OK, first, let's never talk about those Western Conference finals, or playoffs, really, ever again. The minute Kawhi Leonard went down, it was a waste of our time. Not just because the Spurs were so drastically outmatched, but because it robbed us of being able to make any conclusions at any point about either team. There was nothing to learn about either team.
好了，首先，让我们，再也，再也，再也不要再谈起这轮西部决赛了。自科怀-伦纳德轰然倒地的那一刻起，这轮比赛就开始在挥霍我们的生命。这么说不仅仅是因为马刺场场溃不成军，更是因为它让比赛变了味，我们已经无法好好对比赛进行分析了，也无法从两队身上学到任何有价值的东西
That's all there is to say.好了，感谢您认真听我吐槽。So now we get to the meat of the thing. The Golden State Warriors, villains, heroes, wonder-team, albatross, the squad too big to fail, have reached the NBA Finals ... again. They are the Western Conference champions, and history will eventually forget Jusuf Nurkic's injury, George HIll's injury, Kawhi Leonard's injury, and to be fair, those might not have mattered in the end result.现在让我们切入正题，金州勇士队，这支在英雄与恶棍的边缘徘徊，遭受着多方非议，无可匹敌的银河战舰，又杀入NBA总决赛了……咦，我为什么要说又呢。他们正式加冕西部冠军，历史只会记得胜利者，优素福-努尔基奇的伤病、乔治-希尔的伤病、伦纳德的伤病……这些终将随着时间被淡忘。But all history will see is 12-0, the first team to ever sweep the West. They have the best net point differential per 100 possessions in NBA history for a playoff run. They are without blemish, and four wins away from validation for Kevin Durant, and redemption for the Warriors.不过讲道理，就算他们都健康，恐怕也不会对最终结果产生改变，未来人们只会盯着史书，对这支改制以来首次以12连胜杀入总决赛的球队赞不绝口。与此同时，他们目前的百回合净胜分高居历史榜首，他们无可挑剔。距离凯文-杜兰特的完美正名，以及勇士的自我救赎，仅仅四场胜利之遥。Durant's situation is fascinating. On the one hand, he's back to the Finals after three failures in the Western Conference finals since 2012. Regardless of the outcome of the Finals, he already feels that he made the right decision .杜兰特现在的处境可以说是羡煞旁人。一方面来讲，他自2012年之后重新踏上总决赛地板，而这期间他曾3次折戟西决。无论最终结果如何，他已经可以确定自己做出了正确的选择。Durant may not be the most important Warrior. There may, honestly, not be a most important Warrior, with how much talent they have.杜兰特也许称不上队伍中最重要的一环，实话实说，对于这支天赋溢出的球队来说，你很难确定谁才是公认的最重要一环。但可以肯定的是，他是最强的那一环。But Durant is the best player, and while the context of his decision may impact how those on the outside view his potential triumph, internally, he is playing great basketball with a team he clearly loves.尽管他的“决定”会对外界对于他将来成就的评价产生偏见，但对于他来说，他正在一支自己热爱的球队打出着精彩的表现。If he wins the title and Finals MVP, he gets to claim that No. 1 spot he's been chasing so long as the Best Player On Earth, even if so many will attach an asterisk because of how he got there. There are no asterisks when you look in the mirror.如果他有幸得以夺冠并荣膺FMVP，那他将实现自己毕生追寻的目标：成为世界最强球员。当然，外界无疑会对这一称号的成色颇有微词，但这并不会有什么影响，岂能尽如人意，但求无愧于心。For Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and the rest of the Warriors, it's a time for celebration. Beating the Spurs, in four games no less, even without Kawhi Leonard, is hard.而对于斯蒂芬-库里、德雷蒙德-格林以及其他勇士球员来说，事情就没这么复杂了，他们要做的就是尽情庆祝胜利。四场解决马刺，谈何容易，即便少了伦纳德，这都不是一项简单的任务。The Warriors did not make it look hard, but that, too, is a testament to how great of a team they are. They accomplished something worth celebrating Monday night.但勇士不仅完成了这一壮举，还看起来轻松加愉快，这足以成为证明其强大的铁证。这场胜利值得好好庆祝一番。If the Celtics were to pull off a miracle and win the conference finals, they might take Game 1 of the Finals without Isaiah Thomas just because the Warriors would be so depressed. The Joker is not looking to beat Green Arrow. He wants Batman, and he wants him broken at his feet.如果，我是说如果，凯尔特人奇迹般地完成神级逆转取得东决的胜利，那勇士一定会在对手缺少以赛亚-托马斯的情况下丢掉总决赛揭幕战，因为他们会对于这样的结果大失所望。小丑对于战胜绿箭侠毫无兴趣，他想虐的是蝙蝠侠，他要让他甘拜下风。That's the Warriors.这就是勇士队。Or, maybe they're Count of Monte Cristo and LeBron is Danglars. It depends on where you stand.或者你也可以把他们看作基督山伯爵，勒布朗则是唐格拉斯，这取决于你站在哪一边。There's joy in this moment, but not rapture. It never feels the same to go through unthreatened, to dominate without limitation, instead of having to truly overcome adversity. The Warriors have faced no adversity in these playoffs, and if they ever face it, it may come as a shock, unfamiliar and stark, like falling into cold water.现在勇士队内必然充满欢声笑语，但绝不会欣喜若狂，毕竟太轻易就追到手的话总归不够刺激，唯有克服万难后抱得美人归才更有征服感。勇士的季后赛之旅太过于一帆风顺，以致于当面临真正的强敌时，他们很可能会慌了手脚，如同突然间掉入冰水一般束手无策。Or maybe they'll just roll through the Cavs, too. That's entirely possible; this team is insanely good.
不过他们说不准就顺手把骑士也碾压了，这完全有可能，毕竟这球队太特么变态了。But if you're looking to disparage Golden State's accomplishment, let's be clear on this point, and it is what I come back to time and time again regardless of who plays who and when...You play who's in front of you.但如果你打算以此来贬低勇士所取得的成就，那我得跟你说清楚，这点也是无论对阵双方是谁，什么时间开战，我都会一再强调的：遇上谁，你就打谁，没得选。The Warriors didn't get to choose to play Kawhi Leonard. Yes, yes, I know, Zaza Pachulia literally injured him; if you want to go down conspiracy lane, go to it, but it's not like it was a mastermind plot with Draymond Green giving Pachulia such instructions, probably.勇士遇上了伦纳德，这没得选。好吧，好吧，我知道扎扎-帕楚里亚确实弄伤了伦纳德，如果你想扯阴谋论，没人拦着你，但麻烦别说什么是格林指使他这样做的这种话。They played the Spurs, without Tony Parker, and then Leonard went down, and they played the Spurs without Leonard. That's who was in front of them, and they beat who was in front of them.他们一开始面对的是失去了托尼-帕克的马刺，随后伦纳德不幸受伤，于是他们面对的变成了缺少了帕克和伦纳德的马刺。这就是他们遇上的对手，也是他们战胜的对手。Yes, we can talk about what might have happened and those questions are truly interesting given how San Antonio has played them this year at full strength. But they did not play them at full strength. They played them without Leonard, and they swept them. That is a fact, and it is what happened.我们可以扯一下如果论，这将是个有意思的话题，毕竟马刺全员健康时面对勇士打出了令人叹为观止的表现。然而不幸的是，现在他们并非全员健康，失去了伦纳德的他们惨遭横扫，木已成舟，无法更改。This season has not been "special." The 2015-16 season was special. The 2014-15 season was special. This has been business.这个赛季说不上特别，此前的两个赛季都很特别，而这个赛季一切波澜不惊，这没什么问题。And that's OK. You don't get to decide how it feels, and all that magic that the Warriors created last year led to a result that earned them the most brutal set of public mockery ever unleashed on a single team. The Atlanta Falcons' Super Bowl lead has nothing on 3-1.毕竟勇士上赛季虽然在常规赛中举世震惊，但最终的结局却沦为了体育史上最可悲的大众笑柄，尽管亚特兰大猎鹰队在超级碗中也曾被耻辱逆转，但毕竟他们没有过3-1的大比分领先。There's who the Warriors are, and there's how we experience them. If you're not a Golden State fan, we experience them as inevitability drawn to its furthest edge, the depravation of competition and uncertainty.这就是勇士队，这就是我们所见证了其兴衰的勇士队。如果你不是一名勇士球迷，我来告诉你，他们正处于危急存亡之秋，而我们正在竞技体育的残酷性和不确定性面前战战兢兢。We know the outcome, we're just watching to see how bloody the horror film is. But that does not change who the Warriors are.我们很清楚，一旦无法夺冠将会是怎样的腥风血雨，但无论怎样，勇士还是勇士，不会改变。They are efficient, focused, disciplined, precise, devastating and in the moment of a highlight, truly thrilling.他们效率极高，充满专注度和纪律性，办事精确无误，前进摧毁一切。在最紧要关头，他们足以令对手闻风丧胆。The Warriors are an elite team, not just this year, but historically, and have just capped off the most dominant Western Conference finals run, regardless of opponent, in NBA history.勇士有着悠久而辉煌的历史，而就在刚刚，他们打出了NBA历史上最残暴的西决统治。And they're Western Conference champions.现在，他们是西部冠军。There's work to be done, there's revenge to be had, there's an actual, maybe, possible challenge on the horizon in a familiar foe who crushed their dreams so badly they went out and got the second-best player in the league.前路漫漫，他们要做的还有很多。在总决赛中，他们的老对手，去年让他们的努力化为南柯一梦的骑士，以及伟大的勒布朗-詹姆斯，也许终将带给他们真正的挑战。But for right now, we have the Warriors, the best of the West, staking their claim to history, no matter how hard it may be to stay awake for their coronation.但勇士可是西部之王！纵使敌人无比强大，为了那场梦寐以求的加冕礼，他们必将全力以赴！更多精彩内容请关注微信公众号、新浪微博：篮球英文堂