http://www.lakerschina.com/show/article/933/
Lebron的籃球智慧會將湖人推向一個全新的高度
作者：KEVIN DING
譯者：MOMOSKI
校對：GLINCOIN&子羽
天賦
事實證明我們之前太過於膚淺了。Lebron從一開始就做好了決定。不同於初入聯盟前那
個青澀的籃球天才，他以一個成熟男人的身心，已在聯盟打滾多年。
Lebron就是為籃球而生的。
這種身體上的優勢隨著時間的推移不降反增，包括在其第8到第15個賽季還是以良好的
競技狀態在總決賽中佔有一席之地。更可怕的是這位三旬老漢在上賽季的82場常規賽中
沒有缺席任何一場比賽，通常隊中的超級球星都會有輪休日。
難道這號稱完美無瑕的人體樣品，僅僅只是個天賦異禀的運動員怪物嗎？
這種評價對於LBJ來說是短視而粗淺的。
是他的心智才造就了那樣的軀體。
Magic Johnson說：「這傢伙就是個籃球天才。」
LBJ認為現在的比賽跟之前沒什麼不同。他可以預見場上即將產生的機會，不是因為他
的力量和速度優勢才允許他這麼做，而是對於比賽的熱情使他不斷學習其中的精髓。
對於湖人來說，他就是Kobe和O'Neal的結合體。他的職業精神以及籃球智商讓人聯想到
Kobe的果敢；他壓倒性的力量及敏捷性讓人回想起當年O'Neal統治聯盟時的不可一世。
由於湖人從來沒有在總決賽中碰到過LBJ，對於那些只是偶爾會看看LBJ新聞或者比賽的
湖人球迷來說，他們可能會有一種誤解，就是LBJ完全只是在靠身體打球。
事實上LBJ充分利用了自己的身體優勢，但是並沒有過於依賴它。他用精神意志結合超
強的身體譜寫了屬於自己的傳奇。
心智
湖人在LBJ身體狀態仍然很驚人的情況下得到了他，對於不相符合的年齡來說，他的心
理狀態也正值巔峰。
自從進入聯盟以來LBJ見證了許多事，並且從未忘記過，他會把所有發生過的事情分析
總結，然後在比賽前就堅定地貫徹執行。
這也是湖人必須面對的挑戰。
湖人隊的年輕人們必須以他們從未有過的方式去思考比賽，而且他們以往也沒有被要求
去這麼做。他們已經證明過自己是努力的，富有感染力，極具天賦，前途無量，被賦予
了重大的使命的年輕球員，這很棒。但如果他們真的想要競爭總冠軍的話，只能跟上LBJ
的腳步，別無他路。
俗話說經驗是最好的老師。但是在這裡，LBJ就是他們的答案。
攻防
部分湖人吸引LBJ的一點就是他不需要再像以前這麼累了。Magic研究了LBJ生涯各階段
的比賽影片，並且與湖人的工作人員一同研討如何才能盡可能減輕LBJ在隊中的負擔。
沒錯，有一部分則是因為Magic看到了今年西決中火箭如何给勇士帶來麻煩。
Magic說：「因為他們很多人都能撕裂防守。」
「我們都有出色的防守意識和換防條件。」McGee說到這裡提到了他自己和他兩個經驗
豐富的新隊友Rondo以及Stephenson。
而一般情況下，Ball敏銳的籃板嗅覺和他精準的第一時間傳球能讓LBJ在攻防轉換中像飛馳
的火車一般快攻籃下，讓球迷的歡呼聲響徹史坦波中心。
傳承
LBJ可以像現在的年輕湖人球員一樣打球，在場上不知疲倦的奔跑，這些都得益於湖人
的管理層要求—球員的體脂不得超過8%。
雖然LBJ有著異於常人的身體，鑑於他的籃球界的影響力，已不會有人認為他還是一個
童心未泯的怪咖，但熟悉LBJ的人都知道他很享受當指導員角色——部分原因是他覺得
一個老傢伙被一群充滿渴望的小傢伙圍著是一件很有趣的事。
LBJ在與湖人管理層會面時，向Magic和Pelinka傳達了一些有關這方面的內容。
「Lebron跟我和Magic明確表示這是最令他興奮的一件事之一，」Pelinka說道。「我們
都知道跟一群年輕人一塊打球是非常令人振奮的事情。我認為年輕人圍繞會讓他感到動
力滿滿，他們充滿活力，動作迅捷，訓練努力。而培養這群可塑之才是件純潔無私的事
。」
「我認為在Lebron職業生涯的這個階段，想著要去傳承、去指導年輕球員是件不可思議
的事，然而他不需要像打造騎士那樣去打造這支球隊。與其之前所處的球隊相比，我們
想打造一支完全不同的球隊。我認為年輕球員相互之間可以產生良好的效應。」
「享受比賽的樂趣，與年輕人一起打球，指導他們職業生涯的發展。當然他還可以讓這
些傢伙變得更好。我們之前看過Magic如何去塑造一支球隊，Kobe如何去塑造一支球隊
。現在這支湖人青年軍團如同白紙一般，現在輪到Lebron為這支球隊烙印出屬於自己的
DNA了。」
這可以起到兩方面的作用：隨著LBJ提高對隊員的要求，湖人年輕人的籃球智商將經得
起季後賽的考驗；如此LBJ就更可以從容自在地運作整支球隊，而不是過去像個汗流浹
背的俄亥俄州東北部工廠工人一樣，靠單槍匹馬承攬一切才能讓球隊出點成績。
風格
LBJ上賽季在持球6秒或更長時間的情況下，投籃命中率為43.3％，比頂級控衛Lillard
（42.2%）和Wall（41.5%）還高，同時比其之前四個賽季平均34.2％的命中率更大幅上
升。
由LBJ控球來做出天才般的決策是有它的道理的，但也需要在一定條件下才能充分發揮
其威力：當整體進攻空間拉開，並非五個防守者等著他持球殺進去時，LBJ的持球才具
威脅性。
我們應該回顧當年LBJ在邁阿密時，減少單打，將現代比賽風格的轉移球方式引入比賽
中——比勇士隊做得更早。於是熱火憑藉其「節奏和空間」理念以及小球中鋒Bosh贏得
了2012年NBA總冠軍。
現在湖人想要創造出他們自己的風格——而不是依賴於像勇士隊一樣圍繞幾個射手建立
起來的三分大隊。湖人隊大量球權還是會圍繞LBJ為軸心運轉，通過他場上專業判斷，
創造更有效率的戰術來提升外線命中率。
「如果你真正研究過Lebron和Rondo的打球方式，」Pelinka說道。「他們擁有極高的籃
球智商並且非常善於創造傳球的空間和角度。對於隊中其他球員來說，他們輕而易舉就
能得到許多空檔出手的機會。」
LBJ將會做他該做的事，但他願意適度地放手讓年輕人們有更多地發揮空間，球迷們期
待已久的「Showtime」即將到來，這次是快節奏版本。畢竟，好萊塢本就需要更多偉大
的新血秀導。
LBJ很清楚湖人隊可以為他提供這方面的東西。他提升思考比賽的方式有一部分是因為
他已經深陷其中無法自拔：觀看並分析比賽中的不足之處，有時不僅是分析一場比賽。
湖人會更常擺出多鋒線的組合，這讓LBJ可以更容易與Ingram的犀利突破和Kuzma的行進
中小勾射相互磨合，並且可以好好體會一下上賽季快攻得分榜排名第二的湖人隊的比賽
風格。
「他觀察著整個NBA生態，」Pelinka說。「他著眼於已經完成的交易和球隊的新秀們，
以及球隊如何培養他們，如何建立比賽風格。」
「我確信他權衡了所有的事情。對我們來說，他對我們的年輕核心和他們的強硬的比賽
風格，以及我們還有足夠的薪資空間（工資帽）來做一些特別的事而感到非常興奮。」
LBJ告訴Magic說，他不僅很欣賞湖人球員的學習速度，還有這些年輕人為了提升為更好
的球員而時刻準備著。
「他對球員的責任感和紀律性方面非常在意並常常以身作則，」Magic說。「這就是他
喜歡我們隊球員的原因。」
洞察
過去兩年，LBJ在應對季後賽之後新聞發布會上記者的回答方式令人大開眼界，而由此
我們可以感受到LBJ對於籃球成熟的心態。
在輸掉2017總決賽G3之後一天的新聞發布會上，LBJ說：「如果再來一次的話，我還是
會做出相同的選擇，因為我當時注意到了三個情況。第一是Green在換防我的時候已經
身背5次犯規了，我可以讓他犯滿離場，所以我從左側突破，這個時候我看到Durant過
來協防，同時我看到Curry在防守Love，而我看到Korver處於底角空檔的位置，他可是
世界上最好的射手之一，所以我會給他投籃的機會。如果再給我一次機會的話，我還是
會做相同的事情。」
在第2018屆年東部決賽第1場失利後的第二天，LBJ談到了一些比賽轉折點細節。
「發生了什麼？我們在第一個回合幾乎把他們（塞爾提克）防到了最後一秒，Morris先
是錯失跳投，緊接著，他們完成了一次扣籃（Morris自搶自扣），回來之後我們給
Clarkson打了個戰術，但他並沒有命中投籃，之後塞爾提克搶到籃板。」LBJ說。
「我們返回後場佈置防守，並成功將他們的傳球破壞出界。Tatum場外開球傳給底角的
Smart，他命中了三分。」
「我們返回前場，又一次進攻打鐵。最後是Tatum追身打成了一次歐洲步的右手上籃。
然後就暫停了。」
在演講結束後，一些記者對LBJ的洞察記憶力感到非常欽佩。
挑戰
Pelinka和Magic已經對球員施加壓力，要求他們在這個休賽季使自己在身體素質能有實
質性提升。Pelinka的命令在賽季結束後的第二天就發佈出來了，利用NBA球星拍照前後
顯示出引人注目的魅力，來闡述身體素質的優勢的觀點。LBJ就是一個很好的範例，多
年來堅定不移的鍛煉，一直保持著速度和力量，這將使推動這個指令更加深入透徹。
但是你可不能僅僅是算著日子每天通過鍛煉來消耗身上的卡路里。有很多具體的原因驅
使著一位球員應該立即去提高他的籃球理解水平。
這就是為什麼即將來臨的湖人新賽季變得有趣的原因，和LBJ並肩作戰將背負更大的壓
力。
「我知道他與眾不同之處，他會從比賽中吸取經驗，」Pelinka說到。這就是簽約Rondo
的重要原因。「他對我們至關重要，因為我們想提高隊伍的球商和季後賽的韌性，他帶
來了這一點。」
如果湖人的年輕人無法按照LBJ的需要執行，那麼新來到湖人的老將們將會獲得更多的
出場機會。Magic，Pelinka和主教練Walton表示，除了LBJ，其他球員都要憑表現去競
爭先發位置。
影響
LBJ是一名具有球隊凝聚力並且能讓隊友表現更好的球員，而不是對他們產生副作用，
他這一點被大家廣為熟知。然而32到33歲的LBJ他最偉大個人賽季的最後畫面，也許卻
定格在JR Smith身上了。JR忽略了時間和比分，使得LBJ對總決賽那場比賽的失利極其
失望。
現在LBJ是一名湖人了，他帶來了對比賽的百科全書式的理解以及對未知部分天生的好
奇心。LBJ來湖人的決定，緊緊抓住了和Magic和Kobe的對話權，他們是這個星球上為數
不多的幾個能與他進行籃球對話的人。
哎，你說LBJ不是來挑戰Magic和Kobe的，這不是他要做的事。
他來這重新開始，是球員更是導師。
這將讓LBJ重新審視自己。
也許也將對他身邊的人產生超乎想像的影響。
原文：
LEBRON'S BASKETBALL MIND WILL PUSH LAKERS' BOUNDARIES
BY KEVIN DING - SENIOR WRITER
We tend to be a superficial sort of people. And the snap judgments have
gone LeBron James’ way from the very start, because unlike the
preps-to-pros prodigies who came before him, he entered a man’s league
with a man’s body.
LeBron has always looked born for basketball.
That physical superiority has only been reinforced over the years,
including a stubborn unwillingness to decline during Seasons 8 through 15,
berths in the NBA Finals every single time—then last season clocking in
for all 82 regular-season games in this new-age era of scheduled superstar
spa days.
The consummate so-called physical specimen. Just a freakish athlete, right?
Genetically gifted.
All true.
And an altogether superficial, short-sighted evaluation of who James is.
The mind has enabled that body.
“This guy is a basketball genius,” Magic Johnson said.
James thinks the game like almost no other ever has. He can see plays
before they happen not because of strength or speed, but because of study
habits arising from true passion for the game.
To put it in Lakers context, he is both Kobe and Shaq. The work ethic and
strategic acumen are reminiscent of Bryant’s determination; the power over
smalls and agility against bigs evoke memories of O’Neal’s inherent
dominance over mere commoners.
For Lakers fans who’ve only casually followed James’ career in the
Eastern Conference, especially because he never did face the Lakers in the
NBA Finals, there might be a misconception that James’ supremacy is a
simple, physical one.
The truth is that James took his physical advantages and didn’t rest on
them. He built a legend on them by maximizing his mental advantages, too.
The Lakers are getting James at a point in time when his physical powers
are still amazing—but his mental game is unequivocally at its peak.
He has seen so much by now, he never forgets anything, he has analyzed it
all…and now he operates consistently ahead of the game.
That is the challenge that the Lakers must meet.
They have to think through the game in a way that these young Lakers have
not before…and have not even been tasked to. They’ve proved they are hard
workers who have an infectious spirit, promising talent and real
accountability, and that’s great. But if they want to contend for a title,
they have no choice but to keep up with what he sees.
The cop-out is that experience is supposed to be the best teacher.
Except here is James with all the answers.
Part of the allure in Lakerland is that James won’t have to work as hard.
Johnson studied video of various stages of James’ career to have an
informed discussion about how they would and should lighten James’ load as
a Laker.
And yes, part of it was that Johnson saw the problems Houston gave Golden
State in the Western Conference Finals.
“Because they had multiple guys who could break the defense down,”
Johnson said.
Easier baskets in transition—“We all have great defensive minds,” JaVale
McGee said of himself and fellow veteran newcomers Rajon Rondo and Lance
Stephenson—often via Lonzo Ball’s knack for rebounding and outlet-passing
will fill Staples Center with the sound of James’ fast-break freight train
roaring down the tracks.
James wants to play more like the young Lakers have, running and riffing
without getting tired because of the front office’s mandate for no more
than 8 percent body fat.
James is more of a kid-at-heart goofball than you would think given his
global icon stature. Those close to James have no doubt that he will revel
in the mentoring role—in part because it will be so much fun for the
not-yet-old dog to be around so many eager pups.
James conveyed some of that to Johnson and Rob Pelinka in his meetings with
the Lakers’ front office.
“LeBron made it clear to Earvin and me that it was one of the things he
was so excited about,” Pelinka said. “We all know when you’re hanging
around youth, it’s exciting. I keep thinking it’s going to add fuel to
his rocket pack, just to be around young, energetic guys who play fast and
play hard. There’s an innocence to being able to shape them and mold them.
“I think a player at LeBron’s career stage, it’s going to be really
incredible for him to feel like he’s giving back to the game and helping
shape these young guys. He didn’t necessarily have that experience the way
the Cleveland team was built. So we purposely wanted this team to be built
very differently than the past one he has played with. I really think the
youth is going to be a mutually beneficial thing.
“Bring joy back to him, being around the young guys, shaping their
careers. And then of course the influence he’s going to have on making
those guys better. We’ve seen that here before with Magic shaping a team,
with Kobe shaping a team. Now it’s LeBron’s turn to have a blank canvas
to put his imprint on the DNA of this team.”
It can work both ways: James raising the bar so the young Lakers’
basketball IQ can pass postseason tests, James operating freer and easier
than when he looked like a sweat-soaked Northeast Ohio factory worker
singlehandedly laboring so the company was getting something up out of the
smokestack.
Of James’ field goals last season, 43.3 percent came after he held the
ball for six or more seconds. That’s a higher rate of ball stopping than
top point guards Damian Lillard (42.2) and John Wall (41.5), and it marked
a huge jump from the 34.2 percent average of James’ previous four seasons.
There’s logic in James controlling the ball to make those genius
basketball decisions, but there has to be a happy medium: James’
brilliance is all the more dangerous when the defense isn’t overloaded
with five men in the box waiting for him to carry the ball.
It should be noted that James ran the end-around once before, turning away
from isolation ball in Miami and evolving the modern game well before the
Golden State Warriors did. The 2012 Heat won the NBA championship with
their “pace and space” invention and undersized Chris Bosh at center.
The Lakers now want to create their own style that is not dependent on
Golden State-level three-point splashing. A lot of it will revolve around
James as a basketball savant, and the Lakers’ perimeter shooting will
improve just from James’ elite decision-making efficiency.
“If you really study LeBron, and Rajon Rondo and the way he plays,”
Pelinka said, “these guys are so smart at creating angles and passing. The
shooting windows for our other players are going to be bigger.”
James will do what he does, but the Lakers’ game will also be the purest
Lakers incarnation of up-tempo Showtime this century has seen—with James
willingly relinquishing some creative control. After all, Hollywood is
supposed to have other great showrunners.
James is fully aware the Lakers can offer him this. Part of his elevated
way of thinking the game is being a basketball junkie: watching and thus
digesting an unhealthy amount of NBA action, sometimes more than one game
at the same time. The Lakers have usually played at a later time slot than
James, making it easier for James to take in Brandon Ingram’s diligent
drives and Kyle Kuzma’s running hooks and appreciate the Lakers ranking
second last season in fast-break points.
“He looks at the entire landscape of the NBA,” Pelinka said. “He looks
at trades that have been made, he looks at how teams draft players, how
they develop them, the style of play.
“I’m sure he evaluated all those things. For us, he was particularly
excited about our young core, the toughness that they played with, and the
fact that we have (salary-cap) flexibility to build something special.”
James told Johnson he admired the Lakers’ speed of play, but also how the
young players looked ready to level up as professionals.
“He was big on that accountability and discipline and playing the game the
right way,” Johnson said. “That’s what he liked about our players.”
James’ answers to press-conference questions after playoff games the past
two years offered eye-opening glimpses into his beautiful basketball mind.
After losing Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals, James said the next day: “If I
could have the play over again, I would come off a three-screen situation.
Draymond (Green) would switch on me with five fouls. I would get him
leaning. I would drive left. I would see KD (Kevin Durant) step up. I would
see Stephen Curry drop on Kevin. And I would see Kyle Korver in the corner,
one of the greatest three-point shooters in this league’s history, and
give him an opportunity in the short corner. I would do the same exact
thing.
A day after losing Game 1 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, James
spoke with more security about the game’s turning-point details than even
his teammates’ surnames.
“What happened? The first possession, we ran them down all the way to two
on the shot clock, Marcus Morris missed the jump shot, followed it up, they
got a dunk,” James said. “We came back down. We ran a set for Jordan
Crawford, I mean Jordan Clarkson, and he came off and missed it. They
rebounded it.
“We came back on the defensive end and we got a stop. They took it out on
the sideline. Jayson Tatum took the ball out, threw it to Marcus Smart in
the short corner. He made a three.
“We come back down, miss another shot, and then Tatum came down, went 94
feet, did a Eurostep and made a right-hand layup. Timeout.”
After the latter speech, some reporters actually applauded they were so
awed by James’ memory gymnastics.
Pelinka and Johnson already put pressure on their players to make
substantial physical improvements this offseason. Pelinka’s “look books,
” handed out the day after the season ended, showed compelling before and
after photos of NBA stars to drive home the value of physical dominance.
James standing there live and in person, with that power and speed, with
his unwavering commitment to workouts, will push that agenda further.
But you can only do so much with however many calories to consume and
however many days on the calendar. There’s less concrete reason why a guy
shouldn’t be able to raise his level of basketball understanding
immediately.
That’s why the pressure to be mentally sound alongside James will be so
intriguing to monitor in the coming Lakers season.
“I know he’s a student of the game like no other,” Pelinka said.
That alone is a big reason Rondo is here. He was “essential for us to add,
” according to Pelinka, because “we wanted to add basketball IQ and
playoff toughness, and he brings that.”
If the young holdover Lakers can’t execute the way James needs, the
incoming veteran Lakers will get more of the opportunities. Lakers coach
Luke Walton, Johnson and Pelinka are already saying no one but James is
promised a starting spot.
Widely regarded as a unifying force, wanting the best for and out of the
guys around him, James is not known for tearing down teammates. Yet the
lasting image of perhaps James’ greatest individual season will be JR Smith
—age 32 to James’ 33, for the record—failing to know time and score…and
James’ utter exasperation with it en route to an NBA Finals defeat.
Now LeBron is a Laker, and he brings with him this encyclopedic knowledge
of the game and innate curiosity about all its parts. His decision to come
was clinched upon having conversations with Magic and Kobe, two of the few
on this planet who could truly have next-level basketball conversations
with him.
Alas, LeBron won’t be playing with Magic and Kobe, you say. That’s not
what he came to do.
He came to start over, as a teacher and a player.
It’s a move that will refresh James’ mind.
And maybe the minds of those around him will be stimulated beyond belief.