Jeremy Lin is a role player, and that's OK
Lin是個角色球員，其實這也不錯！
http://goo.gl/Rhg80V
【文長，看到篇關於林的定位的外絮，覺得不錯，在此翻譯分享，若有任何錯誤或需要更
正的地方請不吝指教！】
Jeremy Lin exploded on Monday night, scoring 29 points in 31 minutes to lead
the Charlotte Hornets all the way back from a seven-point first quarter and a
23-point deficit to stun a San Antonio Spurs team just two nights removed
from beating the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. He made 11 of
his 18 shots, including all four of his 3-point tries, and poured in 15 in
the fourth quarter alone, nearly outscoring Gregg Popovich's crew by himself
in the final 12 minutes. He was amazing in a fashion that reminded viewers of
the 2012 breakthrough that made "Linsanity" a household term; it was really
cool to watch.
林前晚爆炸性的演出，上場31分鐘得了29分並帶領球隊從首節只得7分、落後23分的困境
中逆勢擊敗上一場才打敗聯盟冠軍勇士隊的馬刺。包括三分線4次出手全進，全場出手18中
11、在決勝第四節灌進15分，在比賽最後12分鐘幾乎是靠他從波波手上扳回一城。讓人不
禁回想起「Linsanity」這個單字，真的挺酷的！
Here's what I wrote when I shared the post I wrote about Lin's performance
and Charlotte's win on the Ball Don't Lie Facebook page: "Jeremy Lin has
settled into life as a role player, but on Monday night, the Charlotte
Hornets needed him to play like a star to author a historic comeback against
the San Antonio Spurs ... and he did just that." That teaser copy prompted a
rebuke from a commenter who called it a "very stupid statement" to suggest
that Lin has "settled into life as a role player," arguing that the former
Warriors, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers guard
remains one of the league's most effective pick-and-roll operators, and that
he has played at an All-Star level when he's gotten the opportunity to take
over for Kemba Walker and dominate the ball for Steve Clifford's club.
在此之前筆者在臉書上發表「林被定位成角色球員，但這晚，黃蜂隊希望他能打得像
明星球員去完成對馬刺對歷史級的逆轉勝，而他做到了。」時，有位鄉民很快的也貼上了
之前一位評論家的意見：「把林定位成角色球員是很愚蠢的！」，並且質疑勇士尼克火箭
湖人沒有留下聯盟頂尖的檔拆執行者，而讓林抓住了機會去Clifford旗下以全明星的層級
輔佐天行者。
Here's the thing, though: Both of those statements can be true. We don't have
to view the term "role player" as an insult.
是這樣的，兩種定位都可能是真的，但也不用把被定位成「角色球員」當作是一種恥辱。
Lin's overall production for the Hornets this season doesn't necessarily leap
off the page. He's averaging about 12 points, three rebounds and three
assists in 26 minutes per game, posting his worst shooting percentage since
his 2012 breakout and making a subpar 33.5 percent of his 3s, and assisting
on a lower share of his teammates' shots than ever. He's been closer to
average than elite in the pick-and-roll, ranking 60th in points per
possession among 112 players who have finished at least 100 plays as a
screen-game ball-handler, according to Synergy Sports Technology's
game-charting data. In some respects, he's having a pretty similar season to
the one that went largely unremarked upon last year in Los Angeles.
林目前在黃蜂的成績可能還沒有非常亮眼，26分鐘內場均約12分3籃板3助攻，但是三分命
中率33.5%卻是從他成名以來最低的成績、助攻也比以往來的少。另一方面據報導，他的擋
拆成績算是接近前段班的，在112名起碼完成100次擋拆且球隊有得分的控球者中排名第60
位。在某些方面表現得跟上季在湖人陣中差不多。
A lot of that's due to the context in which he's playing, though. Lin's
working off the ball more than he has in his NBA career, spending nearly
two-thirds of his minutes at shooting guard, according to
Basketball-Reference.com's positional breakdowns. Lin has spent the bulk of
that off-guard time — 1,004 of his 1,737 total minutes this season —
alongside Walker, giving Clifford a backcourt in which both guards can
handle the ball, run pick-and-roll, get to the basket, space the floor,
create off the bounce and get to the foul line.
很大方面是因為他的比賽方式，據統計，本季林空手的時間比生涯平均高、場上幾乎有三
分之二的時間處於沒有持球的得分後衛模式(1004/1737分鐘)。讓教練可以安排他搭配天
行者一同在場上處理球、跑檔拆、切入、清出空間、急停出手、站上罰球線。
The results have been damn good, with Charlotte's offense humming a tick
above its season average in Walker-Lin minutes (104.6 points per 100
possessions, compared to to 104.3 points-per-100) while outscoring opponents
by a strong 4.7-per-100, equivalent to the Toronto Raptors'
fifth-best-in-the-NBA full-season net rating. In those minutes, though,
Walker's the clear primary operator.
結果真是他X的好！他們兩同時在場時黃蜂每100次球權可以得104.6分(球隊平均104.3分)
，每100次球權比對手多4.7分，跟目前戰績排名第五的多倫多暴龍差不多。不過，兩人同
時在場時，大多是由天行者處理球權。
The UConn product has commandeered 225 more plays than Lin in their shared
minutes and finished nearly 28 percent of Charlotte's possessions with a
field-goal attempt, foul drawn or turnover committed, compared to a "usage
rate" of just over 19 percent for Lin, according to NBAwowy.com. While roles
can shift and evolve over the course of a possession, by and large, in that
alignment, Kemba's the point man and Jeremy's working the wing.
When Lin's on the floor without Walker, though, that's when he gets more of
an opportunity to create ... and, by and large, he's done quite a bit with it.
天行者在兩人一起在場上時的出手、站上罰球線和失誤收尾比林多了225次，以百分比來
看是28%比19%。大致來說，天行者是球隊重點而林是在旁協助。當只有林在場時，他才有
更多機會創造發揮。
His usage rate spikes to 27.2 percent, according to NBAwowy, and he averages
about 3 1/2 more field-goal attempts and two more 3-point tries per 36
minutes of non-Kemba floor time, per NBA.com's stat tool. His field-goal and
3-point accuracy have jumped by about 4 percent when he's running the show,
and his statistical production — 19.2 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds
per-36 without Walker — would put him in pretty impressive company. Only 11
players this season are averaging at least 19-5-4 per-36, including All-Stars
Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, James
Harden, John Wall and Dwyane Wade.
據統計，天行者不在場時，林每40分鐘的進攻回合(usage rate)是27.2%、每36分鐘多3.5
次出手、2次的三分線出手，兩分和三分的命中率多4%。如果是用另一個統計數據來看更驚
人，天行者不在場上時林每36分鐘的數據是19.2分5.2助攻4.3籃板，聯盟當中只有11個全
明星有這樣的身手包括Curry、西河、羅莉、姆斯、船長、哈登、牆哥和Wade。
One of those 11, though, is Walker, who has largely carried Charlotte's
offense since the All-Star break and who, by just about any objective
measure, has been the more productive player this season. The prioritization
of Walker over Lin in the Hornets' structure is not a misappropriation of
resources; it's an earned hierarchy, entirely justified by what the two
players have done on the court this season.
11個當中還有一個是天行者，明星賽後他帶領黃蜂的進攻端並且在這季成為一個非常有效
率的球員。黃蜂以天行者為優先考量，純粹只是以他們兩人本季在場上的表現做出抉擇。
And that's no slam on Lin, whose ability to act as a source of instant
offense off the pine will likely earn him some Sixth Man of the Year
consideration. If anything, it only highlights the significant step forward
Walker has taken as a shooter and overall offensive force, which has been one
of the most significant contributing factors to the Hornets' rise from the
lottery to a 40-30 mark that has them fighting for home-court advantage in
the opening round of the playoffs and hoping to make some noise thereafter.
不過，林本季目前的表現也讓他有機會角逐年度最佳第六人。不論如何，天行者本季在進
攻端的優異亮點，的確是讓黃蜂從樂透區晉升為目前戰績40勝並且企圖在季後賽首輪取得
主場優勢的最大因素，也將會在往後吸引更多的關注聲音。
What we have, then, is a player who's capable of working within a team
concept that doesn't include him being the primary playmaker and offensive
focal point, but who can also do damage while running the show against
opposing second units and — as he showed on Monday night against the Spurs —
who can act as a top gun for stretches when circumstances require it. We
have a player who understands his place in the team's pecking order and who
contributes within it, who isn't called on to carry the load on a nightly
basis but who executes his responsibilities consistently and effectively.
That's a role player! There's nothing wrong or dirty about that.
我們現在看到的是，一個在球隊一哥在場上時可以從旁協助、需要他發揮時也能具有威脅
性、前晚對馬刺當球隊需要他表現時他也立即有所回應的球員，也清楚自己在球隊的定位
並很稱職的扮演好自己的角色，雖然不是每晚都被要求帶領球隊但是可以持續地有效率地
做出貢獻。這就叫做角色球員！這沒有甚麼不好的地方！
In the context of the Charlotte Hornets, Walker is the top dog, the primary
scoring threat and top ball-handler; Nicolas Batum is the jack-of-all-trades
secondary scorer and distributor; and everybody else is skating their lane,
filling their niche, and looking to give the club whatever it needs on a
night-to-night basis. Most of the time, all Charlotte needs from Lin is for
him to be part of the larger playmaking and shot-creating whole, and unlike
in Houston and L.A., this team and this coach seem to understand how best to
maximize his contributions within that specific definition. That he's still
capable of getting everything flowing and hanging 29 on the best defense in
the league is a wonderful bonus, but it's not something Clifford, general
manager Rich Cho and owner Michael Jordan count on. That's what separates
stars from role players, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with being the
latter.
對黃蜂來說，天行者依舊是得分首選，Batum是第二選擇，其他人則是視每晚狀況針對他們
的功能性發揮作用。跟火箭和湖人不同的是，黃蜂需要林做的事情是和隊友一起參予進攻
和創造出手機會的一部分，黃蜂知道怎麼樣把林的貢獻最大化。林在面對聯盟最強馬刺防
守下還是用各種手段得了29分，不過這不是教練Clifford、總管Rich Cho和老闆喬丹所指
望可以持續的。這就是明星球員與角色球員的不同，但當後者也絕對沒有甚麼不好！
心得：個人也認為只要林在黃蜂有穩定表現，就算不是明星級球員也很好阿！