Reid Forgrave

The Minnesota Timberwolves won i n t h e m o s t u nTimberwolves way possible .

Heading into the fourth quarter， the Wolves were down nine points to the Portland Trail Blazers in a game that would determine which team would hold fourth place in the Western Conference -- the top of the nonWarriors/Rockets/Spurs tier. For the Timberwolves this season， being down nine points going into the fourth quarter would seem a death knell. Whatever the reason --and many basketball pundits have decided the reason is the same old Tom Thibodeau narrative， where an over-reliance on his starting five means his best players are gassed by the end of games -- the Wolves have not been a good fourthquarter team. By some metrics， in fact， they are the worst fourthquarter team in the NBA.

明尼蘇達(dá)森林狼用最不森林狼的方式贏下了比賽。在一場(chǎng)決定誰(shuí)能拿到西部第四，也就是除勇士，火箭，馬刺集團(tuán)外的第一位置的比賽中。森林狼在第四節(jié)開(kāi)始時(shí)落后波特蘭開(kāi)拓者9分。本賽季大多數(shù)時(shí)候，如果森林狼落后9分進(jìn)入第四節(jié)，這基本等同于輸?shù)舯荣悺o(wú)論原因到底是什么——太多專(zhuān)家將原因歸結(jié)于湯姆·錫伯杜的老問(wèn)題，即過(guò)度依賴(lài)首發(fā)，最好的球員在比賽最后精疲力盡——森林狼一直打不好第四節(jié)。事實(shí)上，他們是NBA第四節(jié)最差的球隊(duì)。

Check out the numbers： In the first three quarters of games， the Timberwolves ought to be considered among the NBAs elite. Their net rating through three quarters of games is plus-4.8. If they were able to keep that net rating for four quarters， that would rank fourth in the NBA -- behind the Warriors， Rockets and Raptors and virtually tied with the Celtic

看看數(shù)據(jù)：森林狼的前三節(jié)可以說(shuō)是聯(lián)盟頂尖水平。他們前三節(jié)的正負(fù)值為+4.8。如果能把這個(gè)數(shù)字延續(xù)到第四節(jié)，他們就能在聯(lián)盟排在第四，僅次于勇士，火箭和猛龍，與騎士并列。

Its in the fourth quarter of games where they fall apart. The Wolves net rating in fourth quarters is minus-10.1. Thats the worst in the NBA， and drags what would have been an impressive overall net rating all the way down to a middling 11th.

森林狼總是在第四節(jié)崩潰，他們?cè)诘谒墓?jié)的正負(fù)值為-10.1。這在全NBA排名墊底，直接導(dǎo)致球隊(duì)整體正負(fù)值下滑到聯(lián)盟中游的第11。

This is not a new problem. Last seasons Timberwolves lost 22 games in which they held doubledigit leads. They lost 11 games when they led by 15 or more points， a feat that hadnt been accomplished by an NBA team since the 1996-97 season. If just half of those blown 10-point leads had turned into wins， the Wolves would have morphed from one of the worst teams in the NBA into a playoff team.

這不是新問(wèn)題。上個(gè)賽季，森林狼有22場(chǎng)輸?shù)舻谋荣惱镌?jīng)有過(guò)兩位數(shù)的領(lǐng)先。有11場(chǎng)比賽，森林狼在領(lǐng)先15分或更多的情況下輸?shù)袅吮荣?，?996-97賽季開(kāi)始，還沒(méi)有第二支球隊(duì)打出過(guò)這么差的表現(xiàn)。如果浪費(fèi)兩位數(shù)領(lǐng)先優(yōu)勢(shì)的比賽能贏下其中一半，森林狼就能從NBA最爛球隊(duì)之一轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)榧竞筚惽蜿?duì)。

The Wolves knew this， which is why their big offseason splash was to acquire one of the leagues best players in crunch time： AllNBA wing Jimmy Butler. Butler is a beast for 48 minutes， but most important， he would be the beast when the Timberwolves need him most. Last season Butler averaged 4.3 points in the final five minutes of games where the margin was five points or less. That was the third-best mark in the league， behind Russell Westbrookand Isaiah Thomas. At the end of games， on offense as well as on defense， its hard to pick a better player to have on the floor than Jimmy Butler.

森林狼當(dāng)然明白這個(gè)問(wèn)題，這也是他們休賽期引進(jìn)聯(lián)盟關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻最強(qiáng)球員——全明星側(cè)翼吉米·巴特勒的原因。巴特勒能在48分鐘里保持強(qiáng)勁狀態(tài)，但最重要的是，當(dāng)森林狼最需要他的時(shí)候，他能化身為猛獸。上個(gè)賽季，比賽最后五分鐘兩隊(duì)分差不超過(guò)5分時(shí)，巴特勒能夠拿到4.3分的平均得分。這在聯(lián)盟排名第三，只比拉塞爾·威斯布魯克和伊塞亞·托馬斯低。比賽最后階段，不論是進(jìn)攻還是防守，很難找到比吉米·巴特勒更優(yōu)秀的球員。

What we saw was the team the Timberwolves front office was daydreaming of when it put together that monster offseason trade. Butler simply took over. He scored 11 of the Wolves final 16 points in their comeback， including four clutch free throws in the final minute. It was a perfect Jimmy Butler game； he played 35 minutes， scored 37 points， got six rebounds and five assists and thieved three steals. Most of all， he gave his team a fourth-quarter intensity and focus that it lacked last season. One more un-Wolves-like positive note from that game： Offseason acquisition Jamal Crawford came off the NBAs least-used bench and scored a season-high 23 points in 23 minutes.

面對(duì)開(kāi)拓者的那支球隊(duì)，正是森林狼管理層利用休賽期驚天交易組建球隊(duì)時(shí)夢(mèng)想的樣子。簡(jiǎn)單地說(shuō)，巴特勒接管了比賽。在森林狼反敗為勝的這場(chǎng)比賽里，球隊(duì)最后的16分有11分由巴特勒拿下，其中包括最后一分鐘的四次關(guān)鍵罰球。那是一場(chǎng)完美的吉米·巴特勒式的比賽：上場(chǎng)35分鐘，拿到37分，6個(gè)籃板，5次助攻和3個(gè)搶斷。最重要的是，他給球隊(duì)在第四節(jié)帶去了緊迫感和專(zhuān)注力，而這正是森林狼上賽季欠缺的。那場(chǎng)比賽還有一個(gè)很不森林狼的積極方面：作為NBA上場(chǎng)時(shí)間最少的板凳球員，休賽期森林狼簽下的賈馬爾·克勞福德在23分鐘里拿到了23分。

This is where that old Tom Thibodeau trope comes in： He runs his best players into the ground. National media have started beating this drum again in the past couple weeks， especially after Thibs played all five starters 38 or more minutes in an overtime loss to the 76ers， including 48 minutes for young franchise cornerstone KarlAnthony Towns. Deadspin published an anti-Thibs screed with the overwrought headline， "Tom Thibodeau is Destruction."

這里就要提到關(guān)于湯姆·錫伯杜的一個(gè)“老調(diào)”了：他會(huì)累垮自己最優(yōu)秀的球員。過(guò)去幾周，全美媒體又一次開(kāi)始提出這種說(shuō)法，特別是在森林狼加時(shí)輸給76人的比賽里，錫伯杜讓所有五名首發(fā)球員的上場(chǎng)時(shí)間都超過(guò)38分鐘，年輕的基石球員卡爾-安東尼·唐斯的時(shí)間達(dá)到了48分鐘。Deadspin網(wǎng)站發(fā)表了一篇標(biāo)題冗長(zhǎng)的反錫伯杜文章：錫伯杜就是毀滅。

All this criticism for a team that， if the season ended today， would be hosting a first-round playoff series in a city that hasnt sniffed the playoffs since the 2003-04 season， which also happens to be the only season in franchise history where the Wolves won a playoff series.

假如賽季現(xiàn)在結(jié)束，這些批評(píng)指向的是一個(gè)在季后賽首輪擁有主場(chǎng)優(yōu)勢(shì)的球隊(duì)。這個(gè)球隊(duì)從2003-04賽季開(kāi)始就再未品嘗過(guò)季后賽的滋味，那也恰好是森林狼隊(duì)史上第一次贏得季后賽系列賽的賽季。

So what of it？ Is minutes management by Thibodeau the only thing keeping this team from the NBAs elite？ Or is it a chicken-egg scenario， where Thibs has failed in his role as the teams president of basketball operations in getting a competent bench， so Thibs the head coach has to deal with a bench that he doesnt trust？

所以到底是什么呢？錫伯杜的時(shí)間管理是阻止森林狼成為NBA頂級(jí)球隊(duì)的唯一原因嗎？或者說(shuō)這是一個(gè)雞生蛋，蛋生雞的問(wèn)題，錫伯杜作為球隊(duì)籃球事務(wù)總裁沒(méi)能做好工作，沒(méi)能打造一個(gè)有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力的替補(bǔ)陣容，所以作為主教練的錫伯杜只能面對(duì)一個(gè)他無(wú)法信任的替補(bǔ)陣容？

Thibs is playing his starters a lot， period. Minnesotas bench averages a paltry 25.5 points， 27th in the league. And zero coaches in the league use their bench less than Thibs does in Minnesota. Minnesotas bench players average only 13 minutes at each position-- 2.6 fewer than the 29th-ranked bench， the New Orleans Pelicans. Amazingly， its nearly a full minute less per player per game than Thibs used his bench a year ago. Butler is third in the NBA in minutes per game； Andrew Wiggins is eighth and Towns is 13th.

錫伯杜讓首發(fā)打的時(shí)間很長(zhǎng)，這毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)。森林狼的替補(bǔ)球員只能得到可憐的25.5分，這在聯(lián)盟排名第27。聯(lián)盟中再?zèng)]有教練比錫伯杜更不愿意用替補(bǔ)了。森林狼每個(gè)位置的替補(bǔ)球員只有13分鐘上場(chǎng)時(shí)間——這比排在第29的新奧爾良鵜鶘還要少2.6分鐘。令人驚異的是，這比錫伯杜上賽季給替補(bǔ)球隊(duì)的時(shí)間還要少接近一分鐘。巴特勒的場(chǎng)均上場(chǎng)時(shí)間在聯(lián)盟排名第三，威金斯排在第八，唐斯則是第13。

"Like all teams， you play to your strengths， you cover up your weaknesses，" Thibs told me. "If you have young guys -- when you look at the wings， the wings usually play-- you look at LeBron and Harden， all those guys， theyre gonna play. Unless the guys older or hes injured， then you dont play him as much."

“和所有球隊(duì)一樣，你要發(fā)揮自己的優(yōu)勢(shì)，掩蓋劣勢(shì)?！卞a伯杜告訴我，“如果有年輕球員——觀察側(cè)翼球員，側(cè)翼球員通常是重點(diǎn)——你會(huì)看到勒布朗和哈登這些人，他們都會(huì)上場(chǎng)。除非他們年齡大了或者受傷了，那些才不會(huì)讓他們打太久?！?blockquote>"IVE PLAYED PLENTY OF MINUTES THROUGHOUT MY CAREER，" BUTLER TOLD ME. "WE TRAIN HARD ENOUGH IN THE SUMMER FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN IT. ITS ALL ABOUT TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY. THE MAJORITY OF IT IS MENTAL， FOR ME AND FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. IF YOU THINK THAT YOURE TIRED， YOU WILL BE TIRED. OTHERWISE， JUST FIGHT THROUGH. IM PRETTY SURE THERES A LOT HARDER THINGS THAT IVE ENDURED IN MY LIFE THAN PLAYING A COUPLE EXTRA MINUTES."“我整個(gè)職業(yè)生涯的上場(chǎng)時(shí)間都很多?！卑吞乩崭嬖V我，“我在夏天的訓(xùn)練足夠刻苦，足以讓我保持體能。重要的是照看好自己的身體。對(duì)我，對(duì)很多人來(lái)說(shuō)，很大一部分還是心理上的問(wèn)題。如果你覺(jué)得自己累了，你就累了。否則，只要挺過(guò)去就行。我相信我在人生中經(jīng)歷了比多打幾分鐘更艱難的事情?！?/blockquote>

Interpretation： Of course Thibs the coach is going to play his best players a ton of minutes. Thats what he believes gives his team the best chance to win. For Thibs the coach， winning today is the most important thing.

換句話說(shuō)：作為教練的錫伯杜當(dāng)然會(huì)讓他最好的球員打很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。他認(rèn)為這能給球隊(duì)贏球的最大機(jī)會(huì)。對(duì)教練錫伯杜來(lái)說(shuō)，贏在當(dāng)下是最重要的事情。

But thats why teams generally have a different person in the front office whose role is to look out for the teams long-term future as the head coach looks out for the immediate future. The dual role Thibs has for the Timberwolves is increasingly rare in todays NBA， and perhaps this is why： He has to balance in his mind the coachs win-today mentality with the executives win-more-tomorrow mentality. Fair or not， Thibs and his overreliance on starters took much of the blame for the injuries and wear and tear that severely hampered the careers of Derrick Rose， Joakim Noah and Luol Deng. Some even blame Thibs for overplaying Zach LaVine and causing his ACL tear last season.

主教練為球隊(duì)不遠(yuǎn)的未來(lái)負(fù)責(zé)，這也正是球隊(duì)通常會(huì)在管理層安排另一個(gè)人負(fù)責(zé)球隊(duì)未來(lái)發(fā)展的原因。錫伯杜在森林狼承擔(dān)雙重角色的情況在如今的NBA越來(lái)越稀少，也許原因如下：他必須在主教練“贏在當(dāng)下”的思維及管理人員“未來(lái)贏得更多”的思維中找到平衡。不論是否公平，錫伯杜和他過(guò)于依賴(lài)首發(fā)的做法，被外界看作是德里克·羅斯，喬金·諾阿和盧爾·鄧遭遇傷病，職業(yè)生涯受到嚴(yán)重影響的主要原因。有些人甚至指責(zé)錫伯杜，說(shuō)他過(guò)度使用扎克·拉文，才導(dǎo)致后者上賽季前十字韌帶撕裂。

I asked a couple Wolves players the same question： Is playing too many minutes affecting them late in games？ Perhaps they were observing the locker room code to keep internal issues behind closed doors， but two of this teams stars seemed to relish in playing those heavy minutes.

我問(wèn)了幾個(gè)森林狼球員相同的問(wèn)題：上場(chǎng)時(shí)間太多是否影響了他們比賽末段的表現(xiàn)？也許他們遵守了更衣室規(guī)則，把內(nèi)部問(wèn)題留在內(nèi)部，但還是有兩個(gè)明星球員似乎喜歡打很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的比賽。

"At this moment， it hasnt hit me，" Wiggins said with a shrug. "I dont feel tired or nothing like that."

“現(xiàn)在沒(méi)有影響到我?！蓖鹚孤柫寺柤纾拔覜](méi)覺(jué)得累?！?/p>

"Ive played plenty of minutes throughout my career，" Butler told me. "We train hard enough in the summer for me to be able to maintain it. Its all about taking care of your body. The majority of it is mental， for me and for a lot of people. If you think that youre tired， you will be tired. Otherwise， just fight through. Im pretty sure theres a lot harder things that Ive endured in my life than playing a couple extra minutes."

“我整個(gè)職業(yè)生涯的上場(chǎng)時(shí)間都很多。”巴特勒告訴我，“我在夏天的訓(xùn)練足夠刻苦，足以讓我保持體能。重要的是照看好自己的身體。對(duì)我，對(duì)很多人來(lái)說(shuō)，很大一部分還是心理上的問(wèn)題。如果你覺(jué)得自己累了，你就累了。否則，只要挺過(guò)去就行。我相信我在人生中經(jīng)歷了比多打幾分鐘更艱難的事情?！?/p>

The NBA is different today. From 1990 until 2011， the NBA leader in minutes averaged more than 40 minutes in every season but one. Since 2011， the number of minutes played for the league leader has steadily crept downward. LeBron James led the league with 37.76 minutes last year； a decade ago， the top 20 players all averaged more. The "rest revolution" is here and only growing in support.

現(xiàn)在的NBA是個(gè)不同的世界。從1990年到2011年，除了一個(gè)賽季，其余每個(gè)賽季NBA上場(chǎng)時(shí)間最多的球員出場(chǎng)時(shí)間都會(huì)超過(guò)40分鐘。從2011年開(kāi)始，最高上場(chǎng)時(shí)間逐年下降。上個(gè)賽季，勒布朗·詹姆斯以37.76分鐘領(lǐng)銜全聯(lián)盟；十年前，上場(chǎng)時(shí)間最多的前20名球員都比這個(gè)時(shí)間多?！靶菹⒏锩本驮谘矍?，而且支持者越來(lái)越多。

We wont know the lasting effects of Thibodeaus current minutes management until years down the road. By then， if damage has occurred， itll be way too late to fix.

直到賽季結(jié)束，我們才能知道錫伯杜現(xiàn)在時(shí)間管理的持續(xù)效果。但到了那時(shí)，如果真出現(xiàn)損害，想要修復(fù)便為時(shí)已晚。