The Minnesota Timberwolves won i n t h e m o s t u nTimberwolves way possible .
　　Heading into the fourth quarter， the Wolves were down nine points to the Portland Trail Blazers in a game that would determine which team would hold fourth place in the Western Conference -- the top of the nonWarriors/Rockets/Spurs tier. For the Timberwolves this season， being down nine points going into the fourth quarter would seem a death knell. Whatever the reason --and many basketball pundits have decided the reason is the same old Tom Thibodeau narrative， where an over-reliance on his starting five means his best players are gassed by the end of games -- the Wolves have not been a good fourthquarter team. By some metrics， in fact， they are the worst fourthquarter team in the NBA.
　　明尼苏达森林狼用最不森林狼的方式赢下了比赛。在一场决定谁能拿到西部第四，也就是除勇士，火箭，马刺集团外的第一位置的比赛中。森林狼在第四节开始时落后波特兰开拓者9分。本赛季大多数时候，如果森林狼落后9分进入第四节，这基本等同于输掉比赛。无论原因到底是什么——太多专家将原因归结于汤姆·锡伯杜的老问题，即过度依赖首发，最好的球员在比赛最后精疲力尽——森林狼一直打不好第四节。事实上，他们是NBA第四节最差的球队。
　　Check out the numbers： In the first three quarters of games， the Timberwolves ought to be considered among the NBA’s elite. Their net rating through three quarters of games is plus-4.8. If they were able to keep that net rating for four quarters， that would rank fourth in the NBA -- behind the Warriors， Rockets and Raptors and virtually tied with the Celtic
　　看看数据：森林狼的前三节可以说是联盟顶尖水平。他们前三节的正负值为+4.8。如果能把这个数字延续到第四节，他们就能在联盟排在第四，仅次于勇士，火箭和猛龙，与骑士并列。
　　It’s in the fourth quarter of games where they fall apart. The Wolves’ net rating in fourth quarters is minus-10.1. That’s the worst in the NBA， and drags what would have been an impressive overall net rating all the way down to a middling 11th.
　　森林狼總是在第四节崩溃，他们在第四节的正负值为-10.1。这在全NBA排名垫底，直接导致球队整体正负值下滑到联盟中游的第11。
　　This is not a new problem. Last season’s Timberwolves lost 22 games in which they held doubledigit leads. They lost 11 games when they led by 15 or more points， a feat that hadn’t been accomplished by an NBA team since the 1996-97 season. If just half of those blown 10-point leads had turned into wins， the Wolves would have morphed from one of the worst teams in the NBA into a playoff team.

　　这不是新问题。上个赛季，森林狼有22场输掉的比赛里曾经有过两位数的领先。有11场比赛，森林狼在领先15分或更多的情况下输掉了比赛，从1996-97赛季开始，还没有第二支球队打出过这么差的表现。如果浪费两位数领先优势的比赛能赢下其中一半，森林狼就能从NBA最烂球队之一转变为季后赛球队。 　　The Wolves knew this， which is why their big offseason splash was to acquire one of the league’s best players in crunch time： AllNBA wing Jimmy Butler. Butler is a beast for 48 minutes， but most important， he would be the beast when the Timberwolves need him most. Last season Butler averaged 4.3 points in the final five minutes of games where the margin was five points or less. That was the third-best mark in the league， behind Russell Westbrookand Isaiah Thomas. At the end of games， on offense as well as on defense， it’s hard to pick a better player to have on the floor than Jimmy Butler.
　　森林狼當然明白这个问题，这也是他们休赛期引进联盟关键时刻最强球员——全明星侧翼吉米·巴特勒的原因。巴特勒能在48分钟里保持强劲状态，但最重要的是，当森林狼最需要他的时候，他能化身为猛兽。上个赛季，比赛最后五分钟两队分差不超过5分时，巴特勒能够拿到4.3分的平均得分。这在联盟排名第三，只比拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克和伊塞亚·托马斯低。比赛最后阶段，不论是进攻还是防守，很难找到比吉米·巴特勒更优秀的球员。
　　What we saw was the team the Timberwolves’ front office was daydreaming of when it put together that monster offseason trade. Butler simply took over. He scored 11 of the Wolves’ final 16 points in their comeback， including four clutch free throws in the final minute. It was a perfect Jimmy Butler game； he played 35 minutes， scored 37 points， got six rebounds and five assists and thieved three steals. Most of all， he gave his team a fourth-quarter intensity and focus that it lacked last season. One more un-Wolves-like positive note from that game： Offseason acquisition Jamal Crawford came off the NBA’s least-used bench and scored a season-high 23 points in 23 minutes.

　　面对开拓者的那支球队，正是森林狼管理层利用休赛期惊天交易组建球队时梦想的样子。简单地说，巴特勒接管了比赛。在森林狼反败为胜的这场比赛里，球队最后的16分有11分由巴特勒拿下，其中包括最后一分钟的四次关键罚球。那是一场完美的吉米·巴特勒式的比赛：上场35分钟，拿到37分，6个篮板，5次助攻和3个抢断。最重要的是，他给球队在第四节带去了紧迫感和专注力，而这正是森林狼上赛季欠缺的。那场比赛还有一个很不森林狼的积极方面：作为NBA上场时间最少的板凳球员，休赛期森林狼签下的贾马尔·克劳福德在23分钟里拿到了23分。
　　This is where that old Tom Thibodeau trope comes in： He runs his best players into the ground. National media have started beating this drum again in the past couple weeks， especially after Thibs played all five starters 38 or more minutes in an overtime loss to the 76ers， including 48 minutes for young franchise cornerstone KarlAnthony Towns. Deadspin published an anti-Thibs screed with the overwrought headline， "Tom Thibodeau is Destruction."
　　这里就要提到关于汤姆·锡伯杜的一个“老调”了：他会累垮自己最优秀的球员。过去几周，全美媒体又一次开始提出这种说法，特别是在森林狼加时输给76人的比赛里，锡伯杜让所有五名首发球员的上场时间都超过38分钟，年轻的基石球员卡尔-安东尼·唐斯的时间达到了48分钟。Deadspin网站发表了一篇标题冗长的反锡伯杜文章：锡伯杜就是毁灭。 　　All this criticism for a team that， if the season ended today， would be hosting a first-round playoff series in a city that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs since the 2003-04 season， which also happens to be the only season in franchise history where the Wolves won a playoff series.
　　假如赛季现在结束，这些批评指向的是一个在季后赛首轮拥有主场优势的球队。这个球队从2003-04赛季开始就再未品尝过季后赛的滋味，那也恰好是森林狼队史上第一次赢得季后赛系列赛的赛季。
　　So what of it？ Is minutes management by Thibodeau the only thing keeping this team from the NBA’s elite？ Or is it a chicken-egg scenario， where Thibs has failed in his role as the team’s president of basketball operations in getting a competent bench， so Thibs the head coach has to deal with a bench that he doesn’t trust？
　　所以到底是什么呢？锡伯杜的时间管理是阻止森林狼成为NBA顶级球队的唯一原因吗？或者说这是一个鸡生蛋，蛋生鸡的问题，锡伯杜作为球队篮球事务总裁没能做好工作，没能打造一个有竞争力的替补阵容，所以作为主教练的锡伯杜只能面对一个他无法信任的替补阵容？
　　Thibs is playing his starters a lot， period. Minnesota’s bench averages a paltry 25.5 points， 27th in the league. And zero coaches in the league use their bench less than Thibs does in Minnesota. Minnesota’s bench players average only 13 minutes at each position-- 2.6 fewer than the 29th-ranked bench， the New Orleans Pelicans. Amazingly， it’s nearly a full minute less per player per game than Thibs used his bench a year ago. Butler is third in the NBA in minutes per game； Andrew Wiggins is eighth and Towns is 13th.
　　锡伯杜让首发打的时间很长，这毫无疑问。森林狼的替补球员只能得到可怜的25.5分，这在联盟排名第27。联盟中再没有教练比锡伯杜更不愿意用替补了。森林狼每个位置的替补球员只有13分钟上场时间——这比排在第29的新奥尔良鹈鹕还要少2.6分钟。令人惊异的是，这比锡伯杜上赛季给替补球队的时间还要少接近一分钟。巴特勒的场均上场时间在联盟排名第三，威金斯排在第八，唐斯则是第13。
　　"Like all teams， you play to your strengths， you cover up your weaknesses，" Thibs told me. "If you have young guys -- when you look at the wings， the wings usually play-- you look at LeBron and Harden， all those guys， they’re gonna play. Unless the guy’s older or he’s injured， then you don’t play him as much."
　　“和所有球队一样，你要发挥自己的优势，掩盖劣势。”锡伯杜告诉我，“如果有年轻球员——观察侧翼球员，侧翼球员通常是重点——你会看到勒布朗和哈登这些人，他们都会上场。除非他们年龄大了或者受伤了，那些才不会让他们打太久。”

"I’VE PLAYED PLENTY OF MINUTES THROUGHOUT MY CAREER，" BUTLER TOLD ME. "WE TRAIN HARD ENOUGH IN THE SUMMER FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN IT. IT’S ALL ABOUT TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY. THE MAJORITY OF IT IS MENTAL， FOR ME AND FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. IF YOU THINK THAT YOU’RE TIRED， YOU WILL BE TIRED. OTHERWISE， JUST FIGHT THROUGH. I’M PRETTY SURE THERE’S A LOT HARDER THINGS THAT I’VE ENDURED IN MY LIFE THAN PLAYING A COUPLE EXTRA MINUTES."“我整個职业生涯的上场时间都很多。”巴特勒告诉我，“我在夏天的训练足够刻苦，足以让我保持体能。重要的是照看好自己的身体。对我，对很多人来说，很大一部分还是心理上的问题。如果你觉得自己累了，你就累了。否则，只要挺过去就行。我相信我在人生中经历了比多打几分钟更艰难的事情。”

　　Interpretation： Of course Thibs the coach is going to play his best players a ton of minutes. That’s what he believes gives his team the best chance to win. For Thibs the coach， winning today is the most important thing.
　　换句话说：作为教练的锡伯杜当然会让他最好的球员打很长时间。他认为这能给球队赢球的最大机会。对教练锡伯杜来说，赢在当下是最重要的事情。
　　But that’s why teams generally have a different person in the front office whose role is to look out for the team’s long-term future as the head coach looks out for the immediate future. The dual role Thibs has for the Timberwolves is increasingly rare in today’s NBA， and perhaps this is why： He has to balance in his mind the coach’s win-today mentality with the executive’s win-more-tomorrow mentality. Fair or not， Thibs and his overreliance on starters took much of the blame for the injuries and wear and tear that severely hampered the careers of Derrick Rose， Joakim Noah and Luol Deng. Some even blame Thibs for overplaying Zach LaVine and causing his ACL tear last season.
　　主教练为球队不远的未来负责，这也正是球队通常会在管理层安排另一个人负责球队未来发展的原因。锡伯杜在森林狼承担双重角色的情况在如今的NBA越来越稀少，也许原因如下：他必须在主教练“赢在当下”的思维及管理人员“未来赢得更多”的思维中找到平衡。不论是否公平，锡伯杜和他过于依赖首发的做法，被外界看作是德里克·罗斯，乔金·诺阿和卢尔·邓遭遇伤病，职业生涯受到严重影响的主要原因。有些人甚至指责锡伯杜，说他过度使用扎克·拉文，才导致后者上赛季前十字韧带撕裂。
　　I asked a couple Wolves players the same question： Is playing too many minutes affecting them late in games？ Perhaps they were observing the locker room code to keep internal issues behind closed doors， but two of this team’s stars seemed to relish in playing those heavy minutes.
　　我问了几个森林狼球员相同的问题：上场时间太多是否影响了他们比赛末段的表现？也许他们遵守了更衣室规则，把内部问题留在内部，但还是有两个明星球员似乎喜欢打很长时间的比赛。
　　"At this moment， it hasn’t hit me，" Wiggins said with a shrug. "I don’t feel tired or nothing like that."
　　“现在没有影响到我。”威金斯耸了耸肩，“我没觉得累。”
　　"I’ve played plenty of minutes throughout my career，" Butler told me. "We train hard enough in the summer for me to be able to maintain it. It’s all about taking care of your body. The majority of it is mental， for me and for a lot of people. If you think that you’re tired， you will be tired. Otherwise， just fight through. I’m pretty sure there’s a lot harder things that I’ve endured in my life than playing a couple extra minutes."
　　“我整个职业生涯的上场时间都很多。”巴特勒告诉我，“我在夏天的训练足够刻苦，足以让我保持体能。重要的是照看好自己的身体。对我，对很多人来说，很大一部分还是心理上的问题。如果你觉得自己累了，你就累了。否则，只要挺过去就行。我相信我在人生中经历了比多打几分钟更艰难的事情。”
　　The NBA is different today. From 1990 until 2011， the NBA leader in minutes averaged more than 40 minutes in every season but one. Since 2011， the number of minutes played for the league leader has steadily crept downward. LeBron James led the league with 37.76 minutes last year； a decade ago， the top 20 players all averaged more. The "rest revolution" is here and only growing in support.
　　現在的NBA是个不同的世界。从1990年到2011年，除了一个赛季，其余每个赛季NBA上场时间最多的球员出场时间都会超过40分钟。从2011年开始，最高上场时间逐年下降。上个赛季，勒布朗·詹姆斯以37.76分钟领衔全联盟；十年前，上场时间最多的前20名球员都比这个时间多。“休息革命”就在眼前，而且支持者越来越多。
　　We won’t know the lasting effects of Thibodeau’s current minutes management until years down the road. By then， if damage has occurred， it’ll be way too late to fix.
　　直到赛季结束，我们才能知道锡伯杜现在时间管理的持续效果。但到了那时，如果真出现损害，想要修复便为时已晚。