还记得之前湖人一团糟的局面吗？很久之前，大概3个星期之前吧？那时科比尽显老态，身负伤情，状态下滑。而老鱼费舍尔任由对手完爆，更别提他能将球送进篮筐了。那时湖人队的精力不够集中能量不足，也不够团结。阿泰搞不清楚三角进攻的精髓，而湖人板凳则是糟糕无比。雷霆队在季后赛首轮接近于要将卫冕冠军淘汰出局，而即使雷霆搞不定，掘金，小牛和马刺队肯定会搞定湖人。一切都完蛋了，湖人打包回家了，新的总冠军将要出炉。
好了，说完这些胡言乱语。3个星期过去了，湖人发现处在了一段史诗般完美的局面，通常不出意外这局面将会以洛杉矶闹市的大游行以及科比高举另一座奥布莱恩杯为结尾。科比恢复了熟悉的脸孔，伤病的困扰不见了，他的杀手本性又显露出来了。加索尔在内线展示出统治力，任何对他强硬的质疑都被对他耀眼全面的表现的赞赏所代替。奥多姆，阿泰和老鱼都成为理想的角色球员，而板凳也胜任了他们的工作。拜纳姆受到右膝半月板伤势的困扰，但是他只要出现在场上，在篮下那么一站都能提供无可比拟的价值。
湖人再次变得完整，除此之外他们还是好运的受益者。掘金，小牛和马刺通通都已经出局，挡在他们之前阻拦他们另一次夺冠征程的就是太阳队，而对手在第二轮为湖人干了脏活处理掉了马刺队。湖人在次轮面对的是残旧的爵士队而不是更危险的掘金队，这已经是给了湖人喘息的机会，最终他们也将爵士横扫出局。并不是小瞧太阳队，只是他们毕竟不是小牛或者马刺队。如今距离西部决赛的首战尚有6天的休息时间，相比起太阳这段时间对于湖人更有好处。湖人可以利用这段时间休养，找回状态，重新组合...对于科比所有伤势的疗养更是完美，也有利于拜纳姆处理他的右膝。
菲尔杰克逊，这位经验老道的大师，他会很理智地利用这段宝贵的时间，他的经验会充分利用系列与系列赛之间的漫长休养时间。而对于太阳队，能否保存住前两轮系列赛的动力能量将会是很大的挑战。状态火热的球队最不需要的就是长时间的停顿，或者任何其他可能打乱节奏的因素。而那正是太阳队这个星期该处理的迫切问题。另外，太阳队的主帅金特里对于季后系列赛长时间的停顿可是完全没谱。他作为主教练仅有一次杀入季后赛的经历，那是在1999年季后赛首轮他带领活塞队被老鹰队淘汰出局。看起来貌似所有一切有利都是向着湖人。
毫无疑问，太阳队会证明他们是值得尊敬的对手。很明显，赛季中他们打出了最佳的表现，而拥有像纳什这样的控卫以及充满爆发力的小斯的太阳是不应当被轻视的。然而，湖人在西部找不出比太阳更合理更划算的对手了。相对于湖人加索尔+拜纳姆+奥多姆的前场组合，太阳队的内线明显很占下风。太阳队的防守比起上半个赛季已经要好很多，但并不是说他们能轻易封锁对手，所以如果湖人的三角进攻打得如鱼得水的话，无论何时何地湖人都能够发挥出火力，就似与爵士的系列赛一样。太阳对于科比这一点是无解的，对于加索尔也是。考虑到太阳目前火力最强的两名球员，阿泰能够胜任防守理查德森的重任，而加索尔对于小斯则有3英寸的高度优势。
太阳队是一支跑动着的球队，他们在季后赛能够变得危险。所以下个星期你听到的和看到的都会是关于团队配合的话题。太阳是一支充满信心的球队，他们有能力干掉卫冕冠军。但这并不能说明什么，湖人技高一筹。经过了长时间的休整，拥有主场优势，身高上的优势，还有得到休养的科比，湖人在连续3年杀入总决赛的路上不会遇到太多荆棘。湖人将会在6场搞定太阳。
原文来自：http://www.dailynews.com/lakers/ci_15066912
翻译：松爷
All is right again in Lakerland
Remember when everything was wrong with the Lakers? Way back when, like three weeks ago? Kobe Bryant was old, hurt and on the downslide. Derek Fisher couldn't guard anyone, let alone shoot straight anymore. The Lakers weren't focused, or fleet and athletic enough. Ron Artest couldn't figure out the triangle offense and the bench was terrible. The Oklahoma City Thunder were on the verge of knocking the champs out in the first round, and if the Thunder didn't do it surely the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs would finish them off. It was over, finished. The Lakers were done, and it was time to find a new champion.
Well, so much for all that nonsense. Three weeks later the Lakers find themselves riding an all-time great lucky streak, one of those nothing-can-go-wrong rides that usually winds up with a parade downtown and Kobe hoisting another championship trophy. Bryant is playing like his old-self - or young-self - the injury problems clearing up and the swagger back in his game. Pau Gasol has been dominant in the paint, any questions about his toughness replaced with renewed admiration for his dazzling all-around game. Lamar Odom, Artest and Fisher have been ideal role players, and the bench has been adequate. Andrew Bynum is limited by the torn meniscus in his right knee, but just being on the court right now, providing another big body in the paint, is invaluable.
The Lakers are complete again, and on top of that they are the beneficiaries of some good fortune. The Nuggets, Mavericks and Spurs have all been cleared from their path, the only team standing between them and another trip to the finals being the Phoenix Suns, who graciously did the Lakers' dirty work by eliminating the Spurs in the second round. The Lakers already caught one break when they faced the beat-up Utah Jazz in the second round rather than the more dangerous Nuggets, rolling through the Jazz in a four-game sweep - no disrespect to the Suns but they just aren't the Spurs or Mavericks. Now comes a six-day break until the start of the Western Conference finals, which profits the Lakers much more than the Suns. The Lakers can rest, recoup and regroup, the time off a perfect tonic for all Bryant's ailments, and a welcome reprieve for Bynum's right knee. Phil Jackson, the veteran maestro, will use the time off wisely, his experience with long pauses between series paying off. For the Suns, it will be a challenge retaining all the momentum they gathered through the first two rounds. The last thing a surging team needs is a long layoff, or any sort of interruption to throw off its rhythm. And that is exactly what the Suns must fight against the rest of the week. And it's not like Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry has any familiarity with long playoff delays - Gentry's been to the postseason just one other time as a head coach, and that was a first-round loss to Atlanta way back in 1999 with the Detroit Pistons. Everything, it seems, is going right for the Lakers right now.
No doubt the Suns will prove a worthy opponent. They are clearly playing their best basketball of the season, and no team with a point guard like Steve Nash and an explosive power forward like Amare Stoudemire should be taken lightly. Still, the Lakers could not have drawn a more ideal adversary than the Suns in the Western Conference finals. The Suns aren't particularly big inside, a huge disadvantage against a Gasol/Bynum/Odom frontline of the Lakers. They are playing better defense compared with the first half of the season, but it's not like they can lock people down, so if the triangle offense is running smoothly, the Lakers should get whatever shot they want, whenever they want, much like they did against the Jazz. Phoenix has no real answer for Bryant - or Gasol for that matter. And of the Suns' top two offensive threats right now, Artest matches up well against Jason Richardson and Gasol has a three-inch height advantage over Stoudemire. The Suns are primarily a team that got on a roll, and a team like that can be dangerous in the postseason. So for the next week you will hear and read about the Suns' synergy, about how everything came together for them at the perfect time. They are a team of destiny, brimming with confidence and belief in itself, capable of taking out the world champions. It won't mean a thing. The Lakers are just too good. With the long layoff, homecourt advantage, superior size advantage and a rested Bryant, the Lakers just have too much going for them to stumble this close to their third consecutive trip to the finals. This series is over in six games. |
發表於 2010-5-13 01:55 PM
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