好開心!聯盟修改了砍人戰術!

It’s no secret how I feel about the strategy of intentionally fouling poor free throw shooters.

我對待向罰球差勁的球員執行砍人戰術的態度從來就不是什麼祕密。

Leagues are always hesitant to make rule changes, for what should be obvious reasons.

因爲一些顯而易見的理由，聯盟對於修改規則總是束手束腳。

For instance, rule changes like the introduction of the shot clock or the three point line make it all but impossible to compare statistics from different eras.

比如說，引入24秒進攻時間和三分線這兩次規則更迭，讓不同時代的戰術無法相提並論。

But that doesn’t mean you never make changes: you have to balance the needs of the game with tradition. Hopefully we can all agree that the shot clock and the three point line are both very good things.

但這並不意味着你做不得一丁點改變：你應該平衡傳統精神和現代需求。時代證明，24秒和三分線都有益於籃球運動的發展。

The league rightly overcame their reticence this summer and actually modified the rules concerning off the ball fouls — ultimately making a change that was almost completely meaningless. It was the worst of both worlds: daring to make a change, while doing nothing to address the problem.

在這個夏天，聯盟終於克服重重阻力，修改了一系列與無球犯規相關的規則——然而事實最終證明，這個修改大約確實毫無意義，在傳統精神和現代需求兩方面都不討好：妄圖做出改變，卻又沒解決問題。

In the last two Clippers’ games, we’ve had the extreme pleasure of watching terrific basketball through three and a half quarters, followed by the extreme displeasure of watching those games grind to a halt, essentially because Adam Silver is apparently too stupid or too scared to make a meaningful change.

由於亞當·肖華顯而易見的愚蠢或者怯懦，他沒能對無球犯規的規則做出有意義的改動，這導致在快船隊最近的兩場比賽中（11月12日快船打雷霆和11月13日快船打森林狼），前三節的比賽如火如荼，觀衆興致高昂，而在第四節過半，精彩戛然而止，之後的比賽萎靡不振，觀衆無精打采。

Thank goodness the Clippers have been winning most of their games by 40 or so, putting DeAndre Jordan on the bench in the fourth quarter while also placing the game far too out of reach to even bother with silly chicanery, no matter how unscrupulous the coach.

多虧快船隊在他們絕大多數比賽中都能痛宰對手四十分，讓比賽早早地失去懸念，從而讓德安德魯·喬丹在第四節穩坐板凳席上，遠離來自其他無恥的教練的狡詐行徑。

Let’s recap first: prior to this season, the rules awarded one free throw and the ball out of bounds to the offended team for fouls committed off the ball in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime.

讓我們首先來回顧一下無球犯規規則的變更：在這個賽季之前，在第四節最後兩分鐘和加時賽中，對無球隊員犯規會額外讓該球員所在球隊一罰一擲。

This season, they extended that rule to cover the final two minutes of all four quarters. Intentional, off the ball fouls at all other points in the game incur no additional penalty for the team committing the foul.

而這個賽季，聯盟官員擴大了這條規則的使用範圍，新規則的使用時間延伸到了每一節的最後兩分鐘。其他時間的無球犯規將不會給犯規球隊額外懲罰。

So if you’re scoring at home, the NBA took a practice that is completely outside of the spirit of the game and changed the rule book so that now they allow it during 40 out of 48 minutes, instead of allowing it during 46 out of 48 minutes.

如果你是一位老球迷，你當然會明白砍人戰術完全違背了NBA的傳統精神，而NBA修改規則之後，竟然只是允許它在48分鐘的比賽中可使用時間，從46分鐘降低到了40分鐘。

And they even screwed that part up. On Friday night in Oklahoma City, with seven seconds left in the first half and the Clippers not yet in the bonus, J.J. Redick intentionally fouled Victor Oladipo off the ball because the team had a foul to give.

更過分的是，他們還把其他環節搞砸了。週五晚上在俄克拉荷馬客場作戰時，上半場還有7秒結束，而快船隊還差一次犯規才達到罰球次數，JJ-雷迪克故意對維克托-奧拉迪波無球犯規。

Unfortunately, the new rule that takes affect in the final two minutes of each quarter is enforced IRRESPECTIVE of whether the team being fouled is in the bonus.

新規則馬上生效，在每一節的最後兩分鐘無球犯規必須罰球，不管球隊是否已經到達罰球上限。

The amazing thing is that the strategy continues to be ineffective, even when the foul shooter is missing free throws. On Friday night, the Thunder started fouling with 5:41 remaining and the Clippers ahead by three points.

而讓人意想不到的是，即便被砍球員總是罰丟，這項戰術仍然是低效的追分手段。週五晚上，距離比賽結束還有5分41秒時，雷霆隊祭出犯規戰術時，快船僅領先三分。

(Let’s briefly stop there, shall we: you’re at home, you’ve played 42 minutes against the team with the best record in basketball, a team you defeated just nine days prior, and it’s a one possession game. How about playing defense for the final six minutes? How about trying to win the game playing basketball, as opposed to employing a slimy gimmick? Is that too much to ask, Billy Donovan?)

（不好意思暫停一下，我有話要說：你們主場作戰，你們已經和史上最佳的球隊對抗了42分鐘，一支本賽季唯一一場輸球在九天剛剛貢獻給你們的球隊，前42分鐘的比賽驚心動魄扣人心絃。爲什麼不能在最後6分鐘全力防守？爲什麼不能堂堂正正地用籃球的方式來贏得比賽？爲什麼要用這種磨磨唧唧的無恥把戲？我問得是不是太過分了，比利·多諾萬教練？）

Teams forget that as they are fouling they are also taking themselves out of any semblance of offensive rhythm, while also ensuring that they will be facing a set defense every trip. And by the way, the Clippers have far and away the best defense in the NBA right now.

採取砍人戰術的球隊忽略了一點：當他們不停地用犯規中斷比賽時，他們其實也中斷了自己的進攻節奏，這就意味着他們每一次進攻都要面對敵人的嚴陣以待的防線。順便一提，目前快船的防守在全聯盟遙遙領先。

Consider two specific plays. After Luc Richard Mbah a Moute blocked a shot, the Clippers were running out in transition. The Thunder were scrambled, and were seemingly more concerned with finding Jordan in order to foul him, than with finding the ball.

我舉兩個例子。盧克-理查德-巴莫特封蓋對手之後，快船全隊攻防轉換。雷霆急忙撤防，並且將注意力放在小喬丹去哪兒了而不是球在誰的手上，以便實行砍人戰術。

Enes Kanter literally ignored Chris Paul while pointing at Jordan, apparently imploring one of his teammates to commit the intentional foul. Paul, alone behind the arc, calmly sank the three as the Thunder players tried to pull their collective heads out of their asses.

埃內斯-坎特指向小喬丹，明顯在乞求他的隊友們誰去給小喬丹犯個規，完全忽略了克里斯-保羅。於是保羅在三分線後，煢煢孑立，冷靜施射，球涮筐而入時，雷霆球員才恍然大悟，然爲時已晚。

Later, after the Thunder had called off the hack-a-Jordan and committed to playing defense, they immediately forced the Clippers into a turnover which led to an open corner three from Oladipo, which cut the lead back to three — right where we had started when the abomination began.

隨後，當雷霆隊取消砍喬丹戰術並且認真防守時，他們立刻製造了快船一個失誤並且讓奧拉迪波投中一個空位底角三分，將落後差距縮小到三分——終於回到了這場鬧劇開始時的分差。

But none of this is new. We’ve been here before, we’ve expressed our distaste for the practice, we’ve pointed out that it’s not even particularly effective.

這些結論並不新鮮。我們已經看到過類似的情形，我們已經表達過對這種犯規戰術的厭惡之情，我們已經指出了砍人戰術並不是那麼有效。

Instead, let’s talk about Doc Rivers for a moment. On Friday night, DeAndre Jordan was on the bench to begin the fourth quarter, checking in with 5:43 left in the game.

換個話題，讓我們聊一會道格·裏弗斯。週五晚上，德安德魯-喬丹在第四節開始的時候仍然坐在替補席，直到距離比賽結束還有5分43秒時纔回到場上。

Nick Collison fouled Jordan two seconds later, and the Thunder fouled him five more times over the next three minutes.

兩秒鐘後，尼克-科裏森已經完成了對他的犯規，隨後三分鐘內，雷霆隊又在他身上製造了五次犯規。

On Saturday, Jordan was once again resting at the start of the final period. He checked in with 5:52 remaining and the Timberwolves committed a whopping 15 fouls over the remainder of the game, beginning five seconds after Jordan took the floor. Ugh.

而在週六，小喬丹再一次無緣第四節上半場比賽。他在距離比賽結束5分52秒時替補上場，五秒鐘後裁判便吹了森林狼的犯規，而在比賽剩餘時間裏森林狼統共製造了15次犯規。呵呵！

We know that Jordan needs rest during the course of the game, but why not have him log his minutes at the START of the fourth, and plan to rest him in the period from six minutes left until two minutes left, prime time for hacking?

我們知道小喬丹在比賽過程中需要休息，但爲什麼不讓小喬丹在第四節首發上場，然後讓他從比賽結束還剩6分鐘時開始休息，直到最後兩分鐘——砍人戰術的“黃金時間”——再次上場呢？

With his current substitution pattern, Rivers is inviting opponents to send an ice cold Jordan straight to the line, which is exactly what happened on Friday and Saturday.

而他現在的輪轉安排讓小喬丹被送上罰球線時手感冰涼，就如週五和週六的比賽那樣。

Of course, an opposing coach could choose to commit five quick fouls and get into the bonus to begin the fourth quarter while Jordan is out there.

當然，對方教練可能會選擇當第四節開始而小喬丹在場時，快速犯規五次以達到罰球次數。

If that happens, you calmly take Jordan out and pad the lead with a parade to the line for 90% foul shooters like Jamal Crawford and Chris Paul.

如果發生了這種事，你可以換下小喬丹，而通過賈馬爾-克勞福德和克里斯-保羅這種90%命中率的罰球好手去罰球線狂轟亂炸來鞏固領先。

Yes, Doc prefers to keep his first and second units somewhat separate, and changing Jordan’s rest pattern would have him playing with the reserves while putting Marreese Speights on the floor with the starters for a few extra minutes.

沒錯，河文檔不喜歡把他的第一陣容和第二陣容混在一起，他不會改變小喬丹的輪換時間去讓他帶領替補陣容，而讓馬利斯-斯貝茨去和首發陣容多打幾分鐘。

But isn’t it worth it? Simply by tweaking when Jordan gets his rest, Rivers could significantly limit when opposing coaches can employ the strategy, and at the same time spare me the pain of watching that shit show.

但這樣改變非常值得啊！只是改變一下小喬丹的休息時間，就可以有效限制對方教練採用犯規戰術，並且還把我從屎一樣的觀賽體驗中釋放出來。

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