[外電] Do Or Die For Houston?

看板Rockets (休士頓火箭)作者Websphere (Just cruising)時間14年前 (2011/09/16 11:15)推噓6(6推 0噓 3→)

留言9則, 7人參與討論串1/1

Solving Problems: Do Or Die For Houston? 好火箭, 不做嗎? By Bill Ingram http://www.hoopsworld.com/solving-problems-do-or-die-for-houston/ 自翻 The Houston Rockets have spent the bulk of the last three seasons waiting for Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady to get healthy, collecting assets in the mean time. Now that McGrady (trade) and Yao (retired) are no longer in the cards, the Rockets are left with little more than a collection of assets. 火箭隊在之前的那些日子裡都在期待MM的王者歸來, 同時不斷在收集有價值的籌碼. 如今姚明與TMac雙雙離開, 陣中除了副手還是副手, 已經沒有王牌了. Unfortunately, those assets have yet to pan out as hoped, and the Rockets are left holding the pieces they hoped to move in favor of putting a contender around their previous dynamic duo. 而如同大家預期的, 這些副手們也沒有太過令人驚艷的表現. 火箭隊只能期望這是他們在市場上的一手好籌碼. As the NBA lockout nears and end (hopefully), the Rockets will have to find a way to parley some of their assets into a star player . . .namely, a starting center. 隨著NBA封館的風波即將落幕(希望如此), 休士頓還是必須換來一張真正的王牌... 一個夠格的先發中鋒. The Rockets have plenty of depth at every position besides the five, with three point guards (Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Jonny Flynn), three shooting guards (Kevin Martin, Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams), three small forwards (Chase Budinger, Chandler Parsons, Marqus Blakely) and a whole cast of power forwards (Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Cousin, Chuck Hayes, Jordan Hill, Marcus Morris, Donatas Motiejunas). 火箭隊在一到四號位都有足夠的深度, 三個控球後衛, 三個得分後衛, 三個小前鋒, 還有一拖拉庫的大前鋒. The only center on the roster, however, is Hasheem Thabeet, and while Thabeet has been putting in a lot of work this offseason he is hardly ready to be the starting center on a playoff team. It would be nice if he could even earn garbage time minutes, something he was unable to do last season. 但是, 唯一的一個五號球員卻只有Hasheem Thabeet. 即使他在這段時間不斷地苦練, 但是他仍然很難成為一個能把球隊帶進季後賽的先發中鋒. 在上個賽季他連垃圾時間都很少上場. So this is decision time for the Houston Rockets. Normally, when a team loses a major superstar to retirement it’s time to completely rebuild. Unfortunately, since the Rockets haven’t really had the services of Yao Ming for quite some time, the rebuilding process has already sort of started. Now the team has to decide whether to go ahead and make it official, or try to find the starting center they need and make a playoff push. Their roster is now so overloaded with young, unproved talent that it makes the complete rebuild an easier vision to see. 該是休士頓火箭隊大刀闊斧的時候了. 以常理來看, 當一支球隊失去了其中的明星球員, 就等於是進入了重建時期. 不過因為之前姚明的傷傷停停, 迫使球隊不得不開始提早開始慢慢地布局重建的計畫. 而姚明宣布退休之後情況已經更加明朗, 他們必須正式地訂定目標並且前進, 找一個夠格的中鋒並且重返季後賽. 目前的陣容太過年輕不夠成熟, 充滿太多的不確定性. The Playoff Scenario 季後賽的藍圖 For the sake of argument, let’s start with the steps that would get Houston back into the playoffs and possibly into contention. That would absolutely have to start with acquiring a starting center. Marc Gasol isn’t sold on returning to Memphis, and he is the top name on Houston’s wish list for free agency. Of course, Gasol is a restricted free agent, so the Rockets would have to make him an offer the Grizzlies were unwilling to match, or else work a sign-and-trade with Memphis. 先從怎麼樣讓火箭隊回到季後賽開始. 第一個首要的條件就是找到一個先發中鋒. Marc Gasol絕對是火箭隊的第一志願, 不過他是受限制的自由球員, 這代表火箭隊必須開出一個曼菲斯不想匹配的高薪才行, 要不然只能寄望盤後交易了. Of course, if Memphis is going to lose Gasol they’ll be looking for another big man in any trade, and the Rockets are already short in that area. The Rockets would be better off just bidding high, as they have roughly $20 million in cap space if the new salary cap is set anywhere close to last year’s number, and the Grizzlies are unlikely to spend the money to keep Gasol in town if the price is too high. 當然, 如果曼菲斯捨棄了Marc Gasol, 他們也會開始尋找另一個長人. 長人的尋覓已經讓火箭隊困擾很久了. 火箭隊看起來最好是把價錢提高, 他們有接近兩千萬的薪資空間. 若開出的薪資夠高, 灰熊隊不見得會想花那麼多錢留下他. The second name on Houston’s list is Tyson Chandler, who just won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks have already had some discussion with Chandler about bringing him back, and it’s extremely likely he stays in Dallas to help them defend their title. 第二志願就是剛拿到冠軍戒指的Tyson Chandler. 小牛隊已經著手開始與他討論歸隊的可能性, 而看起來他離隊的可能性也不高. There are some other names out there, like the LA Clippers’ Chris Kaman, who could be had in trade, and Sacramento Kings free agent Samuel Dalembert, but the Rockets’ clearest path back to the playoffs depends upon them getting one of their top two options. 還是有其他的小菜可以加減吃啦, 例如快艇隊的Kaman, 國王的Dalembert, 不過指引火箭隊重返季後賽的明燈大概還是只有前兩志願的人選. Additionally, if the Rockets are able to land Gasol or Chandler they will need one more piece to contend. The Shane Battier trade robbed Houston of their best defender and starting small forward, and while Chase Budinger quickly grew into the starting role the Rockets will need another experienced small forward to contend. The top choice might be to bring back Battier, who is now a free agent, but a secondary option might be Tayshaun Prince. One way or the other, if the Rockets get their big man they will need to add a wing player, as well. 就算火箭隊能得到Gasol/Chandler其中之一, 他們還缺少一塊拼圖. Battier離開之後, 休士頓失去了一位防守專家以及先發小前鋒, 雖然布丁狗頂上了先發的位置, 但是球隊還是需要一個較有經驗的球員來補強這個位置. 目前最好的人選應該還是成為自由球員的Battier, 而再來或許就會是Tayshaun Prince. 這是補強中鋒之後第二件應該要做的事情. The Rebuild Option 重建之路 If the Rockets fail to land the center they need, as they have failed so often in chasing key free agents, it will be time to give in to the rebuilding notion. The Yao Ming/Tracy McGrady era never came to fruition, and with Rick Adelman gone and GM Daryl Morey likely to be on the hot seat, the Rockets appear to be on the brink of disaster . . .or at least sustained mediocrity. 如果火箭隊對於長人的追逐都失敗了, 就如同"這些年我們始終追不到的明星球員"一樣, 或許對於球隊整體的計劃也該是好好反省的時候. 姚明與TMac沒辦法在休士頓開花結果, 而Adelman與Morey似乎也水火不容, 火箭隊似乎大難臨頭, 令人感覺像是一個扶不起的阿斗. A quick look around the Western Conference reveals that Houston’s path back to the playoffs is not an easy one without a dominant force in the paint. The Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers are locks to return to the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets were surprisingly good after the Carmelo Anthony trade and have the cap space to add a couple of significant pieces, and it would seem that only a major injury can keep the LA Clippers from getting into the playoff picture this season. The Memphis Grizzlies are also very likely to return to the playoffs, though Marc Gasol’s future will likely have a strong part to play in that situation. There’s nine teams that are better than the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference. 環顧西區的戰況, 沒有強而有力的禁區是無法殺進季後賽的. 小牛, 雷霆, 湖人, 馬刺, 黃蜂, 拓荒者都視季後賽為囊中物, 沒有了甜瓜的金塊隊表現更是出乎意料的優秀, 還有很大的薪資空間能夠運用. 而對於快艇隊來說, 只要全員保持健康似乎要進季後賽也不是太難的事情. 灰熊隊也是很可能進入季後賽的球隊, Marc Gasol的去留會是一個重要的因素. 光是在西區看起來就有九隻球隊的行情比火箭隊更令人看好. No one likes to hear the word “rebuilding,” least of all fans of a team that has been more or less rebuilding since Hakeem Olajuwon retired. But if the Rockets are forced to embrace the rebuilding concept this season it would make sense to trade Luis Scola to a team that’s ready to contend immediately and reap the benefits of the draft picks and young players they could get in return. Kevin McHale would have the chance to make the team over in his image, and he would have the opportunity to give plenty of playing time to guys like Thabeet, Patterson, Motiejunas, Hill, and Morris, who need lots of minutes to determine what kind of players they might be for the Rockets long-term. 沒有人喜歡重建. 若是火箭隊決定大刀闊斧的砍掉重練, 就算交易掉Scola也不令人意外. 然後再從年輕的新秀以及選秀權中獲得一些新的能量. 主教頭McHale有機會讓球隊改頭換面, 有機會讓Thabeet, PP, Motiejunas, Hill, Morris上場證明自己, 讓球隊好好觀察哪些人是未來的拼圖之一. Daryl Morey On The Clock Morey皮得繃緊些 There’s no doubt that Daryl Morey is one of the NBA’s best and brightest minds, nor is there a question that his use of stats has transformed the way teams evaluate talent. That said, his approach to free agency and the way he treats his team’s own restricted free agents has made him an enemy of some of the league’s power players on the agents’ side of the equation. On the plus side, it means he has saved Rockets owner Les Alexander some money when dealing with restricted free agents. On the minus side, it means a number of agents don’t want their players to land in Houston because of the way their other clients have been treated in the past. 毫無疑問的Morey是聯盟中頭腦數一數二聰明的傢伙. 而他善用數據計算球隊的能力與天賦也證明了是不錯的做法. 不過他這樣的作風也讓他在聯盟裡獲得某些球員的反感. 就某方面來說, 他替大老闆Alexander省下不少錢, 但是對於自由球員來說休士頓並不是一個受歡迎的選項. One way or the other, Morey’s on the clock. He has been charged with rebuilding the Rockets ever since Carroll Dawson retired as GM, and so far, aside from the no-brainer of drafting Yao Ming, not much has gone right for Morey. He can’t be blamed for injuries, obviously, and that’s the only reason he still has a job now. After all, if Yao Ming was still healthy we’d be telling a very different story today, perhaps a championship story. 說穿了, Morey的位置也坐不安穩. 自從前任GM Dawson退休之後他就被賦予重建的任務, 但目前為止除了獲得選秀狀元姚明之外, 他似乎沒有甚麼太明顯的建樹. 球員的傷病當然不能怪他, 或許這也是他目前為止還沒有被炒魷魚的原因之一. 畢竟若是姚明保持健康, 今天的這篇文章討論的會是開心點的事情, 例如冠軍之類的. But Yao Ming is gone, and with him any hope of contending without a major change. Morey has done a nice job of collecting what he calls “assets,” but assets are only valuable if someone will give up something of value to acquire them. To date, that hasn’t been the case. 但是中國巨人已經遠去. Morey稱職的收集了許多"籌碼", 但是籌碼只有在被端上交易的檯面才能真正顯現出價值. 而一直到目前為止我們還沒有看到這樣的事情發生. It may very well be that it’s Marc Gasol or bust for the Rockets, with Morey’s job in the balance. 若得到Marc Gasol情況會很樂觀, 反之, 火箭隊的情況只會越來越不妙, 如同Morey的飯碗一樣. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 208.79.252.146