俄城兄弟,各顯神威

With a little over a month in the season left, James Harden and Russell Westbrook will likely finish neck-and-neck in MVP voting this season as a result of their spectacular performances this year, and yet, that fails to capture how otherworldly the tandem has been.

常規賽還有一個多月纔會結束，但可以預想的是，本賽季打出逆天表現的詹姆斯-哈登和拉塞爾-威斯布魯克將在MVP的評選中並駕齊驅，成爲當選的熱門。

It's easy to forget now, but the duo played together a few years ago and helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 2012 Finals, where they lost in five games to the Miami Heat.

現在想起當年兩人同隊時的光輝歲月，不禁有些恍如隔世的感覺。也許很多人已經忘記，哈登和威少在幾年前曾聯手作戰，幫助俄克拉荷馬雷霆隊殺入總決賽，最後和如日中天的熱火在大戰五場後落敗而歸。

Harden was a versatile sixth man then, but his departure via trade to the Houston Rockets turned him into a rather unique superstar.

在那時，哈登還只是一個全能的第六人，但在雷霆通過交易把他送到休斯頓火箭後，他徹底進化成爲了一個獨一無二的超級巨星。

At 6'5'' and 220 pounds, the Beard looks like your prototypical swingman, but he is in fact anything but prototypical. Harden possesses what one might deem as slightly above average athleticism, decent quickness, a killer first step and good-if-not-great upper body strength.

196cm的身高220磅的體重，這看起來是一個典型側翼球員的身材，但哈登實際上和“典型”二字一點沾不上邊。哈登擁有稍稍高於平均水準的運動能力，還算不錯的敏捷度，極具殺傷力的第一步和也許不算傑出但也十分優秀的上肢力量。

His physical tools are far from overpowering, but his offensive repertoire most definitely is. Harden plays the game at his own pace and dares opponents to challenge his best effort.

他的身體條件還遠遠達不到逆天的地步，但他的進攻技巧絕對是無可比擬的。哈登總能把比賽控制在自己的節奏之下，激怒他的對手來挑戰自己，然後全力擊敗他們。

The 27-year-old Rockets point guard likes to slow things down in an effort to process information in a manner very much reminiscent to Neo after he discovered his true power in The Matrix films.

這個27歲的火箭控位喜歡放慢節奏來閱讀比賽，這讓我想起了《黑客帝國》中，發現了自己真正力量的尼奧。

Harden operates at varying speeds, a trait that consistently throws off defenders. At times, he will deliberately slow himself down while being guarded closely, only to pick up steam and explode toward the hoop for a strong finish.

哈登可以很好的掌控自己的速度，所以他總能夠輕易地擺脫對手的防守。在被緊逼時，他有時會刻意放慢自己的速度，這樣他就可以慢慢提速，然後猛地一個加速衝向籃筐，強硬地終結這次進攻了。

His combination of footwork, speed shifts and shooting prowess make Harden a nightmare matchup for every player in the league, regardless of size.

哈登將自己的腳步，變速能力和投射技巧結合得十分完美，這對於聯盟中任何一個與哈登對位的球員來說簡直是個噩夢。

Take Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan as an example. This past week, Jordan switched the pick-and-roll a few times and got matched up with Harden and got roasted in the matchup.

就拿快船隊中鋒德安德魯-喬丹作爲一個例子。就在上週火箭對陣快船的比賽中，小喬丹在擋拆換防後和哈登進行過幾次正面交鋒，他被痛扁了一頓。

On the first switch, Harden went into ultra slow-mo mode, by dribbling Jordan to sleep, faking the drive with a jab step and then finishing it all off with a gorgeous step-back 3-pointer.

在第一次換防後，哈登進入了“慢動作”模式，他緩緩地運球，然後趁着小喬丹晃神的功夫，一個試探步假意突破，隨即用一個漂亮的後撤步三分終結了這次進攻。

Jordan took a mental note.

小喬丹默默記下了這次進攻。

Three possessions later, they met again, with Jordan prepared this time around. On this try, Harden dribbled Jordan into sleep again, Crossed over and blew by Jordan, slowed down as if to indicate he was going to make a pass to the corner (he casually looked into that direction) and instead made an easy uncontested layup.

三個回合後，兩人又碰頭了，但這次小喬丹已是準備周全。在這次進攻中，哈登又是一段緩慢的運球，然後一個Cross Over晃過小喬丹。隨後他放慢速度，像是要把球傳給底角的隊友（他的眼睛有意無意地望過那個方向），但實際上，他選擇了直殺籃下，輕鬆地上了一個空籃。

The Beard possesses a multitude of impressive skills (ball-handling, shooting, passing and the uncanny ability to goad players into reaching for the ball to draw fouls and score), but none of them are on par with his mind.

大鬍子的武器庫裏有非常多殺傷力非凡的武器（持球，投射，傳球和非常可怕的造犯規能力），但沒有一個技巧能夠比擬他那非凡的籃球智商。

Harden views the floor like a basketball genius given his ability to assess variables. such as personnel, tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, defensive rotations and match ups.

哈登擁有籃球天才特有的那種閱讀比賽的能力，他可以快速地分析像隊友的配置，習慣，優缺點以及對手的防守陣型和對位人員這些球場上的變量。

He processes all of this info within a split second and reacts in a manner that that allows the Rockets to thrive with a top-two league offense.

他只需要幾秒鐘時間就可以處理完這些信息，隨後做出調整。在他的帶領下火箭打出了聯盟前二的進攻水平。

Interestingly enough, Harden's mind was a known commodity dating back to his lone Finals appearance.

非常有趣的是，哈登的籃球智商早在他唯一的一次總決賽之旅中就已經爲人熟知。

A member of the Heat's coaching staff offered as much to Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins, prompting him to write: "When the Heat faced the Thunder in the 2012 Finals, they prioritized Harden over Westbrook and (Kevin) Durant, believing he was the superior playmaker even though he was the sixth man."

一個熱火的教練組成員向體育畫報記者Lee Jenkins透露道：“當熱火在2012年總決賽對陣雷霆時，他們選擇優先針對哈登而非威斯布魯克和杜蘭特，因爲他們認爲儘管哈登是球隊的第六人，但他是一個非常優秀的組織者。”

All Harden's been missing is the right teacher to unlock all of his gifts, and Houston head coach Mike D'Antoni has done a masterful job of creating the perfect offensive environment for a player some might consider to be the brightest in the league.

哈登僅僅需要一個正確的導師來釋放他的天賦，而火箭主教練德安東尼就是那個人，他爲這個被看作聯盟最聰明的球員創造了一個十分完美的輸出環境。

Indeed, a rival coach shared with Jenkins: "The smartest player in our league is LeBron James. James Harden is second."

事實上此言不假，一個火箭對手的教練跟Jenkins說過：“聯盟裏最聰明的球員是勒布朗-詹姆斯，詹姆斯-哈登次之。”

Harden's evolution from scoring threat to league leader in assists has been a marvel to observe.

哈登從聯盟頂級得分手到領跑聯盟助攻榜的進化歷程是一個值得我們好好觀察的奇蹟。

After all, it's not like he stopped putting up points. If anything he's on the verge of becoming the league's top all-around player as evidenced by his career-high averages in rebounds (eight), assists (11.3), free-throw attempts (10.9) coupled with his customary scoring (28.8).

畢竟，他並沒有放棄得分而後主打傳控，實際上，哈登正在像聯盟最頂級的多面手進化。本賽季他打出了職業生涯新高的籃板（8個），助攻（11.3個）和罰球（10.9個）數據，而他的得分則是一如既往的穩定（場均28.8分）。

Harden is a player like no other, and yet, his former teammate has challenged his every move this season with a historic campaign.

哈登是獨一無二的，而他的前隊友正在用史詩級別的表現向他發起着挑戰。

Russell Westbrook, averaging a triple double this season, could very well finish the year by averaging double figures in points, rebounds and assists; a feat that has not been accomplished since Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson managed it during the 1961-62 campaign.

拉塞爾-威斯布魯克本賽季到目前爲止打出了場均三雙的表現，他也非常有可能把這個數字保持到賽季結束。在名人堂成員奧斯卡-羅伯特森在1961-62賽季打出這樣的數據之後，還沒有人能夠完成這樣的神蹟。

The 28-year-old Westbrook has been a force of nature in every facet of the game by virtue of an energy tank that appears to be limitless.

28歲的威斯布魯克在比賽的方方面面中展現着自己驚人的身體素質，他不知疲倦，他的燃油庫似乎從來就沒有見底的時候。

The Oklahoma City Thunder guard plays with reckless abandon and is constantly on the attack. It often appears as though games morph into a litmus test of manhood, and Westbrook is always poised to win them.

這個在夏天被隊友“無情拋棄”的雷霆控衛一直都處於進攻模式，有的時候讓人感覺他把比賽演變成了一次對於自己男子氣概的測試，他總是時刻準備着去贏下比賽。

He makes appearances in every possible aspect of each and every contest to the point where one must wonder if his infectious zeal is a product of a competitiveness that borders on maniacal.

他無處不在，他從比賽的方方面面影響着比賽。他的在賽場上的激情極具感染力，有時我們不得不懷疑，這樣的鬥志是否是他那近乎瘋狂的求勝慾望的產物。

He is Kobe Bryant, DeMarcus Cousins, Gary Payton and Oscar all wrapped into one.

他是科比-布萊恩特，德馬庫斯-考辛斯，加里-佩頓和奧斯卡的結合體。

Westbrook will take every single shot if he must (Kobe), verbally challenge opponents and officials (Cousins), play with a swagger that vacillates between self-confidence and disrespect (Payton) and then do every single thing on the hardwood that will tilt the balance from defeat to victory (Robertson).

威斯布魯克會在需要他站出來的時候堅定地投出每一次投籃（科比），用語言激怒他的對手和裁判（考辛斯），能在自信和輕蔑間隨意切換（佩頓），會爲了扭轉敗局付出一切（羅伯特森）。

What's most fascinating about Brodie is that he checks into games with an energy reserved for fringe players attempting to prove to their coach they belong both on the team and in the league.

Brodie（威少的暱稱）最讓人欽佩的一點是，威少會爲每一次比賽傾盡全力，就像他是個急需向教練證明自己屬於這支隊伍和聯盟的邊緣球員一樣。

Westbrook plays at a speed few in the NBA could ever dream of reaching. Indeed, he's the basketball version of Dominic Toretto with a never-ending NOS tank.

威斯布魯克的速度十很少有球員能夠企及的，實際上，他就是籃球界的多米尼克-託雷託（《速度與激情》中的主角），他配備的氮氣加速系統的燃料是無窮無盡的。

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