[外電] 整整一年，LBJ甜美的復仇

[kart (=\)]

        ESPN的BW寫的文章，值得一讀，我簡單翻譯。

    MIAMI -- The phones started ringing at 3:30 a.m.
        時間: 2011年5/11，凌晨三點半。電話鈴聲響了。

    "You up?" LeBron James asked several friends.
        「你起床了嗎？」LBJ打電話給幾個友人。

    They were now.
        他們或許本來沒醒，現在也都醒了。。。（看來做LBJ的gang沒那麼容易^^）

    "I can't sleep. Can you meet me at the gym?"
        「我睡不著。你能到體育館來嗎？」

    This was how the end of James' year in a tempest began on
    Wednesday, shooting baskets as the sun rose over South Beach,
    lighting up the Miami Heat's practice court that looks out on
    Biscayne Bay.
        對LBJ來講這個特別的一天：也是去年他恥辱的在主場Game5被擊敗的週年，
        就這樣在南方的海灘的邁阿密練習體育館開啓了。

    Sleepless nights like this one had brought James here. First in
    the agony of coping with the greatest failure of his career. Then
    in the throes of making the biggest decision of his life. And
    finally in facing down the demon that had consumed him for years.
        像如此般失眠的夜晚讓LBJ半夜起來練球。第一這是為了擊敗他生涯
        最大的失敗的一戰。也是為了他生涯最重要的決定一戰。然後最後這是
        為了面對他多年來面對的惡魔的一戰。

    For many, May 11, 2010 defined James' character, a loss in Game 5
    of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Boston Celtics that
    proved to be a whimpering final game in Cleveland. It was so
    damaging that a columnist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer proclaimed
     Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of that game, "Quitness Day"
    in Cleveland.
        對很多人來說2010年五月11號對LBJ的球員特質下了定義：
        在自家主場第五戰慘敗給Boston。這對騎士隊影響有多大，從一個
        當地的專欄作家下的定義就知道：五月11號是克里夫蘭市的逃避日
        （Quitness Day）。

    On May 11, 2011, James came to peace with himself. The loss to the
     Celtics last year when he was a shell of himself, the endless
    backlash for signing with the Heat and the response to the claims
    that he was not a clutch player collided. The way it worked out
    will not satisfy everyone with an emotional chip in the situation
    -- but it will for James.
        在2011年五月11號，LBJ終於為自己找到了平靜。
        去年的敗戰讓他起了防衛心，數不盡的關於他到熱火的冷嘲熱諷，
        和季中嘲笑他沒辦法做終結者的言論不斷衝激著。
        這樣的結果或許沒辦法滿足所有人，尤其那些沒有經歷如此感情的人
        （按：譬如說老巴= =）
        但是對LBJ來說卻足夠平復他的心。

    He'll be able to sleep. For a while, anyway.
        他終於可以好好睡上一覺了。恩，至少一陣子吧。

    James scored 33 points and the final 10 for the Heat in their
    97-87 Game 5 victory over the Celtics, beating his nemesis for the
     first time in three playoff tries over the past four years. At
    the end, he fell to one knee to consider the moment.
        James昨天賽末的偉績讓他第一次擊敗自己這四年來的死敵。
        在最後他單膝跪地，思考著這個時刻。

    "Everything went through my mind," James said. "Finally getting
    over this hump against this team. Everything I went through this
    summer with the decision and deciding to come down here and be a
    part of this team. ... All the backlash I got from it. The talks
    me and D-Wade had. I was very emotional at that point."
        LBJ說：「所有的事情在我心中掠過。終於跨過了這個難關擊敗了這
        隻球隊。這暑假遇到的事情，決定來這邊打球等等。。。當然還有所有
        的攻擊。我和DW的對談。我的確在當下心情很激盪。」

    Fully knowing he was playing a series that would define this era
    of his career and be a referendum on his one-man revolution, James
     delivered several signature performances. Taking down the Celtics
     and doing so largely with the two-man attack of him and Dwyane
    Wade was one thing. Carrying the Heat at the end for victories in
    Games 4 and 5 with crucial pressure baskets sent James into a
    state he often talks about but rarely visits: being humbled by the
     moment.
        非常瞭解這個系列賽對他而言的重要性，尤其是能否讓他的生涯
        成為一個時代的表現和關於他自己的進化，LBJ讓昨天的比賽打得
        非常LBJ味道：和Wade的雙人重擊是其中之一。而在Game4和Game 5賽末
        的表現，尤其是在壓力下扛起比賽勝負投進關鍵球是其二。
        對比賽結果謙虛以對此其三。
        這東西LBJ常常掛在嘴邊，但是今年做到的時候卻不多。

    So first he praised the Celtics, a team he respects but also
    extremely dislikes. Then he did something he's been waiting to do
    for months and months, something he hasn't been able to bring
    himself to speak out loud until now, when the sentiment of the
    situation lowered his guard.
        所以他先褒揚了賽隊，一個他尊敬但是卻極其不喜歡的球隊。
        然後他做了一件他等待好幾個月的事，一件他沒辦法在之前
        大聲說出來的事，而情緒的感染讓他終於能坦然面對。

    He apologized for leaving Cleveland and explained why he felt he
    had to do it.
        他對克里夫蘭表達了歉意，並且解釋他為什麼這樣做決定。

    "I knew deep down in my heart, as much as I loved my teammates
    back in Cleveland and as much as I loved home, I knew it couldn't
    do it by myself against that team," James said.
        James說：「我知道在我內心深處，即使我是如此熱愛我騎士隊的隊友，
        如此熱愛我的家鄉，我知道我一個人是無法擊敗老賽的。」

    "The way it panned out with all the friends and family and the
    fans back home, I apologize for the way it happened. I knew this
    opportunity was once in a lifetime. To be able to come down here
    and pair with two guys and this organization -- in order for me to
     move on with my career, that team that we just defeated, we had
    to go through them."
        「對於決定這件事如此發生，我必須要對我所有的朋友、家人以及
        粉絲道歉。但是我知道這是一生難得一次的機會。來到這裡，和
        兩個如此的隊友結伴和這個球團。讓我的職業生涯得以繼續向前邁進，
        而必須擊敗我們剛剛擊敗的那個球隊，我們必須要擊敗他們才能前進。」
        James繼續說著。

    It is fair to point out doing this now -- saying he was sorry for
    how his departure from Cleveland went publicly for the first time
    -- might diminish its impact. It's fair to say that James and his
    two All-Star teammates beat a very different Celtics team than the
     one he faced with the Cavs a year ago. That Boston team was
    peaking, this team was breaking down by the game.
        我必須要公平的指出對球迷公開道歉這件事情，在現在說出來，
        可能影響已經不大了。我也要公平的說熱火三巨頭擊敗的老賽
        和去年那隻老賽也不一樣了。去年的老賽此時正是磨合最好的時候，
        今年的老賽此時則正是低潮的時候。（注：這裡我頗不同意。。。）

    Kevin Garnett was a ghost of the player he was in this round a
    year ago. He barely contributed after the first quarter Wednesday
    night. Rajon Rondo was a non-factor after his horrible elbow
    injury, and that doesn't account for his back problems. He didn't
    even play in the fourth quarter. Jermaine O'Neal had to go to the
    locker room to get his back worked on. Shaquille O'Neal could
    barely walk and was in a suit. There were bench players fumbling
    balls out of bounds during vital possessions. So no, it wasn't
    slaying the king at the height of his powers.
        今年的KG跟去年此時的KG比起來就像遊魂一樣（注：熟另致之？）
        軟豆因為傷病而無法全力施展。小歐也有傷，大歐則根本不能走路。
        而板凳球員也出現幾個關鍵失誤（注：但是今年板凳比去年強吧...）
        所以說今年的老賽比去年弱無誤（注：就算有差，也沒差那麼多，
        而且別忘了老賽打這輪前也可以說是高峰的時候，4-0KO有兩巨頭
        的傳統強敵尼客。）

    It's indeed easier for James to lay it all out on the table now.
    But it doesn't mean his feelings aren't true. Or raw.
        當然對LBJ來說選擇這個時刻來讓自己情緒得到宣泄是比較簡單的。
        但是這也不代表說他的感情不真摯，或是不夠樸實的。

    That was the right side of his brain being satisfied. On this
    night, so was the left, the competitor who had to sit for a year
    while peers mocked him to his face and behind his back.
        過去關於決定是他右半邊的頭腦（理性）得到了滿足。而今晚，
        他左半邊的頭腦（感性）：一個必須在這一年內忍受同儕在他面前
        嘲諷或在他背後說三道四的競爭者也得到了救贖。

    James' greatest moment in the postseason had been in 2007 when he
    was the young underdog, blasting the favorite Detroit Pistons away
     with his unexpected dominance. Getting to the NBA Finals that
    year was a free roll, his legacy would not be determined by
    getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
        James最偉大的季後賽表現還是2007年身為一個不被看好的年輕人，
        痛宰當年強大的活塞隊，展現了他可怕的主宰力。
        當年打冠軍賽可說沒有壓力，只是體驗營而已。他當年的傳奇表現
        不會因為被橫掃出局而有所影響。

    The past three years, though, have ended in disappointment for
    James. Playing with weighted expectations, he repeatedly came up
    short. First the blame went to his teammates. Then it came on him.
     Going to the Heat was, in James' own words, running toward the
    help he felt he needed from Wade and Chris Bosh.
        過去三年因為人們有了期望，所以都變成失望做結。

    With his new team, he was different to be sure. Open to criticism,
     too. But in Games 4 and 5, when the Celtics pressed, expecting
    him and his team to buckle as they did in the past, James didn't
    and the Heat didn't. His huge plays led Miami to an overtime win
    in Game 4. And then on Wednesday, his clutch shooting broke the
    Celtics' will at last.
        到新球隊後自然有新的作風。他也坦然面對外界批評。
        但是當第四戰和第五戰老賽給與壓力並且期待LBJ在壓力下在一次萎縮時，
        LBJ和熱火都並沒有輕易被擊垮。
        他關鍵時刻的重要表現帶領熱火打破老賽的意志贏得這兩場的勝利。

    In a span of three days he hit three late 3-pointers in Paul
    Pierce's face, his archrival he's been at odds with since James'
    second season in the league when they nearly got into a fist fight
     in the locker room area after a preseason game.
        這三天來他在包皮面前投進三次賽末的三分球。包皮是LBJ的死敵無誤。
        他們的梁子早在LBJ第二年時的一次季前賽中，兩人差點在休息室幹架
        就結上了。

    Pierce always had the playoffs on James. The Celtics small forward
     beat him in a showdown Game 7 in 2008 when they both scored more
    than 40 points. He beat James last season when Pierce's defense
    mocked James' most valuable player status. Pierce even beat him a
    few times this season, lampooning James on Twitter by saying "it's
     been a pleasure to bring my talents to South Beach" after the
    Celtics won in Miami in November.
        而包皮在季後賽中也總是能讓LBJ吃憋。2008年Game7包皮贏得了該場
        比賽並且得了40+分。去年在包皮的防守下LBJ的MVP因而蒙塵。
        包皮甚至在今年的常規賽中也占了些便宜，甚至可以開玩笑諷刺
        LBJ的決定，說他也非常樂意把他的天分帶到邁阿密，並且贏球。

    On Wednesday, James at last got him back, the coup de grace being
    a steal and dunk that finished the game in the final minute. As he
     hung on the rim he looked back at Pierce, an in-game beating of
    the chest.
        而今天，LBJ終於從包皮手上也拿回些甚麼了：關於賽末那個抄截後
        特地回頭看包皮那一眼，並且向前用力一灌。在比賽中還以顏色，
        這就是最好的復仇。

    The Celtics had to hate taking it, but some of them understood.
        老賽當然不喜歡輸球，但是他們其中一些也瞭解到是時候了。
        （注：傳說中出來混總是要還的？ lol）

    "I've never seen a team more criticized in my life and a guy in
    LeBron criticized for doing what was legal," Celtics coach Doc
    Rivers said. "He didn't break the law, he didn't do anything
    wrong. The preseason parade may have been a little much, but other
     than that, I just told him good luck and keep going. He was very
    emotional, and good for him. I don't think you can play this sport
     and be a winner without emotion."
        Doc Rivers說：「我從來沒有在我生涯中看過任何一支球隊受到
        比熱火隊還嚴峻的外界指責，我也從來沒有看過任何一個球員像
        LBJ一樣因為一個合法的轉隊舉動，受到如此責難。他沒有犯法，
        他沒有做任何聯盟所不允許的事。是的，那個季前的遊行是有點
        誇張啦，但是除了這個遊行以外，我也只能告訴他祝你好運
        並且繼續往前走吧。他當下看起來似乎非常情緒化，這很好。
        我想你如果熱愛這項運動但卻不是性情中人，那你可能很難成功。」

    This time the celebration has merit. Maybe a little overzealous
    after the final buzzer, which the Heat will, of course, be asked
    to explain when the euphoria wears off before the Eastern
    Conference finals. But there was a concrete accomplishment.
        這次場上的慶祝舉動則是有來由的。也許有點多，而熱火想當然耳
        會馬上被外界質疑慶祝過當的質疑。但是不可否認，擊敗老賽是一個
        非常大的成就。

    When James at last left the arena at 6:30 a.m. early Wednesday, it
     was all he could've hoped for.
        今天一天，是今天早上6:30才離開練習場的LBJ所希望發生的。

    "A lot of people doubted," James said. "We knew we were going to
    make it work."
        LBJ說：「很多人都懷疑，但是我知道我們一定會讓這陣容成功的。」

        ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

        話說今天早上聽ESPN聽到cwang兄說得那個球評，看來不是Ric Bucher，
        不過是一個受邀請的球評，沒聽到他的名字，聲音也聽不出來是哪一個
        有名的人。只能說無腦球評不分國界阿。

        關於今天聽到那球評對於LBJ的批評：
        1. LBJ只是擊敗了毫無還手之力的老賽而已，不要講的好像多了不起。
        2. 要不是PP五犯不敢守LBJ，不然結果很難說唷。
        3. LBJ那麼強，但是為什麼很少有昨天的表現咧？
        4. LBJ第四戰那個失誤差點變成「The Turnover」，這只是一線之差，
           有啥了不起的呢？

        話說另外兩個主持人好像也有點無言了，不過老美不流行call-in，
        不然想必會被call-in罵到爆吧 ^^

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推 foreverJune:後面就是未知的新旅程，Let's go heat.
推 XIICAT:對上老賽 KOBE都會吃鱉   打出昨天的數據很驚人了吧.....
推 like1259:推
推 n131419:thanx for sharing :DDD
推 chuchnoot:推~~
推 Leo816:感謝翻譯 :)
推 evilvens:推!!!
推 apestage:K大請問有原文連結嗎
推 wii128:依舊感動
→ FYT0429:擁有兩個巨頭的傳統強敵尼克 XDDD
→ s80868a:去年有Wallace,Tony allen 的老賽真的比較猛
推 taiwanalien:感謝翻譯。
推 s66449:感謝翻譯~~
→ sneak: K大請問有原文連結嗎 https://noxiv.com
→ sneak: DDD https://daxiv.com