原文出处： http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=217838&hubname= -- Season Previews Detroit Pistons 底特律活塞季前预览 It's becoming harder and harder to get a read on the Pistons. Ever since they upset the LA Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals they have been on a steady decline each subsequent year. In 2005 they reached the Finals but lost in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2006 they reached the Conference Finals but were eliminated by the eventual Champion Miami Heat. Then, last season, the team once again reached the Conference Finals, but lost to a team generally considered inferior - the Cleveland Cavaliers -who then got swept in the Finals by the Champion Spurs. 要解读活塞越来越困难了。自从他们在'04年NBA总冠军赛力退洛杉矶湖人黄金F4後， 他们在接下来的这每一年一直处於一个稳定的退步状态。在'05年他们回到总冠军赛但在鏖 战七场後见负於圣安东尼奥马刺。在'06年他们晋级东区冠军赛但输给了最终的冠军迈阿密 热火。再来，上个球季，这支球队再次打进东区冠军赛，但败给了被普遍认为实力差了一 级的克里夫兰骑士，而接着骑士在总冠军赛被马刺狠狠地修理了一顿，惨遭横扫。 Despite the increasing setbacks, the Pistons are still considered one of the best, if not the best, teams in the East. There is no denying that their core is effective during the regular season, and likewise during the early parts of the playoffs, but they've appeared increasingly vulnerable to teams employing attacking wing players like LeBron James or Dwyane Wade late in the spring. There is no real explanation to be offered here except that, perhaps, the Pistons were never quite as good as everyone was led to believe. 尽管受到越来越多的阻碍，活塞仍被认为是东区最顶尖的球队，就算不是，也是其中 之一。你不能否认他们的核心阵容在例行赛期间是相当有效率的，而似乎在季後赛的初期 也都能维持一定的好表现，但他们在春末面对像是以LBJ或典韦等锋翼球员作为主攻手的球 队时已经显得越来越拙於面对。没有真正的原因能够说明，除了那一点，可能，或许，活 塞已经不像他们过去给人们的印象中那样无懈可击了。 Now, that isn't to say that they aren't a good team, as they have been mainstays in the Conference Finals for the last five years and that is nothing to sneeze at. But each year that goes by seems to crack at the myth that the Pistons truly are title contenders entering each season. At first many believed that complacency might have set it, or that an aging roster is a factor, or that the team simply needs people to doubt them to stoke their competitive juices. Whatever the explanation, the Pistons haven't looked this vulnerable going into a season since Jerry Stackhouse wore the red, white and blue. 并不是说他们现在已经不是一支强队，他们过去五年来都至少挺进东区冠军赛，那真 的没什麽好挑剔的。活塞在每个球季开始的时候都被认为是冠军队的强力候选人，但时间 一年一年过去，这样的看法似乎已经越来越不像过去那样坚不可破。一开许许多人会认为 那是因为他们过於志得意满，或者球队阵容平均年龄偏高也是个因素，或者这支球队不过 是需要人们去质疑他们，才能够激发出他们血液中那股不服输的精神。但不管怎麽解释， 自从牛排屋还穿着红、白、蓝三色的活塞球衣那时期以来，这支球队还没有哪个球季开季 前像今年这样脆弱。 The biggest reason for this revolves around the now vacant centre spot. Chris Webber has, at least as of this writing, opted not to return to the Pistons for a second year, and that means that last year's free agent bust, Nazr Mohammed, must return to the spot many felt he was ill-equipped to handle once they saw his production as a Piston. Nothing else about his situation has changed from last year (except the lowered expectations) and there is no reason to believe that he'll be any more effective in that spot now than he was one year ago. 会导致这种看法产生的最大原因莫过於他们仍然空着的中锋位置。威爸，至少在这篇 文章写作时，已经选择不再回活塞努力第二个年头，而那意味着去年以自由球员加入，但 始终没办法拿出符合身价表现的回教人，必须硬着头皮回去扛那个许多人认为他自从穿上 活塞球衣後根本未曾证明自己能够有所贡献的位置。从去年到现在他的处境没有什麽改变 (除了众人对他的期望下降之外)，所以我们也没有理由去相信他现在在同样位置会有什麽 比去年更为出色的表现。 Another reason for concern with this team is age. Not age in terms of a player breaking down so much as age as it relates to boredom. This team has been to the Conference Finals so many times in a row it must be hard to look at another regular season as anything but an annoyance. Last season the coaching staff tried to employ increased bench usage to infuse some excitement into the lineup , and while it helped unearth big-man gem Jason Maxiell, it did little to inspire the longer-serving troops. Rasheed Wallace appears less and less like the impact player that keyed their run to the title against the Lakers and more and more like the player who coasted for games at a time in Portland while racking up the technical fouls. Rasheed Wallace can be as good as he wants to be, and he has made it clear that 65%-75% of his ability sits fine with him. 关於这支球队另一个需要关心的议题就是年纪。这边并不单指因为年龄增长导致球员 体力下滑或变得容易受伤，反倒是随着征战沙场经验而产生厌倦心态的问题更令人担忧。 这支球队已经连续这麽多年都至少挤进东区冠军赛，他们很难不把另一个例行赛季当成一 个烦人而无用的东西。上个球季教练团试图给予板凳更多上场时间以期在阵容中注入一些 刺激因素，这种做法虽然让球队挖掘出长人潜力股J-Max，但整体来说对於这支长期以来表 现平稳的球队没有太多的帮助。溪蛙在'04年帮助球队技压湖人拿下队史第三座总冠军时的 精采表现越来越少出现，反倒越活越回去，变得跟波特兰时期那个偶有佳作但技术犯规领 不完的大孩子没什麽两样。只要溪蛙愿意，他可以表现得跟他希望的一样好，而他也讲明 了，他现在这样不过是拿出65%-75%的实力而已。 So what is there to predict for this season? While the East is slowly improving , very few teams have put together enough firepower to worry the Pistons. They knocked off the Bulls fairly easily last season, and that team hasn't added anything to frighten the boys from Detroit. New Jersey and Miami look to be clinging to faded glory rather than reloading to make a run at the crown. Toronto and Orlando are making some noise, but both are still too young to challenge here. That just leaves last years improbable Eastern Conference champs, the Cavs, as the only real concern for this team. Since neither team has made much of a change to their rosters there isn't much of a reason to expect things will end differently should those two meet again next May. We'll check in again then, I suppose. 所以我要怎麽预测这个球季呢？尽管东区球队的实力缓慢地在进步当中，仍然没有几 支球队足以让活塞感到如芒刺在背。他们上个球季几乎不费吹灰之力就解决了芝加哥公牛 ，而那支球队并没有什麽足以让这群来自底特律的坏孩子感受到威胁的特别补强。纽泽西 和迈阿密看起来比较像在逐渐远离竞争者的行列，而不像是要重振旗鼓，准备与各路英雄 一争欧布莱恩金盃。多伦多和奥兰多会吸引一些目光，但他们都还太年轻，还难以挑战东 区冠军的位置。那真正足以让这支球队担心的只剩下去年令人跌破眼镜的东区冠军骑士队 了。因为两支球队的阵容都没有太大的变动，所以没有理由预期情况会有完全不一样的发 展，两队应该还会在明年五月狭路相逢。我猜是这样，我们到时候再来关心。 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 222.250.10.185 ※ 编辑: kerrys 来自: 210.241.111.125 (09/12 17:15)