NBA選秀狀元艾頓 我要托起下落的太陽

With a 4-24 record, the Suns are an nix will have to play out the rest of this 82-game slog in turmoil. Owner Robert Sarver fired the team's general manager just days before the season, and is now reportedly threatening to move the team if the city doesn't give public funding to upgrade the team's decades-old arena. The team's best player, Devin Booker, has been sidelined by one injury or another for much of the season. And rookie head coach Igor Kokoskov is tasked with navigating his young team through all the madness.

4勝24負的戰績使太陽隊處於很尷尬的局面。太陽隊將不得不在這動盪不安的82場比賽中打完剩下的比賽。球隊老闆羅伯特·薩維爾在賽季前幾天解僱了球隊的總經理。據報道，如果鳳凰城沒有提供公共資金來升級球隊擁有着幾十年歷史的球館，他們將要把球隊遷走。作爲球隊最好的球員，德文·布克在本賽季的大部分時間裏都因傷病缺陣。新秀主教練伊戈爾·科科斯科夫的任務是帶領他的年輕球隊度過所有的難關。

It's all fed into the perception that Phoenix made a franchise-altering mistake by selecting center Deandre Ayton on the night of June 21, 2018. If only the Suns had gone instead with Luka Doncic, who is currently helping the Mavericks make an unexpected playoff Suns faced two roads diverging in the 2018 NBA draft, and went with the road well traveled by choosing a classic cornerstone center, Ayton, instead of the modern, positionless playmaker, Doncic.

所有人都被灌輸了這樣一種理念：菲尼克斯太陽隊在2018年6月21日晚上選擇了中鋒德安德烈·艾頓，這是一個改變球隊命運的錯誤選擇。如果太陽隊能選擇盧卡·東契奇，情況可能就好多了。東契奇現在正在幫助獨行者取得好成績，甚至是打進意想不到的季後賽。2018年NBA選秀大會中，太陽隊面臨着兩條不同的道路，他們選擇了一個傳統的基石中鋒艾頓，而不是現代的鋒位搖擺人東契奇。

It's too soon to make final judgments about players drafted less than six months ago, now almost one-third of the way through their rookie seasons. And consider the circumstances: Doncic fell into a dream scenario with an experienced head coach in Rick Carlisle, and supporting veterans that enhance and complement his current skill set. The last thing Ayton has is support.

現在對不到六個月的新秀球員做出最終判斷還爲時過早，目前幾乎是新秀賽季的三分之一。考慮一下當時的情況：東契奇加入了一隻比較理想的球隊，遇到了一位經驗豐富的主教練卡萊爾，而且有經驗的老將也爲他加強擴充了技能包。而艾頓唯一所擁有的就只有支持了。

NBA scouts and executives have long questioned Ayton's competitive spirit, and those questions have all carried into the NBA. Ayton's focus and effort are underwhelming, and he's had a habit of complaining on the court. Ayton too often he gets beat up the floor in transition, and outmuscledin the half court, like he does in the clip above by Clippers center Boban Marjanovic. Even when Ayton contests jump shots, he turns his head to watch the flight of the ball instead of following through with his contest. Watching Ayton, it seems like he's more worried about the results than he is channeling all his energy into the process (which can, of course, influence the results).

NBA球探和高管們長期以來一直在質疑艾爾頓的競爭精神，這些問題也都帶到了NBA。艾爾頓的專注和努力並沒有給人留下深刻的印象，而且他已經養成了在球場上抱怨的習慣。艾爾頓在轉換進攻中經常被打得灰頭土臉，並且在半場中顯得力不從心，就像他在快船中鋒博班·馬亞諾維奇對位時候所表現出來的一樣。甚至當艾爾頓在比賽中跳投時，他也會轉過頭去看球的飛行軌跡，而不是繼續專注比賽。觀察艾頓，他似乎更擔心結果，而不是將全部精力投入到這個過程中(當然，這可能會影響結果)。

From the moment Ayton was selected, the team's focus became clear: the Suns wanted to build an inside-out system around a perimeter scoring machine in Booker, and an interior presence in Ayton. There's a blueprint to be followed, and the Suns, despite how things look, are staying the course. Their draft-night trade for wing Mikal Bridges and signing of Trevor Ariza suggests there's an understanding that Ayton and Booker can be optimized if surrounded by 3-and-D wings.

從艾頓被選中的那一刻起，球隊的重點就變得清晰起來:太陽想要在布克和艾頓建立起一個內外兼備的得分系統。布克主攻外線，艾頓扛起內線的大旗。這樣就有了一個可遵循的藍圖，而太陽，不管事情看起來如何，都在繼續前進。他們在選秀之夜交換了米卡爾·布里奇，並簽下了特雷沃·阿里扎都表明他們的意圖，那就是艾爾頓和布克在3D球員的幫助下，可以放大他們的組合的效果。

Ayton is scoring an excellent 1.07 points per possession in the half court, which is comparable to the always efficient Steven Adams. Ayton is far more skilled, of course, though he hasn't always had opportunities to show it. Phoenix's point guard problem is apparent in its inability to feed Ayton, but the rookie should also be fighting harder to demand touches.

艾爾頓在半場的持球得分爲1.07分，與一向高效的亞當斯相當。當然，艾爾頓的技術要好得多，儘管他並不總是有機會表現出來。菲尼克斯太陽隊的控球后衛的問題很明顯，他不能給艾爾頓創造得分的機會，但是這位新秀也應該更加努力的去爭取持球權。

The season is young, and Ayton's offensive tools have already impressed. The flaws are there, but it's unreasonable to expect them to disappear so soon. The good part is everything that scouts lauded about his game in college has translated. The bad part is the same can be said about the concerns with his defense. Ayton makes slow reads in the pick-and-roll, but that's to be expected for any young big man—especially one on this horrific Suns team that doesn't play a lick of perimeter defense.

這個賽季還早，艾爾頓的進攻手段已經給人留下了深刻的印象。缺點的確存在，但期望這些缺點馬上消失是不合理的。最棒的是球探們對他在大學裏的比賽所稱讚的一切都已經兌現了。不好的地方是同樣可以用他的防守來說明。艾爾頓在擋拆中的移動速度很慢，但這對任何一個年輕的大個子來說都是意料之中的事，尤其是在這支連外線防守都沒有的太陽隊。

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