The night everything changed 那个一切开始改变的夜晚 Let's face it. Things go in cycles in the NBA. The very night the Cleveland Cavaliers began their march to this moment was the same night the Pistons began their laser focus on a championship. 让我们面对它吧。在NBA中风水总会轮流转。那个克里夫兰骑士开始他们迈向此时此刻 的那一晚恰巧就是活塞开始他们瞄准总冠军的那一晚。 It was May 22, 2003. The night of the NBA lottery draft. That night, Cleveland had the right Ping-Pong balls and wound up with the No. 1 pick. 那是'03年5月22日。当年NBA选秀乐透抽签之夜。那个晚上，克里夫兰拿到正确的乒乓 球组并顺利抱走了状元签。 That same night, the Pistons lost to the Nets in the Eastern Conference finals to fall behind three games to none, and for all intents, the season was over. Joe Dumars knew he needed to make changes to get over the hump. 同一个晚上，活塞在东区冠军赛输给了篮网，在该系列赛落居0比3的绝对劣势，而基 本上，活塞那个球季可以说是玩完了。老乔知道他需要做一些改变以突破现状。 In the coming months, he fired Rick Carlisle and hired Larry Brown, then traded four players to get Rasheed Wallace. Detroit won a championship that season. 在接下来几个月，他把卡帅解雇并聘请了老布朗，然後把四名球员交易出去换来了溪 蛙。底特律也顺利在那个球季拿下了总冠军。 Meanwhile, Cleveland drafted LeBron James and began to slowly build around him. Since then, the Cavs have been slowly coming. And the Pistons have been searching for the magic of 2004. In truth, this Pistons team should have at least one more championship than it does -- and if the fates were kinder, maybe two. That is the biggest disappointment. That, and the fact that with the No. 2 pick earned that same night, the Pistons blew a future by choosing the tepid Darko Milicic rather than, say, a Chris Bosh. 这期间，克里夫兰挑选了LBJ并开始以他为中心慢慢打造球队。自那时起，骑士就开始 慢慢地逼近了。而活塞一直在寻求'04年大惊奇重演的可能性。实际上，这支活塞队除了 '04年那座冠军盃外应该至少再获得一次总冠军的 -- 而如果运气更好一点，或许会是两次 。那是最令人失望的。事实上活塞在同一个晚上也获得了榜眼签，但他们浪费了迎向璀璨 未来的大好机会，榜眼签挑中在场上总像是游魂一般的人形胜利雪茄，而他们大可以挑选 ，嗯，本季已经以先发前锋身分入选东区明星队的暴龙大当家C.Bosh的。 But you can't be surprised that time has passed and the magic carpet is fraying at the corners. It's Cleveland's time now. Chicago is coming as well. If the Pistons keep their starting five, by next playoff season, they'll have only one member under 30 (Tayshaun, who will be 28). 但你不用惊讶，时间就是过得飞快，而活塞的大好机会几乎已经消磨殆尽了。现在是 克里夫兰的年代了。芝加哥也正虎视眈眈。如果活塞维持现有的先发五年，到下个季後赛 时，他们将只有一位成员未满30岁(将满28岁的小王子)。 By contrast, LeBron will be 23, and Gibson will be 22. Ben Gordon will be 25, Luol Deng will be 23. Dwyane Wade will be 26. 相反的，LBJ将满23岁而Gibson将满22岁。狗蛋将满25岁，卤蛋将满23岁。而年纪最 长的典韦也不过是26岁。 You get the idea. 你知道我想表达什麽了吧。 New blood needed. 这支球队需要新血的加入。 -- The 'Sheed conundrum 留不留溪蛙的两难问题 Having said that, a word here for several Pistons before they board the airplanes. First, Antonio McDyess. There's not a player or fan who doesn't feel badly for this guy. The ultimate rehabilitation story, McDyess, 32, fought everything to get back to the point of contributing, and for three straight seasons has been stopped short of rainbow's end. He was devastated after Game 6 , and there is no telling what might have been had he not been ejected early in the Game 5 marathon. He is a gentleman and a damn hard worker and he deserves better, he really does. 话虽如此，在他们登机前有一些关於几位活塞球员的话要说。首先是袋鼠。没有一位 球员或球迷不为他感到难过。32岁的袋鼠经历了极度艰难的复健过程，他一切的努力都是 为了能够重返球赛并有所贡献，但连续三个球季都功败垂成。他在活塞第六场比赛落败後 显得心力交瘁，没有人知道如果他在球队第五场历经二度延长才落败的马拉松比赛初期未 被驱逐出境，结果会不会有什麽不一样。他是一位绅士，也是一位认真打球的球员，他应 该获得更好的回报的，他真的值得。 Chris Webber? It would have been a good story. And certainly, at times, in the regular season, he looked like the steal of the century. But as the playoffs wore on, he wore out, and those of us who remember him at his prime can't believe how old he has gotten on the floor. At times, even jumping seemed like an effort. And remember, he was healthy this year. At 34, and a free agent, he is likely looking for something the Pistons can't -- and shouldn't -- provide. And I think he bit his tongue about playing time in the playoffs, because he was still the new guy. A full year of that won't sit well with anybody. 威爸？那原可以是个好故事的。确实，有好几次，在例行赛期间，他看起来就像活塞 是活塞的世纪之偷。但随着季後赛持续进行，他渐渐显得心有余而力不足，而我们这些对 於他的印象还停留在他黄金岁月的人简直不敢相信他在场上看起来竟然如此老态龙锺。有 好几次，甚至连跃起都像是他所能做出的最大贡献了。而且你要记得，他今年的身体状况 是相当健康的。本季结束後，34岁的威爸也将成为自由球员，他似乎正在寻求一些活塞不 能 - 而且也不应该 -- 提供的东西。而我认为他对於在季後赛的上场时间意见不断，因为 他还是刚加入球队的新成员(大家还能勉为其难忍耐)，要是往後一整年还是这样，那没有 人受得了的。 Rasheed? Well, Dumars knew when he traded for him he was dancing with a grizzly bear. You love his power, but you always wonder when he'll turn on you. Detroit would not have won its title without this guy. No question about that. But depending on an undependable player wears you out. And guys like Chauncey and Tayshaun making excuses for Wallace's stupidly childish behavior and ejection in Game 6 -- "That's just 'Sheed," Chauncey said. "Woulda, coulda, shoulda," Tayshaun said -- is beneath them. 溪蛙？嗯，老乔知道当他藉由交易将他纳入阵中就是在与灰熊共舞。你爱他的力量， 但你总会不安，想知道他会不会在什麽时候突然发狂回头来攻击自己。无庸置疑地，如果 没有这个家伙，底特律也不会拿到队史第三座总冠军。但倚赖这样一个不定时炸弹会让你 筋疲力尽。而像枪蜥和小王子等人竟然还替溪蛙在第六场因为愚蠢而幼稚的行为而被驱逐 出场找理由辩护 -- "那就是溪蛙，枪蜥说。"过去可能做到的,过去能做到的,过去该做到 的，"小王子说 -- 过去就过去了，一直拘泥於过去与活塞的格调不符。 'Sheed is a dilemma for Dumars, the president of basketball operations, because cutting him out would be like dropping an engine, but keeping him is like waiting for that engine to explode. Quality big men are so hard to find in this league, but as long as Wallace is there, the coach is never going to be fully effective. That's a problem -- especially in the playoffs. 留不留溪蛙对篮球事务总裁老乔来说是个进退两难的问题，因为砍掉他就像拿掉机器 的引擎，但留下他就像在等着看引擎什麽时候会爆炸。优质长人在联盟中是稀有财，但只 要溪蛙留在阵中，教练就不可能可以百分之百发挥长才。那是个大问题 -- 尤其是球季进 入季後赛之际。 Change coach and players? 换掉教练和球员？ Which brings us to Flip Saunders. He now has gone to two Eastern Conference finals, so the old knock on him (can't get out of the first round) is gone. But there's a new knock. Can't seize the day. Can't make adjustments. Most of the Pistons were mildly supportive of Saunders, but hardly passionate. 让我们来谈谈老桑。他现在已经两度率领活塞晋级东区冠军赛，所以过去他无法带队 闯过第一轮的指摘已经不复存在。但新的批评言论旋即出现了。不能把握机会，不能适时 调整。大部分的活塞球员都还蛮支持老桑的，但老桑就是没办法让他们为自己不顾一切地 抛头颅洒热血。 "Yeah, I'm comfortable with him," Billups said. "I'm comfortable with everything as it is." "是的，和他相处相当愉快，"枪蜥说。"我对一切都很满意。" Not exactly a "Where Coach goes, I go" endorsement, is it? 听起来不太像"教练在哪里，我就在哪里"这样死心踏地的支持、背书，对吧？ And finally, Billups. He's a free agent. He can get big money from many teams. But he is not Ben Wallace. Chauncey loves it here. Unlike Ben, he does not feel underappreciated. 最後说到枪蜥。他是个自由球员。他可以自其他球队拿到更多的钱。但他不是班蛙。 枪蜥热爱这里的一切。不像大班，他不觉得自己不受尊重。 "I came here a journeyman looking for a home," Billups said, "... and I won a championship, (Finals) MVP, All-Star a couple of times, go to the Finals twice, Eastern finals every year. So I've done a lot, man. This city means a lot to me . ... My time here is dear to me, dear to me." "当初加入球队时我是一个在寻找家的感觉的浪人，枪蜥说，"...而我赢得了冠军盃、 荣膺冠军赛最有价值球员，并入选了好几次全明星赛，两度闯进总冠军赛，每一年都晋级 东区冠军赛。在这里我完成了许多梦想，老兄。这个城市对我来说意义重大。...在这里度 过的时间对我来说是如此珍贵，如此珍贵。" Losing Billups would be a bigger shock than losing to Cleveland. 失去枪蜥对於活塞来说会是比输给克里夫兰更大的冲击。 But you only gain by losing, and the Pistons, having collapsed in this playoff round, must lose some of the reason why. That may be players. That may be the coach. But whatever form it takes, it has to include the attitude. 但只有藉由失败你才能有所得，而活塞在这个系列赛完全溃败，肯定有一些需要检讨 改进的地方。或许是球员，也可能是教练。但不管问题到底出在谁身上，其中肯定包括了" 态度"的问题。 There is no royal cloak on this team. They weren't robbed. They weren't exiled. They lost four straight to a young, hungry franchise and left the arena as second runner-up in the NBA playoffs. So long, swagger. By the time the Pistons boarded the bus, the shadow they thought they cast had disappeared permanently into the dark sky of another unhappy ending. 这支球队没有黄袍加身了。他们不是被抢劫，也不是被流放。他们连续四场球赛败给 了一支年轻而有活力的球队，而且在落败後离开球场时还自我安慰，认为球队是季後赛第 二的亚军。再会了，冠军队的决心。当活塞登上巴士时，那颗他们还自以为拥有的冠军队 决心已经像是另一个悲情故事的结局，永远消失於阴暗的夜空中了。 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 210.241.111.124 ※ 编辑: kerrys 来自: 210.241.111.124 (06/09 23:05)