评论
打印
Kyrie Irving got criticized heavily for orchestrating a move out of Cleveland, but now he's getting the last laugh.
当凯里－欧文精心策划离开克利夫兰的时候遭到了一片质疑声，然而现在，他却笑到了最后。
There was a play in the third quarter of the Celtics and Warriors game, which the Celtics won in stunning fashion on Thursday night, where Kyrie Irving found himself caught under his own basket defending Andre Iguodala.Iguodala either missed the shot or lost the ball — that's not important — what was exciting was that Irving was so active with his hands that it overwhelmed the bigger Iguodala and forced him into an error. I was so excited at the play that I turned to a friend I was watching the game with and yelled: "Look at Kyrie! My son!"
时间回到上周凯尔特人面对勇士的逆转，第三节的某个时刻，凯里－欧文发现他面对着持球进攻，虎视眈眈，早已蓄势待发的伊戈达拉，而他的身后就是触手可及的自家篮筐。而故事的发展却以伊格达拉投丢了这一球，抑或是失误告终——但结局不重要——真正令人感到激动的是欧文面对比自己高一头的伊格达拉，张开双臂，积极地防守，迫使伊格达拉犯了错。看到那个回合的防守时，我不由地转向身旁的好友，大声的喊道：“快看欧文，那是我们当家球星欧文！”
Irving has always been fun to watch on offense — not his scoring alone but the way that he moves in general. How he dribbles like he can hear Bruce Lee telling him to be like water with each bounce. His technically perfect spins. The passes that seem to slip right out of his hands. The high and improvised finishes around the rim. The ability and penchant to switch hands at the absolute last second. He moves like a well-orchestrated dance.
一直以来，欧文的进攻时多么的赏心悦目——不仅仅是他的得分能力，还有那他那技惊四座的控球。当年李小龙所说的功夫如水，都在欧文那柔软灵活的运球中展现地淋漓尽致。他那游刃有余的转身过人，他如丝绸般顺滑的传球，他轻巧灵动的抛投和那最后一秒从容不迫的换手上篮，让他的比赛变成了一场踏着交响乐节拍的华尔兹。
That fun is now extended to the defensive side of his game. He is not exactly locking players down — he's no Patrick Beverley — but he doesn't really have to be that in a team where defense is a group effort. He's just more active now, to the point that he's unrecognizable from the Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers as a defender.
而那他进攻端的天赋也开始在防守端崭露头角。他还不是一对一的盯防大师——他没到贝弗利的那个级别——但是在团队防守至上的凯尔特人阵中，他做到了他应该做的。他在防守端变的更加积极，和那个在克利夫兰时怠于防守的凯里－欧文判若两人。
He's fighting through screens, staying on the jersey of his man regardless of how far he runs or how many juke moves he uses to try to avoid him. He's invading passing lanes, ripping the ball out of his opponents' hands, and embracing the challenge when he finds himself isolated one-on-one. As much as he would if he was the one on offense.
无论他要跑多远，无论持球人做了多少无谓的假动作，他都会积极地破坏对手的每个挡拆，扯着球衣怼他要盯防的进攻队员；他都会侵略对手的每一条传球路线，不顾一切地将球从对手手中抢过；他都会面无惧色地直面针对他的单打战术，将进攻端的那股干劲全情投入到了防守中去。
He might not be the best at defense, but him being present and active is starkly different than what he used to be. He's not lost as it was assumed that he would be when he was traded to the Celtics. He fits right in with the team philosophy.
他可能不是最好的防守球员，但是现在那个积极拼抢的欧文，早已不是那个在防守端没有存在感的自己。别人说他到凯尔特人会迷失自己，但欧文却证明了他只会做的更好，更完美地融入了球队
This change, of Irving becoming a more rounded player, or at least trying to be, is why I was in support of his decision to leave Cleveland. That ambition to be more than what he was should have been championed, but his move was met with skepticism and criticism.
因为这点变化，欧文成为了一个更加全面的球员，或者至少他在为此努力。这就是为什么他离开克利夫兰时我支持他的选择。他的雄心比他从前获得的总冠军意义更重大，但是他的选择受到了许多的怀疑和批评。
Some of it was fair; he was known as an isolation player, not really a playmaker or a competent defender. He seemed the opposite of what Boston needed. If the Celtics wanted a guard who could score but couldn't defend, they could have kept Isaiah Thomas, who was also better at getting his teammates involved in plays.
有些评论的确不无道理。欧文一直被认为是个单打能力超强的得分球员，但并不是一名优秀的组织者，或是坚如磐石的防守球员。他似乎并不是凯尔特人所需要的球员。如果凯尔特人需要一个得分机器和防守黑洞，他们自然会选择留下以赛亚－托马斯，更何况托马斯的组织能力更胜一筹。
There was little evidence that Irving would dramatically change as a player just by changing teams. Past performance is the best indication of future performance after all.
毕竟很少有球员在换队之后就可以做到士别三日，另当刮目相看。一个球员过去的表现往往映射着他的未来。
That judgment had the error of not acknowledging the player's own desires and why he wanted a change in the first place. Since arriving in Boston, Irving has heaped praise on it for being a "real" sports city, on Brad Stevens for challenging him intellectually, and on the team being able to carry him when he has a bad game. Not that that didn't happen with the Cavaliers, but what he is getting at, I think, is that he likes being part of something, rather than the sidekick of someone else.
然而，这样草率的结论忽略了一位球员对涅槃重生的渴望。自从到了波士顿之后，欧文曾不止一次赞叹波士顿是真正的体育竞技之都，他从不吝啬对史蒂文斯教练的赞美之词，他曾多次肯定队友在他的低谷时扛起了球队。并不是说这一切都未曾发生过在克利夫兰，而是说，他第一次真正享受了成为球队中不可缺少的一份子，而不是巨星身边的带刀侍卫。
He was asked to be a specific thing as a sidekick in Cleveland: to carry the offensive load, mainly scoring, when LeBron James needed a break or when the team needed points quickly. It was LeBron's team, a natural result of LeBron's greatness, and Irving wanted more for himself than playing a role in the legacy of another player.
在克利夫兰，欧文一直被当作是球队的二当家。球队需要他打开进攻，去强攻每一分。但这一切，都是在詹姆斯累了或者球队急需分数时的前提下。骑士一直是勒布朗的御林军，但欧文想要的，不仅仅是当詹皇手下的骠骑将军。
He's not the leader or the face of the Celtics, but that was a mistake in thinking that he wanted his own team. He just wanted to be fulfilled as a player. He wanted to be the best that he could be, and he had to change systems to find out what his true potential was.
他还不是凯尔特人的领袖或是传奇，但是他也从未想过拥有一支自己为王的球队。他所期望的，是真正地融入到一只球队中去，是努力做到最好的自己，是摆脱一切羁绊去证明自己。
The challenge of improvement, to try and possibly fail at things that you're not good at, should be an essential human motivation; to find out your limits and improve on them. This requires leaving your comfort zone. It meant Irving leaving an almost guaranteed life of making it to the NBA Finals, the possibility of winning more rings, to be a part of a more coherent team — a team that can shape him into something more than what he was before.
向前向上的渴望，是每一个人自我完善的动力，是不断突破上限，创造奇迹，打破人们的成见。这需要一位球员踏出自己的舒适区。凯里－欧文因此离开了那似乎拿着决赛门票的骑士队，加入了一只更加团结的球队——一只可以让他涅槃重生的绿衫军团。
We often times concentrate too much on the end goal, the winning of a ring, and forget the journey that leads up to that or what is beyond it. Irving has won a ring, and I'm sure that he wants to win many more, as any player does.
我们往往太在意那一锤定音的绝杀，那闪耀着胜利光芒的冠军戒指，而忽略了那条通向总冠军的崎岖险阻的道路和登上华山之巅后的后话。欧文拥有总冠军的光环在身，我坚信他希望更多。
But he also has a long career ahead of him. If he spent the next few years playing a role in LeBron's battles against Golden State, then he never gets to be more than what he was at Cleveland. His potential would have been to be an improved version of that specific role that he played next to LeBron.
但是他的职业生涯还有很长的一段路要走。如果他继续跟从勒布朗对抗金州勇士，他将永远被认定是骑士队的二当家，詹姆斯的得力助手，而他，本可以做的更好。
On the Celtics, he's asked to do things that he either didn't feel motivated to do before or wasn't asked to do at all. His offensive and defensive games are consequential to the team's success. He is both a star and a piece of a whole.
在凯尔特人，他接受了前所未有的挑战，做了许多自己之前从未被要求或是从未有勇气做的事。他的进攻与防守直接影响着球队的表现。他是位球星，也同样是凯尔特人中的一员。
The team doesn't gravitate around him, but it creates a foundation where he can still shine offensively. At the same time, the defense-first attitude of the team allows him to explore himself in that regard. He can try things and make mistakes and learn and enjoy himself. There's not much more a player can ask for.
球队未曾对他前呼后拥，但是他们用坚实的防守搭起欧文在进攻端的舞台。与此同时，全队立足防守的比赛的态度，让欧文可以在球场的另一端大施拳脚。他可以不断尝试，甚至犯几个小错误，但与此同时从中学习，并真正享受篮球。有队友如此，夫复何求？
Irving's time in Boston could still end in failure. It's hard to predict the future. So far though, he has fit in seamlessly with his new team. That's more than many people expected. The Celtics are asking him to be more present and involved on both offense and defense, and he's responding well to the pressure. Now he has a chance to become what he believes that he can be, and that's really a delightful thing to watch.
欧文在波士顿的美好时光仍有可能出现转折，毕竟未来变化莫测。但至今，他已经和球队无缝衔接，这已经超出了许多人的预计。凯尔特人要求他能够在攻防两端都有所表现，而欧文也在人们的质疑声和压力下做出了回应。现在，他终于有机会成为自己曾经期待的样子，更何况，莫愁前路无知己，天下谁人不识君？
更多精彩内容请关注微信公众号、新浪微博：篮球英文堂
