A Vision Still Alive and Well Posted Tuesday, March 24, 2009 by Eli Zaret @ Pistons.com Blog Squad “You always look for a silver lining and the silver lining is that our guys don’t take it for granted anymore. Our guys know how hard you have to play now; you can never be complacent and that’s the point I’ve been making last 2-3 years. It took this type of adversity and struggle, embarrassment even to make that point. Nobody takes it for granted anymore. This season has hammered it in for everybody. It’s been like a dash of cold water in everybody’s face.” 「 你总是寻找着一线希望，而那是希望我们这些家伙不会再认为这是理所当然的事情。 我们知道你们现在必须要更努力地奋斗；你们不会再显得自满，而这正是我这两三年 所做的目标。没有人会再显得自信满满。这个球季对於任何人来说都已经如此铸成。 这就像冷水泼溅在大家的脸上。 」 It has, and those words from Joe Dumars explain it pretty well. I had just admitted to him that in 2006, my first year working with the Pistons, the team won 64 games. When they actually lost one you thought, “What went wrong? That wasn’t supposed to happen.” Joe Dumars就是这麽说，他解释的非常清楚。 我必须承认，当2006年时。 那是我第一年在活塞工作，而球队赢了64场比赛。 当他们输掉其中一场比赛的时候你反而会迟疑： 「怎麽了? 这不应该发生的吧。」 For seven seasons, from 2002 through last year, the Pistons averaged 55 wins. Winning was assumed, accepted and taken for granted. They won because Joe had a vision and he pulled it off. He won without a super star and Piston fans loved the hard-working, blue collar style. Ben Wallace was the symbol of the type of player Joe looked for, guys who had something to prove; players who had been rejected elsewhere and wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves. Ben had been kicked around; Chauncey Billups had worn five uniforms in six years; Michael Jordan had dogged Rip Hamilton in Washington and Rasheed Wallace had been perceived as a loose cannon malcontent in Portland. 从2002年至今，也过了七个球季。活塞平均每季可以拿下55胜。总习惯比赛会拿下胜利。 球队会胜利得归功於Joe的愿景，而他将其一步步实现。他的胜利并不是靠着超级明星，而 活塞迷也热爱这种蓝领的奋斗精神。Ben Wallace就是Joe所寻找的瑰宝中相当典型的代表 ，他有着才能想展现；但在其他球队却处处碰壁。Ben被踢来踢去，而Chauncey Billups在 六年内换过五队的球衣； Michael Jordan也对Hamilton的才能失望，Rasheed在波特兰也 被视为散漫的不安定份子 So, what eventually happened? Ben’s magic legs lost some of their spring and Joe wisely let someone else pick up the tab. His loss was massive, but fact was, the guy was on the downside of his career and history has proven that. People have selective memories. Chauncey had shown signs of slowing the last two years and didn’t seem to bring his best every night. On top of that, three straight losses in the Eastern Conference Finals weren’t good enough. So Joe made a conscious decision that he wouldn’t let this team slip to 20 wins like the Bad Boys eventually did. He would be proactive. He would stop the bleeding before it started. 那又如何，事实呢？ Ben神奇的双脚失去了他们的春天，而Joe聪明地找了其他人来顶替这个位子。 失去他所造成的损失固然很大，但事实是Ben确实正走向生涯下坡。 人们总是会选择性的记忆。Chauncey在近两年看起来似乎也显得迟缓了些，并且不再是 每晚都表现出他最棒的一面。最重要的是，连续挑战3次东区冠军失利对我们而言并不够 好。所以Joe做了一个合理的决定，他不会让活塞变成一个20胜的球队，就像前一代坏孩 子那样。他主动的面对这个问题，在伤口开始喷血前就做好止血的准备。 Two pieces of very good news: 两个很棒的好消息： 1. There isn’t a team better poised for future success than the Pistons. Teams around the league are bleeding money and are prepared to all but give great players away to escape salary. The Pistons will be well below the salary cap with greater options to trade for or lure top tier free agents. 1.没有球队在换血时期的平衡做的比活塞更好。联盟中其他球队面对相同情况时只会 疯狂烧钱、或者送走很棒的球员只为了清出薪资空间。而活塞在这方面做的很棒， 将薪资空间远远维持在门槛以下，有更多选择的交易机会、甚至在自由球员市场大 干一场。 2. This season isn’t over. The Pistons have struggled, but have also been to the mountain before and as Arron Afflalo says, “We don’t fear anybody. You have to beat the best to be the best, and whether we face them in round one or later, it doesn’t matter.” Michael Curry says, “When we’re healthy, (and they will be soon) I like our chances against anybody.” 2.这个球季还没有结束。活塞似乎陷入了麻烦，但他们也曾经达到巅峰过。就像 Arron Afflalo说的，「我们不畏惧任何人。我们总是干掉最强的来证明我们是 最强的，无论我们将在第一轮或晚一点面对上，那都无所谓。」而Curry说，「 只要我们保持健康，(很快就会如此)我们乐於迎战任何人。」 When the Pistons won in 2004, everybody had a theory. Some said it was because Ben was a great leader and a defensive giant. Others credited Larry Brown. The next guy would say it’s the All Star back court of Billups and Hamilton. Another would say it was getting Rasheed Wallace at the trade deadline. And some were sure that it was simply Dumars’ vision of what a team was, and that it was his genius that created it. 当球队拿下2004年的总冠军，每个人都有各自的一套理论。 有人说那是因为Ben是个伟大 的队长，并且是防守端的巨人。 也有人归功於Larry Brown。 也有人说是因为後场的明 星双枪Billups与Hamilton。也有人说是因为交易截止日前交易来Rasheed Wallace这最後 一块拼图。而也有人深信，这是因为Dumars的愿景收成的时候到了，是他的睿智创造了 这个机会。 Now that Dumars is transitioning and the win-loss column has temporarily paid the price, people try to explain the source of the decline just as they tried to explain the successes. Is it the rookie coach? Was it trading Billups? Is it that Iverson doesn’t fit? Or, has Joe lost his touch? 现在Dumars正处於球队的过度期，球队的战绩难免经历短暂的阵痛，人们试着解释球队 衰败的理由，就像他们总在寻找球队背後成功的原因那样。是因为菜鸟教练害的?是因为 把Billups交易走? 是因为Iverson不适合我们的队形? 还是...Joe失去自己特有的格调? He hasn’t. He’s willingly taken a step back in order to make a bigger leap forward, realizing full well that in a situation where players and fans have taken 55 wins for granted, he’d suffer the slings and arrows for maintaining his vision for success. 不，他没有。他心甘情愿地後退一步，只为了下一步我们能向前跳的更远，当球员与球迷 都认为单季55胜是理所当然的情况下，他为了维护他下一步成功的愿景得承受更多来自四 面八方的质疑与箭头。 -- 此文翻译自活塞官网的名家部落格。 --

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