[外電] Rose's extended recovery puts Bulls at

看板ChicagoBulls (芝加哥公牛)作者rosebulls (fast don't lie)時間13年前 (2012/07/05 13:32)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

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Rose's extended recovery puts Bulls at crossroads http://ppt.cc/dm7~ CHICAGO -- They were the team most conspicuously absent from the later rounds of this postseason. No offense to Memphis or the Lakers or the defending champs in Dallas, but the Chicago Bulls were poised for a championship run this spring like no one else. They'd won more games, not just this season but in 2010-11 too, than any other team. They held home-court advantage for as long as they needed it, or at least could defend it. Their moving parts, so often in disrepair through the compressed post-lockout schedule, appeared to be healing and meshing at precisely the right time. One moment MVP point guard Derrick Rose was flaking off rust at a remarkable rate with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Game 1 against Philadelphia, his pockmarked season of multiple injuries and 27 missed games serving perhaps to keep Rose fresh for grind and fun to come. The next, he lay writhing on the court, the ACL in Rose's left knee blown, the Bulls' title hopes dashed, the franchise's blueprint torn asunder The prognosis was grim: A rehab of eight to 12 months for Rose. Start his recovery clock at the instant surgeon Brian Cole zipped him up on May 12 and -- in the speediest, most optimistic and probably most reckless forecast -- Rose is back sometime in mid-January, with three full months of regular season to regain his powers and boost Chicago toward the playoffs again. Opt for the most cautious timeline, though, and the Bulls play all of 2012-13 without their engine (and transmission and steering system and tires). They miss the postseason entirely and, though they never fully admit this to season-ticket holders, shift their focus to 2013-14 and beyond, with Rose, 26 by then, presumably good to go and hitting his prime. Something in between? A return after All-Star Weekend, perhaps, or even deep into March, about the latest such a move could be defended? Ehhh ... hard to say. Just remember that Michael Jordan came back to play the final 17 games of the 1994-95 season. He hadn't been hurt and he had Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson around to help. The Bulls won 34 games before Jordan returned from his first "retirement" on March 19, went 13-4 with His Airness averaging 26.9 points and still couldn't get out of the second round. The uncertainty over Rose's recovery and return is a lot trickier now. That Bulls team -- yikes, 17 years ago -- had only one gear, one mission (win now, as many as possible). This team might be tempted to downshift, to adjust to Rose's absence by retreating and reconfiguring. And quite possibly, by outsmarting itself. The rumors have been swirling for weeks already that Chicago might opt to retool, the most prudent course for an expensive roster whose pieces soon may be out of synch. After all, Richard Hamilton, the scorer brought in to finally ease Rose's offensive burden, will turn 35 in February and be at or near the end of his two-year guarantee by the time the point guard comes back. Power forward Carlos Boozer won't exactly be adding any vertical lift or lateral quickness in his 11th NBA season, starting in October, with $47.1 million left over the final three years of his deal. Then there's Luol Deng, who gamely played much of 2011-12 with a torn ligament in his left wrist but now is delaying a decision on surgery until after he participates for Great Britain in the London Olympics. That's a hot one in Chicago, because if Deng has his surgery later in the summer, he'll be unavailable when the Bulls need him most. From his side, he has dreamed of playing for his national team in the Olympics hosted by the country that saved his and his family's life in their escape from South Sudan. Deng has had his tensions with team management and Bulls fans before, and the league has backed FIBA endeavors, allowing stars to moonlight even when it encroaches on company time and expense. The other side focuses on the delay in Deng's repair -- he played his last game on May 10 -- and the eight-figure salary ($12.3 million) he'll be pulling this fall from the Bulls, not from British basketball, even if he misses games. With Deng and the rest of Rose's supporting cast, Chicago might be more capable of staying afloat as a middle seed for any playoff run; without him for a month or two, compounded by Rose's absence, and the whole 2013 postseason plan could unravel. So naturally, fueled by some general crankiness over this lost spring and by Deng's various unknowns, the speculation has burned: Deng as trade bait? Deng for a lottery pick? Deng, a 2012 All-Star whose value might never be higher, as the chip that gets Chicago back in line with Rose's recovery? Let's not forget the ever-popular one about Boozer: Amnesty now or amnesty later? It might seem shrewd and pro-active for Bulls general manager Gar Forman and John Paxson, VP of basketball operations, to tinker and head off what could be one long, mediocre year for a operation that was right on the brink of greatness. But it also would be dangerous. Chicago has been laboring for two or three seasons to surround Rose with more help. Does the best or safest way to achieve that begin now by shedding the team's second-best player? How high a pick might Deng bring -- and even then, what are the odds that a player selected there would be Deng's equal or better in two, three or four years? As for Boozer, the Bulls are stuck because they overpaid in the 2010 free-agent shopping spree. He hasn't been much different from the guy he had been through eight NBA seasons in Cleveland and Utah. He just arrived pocketing heftier paychecks and facing loftier expectations. Chicago might be better off either starting Taj Gibson or giving him the bigger minutes at power forward, but paying Boozer to go away now doesn't fix much either. The Bulls have the No. 29 pick in the Draft this year. They have 6-foot-10 forward Mikola Mirotic, a 2011 pick traded twice that night, stashed overseas as a future asset. They're still owed a first-round pick by Charlotte for the Tyrus Thomas trade in February 2010. None of that gets the adrenaline pumping the way Forman's swashbuckling move did two years ago on draft night (dumping Kirk Hinrich and that year's first-rounder on Washington to clear enough free-agent money for two stars). But it seems to fit better than recklessly dismantling a team out from under coach Tom Thibodeau. And Forman, in one of his few public moments since Rose's injury, seemed to know it. "Short-term, we're going to take a hit," he said at a press conference soon after the point guard's surgery. "Our thinking long-term won't change. You don't replace Derrick, obviously, but we're going to have to scrape it together with our other guys." The noise that has built since then seems to scream otherwise, but it's more likely than not that Deng will be around, a cast on his left wrist in training camp the way, maybe, he should be as a non-playing ambassador through the London Games. So will Boozer. Remember, this is a franchise flush with money that never has veered into luxury tax territory. It didn't panic -- or overspend Chariman Jerry Reinsdorf's budget -- when its run of six titles ended in 1998. Panic? The Bulls continued along quite contentedly, filling United Center while winning just 26 percent of their games for six miserable years. It's hard to imagine the Bulls panicking now or overreacting or even altering what has been a pretty sound plan of late. So expect Chicago to make good on its pledge to match any offer to restricted free agent center Omer Asik, a backup big vital to the team's height advantage over most NBA clubs. And look for it to shop hard for a fill-in at point guard who can handle starter's minutes for anywhere from 40 games up to 82 -- and then shift abruptly to backup status when Rose does come back. Whenever that is. [翻譯團] 面對羅斯的傷勢，公牛應當何去何從由南葛發表在虎撲籃球‧公牛專區 http://bbs.hupu.com/3918896.html 面對羅斯的傷勢，公牛應當何去何從有人猜測公牛會試圖交易全明星前鋒洛爾-鄧 ________________________________________ 芝加哥——他們是今年季後賽最不應該缺席後期比賽的球隊。並非對灰熊、湖人和衛冕冠軍小牛不敬，不過公牛在幾個月前還是爭奪總冠軍的最熱門球隊。他們的戰績比其他球隊都要好，不光是在這個賽季，在上個賽季也是一樣。他們擁有對所有球隊的季後賽主場優勢，至少可以確保在主場不輸球。他們的球員在這個縮水賽季中經常受到傷病困擾，不過似乎恰好能在正確的時間恢復。在和76人的季後賽第一輪第一場中，上賽季MVP，當家控衛羅斯以不錯的命中率拿下23分、9籃板、9助攻回擊了那些對他的批評和指責。他在這個賽季中多次因傷停賽，缺席了27 場比賽讓他迫不及待的回到場上證明自己。在接下來的一場比賽中，羅斯左膝前交叉韌帶撕裂，他倒在球場上痛苦扭曲的那一刻，公牛的冠軍希望變得渺茫，球隊復興的夢碎了。傷情報告非常殘酷：羅斯需要8到12個月時間恢復。從他在5月12號接受布萊恩-科爾的手術後開始算起——按照最快、最樂觀、最大膽的估計——羅斯能在明年1月中旬回來，屆時還剩下三個月的常規賽讓他適應比賽並且帶領公牛衝擊季後賽的排名。按最謹慎的估計，公牛在12—13整個賽季都將失去他們的發動機（和傳動裝置和駕駛系統和輪胎）。（譯注：這裡為直譯，意思是羅斯是公牛的核心同時承擔了多個重任，用這個汽車的比喻暗示如果失去了他公牛會面臨很大的麻煩）還將缺席整個季後賽，雖然他們還沒有對球隊季票持有者承認這一點，但是他們已經把目標放到13—14賽季和更遠的時候，那時羅斯將年滿26，應該可以健康的上場打球，重新找回他的巔峰狀態。會是這兩者的折中嗎？會在全明星週末回來嗎，或者也許是在3月底，有意義的回歸最晚的是什麼時候？呃…很難說。還記得喬丹在94—95賽季退役歸來打了最後的17場比賽嗎。他沒有受傷，而且他有名人堂球員皮蓬和禪師的幫助。喬丹第一次退役歸來是在3月19號，在那之前公牛贏了34場比賽，在那之後取得了13勝4負的成績，而喬丹也場均拿到26.9 分，不過公牛還是沒闖過第二輪。羅斯恢復和歸來充滿了不確定性。17年前的那支公牛只有一個核心，一個任務（而現在，非常多）。公牛也許要對球隊做重新配置和組合以適應缺少羅斯的這個賽季。而且要比可能做到的做得更好才行。關於公牛可能重組球隊的流言已經傳播了好幾周了，這對於充滿了大合同的球隊是個需要非常謹慎的過程，因為球員們的合同組成也許很快會失去現在這樣良好的狀態。畢竟，漢密爾頓，這個被簽下來減輕羅斯進攻負擔的得分手，明年2月就滿35歲了，而且再羅斯回歸的時候也臨近他兩年合同的結束了。大前鋒布澤爾無法再他的第11個賽季中提高彈跳或者移動速度了，而且從十月開始，他還剩下3年4710萬的合同。洛爾-鄧在左手腕關節撕裂的情況下打了上個賽季的大多數比賽，不過由於他要參加倫敦奧運會，所以推遲了是否做手術的決定。這個球員對公牛很重要，因為如果鄧在今年夏天做手術的話，在公牛最需要他的時候他將無法上場。對他自己來說，他夢想能在這次本土奧運會上為國家隊效力，正是這個國家在他和他的家人從南蘇丹逃亡的時候救了他們。以前，鄧和球隊管理人員以及球迷的關係很緊張，而聯盟支持了國際籃聯的決定，允許球員為國效力，即使在和球隊時間和花費衝突的情況下。另一方面是鄧的手術的推遲——他上次打比賽還是在5月10號——而他今年秋天依然會從公牛領工資（1230萬），而不是英國國家隊，即使他因傷不能上場。在缺少了羅斯不過有鄧的情況下，公牛還是很有可能在季後賽球隊中排名中游；但是如果缺少了鄧一到兩個月的話，也許連季後賽都進不了。所以很自然，由於羅斯受傷和鄧的各種不確定因素，一些推測浮出水面：交易鄧？用他換樂透簽？鄧，這個2012全明星球員，也許是他能達到的最高水準，能在羅斯恢復的時候帶領公牛躋身強隊行列？讓我們不要忘了關於布澤爾一個更熱門的話題：現在特赦還是以後特赦？對於公牛總經理高-弗曼和籃球運營副總約翰-派克森來說，調整球隊並且阻止一個打出多年平庸表現的球員的合同以提升球隊整體競爭力的操作是機敏而且積極的。公牛已經用了兩三個賽季為羅斯尋找合適的幫手。甩掉球隊的二號球星是不是現在最好最安全的做法呢？鄧能換到多高的簽位——就算這樣，用鄧換到的這個新秀用兩三個賽季達到或者超過鄧的水準的概率是多少呢？對於布澤爾，公牛被套牢了，因為他們在2010年自由球員市場上花費太多。他和八年前在騎士和爵士比起來沒什麼差別。不過，他來到公牛拿的合同更大，面臨的期望更高。公牛最好讓吉布森先發，或者給他在大前鋒位置上最長的上場時間，不過特赦布澤爾也並不能帶來什麼。公牛今年手握29號簽。他們有6尺10的前鋒米克拉-米羅蒂奇，2011年選秀夜交易兩次得到的，他目前在海外打球。山貓還在2010年2月泰瑞斯-湯瑪斯的交易中欠公牛一個一輪簽。不過這些都比不上弗曼在兩年前的選秀夜虛張聲勢的行為讓人興奮的（放棄辛裡奇和那年的一輪簽，以清空薪金空間簽下兩個巨星）。和把一支拆散的球隊交給錫伯度比起來看起來似乎好一點兒。弗曼似乎也明白，在羅斯受傷後很少抛頭露面。“短期來看，我們要承受一些影響，”他在羅斯手術後的一個記者招待會上說。“我們的理念長期來看不會改變。你顯然不會換掉羅斯，不過我們必須和其他的成員一起度過這個難關。” 從那之後的討論似乎開始集中在其他方面，不過更多集中在他不應該參加倫敦奧運會，而不是他左手傷勢在訓練營中的恢復。同樣也有關於布澤爾的討論。記住，這是一支大把花錢不在乎奢侈稅的球隊。即使在98年連冠截止，或者超出主席傑裡 -雷因斯多夫的預算，他們也沒有驚慌。驚慌？公牛在以26%的勝率痛苦掙扎的六年中的上座率依然不錯。很難想像公牛現在會驚慌，或者反應過度，或者甚至改變前不久還聽起來不錯的計畫。所以，公牛會匹配任何對於受限制自由球員阿西克的報價，他是一個讓公牛取得對其他球隊身高優勢的一個重要球員。然後盡力簽下一個能夠勝任40到82場常規賽首發位置並且在羅斯回歸後打替補的控衛。不管那是什麼時候的事情。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 118.169.235.247