠释第六人的角色：能量的来源、炽热的 火力、扭转战局的武器──只要他手感加温的话。 An utterly indispensable piece of the pie. Who had that one in the preseason pool? 完全就是不可或缺。在季前，谁能料到呢？ --

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