[外電] Mavericks-Rockets Preview

[DM24Tim (carpe diem)]

Mavericks-Rockets Preview


James Harden helped the Houston Rockets to their first division title since
1994 and the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs starting Saturday
against Dallas.

James Harden幫助休士頓火箭拿到自從1994年以來首次的分組冠軍，名列
西區第二種子的他們首輪將碰上達拉斯小牛。


But the MVP candidate isn't content with what the Rockets have accomplished
this season. Harden is "very motivated" to do more this postseason after
being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of his first two
seasons in Houston.

身為MVP候選人之一的Harden對火箭本季的成就還不滿足，在加入火箭的兩
年中，他都於首輪就被淘汰，因此很想在季後賽大顯身手。


"I feel like we've got a great opportunity," Harden said. "We've got the
right guys in this locker room to get it done and go further than that."

Harden說："我覺得我們的機會很好，球隊氣氛很棒，希望季後賽能走的更
遠。"


Seeded eighth in 2013, the Rockets weren't expected to get past the Thunder,
who beat them in six games, but being ousted by underdog Portland in the
opening round last season stung a whole lot more.

兩年前是第八種子的火箭，本來就不被看好能打敗第一的奧克拉荷馬雷霆，
他們在六場比賽後敗下陣來。但是去年在第一輪就在第六場被波特蘭拓荒者
打回家，震驚了不少人。


The Rockets lost the first two games at home to the Trail Blazers before
coming back only to lose the series on a last-second 3-pointer by Damian
Lillard in Game 6. Houston had the lead with less than a second to go in that
game before Lillard's dagger at the buzzer.

火箭去年在前兩場主場都輸給拓荒者，不過最後拼戰到第六戰的最後一秒
才敗給Damian Lillard的再見三分。


Houston center Dwight Howard didn't want to talk about that series much,
preferring to look ahead. But he did discuss what he learned from it.

"Anything can happen in 0.9 seconds," Howard said.

火箭中鋒Dwight Howard不想再談那個系列賽，他希望向前看，不過他談到
他得到的教訓，他說："0.9秒內可以發生任何事。"


Coach Kevin McHale said there's no sense in discussing last year's early
ouster and that what happened then has no effect on this postseason.

火箭教練Kevin McHale說討論去年的提早出局對於今年季後賽沒有太大的
幫助。


"You can't play that game anymore and you can't play that series anymore,"
McHale said. "You can't do anything with that stuff, now it's just about
(Saturday) ... If you drive in your rearview mirror you run into a lot of
stuff in front of you -- I've noticed that."

他說："去年的比賽已經不能再打一次了，我們應該著眼於明天的比賽，我
發現如果你一直看著過去，會在現在遇到很多困難。"


This year they face a Dallas team that earned the No. 7 seed. It's the first
time they've met in the playoffs since Houston 4-3 in the first round in 2005.

今年，他們碰上第七種子小牛，這是兩隊自從2005年的第一輪之後首次碰頭，
那時小牛以4-3獲勝晉級。


Dirk Nowitzki, who was part on that team, isn't sure how much of a rivalry it
is anymore. But he added that the matchup might have gained a little
intensity because of trash talk over the past year between Mavericks owner
Mark Cuban and Houston general manager Daryl Morey.

Dirk Nowitzki是僅存的小牛球員，不知道兩隊還算不算是世仇，不過兩隊近
年來的火藥味十足，因為小牛老闆Mark Cuban與火箭GM Daryl Morey時常隔空
交火。


"It's more a rivalry since Cuban and what's his face went back and forth a
little bit -- Morey," Nowitzki said. "But I don't think if you play a team
once in the playoffs in 10 years, you can't really speak of a rivalry. Both
teams are in Texas. Both teams want to win the first round."

Dirk說："對於Cuban跟Morey來說可能比較像是世仇，但我想我們在10年內的
季後賽都沒相遇過，應該沒有太大的仇視心理。純粹就是兩隊都在第一輪，也
想繼續晉級。"


Here are some things to know entering the series.

以下是幾大看點：


HOWARD'S HEALTH

Howard has played nine games since missing almost two months with swelling in
his right knee and is feeling good. The Rockets have been steadily increasing
his minutes since his return and McHale expects him to play around 30 minutes
early in the series.

"When I'm out there I've got to play hard," Howard said. "It doesn't matter
how many minutes I play. As long as I'm out there playing hard and dominating
the paint we should have a great chance to win."

Howard的健康狀況

Howard在因為右膝腫脹缺席兩個月之後歸隊打了九場，感覺還不錯。火箭逐漸
在增加他的時間，McHale希望系列賽初期他能上場30分鐘。Howard表示："不論
我打多久，當我上場時我就會全力以赴。只要我上場努力統治禁區，我們就有
很大的贏球機會。"



ROLE REVERSAL

Ten years ago Jason Terry was the starting point guard for Dallas against
Houston in the playoffs. This year he's starting for Houston against the team
he won a championship with 2011. Terry signed with the Rockets this offseason
hoping to return to the postseason and expected to provide depth off the
bench. Instead, Patrick Beverley had season-ending wrist surgery, and the
37-year-old Terry was thrust into the starting lineup again.

"Good thing we've got a good group around me and it ain't just me by myself,"
Terry said. "So I'm prepared."

角色轉換

十年前，小牛對上火箭的系列賽中，Jason Terry是他們的先發控球後衛，
今年他身在火箭，將要對上曾在2011年一起奪冠的小牛隊。Jet今年與火箭
簽約就是為了提升板凳深度，而事實上，因為Patrick Beverley動了手腕手
術缺席接下來的比賽，Jet又成為了先發球員。Terry說："好消息是我們是
個很好的團隊，我不需要單打獨鬥，我準備好了。"


EXPERIENCE COUNTS

The Mavericks have five players on their roster with 10 or more years in the
NBA, led by Nowitzki, who is in his 16th season. But Dallas coach Rick
Carlisle isn't sure they'll have the edge in that area with Houston's roster
also featuring quite a few veterans.

"People are going to be trying to come up with things about who's got the
edge," he said. "It's the team that creates the edge by playing the best.
That's what it's going to be."

經驗很重要

小牛有五位球員有十年以上的年資，最資深的是進入NBA第16年的Dirk，不
過小牛教練Rick Carlisle不認為這在對火箭時有很大的優勢。他說："人們
都在討論兩隊在什麼地方佔優勢，但其實打的好的隊伍就會佔優勢，就是這
樣而已。"


IRON MAN

Josh Smith started the season with Detroit before he was released and signed
by the Rockets. Because of the timing of his change he was the only player in
the league to play 83 games this season.

"I'm trying to see how that goes with the check situation," Smith joked. "I
played an extra game -- (maybe) I should get a little overtime."

Smith played a major role for the Rockets when Howard was out, and has
averaged 12 points and six rebounds off the bench in Houston. It's a bit of
vindication for Smith, who was derided for being a negative influence in
Detroit when he was cut.

"I feel like it's funny because people want to try to highlight negativity
and not when things turn around," he said. "Us winning the division and me
being on this team, it goes (unnoticed)."


鋼鐵人

Josh Smith在底特律活塞開季，後來遭到釋出之後加入火箭，因為賽程的
緣故，他成為本季唯一上場83場的球員。他開玩笑說："我想知道這樣我的
薪水要怎麼算。我多打了一場，所以應該有加班費吧。"Smith在Howard缺
席時扮演重要的角色，他加入火箭之後從板凳出發，平均可以拿到12分6籃
板的成績，季初活塞認為他會對球隊帶來負面影響而把他裁掉。他說："我
認為很好笑，大家都會在球隊戰績不好時找戰犯，但當我加入火箭並且球
隊拿下分組冠軍之後，大家就不說話了。"


WILL PARSONS PLAY?

Chandler Parsons hopes to play Saturday despite missing the last six games
with a knee injury. Parsons is in his first season with the Mavericks after
spending his first three seasons with the Rockets. Though he's still friendly
with many of the Rockets, Howard said that Parsons will be "an enemy" in this
series.

Parsons能打嗎？

Chandler Parsons明天希望能上場，但他已經因為膝蓋傷勢缺席了之前的
六場比賽。Parsons的生涯前三年都在火箭，今年他來到小牛，儘管他還是
跟許多火箭球員保持友善的態度，但Howard說這個系列賽他們是敵對的關
係。


明天就是Game 1了  全力以赴吧!!

Let's Go Mavs!!

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