D'Antoni has long since been redeemed, if one had the nerve to argue his coaching acumen was in need of redemption.
如果有人急于去争论迈克-德安东尼的执教打法需要自我救赎，那么他早已经完成了自我救赎。
Mike After revolutionizing the NBA with his freewheeling system as the head coach of the seven seconds or less Phoenix Suns, D'Antoni's star dimmed under the league's two biggest spotlights, failing with the New York Knicks, and then the Los Angeles Lakers.在他作为进攻只用七秒钟或者更少时间的凤凰城太阳的主教练，用他的这种随心所欲的战术打法彻底改变了NBA之后，德安东尼的光芒在执教了联盟两大焦点球队后变得暗淡，他在纽约尼克斯和洛杉矶湖人都遭遇了失败。But both of those franchises have proven to be beyond salvation amidst petty squabbles within ownership and out-of-touch front offices.但纽约和湖人两个球队管理层和球队老板有太多无意义的争吵，显得无法拯救。Since D'Antoni last coached, echoes of his philosophy have permeated throughout the entire NBA—his tenets gaining validation with victoriesby the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.自从德安东尼的上次执教，对于他执教理念的响应贯穿了整个NBA-他的理念在迈阿密热火、圣安东尼奥马刺、金州勇士和克利夫兰骑士的成功后获得了人们的认可。A season after the Houston Rockets became the lone quality team to make the Los Angeles Clippers seem like a joyous, fun-loving unit, James Harden and company have been reinvigorated; baptized and born again by shooters, pace and D'Antoni's commandments.一个赛季之前的休斯敦火箭是一支矛盾重重的球队，在他们面前，洛杉矶看起来就像一支欢乐、有爱的球队。但这赛季詹姆斯-哈登和他的球队在大量的投射、快速的节奏和德安东尼的指挥下得以经过冼礼，重新焕发生机。That alone deserves a Coach of the Year nod.这理应作为一名教练在这一年获得人们的认可。So while there's no need for redemption, retribution would certainly be a nice capstone to the foundations he and Daryl Morey have laid in Houston this year.所以当他不再需要自我救赎，回报将会是他和达雷尔-莫雷这一年里为火箭所建基础的绝妙的顶点。After all, it was Gregg Popovich, working with Tim Duncan, who worked as the final gatekeeper of orthodoxy to a Suns' reign that would never truly materialize.毕竟，当年正是格雷格-波波维奇和蒂姆-邓肯一起，像真正的终极守护神一样使得太阳没有实现对于联盟的统治。The Spurs' success against the Suns was viewed by some as a repudiation of the pace-and-space system D'Antoni teams thrived in. In reality, most of the Spurs' slight advantages stemmed from having Tim Duncan, a top 10 player all-time, to bend the math—and the series—in the Spurs' favor.当时马刺的成功被看作是对于德安东尼赖以成名的炮轰战术的否认。但事实上，马刺大多数的优势都是因为他们有蒂姆-邓肯，这名能排到历史前十的球员扭转了场上的比分——和整个系列赛——他是受到马刺喜爱的一名球员。But even then, the Suns, with Steve Nash working the pick and roll with Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, forced Popovich to sprinkle more speed and shooting into the lineups, adapting to the matchup.但即使如此，当纳什与阿玛雷-斯塔德迈尔和索恩-马里昂不断进行挡拆配合，太阳迫使波波维奇需要往阵容中增加更多的速度和投射，来适应这次对决。When it opposed them, the Spurs held the D'Antoni offense at bay as best as anyone could. When it suited Popovich, he adapted the offense to fit his needs, winning a title by incorporating elements of that system in 2014.当他们的打法受到了人们的反对，马刺把德安东尼的进攻打法运用得比任何人都要好。当波波维奇以其需要采用了这种进攻打法，并且使其适应了自身的打法，通过将这种元素纳入到自己的体系之中，他们获得了2014年的总冠军。This season, the Rockets rank third in the NBA in pace (100.0) and second in offensive rating (114.7 points per 100 possessions per Basketball-Reference), mirroring those Suns, who ranked first in pace (95.8) and offensive rating (111.5 points per 100 possessions) at a time the league was slower.这个赛季，火箭的回合数在NBA排第三（100.0），并且在进攻效率方面排第二（每100回合114.7分 根据Basketball-Reference）。而反观之前的太阳，他们在回合数（95.8）和进攻效率（每100回合111.5分）都能排第一，那时候联盟的节奏更慢。These Spurs, on the other hand, rate slower (relative to the rest of the league) than the 2003 iteration of the Spurs that kicked off the Big Three era, clocking in at No. 27 (94.2), compared to No. 20 in 2003 (90.0). Though both teams are similar in terms of offensive rating (again, relative to the rest of the league in each respective season).另一方面，这支马刺的进攻节奏比2003年王朝更迭从此拉开三巨头时代的那支马刺更慢（相对于联盟的其他球队），他们根据记录只能排到第27（95.2），而2003年的时候他们能排到20（90.0）。然而他们在进攻效率方面十分相似（这也是相对于各自赛季的联盟中的其他球队而言）。More than ever, Popovich and D'Antoni represent a clash of opposing styles, with the Spurs—in and odd twist of fate—now squarely on the other side of the mainstream with two-big alignments and a plethora of midrange jumpers.
波波维奇和德安东尼代表着两种不同风格的碰撞，这次对决比之前更加明显，马刺的命运发生了奇怪的扭曲——他们现在正好站在主流的另一边，使用了双塔战术和大量的中距离跳投。Not since Duncan's MVP days have the Spurs funneled so much of their offense through such a singular point.在邓肯获得MVP的那段时间，马刺通过这优秀的一点来推进大量的进攻。Instead of an equal-opportunity spread motion offense, the Spurs' movement now works to find Kawhi Leonard in his spots, many of them in places Duncan used to work. From there, they find corner three-pointers and shots outside of the restricted area. And while they're still open shots outside of Leonard, they're far from the three-point barrage and layup lines that Houston can produce.相较于之前机会均等式的团队动态进攻，马刺现在的进攻都在找卡瓦伊-莱昂纳德这一点，很多人都在干邓肯过去干的事情，在那里，人们能够找到底角三分和禁区外投射的机会。而当他们不管莱昂纳德而自由地开火，他们的三分火力和轻松上篮的机会比休斯敦所能产生的火力差得远。Instead of an equal-opportunity spread motion offense, the Spurs' movement It also remains Popovich's preference to stay with two bigs, pairing LaMarcus Aldridge with either David Lee, Pau Gasol or Dewayne Dedmon. The Spurs' spread attack from years' past gained its versatility form Boris Diaw, who allowed San Antonio to reap the benefits of small ball while remaining big.另外波波维奇更喜欢在场上使用两个大个子，派上拉马库斯-阿尔德里奇和大卫-李、保罗-加索尔和德维恩-戴德蒙的其中一人。过去马刺团队式的进攻因为鲍里斯-迪奥而变得全面，他使得马刺能够在保留大个子球员的情况下还能打出小球的配合。But Leonard comes with some abilities Duncan did not, improving as a pick and roll ball handler with every game, accessing more places on the floor than Duncan did and needing fewer people to do it.但莱昂纳德有着邓肯不具有的能力，他能在每场比赛中作为挡拆的持球者，比邓肯有更大的活动空间，并且帮助他完成进攻的人比邓肯少。These Rockets, likewise, have some wrinkles that D'Antoni's Suns did not. The problem teams often tried to pose to Steve Nash was to disrupt his balance between playmaking and scoring, daring him to stray away from pass-first tendencies.同样地，这支火箭队也有德安东尼的太阳所做不到的地方。球队常常给纳什的问题就是：他们总试着破坏他在梳理进攻和个人得分的平衡，敢于让他远离那种传球第一的学惯。James Harden has no qualms about dipping into either extreme on that spectrum. He will light teams up for 40 or 50 points without a second thought while still managing to put together enough assists to keep his teammates happy.詹姆斯-哈登在这方面并没有遇到两难的困境，他不会想为球队拿40分还是50分，而是去努力争取更多的助攻来让队友打得更开心。In these ways, Harden and Leonard are as close to proxies as Nash and Duncan as the league has.在这个方面，哈登和莱昂纳德可以近似地看作纳什和邓肯在这个联盟中的接替者。So it's appropriate that the Rockets should meet the Spurs in the playoffs for the first time since the David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon days, with D'Antoni meeting Popovich coaching a team in this form.所以，这正好是火箭和马刺自从大卫-罗宾逊和哈基恩-奥拉朱旺那次对话之后的首次对决，德安东尼碰上了以这种方式带队的波波维奇。Popovich is on record as hating the three-pointer, but pragmatic enough to utilize it and appreciative enough of the Rockets and Harden to praise them. The Spurs have always gone their own way, oblivious to the narratives of the league while contributing to the evolution of the game.有记录指出波波维奇并不喜欢三分球，但实际上他充分利用了这种得分手段并且赞扬了火箭和哈登的打法。马刺一直在走自己的路，不顾联盟的反对，却也为比赛打法的演变作出了贡献。This isn't a battle for the soul of the league in the same way it was between San Antonio and Phoenix. It's not even a battle for redemption.这不是联盟中圣安东尼奥和凤凰城的灵魂之间的战争，也不是关于自我救赎的战争。A win for the Rockets would be a nice story for D'Antoni's narrative. The Spurs are the team have denied or delayed so many legacies. This series doesn't need any of that to be enticing, but it certainly makes it more fun.如果火箭获得胜利，这对于德安东尼的自叙将会是一个美好的故事。而马刺已经解决或者延缓了一些以前遗留的问题。这个系列赛不需要任何诱人的地方，但这肯定会为这个对决增添乐趣。更多精彩内容请关注微信公众号、新浪微博：篮球英文堂