William C Rhoden

What makes a great NBA coach？

一個(gè)偉大的NBA教練需要什么特質(zhì)？

A question with a multitude of answers has intensified throughout the NBA playoffs， but especially in the East. The centers of attention are Brad Stevens and Tyronn Lue.

隨著NBA季后賽的進(jìn)行，這樣一個(gè)有著眾多答案的問(wèn)題會(huì)被越來(lái)越多的人提及，特別是在東部。人們的焦點(diǎn)就是布拉德·斯蒂文斯和泰倫·盧。

Stevens is described as the Celtics "bright young coach" who wins with strategy and guile. Lue is the Cleveland head coach who wins， so goes the narrative， because of LeBron James. Forget that both coaches are 41 years old.

在外界眼中，斯蒂文斯是凱爾特人“前途光明的年輕教練”，他依靠策略和狡猾贏得比賽。按照人們的說(shuō)法，騎士主教練盧贏球就靠勒布朗·詹姆斯。別忘了，這兩人都是41歲。

This media-instigated double standard has become more pointed， and convoluted， with each game these teams play.

隨著兩隊(duì)在季后賽交手，由媒體煽動(dòng)的雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)變得更有指向性，更加復(fù)雜。

When the Celtics win， Stevens takes a step closer to the Hall of Fame despite having won no NBA titles， no conference titles. When the Celtics lose， as they did by 30 points on Saturday， its because of Bostons youth.

凱爾特人贏球時(shí)，斯蒂文斯越來(lái)越接近名人堂，盡管他沒(méi)有贏過(guò)NBA總冠軍，也沒(méi)有贏過(guò)分區(qū)冠軍。當(dāng)凱爾特人輸球時(shí)，就像周六他們輸了30分那樣，那不過(guò)是因?yàn)榍蜿?duì)太年輕。

Conversely， when Cleveland wins， James gets the credit； when Cleveland loses， its Lues fault.After the Cavaliers lopsided Game 3 win， I asked Lue about what appeared to be his no-win predicament.

相反，當(dāng)騎士贏球時(shí)，功勞屬于詹姆斯；當(dāng)騎士輸球時(shí)，一切都是盧的錯(cuò)。騎士在東部決賽第三場(chǎng)大勝時(shí)，我詢(xún)問(wèn)了盧有關(guān)他永遠(yuǎn)得不到贊許的尷尬處境。

"At the end of the day， I dont care，" a weary Lue said. "I do what I do to the best of my ability； the outside noise doesnt bother me."

“不管怎么說(shuō)，我不在乎?！逼v的盧回答，“我盡了自己最大努力，外部的噪音不會(huì)影響我?！?/p>

During his playing career， Lue played with Michael Jordan， Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal. He knows the benefits of playing with Hall of Fame-caliber players.

球員時(shí)代，盧曾經(jīng)與邁克爾·喬丹，科比·布萊恩特和沙奎爾·奧尼爾做過(guò)隊(duì)友。他知道和名人堂級(jí)別球員做隊(duì)友的好處。

"I played with all those guys， so I know what it takes to win，" he said. "LeBrons a great player； we wouldnt win if it wasnt for him. I understand that. Thats how it goes."

“我和那些人一起打過(guò)比賽，所以我知道需要付出什么才能贏球。”他說(shuō)，“勒布朗是偉大的球員，如果沒(méi)有他，我們不會(huì)贏球。這我明白，就是這樣?！?/p>

On Sunday， I went to the Cavaliers practice to follow up on that question — what makes a great coach — and to ask one more： What are the perils of coaching a megastar？

周日我去了騎士訓(xùn)練場(chǎng)，想要跟蹤“偉大教練需要什么特質(zhì)”這個(gè)問(wèn)題。我還想問(wèn)一個(gè)問(wèn)題：做超級(jí)巨星的主教練有什么不好？

Larry Drew， the Cavaliers associate coach， described a multitude of factors that define a great NBA coach. Drew played 11 NBA seasons， after which he was an assistant for five teams and a head coach in Atlanta and Milwaukee.

騎士助教拉里·德魯描述了偉大NBA教練具備的多種因素。德魯在NBA打過(guò)11個(gè)賽季，之后他在五支球隊(duì)做過(guò)助教，也擔(dān)任過(guò)老鷹和雄鹿的主教練。

"It starts with the coachs ability to relate to players，" Drew said. "A great coach has to know players， know how to put players in a position to be successful and has to know how to adjust." The greatest challenge for an NBA coach who leads a team with a megastar player is gaining the players respect. "If they see youre not on point and you dont know exactly what youre doing， they can lose respect for you，" Drew said.

“首先，是教練和球員產(chǎn)生情感共鳴的能力?！钡卖斦f(shuō)，“偉大的教練需要了解球員，知道如何讓他們進(jìn)入能夠取得成功的狀態(tài)，知道如何調(diào)整?！睂?duì)于帶領(lǐng)擁有超級(jí)巨星球隊(duì)的主教練，最大的挑戰(zhàn)在于如何贏得球員的尊重。“如果他們覺(jué)得你說(shuō)話不得要點(diǎn)，不知道自己在做什么，你就會(huì)失去他們的尊重。”德魯說(shuō)。

The challenge is compounded for anyone who coaches James because his basketball IQ is off the charts.

由于詹姆斯的智商極高，擔(dān)任他的主教練還會(huì)面臨更為復(fù)雜的挑戰(zhàn)。

"LeBron is as sharp as they come，" Drew said. "Youve got to be pinpoint with your strategy， with what you do， why you do it and what happens if it doesnt work."

“勒布朗非常犀利。”德魯說(shuō)，“你的策略必須明確，每個(gè)人做什么，為什么這么做，如果不執(zhí)行會(huì)發(fā)生什么，這必須明確?！?/p>

"All those types of guys，" Drew added， referring to iconic players such as James， "thats what they expect. Anything less will likely end in failure."

“這種類(lèi)型的人，這就是他們想知道的。做不到就會(huì)面臨失敗?！钡卖斨傅氖穷?lèi)似詹姆斯的球員。

Having generational players like James can make coaching a no-win challenge： The head coach gets the blame and very little of the credit.

擁有詹姆斯這樣劃時(shí)代的球員，教練可能面對(duì)的是無(wú)法成功的挑戰(zhàn)：責(zé)任都在主教練，而他們不會(huì)得到應(yīng)有的贊譽(yù)。

James is often projected as Clevelands shadow coach and stealth general manager.

詹姆斯經(jīng)常被人看作騎士的影子主教練和幕后總經(jīng)理。

This is Lues reality. He has made peace with it but believes that type of talk slights his staff. "What it does is take shots at people who are working hard， trying to do an excellent job，" Lue said. "Thats the hard part."

這就是泰倫·盧面對(duì)的現(xiàn)實(shí)。他已經(jīng)平靜地接受了這一現(xiàn)實(shí)，但他認(rèn)為這種說(shuō)法是對(duì)球隊(duì)工作人員的侮辱?！斑@么說(shuō)只是在侮辱那些努力工作，試圖做出好成績(jī)的人?！北R說(shuō)，“這是最艱難的部分?！?p>

"AS MUCH AS YOU WANT TO WIN FOR THE ORGANIZATION， FOR THE CITY OF CLEVELAND， YOU STILL HAVE EVERYDAY LIFE STUFF THAT HAPPENS THATS BIGGER THAN BASKETBALL."

“盡管很想為球隊(duì)，為克利夫蘭贏下冠軍，但你還要生活，這比籃球更重要。”

In the 2016 NBA Finals， Cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Golden State. Lue replaced David Blatt at midseason and led the Cavaliers to the franchises first NBA title.

2016年NBA總決賽，騎士從1比3落后的局面中走出，反敗為勝戰(zhàn)勝金州勇士。盧在賽季中取代大衛(wèi)·布拉特，帶領(lǐng)球隊(duì)奪得隊(duì)史上的第一個(gè)NBA總冠軍。

Lue pointed out that in three out of the four Finals victories， Cleveland held Golden States vaunted offense in check.

盧指出，四場(chǎng)勝利中的三場(chǎng)，騎士限制了勇士賴(lài)以成名的進(jìn)攻。

"We hold them to 89 points on their home court in Game 7. LeBrons not doing that，" Lue said， simply making the point that his staff did an effective job of putting schemes together to stop the Warriors high-powered offense.

“第七場(chǎng)在他們的主場(chǎng)，我們只讓他們得了89分。做到這一點(diǎn)的不是勒布朗?！北R說(shuō)，他想說(shuō)的是，自己的團(tuán)隊(duì)制定了優(yōu)秀的計(jì)劃，行之有效地限制了勇士隊(duì)強(qiáng)大的進(jìn)攻火力。

"That says a lot. We have a great staff."

“這說(shuō)明了很多，我們有著優(yōu)秀的團(tuán)隊(duì)?！?/p>

This is the flip side of coaching a generational player.

這就是執(zhí)教劃時(shí)代球員的另一面。

Critics say that Phil Jackson would not have had his titles in Chicago without Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen， or in Los Angeles without ONeal and Bryant.

評(píng)判者說(shuō)，芝加哥沒(méi)有邁克爾·喬丹和斯科特·皮蓬，洛杉磯沒(méi)有沙克·奧尼爾和科比·布萊恩特，菲爾·杰克遜也不會(huì)拿到冠軍。

Its hard to coach superstars， Lue said. "You have to get them to buy into your plan， your vision. You must have a shared vision."

盧表示，執(zhí)教超級(jí)巨星是一件困難的事。“你得讓他們信服你的計(jì)劃和你的觀點(diǎn)。你們對(duì)事物必須有著同樣的看法?！?/p>

"The players run the league，" Lue said."This is not college， where the coach runs it. Its not overseas. This is the NBA， so when you have those great players， they run the league. If theyre not happy with you， youll be gone."

“球員掌控聯(lián)盟?！北R說(shuō)，“這里不是大學(xué)，那里才是教練做主。這也不是海外，這是NBA，所以，有那些偉大的球員掌控聯(lián)盟。如果他們不喜歡你，你就得走人?！?/p>

As we concluded the conversation， Lue thought about the future and said at some point in his head-coaching career， he would like to coach a team of younger， less experienced players.

Obviously， the run with James and a veteran Cavaliers team has been great.

對(duì)話結(jié)束后，盧考慮了未來(lái)，他希望以后的執(zhí)教生涯中，自己能有機(jī)會(huì)成為一支年輕，經(jīng)驗(yàn)欠缺球隊(duì)的主教練。顯然，和詹姆斯以及擁有眾多老將的騎士一起奮斗是一段美好的經(jīng)歷。

"Ive seen that side. Ive dealt with a veteran team for the last three years，" Lue said. "If I get a chance or an opportunity， I would like to coach younger talent to see if I can coach those guys to take on my personality， coach them and mold them to the team I want them to be."

“我看過(guò)這一邊的景象了，過(guò)去三年我面對(duì)的是一支老將球隊(duì)?！北R說(shuō)，“如果有機(jī)會(huì)，我想執(zhí)教更年輕的球隊(duì)，看看我能不能讓他們接受我的個(gè)性，把他們打造成我理想中的團(tuán)隊(duì)?！?/p>

He added that its rewarding to coach veteran teams like Cleveland because the players have been through the battles， they know who they are.

他補(bǔ)充道，執(zhí)教騎士這種老將球隊(duì)很有益處，因?yàn)榍騿T們經(jīng)歷過(guò)很多，他們對(duì)自己有著明確的定位。

"When you coach a veteran team， you cant mold，" he said."They already are who they are. There is no changing those guys —which is not a bad thing."

“執(zhí)教老將球隊(duì)，你不能塑造他們?！彼f(shuō)，“他們已經(jīng)定型了。不能改變他們，這倒也不是壞事。”

James， Lue said， "has paved the way so they see what it takes to win， they see the work hes put in， how hard it is to win， what it takes to win."

盧說(shuō)，詹姆斯“開(kāi)辟了一條路，球員們知道該做什么才能贏球，他們看到了詹姆斯付出的努力，看到了贏得總冠軍有多難，知道需要付出多少”。

Lue won two NBA titles as a player for the Los Angeles Lakers.

球員時(shí)代，盧作為湖人成員贏得過(guò)兩個(gè)總冠軍。

He led Cleveland to the NBA title in 2016. Lue was under intense emotional pressure that only a few knew about during the 2016 season.

他帶領(lǐng)騎士拿到了2016年的NBA總冠軍。在2016賽季，只有很少的人知道盧究竟承受著多大的壓力。

Two important women in his life were fighting for their lives.

他人生中兩個(gè)重要的女性面臨著生命危險(xiǎn)。

His mother， a minister， was fighting breast cancer； his grandmother was battling lung cancer. On top of that， critics said that Lue had undermined Blatt to become the Cleveland head coach. After the Cavaliers won Game 7， bedlam all around him， Lue sat alone on the Cleveland bench， crying.

他的母親是一個(gè)牧師，她患上了乳腺癌；她的祖母則是肺癌。除此之外，還有人說(shuō)盧對(duì)布拉特背后捅刀才得到了騎士主教練的職位。當(dāng)騎士贏下總決賽第七場(chǎng)后，周?chē)黄须s與歡騰時(shí)，盧一個(gè)人坐在騎士板凳席上，他哭了。

"All the hate and criticism， having my mom and grandmother going through cancer treatment， it was a tough year，" he recalled."When we finally won， I finally exhaled. We did it； this is over. We got through it."

“所有的仇恨和批評(píng)，媽媽和祖母接受癌癥治療，這是艱難的一年?！彼貞洠爱?dāng)我們終于贏了，我終于出了一口氣。我們做到了，一切結(jié)束了。我們挺過(guò)來(lái)了。”

The ordeal put basketball in perspective and has made it easier to accept most of whatever has followed — criticism and praise alike.

這個(gè)磨難讓盧能更全面地看待籃球，也讓他更容易接受隨之而來(lái)的批評(píng)和贊賞。

"As much as you want to win for the organization， for the city of Cleveland， you still have everyday life stuff that happens thats bigger than basketball."

“盡管很想為球隊(duì)，為克利夫蘭贏下冠軍，但你還要生活，這比籃球更重要?！?/p>

But if the Cavaliers advance that far， the narrative around Tyronn Lue will change.

如果騎士能走得更遠(yuǎn)，外界對(duì)泰倫·盧的表述也會(huì)出現(xiàn)變化。

This time Clevelands star player and the Cavaliers "brilliant head coach" will rightfully take a bow together.

這一次，騎士的明星球員和“卓越的主教練”，將會(huì)一起接受人們的掌聲。