[外電] Garden advantage hides Celtics' flaws

[yuhuilu (WhereAmazingHappens)]

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
http://0rz.tw/6843N

BOSTON - Ray Allen had been texting his teammates near midnight, "You
still up?" and again at 2:30 a.m, and ultimately the responses trickled into
him asSaturday bled into Sunday morning. Out of nowhere, the Atlanta Hawks
delivered one final victory over the Boston Celtics, a sleepless night. 

睡不著的雷槍在半夜傳訊問隊友們:「你睡了嗎?」，凌晨兩點半陸續收到回覆。老鷹出
奇不意地給了C's最後一擊:一個失眠的夜晚。

Together, the sheepish Celtics dragged themselves to the Garden for
Game 7 and delivered a predictable pounding of these young, immature Hawks,
whose legs and leaping didn't travel in the NBA playoffs. 

大意的C's讓自己陷入了第七戰，然後再如預料地給了這隻年輕不成熟的老鷹一個教訓。

Once the Celtics had stepped out of the way of the biggest playoff
series disaster in NBA history with a 99-65 victory Sunday afternoon, the owner
, Wyc Grousbeck, had come out of the winning locker room with a cheerful
declaration that he had given the game ball to Doc Rivers, to commemorate
Rivers' firstplayoff series victory as a coach. "If anyone is interested, Doc
did get thegame ball (for) winning this series, the first of his career." 

當C's終於從NBA史上最失敗的第一輪勝出之後，老闆Grousbeck很開心地宣佈:他把這場比
賽的球給了河流，來慶祝他當教練後首次贏得的季後賽首輪勝利。「河流真的有拿到球，
紀念他生涯的第一次。」

And so to watch Kevin Garnett give the throat slash gesture and bark,
"It's over," to a screaming sellout near the end of the Game 7 trashing, to
witnessthe euphoria for a series that should've been a sweep, leaves you
wondering:Why were the Celtics celebrating when they should simply be slinking
to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals? 

KG也比了一個砍頭的手勢，並對著滿場的觀眾大喊：「結束了!」 看著他們因贏得本來應
該橫掃的對戰而感到如此興奮，不禁讓人好奇：本來應該低調打進東區準決賽的超賽，怎
麼會淪落到為首輪勝利而興奮的地步？

For all the big championship ideas born out of the greatest turnaround
in NBA history, this seven-game struggle against the Atlanta Hawks was a
dramatic reminder that the thirtysomething core of this renaissance - Garnett,
Allen and Paul Pierce - had moments when they looked unsure of themselves, when
they lost purpose and poise. Old demons returned for them: KG passing on big
shots, Pierce losing his cool and Allen losing his shooting touch. 

所有贏得總冠軍的想法都是在C's成為了"NBA史上進步最多的隊伍"後所產生的，而這次打
老鷹打得這麼辛苦，正是個戲劇化的提醒﹕暗示著這支以30幾歲的GAP為核心的重生隊伍
一旦失去了意圖和自信時，也會有對自己不確定的時候。過去的惡夢又回來了﹕KG不再投
進關鍵球、PP不再冷靜、而雷槍找不到球感。

Maybe the Celtics acted like the kids walking out of school at 5 o'clock,
bragging about how well they had behaved in detention. They weren't so much
embarrassed about getting dragged seven games with the Hawks, as they were
emboldened to survive the first true adversity these Celtics shared. 

也許C's就像被留校查看的小孩，離開時還吹噓自己在學校有多乖。他們對於打到第七戰
不那麼感到尷尬，反而因為渡過這樣的難關而變得大膽了。

As the Celtics move onto LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the
question　that lingers over the opening round series is undeniable: Did the
Atlanta　series offer a bad matchup or a bad omen? 

當C's向第二輪的騎士隊邁進時，還是無法逃避在第一輪中不斷出現的問題﹕究竟與老鷹
的系列戰是個壞配對還是個壞預兆?

 "Bad matchup," an old Boston playoff sage, P.J. Brown promised. "That
happens with teams. " 

「壞配對，」波士頓的季後賽老哲人Brown這麼說「每隊都有機會遇到。」

As it turned out, the Hawks preyed on the Celtics' vulnerabilities. After
a　scraggily 37-victory season, the Hawks were that mid-major NCAA tournament
team　with three victories that you just knew would get crushed in the Elite
Eight, never breaking through to the Final Four. They didn't have the stomach
to　steal a Game 7 on the road - never mind compete. Joe Johnson, a magnificent
talent, re-engaged his campaign for the dysfunctional Atlanta ownership to
surround this dynamic young team with what it desperately needed in this
series. 

而結果證明，老鷹正好抓住了C's的弱點。在例行賽拿下虛弱的37勝後，老鷹隊就像在
NCAA中獲得三場勝利、但在八強賽就會被淘汰、更不用說進入前四強的隊伍。他們沒有這
麼大的胃口可以吞下客場的第七戰，也別談什麼對抗了。然而JJ的資質極佳，回到主場後
重新振作，讓瘋狂的Atlanta球迷供給了這個年輕隊伍所迫切需要的動力。

 "We need veterans," Johnson said. "We need leadership. It's all out on
the line and we didn't do nothing about it." 

「我們需要老將，」JJ說﹕「我們需要領袖。在場上我們全力以赴，但卻無能為力。」

Nevertheless, these Hawks had two things that the Celtics privately feared
could undo them this season: a running team and big, athletic forwards. 

然而，小鷹們卻擁有C's所害怕的兩樣武器﹕擅跑的隊伍和高大敏捷的前鋒。

 "At home, we ran them into the ground," Johnson said. "We wore them down
in the fourth quarters every game there. They were too tired at the end. But
they've got home court all the way through the playoffs, so if you can't win in
Boston, you're in trouble." 

「在家裡我們能跑贏他們，」JJ說「他們的戰力在第四節被削弱，最後就會累壞。但他們
在整個季後賽都有主場優勢，所以如果你不能在Boston贏球，你就麻煩了。」

To dismiss this seven-game series as merely a product of the Hawks'
young legs underestimates the Celtics' uncertainties. They are long on regular
season accomplishments and short on playoff production. James Posey and Sam
Cassell have championships, but Garnett, Pierce and Allen bring postseason
baggage to these playoffs. 

如果僅把這七戰視為是老鷹年輕肉體的產物，那就太低估C's的不可靠性了。他們沉浸在
例行賽的成就中太久，卻太少去檢討季後賽的結果。Posey和外星人拿過冠軍戒，然而GAP
卻都是帶著沉重的包袱進入季後賽。

LeBron James has done a masterful job of setting the stage for the Celtics
series, conspiring with his coach, Mike Brown, to make the world believe he
had been pummeled in the Washington Wizards series. The Wizards rate as one of
the softest defensive teams in the Eastern Conference, but between James'
bellyaching and Brown pounding podiums, the Cavs had referees and league
officials treating the Wiz like the Bad Boy Pistons. 

LBJ為第二輪設下了一個很好的舞台，他和教練Brown合力使大家相信他在巫師系列戰中被
毆打。巫師的防守向來是被評為東區最弱的，但在LBJ和Brown的一搭一唱下，裁判和聯盟
都把巫師看作是跟壞孩子活塞一樣的隊伍。

For them, it'll be fascinating to see if they can carry that narrative into
the Eastern Conference semifinals. This was effective against the Wiz and
privately the Celtics wonder if the precious treatment of the Cavaliers'
superstar gets transferred to them now. Even the Celtics were surprised that
Darius Songailia's hit in Game 5 on James cost the Wizards forward a Game 6
suspension. 

對騎士來說，在東區準決賽裡如果也能用這招就太美妙了。這招對付巫師很有效，而現在
C's也開始擔心這位超級巨星的招數會不會用在他們身上。即使是C's也對Songailia在第五
戰因打到LBJ就遭到禁賽一場而感到驚訝。

P.J. Brown goes back to those old Knicks-Heat playoff series and sighs
over what passes for rough play these days. "It's a different league now," he
said. "If they wanted to fine him, fine, but I didn't think it warranted a
one-game suspension." James won't beat the Celtics alone, but officials are
conditioned to protect him. Boston wonders whether its league-best defense can
be framed as the bully in this series, the way one of the league's worst in
Washington had been before it. 

P.J. Brown回顧之前尼克-熱火時期的季後賽，然後嘆氣著現在所謂的粗暴比賽。「現在
是不一樣的聯盟了，」他說「如果他們想罰錢，OK，但我不認為這構成禁賽一場的理由。
」LBJ將不會單獨的對抗C's，因為聯盟的長官也會被制約地保護他。C's要擔心: 他們的
無敵防守在這個系列戰中會不會被當作惡霸? 就跟之前的巫師隊一樣?

Bad matchup or bad omen? 

壞配對或壞預兆?

Game 1, Tuesday night in the Garden. All those young legs in Atlanta,
all that greatness in King James, and toughness in Detroit, and championship
pedigrees on those Western powers, and one truth is still unchanged in these
playoffs: If you can't win in Boston, you're in trouble.

第一戰，星期二晚上花園主場。管他什麼老鷹的年輕肉體、詹姆士大帝的神聖不可侵犯
、活塞的頑強和西區列強的冠軍血統，在這漫長季後賽中有個不變的真理: 如果你不
能在Boston贏球，你就麻煩了。

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滿狠的文章，但也寫的夠中肯～
超賽對上有愛的LBJ，史騰的劇本該怎麼寫呢？

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