[外電] 交錯的軌跡——Davis與Stephenson

[k960674 (Kaul)]

A look at the lives and careers of controversial NBA players --

Ricky Davis & Lance Stephenson


http://tinyurl.com/c7knktw


A first dunk is like a first kiss. If you've done it right the first time,
you'll never forget how it should be done. Ricky Davis's first dunk came when
he was in the eighth grade at Wood Intermediate School in Davenport, Iowa,
and it changed him forever.

    第一次的灌籃就像初吻一樣。如果你第一次做對了，你就永遠不會忘記該如何完成它
。Ricky Davis的第一次灌籃是在他就讀位於愛荷華州的伍德中學八年級時完成的，而這
個灌籃從此改變了他。


Dunking made him distinct, and better yet, popular. Davis had tried to slam
it home for months, but never could stuff it. But on this day, he stole a
pass and streaked up the court. As he leaped he felt his body climbing higher
than ever, before raising the ball above the rim and crashing it through. "I
didn't even really realize what I did until after I did it," Davis says. "I
was in Iowa, so nobody was dunking in eighth grade. That was like history."

    灌籃讓他變得與眾不同而且更好，然而卻沒有變得受歡迎。在這之前Davis曾經嘗試
灌籃好幾個月，卻從來沒有成功。但是就在這天，他抄到了一球並且在場上狂奔。之後他
縱身一躍，感到自己跳了前所未有的高度，將球高舉過框並狠狠塞入其中。「一直到我灌
進去之後我才真正感受到我做到了，」Davis表示。「我人在愛荷華，所以沒有人曾在八
年級時灌籃。這就像締造歷史一般。」


The dunk momentarily stopped the game — it was silent in the Wood gymnasium.
The next morning, news of Davis's feat was broadcast over the PA system
during the school announcements. It wasn't until later that day when an
epiphany struck: During the game, Davis hadn't noticed a teammate ahead of
him down the court, wide-open for an easy layup. When his teammate pointed it
out to him at practice, he didn't think twice. "Somebody was wide open,"
Davis says, nonplussed. "I didn't even pass it."

    那個灌籃讓比賽暫時中斷——伍德體育管裡面鴉雀無聲。隔天，在學校的朝會中，
Davis的英勇事蹟透過廣播系統被大肆宣揚。但同時當天也有件值得一提的事情：在那場
比賽當中，Davis沒有去注意到他的前方有個擁有空檔上籃機會的隊友。而當他隊友在練
習中向他指出這點時，他並沒有多想。「有個人有個空檔，」Davis覺得有些尷尬。「而
我沒有把球傳給他。」


That afternoon, Ricky Davis realized how fun it could be — not just scoring
and dunking, but entertaining. They don't stop games for pretty passes.
Assists aren't touted on the morning announcements.

    那個下午，Ricky Davis了解到這是一件多麼快樂的事情——不只是得分以及灌籃，
而是那種愉悅感。大家不會為了妙傳而中斷比賽，而助攻並不會在朝會中被大肆宣揚。










That was the first of many dunks. A controversial and colossally entertaining
12-year NBA career followed — one that Davis hopes to relaunch soon. Born
Tyree Ricardo Davis IV to a Midwestern military family, Davis has wandered
much of his life. He's 33 years old and smarter now, but also gravity-bound.
He's played in France, Turkey, China, Puerto Rico, and for the Development
League's Maine Red Claws since his last stint in the NBA, 36 forgettable
games with the Clippers three years ago. By then he was so hobbled by a left
knee injury that Davis says he was no longer able to dunk. His explosiveness,
the gift that made him so entertaining, was gone. He'd adapted as best he
could, but like a slugger with a slowed bat, his one true talent had vanished.

    那只是眾多灌籃的其中之一。一個備受爭議而且驚人的12年NBA娛樂生涯隨之展開—
—一個Davis很快就希望能夠重頭開始的生涯。成長在位於中西部的軍人家庭，Davis生涯
大部分都在浪跡各地。他現在已經33歲而且變得更聰明，但同時失去了他的跳躍力。自從
他三年前在NBA為快艇出賽了36場無關緊要的比賽後，他到了法國、土耳其、中國、波多
黎各以及NBDL的緬因龍蝦隊打球。從那時開始他就為左膝傷所苦，而Davis自己也表示他
再也無法扣籃了。他的爆發力，那個讓他話題十足的天賦已經成為過去式了了。他目前已
經竭盡所能，但是就像一位老化的打者一般，他的天賦已經消失了。


"I ain't got no game [without it]," he says. "That's it right there. My first
step and my pull-up, elevating over people. I mean, I could still play. I
could play with an injured leg. But I was ready to retire because I wasn't in
the [right] mental state and I wasn't physically right."

    「我那時候沒辦法去找握比賽，」他表示。「就是這麼回事。我的第一步和飛躍對手
的能力都沒了。我還是能拖著受傷的腳打球。但是我當時已經準備要退休了，因為我沒辦
法調整好我的心理狀態而且身體狀況並不好。」


Davis tugs at his left knee as he explains, and demonstrates how, in order to
keep it straight, he needed to lift his leg with his hand. NBA doctors, Davis
says, misdiagnosed the injury as tendinitis. He recently learned that the
injury was actually a patellar tendon tear, for which he underwent surgery
and rehabilitation. Now he says he's ready to resume his NBA career. In
January, he got a shot with a workout for the Timberwolves. But Minnesota
passed on bringing Davis back.

    Davis一邊解釋一邊拖著他的腳，以及示範如何讓他的腳伸直——他需要用手抬起他
的腳。Davis說NBA的醫生把他的受傷誤診成肌腱炎。他最近才知道他事實上是膝蓋的肌腱
撕裂傷，因此他接受了手術以及復健。他現在已經準備好重返重返NBA。在一月的時候他
曾經參與過灰狼對的測試，不過最後並沒有獲得青睞。


"I might not be able to 360 on the fly, but I'm going to dunk that thing,
definitely," Davis says. "It's still there and that's all I want to show. I
know it's hard because what they've seen the last few years is garbage. You
see a guy, 33, played 12 years, that might be it. I want to change their
minds. But it's hard to change their minds if I don't ever get a chance."

    「我可能沒辦法在空中做個360度什麼的，但是我當然還是有辦法把球放進去，」
Davis表示。「我還仍然有一定水平，而那是我所想要展現的。我知道這很困難，因為他
們過去看到的幾年毫無價值。你看到的是一個33歲，打了超過12年的人，大概是這麼回事
。我想要改變他們的心意。但是如果我連機會都沒有就很困難。」


Over lunch at P.F. Chang's in L.A.'s Beverly Center, Davis appears at peace
with his post-NBA life, but he's still hopeful for another opportunity. His
trademark braids are shorn and his hair has been cropped into a short, even
cut. Over lettuce wraps and apple martinis, Davis is reflective, repentant,
hopeful, and self-aware. But, most important, he says he's healthy for the
first time in years.

    在位於洛杉磯貝維利中心的華館用過午餐後，Davis心平氣和地展現了他的退休生活
，但是他仍然希望能夠再獲得一次機會。他剪掉了他的招牌辮子並且把頭剃了個精光。在
享用完生菜捲和蘋果馬丁尼後，Davis給人一種老練穩重的感覺，並且看似痛改前非並非
常注重自己的身體狀況。但最重要的是，他表示今年是他最強的一年。

（最後一句稍微亂翻一下lol）


He's trying to get back into the NBA, a task that's nearly as hard as getting
in.

    他試著要重返NBA，一個難度和進入一樣的任務。


There is a maximum of 450 roster spots for NBA players among the league's 30
franchises. Given some teams' preference for roster flexibility, that number
can shrink by as many as 90. There are players in the Development League and
overseas looking to break through. There are undrafted kids looking to catch
on. There are veterans trying to get back in, while others are desperately
hanging on. The competition is ruthless. And Davis knows that the NBA isn't
the same as when he left.

    在NBA30支球隊裡面最多會有450名球員。扣除掉給予球團操作陣容便利的名額，這數
字還可以再縮小90人。而有許多在發展聯盟以及海外打球的球員也正想辦法要擠進這裡。
還有許多在選秀時未受青睞的球員在尋求機會。也有一些老鳥還想要再回來，更別提其他
懷有這種夢想的人。這競爭非常殘忍，而Davis也知道NBA的生態和他離開時不一樣了。


"[I could] go out hard the night before, then come out the next day and give
you 40," Davis says. "You know why? I came in with Anthony Mason, Derrick
Coleman, Eddie Jones. [They would tell rookies] 'You put the bags up. You
better have the condoms. You better meet us.' That's what I came into."

    「我可以出去荒淫一整晚然後隔天砍個40分，」Davis說。「你知道為什麼嗎？我進
來的時候隊上有Anthony Mason、Derrick Coleman和Eddie Jones這些前輩。他們對菜鳥
說：『收拾好你的傢伙，最好帶著套子，然後跟我們走就對了。』那是我的菜鳥洗禮。」


The roguish days of the NBA seem a distant memory, but Davis hasn't forgotten.

    那些在NBA的風流往事看起來塵封已久，但Davis卻從未忘記。


"It was instilled in me," he says. "Anthony Mason coming in with 50 shots of
tequila. This was before they brought the bottles. The waitress coming out
with 50 shots and I'm 17, 18 years old. So now when I'm 25, 26, I go out and
hang out, kick it. The league changed so fast and so drastically. It was hard
to change sometimes. This routine, I'm not used to that."

    「這些都烙印在我腦海裡，」他說。「Anthony Mason帶著50杯的龍舌蘭進來。而這
之後他們又帶來好幾瓶。而服務生離開的時候又留下了50杯左右，那時我只有17、18歲左
右。所以當我25、26歲的時候我也是如法炮製。儘管聯盟改變得又快又急，但有些東西卻
是很難改變的。像我並不是一開始就很熟悉這種日常公事。」


Davis says the league has grown up, but it's also lost a sense of camaraderie.

    Davis說聯盟成長了，但同時也失去了一些男人味。


"Guys don't go out," he says. "Guys don't hang out. Guys aren't out as a team
hanging out all together. You used to go to a club and you could see a whole
team together. Now there's one or two guys. And I'm sure that's the guys who
came in in the '90s. The other guys are playing Xbox together. It's different
now. It went from No Boys Allowed to now, boys allowed. When I came into the
league, those guys were grown men. I'm fighting against a 30-year-old. This
is how he eats."

    「球員們不再結伴了，」他表示。「球員們不再結伴出遊。他們不再像一支球隊一樣
總是天天膩再一起。你如果去過夜店你會發現一整支球隊的人都待在一起。但現在只剩下
三三兩兩的人。然後我相信這些人在90年代他們會全部待在一塊兒。而現在沒一起去玩的
其他人則是宅在一起玩Xbox。時代變得不一樣了。以前這種小屁孩是沒辦法待在聯盟的，
但現在可以了。當我進聯盟的時候，前輩們全都像真男人一般。我現在正在和三十歲的年
紀對抗，而要這樣做才吃得開。」


The NBA is more image-conscious than it was when Davis was in his prime.
Teams are more sensitive and players are more business-oriented. The Malice
at the Palace brawl in 2004 was the turning point. That image of Ron Artest
maniacally hurdling over the stands played on an endless loop in David
Stern's head, an infinite reminder of the need for change.

    現在的NBA比當初Davis風光的時代還要更注重形象。球隊變得更敏感，而球員也越來
公事公辦。奧本山大亂鬥是個轉捩點。在David Stern的眼中，Ron Artest的形像比起其
他球員更加揮之不去，不斷提醒他需要做出改變。


No franchise was more affected than the Indiana Pacers. The team methodically
wiped its roster of every player involved in the fight, in a process that
took years. "There's no question about it, the culture of the team is going
to change and we're not done yet," then–team president Larry Bird told the
Indianapolis Star in 2008. "We're going to continue to work on that through
the summer.

    沒有球隊比溜馬受到的影響更大了。溜馬花了好幾年不斷地將牽涉在大亂鬥名單中的
球員弄出去。「這是無庸置疑的。這支球隊的傳統需要改變，我們只是尚未完成，」球隊
總裁Larry Bird在2008年這樣告訴星報。「我們會在這個暑假繼續努力。」


"If you look at some of the guys in the proposed trades, they're a little bit
older, went to school for at least three years. That's part of the change,
more mature kids, some experience and getting guys that we think can come in
here and play right away."

    「如果你去注意那些被建議要交易過來的球員，你會發現他們都有些年紀，讀過至少
三年的書。這是改變的一部分。更多成熟的年輕人，一些有經驗的球員以及找一些我們認
為能夠具有即戰力的球員。」


But there comes a time when every organization needs to take risks, no matter
how small. "This league is not a Sunday church picnic," says Mark Boyle, the
Pacers' longtime broadcaster. "Almost every team that has any success in this
league takes a chance on somebody sooner or later because that's just the way
it is."

    但有些時候每個組織都必須冒一些風險，不管風險是多麼小。「這個聯盟不是像教會
辦的禮拜天野餐會，」Mark Boyle，一名溜馬的老面孔播報員表示。「幾乎所有的球隊都
多多少少會在某個人身上壓注，這是理所當然的。」


Bird took that chance when he selected Lance Stephenson in the second round
of the 2010 draft. Stephenson, a Brooklyn phenom, arrived with plenty of
off-court baggage — his college recruitment had grown so sordid that then–
Florida International coach Isiah Thomas bowed out of the process because he
was so concerned that an NCAA investigation would follow a commitment from
Stephenson.

    Bird在2010年的選秀會上決定壓注在Lance Stephenson這名球員上。Stephenson，一
名布魯克林的風雲人物，和他的場外包袱一起加入了球隊。他的大學招募情形實在是太悲
慘了——佛大的教練Isiah Thomas拒絕了他因為他擔心NCAA觀察協會將會為Stephenson召
開會議。


Now Stephenson, 22, has become one of this season's biggest surprises. He's
on the short list for the league's Most Improved Player award after spending
two seasons watching, waiting, struggling, and occasionally stoking
controversy.

    而現在，22歲的Stephenson已經變成本季最大的驚奇之一。在經過兩年不停觀察、等
待、掙扎與製造話題後，他本季被列在最佳進步球員的名單裡。


Stephenson and Davis aren't the same kind of player. Stephenson's strength is
his defense and ability to push the ball upcourt. Davis, in his prime,
thrived on his silky jumper and trapezelike athleticism. But they have more
in common than you might think.

    Stephenson和Davis並不是相同類型的球員。Stephenson的強項在於他的防守以及持
球推進能力。Davis則是以他柔順的跳投與誇張的運動能力聞名。但是他們兩人的相似之
處絕對遠超乎你所想像。

（泥馬現在才要進入重點，還有作者你應該沒看過前兩年蘭斯的比賽，他的防守……）


Some players are trying to get in.

    有些球員試著要進入。


"I know what it takes to win games and I still feel like I'm in shape," Davis
says. "I got it. It's just a matter of getting a workout, a 10-day."

    「我知道該如何才能贏得比賽而我已經準備好了，」Davis表示。「我蓄勢待發。只
要得到10天的測試機會有可以了。」


Some players are trying to stay in.

    有些球員試著要久留。


"I've been waiting two years for this and I figured this was my only chance,"
Stephenson says. "Either I was going to play good now or be out the league."

    「我已經等了兩年了，並且了解到這是我唯一的機會，」Stephenson表示。「要嘛打
得好，要嘛走人。」










Lance Stephenson first dunked at an AAU tournament in sixth grade. From that
point forward, he dunked whenever, over whomever, wherever he could. "Once I
dunked once, I knew how to dunk," he says.

    Lance Stephenson的第一次灌籃是在六年級時AAU錦標賽上做到的。從那時開始，他
無時不灌、無人不灌、無處不灌。「當我成功灌了一次籃，我就知道該如何灌籃。」他
表示。


Stephenson didn't have a typical childhood. He was driven everyday and
completely focused on basketball. He'd run up the Coney Island Beach steps,
and challenge his father, Lance Sr., to push-up competitions. "Lance just
wanted to be a kid, and he had to deal with it day in and day out," says Gary
Charles, who coached Stephenson in AAU. "I think sometimes he got out of
character because people expected [so much of him]."

    Stephenson的童年並不普通。他每天都被鞭策並完全專注在籃球上。他會在康尼島海
灘上跑步，並且和他的老爸Lance Sr.打比賽。「Lance只是想要當個普通的小孩，但是他
卻必須每天重複這樣的例行公事，」他的AAU教練Gary Charles這麼說。「我認為他有的
時候行為脫序是因為人們給了他太多的期待。」


Stephenson always played above his age. He dropped 20 points as a fourth
grader against eighth graders. He challenged O.J. Mayo, nearly three years
his senior, and held his own. While still in junior high, he played on an AAU
team with then–high school (and future NBA) players Danny Green and Joakim
Noah. Stephenson played against Sebastian Telfair, another Coney Island
product, when Stephenson was 10 years old. Lance Sr. hollered across the
court at Telfair's uncles, bellowing that his son was ready for the spotlight
right now. Telfair, five years older than Stephenson, was already a legend in
New York basketball circles.

    Stephenson總是超齡打球。他在面對八年級時的比賽以四年級的身分砍了20分。他挑
戰大他三歲的O.J. Mayo仍然維持水準。當他還在念國中的時候，他就在和當時的高中生
Danny Green以及Joakim Noah打AAU的比賽。Stephenson也曾和Sebastian Telfair放對過
，另一位康尼島的優良島友，當他只有10歲的時候。Lance Sr.向隔著球場Telfair的叔叔
大聲嘴砲，而場下他的兒子正準備好迎接鎂光燈。Telfair，一名比Stepheson大五歲的球
員，當時已經是紐約籃球界的傳奇人物。


"[He] killed me," Stephenson says. "But that experience right there, scoring
on him, I felt like I could be like him one day." In 2006, a Rucker Park
announcer noticed Stephenson's penchant for thriving against older
competition. He nicknamed him "Born Ready."

    「最後他把我電爆了，」Stephenson回憶。「但是那次的經驗很棒，在他頭上得分的
時候，我覺得自己有一天也能像他一樣。」在2006年，一個洛克公園的播報員注意到了
Stephenson喜歡跨齡比賽的嗜好。他被賦予了綽號「Born Ready」。


"Whoever put somebody in front of me, I went after them," Stephenson says. "I
felt like I was living up to the hype. I don't think it was bad hype."

    「只要把別人放在我面前，我就會以他為目標，」Stephenson表示。「我覺得我有些
上癮了。但我不覺得這是件壞事。」


http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0409/grant_g_stephenson01jr_576.jpg


Stephenson was New York's first mega–prep star athlete whose high school
career coincided with the rise of social media. He heard all the criticism
and acclaim in real time. He heard it when he enrolled at Bishop Loughlin
instead of nearby fabled Abraham Lincoln High School, setting off a maelstrom
in Coney Island. He heard it when he abruptly transferred to Lincoln just two
days after beginning at Bishop Loughlin, later citing the distance he had to
travel to school. He heard it when he was suspended for five days in 2008
after a skirmish with teammate Devon McMillan. And he heard it when, later
that same year, he and a teammate were arrested for groping a female student.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

    Stephenson靠著中學的表現與社會媒體的大肆宣傳，成為了紐約的第一個明日之星。
同時他也可以聽到耳邊的靡靡之音。當初他原本登記進入洛琳主教紀念學校而不是附近知
名的林肯高中時，馬上康尼島上的靡靡之音就傳入他的耳中。而當他聽到耳邊靡靡之音時
，他立刻在進入洛琳中學的兩天後登記轉學回林考高中，並馬上標明學校距離的長短。他
也在2008和隊友Devon McMillan打架被禁學五天時聽到這些靡靡之音。同年，他又在和隊
友被暴出涉嫌強暴女同學時聽到這些靡靡之音。最後，他對於這些不檢行為都只得認罪。


But on the court, Stephenson dominated. Lincoln captured four PSAL city
titles during his reign. Telfair had won three. Stephon Marbury, another
Brooklyn son and Lincoln graduate, only captured one. It seemed as if
Stephenson played at Madison Square Garden as often as the Knicks. By his
senior season, he'd surpassed Telfair's state scoring record of 2,785 points.

    但是回到場上，Stephenson仍然主宰一切。林肯高中在他當家時期四度獲得PSAL的首
席位置。Telfair只贏過三次。Stephon Marbury，另一個布魯克林之子只贏過一次。感覺
就好像Stephenson以尼克球員的身分在麥迪遜花園廣場打球一樣。在他高四那年，他以總
得分2785分打破了Telfair的紀錄。


Lincoln coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton remembers calling a play that Stephenson
failed to run during a championship game.

    林肯高中的教練Dwayne "Tiny" Morton仍然記得有一次在冠軍戰的時候他叫了一個戰
術，但是Stephenson最終卻沒完成它。


     "Lance, we just went over the play and you still didn't run what you were
supposed to run," Morton said to him.

    「Lance，我們剛剛叫了個戰術但是你卻沒跑到該有的位置，」Morton這樣告訴他。


     "Coach, when I get in a groove, when I get out there, I don't remember
plays. Just give me the ball and I'm going to score," Stephenson responded.

     「教練，當我在興頭上的時候，當我在那種狀態的時候，我沒辦法執行戰術。把球給
我讓我得分就對了。」Stephenson回答。


"That's what he used to do," Morton says. "And he scored a lot of points and
we won a lot of championships."

    「這就是他做的事，」Morton表示。「然後他得了一堆分數我們也贏了一堆冠軍。」


But colleges were skittish about recruiting Stephenson. He was an
enterprising kid in high school, with his eye on the big picture. Among his
questionable choices: At Lincoln, he filmed an Internet reality show and
toured an Under Armour facility run by a Terrapin booster on a trip to the
University of Maryland.

    但是大學對於招募Stephenson仍然舉棋不定。他在高中時照片上是個雙眼炯炯有神，
看起來非常具有進取心的年輕人。他曾有個選項：在林肯高中的時候，馬里蘭大學的贊助
商和知名的運動衣品牌UA幫他在往馬里蘭大學的旅途上拍攝了個實境秀。


Stephenson eventually landed at Cincinnati, where he averaged 12.3 points and
5.4 rebounds in a solid if unremarkable freshman season. He declared for the
NBA draft shortly thereafter. On draft night, Stephenson gathered with family
and friends in Manhattan. The Knicks, his hometown team, had back-to-back
picks in the middle of the second round. With their first pick, the team
chose Andy Rautins from Syracuse with the 38th selection. Then NBA deputy
commissioner Adam Silver began, "With the 39th pick, the New York Knicks
select Lan … " The family rose to their feet, tension creeping into their
throats, before Silver finished his sentence: "Landry Fields."

    最後Stephenson去了辛辛那提大學，在那競爭力比較高，但或許對他不太重要的菜鳥
球季獲得平均12.3分、5.4籃板。在不久之後他就決定投身NBA選秀當中。在選秀當晚，
Stephenson在曼哈頓把所有的親朋好友都邀到家裡來了。他的家鄉球隊尼克在第二輪有連
續兩眉選秀籤。他們在第一枚以38順位選了雪城大學的Andy Rautins。而NBA特派的發言
人Adam Silver繼續唱名：「在第39順位，紐約尼克選擇了Lan……」他的家人腳抖了一下
，緊張的情緒滿到了喉頭，直到Silver說完整句話：「Landry Fields。」


"Can you imagine?" says Albert Ebanks, Stephenson's agent. "Everyone jumped
up."

    「你能想像嗎？」Stephenson的經紀人Albert Ebanks說。「所有人都跳起來了。」


But Stephenson didn't have to wait much longer after that — Bird and the
Pacers grabbed him just one spot later. Ebanks says he knew that it didn't
matter where Stephenson was taken, that he'd make a path for himself. "I
would describe him as a three-dog, one-bone guy," Ebanks says. "You put three
dogs in a ring and put a bone in the center, he's going to be the one to come
back with that bone."

    但是Stephenson並不需要等太久——Bird以及溜馬隊在隔了一枚籤後就選了他。
Ebanks說他知道Stephenson被哪支球隊選走並不重要，而是他自己又開闢了一條新的道路
。「我會形容他的情況像是『三隻狗卻只有一根骨頭』，」Ebanks解釋。「你把三隻狗放
在圓周然後把骨頭放在圓心，他會是那隻最終咬著骨頭的狗。


In a different era, Stephenson likely would have leaped to the NBA from high
school. "I probably would," Stephenson says. "But I liked that one year of
school. I learned a lot."

    在不同年代的話，Stephenson可能會高中畢業直接參與NBA選秀。「我應該會吧，」
Stephenson表示。「但我很喜歡那一年的大學生活，我學到了很多。」










In a different era, Ricky Davis likely would have leaped to the NBA from high
school. Davis felt he had outplayed NBA-bound Tracy McGrady at the 1997 Magic
Johnson High School Roundball Classic. But Davis honored the commitment he
made to his mother and the University of Iowa, averaging 15 points and nearly
five rebounds per game in one season as a Hawkeye.

    在不同年代的話，Ricky Davis大概也會高中棄學投身NBA。Davis覺得他自己1997年
在Magic Johnson的高中經典賽上把Tracy McGrady給電爆了。但是Davis沒忘記要履行對
母親的諾言，在愛荷華大學的那一年平均15分並且接近5籃板。


"I'm glad I didn't [go to the NBA right away]. Kind of," Davis says. "Because
it helped me. I played center in high school. I had no idea about dribbling.
I swear to you. When I went to college, they broke the game down. They showed
me about playing defense."

    「我有一點慶幸我沒有直接投身NBA，」Davis表示。「因為這幫我很大。我高中的時
候打的是中鋒。我對於運球一點都不了解。我跟你說真的。當我進大學之後，他們展現了
比賽的面貌。同時告訴我該如何防守。」


The Charlotte Hornets drafted an 18-year-old Davis with the 21st overall pick
in the 1998 draft. Davis's parents, Tyree and Linda, lived with him during
his first two NBA seasons. "If I would have went out there when I was 17, 18,
I would have really been bad, probably getting DUIs, acting crazy," Davis
says.

    夏洛特黃蜂最後在1998年的選秀會上以第21順位的籤選了18歲的Davis。Davis的雙親
Tyree和Linda在頭兩年的NBA球季和他住在一起。「如果我在17、18歲的時候就獨立一個
人，我可能會變壞，可能會酒駕或者做些荒唐事。」Davis表示。


He concedes that he wasn't NBA-ready — he even prepared by playing at a
summer camp populated by free agents and NBA fringe guys. Then the lockout
delayed his debut. Davis sat most of his rookie season, watching and
simmering. Sometimes he boiled over.

    他坦承他並沒有為進入NBA做好準備——他甚至得要靠著在夏季聯盟，一個主要是自由
球員和NBA邊緣人打球的聯賽來準備。然後接著封館讓他的初登板延誤了。最後Davis新人
球季大半時間在坐板凳，一邊觀察一邊學習。不過有時也有失控的狀況。


"I was mad and I would cuss everybody out [over losing]," Davis says. "That's
being 18, 19, 20, 21. I wasn't even old enough to buy liquor. But I got a
million dollars."

    「我那時候很屁孩然後輸球的時候總是會對其他人碎碎念，」Davis說。「那就是太
年輕的問題。我甚至還沒到可以合法買酒的年齡，但是我已經賺好幾百萬了。」


Charlotte dealt Davis to Miami in a nine-player deal during the summer of 2000
, but Davis tweaked his ankle and knee and only played in seven games for
the Heat. That's when the clock started ticking. A player, no matter his
potential, is only afforded so much time before being discarded. It didn't
take long before he was moving again. Davis, in his third NBA season — and
at 21 the Heat's youngest player — was traded to Cleveland in 2001.

    黃蜂在2000年夏天的一場牽涉九名球員的交易案中把Davis交易到了熱火，但是Davis
弄傷了他的腳踝和膝蓋所以只出賽了七場。那時蛛絲馬跡已經開始顯露了。一名球員，無
論他有多大的潛力，在遭到揮棄之前總是沒有太大的發揮空間。過不久他又繼續顛沛流離
了。Davis在他的第三年職業生涯，同時也是熱火陣中最年輕的21歲球員，再度於2001年
被交易到騎士。


But before he left, Davis says he found a mentor in Pat Riley.

    但是在他離開之前，Davis說他找到了他的依靠，Pat Riley。


"I was out of control," Davis says. "I was a little firecracker. When I was
18, 19, I was a little firecracker. But I kept getting hurt. [Riley] kept
giving me books and keeping me straight. [He gave] me life tips."

    「我已經失去控制了，」Davis表示。「我就像個不定時炸彈。當我18、19歲的時候
就已經是個炸彈了，但是我仍然持續受到刺激。Riley他讓我看了很多書並且讓我沒有誤
入歧途。他給了我很多人生建議。」


Larry Bird is mentoring Lance Stephenson.

    而Larry Bird則是Stephenson的心靈導師。


Bird resigned from his team presidency last summer, but he still texts
Stephenson small notes of encouragement. "Force D-Wade left, don't let him go
middle," he wrote before a recent game against the Heat. They talk at least a
handful of times a month.

    Bird去年夏天辭去了他的總裁職位，但是他仍然傳些訊息來鼓勵Stephenson。「讓
Dwyane Wade切左邊，不要讓他從中間切入。」在對熱火的幾場比賽前他這樣告訴他。他
們在一個月裡面總是會交流好幾次。


"My impression is that Larry really went out of his way, really liked him as
a player, thought he could be very good and that he made a conscious effort
to talk to him all the time and took a specific interest in him," says Donnie
Walsh, who resumed the Pacers' presidency when Bird stepped down.

    「在我的印象裡面，Larry常常專程去看他，非常喜歡他的球員身分，並總是認為他
能夠變得非常棒。因此他總是給予一些心理上的幫助，和他聊聊天並且特別去注意他。」
去年夏天繼任Bird總裁職位的Donnie Walsh表示。


"Larry just liked him as a player," Walsh says. "He understood what he had
heard about him. So I think he took the attitude when he first came here of,
You're not going to play. You're going to learn how to play. You better not
get into any trouble. There was a lot of attention by Larry on the
off-the-court stuff. This is how you act as a pro. I think that the kid
listened, for the most part. From what I heard, it was rough in the first
year. But we had good guys on the team, so they got involved and helped him."

    「Larry非常喜歡他這名球員，」Walsh表示。「他之前聽過Stephenson很多的傳聞，
所以我認為他在Stephenson剛來的時候需要去矯正他的態度：『你不是來打球的，你是來
學習如何打球的，你最好不要惹上什麼麻煩。』Larry非常關心他的場外生活，這就是專
家的表現。我認為那個年輕人在大部分的時候都有聽話。我記得他在第一年過得很辛苦。
但是我們隊上有許多非常好的球員，所以他們每個人都幫了他一把。」


As Davis's parents had after he was drafted, Stephenson's parents moved to
his new city with him.

    就像Davis的父母一樣，Stephenson的父母也和他一起搬到了新城市。


"The team did its best to vet him and to look into some of the scenarios or
situations that you just sort of get into, and to see them for what they are
worth — which is really, in the big picture of things, mischief more than
malice," Ebanks says. "They weren't taking a flyer on him. They did their
homework."

    「這支球隊盡他們的所能去照顧他，以及觀察他的情形與狀況並嘗試著多參與其中，
看看有什麼是可以保留下來的——哪些看起來是無傷大雅的，哪些又是不成體統的，」
Ebanks表示。「他們不是隨便呼攏他一下而已，他們是非常認真的。」


Morton says the Pacers called him before the draft and asked how Stephenson
would react to acquiring money for the first time.

    Morton說Pacers曾經在選秀前問Stephenson說在賺到第一筆大錢之後有什麼規劃。


"I told him it's a great question," Morton says. "Most of us, if we were born
with a little money, if you give us a lot of money, it could change us. I
wouldn't know what he would do with a lot of money. It would depend on his
management team, I told him."

    「我告訴他這是個好問題，」Morton表示。「我們大部分的人如果出身貧困，當我們
賺到一大筆錢的時候會有所改變。我不知道他會想怎麼做，我告訴他這將取決於他的管理
團隊。」


But Stephenson's NBA journey was almost derailed before it began. In August
2010, he was accused of pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs during
an argument. Bird, still in the process of redefining Indiana's identity,
quickly released a statement. In it, he wrote that the Pacers had worked too
hard "to permit the actions of one individual to reverse all of the positive
strides that have been made as a franchise over the last couple of years or
to hurt the image of the rest of the players on our team." Authorities
dismissed the case in 2011. Stephenson's name hasn't appeared in the blotter
since.

    但是Stephenson的NBA之路差點在開始前就走歪了。2010年8月，他遭女朋友控訴說在
一場爭執過他把她推下了樓梯。Bird當時仍然在執行重塑溜馬形象的任務，因此他迅速發
表了一個聲明。在聲明之中，他表示溜馬「在過去幾年非常努力去防止單一球員的偏差行
為抹煞了整支球隊為了良好形象所做的種種努力。」在2011年溜馬當局對這個案件做出了
處分。Stephenson的名字之後再也沒出現在登錄名單上。


On the court, his game had stalled, too. Stephenson dismissed the
constructive criticism of older teammates. He was aloof and moody. Jim
O'Brien coached Stephenson when he broke into the league. "I'll pass," he
simply replied when asked to be interviewed about Stephenson.

    在場上他的表現也同樣地荒腔走板。Stephenson完全不接受隊上老大哥們給的批評指
教。他總是最周遭冷眼旁觀並且鬱鬱寡歡。Jim O'Brien在Stephenson剛進聯盟時負責是
他的教練。當媒體要求他談論關於Stephenson的時候他只簡單回答了一句：「我拒絕。」


Stephenson seldom played in his first two seasons. "We've had some guys here
in the '90s that were older-school guys who would have snapped him in half by
now," Boyle says. "I'm surprised that he's still in one piece. He agitates
his own teammates during practices. Not that it's that bad. But day after day
for six months, I imagine it gets on your nerves."

    Stephenson在他的頭兩年幾乎沒什麼上場機會。「我們曾經有些90年代的老朋友非常
傳統，拉到現在的話八成會把他折成兩段，」Boyle表示。「我很訝異他人現在還好好的
。他再練習的時候總是會挑起其他球員的情緒。當然應該沒那麼糟糕，但是日復一日我想
那會讓你非常不爽。」

（我突然可以想像蘭斯練習前故意在防守和運球不太好的小鄧面前瘋狂耍球的模樣……）


Pacers assistant Dan Burke identified Stephenson as a talented player in need
of some molding. He's the reason coaches want to coach, he thought. He also
recognized that Stephenson's nickname, Born Ready, was far from accurate.

    溜馬的助理教練Dan Burke認為Stephenson是一個天才球員但是需要一些調整。他認
為他是教練之所以想當教練的的原因。他也認為Stephenson的綽號「Born Ready」也有點
名不符實。


"I think he thought he had to come in and show everybody he was the man by
defying the vets, defying leadership," Burke says. "It wasn't defiance in an
explosive or antagonistic way. It was just him trying to be himself. He needs
a little bit of that bravado to perform, and I think he just needed to find
out where he crossed the line, and that was something we had to tell him
every day, that some of the things you are doing isn't helping the team. It
could be something as mundane as keeping your locker clean and being a good
neighbor."

    「我認為他想要藉由蔑視他的學長以及他們的領導展現給所有人看他是個真男人，」
Burke這麼說。「這並不是因為情緒失控或者是敵對意識所引起的，而只是因為他想要做
自己。他需要藉由一點虛張聲勢來表現，而我認為他需要知道自己什麼時候做得太過火，
我們每天都得提醒他，讓他知道他做的事並不是在幫助球隊。在這裡你需要當個好隊友，
這就和你需要保持你的衣櫃清潔是一樣的道理。」


The transformation started, oddly enough, when Stephenson agitated LeBron
James in last season's playoffs. Stephenson had watched the intensity of the
playoffs, the way players bore down on defense, how every possession counted.
He wanted to play, to do anything to help his team. Television cameras caught
Stephenson making a choke signal after James missed a technical free throw in
the third quarter of the series' third game.

    改變開始了，但說也奇怪，是在Stephenson於季後賽挑釁了Lebron James之後。
Stephenson在季後賽期間感受到了那份緊張感，體會到球員如何突破防守以及把握每次的
進攻機會。他想要上場，去做任何事情來幫助球隊。攝影機捕捉到當James於第三戰第三
節時一顆技術犯規罰球沒進之後，Stephenson對他做了一個掐喉的動作。


"I was trying to do anything to get into anybody's head on the floor,"
Stephenson says. "I felt like at that moment I got in his head and I made him
miss that shot. That helped us win that game. I try to be involved even if
I'm not on the floor."

   「我試著進我所能讓所有人都全神投入到場中，」Stepheson表示。「在那當下我認為
我在他腦海裡留下了印象並讓他那球沒罰進。最終這幫助我們贏了比賽。儘管我不在場上
，我仍然試著要投入比賽。」


That didn't sit well with Miami.

    熱火對此感到不耐煩。


"Lance Stephenson?" James asked incredulously. "You want a quote about Lance
Stephenson? I'm not even going to give him the time." Old-school enforcement
ensued. Veteran Juwan Howard aggressively approached Stephenson before the
series' next game. Dexter Pittman, a reserve big man who played for Miami
last season, clotheslined Stephenson during the waning moments of the fifth
game. "I think you've got to stop and wonder at that point, Is it me or is it
everybody else?" Burke says.

    「Lance Stephenson？」James懷疑地問。「你要我對Lance Stephenson做出回應？
我才不會把時間浪費在那傢伙身上。」一些老傳統的摩擦接踵而至。老將Juwan Howard在
下一戰系列戰前叫Stephenson踹共。而去年在熱火坐冷板凳長人Dexter Pittman在第五戰
最後的垃圾時間賞了他一個超大的拐子。「我認為你需要冷靜地好好想一想，你是要讓自
己演獨腳戲還是真的讓所有人都投入其中？」Burke這樣對他說。


Stephenson is right. Indiana did win the third game and assumed a 2-1 series
lead. But then James turned in a 40-point, 18-rebound, nine-assist
masterpiece in the next game. Miami won the final three games on its way to a
championship, and Stephenson learned something about tugging the tiger's tail.

    Stephenson是對的。溜馬的確贏得了第三戰並且有了二比一的系列戰優勢。但是接著
下一場比賽James拿下了40分、18籃板和9籃板的成績。最後熱火連贏三場並成功晉級，
Stephenson則是學到一個教訓：不要去惹惱James。


"It gave LeBron a little trigger," Stephenson says. "It made him go harder
the next game. He responded well after I did that. Coach got on me a little
bit and I just calmed down."

    「這讓James有些不爽，」Stephenson表示。「這讓他下一場比賽更加全力以赴。他
對我的行為做了很好的回應。教練也特別關注了我一番而我最後冷靜了下來。」


Stephenson still talks, especially at practice. But when an opponent talks
back, he turns it up a gear.

    Stephenson仍然口無遮攔，特別是在練習的時候。但是當對手嘴砲回來的時候，他會
用實力去回擊。


"That gets me motivated because when you talk junk that means that you got to
score or you got to show that you're not just talking, you're playing hard
too," Stephenson says.

    「那讓我有了動力，因為當你說垃圾話的同時，你必須要得分來證明你不僅是嘴上說
說而已，你必須要全神貫注。」Stephenson表示。


At a recent practice, Stephenson and teammate George Hill pressed Gerald
Green after a defensive lapse. The badgering was harmless, yet persistent
enough for Coach Frank Vogel to quietly ask them to stop. "He's young and a
lot of guys grow up talking on the court," Walsh says. "Act like you've been
there before. The less you say on the court to referees and other players,
the more confident I think you are. It's kind of like, we all grow up in the
city. After a while, you got to know that the guys who wolfed all the time
weren't very tough. The guys who never said anything scared the shit out of
me."

    在最近的一次練習中，Stephenson和George Hill在一次防守中和Gerald Green產生
了一點小摩擦。這點小衝突不是什麼壞事，但是總教練Frank Vogel覺得有點過火了所以
要求他們停止。「他還很年輕，而且有很多年輕人是在球場上嘴砲長大的，」Walsh表示
。「表現的老練一點。你在場上向裁判以及對手碎碎念越少次，我就認為你的信心越強。
這就好像是我們在同個城市長大。但是時間一久你就知道那些常虛張聲勢的人實際上沒什
麼料子，而沉默的傢伙反而讓我冷汗直流。」










Ricky Davis pissed Michael Jordan off. Like most everyone, he wanted to be
like Jordan once upon a time. He wore number 23 and practiced acrobatic
dunks. But Davis barely played in his first three NBA seasons and Jordan
retired from the Bulls before they could face off. When he arrived in
Cleveland in 2001, he started turning his garbage-time minutes into personal
contests. If he played 10 minutes, he tried to get 15 points. If he played
six, he tried to get 10. By the fifth game of the season, he started to
discover his confidence, scoring 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

    Ricky Davis不喜歡Michael Jordan。像大多數的人一樣，他曾經以Jordan為目標而
努力，他穿23號的球一並且練習花式灌籃。但是Davis在他的前三個球季沒多少上場時間
，而Jordan在他們有機會交手前就在公牛隊退休了。當他2001年加入騎士隊時，他開始把
垃圾時間轉成自己的表演秀。如果他打10分鐘，他會試著拿下15分。如果只有6分鐘，他
也會想辦法得個10分。在球季的第五場比賽，他找到了自信，以11投7中的成績拿下了17
分。


He played even more after Cleveland dealt two veterans ahead of him, Lamond
Murray and Wesley Person. Davis played in every game of the '01-02 season
after combining for just 101 games in his first three seasons. He also
finally got his chance to engage (and enrage) Jordan, who had recently
returned to the NBA as a Washington Wizard.

    在騎士交易來兩名原本要取代他的老將，Lamond Murray和Wesley Person後，他反而
獲得了更多的上場時間。Davis在前三年只出賽了101場比賽後，在01-02球季打滿了整季
。同時他也終於找到機會和剛重新復出到華盛頓巫師隊的Jordan對抗。


Davis outdueled him, too. Both scored 18 points, but Jordan missed 10 more
shots and grew impatient with Davis's dunks at the end of an easy Cavaliers
victory. Jordan told Davis that he would remember his performance the next
time they played. "I started talking," Davis says. "I don't know why. Who
wouldn't say something, you know? Then after the game, I think he felt it. I
said, 'Hey, MJ. Can I get your shoes?' He just looked at me. He came back and
tore my ass up."

    Davis也贏過了他。雖然兩人同樣都得了18分，但是Jordan多打了十次鐵而且最後對
於終場Davis在騎士勝利前的一次灌籃感到很不爽。Jordan告訴Davis他會把這筆帳留到下
次見面再算。「我開始講些垃圾話了，」Davis說。「我也不知道為什麼，你知道人總是
很難管住自己的嘴巴的。在比賽後我相信他感受到很不爽。我對他說：『嘿，MJ，我可以
跟你要一雙鞋作紀念嗎？』他瞪著我。結果下次交手時他把我給肛爆了。」


Later that season, the 38-year-old Jordan dropped 40 points on Davis. "He
didn't say too much," Davis says. "Just, 'I've got your ass, young fella.
I've got your ass.' That's what he said. When we stepped on the court, I
didn't say nothing. I didn't want to wake him up no more. He came into the
game and remembered that."

    不久之後，38歲的Jordan在Davis頭上砍了40分。「他沒說什麼，」Davis表示。「他
只說：『我把你肛爆了，你這屁孩。從今以後一輩子都是好朋友了。』這是他對我說的。
當我們再度交手的時候，我嘴巴閉得緊緊的。我不想再讓他升旗了。這件事他應該還意猶
未盡。」

（原文用字也蠻粗俗的，所以我也亂翻了一下lol）
（典故請參閱：http://tinyurl.com/2d7cyhj）


Davis cemented his role as a crowd-pleaser with the Cavs. He could go for 40
points on seemingly any night. He was the first player to have an in-game
through-the-legs dunk. He posterized Steve Nash and Charlie Ward. He even
wagged his index finger after blocking Dikembe Mutombo. "I got a tech too,"
he says. Davis had everything except wins.

    Davis在騎士隊藉由取悅觀眾鞏固了他的地位。他看起來幾乎可以每場都拿個40分。
他也是第一位在比賽中完成跨下換手灌籃的球員。他在Steve Nash和Charlie Ward頭上灌
籃。他甚至在蓋了Dikembe Mutombo火鍋之後對他搖手指。「我吃了技術犯規，」他回憶
。Davis幾乎做到了任何事——除了贏球。


The Cavs were on their way to a rare victory over the Jazz on March 16, 2003,
when Davis turned a blowout into a scene that's still debated to this day.
During the game, Davis had been told by a teammate that he was just two
rebounds shy of a triple-double. He had been close a few other times that
season, but he could never seal the deal. "When I hear that, all I hear is
Ice Cube [rapping], 'Mess around and got a triple-double,'" Davis says.
"That's all I hear."

    騎士在2003年3月16日對上爵士的時候取得了一場難得的勝利，但同時Davis幹了一件
直到今天都還為人津津樂道的事情。在比賽中，隊友告訴Davis說他只差兩顆籃板就能拿
到大三元。他那一季達成過很多次微三元，但卻從來沒有成功過。「當我聽到這消息的時
候，我感到有個聲音在對我說：『就去隨便幹個大三元下來吧。』」Davis表示。「那是
腦海裡唯一的想法。」


With time winding down, he grabbed one more rebound late in the fourth
quarter. His line: 28 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds.

    當時間快跑完的時候，他在終場前又抓了一顆籃板，他的數據已經到了28分、12助攻
和9籃板。


"Now I can't get a rebound to save my life and I'm talking about 30 seconds
on the clock," Davis says. "I'm still thinking of a way to try and go get
it." Davis motioned for teammate Jumaine Jones to inbound the ball to him in
the closing moments. "They were about to foul me," Davis says. "I don't know
why they were fouling. We were up 20 points. But they were still fouling at
the end of the game. So when I caught the ball, I knew he was going to foul
me. I caught it. I went and tried to go get that rebound and it stuck with
me."

    「我還差一顆籃板就能解脫了，而時間還剩下30秒，」Davis回憶。「我還在想說該
如何達成。」Davis叫隊友Jumaine Jones最後讀秒前發界外球給他。「對手很快就衝過來
要犯我規，」David表示。「我不知道為什麼他們要犯規。我們已經領先20分了。但是他
們仍然要衝過來犯規。所以當我要球的時候，我知道對手要過來了。我拿到球後往自家籃
框跑然後偷了一顆籃板。」


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XDtGHHnA9ms


In an attempt to acquire that final rebound, Davis purposefully shot and
missed at his own basket. (By rule, a player cannot be credited with a
rebound for a miss on his own goal.) Then things got ugly. Old-school
enforcement ensued when Utah's DeShawn Stevenson fouled Davis. Hard. Utah
coach Jerry Sloan turned irate, telling reporters afterward, "I was glad that
Shawn tried to knock him down. They can put me in jail or whatever they want
for saying that, but that's the way it is."

    在嘗試完成大三元的時候，Davis故意自投自搶一顆防守籃板。（規則上寫一名球員
自投自搶的時候該籃板是不算數的。）然後事情變得醜陋了。舊式的成規再度在場上被執
行，爵士的DeShawn Stevenson犯了Davis狠狠一規。爵士教練Jerry Sloan感到很火大，
賽後告訴記者們說：「我很高興Shawn去呼伊死。大家可以因為我下的命令把我送進監獄
還什麼的，但是傳統就是傳統。」


The sequence ignited a fierce debate about individual achievement and results
in sports. The Cavaliers fined Davis $35,000. Figures around the league
denounced him and his selfish style of play. Davis has the advantage of a
decade's worth of perspective now. He says he's surprised the stunt has stuck
with him, but he also concedes it was all his own doing.

    有關於球員的個人數據這件事情引發了一陣軒然大波。騎士隊罰了Davis三萬五千美
金。而他的自私行為也使得那顆籃板最終被聯盟取消。Davis現在多了十年的滄桑。他說
他很驚訝自己以前會這麼愛耍球，但是他也面對了他自己不堪的一面。


"I had thought I got the rebound," he says. "I was so in my selfishness that
I wasn't thinking of the whole perception of what could happen. When you're
so young, you don't think about what will happen later. And me coming from
where I'm coming from, playing in the park all day … I'm going to get in
trouble? Why would I get in trouble? We're up by 20. That's what I'm thinking
in my head. We're up by 20. Why would I get in trouble? But there's more
politics involved. There's more than being a little kid and playing in a
grown man's world."

    「我當時認為我完成了那次大三元，」他表示。「我當時實在是太自私以至於沒有去
想說這樣做會有什麼後果。當你還年輕的時候，很難去三思而後行。而我以前就是如此，
成天在公園打球……我會惹上什麼麻煩嗎？為什麼？我們領先20分耶。我當時腦袋裡面只
有在想這些東西。我們領先20分，為什麼我會惹上麻煩？但是這裡面有很多的潛規則包含
在其中。一個小屁孩和一個大人的世界是差很多的。」


Coaches from John Lucas to Keith Smart to Paul Silas came and went in
Cleveland. Davis says that Lucas told him that the organization planned to
lose as many games as possible in order to better position itself to acquire
James in the 2003 draft.

    John Lucas、Keith Smart和Paul Silas陸續執教了騎士隊。Davis表示Lucas告訴他
說球團希望輸越多越好，這樣才有更大的機會來選中2003年的狀元James。


"When I came in, I was young," Davis says. "I learned from the older guys.
The older guys didn't take no shit. That kind of stuck with me the older I
got. I was kind of stubborn, wasn't listening. When I was in Cleveland, they
were trying to lose all the games. Who wouldn't be mad? Would you be mad as a
player if the coach wanted to lose all the games? You would. But you've got
to blame it on somebody. They wanted to lose all the games and get LeBron. I
wasn't happy. I didn't like it."

    「當我進聯盟的時候，我還很年輕，」Davis表示。「我從前輩們的身上學習。那些
老傢伙們根本不把那當一回事。當我吸收更多之後我變得更老練。我有點固執，不太鳥這
些話。當我在騎士的時候，他們想要輸掉全部的比賽。誰不會不爽？你是球員，教練要你
輸球你不會不爽嗎？不可能。但是你只能向其他人發洩。他們想要擺爛然後拿到LeBron。
我很不爽，我不喜歡這麼做。」


The Cavaliers won just 17 games in the 2002-03 season. They drafted James
first overall that summer.

    騎士最終在2002-03球季只贏了17場比賽。他們在那年夏天以狀元籤選了James。


http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0409/gl_g_ljrdts_576.jpg


"One-two punch" is how Davis imagined himself playing with James. "Then Silas
came in," he says. "Me and Silas had a past in Charlotte. I don't know why
Coach Silas was mad, but I'm thinking it was all about LeBron and the
transition of trying to make him the number one. I mean, I was ready to ride
with him one-two 'cause I was doing my thing."

    「雙劍合璧」是Davis對於自己和James打球的期待。「然後Silas來上任了，」他表
示。「我和Silas在黃蜂隊有段過去。我不知道他為什麼不爽我，但我知道這大概和把
James拱上天的計畫有關。我的意思是，我想要和他來個『雙劍合璧』，然後我自顧自地
履行我的想法。」


"They were kind of messing with me because I didn't need no plays. I was on
fire, but they wanted LeBron, so it kind of got weird. They started taking me
out, started labeling me, saying I was talking crazy to LeBron. It got kind
of weird."

    「他們想要開始搞掉我因為我不在他們的計畫之中。我當時狀況正好，但是他們想要
栽培的昰LeBron，所以事情變得有些詭異。他們開始疏遠我，給我貼上標籤，說我帶壞
LeBron，這真的很詭異。」


Cleveland traded Davis to Boston that season, where he joined Antoine Walker
and Paul Pierce. Davis worked on his craft, solidifying his rebounding and
jumper, as the Celtics qualified for the playoffs. He became a fan favorite
in Boston and continued his high-flying antics and penchant for showboating.
He tried his through-the-legs dunk again against the Lakers.

    之後騎士在那個球季把Davis交易去了塞爾提克，讓他和Antoine Walker以及Paul
Pierce打球。Davis持續精進球技，強化他的籃板和跳投能力，並且幫助塞爾提克打進了
季後賽。他在波士頓成為一個受到粉絲喜愛並且持續他的空中特技以及花式表演。他還在
對上湖人的比賽中嘗試一次跨下換手灌籃。


"But I moved too fast," Davis says about the attempt. "I went from the wrong
angle and I messed up. So I got it back and I did a 360." The play was Davis
in a nutshell: the ambition, the athleticism, and the waywardness all on full
display.

    「但是那次我跑太快了，」Davis回憶起那次嘗試。「我起跳的角度不對並且沒能把
球扣進去。所以我又重新來並且改成360度灌籃。」那一球展現了Davis的本質：一個具
有野心、運動能力以及難以捉摸的好表現性格。










Even players with the most irrational sense of confidence need to start
somewhere. Stephenson found his against Sacramento in November. When the
Kings forced Indiana into overtime, Stephenson was surprised to find himself
still on the floor. It was only the third game of what he considered his
make-or-break season. He had never played serious minutes when it mattered
this much. But he was unfazed, connecting on a 3-pointer in overtime, helping
to force a second overtime. The Pacers won easily in the second OT.


    即使是信心爆棚的球員也得要明白千里之行始於足下。Stephenson在十一月面對國王
的時候找到了他的自信。當國王迫使溜馬進入延長加賽時，他非常訝異自己還留在場上。
那只是他認為他能夠爆發的那個球季的第三場比賽而已。他從來沒有打過如此關鍵的時刻
。但是他無所畏懼，在延長賽中投進一顆三分球，幫助球隊進入第二度延常加賽。最後溜
馬在二度延長中輕鬆擊敗國王。

（個人稍為講一下，蘭斯在投進這顆三分球的時候幫助溜馬取得94比91的領先，但是他最
後防守漏掉了M.Thornton才是球隊被逼到二度延長的主因……never mind）


http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0409/gl_g_lancests_576.jpg


Stephenson had spent two years studying Danny Granger, Paul George, and
others who played ahead of him. They knew the defensive signals, the calls,
when to shoot a gap, how to trail a shooter. This was all new for him.
Cincinnati mostly stuck to zone defense. Its offense was unsophisticated. But
in the NBA, you can't tell your coach you're in a zone and can't be pestered
with plays.

    在這之前Stephenson向Danny Granger、Paul George以及其他輪替順位在他之前的人
學習。他們知道防守的陣型、戰術走位、製造空檔以及緊盯射手。這些對他來說都是新的
事物。辛辛那提大多數時候使用區域防守，而進攻也不太有系統。但是在NBA，你不能告
訴教練說你想守區域而且不太會跑戰術。


"You can't be too wild in this league because everybody's smart," Stephenson
says. Assistant coach Brian Shaw kept telling Stephenson that players like
Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady did not arrive in the NBA as All-Stars.

    「你在聯盟裡不能太狂妄，因為每個人都很聰明。」Stephenson表示。助理教練
Brian Shaw不停提醒他像是Kobe Bryant或者是Tracy McGrady也都不是一進NBA就是全明
星。


"He always had the ball skills, the bravado," Shaw says. "That was a big part
of his game, but like a lot of young players, you get in this league and you
are playing against grown men. Now you're not the biggest, strongest guy
anymore. Offensively, he needed to get confidence in his perimeter game,
which he has now. But he had to learn how to guard scorers at his position.
That was probably the weakest part of his game. At that position, you have to
learn how to guard the best scorers night in and night out."

    「他一直都身懷球技以及膽識，」Shaw如此評價。「這是他比賽的一部分，但是就像
其他年輕球員一樣，你進到這個聯盟並且和更年長的人競爭。現在你在也不是最強大的球
員了。在進攻端，他需要在外圍更加自信，而他現在的確做到了。但是他必須要學會如何
防守其他的得分好手。這是他目前急待加強的一部分。在他的位置，他需要去學會如何每
次比賽都守住對方最好的得分手。」


Granger has missed the bulk of the season with a knee injury, so Stephenson
was added to the starting lineup in the season's seventh game. George slid
down to small forward to make room for Stephenson as Indiana's shooting
guard. He's started every game since. "I don't ever want to come off the
bench," Stephenson says. "I want to be known as a starting player. So, I've
got to keep working. If I keep doing that, the sky's the limit."

    Granger因膝傷缺席了大半的比賽，因此Stephenson在球季的第七場比賽加入了先發
陣容。George則是轉打小前鋒來把得分後衛的位置讓給Stephenson。從此之後他就成了固
定先發球員。「我從來都不想從板凳出發，」Stephenson坦承。「我想要以先發球員的身
分闖出名號。因此，我會繼續加油。如果我持續努力，那就沒有極限。」


Vogel points to another game, against Denver, when Stephenson made little
impact. Vogel told Stephenson that when he was not at his best, neither are
the Pacers. "That's when he realized how important he is to this team and
that he's not a fill-in for Danny Granger and keeping his seat warm," Vogel
says. "He's a major factor at both ends of the ball in our success this year."

    Vogel曾經指出一場對上金塊的比賽，一場Stephenson打得像人形立牌的比賽。Vogel
告訴Stephenson他和整隊溜馬都沒進入狀況。「那讓他知道他對於整支球隊是多麼的重要
，而不是只是Danny Granger休息時的替代品。」Vogel表示。「他在攻守端的表現是我們
本季成功的重要因素。」


The Pacers are undeniably better with Stephenson on the floor. His averages
of eight and a half points and four rebounds per game may not impress,
especially for New York City's all-time leading high school scorer. But he
has already succeeded where other phenoms have failed.

    溜馬無庸置疑地在Stephenson上場時打得比較好。他平均每場8.5分以及4籃板的成績
可能不是那麼讓人印象深刻，尤其是他身為紐約市高中的得分紀錄保持人的身分。但是當
其他優良校友都失敗的時候他已經成功了。


"Particularly in New York, he was made out to be the savior," says Walsh, a
native who presided over the Knicks when Stephenson played in high school.
"To a degree, he came into this league very, very young. He's still very
young. I think he has made the adjustment to being a great talent and trying
to get his game ready for the NBA game. A lot of guys can't [escape] the tag.
This kid has gotten out of it and he realizes what he wants to do."

    「在紐約的時候，他特別被塑造成一個救世主的形象。」Walsh，一位當Stephenson
在高中打球時擔任尼克總裁的當地人表示。「在某種程度上，他加入聯盟時非常非常地年
輕。他現在也還是。我認為他已經為打NBA的比賽做好調整了。很多人都沒能擺脫身上標
籤的束縛，這個年輕人已經成功擺脫並且明白他的目標了。」


The Pacers, amazingly, have not missed a beat without Granger, a smart and
collected leader on the court who emerged as the face of the franchise after
the brawl. But Stephenson helped make the transition without him easier. Now,
the Pacers are again eyeing a rematch with Miami in the playoffs. This time,
Stephenson will have a chance to actually influence the outcome on the court.

    令人驚訝地，溜馬並沒有在少掉Granger，一位聰明並且在大亂鬥後成為領導人的球
員時一蹶不振。Stephenson彌補了這個重大的損失。現在，溜馬再度以在季後賽向熱火復
仇為目標。這一次，Stephenson中於友機會成為一個在場上具有影響力的球員。


"He's still Lance," center Roy Hibbert says. "He still does the things that
he does, but he does it in an aggressive nature."

    「他仍然一如既往，」中鋒Roy Hibbert表示。「他仍然做好他自己的本分，但是是
以一種更積極的態度去面對。」


http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0409/gl_g_awalkts_576.jpg


And Ricky is still Ricky.

    而Ricky也是一如既往。


He bounced from Boston to Minnesota in 2006 before reuniting with Miami in
2007. After Dwyane Wade injured his knee and shoulder, Riley reacquired Davis
to pair him with Shaquille O'Neal. "I made the mistake of trading him," Riley
told reporters. "He's a very talented kid. He was not a problem here. We just
needed to move and get bigger players at that time." Davis's knee ached by
then. But he played on it anyway — he was in a contract year. It's hard to
find a place in the NBA for a jumper who cannot jump. Davis's outspoken,
reckless reputation was secure by then, but the league will overlook anything
if you can play. If you can't, though?

    他在2006年離開塞爾提克前往灰狼，2007年時又加入了熱火。在Dwyane Wade的膝蓋
和肩膀受傷後，Riley再度要求Davis和Shaquille O'Neal搭檔。「交易掉他是個錯誤，」
Riley向記者坦承。「他是個非常有天分的年輕人，並且不會製造麻煩。我們當時只是需
要引進更強的球員而已。」Davis之後的膝蓋開始出了狀況，但是他仍然帶傷上陣——當
時正值他的合約年。一名跳投為主的球員失去跳躍力後很難在NBA找到立足之地。Davis的
直言不諱的個性以及魯莽的性格在當時已經非常收斂。不過這個聯盟在當你能打的時候這
些才會是需要審視的部分。如果你不能打，這些能當飯吃嗎？


Davis departed Miami for the Clippers. Then he became a global basketball
wanderer. But he's not satisfied with how things ended, or ready to be
relegated to the history books like other troubled stars.

    Davis離開了熱火並加入了快艇。然後他成了浪跡世界各地的球員。但是他不滿意這
個結局，也不想要在標記問題球星的記事本上被記上一筆。


"That's my whole dream now," he says. "I'm not taking nothing for granted. I
still got it. Just seeing where I'm at and how many guys of my talent are out
— A.I. [Allen Iverson], Big Dog [Glenn Robinson], the same type of caliber
guys — when they did that to them, I don't know. Certain guys like that,
trying to get in. [Latrell] Sprewell — of course he asked for too much
money. But for the guys who don't do nothing wrong, like me — just hurt.
Just forgotten. It's cool to be forgotten because I played like shit the last
two years, but I was hurt. So it's cool. I understand that."

    「這是我現在全部的夢想了，」他說。「我現在不會把任何事情當作是理所當然。我
已經覺悟了。在看到一些和我一樣有天賦的球員消失——像是Allen Iverson和Glenn
Robinson；時，我不太能明白為何他們的天賦反倒成了絆腳石。像他們也仍然在為了重返
NBA而努力。Latrell Sprewell——當然我知道他要求太多錢了。但是從來沒做錯事的人
——像我，只是單純的受害者。忘了他吧。被遺忘或許不是件壞事，因為在最後兩年我打
得一無是處，但是我真的很受傷。所以就這樣忘了他吧。」


"I don't got a DUI, none of that. I might have got in the drug program. But
who ain't did that? But 'Why?' is my question. Why can't I get back in? They
don't look at it like, 'You've almost got 10,000 points.' I just want that
10,000 points. I'm about 80 points away from 10,000. Is that normal?"


    「我從來沒有酒駕過，從來沒有。我曾有一些藥物濫用的問題。但是誰都有可能那麼
做吧？但是『為什麼這麼做』才是重點。為什麼我不能夠重新洗心革面？他們並沒有以一
位『幾乎拿了一萬分了的球員』的方式來看待我。我想拿到一萬分。我還差80分就可以完
成了。這樣的理由夠正當嗎？」


Lance Stephenson, the boy they called Born Ready, is just starting to get
born. Meanwhile, the man who witnessed a profound transformation in the
league believes he is again prepared for the NBA.

    Lance Stephenson，一位被稱作Born Ready的年輕人，正準備要發光。而同時，一位
見證聯盟重大轉變的男人再度為了回到NBA作好準備。


"I'm ready," Davis says. "That's it. Ain't no ifs, ands, or buts. I'm ready."

    「我準備好了。」Davis表示。「就這麼回事，沒有什麼其他條件，我準備好了。」

（完）




--
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推 KenK:good job!
推 jyunwei:好文！
推 singzion333:推推!
推 Phiss:推~~
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推 howlong:推!
推 oglms:辛苦了,推舞王,明天加油!!
推 shepay:好文推!!!
推 PiGFAcE:大感謝推！謝謝您的辛苦翻譯！
推 hsf0318:好文感謝推!!
→ jyunwei:這篇文章寫的不錯，翻的也好，很認真鋪陳，不過害我也很認
→ jyunwei:真的想說Ricky Davis跟溜馬的關係，雖然溜馬有很多Davis
→ jyunwei:後來才知道XD
推 laydo:Ricky Davis...讓我想到當年他拿掃把出來嗆聲橫掃溜馬
→ laydo:結果惹怒了神米,反倒以第六種子淘汰第三的C's
→ laydo:當年也就是神米最後一個球季(淚.....)
※ 編輯: k960674         來自: 218.173.154.206      (04/21 22:22)
※ 編輯: k960674         來自: 218.173.154.206      (04/21 22:23)
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