[外電] Ben McLemore: 迷失與復航

看板Rockets (休士頓火箭)作者Websphere (Just cruising)時間5年前 (2020/07/04 15:50)推噓18(18推 0噓 8→)

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沒比賽看，無聊隨意翻篇舊聞。一起幫這個小夥子加油吧。 Ben McLemore: The NBA lottery pick who lost his way, and his road back Ben McLemore 迷失與復航 Zach Lowe Jan 7, 2020 Rarely do the lowest, darkest moments in someone's professional and personal lives intersect. 很少談到球員們最低潮的人生與職業生涯。 On Nov. 4, 2018, Ben McLemore, then in his second stint with the Sacramento Kings, was receiving treatment in the locker room in Milwaukee in anticipation of playing that night. McLemore had been excited when the Kings reacquired him from the Memphis Grizzlies in July 2018. 2018年十一月四號，公鹿隊的比賽。 McLemore與國王隊再續前緣，待在休息室接受治療。那一年的七月份國王隊將他從灰熊隊交易回來，讓他十分興奮。 "I was like, 'Wow!'" McLemore told ESPN last month. "Coming back to the team who drafted me? They believed in me from the jump -- a young kid from St. Louis. They are giving me the opportunity to show them why they drafted me in the first place." "我就像是，哇！要回到當初選上我的母隊了嗎？他們打從最初就相信我，現在又給了我一次機會證明自己。" But it quickly became clear McLemore was not in Sacramento's plans. Absorbing his contract had been a means of off-loading Garrett Temple for a prospect and a second-round pick. McLemore had logged only 24 total minutes so far that season. 但很快地，McLemore發現自己並不在國王隊的規劃中。國王隊的這筆交易只是為了空出Garrett Temple的位置並拿到一個二輪籤。目前為止他總共只上場了24分鐘。 Still, McLemore was gearing up to see the court in Milwaukee. Dave Joerger, then the Kings coach, approached with bad news: Due to a last-minute switch, McLemore would be inactive. 不過McLemore仍然準備好了要在密爾瓦基上場。但教練Joerger卻帶來了壞消息：McLemore並不在出賽名單中。 McLemore did not have clothes that met the league dress code for inactive players. He would have to sit alone in the visiting locker room. McLemore甚至沒有像樣的衣服能符合坐在場邊的規定，他就只能一個人待在休息室。 As McLemore digested that, his phone rang. It was his sister. She was crying. Something had happened to McLemore's younger brother, Kevin. McLemore hung up and called one of his cousins. "He's gone," the voice on the other end said. Kevin McLemore had died unexpectedly. 正當McLemore想辦法接受這件事情的同時，他的手機響了。他的姐姐在電話中哭泣，最年輕的弟弟Kevin發生了意外。 McLemore隨後打給他的表親， "他走了。" Kevin去世了。 McLemore ran into the shower and turned the water on. He didn't know what else to do. McLemore跑到淋浴間把水龍頭打開。他不知道還能做些甚麼。 "I was just in the shower talking to myself," he said. "We were kinda like twins. We had a connection. I was almost trying to talk to him." "我就一個人待在淋浴間自言自語。"他說。 "我們就像是雙胞胎一樣，我們緊緊相連。我還想要跟他說幾句話。" McLemore returned to Sacramento with the team before attending his brother's memorial service. He remained with the Kings, playing sporadically, until they waived him in early February. 在參加了弟弟的追思儀式之前，McLemore回到了國王隊上。他還是跟球隊待在一起，偶爾能上場打個幾分鐘，直到二月份被釋出。 He was mourning. His NBA career was in jeopardy. McLemore spent a few days with his wife and baby daughter before deciding to fight. "If I didn't have my support system, who knows if I would still be in the league," McLemore said. 他深深哀悼，而他的NBA生涯也正處於危險。在與家人相處了幾天之後，他仍然決定要繼續奮鬥。 "如果我沒有得到這些支持，我不知道我還會不會在這個聯盟打球。" "I locked myself in the gym," he said. "I told myself that if you love this game, you have to know you did everything you could. And I love this game dirty." "我把我自己關在健身房，我告訴我自己，如果你真的愛打球，你就必須毫不保留地付出所有。" The next five months were filled with twists and false hopes until the Houston Rockets in July signed McLemore to a two-year, $4.4 million deal, with a $500,000 guarantee. 接下來的五個月充滿了曲折，直到七月份休士頓火箭隊給他一份兩年4.4m的合約。 "I love Ben," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni told ESPN last month. "All he was lacking was confidence and an opportunity." "我喜歡這個球員。"火箭隊教練D'Antoni這麼告訴ESPN。 "他只是缺少了些自信與機會。" Injuries to Gerald Green and Eric Gordon opened minutes, and McLemore has been a fixture in Houston's rotation. Over one nine-game stretch starting Nov. 30, McLemore averaged 14 points on 39-of-85 shooting from deep. He punished teams who left him open to trap James Harden. G.Green與E.Gordon的傷病給予了他上場時間。而McLemore也適時地填補上了空缺。從十一月底開始的九場比賽，他平均拿到14分，以及39/85的外線命中。他教訓了那些只顧包夾Harden卻放他空檔的球隊。 He has slumped a bit since, and Gordon's return has cut into his minutes. But playing next to two ball-dominant superstars in Harden and Russell Westbrook simplified the game for McLemore: Catch, shoot and defend better than he did over his first six seasons, when he was by his own admission a liability. Gordon的回歸又瓜分了他的一些時間。不過在Harden與Westbrook兩個巨星身旁，球賽對他來說變得更單純一些。接球，投籃，然後想辦法不斷強化自己的防守。 McLemore isn't nervous as his guarantee date approaches. 他並不擔心自己的合約。 "I know my contract," he said. "But the non-guaranteed deal doesn't faze me. I grew up with nothing. Nothing was guaranteed." "我知道我簽了甚麼。" "非保障的合約並不會讓我害怕。我從小就一無所有，生命中本來就沒有任何事情是絕對有保障的。" Even if the unexpected happens, McLemore will keep battling. This season has revived his passion. Almost everyone McLemore has come into contact with over those wayward first six seasons will be rooting for him. 即使有未知的將來，McLemore仍然會奮戰。這個賽季重燃了他的鬥志。他周遭的人都在為他加油。 "I love him," Joerger said. Sacramento didn't expect to have any chance at drafting McLemore with the seventh pick in 2013. The Kings didn't even bring him in for a pre-draft workout. But crazy stuff happened at the top of that draft -- starting with the Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Anthony Bennett No. 1 -- and McLemore fell. "我愛他。"國王隊的教練Joerger說。國王隊本來並沒有預期能在2013第七順位選到McLemore。他們甚至沒有事先邀請他來參與練習。不過那一年的選秀有些瘋狂，從Anthony Bennett被選上狀元開始。 Sacramento was an organization in transition. Vivek Ranadive finalized his purchase of the team a month before the draft. He hired Michael Malone as coach at the end of May. The Kings drafted McLemore, and they signed-and-traded away Tyreke Evans -- their lead ball handler. 沙加緬度是個處於調整中的組織。在選秀會的一個月前Vivek Ranadive才買下了這支球隊。他們雇用了Michael Malone為總教練，選上了McLemore，然後把球隊老大Tyreke Evans交易出去。 "He was getting into a whole world of change and expectations, and he had no idea," said Chuck Hayes, who mentored McLemore during the 2013-14 season and now works in Houston's front office. "他來到了一個充滿變化與期待的地方，他甚麼都不了解。"Chuck Hayes說。 Hayes在2013-14球季指導McLemore，目前他也在休士頓協助球隊。 The Kings franchise belonged to DeMarcus Cousins, and Cousins' personality -- loud and brash -- made for a stark contrast with McLemore, then a soft-spoken 20-year-old. 國王隊的王朝是屬於Cousins的。他的風格就是大聲嚷嚷與自視甚高。這跟McLemore形成鮮明的對比。 "It was tough going for Ben early," Malone said. "最初的時候其實很難接近McLemore。"教練Malone說。 McLemore started 55 games as a rookie. He peppered Hayes and John Salmons with questions. He liked that Malone prioritized player development -- that Malone let him play through mistakes. 在菜鳥年McLemore先發了55場比賽，他會向Hayes與John Salmons請教。他喜歡Malone教練是如何重視球員的發展 -- 讓球員在錯誤中學習。 McLemore was happy, though perhaps a little naive about how quickly things can change in the NBA and what it would take to thrive. After practices, McLemore worked on trick dunks; he participated in the dunk contest at All-Star Weekend in 2014. McLemore感到開心，也有一點孩子氣。每次練球後他總會留下來練習一些灌籃的花招，也在2014的全明星賽中參加了灌籃大賽。 "I was like, 'You're gonna need a whole lot more than [dunks], but they are very nice,'" Hayes said. "我心想，你要學的可不只是灌籃呢。不過他確實灌得不錯啦。"Hayes說。 McLemore began his second season as a full-time starter. He was working out in the team's practice facility late on Dec. 14, 2014, when Malone called with startling news: The Kings, then 11-13, had just fired him. 第二個球季他成為了固定先發。但在2014的十二月練習過後，教練Malone在眾人的驚訝中被解雇。 McLemore owns a lot of his NBA struggle. "We had some personal deficiencies," said Hazem Al-Gibaly, McLemore's friend and business manager. But if there is a moment when outside factors overwhelmed McLemore, it was the sudden firing of Malone. McLemore在NBA有過很多挫折。 "每個人心中都有一些遺憾。"Hazem Al-Gibaly說，他是McLemore的好友兼生意夥伴。 "不過解雇Malone對McLemore來說絕對是個很大的打擊。" "I love you," Malone told him on the call, both remembered. "Keep working." "我愛你。繼續努力。"Malone在電話中告訴他。 "I felt like crying right there," McLemore said. "我當下幾乎要哭出來了。"McLemore說。 The Kings quickly cycled through Tyrone Corbin and George Karl before hiring Joerger in May 2016. 在2016雇用Joerger之前，國王隊這期間還換過了Tyrone Corbin 與 George Karl兩位教練。 Amid the chaos, McLemore felt the organization lost its focus on teaching. 這一切的混亂，讓McLemore感覺這個組織對於球員的發展指導上失了焦。 "I'm big on someone being hands on with me," he said. "After those first two years, I felt there was a lack of player development." "當有人指導我的時候，我可以做得很好。" "但過了兩年之後，我開始覺得我在球員發展這塊上面有所缺乏。" Kings officials declined comment; tampering rules prohibit them from discussing another team's player. But they would not strongly contest this sentiment. The organization had lost faith in McLemore. They questioned his defense and his hands. Ownership pushed a win-now mentality. 國王隊官方不願對此做評論。整個組織也對McLemore失去了信心。他們懷疑他的防守與投籃。管理階層只想要趕快贏球。 "Now when he fell asleep on a backdoor cut, he'd get yanked," Al-Gibaly said. "只要他一被對手溜後門切入，馬上就會被換下場。"Al-Gibaly說。 McLemore's confidence dwindled. McLemore的信心日漸消散。 "You start seeing, 'Oh, he's a bust,'" McLemore said. "And you start to think: Maybe I am a bust?" "我開始會想，或許自己真的很差勁？" When Sacramento acquired Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the writing was on the wall. 當引進了Buddy Hield 與 Bogdan Bogdanovic之後，國王隊的企圖已經很明顯。 The Kings declined McLemore's qualifying offer in the summer of 2017. The Los Angeles Lakers expressed interest in free agency, but he chose Memphis; he knew that David Fizdale, then the Grizzlies' coach, emphasized player development. 國王隊拒絕匹配McLemore 2017夏天的合約。湖人隊向他表達過興趣，不過他最終選擇了灰熊。因為他知道灰熊的Fizdale教練很重視球員發展。 McLemore broke a bone in his foot playing pickup that summer, effectively torpedoing his stint with Memphis before it started. The Grizzlies fired Fizdale in November 2017 and replaced him with J.B. Bickerstaff -- McLemore's sixth head coach in less than five seasons. McLemore在那年的夏天腳受傷骨折。在為曼菲斯上場之前就失去了自己的機會。而且Fizdale教練也在那年的十一月被炒了魷魚，由J.B. Bickerstaff取代。這是McLemore在五年內的第六個教練。 McLemore imagined alternate realities where a more stable franchise drafted him. 他開始想像若是當初選上他的是支穩定的球隊該有多好。 "I thought about it every day -- that maybe in those situations I could have been more successful," he said. "So much is about being in the right situation at the right time." "我每天都在想這件事情。或許在那樣的環境下我會打得更好。" "很多的成功都在於，在對的時間身處在對的地方。" Two days after the Kings waived him last season, the Toronto Raptors and McLemore agreed on a 10-day contract. McLemore was driving to the airport in Sacramento for his flight to Toronto when Al-Gibaly called him. There had been a snag. The Raptors had traded so many players away in the Marc Gasol deal, they had to fill several roster spots with rest-of-season deals before they could sign a 10-day contract. McLemore went home. 在國王隊釋出他的兩天後，暴龍隊打算跟他簽下一張十天短約。而在前往多倫多的路上他卻接到了Al-Gibaly的電話。由於在Marc Gasol的交易中牽扯了太多的球員，他們必須先搞定正常輪替之後才能簽十天的短約。 McLemore調了頭回家。 No other deal came. He called Malone, his old coach, and asked what he had to work on to regain a foothold in the NBA. 之後再也沒有任何球隊接觸他。他打電話給Malone教練，請教他如何在NBA立足。 A team from China flew in a scout to watch McLemore work out. The thought of leaving the NBA for at least a year crossed his mind. In early March, the Raptors called again, wondering if McLemore would work out for one of their scouts in Los Angeles. 一支中國的球隊來看他練習。離開NBA的念頭在他腦海中閃過。三月初暴龍隊又試著接洽他，看看他是否能為身在LA的球探展示一下。 His 3-point shot was on that day. "That was one of my best workouts ever," McLemore said. He punctuated it with two dunks, one on each basket, because he knew teams were wondering if he was still as bouncy as he had been. 他那天的三分球十分火熱。"那天是我練球狀況最好的一次"McLemore說。還特地展示了兩次灌籃，因為他明白球隊都想知道他還能不能跳。 Toronto had nothing hard to offer, but the workout buoyed McLemore. He would stay in the United States and get back in the NBA. 多倫多並沒有太多的顧慮，不過這次的練習卻啟發了McLemore。他要留在美國並重返NBA。 McLemore realized he had to work harder, and differently, than he had before. 他了解到他必須更努力，與以往更不同的訓練。 "Last summer was big," McLemore said. "I had said that about other summers before, but this one was huge." "那個夏天很重要。" "我也有過其他很棒的夏天，不過那個夏天真的影響太大了。" He worked with his trainer, Clint Parks, at Los Angeles-area high schools and at Kobe Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy. 他與他的訓練師Clint Parks一同在LA的高中以及Kobe的黑曼巴運動學院練球。 As he walked into Mamba Academy one morning last spring, he ran into Bryant. "What are you doing here?" Bryant asked, shocked to learn McLemore was out of the league, both recalled. "Stay ready," Bryant told him. "Your time is gonna come." 當他走進黑曼巴學院，他跑向Kobe。 "你在這幹甚麼？"Kobe問。此時他才得知McLemore在NBA還沒有合約。 "把自己準備好。"Kobe告訴他。"你的機會就會出現。" "Just him saying that built my confidence," McLemore said. "單單聽了他講了幾句話就能帶給我信心。"McLemore說。 When the Rockets called in July, McLemore and his camp saw the potential fit right away. He focused even more on catch-and-shoot 3s. 當火箭隊在七月連絡他的時候，McLemore看到了機會。他更加專注地練習傳接投三分。 Parks drilled him on sidestep dribbles, so when defenders sprinted to close out, McLemore could evade them while staying behind the arc. 訓練師Parks協助他練習側向跨步的運球，當防守者衝過來的時候他就能躲開並依然立於三分線以外投籃。 As he pushed McLemore, Parks thought often of McLemore's late brother. "Kevin was Ben's biggest fan," Parks said. "He would always tell me, 'Stay on his ass!'" 訓練的同時，Parks也總會想起McLemore的小弟。 "Kevin是他最忠實的粉絲。"Parks說。"他老是告訴我要盯緊他！" McLemore worked mostly on defense. "My downfall was not on the ball; it was being on the weak side," he said. "It was not being able to watch the ball and my man." He would hear opposing coaches urging players to cut backdoor against him. McLemore的訓練大部分著重於防守面。 "會擊倒我的並不是持球進攻，防守是我的弱點。" "不能只是盯著球與看著隊友。"對方教練總是要球員們想辦法開他的後門。 He asked Al-Gibaly to send film of his mistakes. Parks showed him film of good defenders, including Patrick Beverley. "'Look how active Pat Bev's hands are,'" Parks urged. "'You're playing with two superstars now. You're gonna be asked to guard better players some nights.'" 他請Al-Gibaly寄給他影片來反省自己犯過的錯誤。 Parks也向他展示了一些絕佳防守的影片，包括了Patrick Beverley. "你看看Pat Bev的手是怎樣不斷在干擾對方。" "現在你有了兩個超級球星當隊友，你肯定有機會去防守一些重點球員。" In August, Al-Gibaly called Brady Morningstar, who preceded McLemore at the University of Kansas and was known for his defense. Morningstar is now a coach at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Al-Gibaly asked if Morningstar might put McLemore through two-a-days there, with the evening session focused only on defense. 八月的時候，Al-Gibaly 打給了 Brady Morningstar, McLemore的學長，他以防守出名。現在他也正是社區大學球隊的教練。 Al-Gibaly 問了 Morningstar 是否能幫McLemore訓練個兩天，而晚間就專門練習防守。 "When I heard 'all defense,' in my head, I was like, 'I'm not doing this,'" McLemore said, chuckling. "當下我聽到'專門練習防守'，我的第一個反應就是'門都沒有'。"McLemore笑著說。 Morningstar had McLemore practice closing out on shooters over and over. McLemore would have to sprint to an open shooter, contest his 3-pointer without flying by him, and cut off any drive before the ball reached the paint. If the shooter managed to launch, McLemore had to run across the court to box out a second player. Morningstar made McLemore keep going until he produced five consecutive stops and sealed them with rebounds. Morningstar讓McLemore去練習如何對位到射手。 McLemore必須先對上一個射手，試著干擾他的三分球，並阻止他切入。當射手把球投出之後，他就必須衝到禁區與另一個球員進行卡位並搶籃板球。這樣練習直到McLemore能夠連續成功擋下五波進攻並且都拿到籃板球。 "When we first started, I was blowing by him," Morningstar said. McLemore had a bad habit of opening his hips -- "opening the gate," Morningstar calls it -- and conceding a driving lane. "I was like, 'This guy is going to the Rockets? He can't play defense like this and think he's gonna keep his spot. ' We were kicking his ass. It was like he had lost sight of who he was [as a younger player], because he was thinking, 'Score, score, score,' and 'Dunk, dunk, dunk.'" "最初開始的時候，他令我很意外。"Morningstar說。 "我心想，這傢伙真的要去火箭隊打球嗎？以這種程度的防守他是撐不久的。" "我們把他整翻了。他就像有點忘了他自己是誰，一心只想著得分跟灌籃。" McLemore stuck with it. His balance and footwork improved. McLemore堅持了下去，他的平衡感與腳步動作都進步了。 In Houston, the mistakes on defense have not been as frequent. McLemore leans on PJ Tucker for advice. 在休士頓，防守是不容許出現太多錯誤的。McLemore向PJ Tucker討教。 Early on, it was his shooting that wavered. McLemore hit just 31% of his 3s over October and November. He was getting worried. D'Antoni sensed it. 在火箭隊的初期，他的投籃很不穩定。十月與十一月份他的三分球只有31%。他開始擔心，教練D'Antoni也感受到了。 As McLemore boarded the team plane after an early-season game, he heard D'Antoni's voice. 有次飛機降落之後，他聽到教練在叫他。 "Hey, Ben, I'll give you 'til March to make a damn shot," D'Antoni said, according to both. "嘿聽著，你只要在三月之前能夠把球投進就好。"D'Antoni這樣說。 McLemore replied, "Well, Coach, I got a long time then." McLemore回答 "呃，那我的時間還滿充裕的。" "He has such a great shot," D'Antoni said. "He was probably leading the league in shots that were in and out." "他的投籃很棒。"D'Antoni說。 "如果聯盟裡有'原本應該能投進的球'的紀錄，他大概可以名列前茅。" "Hearing him say that gives you trust," McLemore said. "It gives you fuel. If I miss two in a row, that next one is going up." "聽到教練這麼說給我帶來了很大的信心。"McLemore說。 "讓我有了勇氣。就算我連續投丟了兩次，我還是有信心第三球會進。" McLemore is now at 35% from deep -- about league average. His ballhandling still is shaky. The playoffs will test his defense. McLemore現在三分線的命中是35%。也就差不多聯盟平均的水準。他持球還是不穩，季後賽也即將是對他防守的最大考驗。 But he fought for his career, and right now, he has it. 不過他還是不斷地為自己的職業生涯拼鬥。 "My mom used to say I looked like I had this black cloud over my head," McLemore said. "A mother is never wrong. I felt it. There were nights when it was just like, 'I don't want to play anymore.' Nothing could go right. "我媽之前說我總是烏雲罩頂的樣子。" "母親講的話都是真理，我感受的到。過去那段日子我真的諸事不順，想要放棄籃球。" "Now she says, 'You look happy again. I see you smile again.'" "現在她告訴我，我看起來變快樂了。她能看到我臉上的微笑。" McLemore understands how fragile all of this is. But he has learned what he needs to work on to stick in the league. McLemore明白這一切依然可能隨時都會破滅。但他學會的是該如何奮鬥與堅持。 "I'm still only 26," he said. "I have a lot of gas left in the tank." "我才26歲，我還有很多潛力沒有發揮出來呢。" -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 1.171.199.240 (臺灣) ※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Rockets/M.1593849040.A.892.html

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