Jazz look to Palacio for experience, leadership Tutor for younger guards: Veteran expected to help Williams, McLeod improve 爵士隊希望 Palacio的經驗、領等能力，並且當年輕後衛的老師：老將希望能 夠幫忙 Williams, McLeod 進步。 BOISE, Idaho - Here's a trivia question that might stump all but the most astute Jazz fan: Greg Ostertag has played more NBA games than any other player on Utah's roster. But who ranks second? 這裡有個小猜謎，可能會擊倒所有除了超精明的爵士球迷之外：我們都知道 Tag是目前爵士隊打過最多比賽的球員。那誰是第二個？ Even Milt Palacio was surprised by the answer. 連 Palacio自己都被答案嚇到了。 "That's kind of crazy, isn't it?" said Palacio, whose 399 games over the past six seasons are 21 more than the third-most experienced Jazz player, Matt Harpring. "And I still feel young. It's kind of weird to hear some guys call me a vet." 「這有點瘋狂，不是嗎？」 Palacio說。他在上六季總共打了 399場比賽，比 第爵士隊第三多比賽的 Harpring多了 21場。「而我還是覺得很年輕啊。有時候 有些人叫我老將我都覺得怪怪的。」 That's what he is, though - and that's why he is here. Though he is only 27, and despite the fact that he has started more than 13 games only once in his career, Palacio was pursued by the Jazz because of his experience. 雖然這就是他，不過這也是為什麼他會來這裡。雖然他只有 27 歲，而即便他 在他生涯中總共也才先發了 13 場，爵士隊要他，是因為他的經驗。 He wasn't necessarily the Jazz's first choice - Utah's pursuit of Antonio Daniels, who landed in Washington, and Sarunas Jasikevicius, who signed with Indiana, was well-known - but Palacio possesses the qualities that coach Jerry Sloan was looking for in a point guard. 他不一定是爵士隊的第一選擇 ---- 大家都知道爵士隊也想要簽現在在巫師的 Daniels，還有被溜馬簽走的（長名字人），不過 Palacio仍然符合 Sloan教練對於 一個控衛的標準。 "We knew we were getting somebody who has experience, somebody who isn't thrown off by adversity, somebody who has played some important minutes in this league," Sloan said. "Keith [McLeod] is young and Deron [Williams] is young, and we felt like having an older guy would help give them a little more understanding." 「我們知道我們要個有經驗的人，不會被困境擊倒的人，可以在聯盟中打一些 重要時刻的人。」 Sloan說。「 Keith很年輕， Deron很年輕，所以我們覺得我 們需要一個老一點的人來幫助他們多一點瞭解。」 He hopes he is giving them more than that. Palacio has averaged 6.8 assists per 48 minutes throughout his career, and he has more than twice as many assists as turnovers. Beyond the ball-handling, though, the Jazz expect to see some defense out of the 6-foot-3 point guard. 他希望他可以比這些多一點。 Palacio在生涯每 48 分鐘平均 6.8次助攻，而 他平均助攻失誤比超過二。除了控球之外，爵士隊也希望他能提供一些防守的能力。 "We had a tough time last year trying to keep people in front of us," Sloan said. "That's something we need to have if we're going to compete." 「我們去年對於讓球員待在我們面前有些困難。」 Sloan說。「這是我們如果 要繼續競爭下去，我們要努力的。」 Palacio is happy to hear it, because he considers defense his specialty. "I try to play hard-nosed, that's the biggest thing. Not a lot of flash, but I try to be tough," he said. "I like to push the ball on offense; that's one thing we're going to do this year. But mostly I'm going to try to play tough defense. That's what has kept me in the league." Palacio 對於這樣的評價很高興，因為他認為防守是他的特長。「我努力的當 個強硬的球員，這是最重要的。不一定要很快，但是要很硬。」他說。「我喜歡 在進攻的時候把球往前推；這是我們去年沒做的事。不過我最想要的是強悍的防 守。這是為什麼我還待在這個聯盟裡的原因。」 It kept him in the league despite being waived twice and traded twice in a seven-year odyssey that took him from Vancouver to Boston to Phoenix to Cleveland to Toronto. He saw plenty of the league, and earned a remarkable amount of playing time. Though something of a journeyman, Palacio always impressed his coaches enough to play; he has appeared in at least 53 games every season, and 80 last season And that's why Palacio considers his passing and his defense to be merely secondary in what he offers the Jazz. 這就是為什麼他在被揮棄兩次交易兩次、打過溫哥華、波士頓、鳳凰城、克里 夫蘭、多倫多，但是他仍然在聯盟裡的原因。他看到了聯盟的很多，而且獲得了 可觀的上場時間。雖然他可以說是個旅行人，但是他仍然無論如何的讓教練能夠 讓他上場；他每年至少都打了 53 場，去年打了 80 場，而這就是為什麼他認為 爵士隊對於他的防守和傳球的要求只是次要的。 His biggest contribution? "I think it's going to be leadership, whether I'm starting or not. My biggest role will be getting everybody to stay on the same page," he said. "Last year, they kind of struggled with that, from what I hear." 他的最大貢獻？「我想會是領導能力，不論我有沒有先發。我最重要的角色是 讓大家都待在同一個陣線上。」他說。「去年，我聽說他們對於這方面似乎不太 能夠做到。」 Sloan expects Palacio to help, too. "He's got sort of a soothing way about him," the coach said. Ironically, he couldn't soothe his teammates last season in Toronto, where players bickered with coach Sam Mitchell. Palacio didn't mind playing for the Raptors, but didn't feel Toronto was a great fit for his game. Where was? Utah, he believed. So when Kevin O'Connor contacted Palacio's agent, the deal came together quickly. Sloan也希望 Palacio能夠幫忙這點。「他真的某種程度上能做到這點。」 Sloan教練說。 諷刺的是，去年他沒辦法搞定他在多倫多的隊友，他們對教練 Mitchell 有點 意見。 Palacio不討厭在多倫多打球，不過也不認為多倫多和他的球風有搭。那 搭的地方是哪裡呢？他相信是猶他。所以當 KOC聯絡他的經紀人的時候，合約很 快就敲定了。 His contract is only for this season - but Palacio intends to motivate the Jazz to keep him much longer. "I feel like I can make a home here. I can stay here and finish out my career," said Palacio, who became well acquainted with Utah while playing for Colorado State - under now-Utah State coach Stew Morrill for one season - during the late 1990s. 他的合約只有今年，不過 Palacio傾向於讓爵士能夠留他酒一點。 「我覺得我可以把這裡當成家。我可以在這裡打到生涯結束。」 Palacio說。 他在打 Colorado州大的時候就對猶他州相當熟悉，那時候他在現在在 Utah State University 教球的 Stew Morrill手下，在九零年代末期打過一季。 He doesn't know whether he will be the starter, but that's OK; neither does Sloan. It wouldn't be fair to make those decisions, the coach said, before seeing how Palacio and Williams and McLeod, the incumbent, play in training camp. 他不知道他會不會先發，不過這沒差； Sloan也沒差。如果在訓練營之前，在 看過 Williams,現在先發的 McLeod,和 Palacio一起打球之前就決定，會是很不 公平的。 Whether he earns the job or not, Palacio said, he intends to help Williams make the transition into the NBA. Not as a tutor - "That's our job as coaches to teach him, not anther player's," Sloan said - but as an experienced veteran. 不論他到底有沒有得到先發， Palacio說，他希望可以幫助 Williams 轉換 到 NBA。不是在家教的立場上 -- 「那是教練該做的，不是另一個球員該做的。」 Sloan說。而是在一個有經驗的老將的角色上。 Even if he doesn't feel like one. 即便他根本不覺得他自己是個老將......... [email protected] Milt Palacio * Averaged 5.8 points per game last year with Toronto while adding 3.5 assists per game. 去年在多倫多， Palacio平均 5.8分， 3.5個助攻。 --

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