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The NBA playoffs are here， so scoring is about to go down， right？ Not exactly.
NBA季后赛来了，所以得分就得下降，对吗？未必！
You’ve heard it so much that you probably just accept it as fact： The NBA playoffs are here， which means scoring is about to go down， as if teams indulge themselves in points throughout the regular season then suddenly give them up like it’s Lent①.
有些话听了太多遍，以至于你很可能把这当作真正的事实：NBA季后赛就在眼前，这意味着比赛的得分将开始走低，就好像球队在常规赛期间一门心思为得分，但突然间又像过大斋节要禁欲了一般。
There’s nothing in the league’s collective bargaining agreement that says it has to be that way. （I’ve even checked with Larry Coon②.） And this year it won’t be that way， at least not in the Western Conference.
联盟的劳资协议里没有任何一条有这样的明确规定（我已经跟拉里·科恩确认过了）。而今年也不会出现这种情况，至少在西部季后赛是不会这样的。
Scoring doesn’t go down because of the time of year. Scoring goes down when teams make it their business to bring it down -- and that’s not on the agenda for most of the Western playoff teams.
得分不会因为到一年的某个时间就会出现下降，得分下降是因为球队决定少得分而已——但这并不是大部分西部球队的计划。
Seven of the top nine scoring teams in the league qualified for the playoffs in the West. The only outlier in the group is Memphis； everyone else wants to treat the game like Pop-A-Shot.
联盟中九支得分能力超强的球队中，有七个打进了西部季后赛，唯一的例外是孟菲斯灰熊。而其他任何球队眼中，比赛就像投篮机游戏那样。
So bring on the buckets. The rules -- no hand-checking， defensive three seconds --encourage it. Coaches are letting their teams play loosely. This is the current state of the game. Did you know that last year’s NBA Finals， when the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by an average score of 102-98， was the highest-scoring Finals since 2002？
让表演开始吧。那些规则——不允许“伸手犯规”，防守三秒——也在鼓励这样的比赛形式。教练也在让球队更自由地打球，这就是篮球现在的状态。你是否知道，去年迈阿密热火场均以102比98战胜俄克拉荷马雷霆的总决赛，是联盟自2002年以来，得分最高的一场总决赛。
These playoffs will feature the team（Knicks） and player （Stephen Curry） that just set single-season records for made 3-pointers. They will include a Denver Nuggets team that averaged more fast-break points than any playoff qualifier since the 2007 Golden State Warriors （and we all remember how much fun that team was）.
今年季后赛的参与者包括尼克斯这种球队和斯蒂芬·库里这样的球员，他们分别创下了单赛季球队和球员的三分球纪录。今年的季后赛里，还有丹佛掘金这样一支自2007年的金州勇士以来场均快攻得分最高的球队（我们当然都记得，那支勇士队带给我们多少乐趣）。
I’m not the only one who’s skeptical of the idea that the playoffs demand slower pace and lower scores.
我不是唯一一个对季后赛意味着慢节奏和低得分，这种理论持怀疑态度的人、
"I’ve been doing this for a long time，" Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said midseason."And ... Every. Single. Year. You hear the same stuff： ’Well， it’s going to be half court now. It’s going to do this. It’s going to be that.’ It just sort of fades away. Nobody has any proof of anything. It’s just psycho-babble， really. “我干这一行已经很久了。”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇在赛季中期说道，“每，一，年，你都会听到同样的调调：‘现在要打半场进攻了。该做这个了，该是那样了。’该消停点了，但没人有任何真正的证据证明。这不过是胡言乱语，真的。”
"It slows down maybe in some respects because [of] defense， energy， anxiety. Everybody’s out there playing their best basketball. When it gets slowed down， it’s not a purposeful thing. It’s just a natural progression of the way things go. Coaches and teams don’t go into the playoffs and say， ’We’re going to play slower. We’re going to have fewer possessions. We’re going to slow this thing down.’ That doesn’t happen."
“在某些方面可能会慢下来，因为防守、体能、焦虑这些原因。每一个上场的球员都会拿出最好的状态。当比赛节奏慢下来时，那并不是有意识的。这不过是自然的过程罢了。教练和球队不会进入季后赛了然后说什么：‘我们会打得更慢，我们的进攻回合会变得更少，我们会让比赛节奏慢下来。’这种事，不会发生。”
When Steve Nash got to Phoenix and started running Mike D’Antoni’s system， they averaged 110 points per game during the 2004-05 season. During the playoffs that number went up， to 112 points per game. The postseason undoing of those Suns teams wasn’t that they stopped scoring； it was that they couldn’t stop anyone else -- particularly the Spurs -- from scoring.
当史蒂芬·纳什来到菲尼克斯，掌控起麦克·丹特尼的体系时，太阳在2004-05赛季的场均得分是110分。到了季后赛，他们的得分继续上升，到了场均112分。那时的太阳在季后赛里遇到的问题不是他们得不了分，而是他们无法阻止对手得分，尤其是马刺。
"There’s times and there’s series and there’s opportunities where you get to run more，" Nash said. "It’s just a matchup thing.
“总有时间，总有系列赛，也总有机会能让他更多地跑起来。”纳什说道，“其实就是对位的问题。”
"I think our biggest problem was we never had a center that could guard the rim. Teams that win in the playoffs eventually have somebody that can protect the rim. That’s just something we never had."
“我想我们那时最大的问题是，我们从没有一个能防守篮下的中锋。那些在季后赛里赢球的球队总有一个能保护篮下的人，而那是我们从来没有的。”
Popovich lamented that the undoing of the 2012 Spurs was their inability to get fourthquarter stops. Then again， when you’re in the playoffs， eventually you’re going to go up against players who are simply unstoppable.
波波维奇总结2012年马刺失败的原因时，将此归结于无法在第四节打出必要的防守。不过我们要再次强调，当你身处季后赛，你总会碰到那些就是无法阻挡的对手。
Michael Jordan averaged 30 points per game during the regular season -- and 33 per game during the playoffs， when he’d presumably face better defenses on a nightly basis. Likewise， Kevin Durant and LeBron James have higher scoring averages in the playoffs than the regular season.
迈克尔·乔丹常规赛时场均能得到30分，到了季后赛，则是场均33分，可以预见的是，他在季后赛里每场比赛都会遇到更好的防守。同样的，凯文·杜兰特和勒布朗·詹姆斯在季后赛的得分也都比常规赛高。 Midway through their second-round series last year， the Indiana Pacers had held the Miami Heat below their season average of 98.5 points in each of the first three games. Then the Heat went off for an average of 107 points to win the final three games. What happened？ A couple of superstars happened.
去年季后赛第二轮中，印第安纳步行者在与迈阿密热火的前三场季后赛里，每场比赛都把热火的得分限制在了他们常规赛平均得分（98.5）之下。但热火在随后三场比赛里打出了场均107分，并且赢下了系列赛。发生什么了？不过是几个超级巨星挺身而出了。
"I think LeBron and Wade just raised their game to a level that nobody had seen with those two playing together，" Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Wade had been on that level before. LeBron had been on that level in Cleveland. Nobody had seen that together."
“我觉得勒布朗和韦德把自己的竞技水平提升到了，自两人成为队友后，所有人都没见过的高度。”步行者主教练弗兰克·沃格尔说，“韦德以前有过这样的状态，勒布朗在克利夫兰时也有过，但没人见过两人都处于这样的巅峰状态。”
Maybe we’ll see Durant and Russell Westbrook combine for 80. Perhaps Stephen Curry hits 10 3-pointers. I’m looking for more， not less.
也许我们会看到杜兰特和拉塞尔·韦斯布鲁克联手拿下80分。也许史蒂夫·库里能投进10个三分。我期待更多，而不是更少。
I’ll close with a thought that came to mind with the passing of longtime football broadcaster Pat Summerall this week. Technically it’s a John Madden story， but I realized it was Summerall who allowed Madden to flourish-- to become the Hey！ Boom！ John Madden that we loved -- because Summerall didn’t hog the microphone. In this particular game， Washington had just scored a touchdown at RFK Stadium③， and the jubilant fans were so excited they were swaying. The director cut to different shots of the celebratory crowd， as Summerall kept quiet as usual. Finally， Madden weighed in： "You know， touchdowns equal happiness."
文章的结尾，我想到了本周刚刚去世的美式足球解说帕特·萨摩奥尔。本质上讲，这本该是约翰·梅登的故事，但我意识到，是萨摩奥尔给了梅登成名的机会——他让梅登成为了我们喜爱的那个“嘿！嘣！梅登！”——萨摩奥尔没有把持着麦克风不放。在那场特别的比赛里，华盛顿红皮刚刚在RFK体育场完成了达阵，兴奋的球迷们开始玩起人浪。导播把镜头切向不同的庆祝人群，而萨摩奥尔像往常一样保持着沉默。终于，梅登插话了：“你知道，达阵等于快乐。”
That’s the way I feel about scoring in the NBA. Points equal joy. And these should be a joyous playoffs.
这也是我对NBA得分的看法。得分等于快乐，而今年应该是充满乐趣的季后赛。
①指复活节前为期40天的斋戒及忏悔，以纪念耶稣在荒野禁食。也可以指中世纪的封斋期，从圣马丁纪念日延续到圣诞节。
②ESPN的劳资协议及薪金问题专家，他的CBAFAQ（劳资协议常见问题）网站是解读NBA劳资协议最权威的网站。
③全称Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium，即罗伯特·F·肯尼迪纪念体育场，1961到1996年是NFL华盛顿红皮队的主场。
NBA季后赛来了，所以得分就得下降，对吗？未必！
You’ve heard it so much that you probably just accept it as fact： The NBA playoffs are here， which means scoring is about to go down， as if teams indulge themselves in points throughout the regular season then suddenly give them up like it’s Lent①.
有些话听了太多遍，以至于你很可能把这当作真正的事实：NBA季后赛就在眼前，这意味着比赛的得分将开始走低，就好像球队在常规赛期间一门心思为得分，但突然间又像过大斋节要禁欲了一般。
There’s nothing in the league’s collective bargaining agreement that says it has to be that way. （I’ve even checked with Larry Coon②.） And this year it won’t be that way， at least not in the Western Conference.
联盟的劳资协议里没有任何一条有这样的明确规定（我已经跟拉里·科恩确认过了）。而今年也不会出现这种情况，至少在西部季后赛是不会这样的。
Scoring doesn’t go down because of the time of year. Scoring goes down when teams make it their business to bring it down -- and that’s not on the agenda for most of the Western playoff teams.
得分不会因为到一年的某个时间就会出现下降，得分下降是因为球队决定少得分而已——但这并不是大部分西部球队的计划。
Seven of the top nine scoring teams in the league qualified for the playoffs in the West. The only outlier in the group is Memphis； everyone else wants to treat the game like Pop-A-Shot.
联盟中九支得分能力超强的球队中，有七个打进了西部季后赛，唯一的例外是孟菲斯灰熊。而其他任何球队眼中，比赛就像投篮机游戏那样。
So bring on the buckets. The rules -- no hand-checking， defensive three seconds --encourage it. Coaches are letting their teams play loosely. This is the current state of the game. Did you know that last year’s NBA Finals， when the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by an average score of 102-98， was the highest-scoring Finals since 2002？
让表演开始吧。那些规则——不允许“伸手犯规”，防守三秒——也在鼓励这样的比赛形式。教练也在让球队更自由地打球，这就是篮球现在的状态。你是否知道，去年迈阿密热火场均以102比98战胜俄克拉荷马雷霆的总决赛，是联盟自2002年以来，得分最高的一场总决赛。
These playoffs will feature the team（Knicks） and player （Stephen Curry） that just set single-season records for made 3-pointers. They will include a Denver Nuggets team that averaged more fast-break points than any playoff qualifier since the 2007 Golden State Warriors （and we all remember how much fun that team was）.
今年季后赛的参与者包括尼克斯这种球队和斯蒂芬·库里这样的球员，他们分别创下了单赛季球队和球员的三分球纪录。今年的季后赛里，还有丹佛掘金这样一支自2007年的金州勇士以来场均快攻得分最高的球队（我们当然都记得，那支勇士队带给我们多少乐趣）。
I’m not the only one who’s skeptical of the idea that the playoffs demand slower pace and lower scores.
我不是唯一一个对季后赛意味着慢节奏和低得分，这种理论持怀疑态度的人、
"I’ve been doing this for a long time，" Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said midseason."And ... Every. Single. Year. You hear the same stuff： ’Well， it’s going to be half court now. It’s going to do this. It’s going to be that.’ It just sort of fades away. Nobody has any proof of anything. It’s just psycho-babble， really. “我干这一行已经很久了。”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇在赛季中期说道，“每，一，年，你都会听到同样的调调：‘现在要打半场进攻了。该做这个了，该是那样了。’该消停点了，但没人有任何真正的证据证明。这不过是胡言乱语，真的。”
"It slows down maybe in some respects because [of] defense， energy， anxiety. Everybody’s out there playing their best basketball. When it gets slowed down， it’s not a purposeful thing. It’s just a natural progression of the way things go. Coaches and teams don’t go into the playoffs and say， ’We’re going to play slower. We’re going to have fewer possessions. We’re going to slow this thing down.’ That doesn’t happen."
“在某些方面可能会慢下来，因为防守、体能、焦虑这些原因。每一个上场的球员都会拿出最好的状态。当比赛节奏慢下来时，那并不是有意识的。这不过是自然的过程罢了。教练和球队不会进入季后赛了然后说什么：‘我们会打得更慢，我们的进攻回合会变得更少，我们会让比赛节奏慢下来。’这种事，不会发生。”
When Steve Nash got to Phoenix and started running Mike D’Antoni’s system， they averaged 110 points per game during the 2004-05 season. During the playoffs that number went up， to 112 points per game. The postseason undoing of those Suns teams wasn’t that they stopped scoring； it was that they couldn’t stop anyone else -- particularly the Spurs -- from scoring.
当史蒂芬·纳什来到菲尼克斯，掌控起麦克·丹特尼的体系时，太阳在2004-05赛季的场均得分是110分。到了季后赛，他们的得分继续上升，到了场均112分。那时的太阳在季后赛里遇到的问题不是他们得不了分，而是他们无法阻止对手得分，尤其是马刺。
"There’s times and there’s series and there’s opportunities where you get to run more，" Nash said. "It’s just a matchup thing.
“总有时间，总有系列赛，也总有机会能让他更多地跑起来。”纳什说道，“其实就是对位的问题。”
"I think our biggest problem was we never had a center that could guard the rim. Teams that win in the playoffs eventually have somebody that can protect the rim. That’s just something we never had."
“我想我们那时最大的问题是，我们从没有一个能防守篮下的中锋。那些在季后赛里赢球的球队总有一个能保护篮下的人，而那是我们从来没有的。”
Popovich lamented that the undoing of the 2012 Spurs was their inability to get fourthquarter stops. Then again， when you’re in the playoffs， eventually you’re going to go up against players who are simply unstoppable.
波波维奇总结2012年马刺失败的原因时，将此归结于无法在第四节打出必要的防守。不过我们要再次强调，当你身处季后赛，你总会碰到那些就是无法阻挡的对手。
Michael Jordan averaged 30 points per game during the regular season -- and 33 per game during the playoffs， when he’d presumably face better defenses on a nightly basis. Likewise， Kevin Durant and LeBron James have higher scoring averages in the playoffs than the regular season.
迈克尔·乔丹常规赛时场均能得到30分，到了季后赛，则是场均33分，可以预见的是，他在季后赛里每场比赛都会遇到更好的防守。同样的，凯文·杜兰特和勒布朗·詹姆斯在季后赛的得分也都比常规赛高。 Midway through their second-round series last year， the Indiana Pacers had held the Miami Heat below their season average of 98.5 points in each of the first three games. Then the Heat went off for an average of 107 points to win the final three games. What happened？ A couple of superstars happened.
去年季后赛第二轮中，印第安纳步行者在与迈阿密热火的前三场季后赛里，每场比赛都把热火的得分限制在了他们常规赛平均得分（98.5）之下。但热火在随后三场比赛里打出了场均107分，并且赢下了系列赛。发生什么了？不过是几个超级巨星挺身而出了。
"I think LeBron and Wade just raised their game to a level that nobody had seen with those two playing together，" Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Wade had been on that level before. LeBron had been on that level in Cleveland. Nobody had seen that together."
“我觉得勒布朗和韦德把自己的竞技水平提升到了，自两人成为队友后，所有人都没见过的高度。”步行者主教练弗兰克·沃格尔说，“韦德以前有过这样的状态，勒布朗在克利夫兰时也有过，但没人见过两人都处于这样的巅峰状态。”
Maybe we’ll see Durant and Russell Westbrook combine for 80. Perhaps Stephen Curry hits 10 3-pointers. I’m looking for more， not less.
也许我们会看到杜兰特和拉塞尔·韦斯布鲁克联手拿下80分。也许史蒂夫·库里能投进10个三分。我期待更多，而不是更少。
I’ll close with a thought that came to mind with the passing of longtime football broadcaster Pat Summerall this week. Technically it’s a John Madden story， but I realized it was Summerall who allowed Madden to flourish-- to become the Hey！ Boom！ John Madden that we loved -- because Summerall didn’t hog the microphone. In this particular game， Washington had just scored a touchdown at RFK Stadium③， and the jubilant fans were so excited they were swaying. The director cut to different shots of the celebratory crowd， as Summerall kept quiet as usual. Finally， Madden weighed in： "You know， touchdowns equal happiness."
文章的结尾，我想到了本周刚刚去世的美式足球解说帕特·萨摩奥尔。本质上讲，这本该是约翰·梅登的故事，但我意识到，是萨摩奥尔给了梅登成名的机会——他让梅登成为了我们喜爱的那个“嘿！嘣！梅登！”——萨摩奥尔没有把持着麦克风不放。在那场特别的比赛里，华盛顿红皮刚刚在RFK体育场完成了达阵，兴奋的球迷们开始玩起人浪。导播把镜头切向不同的庆祝人群，而萨摩奥尔像往常一样保持着沉默。终于，梅登插话了：“你知道，达阵等于快乐。”
That’s the way I feel about scoring in the NBA. Points equal joy. And these should be a joyous playoffs.
这也是我对NBA得分的看法。得分等于快乐，而今年应该是充满乐趣的季后赛。
①指复活节前为期40天的斋戒及忏悔，以纪念耶稣在荒野禁食。也可以指中世纪的封斋期，从圣马丁纪念日延续到圣诞节。
②ESPN的劳资协议及薪金问题专家，他的CBAFAQ（劳资协议常见问题）网站是解读NBA劳资协议最权威的网站。
③全称Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium，即罗伯特·F·肯尼迪纪念体育场，1961到1996年是NFL华盛顿红皮队的主场。