[外電] Kings Hope Change Is for the Better

[eliczone (C'est la vie)]

http://0rz.tw/SLy3j

On Thursday, nearly two weeks into a lockout-shortened season, the Sacramento
Kings were 2-5, had a feud play out in public between the team’s coach and a
young star, which led to the coach’s firing, and were scheduled to play the
Milwaukee Bucks in what would be the team’s fifth game in six nights.

It seemed to be an impossible situation for whoever was chosen to replace the
fired Paul Westphal. Enter Keith Smart, a coach who has plenty of experience
with impossible situations.

Having taken over the Cleveland Cavaliers 42 games into the 2002-3 season
after the firing of John Lucas (one year before the arrival of LeBron James),
and the Golden State Warriors after Don Nelson’s ouster last season, Smart
has honed his skills and bided his time for a situation that was right for
him.
在騎士火掉John Lucas(LBJ來的前一年)，聰明哥帶領騎士42場，而勇士火掉老尼後，也是
聰明哥接，而這些對他都很有幫助。

“Each time you get a chance to coach in the N.B.A. you get a little bit
better,” Smart said Friday night, a day after winning his debut. “My
experience I had in Cleveland prepared me for my experience coaching Golden
State last year, and that experience now will translate here.”
「每次有機會在NBA當教練。都會更好一點，我在騎士的經驗讓我在接勇士時有更好的準備
，而那些經驗都會在這裡轉化」

The team that Smart inherited from Westphal is not without talent, but has
underachieved in recent seasons as point guard Tyreke Evans has struggled
with inconsistency and injuries.
聰明哥接下來的這支球隊並非沒有天份。

Recently though, the drama has focused on the second-year forward DeMarcus
Cousins.  Westphal sent him home indefinitely last Sunday, saying Cousins had
demanded a trade. In a stunningly fast reversal, Cousins was reinstated to
the team for Tuesday night’s game. Then Thursday came word that Westphal had
been fired, replaced by Smart, a Westphal assistant.
講表弟事件。

“He has a clean slate with me,” Smart said, when asked if the Cousins
situation was  resolved. “Although I was there with everything that went on,
I’m not looking at that as something that will carry over for me. I’m going
to start completely new with him. He’s starting new, and now he knows it’s
up to him to play at the level he can possibly play.”

In Smart’s first game leading the team, that translated into 19 points and
15 rebounds by Cousins, and the Kings stormed back in the second half to stun
the Bucks.
在聰明哥的第一場比賽，表弟得了19分15籃板。

“You just felt free out there,” Cousins told reporters after the game. “
You didn’t feel like you had like 30-pound bags on your back. You just felt
free. It felt good to be out there.”
「就是覺得很輕鬆，不像是揹了30磅在背上，這感覺很棒」表弟賽後說。

Evans also seemed more relaxed on the floor and showed some of the skill that
made him so exciting during his rookie season, contributing 26 points, 10
rebounds and 5 assists. After the uncomfortable start, having a player’s
coach like Smart may be just what the Kings’ young stars need to thrive.
reke似乎在場上也更放鬆了，也展現了一些他在菜鳥球季令人興奮的球技，得了26分，10
籃板和5助攻。

Among the lessons Smart said he learned from the coaches he has worked under
is  managing relationships with players.
聰明哥說跟在那些教練底下所學到的一課就是和球員們的關係。

“They tell you sometimes when you come into the N.B.A., that you can’t be
close with the players,” Smart said. “But John Lucas proved that you can do
that. He showed me how you can have a strong personal relationship with
players around the league.”
「他們有時會告訴你，你不能和那些球員太靠近，但John Lucas證明了其實是可以的。他
展現了你如何和球員有很棒的關係」

Smart said he learned a number of things working with Nelson, but most
important the value of “putting your best players in their best positions so
they can make plays.”
聰明哥說跟在老尼身邊學了很多，但最重要的就是「將你最好的球員放在他們最佳的位置
，他們因此就能完成play」

In that vein, he said that he did not intend to force Cousins into a low-post
game that he was not yet comfortable with, and that he would try to take some
of the play-calling burden off of Evans.
所以聰明哥說他不會強迫表弟強打低位，他還不是很習慣，而且他會試著讓reke少一點叫
戰術的負擔。

“I think trying to let him run a team right now, he doesn’t have that
ability yet,” Smart said. “But while I was managing the game with calls, he
picked up a few and he called them, which I felt was some tremendous growth.
That’s the next stage of his game.”
「我在試著讓他帶領一支球隊，他現在還沒有那個能力，但當我在講戰術時，他會學到一
些，然後叫出戰術，我覺得那是非常驚人的成長，那是他的下一步」

Smart is a coach who has always emphasized defense, but the Kings have
personnel more suited to running the floor. Based on Smart’s time playing
for Bob Knight at Indiana, however, he does not see those things as
conflicting.
聰明哥是個很強調防守的教練，但國王的球員更適合跑動。基於聰明哥在印地安那替Bob
Knight打球時所學的，他不認為這有所衝突。

“Playing at Indiana, defense was going to be your calling card to stay in
games, but you also wanted to run and you tried to focus on balance,” Smart
said. “Coach Knight never said we had to be a defensive team or we had to be
an offensive team, he just preached balance.”
「在印地安那打球時，防守是你的保守符，但你也想要跑動，試著平衡些。Knight教練從
來不會說我們必須是一支防守球隊或者是一支進攻球隊，他很平衡」

He reiterated, when discussing his personnel, “I’m looking for balance.”
「我會尋求平衡之道」

For the first time, Smart has the luxury of time as the Kings gave him a
two-year contract.
這是第一次，他有很多時間，國王給他兩年約。

Unfortunately, he will have to implement his system without the veteran
leadership of Chuck Hayes, who dislocated his shoulder in a freakish
collision with Drew Gooden on Thursday, making the league’s youngest roster
even younger.
但不幸的是，因為海爺受傷，所以球隊沒有老將的帶領。

Smart and his team will also have to work with little to no practice, as the
compressed season has the entire league scrambling to get in sync. The Kings
took Friday off, but in a hopeful sign that the Cousins drama is behind them,
Smart said that Cousins was at the team’s facility,  working on the court
and in the weight room.
而且也會沒有時間練習。聰明哥說表弟在球隊的訓練場館，不只在場上訓練，也去重訓。

Asked when the team had last been able to have a full practice, Smart laughed
and said, “We’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

--
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推 yoyoman0529:記得聰明帶騎士很慘耶...
→ eliczone:第一次 而且在季中 就和之前的Natt一樣 要好很難吧 又不
→ eliczone:是天生神力 要帶好一支球隊沒這麼簡單的
推 yoyoman0529:Natt也在教皇手下學習一段時間了 囧 還是教皇直接來快
→ eliczone:等來了再說吧 現在一切都只是「SOURCE」 還不是真的
→ justin1943:看成想要換八爺
推 as5420123:教皇復出的機率很低....畢竟還是爵士人...
→ KillLakers:聰明哥：我命中注定是要墊檔的嗎（吶喊）~~~~~~~~~~~~~
→ as5420123:Smart打法就是老尼系統吧 只要不玩幾小 讓聰明哥試試OK
推 arsia:教皇功力還是有的...如果鎮的住表弟就值回票價！