https://reurl.cc/7E4kQ1 Generally, Chris Finch despises the notion of a basketball team “ flipping a switch” for important games or portions of the season. 一般而言，Chris Finch 非常鄙视篮球队在重要比赛或球季特定阶段才「切 换模式（开关）」这种观念。 Coaches tend to believe you develop habits throughout the course of the campaign that carry you through high-leverage moments. 教练们通常认为，你必须在整个赛季的过程中养成习惯，才能支撑你度过高 压的关键时刻。 But Minnesota didn’t necessarily do that this season. The Wolves are a 49-win, No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the second consecutive season. The difference this time around is there was no 17-4 sprint to the finish to inspire confidence heading into the postseason, nor the league’s fourth-best net rating touted in 2025. 不过，灰狼队这季的情况不太一样。他们确实连续两年拿 49 胜、以西区第 六种子打进季後赛，差别在於，这次季末少了那种 17 胜 4 败的爆发力来拉 抬球队士气，也没有像 2025 年那样，数据摆在那边说自己是联盟前段班。 Everything on the record suggests the Wolves are … well, average. 一切都显示灰狼队表现得……嗯，很平庸。 They’re 13th in offensive rating, eighth in defense and 10th in net rating. That’s not the recipe for a championship contender. 他们本季进攻效率排名第 13、防守效率排名第 8、净效率值排名第 10。这 并不是夺冠热门的标准配方。 But was the product Minnesota put on the floor over the course of the 82-game regular season indicative of the team’s true ceiling? Fresh off consecutive Western Conference finals appearances, Anthony Edwards noted at points in the regular season, and again this week, that it occasionally felt as though the Timberwolves were simply trying to get to the playoffs. 但是，在 82 场例行赛中所展现出的内容，是否能真实代表这支球队的上限 ？刚经历过连续两次西区决赛的 Anthony Edwards，在例行赛期间以及本周 都曾指出，有时候感觉球队只是在试图磨进季後赛。 “But we’re here now, and all the other excuses are out the window,” Edwards said. “So, it’s time.” 「但我们现在已经站在这里，其他的藉口都该烟消云散了，」Anthony Edwards 说道。「所以，是时候了。」 Time for the Timberwolves to reveal themselves — are they true playoff risers or a team that simply wasn’t at the level they aspired to compete at back in September? 现在是灰狼队揭晓真面目的时刻。真正的季後赛强队，或是实力根本未达去 年九月所渴望竞争水平的球队？ “I’ve said it all year. We know the team we can be and who we have been. It’s about whether we can maintain that,” Finch said. “You don’t ever really want to be a flip-the-switch team, but we do have a switch to flip and we have to flip it now. When we do that, everybody kind of becomes the best version of themselves and that brings out that continuity and connection that we need.” 「我整年都在讲，我们很清楚自己的潜力，也知道我们能打出什麽样子，关 键就是能不能维持住，」Finch 说。「我们不想当那种非得切换模式的球队 ，但既然我们有这个开关，现在就得把它打开。当大家进入那个状态时，每 个人都能发挥出最好的水准，这正是我们所需要的团队默契。」 So, a switch indeed exists? 所以，那个「开关」真的存在吗？ “We’ll see,” Finch said with a chuckle. “We’ll see.” 「等着瞧吧，」Chris Finch 笑着说。「我们走着瞧。」 Perhaps it’s what Minnesota flipped down the backstretch last season in a desperate, and eventually successful, attempt to dodge the play-in tournament. The Wolves then parlayed that closing run into a pair of impressive series victories. 或许这就是上个赛季在最後冲刺阶段，为了拚命躲过附加赛而开启的东西， 且最终取得了成功。当时灰狼队将那股气势延续到了季後赛，赢下了两轮令 人印象深刻的系列赛。 There’s an argument to be made Minnesota is simply better suited for playoff basketball. Donte DiVincenzo noted the playoffs are physical, and the Wolves are a physical team. 有一种说法认为，这支球队根本就是更适合季後赛风格。Donte DiVincenzo 指出，季後赛讲求对抗，而灰狼队正是一支强悍的队伍。 “Sometimes in the regular season, the whistles are a little bit earlier than it is in the playoffs,” DiVincenzo said. “So, just being able to be physical at a full 94 feet (in the postseason), being able to switch things, being able to just be ourselves.” 「有时候在例行赛，裁判响哨的速度比季後赛快得多，」Donte DiVincenzo 说。「所以，（在季後赛）能够在全场 94 英尺的范围内施加身体对抗，能 够进行换防，能够做回我们自己。」 The idea of themselves, anyway. 总之，这是他们理想中的那个样子。 Minnesota’s 2024 Western Conference semifinals victory over Denver remains fresh in the minds of fans, especially this week ahead of the playoff rematch. In that series, the Timberwolves’ used their harassing defense to rattle and, ultimately, wear down Denver. 灰狼队在 2024 年西区准决赛击败金块队的往事依然让球迷记忆犹新，尤其 在本周季後赛再次交手前。在那次系列赛中，灰狼队利用侵略性的防守来动 摇并最终磨垮了金块队。 But that was Minnesota’s identity that season, a year in which the Wolves sported the league’s top defensive rating. They haven’ t been that team for awhile. Whether the capability to slow the NBA’s best offense four times in a seven-game set still exists will be revealed this week. 但那是灰狼队该赛季运作的主轴，当时球队拥有全联盟第一的防守效率。他 们已经好一阵子不是那样的球队了。能否在七场系列赛中四次拖慢这支联盟 最强进攻球队，答案将在本周揭晓。 If the Wolves have simply procrastinated on bringing their best defensive effort all season, test day is Saturday. Time to put pen to paper. 如果说灰狼队整季都在防守上没拿出全力，那周六就是见真章的时候。别再 混了，是时候把实力展现出来。 “We don’t have a choice. And when our group doesn’t have a choice, usually it shows up,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “ So, once again, it’s all in our hands. It’s all in our power. We ’re facing a great opponent, and we know that if we don’t come out hungry, we don’t have a chance.” 「我们别无选择。而当我们这群人没有退路时，通常就会有所发挥，」中锋 Rudy Gobert 说。「所以，这一切再次掌握在我们手中，主动权在我们。面 对强大的对手，如果没有一开始就展现求胜意志，我们就毫无胜算。」 On paper, this is a mismatch. Denver was better than Minnesota this season. Nikola Jokic is the best player in basketball. When their starting five was healthy — as they will be to open the series — the Nuggets were elite this season. 从帐面实力来看，这是一场不对称的对决。金块队本季表现优於灰狼队。 Nikola Jokic 是当今篮坛最强的球员。当金块队的先发五人健康时，他们本 季是菁英等级。 Minnesota’s promise is more conceptual, based largely on past success. The Wolves went 9-10 over their final 19 games. Edwards and Jaden McDaniels missed games down the stretch due to injury. 灰狼队主要建立在过去的成功之上。最後 19 场比赛中仅取得 9 胜 10 败。 Anthony Edwards 和 Jaden McDaniels 季末也因伤缺席了部分场次。 But the hope for the Timberwolves is some rest last week, leading into an intense week of practice, was enough to restore the form needed to run through a tenacious Western Conference playoff bracket. 但对於球员来说，寄望上周的休息以及後续一周密集训练，足以让他们找回 所需的状态，以冲出强敌环伺的西区季後赛签表。 “I just think we know who we are as a team, and who we can be and the potential we can play at. It’s really on us to do it,” Wolves forward Julius Randle said. “I think everybody feels good about themselves individually, and collectively as a group, we feel good as well. It was good, everybody kind of found their groove and got what they needed as the season ended. Now, we’re putting it all together and it’s exciting to go out there and battle.” 「我们心里都有数，我们是什麽样的球队，能打出什麽样的表现。现在关键 就在自己身上，得看我们怎麽去兑现了。」前锋 Julius Randle 说。「不管 是个人还是团队，现在大家感觉都很好。赛季尾声大家陆续找回了状态，也 调整到位了。现在是时候把一切整合起来，准备上场战斗，这种感觉真的很 棒。」 If the proverbial switch is flipped and the Wolves upset Denver, there will be little reason to doubt this team going forward, whether in these playoffs or seasons to come. Plug your nose and cover your eyes as the Timberwolves meander their way through the regular season, then sit back and enjoy the show when it truly matters. 如果那个传说中的「开关」被开启，且爆冷击败金块队，那麽无论在今年季 後赛还是未来的赛季中，都没有理由再怀疑这支球队。以後看他们打例行赛 荒腔走板的样子，你就选择眼不见为净就好，等到真正关键时刻，再坐下来 欣赏他们的表演。 But should Minnesota stumble in Round 1, and look like the less-than-elite squad it was all year in the process, it’ll be more than fair to wonder if there was ever a switch to flip at all. Or if this team simply suffers from an electrical shortage. 但若是在首轮止步，过程还打得完全不像支强队，那大家肯定会问：那个开 关真的存在吗？还是这支球队其实早就断电了？ “It’s a new season, got a fresh start,” Wolves forward Naz Reid said. “We’ve got to come into the playoffs with a fresh mindset, understanding that the one goal, one mindset, and that’s to win.” 「季後赛是新的战场，一切重新来过，」Naz Reid 表示。「我们必须换个心 态去面对，记住我们来到这的目的只有一个，想法也只有一个，就是拿下胜 利。」 --- - Ant伤势复原状况，有无100%回到竞争状态。 - 不像过去几季，今年团队显然没有及时在例行赛後段调整到位， 至少帐面上成绩告诉外界如此。 那现在必须像打开开关一样，状态要在两周内瞬间跳升。 或许球队经过几季季後赛洗礼，可能相对从容，但容错空间也很小。 - 灰狼队必须要再次证明，他们是为季後赛而生。 --

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