上帝球

Ryan Jones

The numbers dont lie： Last season， Stephen Curry was one of the worst long-range shooters in the NBA.

數(shù)據(jù)不說謊：上賽季，斯蒂芬·庫里是NBA遠(yuǎn)距離投籃最差的投手之一。

During the 2016-17 season， Curry shot an abysmal .067 in a specific category： shots taken from half court or beyond in the final seconds of the first， second or third quarter. Per Basketball Reference， Curry attempted nearly twice as many such "heaves" （15） as any other player. He made just one， a running 50-footer against the Clippers that just beat the halftime buzzer. It was also the second straight season in which he led the NBA in such attempts.

2016-17賽季，庫里在一個特定區(qū)域投出了極為糟糕的6.7%命中率：第一節(jié)，第二節(jié)或第三節(jié)最后時刻半場或半場以外的投籃。根據(jù)Basketball Reference的數(shù)據(jù)，這種被稱為“heave”的投籃，庫里15次的出手?jǐn)?shù)接近其他任何球員的兩倍。但他只命中了其中一個，也就是對快船的比賽中場結(jié)束前50英尺的跑投。這也是他連續(xù)第二個賽季在heave的出手?jǐn)?shù)上領(lǐng)銜全聯(lián)盟。

What started as a pet peeve for this particular writer eventually morphed into a modest quest： To figure out why some players refuse to shoot the ball in the closing seconds of a quarter or half. To that question， the seemingly obvious answer—theyre protecting their shooting percentage， duh—proved to be the correct one. But it also led to more questions， like： Why do some players seem to love hoisting these types of shots？ Is this something coaches talk about， or even consider？ And how is it， at a time when analytics have made everyone infinitely smarter about what stats actually measure， that a player would turn down a risk-free opportunity to throw the ball toward the hoop？

我們最初認(rèn)為的無法忍受的事實(shí)，最終變成了一個合理的訴求：我們想搞清楚，為什么有些球員會在節(jié)末或者中場結(jié)束前拒絕投籃。答案似乎很明顯：他們想保護(hù)自己的投籃命中率——這就是正確答案。但這也會帶來新的問題，比如說，為什么有球員愿意投這種球？教練會談?wù)?，甚至考慮這種投籃嗎？在一個數(shù)據(jù)分析讓每個人都清楚哪些數(shù)據(jù)更重要的時代，為什么有球員愿意拒絕無風(fēng)險的機(jī)會而把球扔向籃筐呢？

The answers， based on a sampling of players around the league， are at once crystal clear and（sort of） complicated. But at least part of it has to do with the fact that coaches are hardly thinking about it.

根據(jù)聯(lián)盟中一些球員樣本，這個答案既清晰，又復(fù)雜。但至少有一部分原因是，教練很少會考慮這個問題。

"Ive never been coached on that，" Washington point guard Tim Frazier said.

“我從來沒得到過這方面的指教?！逼娌趴匦l(wèi)蒂姆·弗雷澤表示。

"Coaches dont really say anything about it，" Mavericks forward Doug McDermott said.

“教練不太說這個問題?！豹?dú)行俠前鋒道格·麥克德莫特說。

"Every staff Ive ever been a part of， you go over all the different situations in the course of a season，" Grizzlies assistant Bob Bender said."Thats one thats probably never been a priority.”

“我參加過的每一個教練組，會思考賽季里面臨的各種問題?！被倚苤条U勃·本德爾說，“但超遠(yuǎn)距離投籃從來沒被重點(diǎn)考慮過。”

A member on Indianas 1976 national championship team， former Duke assistant under Mike Krzyzewski and ex-head coach at Illinois State and Washington， Bender has worked as an assistant for five NBA teams over the past 16 years. He says that from the coaches perspective， the rarity of such possessions—just one per game in college， and three per game in the pros—and the slim chance of making any shot from beyond half court means such scenarios are hardly worth spending valuable prep time on.

本德爾是1976年奪得全美國冠軍的印第安納大學(xué)的一員，他在杜克的K教練手下做過助教，也在伊利諾伊州大和華盛頓大學(xué)做過主教練，過去16年，他在五支NBA球隊(duì)做過助教。本德爾表示，站在教練角度，這種回合的罕見性——大學(xué)比賽里平均每場比賽只有一次，職業(yè)比賽場均三次——以及命中半場投籃極低的可能性，使得球隊(duì)根本不值得專門花時間準(zhǔn)備這種出手。

"You try to cover everything，" Bender said with a laugh， "but you dont cover everything.”

“你想面面俱到，但面面俱到是不可能的?！北镜聽栃χf。

A coach might make an exception， Bender added， if a player passed up an obvious chance to get a shot off at a potential turning point in a game. Take the following scenario Bender laid out："End of the third quarter， other teams on a run， they miss， and you get the rebound—but you dont shoot it. At that point it might be something youd highlight after the game， to say， Next time， just put it up. That might be a little bit of momentum. You never know."

本德爾補(bǔ)充，教練也許會允許例外存在，也就是不允許球員放棄一個能夠扭轉(zhuǎn)比賽氣勢的機(jī)會。本德爾舉了一個例子?！暗谌?jié)最后，對手發(fā)起快攻，但是沒有進(jìn)球。你拿到了籃球，但沒有出手投籃。這種情況下，你可能會在賽后著重強(qiáng)調(diào)這個問題，比如說，‘下次記得投籃，可能有扭轉(zhuǎn)氣勢的機(jī)會，誰知道呢?！?blockquote> SO LET MOST OF THE LEAGUES BEST SHOOTERS AVOID THE HEAVE （STEPH CURRY NOTABLY EXCEPTED）. LET CHARACTERS LIKE JOHNSON AND GIBSON SHOOT THEM CONSCIENCE-FREE， AND LET ALL-STARS LIKE DRUMMOND TAKE HIS CHANCES ON THE RARE MOMENTS HE HAS A REASON TO SHOOT FROM BEYOND 12 FEET.

就讓聯(lián)盟大多數(shù)優(yōu)秀投手避免heave吧（庫里顯然是個例外）。讓約翰遜和吉布森這樣沒有心理壓力的球員去投吧，讓德拉蒙德這樣的全明星球員抓住這種絕少的機(jī)會，成就夢想吧。

Its hardly an untested hypothesis. Two years ago in Memphis， the Grizzlies were facing an eight-point deficit going into the fourth quarter against Minnesota. At least， they were until Vince Carter helped force a driving Tyus Jones into a turnover， corralled the ball near his own baseline and looked to the game clock at the opposite end of the court. Judging that he had enough time， Carter dribbled once， gathered the ball and shot in stride.

這也不能說是未經(jīng)檢測的假設(shè)。兩年前在孟菲斯，在與森林狼的比賽中，灰熊面臨著以8分劣勢進(jìn)入第四節(jié)的可能。至少在文斯·卡特逼迫突破的泰厄斯·瓊斯出現(xiàn)失誤，在己方底線拿到球看向?qū)γ鎴龅氐挠?jì)時器時，場上局勢便是如此?？ㄌ嘏袛鄷r間足夠，于是他運(yùn)了一下球，拿起球后一個大跨步，將球扔了出去。

The 73-foot heave was perfect， cutting the lead to five and sparking a 12-3 Memphis run. Talking to reporters after his teams come-frombehind 109-104 win， Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said， "We call that the game-changer.”

這個長達(dá)73英尺的heave投籃非常完美，幫助灰熊將比分差距縮小到5分的同時，隨后引領(lǐng)了一波12比3的攻擊高潮。灰熊后來居上，109比104戰(zhàn)勝森林狼，灰熊控衛(wèi)邁克·康利賽后告訴記者：“我們說那是改變比賽的一球?！?/p>

Carter has hit a few such heaves in his career. So has the Pistons Andre Drummond（albeit on far fewer attempts from outside the paint）. Detroits All-Star big man told Bleacher Reporter that his most memorable heave came against Boston in December 2015. Pulling down a defensive rebound with a shade over four seconds left in the half， Drummond turned， took four confident dribbles and pulled up just behind half court—right over the head of Isaiah Thomas. Swish.

卡特職業(yè)生涯中投進(jìn)過幾次這樣的球，活塞的安德烈·德拉蒙德也是（盡管他在油漆區(qū)外的出手要少得多）。作為底特律的全明星球員，德拉蒙德說，他記憶最深的heave出自2015年12月與凱爾特人的比賽。拿下防守籃板，距離半場比賽結(jié)束還剩四秒。轉(zhuǎn)身后，德拉蒙德自信地運(yùn)了四次球，在中線附近，在伊賽亞·托馬斯的頭頂出手。皮球應(yīng)聲入網(wǎng)。

Drummond says he savors the memory because "I did it so casually， like I kind of just walked up and shot a jump shot." But he remembers its impact， too： The shot gave Detroit a three-point halftime lead. The Pistons went on to win 119-116.

德拉蒙德說他會永遠(yuǎn)記住那個瞬間，因?yàn)椤澳乔蛭液茈S意，就像完成跳投?！钡吕傻乱灿涀×四且磺虻挠绊懀夯钊虼税雸鲱I(lǐng)先3分，他們最終119比116贏下了比賽。

"I think Steph has changed all that，" Frazier said of Curry. "Hes been shooting it from so deep that it feels normal now." A former Trail Blazer， Frazier cites his ex-teammates Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum as other guys unafraid to "pull up right as they come across half court，" but Curry is clearly the player most responsible for the expansion of acceptable range.

“我覺得是斯蒂芬改變了一切。”弗雷澤提到了庫里，“他在特別遠(yuǎn)的位置投籃，讓現(xiàn)在的人覺得這種出手很正常?！痹?jīng)效力于開拓者的弗雷澤提到了前隊(duì)友達(dá)米恩·利拉德和C.J.麥科勒姆，說他們也是“不害怕在半場附近出手的人”。但讓外界能夠接受的距離越來越遠(yuǎn)，庫里顯然是始作俑者。

It might be the NBAs worst-kept secret， but yes， players are mindful of their shooting statistics. In such moments， many opt to protect that number at the expense of a low-percentage three that might or might not have an impact on the outcome of a game. Some players are reluctant to reveal the guilty for fear of violating an unspoken honor code. But for others， the secret is out.

這也許是NBA保守最差的秘密，球員們確實(shí)在意他們的投籃數(shù)據(jù)。在這種時候，很多人會選擇保護(hù)自己的數(shù)據(jù)，避免出現(xiàn)三分命中率低降的情況，而且這種出手對比賽結(jié)果未必能產(chǎn)生影響。有些球員不愿意透露打破心照不宣的罪惡感或恐懼感。但對其他人來說，這已經(jīng)不是秘密了。

After a comfortable January win over Sacramento， Lakers coach Luke Walton goodnaturedly sold out Kyle Kuzma， telling reporters that the promising rookie wanted it known that one of his turnovers came on a shot-clock violation in the games meaningless closing seconds. When Walton told Kuzma he shouldve shot the ball， Kuzma admitted he didnt want to hurt his percentage.

一月舒暢地戰(zhàn)勝國王后，湖人主教練盧克·沃頓出于好意“出賣了”凱爾·庫茲馬。他告訴記者，這名新秀想讓別人知道，他因?yàn)檫`反進(jìn)攻時限而發(fā)生的失誤是出現(xiàn)在沒有意義的最后幾秒。當(dāng)沃頓告訴庫茲馬他應(yīng)當(dāng)出手時，庫茲馬承認(rèn)，他不想降低自己的命中率。

Ivan Johnson was a member of the Hawks when Bender was on Atlantas staff. Bender remembers how the bruising forward would regularly practice shots from three-quarter court."And he was so strong，" Bender said， "it really wasnt a heave. If he got a defensive rebound， and there were any ticks on the clock， he was going.”

本德爾在老鷹工作時，伊萬·約翰遜是老鷹成員。本德爾記得他經(jīng)常在距離籃筐3/4場地的地方練習(xí)投籃?！八珡?qiáng)壯了。”本德爾說，“對他來說那不算heave。如果他拿下后場籃板，如果時間快到了，他就會出手?！?/p>

McDermott said that as a rule， "big guys dont care" about the impact of an occasional heave on their shooting stats and cited his former teammate Taj Gibson as a big who "dreamed of those situations.

麥克德莫特說，這是規(guī)則，“大個子不在乎”偶爾的heave對他們投籃數(shù)據(jù)的影響。他舉出前隊(duì)友泰·吉布森的例子，說他“夢想著投出那種球”。

In a 10-month span last year， Gibson got to display both extremes of his carefree approach to heaves. In March， just a week after being traded to Oklahoma City， Gibson intercepted an attempted full-court pass at the end of the half and fired a high， perfect lob back from the top of his own key that found nothing but net. Then came this past December， when Gibson （by then in Minnesota）， grabbed a defensive rebound in the closing seconds of the half and heaved again， this time from practically under his own basket.

在去年10個月時間里，吉布森展示了不在乎heave的兩極狀態(tài)。去年3月，被交易到雷霆后僅一周，吉布森在半場結(jié)束前搶斷了一個全場傳球，在己方半場罰球線附近，他投出了一個完美弧線，球空心入網(wǎng)。到了去年12月，吉布森（那時已經(jīng)在森林狼了）在半場快結(jié)束時拿下一個防守籃板，他又一次投出了heave，這次的出手位置幾乎在己方籃下。

TV cameras memorably caught Gibsons teammate， Jimmy Butler， asking "What the f--k was that？" Gibson could be seen smiling and laughing as he jogged to the locker room for halftime.

電視工作者捕捉到吉布森的隊(duì)友吉米·巴特勒嘟囔“這XX到底的什么”的樣子。半場跑回更衣室的路上，吉布森很明顯在微笑。

So let most of the leagues best shooters avoid the heave （Steph Curry notably excepted）. Let characters like Johnson and Gibson shoot them conscience-free， and let All-Stars like Drummond take his chances on the rare moments he has a reason to shoot from beyond 12 feet. "I just do it for fun，" Drummond said. "Its just believing in myself and putting it up.”

就讓聯(lián)盟大多數(shù)優(yōu)秀投手避免heave吧（庫里顯然是個例外）。讓約翰遜和吉布森這樣沒有心理壓力的球員去投吧，讓德拉蒙德這樣的全明星球員抓住這種絕少的機(jī)會，成就夢想吧?！拔覟榱碎_心才投的，”德拉蒙德說，“就是相信自己，然后出手?！?/p>

Drummond still remembers his first heave—not the specific opponent， but a game early in his high school career， the shot coming from about half court. "I was really young，" he says. "It felt like the greatest moment of my life."

德拉蒙德還記得自己的第一個heave——具體對手不記得了，那發(fā)生在高中生涯初期，他在半場左右出手投籃?！拔夷昙o(jì)真的很小?！彼f，“那感覺是我人生中最自豪的時刻?！?p>