http://ppt.cc/4Al3
Thursday is here, which means we'll finally get Game 1 under way
between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat. We've been patient.
By the time the ball goes up at center court on Thursday night, we
will have waited more than 7,000 minutes or 117 hours since Game
6 of the Western Conference finals concluded.
今天終於到來啦，等了117個小時！
1. LeBron James has shot 5-of-30 (16.7 percent) when Boris Diaw is
guarding him over the past 12 months.
過去12個月Lebron vs 屌爺，前者只有 5-30, 16.7%的命中率
Believe it! According to SportVU 3D player-tracking cameras, the
portly Diaw was matched up with James for 8:43 in the regular
season and the four-time MVP shot just 2-of-9 and scored just four
points. Then we find out from ESPN Stats & Info video tracking of
the 2013 Finals that James shot 3-of-21 against Diaw in the
postseason, including 1-of-10 outside 10 feet. There might never
be a LeBron James stopper for an entire game, but in a pinch? Diaw
might be just the guy.
今年季賽Lebron對屌爺是2-9，去年總冠是3-21，
我們找到了Lebron stopper!!
2. Spurs players have collectively run 172 more miles than the
Miami Heat have this season.
馬刺全隊這季（包含季後賽）共比熱火多跑了172英里！
That includes regular season and postseason. Keep in mind, the
Spurs have played three more games than the Heat this postseason,
but still, they run a whole lot more on a per-game basis,
according to SportVU tracking. In total, that's about seven
marathons more than what the Heat players have trotted out. That
doesn't necessarily mean the Spurs will be more exhausted. None of
their players averaged more than 30 minutes during the regular
season, so the miles were spread out. But the Spurs like to run
and the Heat only do in spurts. Which brings me to ...
馬刺的確是比熱火多打了三場比賽，但是即使如此馬刺這季球員
的跑動還是比熱火多很多。別以為這樣會造成球員疲累，因為
馬刺本季季賽沒有球員每場比賽平均打超過30分鐘！
3. This is the widest gap between team pace in the past six Finals
matchups.
兩隊步調上的差異是過去六年總冠差別最大的一組。
The Spurs like to push the pace. The Heat like to say they do, but
they don't. The Spurs averaged 97.1 possessions per 48 minutes
this season, which is the 12th highest in the NBA. The Heat? Just
93.3 (27th). The gap of 3.8 possessions is the widest spread since
the 2008 Finals when the speedier Lakers took on the aging Boston
Celtics and the third-widest gap since the 1993 Finals between
the high-octane Phoenix Suns and the slow-it-down Chicago Bulls.
For more on the Heat's snail pace, check out last week's BIG
Number. The Heat played at their pace last Finals (91.0). Will it
change this time around?
馬刺喜歡打快，熱火也喜歡這樣說，實則不然。
馬刺的步調是97.1/48min（第12名）, 熱火只有93.3/48min(第27名）
這差距只遜於2008湖人（快）-老賽（慢）
和1993太陽(超快）-公牛（慢）
去年的總冠步調是熱火喜愛的91，今年會如何呢？
4. Chris Bosh didn't make a 3-pointer in the entire 2013 NBA
Finals.
老包去年總冠三分掛蛋！
Seems like a typo, right? Bosh went 0-for-4 in Game 1 last year
and was never the same. He took just two 3-point attempts the rest
of the way and missed them both. That's even more astounding when
you consider that he entered the 2013 Finals hitting a 3-ball in
six consecutive games. This postseason, he's hit a 3-pointer in 13
of his 15 games. Don't expect last year's drought to continue.
He's shot 11-of-20 (55 percent) from the corners this postseason.
The Spurs may get a taste of their own medicine.
你以為我打錯了嗎？不... 老包去年G1三分0-4之後，一切就都變了。
他之後六場只有再投過兩顆三分。別忘了去年總冠之前他可是連續六場
都有命中過三分。
今年季後賽他在15場比賽裡面13場比賽都有命中三分。而季後賽他的底角三分
是11-20。所以期待老包會再度三分掛蛋是不切實際的。
5. Tiago Splitter and Tim Duncan lineups outscored the Heat by 19
points in the 2013 Finals.
剔牙哥+老鄧的組合去年總冠是+19
Contrary to popular belief, the Duncan-Splitter pairing actually
found some success in the Finals last year even if Gregg Popovich
abandoned it once Erik Spoelstra inserted Mike Miller into the
starting lineup in Game 4. The Spurs went "big" with Splitter and
Duncan for just three minutes in Games 4-7 after Spoelstra opted
for small-ball. It'll be interesting to see if the Spurs go to it
more now that Miller is out of the picture. In the two
regular-season matchups, Duncan-Splitter saw the floor for six
minutes and outscored the Heat 18-15 in short time. Will Popovich
feel comfortable throwing it against Heat lineups that include
Shane Battier or Rashard Lewis at the 4?
和大家的認知相反，老鄧+剔牙哥的組合其實是成功的。即使Pop在後期
為了應對Spo把MM放到先發後放棄了這個組合。
基本上這個大陣容對上熱火是有領先態勢的，今年季賽也是18-15小幅領先。
Pop會用這個陣容嗎？還是再度擺小應付熱火可能用八爺或是614做四號呢？
6. LeBron James has never played fewer postseason minutes heading
into the Finals.
Lebron從未在打總冠前只上場如此少的時間過。
This might be the freshest James has felt entering the Finals in
his career. He has played just 574 postseason minutes up to this
point, which is 85 minutes fewer than he did this point last
postseason. It's by far the lowest total in his five trips to the
Finals. James is averaging just 38.3 minutes per game, which is
the first time in his postseason career he's averaged below 40
minutes per game. Perhaps that Game 5 foul trouble against Indiana
was a blessing in disguise.
這可能是Lebron打總冠前感覺到最輕鬆的一年。
他目前打了574分鐘，比去年此時少打了85分鐘。也是他五次總冠打最少
時間的一次。或許對溜馬的G5是個好事？
（註：不過如果G5贏了連G6都沒有不是更少分鐘了？=.=）
7. The Heat were a minus-57 with James-Wade on the floor in the
2013 Finals.
熱火去年總冠在LD同時上場時是-57
For a deeper look on this, check out the Per Diem dispatch from
Tuesday. One thing I'll add, which didn't make it into the piece,
is that James had a 22.1 player efficiency rating while playing
alongside Wade and a 36.1 player efficiency rating with Wade on
the bench. Ray Allen's floor-spacing was a huge part of James'
increase in production. The Wade-James synergy will be critical in
the coming days. With a better Spurs team, the margin for error
is minuscule.
更深一層去看，Lebron和Wade同時上場時只有22.1的PER，
Lebron在場Wade在板凳時則暴增到36.1的PER。
所以這系列LD同時上場時的效率如何將是觀察重點。
（註：關於Wade: 去年打總冠前15場比賽只有2場 20+，包括缺席一場
今年過去9場就有5場20+
去年季後平均15.9分，
今年目前是18.7分，上場時間還少些
去年跳投命中率是39%
今年目前是45%）
8. Danny Green hit 25 3-pointers in Games 1-5 last year.
小綠去年G1-5就投進25棵三分球
You might have already known that, but here's the other layer to
illustrate how insane that stretch was: the most 3s he's hit in
any five-game stretch since the 2013 Finals is 16. Yes, nine
fewer. In fact, he didn't make 25 3-pointers in the entire month
of December this season, which stretched across 15 games. Green
has had his moments this season, but keeping him in check becomes
a top priority for the Heat. He means more to the Spurs' success
than you think.
你自然已經知道這個事實，不過如果放大來看你更可以感覺到這紀錄驚人之處
小綠今年到目前為止任何一個連續5場三分命中最多也只有16球。
事實上，他在一整個12月15場球的賽事命中數還不及25球。
熱火要如何守住他絕對是先決條件之一。
他對馬刺的重要性比你想像的要大。
9. The Heat have passed the ball more per possession than the
Spurs this postseason.
熱火每次球權的平均傳球數要多於馬刺。
According to SportVU data, the Heat have passed the ball 4,292
times this postseason compared to the Spurs' whopping total of
5,503 dishes. The selfless Spurs move the ball more, right? Well,
that's a bit misleading for two reasons: (A) the Heat have played
three fewer games than the Spurs and (B) the Heat play at a much
slower pace (see Stat No. 3). The Heat actually have averaged 3.28
passes per possession while the Spurs have averaged 3.19 passes.
It's not necessarily a bellwether for spectacular offense; the
Bobcats and Grizzlies both registered a higher pass rate than the
Heat this postseason.
根據資料顯示，熱火季後賽共傳了4292次球，馬刺則是5503次。
所以很顯然我們都認為無私的馬刺更會傳球對嗎？
然而如果把步調和場次算進去，
我們會發現每次球權熱火會傳導3.28次，甚至略優於馬刺的3.19次。
當然這數據不代表進攻的特性。
10. Tim Duncan will likely pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most
playoff minutes in NBA history.
TD將會在這系列賽超越賈罷季後賽上場時間。
That's astounding. Duncan has played 8,737 minutes in his playoff
career, which is 114 minutes behind the all-time leader,
Abdul-Jabbar. Given that he continues playing his current rate of
32.6 minutes per game, he'll eclipse Abdul-Jabbar sometime in the
first half of Game 4. To put this in more perspective, four
players who played in Duncan's first NBA playoff game against the
Phoenix Suns (April 23, 1998) have already gone on to become an
NBA coach (Vinny Del Negro, Avery Johnson, Jason Kidd and Monty
Williams). Oh, and Kawhi Leonard was in second grade.
這是非常驚人的成就。TD季後賽已經上了8737分鐘，只落後賈罷114分鐘。
如果以他每場要打32.6分鐘來看，他會在G4打破這個紀錄。
如果放遠來看，大鄧對太陽的生涯第一場季後賽比賽的球員中，
已經有四位在做（或做過）教練了：Del Negro, A Johnson, J. Kidd, Mounty
Williams)
歐，然後Leonard當時還是個小二生哩。
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心得：頂尖對決，令人期待