[外電] Flying Colors

[kerrys (台北不是我的家)]

    原文出處：
              http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/langlois_blog_080402.html

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    譯註：抱歉，這篇外電是四月二日的舊聞了，我拖稿拖太久。
          不過看在我前前後後翻了超過六個小時的份上還是加減看吧，哈～

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In an NBA draft that might go down as the deepest of its generation, Rodney
Stuckey went 15th. The Pistons were quietly confident at the time that his
would turn out to be better than the 15th most productive career from the class
of ’07, but then everybody leaves draft night similarly convinced of their
smarts and good fortune.
    在堪稱這個世代最有深度的選秀會上，Rodney Stuckey在第15順位被挑中。活塞當時
就很沉著，很有自信，相信他職業生涯的表現在'07梯裡面不會只有排在第15名，但選秀夜
每個人離開時都一副確信自己做了聰明抉擇和擁有絕佳運氣的滿意模樣。

By the time the summer had ended and the Pistons had seen Stuckey perform in
various settings – in the Las Vegas Summer League, at their practice facility,
at the well-attended summer camp run by Nuggets assistant coach Tim Grgurich
stocked with NBA players of all backgrounds – they were more convinced than
ever. In fact, based not just on their own analysis but on feedback from NBA
peers, the Pistons felt Stuckey likely would have been a top-five pick if
they’d redone the draft.
    在暑假結束時，活塞已經看過Stuckey在各種不同場合的表現 - 在拉斯維加斯夏季聯
盟，在他們練習場，在丹佛助理教練Tim Grgurich舉辦，有許多不同背景的NBA球員共襄盛
舉的夏季籃球營 - 他們比過去更為信服。事實上，不只是他們自己的分析，從其他NBA球
員的反應看來也是如此，活塞認為如果選秀會重新舉辦，Stuckey應該會在前五順位就被挑
走。

And then the season started with Stuckey sitting out the first 25 games, nearly
one-third of the NBA season, as other rookies began making names for themselves
.
    但開季Stuckey就因左手傷勢而枯坐板凳25場，這幾乎是三分之一個NBA球季了，同時
間其他菜鳥早已開始努力地為自己打響名號。

It was always going to be an uphill climb for Stuckey to get his due as a
rookie. Players picked one spot outside the lottery don’t usually go to teams
that make a habit of playing into June and stringing together 50-win seasons.
Guards drafted by teams with multiple-berth All-Star backcourts aren’t likely
to put up numbers that merit All-Rookie consideration.
    對Stuckey來說，身為一個菜鳥要掙得上場時間本來就不會是個輕鬆的任務。通常在樂
透區外一個順位入選的新秀不會加入一支連年達成50勝強隊指標並且習慣將球季延長到六
月為止的頂尖球隊。被一支擁有全明星後場連線的球隊所挑中的後衛似乎不大可能拿出足
以入選新秀前二隊的數據。

But the injury ended any chance Stuckey was going to have to be in the
discussion, even on the fringes, for Rookie of the Year. Kevin Durant gets all
the shots he wants on a Seattle team stripped to the frame for rebuilding. Al
Horford walked into a yawning void in the middle for a young Atlanta team
otherwise teeming with lottery picks. The Memphis Grizzlies bought out veteran
Damon Stoudamire to clear playing time at the point for Mike Conley. Teams
spinning their wheels turn to rookies just to see if the future looks less
bleak than the present, which explains how Al Thornton with the Clippers, Yi
Jianlian with the Bucks and Thaddeus Young with the 76ers all wound up with
prominent roles.
    但傷勢復原後Stuckey的表現讓大家不得不在談論時想到他，甚至在討論年度最佳新秀
時也會稍微提到他一下。待在主將副將全部砍掉重練的西雅圖，Kevin Durant手握無限開
火權。Al Horford加入了陣容塞滿樂透區年輕新秀，但內線空虛的亞特蘭大。孟斐斯灰熊
則是為了清出控衛的位置給Mike Conley而買斷了老將太空飛鼠的合約。另外一些球隊將重
心放在菜鳥身上，只是想試試這麼做能否讓未來比今天更美好一些，這說明了Al Thornton
之於快艇，易建聯之於公鹿，以及Thaddeus Young之於七六人的關係，為什麼他們能以一
介新人之姿在球隊中扮演吃重的角色。

Rodney Stuckey was delivered to a perennial title contender to back up Chauncey
Billups and Rip Hamilton and asked to be patient.
    Rodney Stuckey被選進一支連年都是總冠軍強力候選人的一級勁旅擔任槍蜥和RIP替補
的工作，並且被要求必須保持耐心。

And that’s what he did. It was fairly remarkable, really, how even-keeled
Stuckey remained while waiting for the bones to knit along the multiple
fractures in his left hand after the freak injury in the final preseason game.
Every time the X-rays showed they weren’t quite calcified, even as those
around him gritted their teeth and cursed their fate, Stuckey just shrugged his
shoulders and did whatever Arnie Kander asked him to do on the sidelines –
squeeze a tennis ball, toss a football, ride the bike.
    而那正是他所做的。這相當令人印象深刻，真的，在最後一場季前賽受了詭異的傷之
後，他在等待左手多重骨折復原的期間心態一直調整得很好。每一次X光檢測結果顯示骨頭
還沒完全密合，甚至連他身邊的人都咬牙切齒，咒罵他們的不幸時，Stuckey只是聳聳肩，
繼續在場邊做著Arnie Kander要求他做的那幾個復健動作 - 擠壓網球、丟橄欖球、騎腳踏
車。

“Why should I be frustrated?” he constantly told reporters. “I’m a rookie.
I’m going to have a long career. Nobody is going to remember I missed six
weeks. This team is doing just fine without me.”
    "為什麼我要感到灰心？"他一直這樣告訴記者。"我是一個菜鳥。我會有很長的職業生
涯。沒有人會記得我有六個禮拜因傷缺陣。就算沒有我，這支球隊還是打得一樣出色啊。"

What the Pistons saw the night he broke his hand, in the final preseason game,
is what they envisioned when the drafted Stuckey. He had 10 points in the blink
of an eye, before getting his hand caught in an opponent’s jersey, with four
rebounds and no turnovers. Both Flip Saunders and Joe Dumars said it was as if
a light bulb had gone on for him that night.
    活塞在Stuckey左手骨折那晚，在最後那場季前賽所看到的，正是他們在挑選Stuckey
時所想像的。在手捲進對手球衣內因而導致骨折前，一轉眼間他就得了10分、抓下4個籃板
，重點是0失誤。老桑和老喬都說那晚Stuckey就像一顆亮眼的燈泡。

Flash bulbs have gone off intermittently since Stuckey returned on Dec. 21 –
Merry Christmas! – and with greater frequency over the past month. There was a
five-game stretch in February where he averaged 11 points a game, a 13-point
game at Madison Square Garden the night Hamilton got tossed, 13 more when he
carried the team for a six-minute stretch late against Phoenix a few weeks ago.
    自從12月21日 - 聖誕快樂！ - 傷癒歸隊後這亮眼的燈泡開始變得忽明忽滅 - 不過過
去這個月發亮的頻率明顯變高了。二月份有連續五場比賽他平均得到11分，3月7日晚上在
麥迪遜花園廣場那場RIP連吞二T被請出場的比賽他拿下13分，另外幾個禮拜前他在面對鳳
凰城的比賽中最後六分鐘都被留在場上，又一次拿下13分並順利帶領活塞獲勝。

Overlooked in all of this is that Stuckey has been more than a solid defender.
Even when he struggled to adjust to NBA shot-blockers or couldn’t knock down
the 18-footers all guards need to make to be full-time players, he defended his
position better than anyone expects of a rookie.
    回顧這一切，感覺Stuckey不只是一個硬朗的防守者。雖然他在面對NBA層級的封阻者
時還不是很適應，也沒辦法穩穩投進所有後衛成為主力球員必備的18呎跳投，他的表現還
是比任何人對於菜鳥的期待還要更好，同時藉此為自己在活塞陣中掙得一席之地。

And then came Tuesday night in Minnesota, when Saunders and Dumars decided to
sit Billups, Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace against a young team that had gone
7-8 in March and was sitting on a four-game home winning streak. Struggling to
find an identity in the first half with a strange lineup, the Pistons spotted
Minnesota a 21-point lead. In the second half, Stuckey scored 20 points,
including every big one down the stretch, carrying the Pistons to a win that
you’d be tempted to call inconsequential but for the details.
    時間來到星期二晚上，在明尼蘇達對上三月戰績7勝8敗而且主場累積4連勝的年輕灰狼
賽前，老桑和老喬決定讓槍蜥、RIP和溪蛙休兵一場。啟用陌生的先發陣容，活塞在上半場
幾乎沒辦法讓情勢穩定下來，一度落後灰狼多達21分。不過下半場Stuckey狂下20分，包括
最後關頭的每一次關鍵得分，幫助活塞逆轉拿下一場不合邏輯的勝利，不過你看細節。

He hit deep jumpers, including one from the 3-point line with the shot clock
about to expire. He got to the basket and scored with both hands at various
times. He was devastating getting inside the defense and pulling up for
mid-range jumpers, knocking down one big one late and baiting Randy Foye into a
costly foul moments later.
    他投進遠距跳投，包括一記24秒進攻時間快要終了前的三分遠射。好幾次，他單槍匹
馬殺進禁區，用雙手穩穩地將球送進籃框。他撕裂了灰狼的防守陣線，急停投進好幾顆中
距離。在比賽末段投進一顆關鍵投籃，後來又引誘Randy Foye奉送了好幾次代價昂貴的犯
規。

And he got to the free-throw line 13 times. Thirteen times. Before Tuesday,
only 18 times all season had a Piston attempted 10 or more foul shots. Billups,
who frequently winds up shooting multiple free throws in the closing seconds of
games in which the opponent fouls to get the ball back, has done it 13 times.
Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess have done it twice apiece and Jason Maxiell
once. Neither Rip Hamilton nor Tayshaun Prince has done it even once. Billups
has attempted as many as 13 only five times.
    而且他上到罰球線13次。13次耶。在星期二之前，整個球季活塞球員單場罰球數破雙
位數的情形也不過出現18次而已。最常在比分接近的最後關頭負責罰球穩定局面的槍蜥本
季罰球數破雙位數的比賽有13場。溪蛙和袋鼠各有兩次而J-Max則有過一次。RIP和小王子
連一次也沒有過。槍蜥單場罰球數大於或等於13的比賽只有五場。

The difference, of course, is that Stuckey was given more playing time. He’s a
rookie and he was due for his ups and downs. He wouldn’t be scoring 27 every
night even if they gave him the 33 minutes he got against Minnesota. But if
Stuckey were starting alongside Hamilton and playing those 33 minutes
consistently, I’d say the baseline for him would be 12 points and six assists
– which would have his name squarely in the mix for All-Rookie selection and
maybe more.
    當然啦，不一樣的是這場比賽Stuckey的上場時間比以往都還多。他是一個菜鳥，所以
偶而表現不穩也是正常的。就算每次對上明尼蘇達都給他33分鐘的上場時間他也不見得每
次都能拿下27分。但如果每晚都讓Stuckey和RIP一起先發並給他33分鐘的上場時間，我可
以大膽預測，他至少能拿出平均12分、6助攻的成績單 - 如此一來，在評選新秀前二隊時
，評委一定會毫不猶豫填上他的名字，甚至在票選年度最佳新秀時也不會忘記除了Durant
還有這號人物存在。

Saunders started off cautiously after Tuesday’s win when asked about Stuckey
– “He still had some screwups tonight,” Saunders said, and he did. He was as
responsible as anyone for allowing Minnesota a few uncontested transition
layups early. He didn’t collect his two rebounds until the final minute, and
even if point guards aren’t expected to put up gaudy rebounding numbers,
Stuckey’s size, strength and nose for the ball indicate he could be a real
weapon as a rebounder. The three assists won’t cut it most nights.
    星期二賽後被問及Stuckey的表現時老桑謹慎地開口了，"他今晚的表現還是有一些需
要改進的地方，例如攻守轉換之間明尼蘇達有好幾次在無人防守下輕鬆上籃得分，他和其
他人一樣脫不了關係。一直到最後一分鐘，他才抓下整個比賽那唯二兩個籃板，而且，就
算說控衛原本就不被期待拿出漂亮的籃板數據，但以Stuckey的體型、身體強度以及對於籃
球的敏銳度，在在都顯示了他應該會是一個出色籃板手。三次助攻在大多數比賽中也都不
能算是及格的成績。

But in the big picture, what will be remembered about this game is the way
Stuckey seized the moment and made every big play. It might have come against a
lottery team, but it’s a big step in the evolutionary process.
    不過把時間拉長一點來看，關於這場比賽，未來會被人們記在心裡的只有Stuckey把握
機會投進每一記關鍵投籃的優異表現。這情形或許是出現在面對一支樂透區球隊的比賽中
，但怎麼說這都會是他進化過程中的一大步。

Stuckey was going against a second-year point guard, Foye, who played four
years at the highest level of college basketball, at Villanova in the Big East.
Foye was one of the few names in predraft analyses to whom Stuckey evoked
comparisons – a combo guard with size, strength and the ability to get to the
basket. (Foye, by the way, is listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds; Stuckey at
6-foot-5 and 207. But Stuckey sure looked bigger than Foye, didn’t he?) And
Foye made a great play in the final few minutes, catching Amir Johnson in a
switch and driving to score over him and the help-side defense of Jason Maxiell
. But Foye couldn’t handle Stuckey, and the clear win for the Pistons in that
matchup is greatly encouraging for what it says about the future.
    Stuckey面對的是一個二年級控衛，大東聯盟維拉諾瓦大學出身的Foye，他在最高層級
的大學籃壇可是打了整整四年。Foye也是選秀會前Stuckey少數幾個NBA對照模組之一 - 有
體型、身體強度以及優異切入能力的雙能衛。(儘管Foye表列身高6呎4、體重210磅；
Stuckey則是6呎5、207磅。但很明顯Stuckey看起來硬是比Foye大上一號，不是嗎？)Foye
在最後幾分鐘有一次漂亮單打成功，他抓住換防後Amir Johnson對上他的機會，擺脫他後
又躲過J-Max從弱邊而來的補防順利上籃得分。但同時Foye也無法壓制Stuckey，而且那明
顯的優勢給了活塞很大的鼓舞，因為那說明了未來誰會有較佳的表現。

It’s also greatly encouraging for what it says about the present. Really,
don’t get sucked into the jaded perception that these final two weeks and
eight games of the regular season mean nothing. They mean a great deal where
the development of Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson, at minimum,
are concerned – and the development of those three represents a critical
element of the bench that’s being counted on to be the difference-maker over
last year relative to the team’s playoff performance.
    不過關於現在也是很大的鼓舞。真的，不要認為誤信了例行賽最後兩週的八場比賽毫
無意義的狗屁說法。那跟Rodney Stuckey、Arron Afflalo以及Amir Johnson能有多好的發
展有很大的關係，至少，他們三個人的發展被認為是影響板凳戰力的主要因素，而且也是
這支球隊能否寫出和去年球季不一樣的季後賽劇本的關鍵人物。

That’s the ultimate benefit of having their playoff seeding essentially
decided a month before the season ended. Oh, sure, it’s nice to be able to sit
three starters, as the Pistons did at Minnesota, and parcel out minutes to the
starters with caution over these next two weeks – just enough to keep them
sharp, not so many to sap their energy. But granting more playing time and
license – the license to decide games, essentially – to the players they’ll
be asking to make game-changing plays under the withering scrutiny of the
postseason is the real payoff for taking care of business all season.
    那是在例行賽季結束前一個月就確定季後賽種子席位的最大好處。噢，確實，能讓三
名先發球員坐場休息很棒，就像活塞在明尼蘇達所做的那樣，並且在未來兩週可以把身體
已經出現警訊的先發球員的上場時間給分配掉 - 只要讓他們有足夠時間熱機，沒必要浪費
寶貴的體力。但給予更多的上場時間還有許可 - 決定比賽勝負的許可，基本上 - 後這些
球員將被要求能在季後賽場場關鍵的高強度比賽中拿出足以改變情勢的表現，因為那(季後
賽表現、總冠軍...等)才是大家努力了整個球季後所真正在乎和關心的。

After his initial chiding of Stuckey, even Saunders couldn’t help himself: “
The biggest thing he did was he wasn’t afraid to make plays down the stretch,
and I’ve always said that he’s one of those guys that the bigger the game,
the bigger the situation, the more responsibility he has and wants.”
    在一開始責怪Stuckey後，就連老桑也忍不住稱讚他："最重要的就是他在關鍵時刻不
畏出手的成熟心態，而我認為他是那種比賽越重要、情況越險惡，他越會覺得自己責任重
大並且樂於將成敗一肩扛的關鍵先生。"

Having shown the chutzpah to handle that responsibility on the road in an
otherwise inconsequential regular-season game was a necessary step in the NBA
education of Rodney Stuckey before tackling postgraduate school – and the
spring term starts in two weeks. It’s why Tuesday’s game wasn’t
inconsequential at all.
    雖然只是一場無關緊要的例行賽事，不過在客場顯現捨我其誰的王者風範是Rodney
Stuckey在向研究所(季後賽)叩關前於NBA大學(例行賽)中的必要學習過程 - 更高階的春季
課程在兩週後就要開課了。這也就是為什麼我說星期二的比賽並非完全無關緊要的原因。

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