The Pistons Shouldn’t Be This Bad
活塞不该这么烂的啊！
（部落格影音图文好读版：http://mola79321.pixnet.net/blog/post/345517943）
Every fantasy baseball league has that owner who drafts too many players at
one position, hoping to outsmart the group, hoard one asset type, and either
make the roster work or find a killer trade down the line. (I may have done
this with catchers once during a disastrous draft-day binge involving Russell
Martin, Victor Martinez, and beer.) Sometimes the decision breaks right, but
it usually ends up with diminishing returns — useless overlap leading to a
losing trade.
每个FB（fantasy baseball）的联盟里都会有个经营者喜欢选很多同一个位置的
球员，希望出此奇策能打败对手。藉着积藏同类的资产，然后能一举让这个阵容
成功，或是在未来搞到一笔抢劫交易。（我以前大概有在补手这位置过类似的事
。某一次毁灭性的发狂选秀日，选了Russell Martin、Victor Martinez和beer。
）有时候这个决定会成功，但大多数时结果都是效用报酬递减。而最终因没用的
角色重叠导致被抢劫的交易。
The Pistons knew they were taking a risk when they signed Josh Smith to a
massive four-year contract, slotting him alongside two cornerstone big men in
Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. There were other alternatives, but Joe
Dumars, flush with cap space for the first time since the 2009 offseason,
went all-in for the biggest talent available. Smith has played both forward
positions, but he has always worked better as a power forward. The fit with
Monroe and Drummond would be awkward, but Detroit banked on sheer talent and
smart coaching to win out in the end.
活塞队自己知道和Josh Smith签下四年大约，并把他安排在Greg Monroe和Andre
Drummond这两位建队基石型的长人身边时，是具有风险的决定。当时的确有其他
的选项，但Joe Dumars决定对自由市场最具天分的球员梭哈，让活塞在2009年休
赛期间后首次让球队薪资碰顶。Smith两个前锋的位置都可以打，但他打大前锋的
表现一直以来都更好。这让他和Monroe跟Drummond的组合看起来有些不适合，但
活塞指望这些纯粹的天份以及聪明的教练团能变出好的结果。
Halfway through the season, higher-ups with the Pistons have to be feeling
queasy. Detroit is 16-22, clinging to a postseason spot in a putrid
conference. The Pistons aren’t boring anymore, at least. They play at an
above-average pace after a decade-plus as one of the league’s snails,
Drummond dunks a lot, and there is League Pass appeal in the sheer wackiness
of the roster — the lefties, the hairstyles, the horrible jump shots, Mo
Cheeks sitting with fans in the stands during game play.
球季过一半了，活塞高层肯定有些不安。活塞现在战绩16胜22败，在烂透的东区
保有季后赛的席位。活塞队比赛内容至少不再无聊。在当了十几年的龟速球队后
，现在有着比联盟平均高的比赛节奏、Drummond灌了一堆篮，而且还有吸引力十
足的怪异阵容－左撇子、怪头男、烂跳投、以及总教练Mo Cheeks在比赛途中和
球迷同坐。
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7oOM0fcPB0
The Pistons might be watchable again, but they’re still bad, and they’re
bad in a very disturbing way: The Smith/Monroe/Drummond trio has been a
complete flop on both ends of the floor. Opponents have outscored the Pistons
by 7.4 points per 48 minutes in the 716 minutes the three bigs have played
together, per NBA.com. Of the 134 trios leaguewide who have logged at least
500 minutes, only two have registered a worse scoring margin — and they play
for two franchises (Utah and Philly) that are not trying to win games. The
damage has been worse on defense. Detroit has allowed 110.2 points per 100
possessions with the ultra-big group, a mark that would rank well below Utah’
s league-worst overall figure. Detroit is on pace to finish below the league
average in both points scored and points allowed per possession for the fifth
straight season; it is the only team to have pulled that dubious double in
each of the last four seasons. Uh-oh.
活塞比赛或许再度抓住人的眼光，但他们依然是支烂队，而且他们烂的让人不悦。
Smith、Monroe、Drummond三巨头在进攻和防守两端都彻底的失败了。根据NBA.com
数据，对手在三巨头同时在场上时，每48分钟能比活塞多得7.4分。目前联盟134
组一起上场超过500分钟的三人组，只有两组人比这个分差还要烂，而这两组人所
在球队分别是爵士和七六人，是两支没有在认真的赢比赛的球队。防守是活塞最
大的痛处。活塞在禁区三巨头在场上时，让对手每百回得分高达110.2，而这数字
比联盟最差的爵士防守效率还要低得多。活塞现在的比赛内容是迈向连续五季每
回合得失分都比联盟平均低的节奏。活塞也是近四季联盟唯一支在攻守都差的球
队。我想写个惨字。
The Big 3 Isn’t Working Out
三巨头不合拍
The Pistons have been much better when separating the three bigs. Considering
only lineups that have logged at least 10 minutes together, Detroit is a
collective plus-29 in 435 minutes when only two of the three bigs are on the
floor. The Monroe/Smith combination has been the best of the three
permutations, but Dumars has also given it by far the most time to sort
itself out. The Drummond/Monroe pairing has been the worst, and it has played
most sparingly; only two lineups including the young bigs, but not Smith,
have hit that 10-minute threshold.
活塞在这三巨头分开打时表现要好的多。考虑有一起上场至少10分钟的组合的话
，活塞在三巨头只有两个在场上的435分钟里，总共是正29的表现。Monroe和Smith
的组合是三种配对中表现最佳的组合，但Dumars也给这组合最多的时间去磨合。
Drummond和Monroe的组合则是最糟的，而这组合在场上的时间也最少。有这两人
组而没Smith的阵容，只有两个刚好达到10分钟门槛。
The triple-big thing just hasn’t worked, leaving Detroit in an awkward
position as Monroe approaches restricted free agency. There is rampant
speculation among league executives that the Pistons will look to deal Monroe
ahead of next month’s trade deadline, but it’s just speculation. No one has
heard a peep from the Pistons yet. But other teams know the results have been
poor, and that Monroe’s agent, David Falk, will push for the max and work
hard to maneuver Monroe to the team willing to pay him the most. Smith has
three years left on his contract after this season. Drummond is a keeper, but
would the Pistons really be willing to commit something like $42 million per
season, at least once Drummond’s rookie deal expires, to a foundation that
simply doesn’t work? The Pistons appear to be preaching patience with a very
young roster, even amid an endless montage of disastrous fourth quarters.
禁区三巨头的组合没有磨出个成绩来，这让活塞队陷入尴尬的状况，因为Monroe
即将成为受限制自由球员。联盟间有一堆人在推测活塞将在下个月交易截止前寻
找交易Monroe的方案。不过这也只是推测而已，还没人听到任何关于活塞方面的
消息。不过其他球队都知道三巨头的成绩很糟，同时Monroe的经纪人David Falk
将会努力找到愿意付最多钱给Monroe的球队。Smith在这季结束后还有三年合约才
到期。Drummond值得留下来，但在Drummond的菜鸟约到时，活塞愿意付一季至少
四千两百万美金，给一个组无法成功的建队基石吗？活塞队似乎对着群非常年轻
的阵容保有耐心，即使第四节悲剧不断上演依旧如此。
That the worst problems with the all-big group have come on defense might
provide hope, if you squint at them in just the right light. Young teams tend
to struggle on defense, and the Pistons’ centerpiece rim protector is one of
the youngest players in the league. Perhaps they might grow as a collective,
provided Cheeks can coach them up properly.
如果你能用正确的角度来审视他们的话，禁区三巨头组合最糟的问题在于防守这
点，这或许能提供一线解决问题的希望。年轻球队在防守上容易挣扎，而活塞的
禁区保护中枢是联盟中最年轻的球员之一。或许他们能一起成长，假设Cheeks可
以适当的教导他们的话。
The early returns are discouraging. Most rotation guards and wings are prone
to backdoor cuts, and the one with the most potential on defense, Kentavious
Caldwell-Pope, is in the very early stages of learning NBA-level rotations.
Brandon Jennings has dialed up his effort level recently from “comatose” to
“generally aware of his surroundings,” but he’s always been loose with his
fundamentals and disappointing with his effort. Smith is a smart defender who
can protect the rim, but he’s slipped a bit this season, and he’s not quick
enough to guard speedy wings.
目前的结果是令人失望的。面对防守轮转时，多数的后卫和侧翼球员倾向于开后
门空切，而活塞最有防守潜力的球员Kentavious Caldwell-Pope还正开始学习NBA
等级的轮转。Brandon Jennings近来提高了防守质量，从“恍神”变成“大致上
有在注意周遭状况”。不过，一直以来他对于基本功都不太在乎，而且防守也不
太努力。Smith是个聪明的防守者，他可以保护禁区。但这季的他稍稍退步些，
而且他的速度有点跟不上快速的侧翼球员。
Monroe and Drummond have great hands, fantastic for the pickpocket steals
that fuel Detroit’s high theft rate, but their footwork and decision-making
are poor. Monroe’s issues are well documented. He inspires zero fear at the
basket, and he’s not the quickest cat. He’s certainly not quick enough to
execute a scheme that often asks him to jump out aggressively against
pick-and-rolls, chasing little point guards 25 feet from the hoop.
Monroe和Drummond都有双快手，有着惊人的抄截能力，让活塞有着高抄截率。但
他们的防守脚步和决策能力相当糟糕。Monroe的问题非常清楚。他无法给予对手
任何封阻威胁，而且他并不灵敏。战术要求他积极的在档拆后奔出去离篮框25呎
处，追逐那些小个子控卫，但他并没有那个速度执行这些防守战术。
Drummond is already a fearsome shot-blocker, and he projects as an elite
defensive force. But his footwork and awareness are dicey — not unexpected,
given his age. He might be the only player in the league this season to fall
head over heels for Jonas Valanciunas’s pump fake.
Drummond已经是个令人害怕的火锅好手，而且目标成为顶尖防守球员。但他的防
守脚步以及观念还很嫩。由于他的年纪，是也不意外啦。他大概是本季唯一一位
被Jonas Valanciunas的假动作骗惨的球员。
There is just carnage, everywhere. The Pistons are routinely giving up two of
the juiciest shots in the league — baskets off of cuts, and corner 3s. About
8.3 percent of enemy possessions end with a player shooting (or drawing a
foul) via a basket cut, the sixth-highest share in the league, per Synergy
Sports. Only the Sixers have allowed more corner 3s, and opponents have hit a
sizzling 41 percent of those short triples against Detroit, per NBA.com.
对手完全在屠杀活塞队。活塞一惯的放掉联盟最甜的两种得分方式，空切得分和
底角三分。根据Synergy Sports，大约有8.3%的对手进攻权是终于空切后的出手
或赚犯规，而这是联盟第六高的数字。根据NBA.com的数据，只有七六人比活塞
给予对方更多底角三分机会，而对手的底角三分命中率是火热的41%。
Good ball handlers who know when Monroe is going to hedge out far from the
basket on the pick-and-roll can split him, or just go around him, with ease.
From there, it’s a simple matter of driving into the lane, drawing help, and
finding the guy with the easiest shot. One particular sort of “cut” is
killing Detroit over and over: Ball handlers run a pick-and-roll, get into
the lane, and then drop off an easy pass to the non-screening big man lurking
along the baseline. Here’s a textbook example, via Paul George:
好的控球者了解当Monroe在防档拆远离篮框来阻挡持球者时，可以轻松的钻过去
，或是轻松的绕过他。过了他后，就看你要切入篮下、吸引帮忙防守，然后找到
有轻松出手机会的队友。某个一直以来都对活塞造成重伤的“空切”就是控球者
打档拆、切进篮下，然后传个简单小球给埋伏在底线的非档人大个子。以下是典
型的范例，主演是Paul George：
http://ppt.cc/O9PR
http://ppt.cc/JqTb
http://ppt.cc/yzSl
Miscommunication appears rampant. There are times when multiple Pistons
involved in defending the same play seem to have no insight into what the
other guy is going to do. Take this Gerald Green drive from Detroit’s
fall-from-ahead win over the weekend against Phoenix:
沟通不良的问题不断发生。常常看到多名活塞球员在防守一样的球员，他们似乎
互相不知道队友到底要做什么。以下影片当例子，是活塞在周末对上太阳队的差
点被逆转的比赛中，Gerald Green其中的一个切入：
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-IbMq4I_tI
Caldwell-Pope, guarding Green, positions himself between Green and the
screener — an indication KCP believes the Pistons should try to force Green
away from the pick, and toward the left baseline. But Monroe, guarding the
screener, lunges up above the pick toward midcourt, as if he’s expecting KCP
will allow Green to use the pick — making it Monroe’s responsibility to cut
Green off up top. Whoopsie.
Caldwell-Pope对位防守Green，他的站位在Green和档人者之间。这表示KCP相信
队友应该迫使Green远离单档，并把他逼到左边底线。但负责防档人者的Monroe却
往中场冲过档人者身旁，似乎是认为KCP要引诱Green使用档拆。若这么做，档柱
Green的路线就是Monroe责任。搞不清楚状况，糗！
And once facing a crisis, Detroit’s rotations are rarely clean enough to put
it out. Take this sequence against the Nets, which begins with Joe Johnson
and Kevin Garnett running a pick-and-roll on the right side — a play on
which Detroit, apparently by design, allows Johnson to drive toward the
middle so Drummond can hedge out hard and meet him there:
一旦遇到防守危机，活塞队的防守轮转鲜少能交代清楚并解决危机。以这场对篮
网其中一段当例子。一开始是Joe Johnson和Kevin Garnett在右边跑一个档拆战
术，而活塞明显的设计好要让Johnson往中路切，以便Drummond能出来阻挡他的路
线：
http://ppt.cc/Y4xD
That opens up an easy pass from Johnson to Garnett, who slips down toward the
right baseline, drawing a rotation from Monroe off of Mirza Teletovic on the
right side.
这让Johnson能轻松传给Garnett，而Garnett则往右边底线沉退。如此一来便吸引
Monroe轮转来防他，离开自己对位的Mirza Teletovic。
http://ppt.cc/6KHN
All’s (kind of) fine so far! Except Caldwell-Pope, who struggles with this
kind of on-the-fly team rotation, allows Teletovic to just cut right by him,
catch a pass from KG, and lay the ball in:
目前为止都还OK！除了Caldwell-Pope外，因为他不擅于这种不停机的团队防守轮
转，让Teletovic能直接从他身旁空手切，并接到KG传球上篮得分：
http://ppt.cc/kY2l
This kind of stuff happens all the time. The Pistons are just not able to
maintain any on-a-string coherence. Drummond has to help on this disastrous
pick-and-roll, but no one behind him “helps the helper”:
这种状况随时可见。活塞队就是无法将防守连结保持在不失控的状态。Drummond
必须来为这个悲剧的档拆防守擦屁股，但在之后就没人来罩他了。
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGO_1aLY79g
Anyone wanna rotate from this weird triple-team of Goran Dragic in the post
and find P.J. Tucker in the corner? Anyone?
有任何人要在诡异的Goran Dragic低位三夹后，轮转去防角落的P.J. Tucker吗？
有吗？
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUQgKryG4Q4
Why is Jennings pestering Valanciunas behind the 3-point arc, leaving Kyle
Lowry open for a 3-pointer he’ll make about a couple of seconds after this
screenshot?
为什么Jennings要在三分线和Valanciunas纠缠，而让Kyle Lowry在之后的几秒有
个三分空档呢？
http://ppt.cc/aWfD
How Can They Fix It?
如何补破网？
There are possible solutions, but testing them out in real time, amid a
playoff “race,” is always tough for a coach. Cheeks should probably be
staggering minutes more, and he began doing so over the weekend, when the
three bigs averaged just 12 minutes together per game — down from their
season average of about 19 minutes. He might want to let the Drummond/Monroe
combo stretch a bit more without Smith; Detroit was solid defensively when
those two shared the floor last season, but Cheeks has barely used that
alignment. In the bigger picture, he might tinker with a more conservative
defensive style that keeps his big men closer to the paint — an imitation of
what Indiana, Chicago, San Antonio, Golden State, and others have done — but
such a revamp midseason is difficult.
的确有几个解决方案，不过在比赛中试验，还要“竞争”季后赛名额队教练来说
永远是件困难的事。Cheeks可能该多多交错安排三巨头的时间，而他在周末比赛
时做了这件事。把三巨头同时在场上的场均19分钟，减少到12分钟左右。他可能
要在没Smith时，多用Drummond和Monroe的双人组。活塞上季在这两人同时在场
上时防守算扎实，不过Cheeks几乎不太用这组合。更宏观的说，他可能试着用更
保守的防守策略来补救，让大个子球员在禁区里保护篮框。类似溜马、公牛、马
刺、勇士和其他球队的防守策略，但这种季中改变并不容易。
Detroit is big, slow, and clunky, but it shouldn’t be this bad. And if it
remains so, it will raise painful questions about Monroe’s future on the
team. He’s a bit of a liability on defense, but he’s a freaking beast on
offense and the glass. His quick hands produce legitimate benefits on defense
(namely, steals), he cleans the glass, and he might function well in a
different system, aside a top rim protector — perhaps Drummond in a couple
of years. You don’t deal a big guy with these skills, at age 23, just
because you overpaid for an older guy who plays the same position. The
Pistons could have about $12 million in cap space this summer, even factoring
in Monroe’s cap hold, and they could have something close to max-level cap
room in the summer of 2015 — even if they re-sign Monroe in the interim.
Only the first year of Drummond’s next contract will overlap with Smith’s
deal, and Jennings’s contract will have expired by then. Detroit’s cap
sheet is pretty lean.
活塞队阵容又大又迟缓，不过表现不该这么烂。而且如果持续低迷的话，Monroe
痛苦的未来去留问题便会被提起。他在防守端对球队是个负担，但他在进攻端和
抓篮板上是只凶猛的野兽。他的快手在防守端对球队有加分作用（也就是抄截啦）
、他能抓好防守篮板。同时，他若和一个顶尖禁区保护者同队（可能是几年后的
Drummond），并在不同的体系下打球的话，或许能表现的更好。你不会把一个才
23岁，而且有着这些技巧的球员交易掉。只因为在同位置签下一位年纪稍长且不
值这笔钱的球员。即使你把Monroe的薪资额度考虑进去，活塞在这个夏天依然可
能有1千2百万左右的薪资空间。即便在这对期间内签下Monroe，他们在2015年还
是有将近顶薪的空间。只有Drummond下一纸合约的第一年会和Smith的合约重叠，
而同时Jennings的合约会到期。活塞的薪资表很有操作空间。
The crazier solution would be to cut bait on Smith immediately via trade.
That will be hard, perhaps almost impossible. Detroit would have to include a
first-round pick in some deals, and it’s already out one to the Bobcats — a
pick that is top-eight protected this year, meaning Detroit only keeps the
pick if it falls within the top eight. Detroit has no interest in tanking to
keep that pick, at least for now.
最疯狂的解决方案是透过交易马上放弃Smith。这么做会非常困难，可以说是不可
能的任务。活塞必须要在交易包内放个第一轮选秀权，而活塞队已经给山猫一个
一轮选秀签。这支签是今年的前八保护选秀权，代表除非活塞名次掉到选秀前八
，否则他们无法保有这个选秀权。至少目前活塞没有想要摆烂保留这支签的意思。
The other solution is to find a team desperate to win now and unload Smith
for a less onerous contract. One off-the-wall suggestion a few NBA folks on
other teams have mentioned to me in recent days: What if the Pistons offered
Smith to the Nets for Brook Lopez? The Nets get a player who can help them
now in exchange for a player who can’t, and who has suffered chronic foot
injuries. Detroit gets a guy whose deal might expire two years before Smith,
making him a more tradable asset going forward. You can build other deals
involving some of the league’s other unpleasant contracts, but it doesn’t
help that two teams that once had (improbable) postseason ambitions — the
Lakers and Pelicans — have seen those hopes almost totally extinguished
because of injuries and (in L.A.’s case) a general lack of talent.
另一个解决方法则是找一支渴求赢球的球队，然后摆脱掉Smith以换取一个没这么
麻烦的合约。几位他队的NBA同仁在这几天曾和我提到一个疯狂的建议。如果活塞
把Smith交易到篮网换取Brook Lopez如何呢？篮网可以用一位现在无法帮助他们
的球员。换到一位现在能帮他们赢球的球员。而且丢掉的球员有着长期的脚伤。
活塞得到一位比Smith的约早两年到期的球员，这让他在未来更有交易价值。你可
以试着建构一些交易案，把其他有着烦人合约的球队拉进来。但都不会对湖人和
鹈鹕这两支球队有所帮助。这两支球队曾抱着季后赛希望，而如今却几乎破灭。
就因为伤病和（对湖人来说）阵容缺乏天份。
Such a trade would out of the box, and almost certainly won’t happen, but it
’s not lunacy. Smith is a good player. I’ve been a fan for years. But he
has slipped a bit this season, and he has too often been a drain on Detroit’
s offense — particularly late in games. He’s shooting 25 percent from deep,
and he’s on pace for more than 300 3-point attempts. Precisely zero players
have ever shot that many 3s and shot them so poorly.
这类交易是突发奇想的，而且几乎不可能会发生。不过倒也不是疯了的想法。
Smith是位好球员。我一直都是他的球迷。但他这季退步了些，而且对活塞的进攻
常常是个负担。尤其是在比赛后段时。他的三分命中率是25%，而且他的出手数在
季末时可能超过300次。在历史上没有一位球员投这么多三分但命中率比他糟的。
It’s probably too early to execute such a drastic change, but the Pistons
should at least be thinking about it. They can afford to be somewhat patient.
The East is horrible, and Detroit has enough talent to work things out,
improve organically, and become a feisty playoff team. But the ultra-big look
hasn’t gotten off to a good start, and it might be unworkable.
要做这么大的改变或许还太早，但活塞至少该思考这个可能性。他们的确能再有
点耐心。东区糟透了，而活塞有足够的天赋能搞定一切、能有组织性的变好，而
且能在季后赛有活跃表现。但超大阵容开际运作不佳，而且可能无法顺利运转。
原文网址－
http://tinyurl.com/kda9ul5
心得：
活塞队这季目前为止的表现真的令人失望
尤其是夏天时Smith可以说是只输Dwight Howard的大鱼
如今却没有对活塞给予太大帮助
若不考虑到交易的话，活塞一定要想办法让禁区三巨头能一起打球
当然错开来用是一个方法
想当初热火一开始LeBron James和Wade半场进攻打法稍稍有冲突时，也是尽量将时间错开来
不过这毕竟不是长久之计。活塞如何将自己禁区优势放大才是该考虑的课题。
防守方面，这篇文都点出了重点
看比赛会对于活塞这种禁区阵容，但禁区防守这么却这么破感到意外
很显然的是防守沟通上有严重的问题
比起改变进攻打法，或许先加强防守这环是个好方法。
在纽约双雄稍稍崛起之后，希望活塞这支季前人期待的球队能注入一股活水到东区啊！
（还有交易后的骑士也希望稍稍有起色）