[外電] How Boston's Paul Pierce became the unquestionable Truth

[SexyCassell (其實我很帥)]

How Boston's Paul Pierce became the unquestionable Truth 

真理如何焠煉

Posted: Wednesday April 29, 2009

http://0rz.tw/aZ1s1

這篇外電寫在塞爾提克主場對公牛第五場的比賽賽後

內容蠻有意思的，作者從PP大學時期就已經開始關注他到現在了
對PP在球場上的個性相當了解，值得一看



---------------------------------------------


 Buck O'Neil would talk all the time about how he saw the past while looking at
the present. For instance, O'Neil would see Ken Griffey swing the bat and
immediately think about the sweet left-handed swings of another time -- Billy
Williams', for instance, or Ted Williams' or the swing of an old Negro League
player like Turkey Stearnes. He would watch Roy Halladay pitch with all that
intensity, and in his mind he would see Bob Feller or Satchel Paige or Bob
Gibson.

And he often said: "You'll do the same thing when you get old like me."

Buck O'Neil看到眼前的東西總是會想起過去。譬如說，當O'Neil看到Ken Griffey揮動球
棒，就會立即想到從前那些左撇子的優美揮棒——比如Billy Williams、Ted Williams，
又或是聯盟的黑人老將Turkey Stearnes ，當他看到Roy Halladay強而有力的投球
，他的腦海會立刻浮現Bob Feller、Satchel Paige或是Bob Gibson的身影。

一如他經常說的：「當你到我這個年紀了，你也會這樣的。」

Well, it must be happening. I must be getting old. Because when watching
Boston's Paul Pierce make big shot after big shot against Chicago in Tuesday
night's first-round Eastern Conference playoff game, I did not see the
superstar Pierce has become -- last year's NBA Finals MVP, the man wearing the
headband who has scored more than 18,000 points in his NBA career, the heart of
the defending champion Boston Celtics, the man they call "The Truth."

嗯，的確如此，我一定是老了。因為在看到週二晚上東部季後賽首輪對陣芝加哥的比賽
中，Paul Pierce又一次命中那些關鍵球的時候，我看到的彷彿不是那個已經成為
超級巨星、去年的總決賽MVP、那個生涯得分超過18000分的頭帶男，還是衛冕冠軍波士頓
塞爾提克的箇中精神，那個被稱作「真理」的男人。

No, I saw the young college player I knew more than a decade ago at Kansas.
Paul Pierce was unlike any college basketball player I ever saw. He could do
anything. And he could do nothing. And he usually did both in the same game,
often in the same half, occasionally on the same possession.

不，我看到的是十幾年前我在堪薩斯就認識的那個大學球員──Paul Pierce和我看到的其
他任何大學球員都不一樣。有時他無所不能。有時他又什麼都不能。他經常會在一場比賽裡
出現兩種狀態，更多時候是在同一個半場，偶爾是在同一次球權。

"Paul!" then-Kansas coach Roy Williams would yell from the sideline. "Do
something!" Williams never had to be more specific than that. There was never
any question with Pierce about him doing the wrong thing on the court -- he
always had the most remarkable instincts for the game. With Pierce it was
always one of two questions:

1. Wow, why doesn't he play that way all the time?

2. Wow, where did Paul Pierce go?

「Paul！」時任堪薩斯總教練Roy Williams經常會站在邊線大喊：「你咬做點什麼！」除此
之外，Williams沒有什麼要做的了。關於Pierce是否在場上做了錯誤的選擇這樣的問題根本
就不存在——他對比賽有著最敏銳的嗅覺。

關於Pierce的問題只可能是以下的二選一：

1、Wow，他為什麼不一直這樣打？
2、Wow，Paul Pierce去哪裡了？

　　(→很好，所以PP直到現在還是這付德性，一點也沒有改變的頭帶男！)_


"I don't get bored with it," he said back then. But that was how it looked much
of the time, like he was bored. He was gifted beyond reason; Pierce, even back
then, wasn't just good enough to score and rebound and pass and dunk and block
shots into the third row. He was good enough to make it all look beautiful. He
had a little bit of Jordan, a tablespoon of Malone, a pinch of George Gervin, a
dash of Alex English. He could take over in a half-dozen ways.

「我從不厭煩。」那時的PP會這麼說，雖然多數時候他看起來都是非常厭煩。他的天賦異稟
不需任何理由。即使在當時，Pierce的優秀也不僅僅限於得分、籃板、傳球、扣籃、把對
方的球煽到觀眾席第三排去，他的優秀在於他能讓這一切都顯得非常美妙。他是一點Jordan
，一匙Malone，一撮George Gervin, 一抹Alex English的合體。他有好幾種接管比賽的方
法。

　　(→關於此類PP什麼都會的形容，有志一同的是Ainge也是這麼認為的。)


But he needed something to challenge him, something to stimulate him. He was
like the ever-present kids in most of our lives, the ones who make good grades
in those school classes that interest them, not so much in those classes that
do not. I was that kid in school, too.

但是他需要一些讓他興奮的挑戰，一些刺激他的東西。他就像我們生活中隨處可見的孩子
，他們總是在自己感興趣的課程上拿高分，而在沒有什麼興趣的課程上卻不盡如人意。我
上學的時候就是那樣。

　　(→難怪PP和KG很合呀！一個喜歡罵，一個喜歡被罵 XDDDDDDDDDDDDDD)

"I love Paul," Williams said all the time. "And Paul drives me crazy too."

Watching Pierce on Tuesday, I remembered a game against Iowa State during
Pierce's junior year. I had gone to write a column about him, and in the first
half he played 15 minutes and did not score a point. He was so non-existent, so
ghostlike, that the photographer actually wandered over at halftime and asked,
"What do I shoot?"

"Wait," I said.

「我愛Paul！」Williams總是這麼說，「Paul總是讓我瘋狂！」

在看Pierce週二的比賽時，我想起了他大三時對陣愛荷華州立（Iowa State）的一場比賽。
那時候我正要寫一篇關於他的專欄，上半場他15分鐘未得一分，形如夢遊，沒有存在感。中
場休息時照相師扭扭捏捏走到我的面前，問我他能拍些什麼。

「等。」我說。

And in the second half -- perhaps inspired by a stern halftime speech from
Williams and news his mother was in the stands -- he scored 16, grabbed five
rebounds, made brilliant passes and played suffocating defense. Kansas won by
17. The photographer smiled. He got his shot. It was, in memory, the absolutely
perfect Paul Pierce game.

隨後的下半場——可能使受到中場Williams嚴厲講話或是得知他母親也在現場觀戰的激勵—
—他得到了16分，摘了5個籃板，送出妙傳，打出了令人窒息的防守。最終堪薩斯以17分的
優勢取勝。照相師笑了，他拍到了合適的圖片。在我的記憶裡，那就是一場完美的Paul
Pierce式的比賽。

That's how it was his entire college career. At the end of his sophomore year,
Pierce was named third-team All-Big 12. Think about that for a minute -- Paul
Pierce, who has become the ultimate NBA soldier, the guy who has carried the
Boston Celtics this year, the most dangerous last-minute player in the game,
was picked behind Nate Erdmann and Cory Carr and Dedric Willoughby and his own
teammate Raef LaFrentz. The third-team pick embarrassed him, and Pierce showed
his rage on the court, dominating the Big 12 Tournament and winning the MVP
Award.

那就是PP全部大學生涯的縮影，在他大二那年的尾聲，他入選12大聯盟三隊。請你好好想想
——Paul Pierce，這位最終成為NBA一員的孩子，這個肩負著波士頓塞爾提克榮耀的隊長，
聯盟關鍵時刻最可怕的殺手，在Nate Erdmann、Cory Carr、Dedric Willoughby和他的隊友
Raef LaFrentz之後被NBA選中的球員。而僅僅是入選三隊讓PP覺得很尷尬。

隨後，Pierce在場上發洩了他的不滿，他統治了12大聯盟錦標賽並贏得MVP獎盃。

Then, a year later, he was not selected as one of the 10 best small forwards in
the country by Street & Smith's. He neatly cut out the chart, taped it to his
locker and would stare at it for motivation. Sometimes, it worked. Often, it
didn't. "I do think something happens inside of me," he said then. "I think I
play my best when I'm under pressure."

一年之後，他沒能入選Street & Smith's評出的全美10佳小前鋒。他把那表格整整齊齊地裁
下來，貼到了更衣室的櫃子上用來激勵自己。有時候，這招有效。但是大部分時間，還是沒
有什麼作用。

「我覺得我已經發生了一些變化，」那時的PP說，「我覺得我在壓力之下能打得最好。」

There were many doubts about Pierce as an NBA player. There was never a
question about his game -- or there should not have been any questions about
his game. He was one of those few players who had a true NBA game while in
college.*

關於Pierce能否成為一名NBA球員還有很多疑問，但是他的比賽使無可置疑的——或許他的
比賽就不應該有疑問。他是為數不多的在大學時代就打出NBA級別比賽的孩子。*

*You hear that phrase all the time -- "He has an NBA game," -- but I think it's
a lot rarer than most people think. There are many great college basketball
players, but only a handful of them have what you would call an NBA game -- the
physical strength to play at a high level all the time, the unique talent to go
to a spot and make a shot even if the defender knows it, the next level that
you need to reach for the final minutes of the fourth quarter and the playoffs.

*你經常會聽到這樣的說法——他打出了一場NBA級別的比賽，但是我覺得那比大多數人所認
為的還要更罕見。有很多的偉大的大學球員，但是其中只有一小部分的比賽你能真正
稱之為NBA級別——長時間保持高度身體對抗，獨特的空手走位和在比賽最後的關鍵時刻
即使防守者知道你要出手你也能把球投進去的天賦和處理關鍵球能力，以及應付季後賽
的能力。

I remember when Kansas reached the NCAA championship game in 2003, the Jayhawks
had a couple of excellent players -- Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich -- and it
was clear both would play in the NBA, and the feeling was that one or both
would be very good NBA players. But then, in the championship game, we all
watched Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony do whatever he wanted. And seeing them all
on the same floor at the same time, it was clear: THAT GUY had an NBA game.

我記得堪薩斯2003年打進NCAA決賽。堪薩斯有兩名優秀的球員——Nick Collison和Kirk
Hinrich——很明顯他們兩個都將會進NBA，而且感覺兩個人應該都會成為很不錯的NBA球員
。但是，在總決賽中，我們看到的是雪城大學的Carmelo Anthony予予予求的表演。當他們
三個同時在場的時候，我們很明顯的感覺到：那個傢伙（Carmelo Anthony）才打出了一場
NBA級別的比賽。

The questions about Pierce and the NBA were the same ones that hounded him in
college: Could he play at that high level night after night? Did he even want
to play at that high level night after night? He showed so little emotion. He
constantly had to play little games to inspire himself. What would it be like
for him when it was Cleveland one night, Orlando the next, Atlanta two days
later? Where would he find that inspiration?

困擾PP和整個NBA的問題和PP在大學時遇到的問題是一樣的：他能堅持每天晚上打出那
樣的高水準比賽嗎？他是否願意每天晚上都打出那樣的高水準比賽？

他真的太悶騷了，他經常會用一些糟糕的比賽來激勵自己，如果第一天晚上對上騎士，
下一場對上魔術，三天後輪到老鷹......究竟他要到哪裡去尋找(更多)激勵呢？

　　　(→如果真要挑剔PP的領導能力，需要激勵大概是他被詬病的一點
　　他的籃球技術很成熟，抗壓力也很好，就是打球太自由隨性了

    不然他關鍵一擊得逞的不少，失手的也很多
    如果不能把責備當激勵，如果神經不大條一點，他大概已經死於輿論

　　他真的是個不錯的球員，只是不夠好，沒有辦法光靠自己就讓球隊獲勝。)


That's why Pierce was the 10th pick in the 1998 NBA draft, behind, among
others, Robert "Tractor" Traylor, his teammate LaFrentz again, and the
unforgettable No. 1 overall pick Michael Olowokandi.*

這也是為什麼PP在1998年NBA選秀中滑落到第10順位，在他之前的，有Robert
Traylor，他的隊友LaFrentz和永生難忘的狀元Michael Olowokandi。*

*In one of the few prescient moments of my sportswriting career, I thought this
was absolutely ridiculous. I wrote a rant on draft day in 1998 about the NBA
geniuses who allowed Pierce to drop to No. 10. In it, I mentioned that
Olowokandi was "Nigerian for Benoit Benjamin."

*在我具有先見之明的體育寫作生涯裡，我始終認為這太荒謬了！當天我就寫了一篇慷慨
激昂的文章來「讚美」那些讓PP掉到第10位的「天才」們。在那片文章裡，我還把
Olowokandi比作了Nigerian for Benoit Benjamin.

And so, it's so much fun to see what Pierce has become. He has become a
warrior. Tuesday's game was perfect. This has been such a fun series between
the Celtics and Bulls -- big shots, tough defense, overtimes, intensity. Pierce
was not especially visible for much of the game. He's a very different player
now. He's obviously still a great athlete, but, at 31, he's not the force of
nature he once was. He is more anchored to the ground. He moves with purpose.
And when the Celtics needed the jumper to tie, there was Pierce, going to his
spot, shooting with a hand in his face, making the shot.

看到PP今天的成就挺有趣的，他已經成為了一名勇士。週二的比賽太完美了，塞爾提克和
公牛的系列賽已然成為經典——關鍵球、鐵血防守、延長賽、比賽強度。

PP在比賽的大部分時候並不顯得特別起眼但與眾不同，他是一個偉大的球員，雖然他已
經31歲了，沒有了昔日的爆發力，打球越來越不開地板，然而他的每個動作都是有意義的。

And in the final moments of overtime, when the Celtics needed points to take
the lead, he kept going to his spot, kept shooting those jumpers and kept
making them. Everyone knew precisely what he would do. But they could not stop
him. That's the kind of player Pierce has become.

延長賽的最後時刻，當塞爾提克需要取得分數領先，PP不斷跑到他最熟悉的位置，不斷的
出手，然後命中。每個人都很清楚他要做些什麼。但他們就是防不住。這就是Pierce所成為
的那種類型的球員。

When it ended, the sideline reporter asked Pierce if he was at all tired
because this was the fourth overtime of the series. He smiled real big and said
no, absolutely not, this was fun, he would play overtime every time out. Pierce
no longer needs anyone to yell at him to "Do something." He does plenty.

比賽結束後，記者問PP否因為這個系列賽的第四次延長而感到疲倦，他笑了笑回答：「
「不，這很有意思。我願意多打幾次延長賽。」

Pierce再也不需要誰站在場邊對他大喊「做些什麼」了，因為他做的夠多了。



#

-------------------------------------

好吧！3次OT輸給公牛之後再回來看這篇外電，真的有點囧

輸球雖敗猶榮是藉口

但是Paul Pierce從來沒讓塞爾提克丟過臉。


THE LIFE
THE WAT
THE TRUTH

GO GO CELTICS ~

--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 220.136.86.241
※ 編輯: SexyCassell     來自: 220.136.86.241       (05/01 18:40)
推 zomzom      :THE TRUTH~~~~
推 chris780509 :真理今天延長賽應該打得夠多了吧...= =
推 piercepaul  :低調是我愛他的原因 常被人家嗆 但我堅持己愛阿~
推 rainingdayz :永生難忘的狀元XDDDDD 原po辛苦囉
→ rainingdayz :原來是性感外星人!難怪高水準翻譯啊!
推 mic2hael    :下一場PP就會討回來的!!!   PP不要再跟大家開玩笑了
→ SexyCassell :Ainge: Don't expect KG return →外電出來了= =
→ SexyCassell :唉 真想哭 無論如何還是先過公牛再說 超賽加油~