每次客場比賽， NBA球隊都會安排兩輛大巴車來接送人員。 在聯盟裡， 大小事務都要講秩序等級， 包括交通工具。
BOSTON — There are two buses that take teams to visiting arenas on game days. There is a pecking order to everything in the NBA, even transportation.
頭輛車坐的， 包括訓練師、助理人員和板凳末端球員，
The first bus usually contains the trainers and support staff along with the guys at the end of the bench. These are your rookie second-round picks, your undrafted free agents, and your non-guaranteed contracts, who arrive early to get their work in before everyone else arrives. For whatever other status the second bus provides, most starters prefer to go through their routines closer to gametime when the energy in the arena is starting to build.
卡爾-安東尼-唐斯坐在第一輛車裡， 每次客場都一樣， 隨行的還有新秀克裡斯-鄧恩和二年級的泰厄斯-鐘斯。 比賽開始兩個半小時之前， 唐斯就來到了球場練習投籃， 那時的觀眾席上， 還只有接待生和技術台人員。
Karl-Anthony Towns takes the first bus. He does it before every road game, along with rookie Kris Dunn and second-year man Tyus Jones. Two-and-a-half hours before tip-off, Towns can be found on the court getting up shots for an audience of ushers and scoreboard operators.
他在場地的各個位置投籃， 三分、勾手樣樣精通。 他投籃時跳的很低， 腳步也不怎麼移動， 活像一個在玩投籃機的老漢。 投籃熱身結束後， 他便跟助理教練坐下來， 研究錄影。
He shoots from all over the court, launching 25-footers with as much ease as he does 5-foot hooks. Towns rarely jumps when he shoots. He shuffles his feet ever so slightly like an old man playing pop-a-shot. When he’s done, he sits down with assistant coaches and watches video.
在21歲的年紀， 唐斯就有了10年老將一般的職業習慣。 鐘斯覺得， 這些習慣是凱文-加內特還在的那段短暫時光中， 一點一點磨出來的。 拋開KG為森林狼做的其他貢獻， 他親身向這群小狼崽展示了什麼叫職業， 這點至關重要。
Still just 21 years old, Towns has the work habits of a 10-year vet. Jones believes those habits were honed by watching Kevin Garnett during their brief time together. For whatever else KG brought to the Timberwolves, he showed the young pups how to work.
“就算他不上場， 他也會是第一個來到球館的，
“He was the first one in the building even when he wasn’t playing,” Jones said of Garnett. “He’d have a full workout in even by the time anyone else got there. That rubbed off on KAT.”
如果說唐斯表現的有點太早熟了， 其實也是可以理解的。 他要是沒有這份認真， 那就不叫唐斯了。 一個接一個的球員都在稱讚他的敬業、好習慣， 而且不只是年輕球員之間為兄弟說好話， 老將們， 有點球齡的隊員們， 也都在說起唐斯的成功時對他的職業精神讚不絕口。
It’s completely understandable if all of this sounds a bit too precocious. Towns is nothing if not earnest. Yet player after player praised his commitment and habits and it wasn’t just his young peers testifying for their guy. Even the vets, or what passes for vets on this roster, focused on Towns’ work ethic when describing what makes him tick.
從科爾-阿爾德里奇——“他每天都會來努力訓練、想方設法的提高”——到布蘭頓-拉什：“他無時無刻不在努力， 永遠泡在訓練館裡， 永遠想成為最強球員之一。 ”
From Cole Aldrich — “He comes in every day and puts his work in and finds a way to get better” — to Brandon Rush: “He works all the time. He’s in the gym non-stop and he wants to be one of the top players in the game.”
（有一次拉什談起自己生活中的變數， 提出了一個很有趣的觀點， 他說的是自己新建立的隊中老將地位：“我可是場上最老的球員了，
(In a life-comes-at-you-fast moment, Rush offered a great perspective on his freshly minted veteran status: “I’m the oldest guy on the court,” he said. “It’s weird. Yeah, it’s weird as hell. I take that in stride and go with it. I try to mentor the young fellas. They listen to me because they know I’ve been a part of winning teams. I had great vets so I’m trying to be a good vet.”)
說回唐斯， 他的努力已經有了回報。 二年級的他就成為了崛起中的現象級球員， 而且賽季結束時將被嚴肅認真地納入一陣討論範圍。 可能我們都預期著這種飛躍， 但也不能將之當做必然。 唐斯把自己的射程開拓到了三分線外， 提高了創造機會和得分的能力， 還打磨了低位技術。 上場對凱爾特人表現得有些吃力， 但那之前的11場比賽， 他可是打出了27.6分15.4籃板的數據。
All that work is paying off for Towns. He began his second season as a rising phenom and will end it with serious consideration for an All-NBA spot. We all may have expected that leap, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Towns has expanded his range beyond the 3-point line, improved his playmaking and scoring, and added to his post game. Before running out of gas in a loss to theCeltics on Wednesday, he had been averaging 27.6 points and 15.4 over his last 11 games.
“每年我都能解鎖一些新技能， ”唐斯說。 “於我， 在NBA中親身經歷如何贏球， 尋找勝利的不同方式， 才是最主要的。 ”
“Every year I’m able to let more things out in my toolbag,” Towns said. “For me, experiencing how it is to win in the NBA, finding different ways to win.”
是啊， 贏球， 這也是今年森林狼最大的問題。 很多時候， 他們都能早早取得領先， 之後受到神秘力量影響以完全無法解釋的方式崩盤。 之前很多人都相信， 在新帥湯姆-錫伯杜治下， 防守將會成為球隊強項， 然而現實中這大半賽季以來， 他們一次次被防守拖了後腿。 這些特點最明顯的一個解釋， 就是他們是聯盟最最年輕的球隊。
Right, winning. That’s been the biggest issue for the Wolves this year. Many a time they would build a nice lead and then inexplicably blow it in the final quarter. Their defense, which many believed would become a strength under first-year coach Tom Thibodeau, consistently let them down throughout the two thirds of the season. The obvious reason for all of that is they are the youngest team in the league.
“這是個很特別的情況， ”阿爾德里奇說。 “我待過的其他球隊， 用旁人的話來說， 都有更年長、更成熟的超級巨星。 （錫伯杜）要面臨的挑戰， 是帶領這群孩子越過一道坎， 成為真正帶來勝利的巨星。 他是為數不多能做到這點的人， 而這需要時間，當然我們的耐心也很有限…”
“This is a unique situation,” Aldrich said. “Every other team that I’ve been on our quote unquote superstars have been older, established guys in the league. (Thibodeau) has the challenge of getting those guys over the hump to winning superstars. He’s one of those guys that can do that. It takes time and as much as we don’t want to be patient …”
有耐心是件好事，慢工出細活。然而，耐心帶來的獎勵很不明顯，等真正顯露出來，會讓人有恍然大悟的感覺，就像是狼隊前幾周的火熱一樣。所有人都說，這並非是他們突然開竅了。上一周還輸掉穩贏的比賽，下一周就能在拉鋸戰中生磨出勝利。一場接一場的勝利不斷累加，忽然之間，他們就成了強隊，客場戰勝爵士，主場拿下快船勇士。
Patience is good. Patience gets rewarded. Patience, however, rarely reveals itself. When it does, it can feel like a revelation as it has in the case of the Wolves surge over the last few weeks. They all insist that there was no a-ha moment. One week they were losing winnable games and the next they were grinding out victories. One win built on top of another and suddenly they were beating Utah on the road and the Clippers and Warriors at home.
唐斯星光閃耀，他可說是上個月聯盟最強內線了；除他之外，裡基-盧比奧和安德魯-維金斯也為球隊打出了明星級表現。錫伯杜的輪換終於除去了陰霾，球員們也都適應了自己的角色。最重要的是，過去十來場比賽，球隊打出了精英級的防守。他們發現，贏球這點事，其實贏著贏著，就習慣了，等有了這習慣了，就能贏球了。
As brilliant as Towns has been, and he’s been arguably the best big man in the league for the last month, the Wolves have also received stellar performances from Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins. Thibodeau’s rotation has tightened up a bit and players are comfortable with their roles. Most importantly, their team defense has been among the elite for the last dozen games or so. What they’ve discovered is that winning is just another habit that can be learned through repetition.
“讓所有事物都慢下來，這是我們最近不斷勝利的原因，”唐斯說。“有時我們能看得比別人遠一步，能及時做出反應，最主要的是，在第四節的關鍵時刻，我們能保證紀律，穩定發揮。”
“When things start to slow down, that’s why we’re able to come away with wins recently,” Towns said. “We’re seeing things a step ahead sometimes. We’re reacting. The biggest thing is we’re staying disciplined when the game is at crunch time in the fourth quarter.”
現在再為季後賽努力拼搏，可能為時已晚；但對唐斯和森林狼隊來說，這段時間的比賽，就是他們想要的成果，就是他們花了一整個賽季苦苦尋找的正確思路。錫伯杜與他在芝加哥時一樣，還是那個注重細節的宗師，但他也沒能讓球隊慘澹的戰績，向著自己預想的長期目標邁進。當旁人為他們沒有明顯進步而焦急苦惱時，錫伯杜卻為球員們的勤奮而歡欣鼓舞。
It’s probably too late to make a meaningful playoff push, but for both Towns and the Wolves, this stretch of games has been the culmination of a season-long quest for legitimacy. While remaining every bit the detail-oriented taskmaster he was in Chicago, Thibodeau did not allow the lackluster results to get in the way of his long-range vision for the club. When others fretted about their lack of tangible progress, Thibs was encouraged by their diligence.
“我不會騙自己說，這些只是假像，”錫伯杜說。“如果你看看資料和比賽，比較一下他們和一年之前的不同，你也會知道這支球隊離強隊還差得遠，還是需要提高。”
“I never fooled myself that it was something other than it was,” Thibodeau said. “If you took a look at the numbers and you dive into the games and see how they unfolded from a year ago, you knew you weren’t close to winning. You had to improve.”
對錫伯杜來說，學習與提高是他在明尼蘇達頭一年的兩大任務。休賽期他曾想帶來洛爾-鄧，卻被湖人砸錢截胡；這之後，他與總經理斯科特-雷登便傾向于給年輕人些自由空間，讓他們共同成長。他們也許沒能做到許多人期待的突破，闖入季後賽，但這賽季也有不少值得學習借鑒的時刻。
To Thibodeau, learning and improvement are the two pillars of his inaugural season in Minnesota. Having been outspent by the Lakers in an effort to landLuol Deng in the offseason, he and his general manager Scott Layden preferred to give the young roster room to breathe and grow up together. That may not have resulted in the postseason breakthrough many expected, but it’s made for a ton of teachable moments.
“有很多要學習的地方，”錫伯杜說。“如果你仔細研究一下學習，研究自己該怎麼學習，就會發現嘗試和犯錯占了其中一大部分。首先你要講解一個知識點，然後在訓練中不斷重複，然後上場看看能否執行得出來。每場比賽都會讓你認識到自己到了什麼程度。”
“There’s been a lot of learning,” Thibodeau said. “When you take a hard look at learning and how you learn, trial and error is a big part of it. You explain things, you have repetition in practice, and then you go out into the game and see if it can be executed. Each game reveals exactly where you are.”
森林狼現在的位置頗為有趣。他們可能會拿到一個靠後的樂透簽，有機會再引入一名20出頭的青年才俊，當然他們的陣容就剩20出頭的青年才俊了。他們也有足夠的工資空間，吸引來一兩位老將；不過，一些球隊內部事務可能更需要快速定奪。
Where the Wolves are is an interesting proposition. They will likely end up back in the lottery with another chance to nab another 20-something talent to a roster that is bursting with them. They will also have ample cap space to entice a veteran or two, but decisions will have to be made soon on a few internal matters.
沙巴茲-穆罕默德會成為受限制自由球員，維金斯和紮克-拉文也都到了提前續約的時候。拉文前交叉韌帶撕裂報銷後，球隊的防守就來了個180度大轉彎，這一點可沒逃過群眾的眼睛。有人便開始疑問了，下賽季，讓拉文打第六人專心板凳得分，會不會給球隊的幫助更大些。
Shabazz Muhammad is a restricted free agent and Wiggins and Zach LaVineare eligible for extensions in the offseason. It has not escaped notice that the Wolves’ defensive turnaround has taken place while LaVine has been out with a torn ACL. One wonders if the Wolves would be better served having LaVine assume a scoring sixth-man role when he returns next season.
控衛上的情況也不明朗。盧比奧打出了現象級表現，然而鄧恩還在掙扎。雖然盧比奧的交易流言一直不斷，他的合同仍然還有兩年，而且在這工資帽大漲的時局，確實是份優質合同；鄧恩也至少在防守端證明了自己的價值。此外，狼隊的側翼也需要些補強，還有射手，越多越好的射手。
The point guard situation also remains murky. Rubio has been phenomenal while Dunn has struggled. Despite his existence as a living trade rumor, Rubio still has two more years left on his contract at a favorable rate in these cap-inflated times. At the very least, Dunn has acquitted himself well on the defensive end. The Wolves could use help on the wing and more shooting, always more shooting.
但目前而論，球隊還是要多多學習、多多經歷。季後賽邊緣可不是球迷們的最終目標，而且也解決不了球隊12年的季後賽荒。不過，用這段時間打出些經典而充滿競爭性的比賽也是可以的。
For now, though, there is still more to learn and more to experience. Life on the playoff periphery may not have been the end goal many imagined and it won’t help end a 12-year postseason drought. It does make for some important and compelling basketball down the stretch.
“這會讓事情有趣起來，”錫伯杜說。“對我們球隊，我想建立一種常規。如果你一心朝前看而跳過一些必要步驟，那這就是你失敗的開始。先瞭解你的對手，再建立好自己的常規習慣，不要在讚揚、批評之中迷失，不要眼高手低，不要讓他人的懦弱影響自己的勇氣。其他人怎麼想都不重要，我們想什麼、相信什麼才是最關鍵的。”
“It makes it interesting,” Thibodeau allowed. “For us, I want to establish a routine. If you look ahead and you skip over steps that’s how you slip. Know your opponent well, have your routine established, and don’t get lost whether it’s praise, criticism, what’s ahead, what some people may view as daunting. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. It only matters what we think and we believe.”
就這樣，卡爾-安東尼-唐斯早早來訓練了。這就是他的常規習慣，也讓他受益良多。他和狼隊都照著時間表按部就班地成長著，不緊不慢，恰到好處。
And so, Karl-Anthony Towns gets to work early. It’s his routine and it has served him well. He and the Wolves are progressing on their timetable and it’s happening right on schedule.
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而這需要時間，當然我們的耐心也很有限…”“This is a unique situation,” Aldrich said. “Every other team that I’ve been on our quote unquote superstars have been older, established guys in the league. (Thibodeau) has the challenge of getting those guys over the hump to winning superstars. He’s one of those guys that can do that. It takes time and as much as we don’t want to be patient …”
有耐心是件好事，慢工出細活。然而，耐心帶來的獎勵很不明顯，等真正顯露出來，會讓人有恍然大悟的感覺，就像是狼隊前幾周的火熱一樣。所有人都說，這並非是他們突然開竅了。上一周還輸掉穩贏的比賽，下一周就能在拉鋸戰中生磨出勝利。一場接一場的勝利不斷累加，忽然之間，他們就成了強隊，客場戰勝爵士，主場拿下快船勇士。
Patience is good. Patience gets rewarded. Patience, however, rarely reveals itself. When it does, it can feel like a revelation as it has in the case of the Wolves surge over the last few weeks. They all insist that there was no a-ha moment. One week they were losing winnable games and the next they were grinding out victories. One win built on top of another and suddenly they were beating Utah on the road and the Clippers and Warriors at home.
唐斯星光閃耀，他可說是上個月聯盟最強內線了；除他之外，裡基-盧比奧和安德魯-維金斯也為球隊打出了明星級表現。錫伯杜的輪換終於除去了陰霾，球員們也都適應了自己的角色。最重要的是，過去十來場比賽，球隊打出了精英級的防守。他們發現，贏球這點事，其實贏著贏著，就習慣了，等有了這習慣了，就能贏球了。
As brilliant as Towns has been, and he’s been arguably the best big man in the league for the last month, the Wolves have also received stellar performances from Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins. Thibodeau’s rotation has tightened up a bit and players are comfortable with their roles. Most importantly, their team defense has been among the elite for the last dozen games or so. What they’ve discovered is that winning is just another habit that can be learned through repetition.
“讓所有事物都慢下來，這是我們最近不斷勝利的原因，”唐斯說。“有時我們能看得比別人遠一步，能及時做出反應，最主要的是，在第四節的關鍵時刻，我們能保證紀律，穩定發揮。”
“When things start to slow down, that’s why we’re able to come away with wins recently,” Towns said. “We’re seeing things a step ahead sometimes. We’re reacting. The biggest thing is we’re staying disciplined when the game is at crunch time in the fourth quarter.”
現在再為季後賽努力拼搏，可能為時已晚；但對唐斯和森林狼隊來說，這段時間的比賽，就是他們想要的成果，就是他們花了一整個賽季苦苦尋找的正確思路。錫伯杜與他在芝加哥時一樣，還是那個注重細節的宗師，但他也沒能讓球隊慘澹的戰績，向著自己預想的長期目標邁進。當旁人為他們沒有明顯進步而焦急苦惱時，錫伯杜卻為球員們的勤奮而歡欣鼓舞。
It’s probably too late to make a meaningful playoff push, but for both Towns and the Wolves, this stretch of games has been the culmination of a season-long quest for legitimacy. While remaining every bit the detail-oriented taskmaster he was in Chicago, Thibodeau did not allow the lackluster results to get in the way of his long-range vision for the club. When others fretted about their lack of tangible progress, Thibs was encouraged by their diligence.
“我不會騙自己說，這些只是假像，”錫伯杜說。“如果你看看資料和比賽，比較一下他們和一年之前的不同，你也會知道這支球隊離強隊還差得遠，還是需要提高。”
“I never fooled myself that it was something other than it was,” Thibodeau said. “If you took a look at the numbers and you dive into the games and see how they unfolded from a year ago, you knew you weren’t close to winning. You had to improve.”
對錫伯杜來說，學習與提高是他在明尼蘇達頭一年的兩大任務。休賽期他曾想帶來洛爾-鄧，卻被湖人砸錢截胡；這之後，他與總經理斯科特-雷登便傾向于給年輕人些自由空間，讓他們共同成長。他們也許沒能做到許多人期待的突破，闖入季後賽，但這賽季也有不少值得學習借鑒的時刻。
To Thibodeau, learning and improvement are the two pillars of his inaugural season in Minnesota. Having been outspent by the Lakers in an effort to landLuol Deng in the offseason, he and his general manager Scott Layden preferred to give the young roster room to breathe and grow up together. That may not have resulted in the postseason breakthrough many expected, but it’s made for a ton of teachable moments.
“有很多要學習的地方，”錫伯杜說。“如果你仔細研究一下學習，研究自己該怎麼學習，就會發現嘗試和犯錯占了其中一大部分。首先你要講解一個知識點，然後在訓練中不斷重複，然後上場看看能否執行得出來。每場比賽都會讓你認識到自己到了什麼程度。”
“There’s been a lot of learning,” Thibodeau said. “When you take a hard look at learning and how you learn, trial and error is a big part of it. You explain things, you have repetition in practice, and then you go out into the game and see if it can be executed. Each game reveals exactly where you are.”
森林狼現在的位置頗為有趣。他們可能會拿到一個靠後的樂透簽，有機會再引入一名20出頭的青年才俊，當然他們的陣容就剩20出頭的青年才俊了。他們也有足夠的工資空間，吸引來一兩位老將；不過，一些球隊內部事務可能更需要快速定奪。
Where the Wolves are is an interesting proposition. They will likely end up back in the lottery with another chance to nab another 20-something talent to a roster that is bursting with them. They will also have ample cap space to entice a veteran or two, but decisions will have to be made soon on a few internal matters.
沙巴茲-穆罕默德會成為受限制自由球員，維金斯和紮克-拉文也都到了提前續約的時候。拉文前交叉韌帶撕裂報銷後，球隊的防守就來了個180度大轉彎，這一點可沒逃過群眾的眼睛。有人便開始疑問了，下賽季，讓拉文打第六人專心板凳得分，會不會給球隊的幫助更大些。
Shabazz Muhammad is a restricted free agent and Wiggins and Zach LaVineare eligible for extensions in the offseason. It has not escaped notice that the Wolves’ defensive turnaround has taken place while LaVine has been out with a torn ACL. One wonders if the Wolves would be better served having LaVine assume a scoring sixth-man role when he returns next season.
控衛上的情況也不明朗。盧比奧打出了現象級表現，然而鄧恩還在掙扎。雖然盧比奧的交易流言一直不斷，他的合同仍然還有兩年，而且在這工資帽大漲的時局，確實是份優質合同；鄧恩也至少在防守端證明了自己的價值。此外，狼隊的側翼也需要些補強，還有射手，越多越好的射手。
The point guard situation also remains murky. Rubio has been phenomenal while Dunn has struggled. Despite his existence as a living trade rumor, Rubio still has two more years left on his contract at a favorable rate in these cap-inflated times. At the very least, Dunn has acquitted himself well on the defensive end. The Wolves could use help on the wing and more shooting, always more shooting.
但目前而論，球隊還是要多多學習、多多經歷。季後賽邊緣可不是球迷們的最終目標，而且也解決不了球隊12年的季後賽荒。不過，用這段時間打出些經典而充滿競爭性的比賽也是可以的。
For now, though, there is still more to learn and more to experience. Life on the playoff periphery may not have been the end goal many imagined and it won’t help end a 12-year postseason drought. It does make for some important and compelling basketball down the stretch.
“這會讓事情有趣起來，”錫伯杜說。“對我們球隊，我想建立一種常規。如果你一心朝前看而跳過一些必要步驟，那這就是你失敗的開始。先瞭解你的對手，再建立好自己的常規習慣，不要在讚揚、批評之中迷失，不要眼高手低，不要讓他人的懦弱影響自己的勇氣。其他人怎麼想都不重要，我們想什麼、相信什麼才是最關鍵的。”
“It makes it interesting,” Thibodeau allowed. “For us, I want to establish a routine. If you look ahead and you skip over steps that’s how you slip. Know your opponent well, have your routine established, and don’t get lost whether it’s praise, criticism, what’s ahead, what some people may view as daunting. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. It only matters what we think and we believe.”
就這樣，卡爾-安東尼-唐斯早早來訓練了。這就是他的常規習慣，也讓他受益良多。他和狼隊都照著時間表按部就班地成長著，不緊不慢，恰到好處。
And so, Karl-Anthony Towns gets to work early. It’s his routine and it has served him well. He and the Wolves are progressing on their timetable and it’s happening right on schedule.
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