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Back in March， during the height of the 2013 playoff chase， the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies were jockeying for the No. 3 seed in the West. The two teams already loathed one another， their feelings dating to their seven-game series in spring 2012. Things often can get stale in an NBA arena by mid-March， but when the Clippers and Grizzlies hooked up at Staples Center， the buzz was electric.
让我们回到三月，那时已经到了争夺季后赛席位的关键时刻，洛杉矶快艇和孟菲斯灰熊为了西部第三的位置争得你死我活。这两支球队早就相互看不顺眼了，这种相互厌恶的感觉，还要追溯到2012年春天的季后赛七场大战。三月中旬时，NBA的比赛经常会变得索然无味，但当快艇和灰熊这两支球队在斯台普斯球馆针尖对麦芒时，场面自然火爆好看。
For the first quarter that night， the NBA was the product at its fullest. The appeal of the game was noted by the Clippers’ broadcast team， along press row and across Twitter. High-grade professional basketball.
那天晚上比赛的第一节，简直就是NBA最高水平的展现。比赛的精彩显然感染到了快艇的解说直播团队，媒体和推特上也都在讨论这场比赛。这就是最高水准的职业篮球。
The Clippers and Grizzlies are two of the league’s better teams， but neither play in a well-choreographed system that lends itself to hoops ballet. Yet in the first quarter that night， every player on the floor moved with purpose， and crisp decisions were made instantaneously. The ball popped around the floor and the game flowed freely. Oddly， there were no lead changes and the teams combined for only two fast-break possessions. Each team shot greater than 60 percent from the field， but that’s not altogether unusual for a single quarter. It was something else：
快艇和灰熊在联盟属于强队，但两支球队的进攻体系也不算特别流畅，因此这两支球队也不太容易打出非常漂亮的比赛。但在那场比赛的第一节里，球场上的每名球员都在用头脑打球，他们会在转瞬即逝间做出干脆的选择。篮球在地板上弹来弹去，比赛也进行得非常流畅。奇怪的是，双方没有交换过领先，两支球队加起来也只打出了两次快攻。两支球队的投篮命中率都超过了60%，对于一节比赛来说，这些都不算太奇怪。奇怪的是其他一些情况：
Zero free throws attempted.
双方没有罚球。
Time of quarter： 20 minutes.
单节比赛用时：20分钟。
There were no long red lights where the game came to a stop so we could watch nine guys stand around as one player goes through a rote skills challenge of hitting a standing set shot from a predetermined spot on the floor.
比赛里没亮出红灯，也没有出现停滞。我们没有看到九名球员站在一边，一名球员重复着那套单调的动作——站在事先确定好的地方出手投篮，还不能跳。
The mandatory timeout following the first stoppage after the 6-minute mark came inside of five minutes. The Clippers took an additional timeout a few minutes later to shuffle the deck after a string of sloppy possessions， but apart from that， the quarter zipped along. Blake Griffin was the best version of Blake Griffin， the big man who can beat you with both refined skills and brute force. Tayshaun Prince hopped into a time machine and beat the Clippers with his handle and down in the post. And after an exhilarating 20 minutes， the game was tied 24-24. 在篮球这项运动演变的过程中，传统扮演了异常重要的角色，但传统也不是神圣不可侵犯的。这是好事，因为传统不应成为权威的唯一来源，尤其在一项通过规则、比赛风格、赛程安排、比赛形式和赛场呈现不断创新而越来越流行的运动里，传统更不该成为唯一的权威来源。1978年的季前赛里，三分球才第一次被引入比赛，还是实验性的引入。过去三四年，三分球已经成为联盟复兴运动的重要元素——它从一个不存在的东西，最终成为NBA比赛里也许是最让人兴奋的常态之一。
The scourge of the free throw is a far easier problem to diagnose than to treat because there are no simple antidotes. Could we just automatically award two points to a player when he gets fouled in the act of shooting or while his team is in the penalty？ One or the other？ Maybe two points for a shooting foul， but only one point and possession for a non-shooting foul in the bonus？
罚球这件事的不好，说起来容易，解决起来却很难，原因在于，没有一个简单的解决办法。当一个球员投篮时被犯规，或者对方球队已经超过犯规次数时，我们该自动给他们加上两分吗？还是只有其中一种情况直接加分？或者投篮犯规加两分，非投篮犯规只加一分，但球权仍归被犯规一方所有？
We could， as D-League president Dan Reed recently suggested on TrueHoop TV， make every shooting foul one-and-one. That would eliminate first attempts that produce dead balls and another 30 seconds of stasis， though it might also encourage more hacking because there would be an even better chance for opponents to get the ball back at no expense.
也许可以像发展联盟总裁丹·里德最近在TrueHoop电视台上建议的那样，每次投篮犯规一罚一掷。这种做法能消除搞出死球机会从而多出30秒时间的投机主义者，但这种做法却有可能鼓励更多犯规，因为对方会有更好的机会，不付任何代价就重新夺回球权。
And if we did eliminate the free throw altogether， what could we provide in its place that would give trailing teams the opportunity to close the gap during the final few minutes of a game？ We could eliminate consecutive timeouts， consequently forcing the leading team to get the ball in bounds on the first attempt. If they can’t -- and we see this all the time -- that would create a change of possession in five riveting seconds as the crowd explodes over a gritty defensive stand （or goes into shock as their team turns the ball over with no time expiring on the clock， all because they couldn’t get it in！）.
假如我们彻底取消罚球，对于那些在比赛最后关头比分落后的球队，我们又能给他们提供什么机会追上比分呢？我们可以取消连续暂停，迫使领先一方即刻发出底线球。如果他们发不出球——比赛里经常能见到这种情况，那就会出现五秒违例，发生球权转换。球迷会为一次漂亮的防守惊呼（或者彻底晕厥，因为他们的球队在计时器没有走的情况下丢了球，而这一切都是因为他们没能及时出现在场上！）
we do have reference points like those 20 minutes in March when the ball was live 60 percent of the time， and like any great piece of visual storytelling， you couldn’t take your eyes off the action because you might miss something.
三月这场比赛的20分钟也给我们提供了参考依据，60%的时间里，球是动起来的。就像看那些动人的故事一样，你没法把自己的眼睛从画面上移开，因为你害怕错过任何瞬间。
①Luther Gulick：卢瑟·古力克，美国著名的体育教育家。事实上，奈史密斯在基督教青年会国际学校担任老师时，古力克是该校的负责人。在古力克的指引下，奈史密斯发明了篮球这项运动。两人随后合力推广篮球这个项目，1959年，古力克入选篮球名人堂。
②three to make two：通常球员被犯规后，会得到两次罚球机会。但在“三换二”这条规则里，如果一方已经超过犯规数限制，那么罚球的球员只要有一次罚球没进，那么他就会得到第三次罚球机会。
让我们回到三月，那时已经到了争夺季后赛席位的关键时刻，洛杉矶快艇和孟菲斯灰熊为了西部第三的位置争得你死我活。这两支球队早就相互看不顺眼了，这种相互厌恶的感觉，还要追溯到2012年春天的季后赛七场大战。三月中旬时，NBA的比赛经常会变得索然无味，但当快艇和灰熊这两支球队在斯台普斯球馆针尖对麦芒时，场面自然火爆好看。
For the first quarter that night， the NBA was the product at its fullest. The appeal of the game was noted by the Clippers’ broadcast team， along press row and across Twitter. High-grade professional basketball.
那天晚上比赛的第一节，简直就是NBA最高水平的展现。比赛的精彩显然感染到了快艇的解说直播团队，媒体和推特上也都在讨论这场比赛。这就是最高水准的职业篮球。
The Clippers and Grizzlies are two of the league’s better teams， but neither play in a well-choreographed system that lends itself to hoops ballet. Yet in the first quarter that night， every player on the floor moved with purpose， and crisp decisions were made instantaneously. The ball popped around the floor and the game flowed freely. Oddly， there were no lead changes and the teams combined for only two fast-break possessions. Each team shot greater than 60 percent from the field， but that’s not altogether unusual for a single quarter. It was something else：
快艇和灰熊在联盟属于强队，但两支球队的进攻体系也不算特别流畅，因此这两支球队也不太容易打出非常漂亮的比赛。但在那场比赛的第一节里，球场上的每名球员都在用头脑打球，他们会在转瞬即逝间做出干脆的选择。篮球在地板上弹来弹去，比赛也进行得非常流畅。奇怪的是，双方没有交换过领先，两支球队加起来也只打出了两次快攻。两支球队的投篮命中率都超过了60%，对于一节比赛来说，这些都不算太奇怪。奇怪的是其他一些情况：
Zero free throws attempted.
双方没有罚球。
Time of quarter： 20 minutes.
单节比赛用时：20分钟。
There were no long red lights where the game came to a stop so we could watch nine guys stand around as one player goes through a rote skills challenge of hitting a standing set shot from a predetermined spot on the floor.
比赛里没亮出红灯，也没有出现停滞。我们没有看到九名球员站在一边，一名球员重复着那套单调的动作——站在事先确定好的地方出手投篮，还不能跳。
The mandatory timeout following the first stoppage after the 6-minute mark came inside of five minutes. The Clippers took an additional timeout a few minutes later to shuffle the deck after a string of sloppy possessions， but apart from that， the quarter zipped along. Blake Griffin was the best version of Blake Griffin， the big man who can beat you with both refined skills and brute force. Tayshaun Prince hopped into a time machine and beat the Clippers with his handle and down in the post. And after an exhilarating 20 minutes， the game was tied 24-24. 在篮球这项运动演变的过程中，传统扮演了异常重要的角色，但传统也不是神圣不可侵犯的。这是好事，因为传统不应成为权威的唯一来源，尤其在一项通过规则、比赛风格、赛程安排、比赛形式和赛场呈现不断创新而越来越流行的运动里，传统更不该成为唯一的权威来源。1978年的季前赛里，三分球才第一次被引入比赛，还是实验性的引入。过去三四年，三分球已经成为联盟复兴运动的重要元素——它从一个不存在的东西，最终成为NBA比赛里也许是最让人兴奋的常态之一。
The scourge of the free throw is a far easier problem to diagnose than to treat because there are no simple antidotes. Could we just automatically award two points to a player when he gets fouled in the act of shooting or while his team is in the penalty？ One or the other？ Maybe two points for a shooting foul， but only one point and possession for a non-shooting foul in the bonus？
罚球这件事的不好，说起来容易，解决起来却很难，原因在于，没有一个简单的解决办法。当一个球员投篮时被犯规，或者对方球队已经超过犯规次数时，我们该自动给他们加上两分吗？还是只有其中一种情况直接加分？或者投篮犯规加两分，非投篮犯规只加一分，但球权仍归被犯规一方所有？
We could， as D-League president Dan Reed recently suggested on TrueHoop TV， make every shooting foul one-and-one. That would eliminate first attempts that produce dead balls and another 30 seconds of stasis， though it might also encourage more hacking because there would be an even better chance for opponents to get the ball back at no expense.
也许可以像发展联盟总裁丹·里德最近在TrueHoop电视台上建议的那样，每次投篮犯规一罚一掷。这种做法能消除搞出死球机会从而多出30秒时间的投机主义者，但这种做法却有可能鼓励更多犯规，因为对方会有更好的机会，不付任何代价就重新夺回球权。
And if we did eliminate the free throw altogether， what could we provide in its place that would give trailing teams the opportunity to close the gap during the final few minutes of a game？ We could eliminate consecutive timeouts， consequently forcing the leading team to get the ball in bounds on the first attempt. If they can’t -- and we see this all the time -- that would create a change of possession in five riveting seconds as the crowd explodes over a gritty defensive stand （or goes into shock as their team turns the ball over with no time expiring on the clock， all because they couldn’t get it in！）.
假如我们彻底取消罚球，对于那些在比赛最后关头比分落后的球队，我们又能给他们提供什么机会追上比分呢？我们可以取消连续暂停，迫使领先一方即刻发出底线球。如果他们发不出球——比赛里经常能见到这种情况，那就会出现五秒违例，发生球权转换。球迷会为一次漂亮的防守惊呼（或者彻底晕厥，因为他们的球队在计时器没有走的情况下丢了球，而这一切都是因为他们没能及时出现在场上！）
we do have reference points like those 20 minutes in March when the ball was live 60 percent of the time， and like any great piece of visual storytelling， you couldn’t take your eyes off the action because you might miss something.
三月这场比赛的20分钟也给我们提供了参考依据，60%的时间里，球是动起来的。就像看那些动人的故事一样，你没法把自己的眼睛从画面上移开，因为你害怕错过任何瞬间。
①Luther Gulick：卢瑟·古力克，美国著名的体育教育家。事实上，奈史密斯在基督教青年会国际学校担任老师时，古力克是该校的负责人。在古力克的指引下，奈史密斯发明了篮球这项运动。两人随后合力推广篮球这个项目，1959年，古力克入选篮球名人堂。
②three to make two：通常球员被犯规后，会得到两次罚球机会。但在“三换二”这条规则里，如果一方已经超过犯规数限制，那么罚球的球员只要有一次罚球没进，那么他就会得到第三次罚球机会。