The Pacers Are the Seattle Seahawks of the NBA
溜馬防守一枝獨秀
（部落格圖文好讀板：http://mola79321.pixnet.net/blog/post/349925087）
The Pacers are the Seattle Seahawks of the NBA. In an offensive era, they are
an emerging defensive juggernaut. They have yet to win a title, but this may
finally be the year, and if it is, they will have their defense to thank.
Like the Seahawks’, the Pacers’ defense is more than good. Statistically, it
’s the best defense in the league by a mile.
溜馬隊現在是NBA聯盟中的西雅圖海鷹隊。在大進攻時代裡，他們卻成為毀天滅
地的防守強權。他們雖還未贏得總冠軍，但今年可能是屬於他們的年份。如果真
的拿到總冠軍的話，那便要歸功於他們防守。就如同NFL的海鷹隊一樣，溜馬的
防守不只是「好」而已。數據上來說，聯盟所有球隊的防守效率都看不到他們的
車尾燈。
Indiana has held opponents to a paltry 93.9 points per 100 possessions. Not
only is that the best in the NBA, it’s not close. This season, there have
been four kinds of defenses: bad defenses, average defenses, good defenses,
and the Pacers. Their defensive efficiency is a ridiculous outlier among the
rest of the league.
溜馬的每百回失分壓在93.9分。這數據不單是聯盟最佳，是一面倒的防守壓制力
。這季，可以把聯盟防守分為四個等級：爛防守、中等防守、好防守，以及最佳
等級－溜馬級防守。就整個聯盟而言，他們的防守效率可以說是個離群值。
http://ppt.cc/IQTw
The Pacers’ front office has patiently built a roster full of large players
who seem to enjoy playing defense as much as offense, which remains a fairly
rare quality in the NBA. Their starting lineup consists of five guys who each
guard their position very well. The coaching staff has designed on-court
schemes that take full advantage of the attitudes of the players. The results
are frightening.
溜馬的制服組有耐心的建立起一個充滿大個子的陣容，而這群大個子對進攻和防
守有著一樣的熱情。這種特質在NBA裡是少見的。溜馬先發五人在他們自己所屬
的位置上都有好的對位防守能力。而教練團在設計場上的防守策略方面，則徹底
的發揮球員們的防守態度。其結果非常驚人。
As of Monday, the Pacers have faced almost 3,600 shots from opponents. Maybe
the rims are crooked at the field house, because opponents are shooting
terribly whenever the Pacers play defense.
在禮拜一前，溜馬隊約莫面對對手3600次的出手。或許溜馬在他們主場籃框加了
蓋，因為對手在溜馬的防守範圍內上演各種打鐵秀。
The Hibbert Effect
Hibbert鎮守禁區
The Pacers’ freakish defensive success starts with Roy Hibbert and his
ability to protect the most important space on the basketball court: that
little swath of the floor near the basket. Hibbert’s massive presence does
two things: It obviously reduces the opponent’s shooting efficiency near the
basket, but it also actively discourages them from even trying, which in turn
inspires them to shoot from less effective zones. The Pacers currently rank
second in the NBA in shots allowed inside eight feet and rank first in
opponent field goal percentage near the basket. In fact, they are the only
team in the league holding opponents below 50 percent from inside of eight
feet. Also, per SportVU, when the Pacers have a single rim protector present
(often Hibbert), they have given up the fewest baskets in the league.
溜馬噁心的防守由Roy Hibbert起頭，以及依靠他鞏固籃下聖地的能力。Hibbert
龐大的身軀能做到兩件事。第一，他顯然能減少對手在籃框附近的得分效率。第
二則是他能積極的減少他們嘗試在籃下出手的機會，迫使他們要在較無效率的區
域出手。溜馬目前在八呎內被出手數是聯盟第二少，而在籃框附近的被命中率
則是聯盟第一低。事實上，他們是聯盟中唯一一支能將對手八呎內命中率壓在50%
以下的球球隊。此外，根據SportVU的數據，當溜馬場上有一位禁區防守者時（這
位防守者通常是Hibbert），在整個聯盟中他們的被命中球數是最少的。
So … that’s pretty good.
所以…溜馬籃下防守霸氣外漏。
When teams attempt to drive to the basket on Indiana, they have little
success. In fact, per SportVU data, the Pacers defend drives better than any
other team in the league. They are currently ranked first in points per
drive, and opposing drivers only shoot 37 percent when they attempt to score.
That’s the lowest mark in the league by far. As a result, the Pacers have
given up the fewest points on drives in the NBA.
而當他隊面對溜馬想要切入進攻時，也很難成功得分。事實上，根據SportVU的
數據，溜馬在切入防守也是聯盟最佳。目前他們在每回合切入失分上排名第一，
而對手的切入命中率也只有37%。這數據同樣傲視群雄。因此，在切入失分上溜
馬不意外的是聯盟最佳。
Lots of Midrange Shots
窮的只剩中距離
Midrange shots are generally the least efficient scoring option in the NBA,
and no team forces opponents into taking those shots more than the Pacers. As
a whole, NBA shooters take 33 percent of their shots in the midrange, but
Pacers opponents take 40 percent of their shots in the “dead zone.”
Furthermore, opponents hit only 38 percent of those shots, which is the
third-lowest rate in the league.
一般而言，中距離是聯盟中最沒效率的出手選擇，而溜馬迫使對手投中距離的能
力亦是鶴立雞群。整個NBA而言，中距離出手佔33%，但溜馬讓對手在這所謂的「
死亡區域」出手比率高達40%。此外，對手在中距離出手命中率也僅有38%，是聯
盟第三低的數據。
The 3-Point Arc of Horror
恐怖三分線
Unsurprisingly, guys like Paul George and Lance Stephenson also make life
miserable for 3-point shooters. No team gives up fewer 3s per game than
Indiana. This is due in part to its league-best 32.9 percent opponent 3-point
field goal percentage, but also because it gives up only 18.2 3-point
attempts per game, second only to Portland.
像Paul George和Lance Stephenson這些球員也能讓三分射手不好過，這並不意外
。溜馬在三分失分是聯盟最低。一部份是因聯盟最優的32.9%三分被命中率，另一
部份是因他們場均只讓對手投18.2顆三分球。這數據只輸拓荒者。
The Pacers’ defense seems to turn every shooter they play against into some
combination of Josh Smith and Ricky Rubio.
溜馬的防守似乎能讓所有射手成為Josh Smith和Ricky Rubio的綜合體。
http://ppt.cc/YQVr
In 2014 the NBA is a drive-and-kick league. In the absence of hand checks,
attacking guards and wings run wild, slashing into defenses, wreaking havoc,
and either scoring or pitching it out to an open shooter. That formula might
work reasonably well against 29 NBA teams, but it doesn’t fly against
Indiana, which, like the Seattle Seahawks, has built a modern-day defense
that effectively stops teams from scoring the ways modern-day offenses love
to score.
2014年的NBA是切入外傳戰術當道的聯盟。由於不再能將手緊貼防守者（hand
checking），進攻型後衛和側翼球員便能瘋狂切入、撕裂防線、破壞對手部陣，
之後不是能自己得分，就是能吸引包夾將球傳給外面的空檔射手。這招或許對其
他29支NBA球隊有用，但面對溜馬時可就沒這麼輕鬆。就像西雅圖海鷹隊一樣，
溜馬創造出現代防守策略，並有效的壓制現代進攻策略熱愛的得分模式。
原文網址－
http://tinyurl.com/nc5k8dr
心得：
「NFL最強之盾」西雅圖海鷹隊今天剛打完超級盃，以大比分差距擊倒進攻頂尖的
丹佛野馬隊，得到今年的NFL冠軍戒指。而今天海鷹隊便是以可怕的防守奪得勝利。
不同於美式足球，籃球畢竟沒有分進攻組和防守組。教練當然也不能隨時換進攻型
球員和防守型球員上場。然而，「防守奪得總冠軍」在近幾年可以說是講到爛掉的
名言。近年來防守差的球隊要打進總冠軍已經是難上加難，更不用說是得到總冠軍。
現在的溜馬進攻效率102.5，僅排名聯盟第19。以聯盟第一名的戰績來看，這個進攻
效率真的不漂亮。但這也證明溜馬的防守能力是多麼誇張。而看了這篇文後，我想
更加明白現在溜馬的防守強度。
到底溜馬能否和海鷹一樣，以「最強的盾」的身分，獲得總冠軍呢？