來源: The Mercury News
網址: http://tinyurl.com/ydyorf8f
Inside the Warriors’ strong third-quarter starts
勇士的「神秘第三節」
OAKLAND — The Warriors head into the locker room with plenty of material
that either coach Steve Kerr can use in a film session or in a fiery speech.
勇士球員們往休息室前進，有很多東西可以讓教練Kerr說的，看是要看影片講還是直接開
講而已。
For far too often, the Warriors end the first half with either a sluggish
start or uninspiring finish. In between, the Warriors throw lazy passes, give
up easy baskets and allow their opponents to think they actually have a
chance in knocking out the NBA defending champions.
以下這種情形很常見：勇士常常上半場一開始打得很懶散，不然就是上半場結束最後打得
無精打采。而在中間的時候，傳球沒有動力，簡單的球不會進，然後讓對手以為他們今天
有機會打爆衛冕軍。
Then reality kicks in. The Warriors open the third quarter with a different
identity, the one that propelled them to two NBA titles in the past three NBA
Finals. They score in bunches. They show more discipline. They overwhelm
their opponent with talent. That left Warriors forward Nick Young with a
unique perspective, this season as a participant and earlier as a victim when
he played for four seasons with the Lakers.
然後真正勇士的面貌出現。勇士在第三節開始像是換了一個身分，展現出三次進冠軍賽，
拿下兩個冠軍的樣子。他們大量得分，表現出紀律，用天分擊垮對手，勇士前鋒老尖，之
前四年在湖人打球，今年轉到勇士，參與其中，對這種狀況，他有特別的看法。
“They’re so used to winning. They don’t pretty much wake up until they
feel they need to,” Young said. “You got teams that come in ready and are
amped up to go against a championship team. They know how to win. They know
when to turn it on.”
「他們太習慣贏球惹，他們不到覺得需要的時候，他們醒不過來，」老尖說。「而對手來
就是準備好的，打起精神要跟冠軍隊打。不過勇士知道如何贏球，他們知道甚麼時候要把
開關打開。」
The Warriors have decided it is time to turn it on in the third quarter.
到了第三節勇士決定，是時候打開開關了。
Then, the Warriors (10-3) enter Thursday’s game against the Boston Celtics
(13-2) averaging a team-leading 32.6 points. Though they rank 28th out of 30
NBA teams in turnovers per game (17), the Warriors have committed an average
of 3.14 turnovers in their seven-game winning steak in the third quarter
while forcing an average of six. As Warriors guard Klay Thompson quipped, “We
’re embarrassed with the turnovers we threw in the first half.”
再來，星期四勇士(10-3)要面對青賽(13-2)。雖然勇士失誤排名第28 (17/場)，過去七連
勝的場次中第三節平均失誤是3.14，而會使對方第三節平均失誤到6次。如勇士K湯說，
「我們在上半場的失誤數讓我們有點尷尬....」
“With our talent, if we can get more field goal attempts than our opponent,
we’re in great shape,” Kerr said. “Especially because of the explosiveness
and the ability to make threes in transition and back breaking shots like
that, if we can generate that kind of ball security and advantage and field
goal attempts and possessions, we have a chance to break the game open. That’
s what we’ve been doing.”
「球員有這樣的天分，如果在場上可以比我們的對手多點出手，我們打球狀況就會很不
錯，」教練Kerr說。「尤其因為我們球員在進攻轉換的三分球及破壞對方得分機會的爆發
性以及能力，如果我們可以保護好球，維持場上的優勢及進攻的企圖，我們就有機會可以
把場子給打開了，而那就是我們在做的事。」
They have done that so well that they have outscored teams by an average of
seven points per game in the third quarter. They also have tallied 44 points
in the third quarter last week against Minnesota, a mark that ranks second in
the NBA this season behind Houston’s 48-point third-quarter effort on Nov. 5
against Utah.
勇士做到那要求，平均在第三節可以比對方多7分，上週在打灰狼時，甚至第三節灌了44
分，本季目前為止排名第二，第一名是火箭在11/5打宅爵時在第三節得了48分。
Still, Warriors forward Kevin Durant does not exactly agree with the
narrative that they suddenly try only in the second half. He looked at
something more tactical.
然而，勇士前鋒KD卻不這樣認為，不認為他們就是只打下半場，他從戰術觀點來分析。
“Teams are coming out shooting a great first half with the basketball. It’s
just the averages,” Durant said. “In the second half, you put a contest on
some of those shots they were hitting in the first half, they’re not going
to fall. When we get rebounds and run, that makes us dangerous. We score so
quickly.”
「對手在上半場投的不錯，就是平均數字而已。」KD說。「在下半場，我們開始對上半場
得分的部分加強，他們不會就這樣垮掉。但當我們開始拿籃板跟得分的話，我們是很猛
的，我們得分真的很快。」
Whatever the case, the Warriors pledge they will seek more consistency in the
first half. While the Warriors are mindful a second-half surge will not
always mark the solution as the competition and fatigue increases throughout
the season, Young found other reasons for the Warriors to ensure stronger
starts. As Young mused, “I’ll be hoping we start this at the beginning so I
can get more garbage minutes.”
不管是哪一種說法是對的，勇士希望他們在上半場的表現可以跟下半場一樣好。勇士必須
了解，隨著賽季進行，球賽的競爭以及疲倦增加，不能只靠「下半場爆衝」來當作贏球的
方式。老尖發現別的理由，希望勇士一開始也可以全力以赴，他若有所思的說，「我希望
我們一開始就像打下半場一樣，這樣我就有更多垃圾時間可以上場打球惹。」