Back in March， during the height of the 2013 playoff chase， the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies were jockeying for the No. 3 seed in the West. The two teams already loathed one another， their feelings dating to their seven-game series in spring 2012. Things often can get stale in an NBA arena by mid-March， but when the Clippers and Grizzlies hooked up at Staples Center， the buzz was electric.

讓我們回到三月，那時(shí)已經(jīng)到了爭(zhēng)奪季后賽席位的關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻，洛杉磯快艇和孟菲斯灰熊為了西部第三的位置爭(zhēng)得你死我活。這兩支球隊(duì)早就相互看不順眼了，這種相互厭惡的感覺，還要追溯到2012年春天的季后賽七場(chǎng)大戰(zhàn)。三月中旬時(shí)，NBA的比賽經(jīng)常會(huì)變得索然無味，但當(dāng)快艇和灰熊這兩支球隊(duì)在斯臺(tái)普斯球館針尖對(duì)麥芒時(shí)，場(chǎng)面自然火爆好看。

For the first quarter that night， the NBA was the product at its fullest. The appeal of the game was noted by the Clippers’ broadcast team， along press row and across Twitter. High-grade professional basketball.

那天晚上比賽的第一節(jié)，簡(jiǎn)直就是NBA最高水平的展現(xiàn)。比賽的精彩顯然感染到了快艇的解說直播團(tuán)隊(duì)，媒體和推特上也都在討論這場(chǎng)比賽。這就是最高水準(zhǔn)的職業(yè)籃球。

The Clippers and Grizzlies are two of the league’s better teams， but neither play in a well-choreographed system that lends itself to hoops ballet. Yet in the first quarter that night， every player on the floor moved with purpose， and crisp decisions were made instantaneously. The ball popped around the floor and the game flowed freely. Oddly， there were no lead changes and the teams combined for only two fast-break possessions. Each team shot greater than 60 percent from the field， but that’s not altogether unusual for a single quarter. It was something else：

快艇和灰熊在聯(lián)盟屬于強(qiáng)隊(duì)，但兩支球隊(duì)的進(jìn)攻體系也不算特別流暢，因此這兩支球隊(duì)也不太容易打出非常漂亮的比賽。但在那場(chǎng)比賽的第一節(jié)里，球場(chǎng)上的每名球員都在用頭腦打球，他們會(huì)在轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝間做出干脆的選擇?；@球在地板上彈來彈去，比賽也進(jìn)行得非常流暢。奇怪的是，雙方?jīng)]有交換過領(lǐng)先，兩支球隊(duì)加起來也只打出了兩次快攻。兩支球隊(duì)的投籃命中率都超過了60%，對(duì)于一節(jié)比賽來說，這些都不算太奇怪。奇怪的是其他一些情況：

Zero free throws attempted.

雙方?jīng)]有罰球。

Time of quarter： 20 minutes.

單節(jié)比賽用時(shí)：20分鐘。

There were no long red lights where the game came to a stop so we could watch nine guys stand around as one player goes through a rote skills challenge of hitting a standing set shot from a predetermined spot on the floor.

比賽里沒亮出紅燈，也沒有出現(xiàn)停滯。我們沒有看到九名球員站在一邊，一名球員重復(fù)著那套單調(diào)的動(dòng)作——站在事先確定好的地方出手投籃，還不能跳。

The mandatory timeout following the first stoppage after the 6-minute mark came inside of five minutes. The Clippers took an additional timeout a few minutes later to shuffle the deck after a string of sloppy possessions， but apart from that， the quarter zipped along. Blake Griffin was the best version of Blake Griffin， the big man who can beat you with both refined skills and brute force. Tayshaun Prince hopped into a time machine and beat the Clippers with his handle and down in the post. And after an exhilarating 20 minutes， the game was tied 24-24.

第一節(jié)進(jìn)行了6分鐘后，比賽出現(xiàn)了第一次強(qiáng)制暫停，暫停時(shí)間為五分鐘。幾分鐘后，快艇又叫了一次暫停，好糾正自己連續(xù)幾個(gè)回合的懶散打法。除此之外，整整一節(jié)，比賽都極為流暢。布雷克·格里芬是最好的布雷克·格里芬，他是那個(gè)既能用完善的技術(shù)又能用原始的力量摧毀你的大個(gè)子。泰夏安·普林斯好像坐上時(shí)光機(jī)一樣，用他的運(yùn)球和低位單打沖擊著快艇隊(duì)。精彩的20分鐘過后，比分僵持在了24平。

An average NBA game features in the neighborhood of 43 free throw attempts -- 43 buzzkills that send our attention away from one of the greatest stages in the world toward our mobile devices， remote controls， refrigerators and toilets.

一場(chǎng)普通的NBA比賽一般會(huì)出現(xiàn)43次罰球，整整43次，刺激我們把注意力從世界上最偉大的籃球舞臺(tái)轉(zhuǎn)移到移動(dòng)通信設(shè)備、電視遙控器、冰箱或者廁所這些東西上來。

Why？

為什么會(huì)這樣？

From \"Cages to Jump Shots： Pro Basketball’s Early Years\" by Robert W. Peterson：

羅伯特·W·彼得森在他《牢籠到跳投：職業(yè)籃球的早年歲月》這本書里這樣寫道：

… At first field goals counted one point and there were no foul shots； offenders were penalized by temporary removal from the game. Then free throws were introduced as penalties for fouling， including such violations as running with the ball or kicking it. Free throws were shot from 20 feet until 1994-95 when the distance was reduced to 15 feet. The rule-makers tinkered with scoring too， setting the value of a field goal at three points and penalizing fouls by awarding a point to the opponents. Finally， for the 1995-96 season， they settled on two points for a field goal， one for a successful foul shot.

隨后罰球被當(dāng)作犯規(guī)后的處罰手段引入比賽，同時(shí)出現(xiàn)持球跑動(dòng)和腳踢球這種違例時(shí)也有罰球。直到1994-95賽季，罰球距離一直為20英尺，之后才縮短為15英尺。制訂規(guī)則的人同時(shí)也改善了得分規(guī)則，一次投籃被定為三分，出現(xiàn)犯規(guī)時(shí)還給對(duì)手加上一分。最終，到了1995-96賽季，他們確定，一次投籃記兩分，一次成功的罰球記一分。

Just to clarify， we stop the action more than 20 times per game because the forefathers of basketball， nearly nine decades before the birth of LeBron James， decided that free throws were a good idea during the infancy of the game， a period during which basketball was far more a recreational endeavor than a spectator event. Entertainment value was the last thing on the minds of these men as they sought to codify basketball’s legal system.

我就是明確一下，平均每場(chǎng)比賽我們要停下來20多次，就是因?yàn)槟切┩婊@球的前輩們，那些在勒布朗·詹姆斯出生前接近90年的老前輩們，在籃球發(fā)展初期，認(rèn)為罰球是個(gè)好主意。要知道，那時(shí)候的籃球，更偏向休閑性運(yùn)動(dòng)，而不是現(xiàn)在這種刺激的體育比賽。在這些老前輩制訂籃球規(guī)則時(shí)，娛樂性是他們最后最后才會(huì)考慮的因素。

More than a century later， the free throw is still central to the game. But apart from timeouts， when the game is essentially suspended for other business， is there a moment during 2 1/2 hours that generates less drama， where players demonstrate less of what separates them from us， where the formulaic casts a darker shadow over the spontaneous？

接近一個(gè)世紀(jì)的時(shí)間過去了，罰球仍舊是比賽的重心。除了暫停，當(dāng)比賽因?yàn)槠渌蚴聦?shí)上停了下來時(shí)，在這兩個(gè)半小時(shí)的時(shí)間里，難道不是有不那么戲劇性的一刻，顯得球員們和我們之間沒那么大的差別，讓無趣蓋過有趣嗎？

＼Men like James Naismith and his successor， Luther Gulick①， were unquestionably smart and innovative. Basketball wouldn’t have flourished globally if not for their vision and craftsmanship of the game. They realized early on that without a proper disincentive， players would hack each other with impunity. As Peterson documented， rule-makers experimented with awarding a point to a fouled team. If a player was fouled， points were awarded directly and we moved on.

像詹姆斯·奈史密斯和他繼任者盧瑟·古力克這樣的人，毫無疑問是聰明且富有遠(yuǎn)見的。假如沒有他們的遠(yuǎn)見卓識(shí)和才華，籃球是不會(huì)在全世界范圍內(nèi)生根發(fā)芽的。他們很早就意識(shí)到，如果沒有適當(dāng)?shù)膽土P，球員就會(huì)毫無顧忌地互相傷害。正如彼得森記錄的那樣，制訂規(guī)則的人最初是給被犯規(guī)的一方獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)一分。如果球員被犯規(guī)了，分?jǐn)?shù)會(huì)直接加在比分里，比賽繼續(xù)進(jìn)行。

There was no \"earning it at the line，” because what did the recipient’s ability to hit a set shot have to do with the intent and consequence of the foul he received？ As a general principle， “earning it at the line” is not a force of good in basketball. Earning it at the line results in potentially spectacular plays disintegrating into a flying collision， some of which result in injury rather than pyrotechnics. Earning it at the line is the equivalent of intentionally pulling the plugs on the speakers just as the party is getting good.

不存在什么“贏得罰球機(jī)會(huì)”這種說法，原因在于，一個(gè)獲得罰球的人的定點(diǎn)投籃能力，和他受到犯規(guī)時(shí)對(duì)方的意圖和結(jié)果有什么關(guān)系？一個(gè)基本道理是：“贏得罰球機(jī)會(huì)”不是籃球里的正能量?！摆A得罰球機(jī)會(huì)”導(dǎo)致原本可以很漂亮的出手，變成了空中的對(duì)撞，比起眼花繚亂的表演，這些動(dòng)作還有可能引起球員受傷?！摆A得罰球機(jī)會(huì)”好比在派對(duì)就要進(jìn)行到高潮時(shí)，有人拔掉了音響的電源。

Since basketball’s formative years， leagues have continued to dabble in new ideas surrounding the free throw. In 1950， the NBA instituted a jump ball following free throws to provide a further deterrent to fouling， an idea that was short-lived. Three-to-make-two② was introduced in 1954， then eliminated in 1981.

在籃球度過成型期后，關(guān)于罰球，聯(lián)盟一直想引入新的概念。1950年，NBA規(guī)定罰球后雙方還要跳球，從而威懾一方，阻止他們繼續(xù)犯規(guī)，不過這條規(guī)則沒有存活太久。1954年聯(lián)盟引入了“三換二”的規(guī)則，但在1981年，這條規(guī)則也被廢除了。

Tradition has played a prominent role in the evolution of the game， but it hasn’t been sacrosanct. That’s a good thing， because tradition shouldn’t act as the sole source of authority， especially for a game whose innovation in rules， style， schemes， form and presentation has propelled its popularity. The 3-point shot was first introduced as an experiment during preseason games in 1978. It’s been an essential ingredient in the league’s renaissance in the past three decades -- from non-existent to arguably the most exciting regular outcome of an NBA possession.

在籃球這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)演變的過程中，傳統(tǒng)扮演了異常重要的角色，但傳統(tǒng)也不是神圣不可侵犯的。這是好事，因?yàn)閭鹘y(tǒng)不應(yīng)成為權(quán)威的唯一來源，尤其在一項(xiàng)通過規(guī)則、比賽風(fēng)格、賽程安排、比賽形式和賽場(chǎng)呈現(xiàn)不斷創(chuàng)新而越來越流行的運(yùn)動(dòng)里，傳統(tǒng)更不該成為唯一的權(quán)威來源。1978年的季前賽里，三分球才第一次被引入比賽，還是實(shí)驗(yàn)性的引入。過去三四年，三分球已經(jīng)成為聯(lián)盟復(fù)興運(yùn)動(dòng)的重要元素——它從一個(gè)不存在的東西，最終成為NBA比賽里也許是最讓人興奮的常態(tài)之一。

The scourge of the free throw is a far easier problem to diagnose than to treat because there are no simple antidotes. Could we just automatically award two points to a player when he gets fouled in the act of shooting or while his team is in the penalty？ One or the other？ Maybe two points for a shooting foul， but only one point and possession for a non-shooting foul in the bonus？

罰球這件事的不好，說起來容易，解決起來卻很難，原因在于，沒有一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的解決辦法。當(dāng)一個(gè)球員投籃時(shí)被犯規(guī)，或者對(duì)方球隊(duì)已經(jīng)超過犯規(guī)次數(shù)時(shí)，我們?cè)撟詣?dòng)給他們加上兩分嗎？還是只有其中一種情況直接加分？或者投籃犯規(guī)加兩分，非投籃犯規(guī)只加一分，但球權(quán)仍歸被犯規(guī)一方所有？

We could， as D-League president Dan Reed recently suggested on TrueHoop TV， make every shooting foul one-and-one. That would eliminate first attempts that produce dead balls and another 30 seconds of stasis， though it might also encourage more hacking because there would be an even better chance for opponents to get the ball back at no expense.

也許可以像發(fā)展聯(lián)盟總裁丹·里德最近在TrueHoop電視臺(tái)上建議的那樣，每次投籃犯規(guī)一罰一擲。這種做法能消除搞出死球機(jī)會(huì)從而多出30秒時(shí)間的投機(jī)主義者，但這種做法卻有可能鼓勵(lì)更多犯規(guī)，因?yàn)閷?duì)方會(huì)有更好的機(jī)會(huì)，不付任何代價(jià)就重新奪回球權(quán)。

And if we did eliminate the free throw altogether， what could we provide in its place that would give trailing teams the opportunity to close the gap during the final few minutes of a game？ We could eliminate consecutive timeouts， consequently forcing the leading team to get the ball in bounds on the first attempt. If they can’t -- and we see this all the time -- that would create a change of possession in five riveting seconds as the crowd explodes over a gritty defensive stand （or goes into shock as their team turns the ball over with no time expiring on the clock， all because they couldn’t get it in！）.

假如我們徹底取消罰球，對(duì)于那些在比賽最后關(guān)頭比分落后的球隊(duì)，我們又能給他們提供什么機(jī)會(huì)追上比分呢？我們可以取消連續(xù)暫停，迫使領(lǐng)先一方即刻發(fā)出底線球。如果他們發(fā)不出球——比賽里經(jīng)常能見到這種情況，那就會(huì)出現(xiàn)五秒違例，發(fā)生球權(quán)轉(zhuǎn)換。球迷會(huì)為一次漂亮的防守驚呼（或者徹底暈厥，因?yàn)樗麄兊那蜿?duì)在計(jì)時(shí)器沒有走的情況下丟了球，而這一切都是因?yàn)樗麄儧]能及時(shí)出現(xiàn)在場(chǎng)上?。?/p>

we do have reference points like those 20 minutes in March when the ball was live 60 percent of the time， and like any great piece of visual storytelling， you couldn’t take your eyes off the action because you might miss something.

三月這場(chǎng)比賽的20分鐘也給我們提供了參考依據(jù)，60%的時(shí)間里，球是動(dòng)起來的。就像看那些動(dòng)人的故事一樣，你沒法把自己的眼睛從畫面上移開，因?yàn)槟愫ε洛e(cuò)過任何瞬間。

①Luther Gulick：盧瑟·古力克，美國(guó)著名的體育教育家。事實(shí)上，奈史密斯在基督教青年會(huì)國(guó)際學(xué)校擔(dān)任老師時(shí)，古力克是該校的負(fù)責(zé)人。在古力克的指引下，奈史密斯發(fā)明了籃球這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)。兩人隨后合力推廣籃球這個(gè)項(xiàng)目，1959年，古力克入選籃球名人堂。

②three to make two：通常球員被犯規(guī)后，會(huì)得到兩次罰球機(jī)會(huì)。但在“三換二”這條規(guī)則里，如果一方已經(jīng)超過犯規(guī)數(shù)限制，那么罰球的球員只要有一次罰球沒進(jìn)，那么他就會(huì)得到第三次罰球機(jī)會(huì)。