造夢場

Adam Formal

Where is the biggest hotbed for NBA-caliber talent？ Theres the huge difference between peoples champion and experts champion.

最能孕育NBA級球員的地方是哪？專家和大眾之間對此有著巨大的分歧。

Our quest to determine which location has served as the biggest hotbed for NBA-caliber talent in recent years rolls on. At first， we began with Washington， D.C.， Chicago， Los Angeles and New York City all in the mix for the title， but two have already been stricken from the competition.

我們?nèi)匀辉趯ふ易钅茉杏齆BA級別球員的地方。最初，我們挑選了華盛頓特區(qū)、芝加哥、洛杉磯和紐約參與競爭，不過有兩座城市已經(jīng)被淘汰了。

As a reminder， were still only looking at players who will suit up during the 2015-16 season. Players are eligible to compete if the high school they graduated from was within an hours drive of the city in question.

在此提醒，我們考慮的只有2015-16賽季仍然打球的球員。能參與競爭的球員，他們畢業(yè)的高中必須在所說城市開車一小時距離范圍內(nèi)。

Yes， that means Taj Gibson， who was born in Brooklyn and began his education there， is still representing the West Coast， since he transferred to Stoneridge Prep for his sophomore and junior years. Similarly， Kevin Love will not be suiting up for Los Angeles， because despite entering the world in Santa Monica and attending UCLA for his college career， he played high school ball in Lake Oswego， Oregon.

是的，這意味著出生、并在布魯克林接受教育的泰·吉布森仍是西海岸的代表，因為他高二和高三轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)到了Stoneridge預(yù)備校。與此類似，凱文·樂福無法代表洛杉磯，因為他生活在圣莫妮卡，大學(xué)就讀于UCLA，但他高中卻是在俄勒岡州的奧斯威戈度過的。

With those qualifications firmly in mind， heres how we arrived at our championship matchup， as dictated by your votes： Chicago （79.9%） VS Washington D.C. （20.1%）； Los Angeles （89.4%） VS New York （10.6%）

嚴格遵守這些標準，以下就是各位投票后產(chǎn)生的決賽對陣：芝加哥（79.9%） VS 華盛頓（20.1%）；洛杉磯（89.4%） VS 紐約（10.6%）。

Both cities served as clear-cut favorites during the semifinals， but now theyre pitted against one another in a much tougher clash.

兩座城市在半決賽里都占據(jù)了明顯優(yōu)勢，但兩座城市開始了直接較量，競爭更加激烈。

As for Chicago， theres just something about the Windy City that never ceases production of high-quality NBA talents. Though the playground scene is falling apart in plenty of locations across the country， the sport as a whole is still thriving in Illinois most famous spot， and the city keeps developing elite players.

對于芝加哥，“風(fēng)城”總是源源不斷地提供高水平的NBA球員。盡管全國很多地方的球場環(huán)境不斷惡化，但這項運動仍然在伊利諾伊州最有名的地方不斷繁榮，而這座城市也在不斷培養(yǎng)頂尖球員。

Thirteen from the city itself played in the Association during the 2014-15 campaign， with a handful more checking in from just outside in neighboring suburbs.

2014-15賽季有13名來自這座城市的球員在NBA打球，還有更多球員出自城市附近的郊區(qū)。

But a wealth of talent doesnt necessarily mean this squad is loaded with current superstars.

但是擁有大量球員并不等于擁有很多超級巨星。

We dont know what Derrick Rose is now that hes coming off so many surgeries and has struggled to remain effective unless hes had multiple days between appearances. Dwyane Wade has trouble playing a full season， and has stopped excelling on defense in an effort to conserve energy for the scoring end.

我們不清楚德里克·羅斯的具體情況，因為他做過那么多手術(shù)，而且很難保證效率，除非能多得到幾天休息時間。德維恩·韋德很難打完一個完整的賽季，而且為了在進攻端保留體力，他的防守也不再出色。

In the frontcourt， Kevin Garnett is but a shell of his old self—still effective in certain areas， of course—while Jabari Parker is both trying to gain footing in the league and recover from an ACL tear of his own. Anthony Davis is the clear star here， serving as the 22-year-old MVP candidate who figures to get even better after his historic showings in 2014-15， but is he enough to stave off a stacked Los Angeles lineup？

前場方面，凱文·加內(nèi)特是過去那個加內(nèi)特的簡化版——當(dāng)然，某些方面他仍然很有效率——賈巴里·帕克既要在聯(lián)盟立足，又要從膝蓋十字韌帶傷病中恢復(fù)。安東尼·戴維斯顯然是這里的明星，22歲的他作為MVP候選，2014-15賽季打出驚人的表現(xiàn)后，他顯然會變得更好，但他一個人能阻擋陣容齊整的洛杉磯隊嗎？

During the previous season， 18 different players born in Los Angeles proper dressed for one of the NBAs 30 squads—five more than Chicago. That total grows substantially when the surrounding area is included.

上賽季，有18名出生在洛杉磯的球員效力于不同的NBA球隊——比芝加哥多五人。如果算上洛杉磯周邊地區(qū)，那么總數(shù)還會出現(xiàn)明顯增加。

Though we dont have enough time and space to list all of the smaller cities adjacent to L.A. （which qualify as part of the metro area）， there are so many notable ones. James Harden went to Artesia High School in Lakewood， California. Studio City boasts the Holiday brothers—Jrue with the New Orleans Pelicans， and Justin， who is now with the Atlanta Hawks. Compton claims DeMar DeRozan， Tyson Chandler， Tayshaun Prince and plenty others. Trevor Ariza and Amir Johnson received their secondary education in Playa del Rey.

盡管我們沒有足夠的時間和空間列出洛杉磯周邊的所有小城市（這些都屬于我們說的城市地區(qū)），但洛杉磯還是有很多知名球員。詹姆斯·哈登就讀于加州雷克伍德的阿蒂西亞高中；斯蒂迪奧城養(yǎng)育了霍勒迪兄弟——鵜鶘的朱及現(xiàn)在老鷹的賈斯汀?？灯疹D出產(chǎn)了德瑪爾·德羅贊、泰森·錢德勒、泰肖恩·普林斯和很多其他球員。特雷沃·阿里扎和阿米爾·約翰遜在普拉亞德爾里地區(qū)讀的中學(xué)。

Is it any wonder that Los Angeles boasts such a plethora of talents？ Even the second team—Jrue Holiday， DeRozan， Paul Pierce， Johnson and Chandler—would be quite competitive.

有人想知道為什么洛杉磯能出產(chǎn)這么多球員嗎？甚至第二陣容——朱·霍勒迪、德羅贊、保羅·皮爾斯、約翰遜和錢德勒——都很有競爭力。

Unfortunately for Chicago， it has to play against the Tinseltown① starters. And that means going head-to-head with two premier MVP candidates in the backcourt.

悲劇的芝加哥，他們必須和好萊塢式的首發(fā)陣容對戰(zhàn)，這意味著要直接挑戰(zhàn)兩個后場MVP的有力競爭者。

Russell Westbrook and Harden make for a flat-out ridiculous guard combination， and they already have some established chemistry from their mutual time with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Plus， with Ariza and Gibson cleaning up behind them， they can focus all their energy on scoring.

拉塞爾·威斯布魯克和哈登的組合太夸張了，而且兩人在俄克拉荷馬雷霆時就培養(yǎng)出了化學(xué)反應(yīng)。此外，有阿里扎和吉布森干臟活累活，他倆可以集中精力得分。

There are certainly weaknesses in the Los Angeles lineup—the lack of rim protection at center， for example—but the star power does a lot to cover them up.

洛杉磯也有明顯的軟肋——比如中鋒缺少護筐者——但明星的能力能彌補這些問題。

Experts Champion

專家眼中的冠軍

It has to be Los Angeles. Though Davis is the best player on the court for either team， there are too many uncertainties littering the Chicago lineup.

那必須是洛杉磯了。盡管戴維斯是兩隊中最好的球員，但芝加哥隊有著太多的不確定性。

We dont know what to expect from Rose， who has been massively inconsistent since going down an injury-plagued road. Even when hes been healthy for relatively lengthy stretches， hes struggled to remain effective on the offensive end， posting nauseating shooting percentages far too often. Joining him in the backcourt is a 33-year-old Wade， one who cant dial it up like he used to in his prime for the Miami Heat.

我們不知道該對羅斯抱有怎樣的期待，飽受傷病困擾的他狀態(tài)極不穩(wěn)定。即便他能在較長時間里保持健康，他的進攻效率也很成問題，過多地出現(xiàn)命中率過低的情況。和他搭檔后場的是33歲的韋德，他已經(jīng)不能像巔峰時那樣打球了。

Dont get me wrong. Thats still a strong backcourt.

別理解錯了，那依舊是很強的后場。

Its just not one that can hope to compete with Westbrook and Harden， both of whom are coming off seasons that left them as strong contenders for the leagues most prestigious individual award.

只是沒人覺得他們能和威斯布魯克和哈登競爭，兩人上賽季都是聯(lián)盟最高個人榮譽的有力競爭者。

Sure， Davis destroys Nikola Vucevic in the one-on-one battle at center. Underrated as the USC product may be while playing for the Orlando Magic， hes not nearly on the same level as The Brow when lining up at either end of the court.

As for Chicago， Though the playground scene is falling apart in plenty of locations across the country， the sport as a whole is still thriving in Illinois most famous spot.

對于芝加哥，盡管全國很多地方的球場環(huán)境不斷惡化，但這項運動仍然在伊利諾伊州最有名的地方不斷繁榮。

戴維斯在中鋒位置上能一對一摧毀尼古拉·武切維奇。正效力于魔術(shù)的南加大球員武切維奇也許被人低估了，但無論在攻防哪一端，他都無法與濃眉對抗。

But the rest of the frontcourt is a fairly even battle. Though Parker and Garnett are the bigger names， theyre both too far removed from their primes—the former on the early side， the latter on the later one—to boast any sort of significant advantage over Gibson and Ariza. Plus， the second-year Milwaukee Buck is playing out of position at the 3.

不過雙方其他前場就勢均力敵了。盡管帕克和加內(nèi)特更有名，但兩人距離巔峰期都有一段距離——前者還沒到，后者已經(jīng)過去——這讓他們很難在吉布森和阿里扎面前得到很大優(yōu)勢。此外，雄鹿的二年級新秀打的還是三號位。

Davis presence alone means this game is going to be close. But with Chicago failing to establish clear-cut superiority at any other spot in the lineup， this championship clash belongs to the City of Angels.

戴維斯的存在意味著這會是一場接近的比試，但因為芝加哥沒能在任何一個位置上建立起明顯優(yōu)勢，所以城市對抗的勝者是洛杉磯。

Peoples Champion

大眾眼中的冠軍

The people have spoken. After 3，814 votes were cast， a champion has emerged.

大家表明了自己的態(tài)度。通過收集到的3814張投票，冠軍誕生了。

With 63 percent of the ballots cast in its favor， Chicago now gets to accept the crown as the ultimate hotbed of basketball talent in America. Age and injuries arent going to hold Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade back， while Anthony Davis is just too much for Nikola Vucevic and the rest of the Los Angeles starting five to corral.

在投票中獲得63%的支持，芝加哥現(xiàn)在成為美國的終極籃球運

①Tinseltown意為星光熠熠之城，即好萊塢。