[外電] Playoff Pistons return

[kerrys (台北不是我的家)]

    原文出處：
              http://0rz.tw/693Ld

--

AUBURN HILLS -- When Richard Hamilton hit the shot that clinched the game, the
crowd erupted and Flip Saunders pumped a fist and, well, if you closed your
eyes and listened closely, you could sense it. Two of the NBA's best met Friday
night, in case anyone had forgotten, and it sure didn't feel like just another
game.
    奧本山訊 -- 當RIP投進確保勝利的一球後，觀眾席爆出陣陣歡呼聲而老桑也揮拳肯定
全隊的出色表現，嗯，如果你閉上眼睛仔細聽，你就能有所感受。星期五聯盟中兩支一級
勁旅正面交鋒，除非你已經遺忘，否則這感覺肯定不只是一場普通的例行賽而已。

Every now and then, the Pistons have to remind us why they're still capable of
scrapping for a championship. So in a game featuring playoff-like defense, the
Pistons went ahead and slapped a calling card on their old adversaries from San
Antonio, the defending champs.
    間或，活塞都會提醒我們為什麼他們仍有能力爭奪總冠軍。所以在一場有類似季後賽
防守強度的比賽中，活塞順利勝出並遞給了他們來自聖安東尼奧的老對手，希望衛冕冠軍
的馬刺一張名片。

This was the type of tight, physical basketball the Pistons still can play as
well as anyone. While their 84-80 victory over the Spurs doesn't mean a ton in
the standings, it felt like a reminder -- or maybe even an omen.
    這種勢均力敵，真槍實彈的籃球是活塞仍能表現得不比任何一支球隊差的球風。當然
他們以84比80擊敗馬刺的比賽對於戰績排名並沒有多大影響，但這場比賽勾起了我們的回
憶 -- 甚至可以說是一場前哨戰。

If these teams have another NBA Finals collision in them -- why not? -- this
was a terrific prelude, a tense back-and-forth test. The Pistons built a 69-57
lead but the Spurs charged back so quickly behind the irrepressible Tony Parker
, it was like a blur.
    如果這兩支球隊又一次在總冠軍賽碰頭 -- 為什麼不可能呢？ -- 這是相當精采的預
演，一次緊張刺激的來回測試。活塞建立了69比57的領先，但馬刺在Tony Parker的帶領下
相當迅速地要回領先，他就像一道快得令人反應不及的火閃電，劃開活塞的堅強防線。

Once San Antonio took a 70-69 lead, it was a taut finish. Rasheed Wallace and
Tayshaun Prince hit big shots and Hamilton hit the last dramatic one -- his
jumper and free throw with 20.6 seconds left made it 80-76.
    在聖安東尼奧以70比69領先後，比賽末段的戰情又變得詭譎莫測。不過溪蛙和小王子
接連投進關鍵球而最後補上致命一擊的是RIP -- 他在倒數20.6秒的跳投和加罰讓比分拉開
為80比76。

"Any time we play San Antonio, it's always like a championship atmosphere,"
said Hamilton, who scored 25. "When you play a great defensive team like the
Spurs, you got to keep moving."
    "任何時候我們遭遇聖安東尼奧，球場的氛圍都會變得和總冠軍賽一樣，"得了25分的
RIP說。"當你和一支像馬刺這樣的偉大防守球隊對戰，你必須持續不斷地跑動。"

Tough stretch ahead
    前頭還有一堆硬戰要打

The Pistons are still moving, and maybe gaining. This was the start of a
telling stretch, with New Orleans, Denver and Cleveland to follow. And if
you're going to measure anything this time of year, it was a good place to
start.
    活塞仍在前進，而且可能是持續在進步。這場勝利不過是一切見真章的旅程起源，接
下來活塞還得面對紐澳良、丹佛和克里夫蘭等強隊的挑戰。而如果你現在要衡量一些什麼
，這會是一個好的起點。

Here the Pistons and Spurs were again, the NBA's Dutiful Warriors, doing what
they do best, which is to keep sticking around and sticking to each other.
They're like old boxing rivals who face fresh challengers but never lose sight
of each other. The cores don't change much. The systems don't change much. The
expectations never change.
    下面再回到活塞和馬刺的比賽，聯盟中最守本分的兩支勇士，竭盡所能，不只是將目
光放在對方身上，同時也關注其他球隊的一舉一動。他們就像拳擊場上的死敵，在注意新
進挑戰者的同時，也不曾將眼睛由對方身上移開。球隊核心陣容沒有太多改變，球隊攻守
系統沒有太多改變，而大家對他們的期待更是從未改變。

The Spurs have won four titles since 1999, including the seven-game knockout of
the defending champion Pistons in the 2005 Finals. The Pistons could have -- um
, should have -- met San Antonio again in last year's Finals but looked past
LeBron James and got sucker-punched.
    包括在'05年總冠軍賽血戰七場擊敗尋求衛冕的活塞那一次在內，自'99年以來馬刺已
經贏得四次總冠軍。活塞可以 -- 嗯，應該可以 -- 在去年總冠軍賽和馬刺再次碰面，但
他們卻在家看著LBJ和他的騎士軍被馬刺狠狠地剃了一顆大光頭。

Now these teams again hang just under the radar, again expected to topple. And
really, I don't mean to bust up the Celtics-Lakers party everyone is eager to
throw, but am I an idiot to say Pistons-Spurs might be the Finals matchup again
?
    現在這兩支球隊又一次被大家所忽略，不過也被預期將再一次推翻大家的想法。真的
，我不是不把大家渴望看到'80年代塞爾提克vs湖人的經典對決重現當一回事，不過我說活
塞vs馬刺的戲碼可能再一次出現在總冠軍戰，我真的是傻了嗎？

(Response from NBA commissioner David Stern: "Dear God, no.")
    (來自NBA執行長屎疼的謎之聲："親愛的老天爺啊，您可千萬不要～")

Veteran presences
    不容小覷的沙場老將

Sorry, but it's darn possible. I'm not drawing big conclusions from one contest
, especially with San Antonio stopper Bruce Bowen sitting out a suspension, but
this game meant something to the Spurs. Detroit is pretty much locked into the
second seed in the East, while in the ridiculously competitive West, San
Antonio could slide anywhere from No. 2 to No. 7.
    抱歉，但他Ｘ的，這的的確確很有可能成真。我不是憑藉這一場比賽就得出這樣驚人
的結論，特別是在聖安東尼奧無影腳Bruce Bown被禁賽的情況下，但是這場比賽對於馬刺
仍有其特殊意義。底特律東區老二的位置越坐越穩了，而在競爭異常激烈的西區，聖安東
尼奧可能自第二種子一路溜溜溜，溜到變成老七。

There's no doubt in my mind the Spurs have the ingredients to repeat, and the
Pistons have (nearly) every ingredient to match them. The one thing the Pistons
lack is a counter to the ultra-quick Parker, who gives the Spurs easy baskets
the Pistons struggle to get. Again and again Friday night, Parker slashed for
layups, finishing with 26 points.
    在我心中無庸置疑地，馬刺擁有再次問鼎總冠軍的能耐，而活塞也(幾乎)擁有足以和
他們匹敵的實力。活塞唯一欠缺的是能有效壓制速度飛快的Parker的大鎖，他為馬刺輕鬆
添得的分數一直都是活塞心中的痛。星期五晚上Parker如切豆腐般一再輕鬆上籃，終場一
共拿下26分。

Beyond that, these teams are the ultimate symbols of stability, so confident in
what they do, they rarely bother to change, even as other contenders make huge
moves.
    此外，這兩支球隊都是穩定的最佳代言人，他們對於所做的事很有自信，他們很少考
慮改變，儘管今年可能是有史以來各隊軍備競賽最為誇張的一年。

The Spurs have one new starter this season -- Kurt Thomas replaced Fabricio
Oberto. (Manu Ginobili starts but he has always been a major cog.)
    馬刺本季多了一個新的先發球員 -- Kurt Thomas取代了Fabricio Oberto。(Manu偶而
會先發，但主要他還是負責擔任球隊的最佳第六人。)

The Pistons have one new starter this season -- Antonio McDyess replaced Chris
Webber.
    活塞本季先發陣容同樣有一位新面孔 -- 袋鼠取代了離隊的威爸。

Neither team has a Kobe or a LeBron, although Tim Duncan is the most unassuming
superstar in NBA history.
    兩支球隊都沒有像Kobe或LBJ這樣的大物，儘管Tim Duncan是NBA歷史上最低調的超級
巨星。

"They're both meat-and-potato organizations, not a lot of fluff," Saunders said
. "Both are defense-oriented teams. Neither team gets a lot of talk. When you
look at them, it's almost like looking in the mirror. Because of that, you have
a lot of respect for them."
    "他們都是真材實料的球隊，而不是中看不中用的紙紮老虎，"老桑說。"他們兩支都是
以防守起家的球隊。他們都不是出一張嘴的球隊。當你看這兩支球隊時，你會發現兩支球
隊就像同一個模子刻出來的。因為如此，你會很尊敬他們。"

Nothing flashy
    低調奢華

There's respect around the league but rarely unconditional admiration, which is
too bad. The Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce is
more dynamic. The Lakers of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are glitzier.
    聯盟對他們有一定的敬重但卻鮮少懷有絕對的欽佩與讚賞，這實在是太糟糕了。超賽
的三巨頭Kevin Garnett、Ray Allen和Paul Pierce較具爆炸性。湖人的Kobe和砲枷鎖連線
則以華麗取勝。

But when it's time to slug, the Spurs can slug brilliantly, and the Pistons (
2-0 versus San Antonio) are up there, too. The Pistons are hunting to
rediscover their playoff spark and it might come from a fresher Chauncey
Billups, or a rejuvenated Hamilton.
    但等到要見真章的關鍵時刻，馬刺總能突圍成功，而活塞本季更是略勝馬刺一籌(季賽
對戰取得2勝0敗的絕對優勢)。活塞正試圖找出能在季後賽帶領球隊衝破重重關卡的那個人
，他或許會是精神更為抖擻的槍蜥或是恢復超人活力的RIP。

Hamilton had the last energetic burst on this night, a great night to conjure
memories of past battles. And no kidding, amid the Celtics-Lakers mania, this
interlude could even be a prelude. I mean, if anyone else cares to pay
attention.
    在那個晚上比賽末段，RIP活力十足的精采表現喚醒了過去那些戰役的記憶。不是開玩
笑，在超賽vs湖人熱之間的插曲很有可能變成只是序曲。我這句話是對那些有注意到的人
說的。

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