[外電] Hawks-Mavericks Preview

[DM24Tim (carpe diem)]

Hawks-Mavericks Preview


Dirk Nowitzki is healthy and ready for the opener with a revamped Dallas
Mavericks roster.

Dirk Nowitzki恢復健康，準備好帶領改頭換面的達拉斯小牛展開新的一季。


A year ago, the big German was just days removed from knee surgery and had to
watch a roster full of new faces for the first 27 games. That's the biggest
reason a 12-year playoff streak ended for the Mavericks.

一年前，Dirk才剛動完膝蓋手術，充滿新面孔的小牛又在前27場比賽失去Dirk
的支援，是去年小牛中斷連續12年進入季後賽的主因


Nowitzki has two new guards in his starting lineup for the second straight
year. Now the Mavericks have to see if Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon will be
better than the pairing of Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo.

與Dirk搭檔的後場先發組合又換了一套，小牛希望今年的Monta Ellis+Jose Calderon
組合會比去年的Darren Collison+O.J. Mayo來的好。


Dallas will start getting answers Wednesday night at home against Atlanta.

一切將在明天主場對亞特蘭大老鷹的開幕戰中揭曉。


There's also the question of who among seven other newcomers will join
holdovers Vince Carter and Shawn Marion as key members of the supporting cast.

小牛今年有七位新成員，而主要的留隊成員有Vince Carter與Shawn Marion。


"Our mission this year is to get back to winning in the playoffs," said coach
Rick Carlisle, who hasn't won a postseason game since guiding the Mavericks
to their first championship in 2011. "And we know that there aren't a lot of
people that think we're capable of doing that."

教練Rick Carlisle說："我們的任務就是重返季後賽，我也知道很多人不看好
我們能夠達成。"卡帥在2011年小牛封王之後，就沒有在率領球隊在季後賽拿下
任何一勝。

Odds are Dallas will be the third-best team in Texas again, behind defending
Western Conference champion San Antonio and Houston, a playoff qualifier that
got Dwight Howard in free agency to pair with James Harden.

或許這季小牛依舊會是德州的老三，排在衛冕西區冠軍聖安東尼奧馬刺以及
簽下Dwight Howard與James Harden搭檔的休士頓火箭後面。


What gives the Mavericks (41-41) hope is that they almost made the playoffs
even with the huge hole they dug waiting for Nowitzki to regain something
resembling the form of an 11-time All-Star and 2007 MVP.

小牛去年的戰績只有41勝41敗，不過他們在Dirk這位11度明星賽成員及2007
年MVP缺陣許多比賽的情況下，依舊差點打進季後賽，讓今年的小牛依然抱持
著希望。


Calderon looks like an upgrade over Collison because he was the best 3-point
shooter in the league last season and has high-level international experience
with Spain, if not any NBA playoff series victories.

Calderon看起來是Collison的升級版，他是去年聯盟最佳的三分射手，且有
許多國際賽西班牙隊的經驗，儘管他還沒在季後賽贏過一個系列賽。


Ellis has the speed and quickness to be a threat in the lane, and Carlisle
says he's an underrated passer. The biggest question, though, is whether he
will shoot too much when that's not his strength. He had the worst 3-point
percentage among qualifiers last season.

Ellis的速度與敏捷性會是很大的威脅，而且卡帥說大家低估了他的傳球能
力，不過他最大的問題就是投射不準卻又愛投，他去年是聯盟最差的三分射
手。


"I think we'll find a mix of youth, experience, some drivers, some
shot-makers," said Nowitzki, one of two returning starters along with Marion.
"I think we've got a good mix, got a good bench."

Dirk與Marion是小牛兩位不動先發，Dirk表示："我們有年輕的、有經驗的、
能切入的、能投籃的各種球員，我覺得我們很多元，板凳也不差。"


Carter is generally the first player off that bench, and rookie point guard
Gal Mekel should see significant playing time early in the season while the
Mavericks wait for the return of first-round draft pick Shane Larkin (broken
ankle) and Devin Harris (toe surgery).

VC會是頭號替補，目前的替補控衛是新秀Gal Mekel，在首輪選秀的Shane Larkin
(腳踝骨折)與Devin Harris(腳趾手術)兩位控衛歸隊之前，他會得到很多上場時
間。

Dallas has a defense-first center in 11-year veteran Samuel Dalembert after
Chris Kaman struggled in that area last year. Brandan Wright was the backup
before a shoulder injury sidelined him indefinitely, leading to more time for
another newcomer in the undersized DeJuan Blair, who spent his first four
seasons with the Spurs.

小牛的中鋒會是注重防守的11年老將Samuel Dalembert，去年的先發中鋒Chris
Kaman在防守端做的並不理想。Brandan Wright本來是替代的先發人選，不過他
的肩傷讓他的歸期未定，這會讓在馬刺待了生涯前四個球季的DeJuan Blair有
更多上場時間。


The Mavericks have trips to Oklahoma City and two-time defending champion
Miami in the first month, along with two games each against West playoff
contenders Houston, Minnesota and Denver.

小牛在十一月會造訪奧克拉荷馬市，也要到客場挑戰二連霸的邁阿密熱火，又
分別要與西區前八的熱門球隊休士頓火箭、明尼蘇達灰狼與丹佛金塊各進行兩
場比賽。


"We've got to really focus on what's immediately ahead," Carlisle said. "We
have to manage the club to have us tuned up for the long haul, too. So that's
been a lot of challenges."

The first challenge has arrived in the Hawks, who are in Year 2 of their
massive makeover.

卡帥說："我們必須專注在眼前的比賽，我們要在開季調整好狀況，會有很多
挑戰。"明天，同樣進行了大改造的亞特蘭大老鷹將是第一個挑戰。


The Hawks (44-38) have only two players who were with the team just two
seasons ago, center Al Horford and point guard Jeff Teague, opting for a
complete transformation of a franchise that has long been a consistent
playoff contender but never a championship threat.

去年拿下44勝38敗的老鷹，與兩年前相比只有兩位球員留隊，就是中鋒Al Horford
與控衛Jeff Teague，希望能讓老鷹從季後賽的角逐者蛻變成冠軍的爭奪者。


General manager Danny Ferry started the process a year ago, letting go of Joe
Johnson and Marvin Williams to rid the team of two cumbersome contracts. This
year, Ferry didn't make much of an effort to keep longtime stalwart Josh
Smith, who moved on to Detroit, and replaced him with Paul Millsap.

老鷹GM Danny Ferry去年開始改造，先放走了Joe Johnson與Marvin Williams
與他們的巨大合約。今年他也沒有試圖留下球隊的長期看板Josh Smith，Smith
加盟了底特律活塞，取而代之簽下了Paul Millsap。


While the Hawks have yet to become an attractive destination for big-name
free agents - they were rebuffed this past summer by Howard, who passed on a
chance to come home to Atlanta - Ferry hopes to change that by turning
Philips Arena into San Antonio East.

儘管老鷹還不是FA巨星們想來的球隊，去年Howard就回絕了他們。但Ferry希望
把老鷹打造成東區的馬刺。


Ferry once worked for the Spurs, and he brought in Mike Budenholzer, a
longtime assistant under Gregg Popovich, to bring that same team-first
mentality to the Hawks.

Ferry曾經在馬刺球團工作，他帶來了長期待在Gregg Popovich手下的助理教練
Mike Budenholzer，希望同樣能帶給老鷹團段至上的理念。


Budenholzer's tenure in Atlanta got off to a rocky start when he was arrested
for DUI, and it's going to take some time for the players to adjust to the
motion offense he wants to play.

Budenholzer在老鷹的執教還沒開始，就因為酒駕被逮捕，並且還需要一點時間
讓球隊朝他的概念前進。


"It's constant movement," Horford said. "We've got to make sure we're all on
the same page. If we don't, then we look stupid."

Horford說："這是不斷進行的，我們希望全隊上下一心，如果我們不這樣做看起
來真蠢。"


Heading into his seventh season, this is clearly Horford's team now. He's the
only holdover among the core group largely responsible for six straight trips
to the playoffs.

邁入生涯第七年的Horford儼然成為球隊的核心，他也是老鷹在連續六年的季後賽
之旅中僅存的球員。


Budenholzer is counting on his 6-foot-10 center to provide leadership on the
court and in the locker room. Horford, meanwhile, is hoping the new system
takes some of the burden off him - especially at the defensive end, where
he's always been a power forward forced to play a post role.

Budenholzer會期待6呎10吋的中鋒Horford展現他的領導風範，不管是在場上或是
在休息室，Horford也希望球隊的新血能減輕他的一點壓力，特別是在防守端，因
為他常常以大前鋒的身材但別無選擇的去做低位的防守。


"He has a high basketball IQ," Budenholzer said. "The first and most
important thing is that he's on the same page as far as what we're trying to
do. He's been really, really focused on picking up the system."

Budenholzer說："他的籃球智商很高，最重要的是他與我們所期待的相同，他很
專注的想帶起這支球隊。"


2013-14開幕戰  希望能在艱困的開季打出好彩頭~

Let's Go Mavs!!

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