作者kerrys (台北不是我的家)
看板Pistons
標題[外電] Generation Next (上)
時間Sun Feb 10 23:18:08 2008
原文出處：
http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/gen_next_080126.html
--
Lennon and McCartney were very good separately but utterly brilliant together.
A good burger becomes a gastronomic masterpiece when complemented by perfectly
done french fries. Greatness often is the product of the synergy that results
from the marriage of two elements that stand on their own just fine but zoom to
the far end of the bull curve when coupled.
約翰藍儂和保羅麥卡尼本身就非常傑出了但他們合作可說是所向無敵。一個好漢堡只
要補上一份精心製作的薯條就成了一道美食經典鉅作。而偉大通常是來自兩個本身只是不
錯但合併後效果會呈現如牛角般爆炸性成長曲線的個體間的協力合作。
So it’s been for Pistons backcourts for more than two decades spanning three
generations of guards inexorably linked.
就活塞後場而言，過去超過二十年間就有三個世代的完美後衛組合橫亙其中。
Isiah and Joe. Hunter and Houston. Chauncey and Rip. And now … Stuckey and
Afflalo?
笑笑湯和老喬。獵人和休士頓。槍蜥和RIP。而現在...Stuckey和Afflalo？
Too soon to allow the rookies on this side of the velvet rope yet. Rodney
Stuckey flashed moments of brilliance throughout the preseason, but then went
down with a broken left hand that cost him the first 25 games of the season and
now has him fighting through a crash course in NBA 101. Arron Afflalo has
established himself as a quality perimeter defender content to pick his spots
offensively, but it’s a battle for minutes now that Stuckey is back and the
Pistons are force feeding him playing time to accommodate his NBA
indoctrination.
拿這兩個菜鳥和這群星光燿燿的前輩相比不稍嫌過早了些嗎？Rodney Stuckey在季前
賽展現了卓越的才華，但左手骨折使他錯過了本季前25場比賽，所以現在他還在奮鬥，試
圖突破幾乎每個甫入NBA的菜鳥必經的撞牆期。Arron Afflalo早就以外線防守大鎖的角色
證明自己的能耐並藉此掙得攻擊端出手的機會，但在Stuckey歸隊後他得更盡力爭取上場時
間，因為活塞勢必得給予Stuckey足夠的上場時間，讓他盡快適應，融入NBA之中。
But all indications are that Joe Dumars – one-half of the combination that
began this Noah’s Ark course for Pistons guards and, as president, the one
charged with making sure the backcourt stays stockpiled – hit home runs in
expending first-round picks on Stuckey and Afflalo last June.
但這一切是老喬 - 開啟活塞後衛諾亞方舟之旅的元老之一，同時身為必須負責讓後場
保持高度競爭力的總管老喬 - 在去年六月選秀會以第一輪選秀權挑選Stuckey和Afflalo是
否押對寶的指標。
Thomas and Dumars, of course, were central figures in the hanging of the first
two NBA championship banners in franchise history from The Palace rafters.
Allan Houston and Lindsey Hunter never got the chance. Drafted together with
the 10th and 11th picks in the 1993 draft held at – of all places – The
Palace, the promising pairing died in 1996 when the Knicks stunned the NBA with
a huge contract offer that pried Houston away from the Pistons three years into
a highly productive career.
笑笑湯和老喬當然是活塞遷隊宮殿球場後得以奪下首兩座NBA總冠軍的靈魂人物。
Allan Houston和獵人從未擁有這樣的機會。在'93年於宮殿球場舉行的選秀會上第10順位
和第11順位一起被挑選入隊，這對看似充滿無限希望的組合在'96年就拆夥了，因為尼克以
一紙震驚NBA的巨額合約吸引休士頓離開待了三年的活塞，前往大蘋果繼續發光發熱。
Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton also arrived together, thought not via the
draft. Dumars, two years into his run as Pistons president, set the wheels for
the franchise’s third NBA title in motion over the summer of 2002. That’s
when he identified Billups from among a seemingly unremarkable crop of free
agent point guards and inked him to a contract that is widely hailed as the
most prescient mid-level exception deal ever. A few months later, he swung the
trade that sent All-Star Jerry Stackhouse to Washington for Hamilton.
槍蜥和RIP雖然都不是藉由選秀入隊但也是在同一個球季一起加入活塞。擔任活塞總管
兩年後，老喬在'02年夏天成功奠定了活塞奪得隊史第三座總冠軍的基調。那年他在自由人
肉市場，啊不，是自由球員市場茫茫人海中相中看似平庸的控衛槍蜥，並和他簽下了一紙
日後被普遍認為是有史以來最有遠見也最划算的中產合約。幾個月後，他推動了另一筆重
要的交易，把全明星球員牛排屋送至華盛頓巫師換來當時還默默無名的RIP。
Now come Stuckey and Afflalo, bristling with potential and teeming with an
earnestness to fit in, find roles and await the passing of the baton.
現在輪到Stuckey和Afflalo，這兩位充滿潛力，富於熱忱希望盡快融入球隊，正在尋
找自己定位，等待接下前輩手上棒子的菜鳥了。
All four generations are represented by this year’s Pistons team, too, one
celebrating the 50th anniversary of its relocation to Detroit from Fort Wayne,
Ind.: Dumars as president, Hunter in his 15th and presumably final season,
Billups and Hamilton as All-Star mainstays, Stuckey and Afflalo as obedient
students delighted to have landed in a place where guards are cultivated and
valued.
這四個世代都同時現身於今年的活塞隊上，也算是活塞自印第安那州韋恩堡遷至底特
律50週年慶一件紀念的事：老喬是球隊總管，獵人走到職業生涯第15個同時很可能是最後
一個球季，槍蜥和RIP再度連袂入選全明星隊，Stuckey和Afflalo則是一對樂於加入一支後
衛受到重視並且是重點培訓對象的球隊的受教菜鳥。
That cultivation process doesn’t happen by accident, either. Long before
Dumars took off his jersey and moved into the seat of power, he and Isiah took
steps then that they couldn’t have known would still be paying dividends two
generations later.
後衛培訓過程並不是突然開始有的。遠在老喬褪下球衣坐擁球隊運籌帷幄大權之前，
他和笑笑湯就已經是那時球隊的發展重心，但他們可能不知道後衛建軍成功的影響力在兩
個世代之後還存在著。
You’d think that Houston and Hunter, despite their first-round draft status,
would have been hopelessly in awe of Thomas and Dumars and wary of the
reception they’d get from players who’d both been MVP of the NBA Finals and
multiple-times All-Stars during their Hall of Fame careers when the new kids
arrived in ’93.
你會想那休士頓和獵人呢，儘管他倆都是第一輪就中選的球員，他們在'93年新秀球季
時還是有可能因為對笑笑湯和老喬感到敬畏以及從他們兩個球員時代都曾獲選為總冠軍賽
最有價值球員並且多次入選全明星賽的名人堂球員身上獲得的待遇抱持小心翼翼的態度而
無法順利成長茁壯。
And they might have been. Except Thomas and Dumars went out of their way to
embrace them when they just as easily could have held the rookies at arm’s
length and let them know they would never have an easy time sliding into their
positions.
而他們確實可能這樣。因為笑笑湯和老喬不只沒有拒兩位菜鳥於千里之外反而一開始
就對他們展開雙臂，歡迎他們加入球隊，並且讓他們知道，想要獲得像他們那樣的實力和
地位絕對不可能是一蹴可幾的。
“Those guys called us all summer after we were drafted,” Hunter said, the
appreciation for their gestures still evident in his eyes and voice. “It was,
‘Hey, you guys, don’t worry.’ I can’t tell you how good that was for us.
They worked out with us that summer.
"那些傢伙在我們被選後，整個暑假都不斷打電話給我們，"獵人說，對於他們親切態
度的感激一直到今天還明確地留在他的眼睛和聲音之中。"就像，'嘿，小夥子，不用擔心
。'我沒辦法告訴你那對我們產生多大的激勵效果。他們那整個夏天都陪著我們練球。"
“Allan and I were kind of in awe of being around guys who had accomplished so
much. We learned so much about how they went about their business, as far as
basketball was concerned. We learned valuable lessons. I think that’s why
I’ve lasted as long as I have in this league.”
"休士頓和我對於和這些已經擁有如此多成就的球員為伴多少感到有些敬畏。我們從他
們對待籃球的態度上面學習到很多。我們學到相當寶貴的經驗。我認為那正是我得以在聯
盟中打滾至今的原因。"
It was a lesson Hunter absorbed and has applied over his career as other
newcomers – in theory, at least, challengers to his livelihood – have been
brought on board.
那是獵人吸收到並應用於他職業生涯中去對待其他新進成員，那些已經加入球隊的新
戰友 - 那些人都是至少在理論上，可能對他的生計造成影響的挑戰者 - 的寶貴經驗。
“Most definitely, that’s how I’ve approached it, too,” he said. “You
don’t ever want guys to feel like you’re trying to protect your turf or that
he’s imposing. When you get to a certain point, it’s past all that,
especially with an organization like this. You want to bring those guys in and
help them get better, help them fit in and teach them how to help us out.”
"最為肯定地，那也是我得以待到今天的原因，"他說。"你絕對不會希望有人對你抱持
那種試圖把你擋在領土之外的態度或是說他一副就想佔你便宜的感覺。不過當你有一定的
把握，那一切都不重要了，特別是待在像這樣的球隊之中。你會希望引領那些小夥子融入
球隊並幫助他們變得更好，幫助他們適應並教他們如何對球隊產生幫助。"
Dumars, in fact, remembers he and Isiah actually being thrilled when the
Pistons picked up Hunter and Houston.
事實上老喬還記得他和笑笑湯在活塞挑選獵人和休士頓後真的感到芒刺在背。
“I think I was about 30 at the time and Isiah was a couple of years older,”
he said. “You understood, at that point, if they can get two really good
guards, you better get ’em now because who knows when they’re going to get
another chance. We welcomed it at that point. Isiah and I didn’t look at it as
they were coming to take our jobs. It wasn’t a threat to us. We thought they
would be nice players, nice backups, who would one day step in when we were
retiring.
"我想那時候我大概30歲而笑笑湯還比我大上幾歲，"他說。"你懂的，在那個時間點，
如果他們能得到兩個真的很優秀的後衛，你最好馬上把他們帶回家，因為天曉得什麼時候
還會有另一次機會。在那個時間點我們很樂於接受這件事。笑笑湯和我並不把他倆看作準
備來搶我們飯碗的眼中釘。那對我們來說不是威脅。我們認為他們會成為優秀的球員，優
秀的替補，當我們退休後總有一天會接下我們手中的棒子。"
“I think Chauncey and Rip are looking at it the same way. I talked to them a
lot over the summer about the position they’re in – hey, guys, been there,
done that.”
"我認為槍蜥和RIP也會這樣看待他們。我整個夏天重複地跟他們說他們現在的地位 -
嘿，兄弟們，上場去，拿出你們應有的表現。"
It’s been a few years now since the Pistons have been comfortable with their
backcourt backups. The toll of heavy minutes on Billups and Hamilton was felt
in the playoffs last season when they couldn’t find a passing gear as the
Pistons – after storming through the first two rounds – lost in the Eastern
Conference finals to Cleveland.
距離上次活塞對他們後場替補球員感到滿意已經有數年時間了。太過倚重槍蜥和RIP導
致他們在去年季後賽無法找到可靠的替補 - 在前兩輪秋風掃落葉後 - 於東區冠軍賽苦吞
惡果，敗給了克里夫蘭騎士。
They went into this season feeling much better about their perimeter depth. And
just like 14 years ago when Isiah and Joe embraced the idea of drafting two
young pups for relief, Billups and Hamilton smiled on draft night when their
boss supplied support troops.
本季他們對於外線球員深度已經滿意許多了。就像14年前笑笑湯和老喬樂於接受球隊
挑選兩名潛力後場新秀以紓解他們的壓力那樣，槍蜥和RIP在選秀夜他們老闆用兩枚第一輪
選秀權挑選他們的準接班人後開心地笑了。
-- 未完待續
--
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◆ From: 118.232.102.124
※ 編輯: kerrys 來自: 118.232.102.124 (02/10 23:18)
推 Kreen:推～ 02/10 23:59
推 Huajin:推~Stuckey Afflalo加油! 02/10 23:59
推 Loj:大推 !! 02/11 00:19
推 charlie01:推 這球隊真的令人驕傲 02/11 00:30
推 kuankubank:推 02/11 00:42
推 royshine:推 發現文章超難 Kerrys辛苦了 02/11 00:45
推 royshine:另附無聊八卦 Afflalo和Prince都在Compton CA讀的高中 02/11 00:51
→ royshine:是不是意味著他們來自一個地方?XD 02/11 00:53
推 RAYBO:辛苦推 02/11 03:23
→ Afflalo:至少都是加州 但高中好像不同間 02/11 06:54
推 eloveb:PUSH 02/11 14:36
推 cd928:推~~ 02/11 17:29
※ kerrys:轉錄至看板 NBA 02/13 09:15
推 pennymarcus:翻的真好！ 02/13 15:38