[外電] MITCH ALBOM: Two to go!

看板Pistons (底特律活塞)作者fizeau ( )時間20年前 (2006/06/01 22:25)推噓11(11推 0噓 1→)

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http://0rz.net/b41qz MITCH ALBOM: Two to go! Mitch Albom:還有兩場！ Pistons play right way, but it means little if they don't repeat it in Miami 活塞打得很像樣，但是如果不在邁阿密保持這水準，就失去意義。 June 1, 2006 BY MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST On a night when the lights could have gone out for good, this play was as glaring as it gets. Shaquille O'Neal had the ball. He rose for a shot, and Ben Wallace rose with him. Wallace cemented his right hand on that ball and power- armed it backward, crashing O'Neal, all 325 pounds of him, back to Earth, and halfway to the airport -- where both teams are headed. 在那個自此而後燈光可能永遠熄滅的夜晚，那場比賽卻是如此大放異彩。球到了俠客歐尼爾手上。他起身準備射籃，大班也跟著起來。大班將他的右手緊密蓋住在球上，將它以及歐尼爾用力壓回地面，也差不多將兩隊送到機場了。 Note the word "both." 注意。是「兩隊都」。 Not here. Not now. 沒有在這結束。不是現在。 There should be no slaps of congratulations, no huge sighs of relief. Wednesday night's 91-78 victory in Game 5 was no more than a stay of execution, one last night to sit happily in traffic as you exit the Palace. 不應該有道賀，不要有如釋重負的喘息。週三晚第五戰91比78的勝利只不過是暫緩執刑，是最後一晚可以搭乘交通愉快離開皇宮。 But if this was the last joyous night of the season, at least it fit the bill. It saw the Pistons revert to their trademark defense in the closing, maddening minutes. It saw Tayshaun Prince return to his clutch form with big three- pointers and critical rebounds. It saw Chauncey Billups return to being Mr. Big Assist -- if not Mr. Big Shot. It saw Antonio McDyess, who counts ended seasons the way forlorn lovers count disappearing petals on a flower, rise to the occasion, rise to the jump shots, rise to the rebounds, rise to the rim. 但是如果這是本季最後一個愉快夜晚，至少也值回票價了。這一晚我們看到活塞最後陷入瘋狂的幾分鐘回復到招牌防守，看到小王子回到最佳狀態投三分以及搶籃板，看到Billups 又送出助攻，即使不是投出關鍵的一球。還看到所剩時日無幾，算著還有多少球季就像失戀男女數著花瓣一樣的McDyess，挺身而出，跳投，跳搶籃板球，飛向籃框。 And it saw Ben Wallace, much maligned for his offense, reminding people that defense is half the game, too. He soared for a block. He darted in and stole a pass. The Pistons held the Heat to 13 points in the fourth quarter, 78 points overall and 44% shooting, which is like a bucket of ice compared to how it had been shooting. 也看到進攻能力不佳的大班提醒人們防守重要性不亞於進攻。他飛身給了火鍋，忽然抄球。活塞讓熱火在第四節只有13分，整場78分44%的命中率；相較於過去幾場的高命中率，熱火這樣的表現就像是整桶冰塊澆熄了火焰。 "We're approaching every game like a tournament," said Wallace, who finished with eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. "You lose and you go home." 大班說「我們看待每場比賽就像是錦標賽，」他得了8分，7個籃板，3次阻攻2次抄截。「輸一場就回家。」 Not here. Not now. 不是在這裡。不是現在。 Time to have some fun 該心情愉快了 Now, to be honest, if you're a Pistons fan, you're torn this morning between being glad and mad. You're happy the team is still alive in these Eastern Conference finals, but you believe if it had played like this in any of those losses, it wouldn't have been on the brink of elimination in the first place. 坦白說，如果你是活塞迷，今早你哭笑不得。你高興這支球隊在東區決賽還倖存，卻不得不想如果早打出這種水準，就不會被逼到瀕臨淘汰邊緣。 Here was the energy that had been missing in Games 1, 3 and 4. Here was the extra pass, the whipping of the ball to the other side for an open look. Here was the swarming defense. 這就是第一三四戰所沒有的能量。這是導球傳球，將球傳到另一邊空檔隊友。這是積極防守。 And, yes, here was some balance to the foul calls. The Heat shot 47 free throws in Game 4 and just 20 in Game 5, and it missed 14 of those. You can't count on that happening again. 當然犯規次數改善了。熱火第四戰罰47球，第五戰只有20球，其中14球沒進。不能依賴這種情形又發生。 So, yes, it was a fine victory, a continuation of the Pistons' tradition of staving off the killer's blade, which now stands at 8-1 in games in which they faced elimination since 2004. 沒錯這是很好的勝利，延續活塞克制對手殺招的傳統，也使活塞自2004年以來面對被淘汰時的戰績來到8勝1負。 But it should not take the feel of a wall against your back to make you play your best. As Wallace said, "It was easy to come out with energy tonight." 但不應該等到沒有退路時才想力圖振作，就像華勒斯說「今晚比較容易精力充沛地出賽。」 But what about the other nights? We still don't know what happened there. And maybe it's better off forgotten. The Pistons, down three games to two, should burn those tapes and just watch the best parts of Game 5 now. 那麼其他晚呢？我們仍然不解那幾晚是怎麼回事。也許應該拋諸腦後。活塞現在2比3落後，應該把錄影帶子都燒毀只留下第五戰的精華處。 "When you're in a situation where it's elimination, you play as if you have nothing to lose," Tayshaun Prince, who led the way with 29 points, told ESPN after the game. "You can go out and do whatever, have fun, and it's things like this that happen." 「當你面臨被淘汰的處境，就像沒有什麼可以再失去的心態比賽，」最高分29的小王子在賽後告訴ESPN。「你可以上場盡情發揮，這樣的結果就會出現。」 Did he say fun? 他說了「盡興」？ On the road again 又是作客 Well, all right. Time to have fun on the road. Remember, the Pistons did nothing but avoid the blade of a guillotine. Their hands are still tied, their blindfold is still in place. They have not won in this series in Miami. In truth, they haven't even played well in Miami. And if Friday night's Game 6 is another repeat of that, then nobody will remember this victory. Really, does it make a difference if you lose 4-1 or 4-2? 好吧。那現在就看能不能在客場也盡興了。記住，活塞不過是逃過一劫。他們仍然放不開，仍然在摸索。他們尚未在邁阿密得勝。事實上甚至沒有在那裡打出好球。而如果週五晚的第六戰又是那樣，沒有人會記得這次的勝利。說真的，4比1輸球和4比2輸球有差別嗎？ But there's one more plane trip and one more chance, and chances are all they want and the best they can hope for. 但是還要搭一次飛機，還有機會，而機會是他們想要的，他們只能期待有最好結果。 "We knew we can't win this game and win it all," Billups said, "but we put everything we got into one game and now we've got to put everything we've got into another game. We put the pressure back on them to try to win at home -- if not, they are in trouble coming back here to the Palace." 「我們知道不是贏得這場比賽就沒了，」Billups說，「但是我們盡力在此，而現在必須全力放在下場比賽。現在壓力在他們身上，必須在家贏球--如果不，又回到皇宮來，他們會有麻煩。」 Well, that's a long way off. This is not about an elimination game, it's about an elimination week. The Pistons, if they survive until Game 7, will have gone six days under the sword. Wednesday night's victory doesn't end anything. It doesn't solve anything. It just prolongs something. 哦，那是以後的事了。這不是關於一場攸關生死的比賽，是關於一週的生死歷程。活塞如果能有第七戰，等於在刀口下存活了六天。週三晚的勝利並沒有結束什麼，沒有解決什麼。只是延長了某些東西。 But just as Wallace's amazing block on Shaq sent a subtle message, so did the scoreboard at the buzzer of this one. 但是就像大班送給大歐的超級火鍋傳達了某種訊息，這場比賽的終場得分也是。 Not here. Not now. 沒有在這結束。不是現在。 Maybe there. 可能是在那裡。 Maybe not. 可能不是。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 219.84.154.239