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The Spurs show why the Clippers shouldn't break up their team

馬刺展示了為什麼快艇不該拆掉他們核心球員的理由 http://tinyurl.com/l72jo9s

San Antonio stole a win in Los Angeles and took the upper hand in this
series. But win or lose, the Clippers should keep their core together. The
Spurs illustrate why.

將隊中的核心保留在一起，理由馬刺會說明

You need luck to win an NBA championship. Luck alone can't do it, but if you're
one of the top five teams in the league and there isn't much separating you
from the other four squads considered contenders and near-contenders, luck
matters. Clearly superior teams almost always win their playoff series, but
when squads are evenly matched, a play here or a play there can change the
course of fate. Sometimes you catch the breaks, sometimes you don't.



Anything can happen in the NBA playoffs. That's true in individual playoff
games, and it's especially true in the split-second in which some playoff
games, like Tuesday's Game 5 between the Spurs and Clippers, are decided.
Anything can happen, but one team must win.

更是如此，像是馬刺快艇的第五戰，勝負就是決定在那一瞬間；任何事都可能發生，
唯一不變的真理就是只有一隊會贏

We are a deterministic people, and we like to attribute the results of random
events to character attributes. When DeAndre Jordan lightly taps a ball in
the cylinder that may very well have gone in had he been absent, we like to
suggest its indicative of the center's basketball IQ (or lack thereof). When
the Clippers lose a heartbreaking nailbiter, we prefer to blame their
comparative playoff inexperience or lack of championship moxie instead of
chalking it up to a random event that broke the wrong way. When the Spurs win
a game like this -- as they always seem to do -- we prefer chalk it up to
intangible Spursy greatness instead of a lucky break. As if the mere presence
and aura of the Spurs cause Jordan to brush the ball.

以決定論者來說，我們喜歡把隨機出現的結果歸因於所謂的人格特質，ＤＡＪ那個妨
礙中籃的play，我們會覺得那是因為他的籃球ＩＱ導致的結果　





We know better. We know the Spurs can be victims of bad luck, too. We know
what can happen in 0.4 seconds thanks to the Spurs' bad luck in 2004. Where
was the Spurs' unbeatable championship aura when Ray Allen was in the corner
in 2013? The Spurs have known suffering. The Spurs have known pain. We ignore
this because more often the Spurs incite the suffering and inflict the pain.

但我們也曉得，馬刺也當過命運向背的受害者過，記得2004那顆0.4秒成就老漁聲望的
絕殺？　記得2013雷槍那顆底角衝天射破馬刺王者皇氣的三分彈？　

馬刺很清楚快艇現在這痛楚啊，我們往往忽略了馬刺這些命運受害者的經歷，只是因為
更常出現的是馬刺讓對手去承受這種痛苦

And the reason why the Spurs so frequently come out ahead is simple, really.
It's because the Spurs are always there.

而為什麼經常是馬刺在這種比賽中脫穎而出呢？很簡單，真的，只因為他們是馬刺隊

The Spurs seem to have caught so many breaks because they are almost always
one of the top five teams in the NBA, and have been for almost two decades.
That means that San Antonio almost always beats lesser teams in the playoffs
and is always locked in tough series with the other great teams of a given
season. The Spurs win some, and lose some.



San Antonio's amazing triumph isn't winning five championships (and counting)
in Tim Duncan's 19 seasons, it's being in contention for a championship every
year for 19 seasons. Even if you catch the right breaks and match-ups only
one out of every five seasons in that kind of run, you end up with four
titles. Luckier teams might get a few more. Less fortunate franchises might
only get a couple. The Spurs are playing for No. 6 in Year 19 of the Duncan
era.


If they do win No. 6 six weeks from now, that one-title-every-three-years
rate will be impressive. Yet the sheer number of opportunities to win a title
is the more awe-striking figure. Consider that the Spurs have hit 55 wins
(or, in lockout seasons, the winning percentage equivalent) in 17 of the 19
seasons of the Duncan era. On average, less than five teams per season hit
that mark. If you have 17 seasons as a top-five team in less than two
decades, of course you're going to win titles.



The interesting thing about this series and the Clippers' future is that the
Clippers are also right there. They are good enough to win a championship.
This was L.A.'s third straight season with at least 55 wins. They are at the
party, waiting for Lady Luck to look their way.



The lesson of the Spurs is that you need to preserve your presence at that
party as long as possible. The Spurs were able to draft the best power
forward ever. The Clippers nabbed a pretty good one, too, and followed it up
by trading for one of the best point guards of his generation.

馬刺的課題就是盡可能的在這場派對中撐到最後一刻
選秀進來培養的不老實佛ｖｓ交易進來的第一控衛！　精彩精彩精彩！

There have been suggestions that if L.A. falls in the first round, the team
ought to let the high-priced Jordan leave and attempt to use the resources
that would otherwise be spent on the center to provide more defense and
depth. Whether Jordan is worth a max contract is highly debatable, and the
Clippers' front office ought to have that debate.

外面有傳聞建議，如果快艇這次首輪出局的話應該要放走ＤＡＪ改用其他更好的中鋒，
ＤＡＪ是否值得頂薪這點很有爭論，快艇的籃球團隊得針對這點好好商議才是啊

But on the surface level, the team knows it can get to the party consistently
with a team built around Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Jordan. The trio is
young enough that the party invites should be coming for at least another few
seasons. (CP3 turns 30 next month, but has an extraordinarily skilled game
that should age well if his knees hold up.)


Regardless of the outcome of this series, the Clippers should follow the
Spurs' lead and preserve this run as long as possible.


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另一篇：Spurs, Clippers Giving NBA Fans Everywhere the Heavyweight Fight
They Deserve　http://tinyurl.com/kvnz783

沒力氣翻了純分享標題～　這真的是極其精彩的系列賽！

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