[外電] Paul George，無限的可能性？

[k960674 (Kaul)]

    當Paul George這位來自佛雷斯諾州大的球員被選中的時候，他被認為可能會是該梯次
最棒的選秀，只要他能夠發揮他的潛力。而現在我們都將成為見證者。

Coming into the 2010 NBA Draft, Paul George was something of an enigma. An
uncanny athlete with size, length and ball skills, teams still tended to shy
away from heavily scouting a guy that couldn't even dominate while playing
for Fresno State.

    來自2010梯次的Paul George被認為是個迷樣的存在。一個同時具有體型、身高與球技
的奇妙球員。然而，許多球隊似乎對於一位甚至沒辦法在佛雷斯諾州大期間繳出亮眼成績
的球員不感興趣。

However, in the months before the draft, those who looked harder at George
realized something else: this was a special athlete playing down to his
competition. The height, the long arms, the ability to knock down jumpers
over defenders -- those things were very real, as he showed in workouts
against his best peers.

    然而，在選秀前幾個月，那些以高標準來看待George的人知道了一些事：這小子是個
在比賽中發揮的特別球員。他的身高、臂展與在防守者面前投籃的能力非常地實在——當
他在測試中面對他那些頂級同儕中展現出來的時候。

It was just going to take the right environment for it all to come together.

    他只需要一個適當的環境讓他把所有的天賦完全發揮。

The questions around George were never going to go away before the draft.
ESPN's Chad Ford called him, "one of the biggest upside players in the
draft," but didn't project him as a lottery pick due to his inability to
dominate a weak college conference. DraftExpress said teams needed to do
their homework, "to see if he’s capable of developing into the type of
player his athleticism could permit him to be in the long-run."

    在選秀前，對於Paul George的質疑聲浪從來沒有少過。ESPN的Chad Ford說他是「新
秀中最頂尖的球員之一」，但由於他大學時期無法主宰一個較弱的分區，因此並沒有預測
他會在樂透區中選。DraftExpress表示球隊需要作足功課來確定他是否有能力將他的運動
能力發揮在賽場上以延長他的職業生涯。

Still, George had his fans. "In five years, Paul George will be the best
player to come out of this draft," one Eastern Conference scout told Yahoo!
Sports' Marc J. Spears before the 2010 draft. "Trust me."

    不過，George還是有他的支持者。「在五年之內，Paul George將會成為該梯次中最棒
的球員，」一位球探在2010選秀前如此告訴Yahoo記者Marc J. Spears。「相信我。」

Who knows whether that scout worked for the Indiana Pacers or whether he was
voicing an opinion quietly becoming more and more common in the weeks before
the draft. But it was Indiana, with the 10th overall pick, that took the
chance on George, convinced that the proper atmosphere could turn a special
athlete into a great basketball player.

    但誰也不知是否是溜馬球探還是George本人在選秀前逐漸抬升他的聲勢。但溜馬隊最
終在第10順位將機會給了Paul George，相信在良好的環境下能夠將他從一個特殊的運動員
培養成一位優秀的籃球員。

During his first couple years in the league, George showed flashes of the
ability. He once knocked down five three-pointers en route to what then a
career-high 23 points in a game against the Wizards during his rookie season.
And showing the defensive skills that are quite familiar to fans now, he led
the team in steals-per-minute in his first year.

    在George進入聯盟的前幾年，他展現了他的能力。他在新秀年面對巫師的比賽中投進
了五顆三分球，獲得了生涯新高的23分。同時，菜鳥年的他在每分鐘抄截數當中領先全隊
，展現了現在為球迷所熟知的防守能力。

Going into the 2012-13 season, George had been making steady progress in his
development, but he still had not broken out in a major way. For many NBA
stars, the third season is when "the leap" -- the transition from future star
to present day star -- happens. LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony,
and more saw major increases in their production from their second to third
seasons.

    到了12-13球季，Paul George持續穩定地進步，但他似乎沒有明顯的突破。對於NBA很
多的巨星來說，第三年通常就是「爆發」的時候——從一個明日之星成長成明星。Lebron
James、Derrick Rose、Carmelo Anthony以及許多的明星都在這一年展現了十足的成長。

Enter Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw, hired in 2011 to Frank Vogel's staff
and a former longtime NBA player.

    這裡就要來談談溜馬在2011年聘請進入Frank Vogel的助理教練，同時也是經歷豐富的
前NBA球員Brian Shaw了。

Over the past year, no person has been more influential to George's evolution
on the court than Shaw. Having played with former stars like Kobe Bryant,
Shaw provides George with the kind of inspiration that has allowed him to
become one of the league's most exciting young players.

    在過去的一年中，Shaw對於George發展的影響無人能出其右。曾有過和明星Kobe
Bryant共事的經驗，Shaw給了George很多的啟發，使他能夠成為聯盟中最令人驚艷的年輕
球員。

"He's really helped me out," George told USA Today's Mike Wells of Shaw.
"He's the one that gets on me. If I'm not playing well, if things aren't
going right, and he knows I'm the reason for it, he'll let me hear about it."

    「他給了我很多照顧，」當George在USA Today的Mike Wells面前談到Shaw的時候這樣
表示。「他盡全力地幫助我成長。如果球隊打得不好，或者是一切進行不順利的時候，只
要我是肇因者，他都會讓我知道。」

With the Pacers' usual leading scorer, Danny Granger, sidelined all season
with a knee injury, the team has asked George to take on a significantly
larger offensive role this season, and he's mostly relished it. He's
averaging a career-high 17.6 points per game this year, though he's also
taking five more shots per game than last season.

    當溜馬的頭號得分手Danny Granger因為膝傷而枯坐板凳之時，球隊要求George在進攻
上負擔更多責任，而他也欣然接受。儘管他每晚會比上季多出手五次。他本季目前還是來
到了場均職業生涯新高的17.6分。

More importantly, George provides the Pacers with a legitimate defensive
anchor on the perimeter, handling the opposing team's best perimeter scorer
each night with ease. Using his length and athleticism, George hounds
defenders like few can as one of the key cogs in the league's most stifling
defense.

    更重要的是，George提供溜馬強大的外圍防守，每晚總是要面對對手最強大的外圍得
分手。George充分利用他的身高與運動能力來使他的對手不堪其擾，這也使他成為一位聯
盟罕見的強大防守者。

No player in the league has more defensive win shares than George this
season, and while putting a player's defensive performance into a single
statistic might be overly simplistic, it does reflect just how much of an
impact the Pacers wing is having on that end of the court.

    George本季在防守端的Win Shares比率傲視全聯盟，儘管將一名球員防守端的表現數
據化有些過於草率，但這的確顯示溜馬的側翼在場上的防守貢獻。

The Pacers are third in the Eastern Conference standings, with George posing
as arguably their best player.

    溜馬目前東區排名第三，而Paul George可能是目前整隊表現最好的一位球員。

Every year, teams draft incredible athletes with shaky college resumes based
primarily on workouts, scouting reports and a pinch of imagination.
Sometimes, it works immediately -- take Damian Lillard on the Blazers, for
example. But most of the time, the workout wonders flop, like George's draft
peers, Wesley Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu.

    每一年，球隊都會基於新秀測試時的表現、選秀報告與一些些的想像力來挑選那些富
有潛力，但大學時期表現卻不甚理想的球員。有的時候這方法具有即效性——就好像拓荒
者挑選Damian Lillard一樣。但有的時候這方法卻不如人意，例如和George同梯的Wesley
Johnson和Al-Farouq Aminu。

Sometimes, it's not necessarily the player, but a just a bad situation. Aminu
never really had a shot playing for a Clippers team dreaming of contention,
but getting legitimate playing time with the Hornets, he's actually showing
some signs of improving.

    有的時候，錯誤並非出在球員身上，只是時不我予。Aminu在快艇從來沒有一個適當的
發揮機會，但是到了黃蜂之後，他的確展現了一些進步。

George was neither of those things. He wasn't the immediate impact NBA player
upon reaching the league, filling up box scores and turning heads. But he was
everything scouts said he'd be, a guy with every tool in the shed, who just
needed some time and support to put it all together.

    但George並非屬於這些類型。他並沒有立刻在聯盟中發光發熱，而是逐漸展現當初球
探預測的——像一個裝滿工具的容器，你只需要時間與心力慢慢組裝在一起。

Now it's 2013, he's had the time, and he's had the support. He's a great
player, a first-time All-Star and one of the most exciting players in the
entire league.

    現在是2013年，而他獲得了時間，並且得到了足夠的協助。他是一個優秀的球員，一
個生涯首度入選明星賽的球員，並且是個在聯盟中掀起波瀾的球員。

Is he the best player from the 2010 draft? That's a different question. John
Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe are all great players, not to mention
up-and-comers like Greivis Vasquez, Eric Bledsoe and Larry Sanders (!). Would
you take George over all those guys?

    他是2010梯中最好的選秀嗎？這又是個不同的問題了。John Wall、DeMarcus Cousins
和Greg Monroe都是優秀的球員，更別提一些逐漸發光發熱的人像是Greivis Vazquez、
Eric Bledsoe和Larry Sanders。你會把Paul George看作是比這些人更優秀的球員嗎？

You know, I just might. Not like any of those other guys are playing in
Sunday night's game, after all.

    至少我是啦。畢竟只有他在禮拜天晚上有比賽咩。

http://tinyurl.com/anvxfue

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◆ From: 140.116.110.47
※ 編輯: k960674         來自: 140.116.110.47       (02/18 23:11)
推 QKei:大推  KING GEORGE  不要枉費我買了兩件你的球衣
推 lp2348:gogo PG!
推 ggvvcc:PG繼續成長吧 GOGO
推 sliverstream:果然Wesley Johnson又中槍 XD
推 PiGFAcE:XD
推 sango354:畢竟只有他在禮拜天晚上有比賽咩 XDD
推 jyunwei:Push!
推 Phiss:推外電!!!
推 hsf0318: 畢竟只有他在禮拜天晚上有比賽咩 XDD
推 hoosier: 畢竟只有他在禮拜天晚上有比賽咩 XDD
推 rt1237717:畢竟只有他在禮拜天晚上有比賽咩 XDD