[外電] Celtics’ Rajon Rondo brimming with confidence

[cyjoe (標章查核)]

軟豆現在有滿滿的信心～

He always has been considered bright beyond his years, and certainly smarter
than the rest of the people on the floor.

一直以來軟豆都被視為一個比實際年齡還要聰明的孩子，當然也是個更聰明的球員。

If the best basketball players see the game develop at a slower speed, then
that was Rajon Rondo from the time he became a point guard.

我們可以說，軟豆已成長成一個控球後衛，球場上的一舉一動在他的眼中彷彿像
慢動作樣，就如那些最好的籃球選手。

“He’s so smart,” said Doug Bibby, who coached the Celtics point guard for
three years at Louisville (Ky.) Eastern High School, before Rondo moved on
to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. “I pick his brains right now whenever I
get the chance.”

”他真的超聰明！”軟豆在路易維耳市高中唸書時的教練Doug Bibby（今天被我們
狂噓的Bibby的堂兄弟）大力的稱讚他。

Everything about the energetic, wiry guard spoke of something from a higher
level.

Doug Bibby當然也對這個精力旺盛的小控衛有著很高的期許和標準。

Bibby saw the game against Detroit earlier this season when Rondo drove home
a Celtics win with a spectacular dunk over Jason Maxiell.

當然Bibby也看到軟豆對戰活塞時在Jason Maxiell頭上那顆超大號灌籃。（一條龍超帥
，本季NBA灌籃第一名！！！）

Compared to the confident high school star who could do everything well —
from point guard, to quarterback, to a natural ability to excel in the
classroom — Bibby saw nothing in that dunk that was a revelation.

不過和軟豆在高中時不管籃球控衛、美式足球四分衛、甚至學業等十八般武藝樣樣精通
的表現來說，Bibby不覺得這灌籃是多了不起的舉動。

“His sophomore year we ran an alley-oop for him, and he dunked on a guy’s
shoulders,” said Bibby. “He was literally over the guy’s shoulders.”

在他二年級的時候我們試著為他跑一個空中接力的戰術，結果他跳過一個人肩膀的高度
灌籃，真的，我沒有吹牛。

Rondo also moved in rarefied circles at a young age. Deion Branch, the former
Patriots wide receiver and Super Bowl XXXIX MVP, was at the University of
Louisville at the time and occasionally gave pointers to Louisville Eastern's
young quarterback.

其實軟豆在很幼齒的時候就已經被精英包圍著，Deion Branch，前任愛國者外接手和
超極盃MVP得主，就曾經來到路易維耳市高中指導他四分衛的技巧。

“I hung out with a lot of older guys — Derek Anderson as well,” Rondo said
of the Kentucky and NBA veteran.

”我常和年長的人混在一起，包括Derek Anderson這位NBA前輩。”軟豆說。
（不是還有中年扶輪社．．．sorry，是滑輪社找你參加嗎？真有老人緣～）

Bibby also took Rondo out to Sacramento to meet his famous cousin, Kings
point guard Mike Bibby, who now runs the offense for the Hawks. They shot
around together and Rondo absorbed everything from the unusual opportunity.

Bibby也曾帶軟豆去沙加緬度找他的堂兄弟，當時還是國王隊的Mike Bibby學習有關
如何做為一名籃球控衛的知識。

The two are presently locked in a first-round NBA playoff series as opposing
starters. Back in high school, Rondo undoubtedly foresaw this moment, or
something like it.

這一老一少控衛現在成為東區第一輪的季後賽對手，軟豆說他在高中時就感覺到這一天
的到來。（真的還假的？順便幫我感應一下賭盤好不好～每次都押錯/__\）

“It’s just not me,” Rondo recently said with a shrug of whether he’s
ever been awed.

當被問到是否對此感到畏懼，軟豆則聳聳肩回答：”這不是我的個性。”

That attitude is made to order for someone asked to man the point for Kevin
Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen this season. Someone with a lesser sense
of self wouldn’t have managed nearly as well.

正也是這樣的個性，使他能夠指揮一隻由KG、PP、雷槍所組成的全明星隊伍，如果不是
對自己有足夠的信心，軟豆可能沒辦法像現在做的如此出色。

When the majority of the NBA rightly pointed to Rondo as the Celtics’ major
issue six months ago, the large chip on his shoulder wasn’t taken into
consideration.

當六個月前所有對軟豆的質疑被提出時，他們並沒有考慮到軟豆好勝的決心。

He expected to succeed.

他預期自己能成功。

“He’s heard naysayers all year, and I told him that you don’t answer them,
except to play,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “If I had tried to answer
all of those people, I would have been gone years ago.”

”一整年下來他不停的受到質疑，我告訴他別去理會他們，只要用自己的表現來回應
這些否定就好了。”Doc更表示，”如果我試著回應所有對我的指責，那我早在一年前
就走人了。”

Just before a game not so long ago, Garnett pulled up a chair in front of
Rondo in the locker room and started to talk, and talk. The younger player
said little.

就在不久前的一場比賽，在休息室裡KG拉了一張椅子坐在軟豆的面前，不停的談話，
談話，還是談話，過程中軟豆很少開口。

His eyes were trained on Garnett’s, occasionally nodding his head, but
otherwise simply absorbing the wisdom. It’s difficult to imagine Rondo,
who appears to be as malleable as clay, came out of college with the tag
of being uncoachable.

他的眼睛鎖定著KG，努力吸收著所有的智慧，只有偶爾時點頭表示認同，很難想像軟豆
這樣可塑的年青人，在進入NBA前被大多數球探貼上難以教導的標籤。

He finds it hard to believe as well, but that was indeed the perception —
that Rondo, after two frustrating years of attempting to adapt his open
court game to Tubby Smith’s more deliberate system at Kentucky, was too
bull-headed.

連他自己也很難相信，但這的確是大多數人的感觀－軟豆這個在肯塔基大學球隊裡掙扎
了二年的小子，固執的像頭牛一樣。

If there’s something that can get even a minor rise out of Rondo, it’s that
accusation. But he had to live with it. After leaving Kentucky following his
sophomore season, Rondo had to answer the question from every general manager
he met.

這指控總是微微讓軟豆感到不滿，自從棄學投入NBA徵選後，每一個球隊的經理都質疑
他同樣的問題。

“I don’t really know how it came up,” he said. “There was one game at
Kentucky where I got benched, and I guess it might have come from that. It
wasn’t just me. There were a couple of starters. One day a team was kicking
our butts, and me and Randolph Morris were taken out of the lineup.

”我真不清楚這件事怎樣傳開來的。”他說，”我想可能是因為曾經有一場比賽對手
在場上修理我們，可是教練卻罰我坐冷板凳，但不只我，其他先發也被拉了下來。”

“I don’t know if that hurt me in the draft, but people interviewed me.
I was asked that by a couple of teams.”

”很多面試我的隊伍都問過我這樣問題，我不清楚它是不是影響了我的選秀順序。”

The Celtics, too, were aware of this rap, though Danny Ainge ultimately was
undeterred in his decision to pass up taking a guard higher in the first
round of the 2006 draft. He instead traded for Phoenix’ pick at No. 21 and
took Rondo.

賽爾提克同樣意識到這個傳言，但Ainge的決心並沒有動搖，他用第一輪的更高選秀權
和太陽隊交換來第21pick的軟豆。

“That’s the sort of thing that we do check into,” Ainge said. “I had
heard that he was a difficult kid to coach. I watched Rajon, and I could
tell that he wasn’t on the same page with his college coach. He wasn’t
listening to what his college coach was saying. I think it was a lot of
things that went into it — a little bit of it was intensity, but he wasn’t
playing the way that he wanted to.

”我們當然有考慮過，傳聞他是個不好教的孩子，但經由我的觀察，他只是和他的
教練不同調而己，他很明顯沒有照教練的意願打球，可能是因為他求勝的意願太強
烈了吧。”

“I saw what I saw, I knew some of the issues, and I didn’t think there was
anything that was uncorrectable. There was a great talent in Rajon. We were
confident after meeting with him that we could get along. Doc has done a
great job of coaching Rajon, and that’s what coaching is.

”儘管有許多的疑慮，我並不認為他是個不受教的球員，他擁有極大的潛力，在見過他
之後我們有自信可以成功改造他，這也正是教練的工作，Doc在這方面明顯的非常成功。”

“He’s matured a lot with the coaching, and understanding the difference
between being coached and being criticized,” Ainge said.

”目前他成熟了許多，他已經明白接受指導與批評間的差異。”

To this day Rondo insists he is friends with Tubby Smith. The friction wasn't
personal. Part of the trouble simply stemmed from that intelligence — the
unwavering confidence he knew as well as anyone else how to play the game.
Kentucky wasn’t the only place where Rondo was benched. Bibby admits Rondo
arrived at Eastern High with a sizable attitude about his own abilities.

至今軟豆仍堅持他和大學教練Tubby Smith還是好朋友，他們間的磨擦並不針對個人，
而是源自球場上認知的不同和軟豆對自己能力的過度自信，Bibby也承認有時他必須把
軟豆罰下板凳區。

“I had to bench him in some games,” Bibby said. “There were some things I
didn’t agree with. In the beginning it can be hard enough going from middle
school to high school. But it’s not that I thought Rajon was uncoachable.
He just wanted to win.

”有時候我們意見相左，但這不是因為他不接受教導，他只是太想贏了。”Bibby回想。

“Rajon and Tubby actually have a great relationship. But early on Rajon was
the fourth or fifth option on the floor, and he might have been a little
uncomfortable with that,” Bibby said. “If Rajon had stayed at Kentucky for
a third or fourth year, you would have seen the relationship between him and
Tubby would develop a lot more.”

”軟豆和Tubby二人的感情其實很融洽，當時他在Tubby的手中僅是第四或第五的出手
選擇，我想那多多少少傷害了他的自尊心，如果他留在肯大更久的話也許這二人的關係
還可以改善。”

According to Bibby, maturity wasn’t the problem, and certainly not
intelligence.

在Bibby眼中，軟豆的成熟度和理解力都不是問題。”

“He was one of the brightest kids in my geometry class — he was very
special in a lot of ways,” he said. “I think his maturity was actually
an eye opener for me and Tubby Smith. I was shocked by how quickly he picked
up my system. I don’t run what would be considered a simple system for high
school, and Rajon picked it up in about a week."

他是我幾何學課堂中最聰明的學生，他非常的特別，他的成熟度讓我和Tubby大開眼界
，就高中程度而言我的戰術系統不那麼簡單，但他只花了一個星期就學會了。”

So Bibby was more inclined to listen when, after pulling Rondo to the side
during a dispute, the guard pointedly talked back.

有一次Bibby在爭辯後把軟豆拉到一旁，他想知道軟豆心理究竟在想什麼，沒想到軟豆
尖銳的回嘴了。

“I remember one time we got into it, and I said, ‘Rajon, remember that I'm
the one who feeds the floor,’ ” he said. “And he said ‘Coach, I’m the
one on the floor.’ I had to step back and think about that for a moment.”

Bibby提醒他，”軟豆，記得我才是指揮球場的人。”軟豆卻回答他，”但我才是那個
實際在場上的人。”Bibby說他當時不得不反思一下軟豆給他的回答。

He still talks back, as evidenced by an oncourt argument with Ray Allen over
an inbounds pass during a recent game in Chicago. Allen respected Rondo’s
chutzpah, as well as the young guard’s apology upon realizing that he was
wrong.

當然現在他還是會回嘴，像最近在芝加哥時雷槍和軟豆就曾因邊線發球權的問題起了
口角，不過雷槍很快就原諒了軟豆的放肆，小朋友也馬上就像老前輩道歉自己當時的
錯誤。

“He’s not easy, but he’s better than he was,” Rivers said. “He’s a kid
with a great basketball IQ and stubbornness, and those things get in the way
sometimes.There’s a difference between individual and team knowledge. I’m
sure that got him in trouble in Kentucky, and it’s been that way here at
times.”

”他並不是一個特別順從的孩子，但他改善了很多，他具有極高的籃球IQ同時也很固執
，個人智慧與團體認知是有差異的，我想這是他在肯大時所遭遇到的麻煩，有時候在這
裡也是。”Doc描述。

What few outside of the Celtics locker room saw coming was the influence of
an All- Star lineup on such rapid development by Rondo.

另外一個從旁人眼中顯而易見的改變就是KG、PP、雷槍為軟豆所帶來的進步。

“Clearly,” Rivers said. “Put any of these guys next to Kevin, Ray and
Paul and it will help them. But when someone speaks up you can’t take it
personally, and he doesn’t. He’s had disagreements with the Big Three at
times. But I’ve told them all that you have to stand up for yourself.
“I talked with Tubby about him, and he just said that Rajon’s a stubborn
kid. He was kind of a loner at Kentucky, which wasn’t going to work here.
The one thing I got on (Rondo) about was that as point guard, you can’t
take energy away from your team like that. You have to give energy.”

”當然你可以說把任何一個人放在KG、PP、雷槍身邊他都會成長，但有人對你直言不諱
時，你也要能挺身而出接受指正，有時候他與三巨頭意見相左，而我告訴他們所有人不
要放棄堅持自己的立場。”Doc曾與Tubby接觸過， Tubby只告訴他軟豆很固執，在大學
時是個獨行俠 ，而在這裡這樣是行不通的。Doc堅持，”作為控球後衛，你應該要為你
的隊友注入活力。”

At least now the setting is right.

至少現在一切都沒問題了。

“They make it easy,” Rondo said of his celebrated company. “It was not
easy last year. It was different because we had a lot of young point guards.
My only vet was Paul. But I listen. I have an open mind. I still voice my
opinion a lot, but I don’t look at everything as the coach criticizing me.
I got my thick skin last year, because I was a rookie, and I had to take
everything.”

軟豆很感激他的全明星前輩們，”他們讓事情變得很順利，去年我們有很多年輕的控衛
但表現的很差，我們唯一具有經驗的人是PP，我那時只是個菜鳥，必須試著放開心胸去
接受他們和教練對我的指正，當然我還是會說出自己的看法，但自去年起我的臉皮已經
長厚了許多～”軟豆笑著回答。

Besides, Rondo finally has realized that at least on this level, many more
see the game at the same speed.

除此之外，軟豆也發現還有其他人是和他站在同一邊的。

“He sees a lot of what you don’t see,” Rondo said of playing for a former
point guard. “I have an advantage in that way. On one play (last week) I
made a mistake, and he just said, ‘Keep your chin up, the next time you’ll
make the right decision.’

”他看見我所看不到的。”軟豆形容Doc，”上星期我在戰術上下了一個錯誤的決定。
”但他只是告訴我，”把頭抬起來，下一次我們就會做對了。”

“I know I have a long way to go, but I can still see the play before it
happens.”

”我知道我還是一大段距離要走，但我還是能比其他人預先看到球場上的演進。

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軟豆今天也很棒!!!越來越有自信了喔~
不過還是記得要低調一點喔~不然KG又要拉椅子一直唸你了XDDDD

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◆ From: 140.116.76.174
※ 編輯: cyjoe           來自: 140.116.76.174       (04/24 17:11)
推 bri         :推翻譯  Doc去年的指責在下一篇XD
推 shepherdy   :推軟豆!! 快把急停跳投練出來吧~
推 RajonRondo  :Rondo會愈來愈進步的！！！
→ ktkowhypop  :看到最後幾句  讓我想到魔術強森~~推推
→ NLchu       :推卵豆@_@
→ jaycoo      :推推～軟豆要變身硬豆了！
推 u7273       :push~