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Ime Udoka seeks offensive variety for the now-healthy Celtics — and Robert Williams III is the key

艾米-乌度卡试图为现在健康的凯尔特人队寻求进攻多样性——而罗伯特-威廉姆斯三世或许是关键所在

There was a common phrase during Boston’s coaching hire process that seems prescient at the moment. Brad Stevens repeated when he was choosing his successor that being an X’s and O’s savant was secondary to connecting with players.

在波士顿主教练的招聘过程中，有一个常用的说法，目前看来很有先见之明。布拉德-史蒂文斯在选择继任者时重复说，比起成为进攻和防守的专家，和球员之间保持交流才是最重要的。

When Ime Udoka came on board, he echoed a similar ethos. It was an important distinction following a predecessor who was lauded for his whiteboard prowess yet struggled to get the most out of his team as the years went on and the core got younger. But we hear this sentiment pop up all the time, as players around the league will often point out how every team runs the same stuff.

当艾米-乌度卡加入时，他确实继承了前任的风格。而和他前任不同的一点是，他在白板上的战术能力一直受到称赞，但随着岁月的流逝和核心的年轻化，他一直在努力充分利用他的团队做好最好。但其实有种情况我们总是会察觉到，尤其是联盟中的球员们经常会指出每个队伍都在使用相同的一套体系。

In reality, there are maybe a few dozen base sets run throughout the NBA that branch out to a variety of permutations. When Al Horford brings the ball over to the elbow, the opposing defense knows Jaylen Brown in the corner is getting a pindown screen to curl up for a handoff and drive it. (That’s the Chicago series.) When Jayson Tatum is standing face-to-face with Robert Williams III at the free-throw line, his man knows he’s flaring out to the elbow to catch the swing pass and run a pick-and-roll with Williams. (That’s the stack action.)

实际上，整个 NBA 可能有几十个基本战术体系，它们分支出各种排列。当艾尔-霍福德将球传到肘区时，对方的防守知道底角的杰伦布朗正在接受一个固定掩护，紧接着切入进来，手递手然后突破上篮。 （那是芝加哥系列赛）当杰森-塔特姆在罚球线上与罗伯特-威廉姆斯三世面对面时，他的手下知道他正在向肘区切入接球并与威廉姆斯进行挡拆。 （这就是重复的动作）

These are the staples from the Stevens playbook that carry over throughout the game and which teams are running in similar but slightly different manners. Offense, leaguewide, seems even less diverse this year, with so many teams spending possessions mismatch-hunting in the post or up above the arc. The differences are more in personnel and execution than they are in the actual play calls.

这些是史蒂文斯战术手册中贯穿整个比赛的主要内容，各个球队也都有着相似但略有不同的战术在执行。今年全联盟的进攻战术似乎更加多样化，有很多球队在低位或三分线以上花费了大量的工夫。但与实际比赛呼应来看，人员和执行方面的差异有很大。

That’s where the word “variety” comes in. Udoka mentioned it after the Celtics’ blowout win against Phoenix Friday, and he brought it up again Tuesday. Can this team become more unpredictable and resilient? Can it get late in the shot clock and still do something creative the defense doesn’t see coming? Is that even the problem when the team is losing games because it’s missing dozens of wide-open shots?

这就是“多样性”这个词的由来。乌度卡在周五凯尔特人队击败菲尼克斯队的比赛中提到了这个词，他在周二再次提到了这个词。这支球队能否变得更加不可预测和更有弹性？它能否在投篮命中率较低的时候，仍然做一些防守看不到的创造性的事情？当球队因为错过了几十个空位投篮而输掉比赛时，这个问题就更加重要了。

With everyone but Aaron Nesmith back, finally, it’s time to answer the existential questions facing this team five weeks before the trade deadline. For all the flaws there may be with Tatum and Brown, it’s obvious the offense’s problem is with the supporting cast. It’s too hard to know where the playmaking support is coming from, and it’s obviously a crapshoot figuring out who should be getting plays run for him to get an open 3.

最后，除了阿龙-内史密斯之外的所有人都回到球队，是时候要在交易截止日期前五周回答这支球队面临的生存问题了。尽管塔特姆和布朗可能存在一些问题，但很明显，进攻的问题主要在于角色球员。目前的情况，其他队员对他们的支持很难能看到，而且很明显，要弄清楚谁应该获得空位三分并投进它来为球队做贡献，这显然是一个废话。

The Celtics clearly have a problem with playing down to mediocre teams, which is most apparent in the way their net rating breaks down against the caliber of competition. Their overall plus-1.6 net rating ranks 11th in the league, per Cleaning the Glass. Against the 10 teams with better net ratings, they have a seventh-ranked minus-0.3 net rating, and their seven wins are the second most by any team in the league against those opponents. Against the bottom 10, they’re a plus-8.6 for ninth place — but the middle of the pack just kills them; they sit 22nd in the league with a minus-3.0 net rating.

凯尔特人队显然在面对中流球队方面存在问题，这在他们的净胜负分与比赛水平相反上体现的最为明显。根据Cleaning the Glass网站的统计，他们的整体净胜分为 1.6，在联盟中排名第 11。在与净胜率更高的 10 支球队对抗时，他们的净负值负 0.3 排名第七，而他们的七场胜利是联盟中对抗这些对手的所有球队中第二多的胜利。在倒数 10 名中，他们以 8.6 的优势排在第9位——但中间的球队却杀死了他们；他们以负 3.0 的净评分位列联盟第 22 位。

They can get up for the big games and finish off teams like Orlando thanks to a huge offensive outburst from one of the Jays or stellar defense from Marcus Smart. They will be in the middle of what seems like a collapse and then make an unstoppable Suns team look hapless, even with Jaylen Smith doing his best Deandre Ayton impression in the pick-and-roll. But many teams they should beat just beat them.

他们可以为重要比赛像面对奥兰多这样的球队，振作起来并击败他们，这要归功于塔特姆和布朗巨大进攻爆发或马库斯·斯马特的出色防守其中之一。他们完全掌控了比赛，然后让一支不可阻挡的太阳队也难以阻挡，即使杰伦-史密斯在和德安德烈-艾顿的挡拆中做到了最好。但是面对许多他们本应该击败的队伍时，他们反而被击败了。

We’ve been saying for too long the Celtics can be really good if they have everyone healthy. It’s possible this is going to be one of the rare glimpses at that fantasy. The starting lineup is back, and now is the time for the next phase of offensive development to be put into action, to test if this can be a top-10 offense that can actually make Boston a buyer instead of a seller at the deadline.

我们一直在说如果凯尔特人队的每个人都健康的话，他们会变得非常好。这种想法终于能看到一点点曙光。首发阵容又回来了，现在是下一个进攻发展阶段付诸行动的时候了，来试验一下这是否可以成为进攻效率前10，实际上可以让波士顿在截止日期前成为买家而不是卖家。

“The progression of the year is those guys learn to play together, making plays for each other, and then having another focal point on the court at all times so teams can’t load up against one one of the other guys,” Udoka said.

“球队中，这一年的进步是那些家伙学会了在一起打球，为彼此打球，然后在球场上始终有另一个传球点，这样球队就不用一个人面对多人的协防了。”乌度卡说。

But the variety in the Phoenix game showed how the Boston offense can change through Williams, who will be back in the lineup Wednesday after missing the Orlando win with a sprained right big toe. With Tatum out, Udoka has put Williams and Horford into more playmaking looks out on the elbows and in the post. It’s worked well at times, especially when Williams pulled off a triple-double against Phoenix.

但是对战太阳队的比赛的多样性表明波士顿的进攻可以通过威廉姆斯改变，他将在周三因右大脚趾扭伤错过奥兰多的胜利后重返阵容。塔特姆缺阵后，乌度卡让威廉姆斯和霍福德在肘区和低位进行了更多的组织进攻。有时效果很好，尤其是当威廉姆斯在对阵太阳队的比赛中拿下三双时。

“I think they can really initiate the offense well,” said Udoka. “We saw that against Phoenix and want to add that to our repertoire and have a piece of our offense, not just, you know, isolation, pick-and-roll, some of the other things they do. I think that’s an added benefit and will make us much more difficult to defend.”

“我认为他们真的可以很好地发起进攻，”乌度卡说，“我们在对阵太阳的比赛中看到了这一点，并希望将其添加到我们的阵容中，并在我们的进攻中占据一席之地，而不仅仅是，你知道的，拉开单打，挡拆，以及他们所做的其他一些事情。我认为这是一个意料之外的收获，会让我们更难防守。”

Williams has always dazzled with his quick-read ability, grabbing loose balls or catching lobs and flinging laser beams that few guys in the league can pull off. But what made that Phoenix game promising was Udoka giving him time and space to make reads.

威廉姆斯总是以他的快速阅读能力令人眼花缭乱，抓住松散的球或传球以及投射，联盟中很少有人能做到的这样迅速。但让对阵太阳队的比赛充满希望的是乌度卡给了他时间和空间来阅读。

“I think we found some good things with off-ball movement,” Udoka said. “We kind of know what we get out of those guys with isolations and pick-and-rolls and some of those sets that we have, but we want to utilize our bigs and their passing ability in the low post or the high post.”

“我认为我们因为无球跑动而得到很多的空间，”乌多卡说，“我们有点知道我们从那些单打和挡拆以及我们拥有的一些组合中得到了什么，但我们希望更好的利用我们的大个子，特别是他们在低位或高位的传球能力。”

The coach is still figuring out how to maximize his bigs, something that has to happen right now if he’s going to commit to the double-big lineup for the second half of the season. It should work, in theory, because Horford shot the ball well in pick-and-pop last year in Oklahoma City, and the hope was that Boston would have him shooting after a screen and he’d have more time for his laborious release to get off clean. But he’s shooting 29 percent from deep, and teams have stopped contesting his shots as of late. It’s time to move on from hoping Horford can be the shooter he once was and have him be more of a roller or post playmaker.

教练仍在研究如何最大限度地发挥他的高球员的能力，如果他要在下半赛季致力于双塔阵容，那么现在就必须这样做。从理论上讲，这应该会奏效，因为霍福德去年在俄克拉荷马城的挡拆中投篮很好，希望波士顿能让他在掩护后投篮，这样他就有更多的时间寻找空位的机会。但他的投篮命中率为 29%，而且最近球队已经有针对性地放松对他投篮的防守。现在是时候从希望霍福德成为他曾经的射手并让他更多地成为一名中轴或低位组织者的时候继续前进了。

The concern is how the team can operate with two post playmakers on the floor at the same time. The answer is most likely to move Horford to the bench and start Grant Williams — sixth in the league in deep shooting — or Josh Richardson, a playmaker and defender who’s finding his rhythm. Horford has long been one of the best centers at moving into spots to make handoffs or reads to cutters, but Robert Williams is showing he can do more than fire great kick-outs off the pick-and-roll or on loose balls.

令人担忧的是球队如何同时在场上与两名低位组织者一起运作，答案最有可能让霍福德坐在替补席上，让格兰特-威廉姆斯（Grant Williams）——在内线命中率方面排名联盟第六——或者约什-理查德森（Josh Richardson），一个正在寻找节奏的组织核心和防守者。长期以来，霍福德一直是无球移动以进行传球或阅读防守后切入的最佳中锋之一，但罗伯特-威廉姆斯展示了他可以做的不仅仅是在挡拆后找到空位投篮，或者是在争抢篮板球上。

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Boston’s game plan to create hesitancy in Phoenix’s switching worked because Williams could make quick reads and get the ball into whoever was cutting or flaring off of split actions. When Jalen Smith was on him, he gave Williams too much room to get low bounce passes in. When Smith or another wing was switched onto Williams, he could still make overhead passes to hit cutters on the money.

波士顿对菲尼克斯的转换中制造延误的比赛计划奏效了，因为威廉姆斯可以快速阅读并将球传给任何正在切割或爆发分裂动作的人。当杰伦-史密斯在他身边时，他给了威廉姆斯太多的空间来做到低位传球。当史密斯或另一个侧翼换到威廉姆斯时，他仍然可以通过头顶传球击中传给切入的队友。

“Regarding Rob, I think just putting him in different positions. At times, Al is an asset out there as a passer as well, so we’re kind of mixing it between those two guys,” said Udoka. “But we have some specific sets to get those guys the ball and get the ball moving off of them. He’s going to do what he does in his pick-and-rolls, and that’s a big piece of what we do.”

“关于罗伯特，我认为只是把他放在不同的位置上。有时，艾尔作为传球手也是非常有价值的，所以我们在这两个家伙之间混合了它，”乌多卡说，“但我们有一些特定的组合可以让这些人拿到球，让球从他们身上移开。他会做他在挡拆中所做的事情，这是我们所做工作的重要组成部分。”

Williams may not be able to flow into dribble handoffs on the move with quite the awareness and composure of Horford, but he’s showing he can be a comparable passing threat, and he’s obviously a problem rolling down to the rim or working the offensive glass.

威廉姆斯可能无法像霍福德那样有意识和镇定地在移动中进行运球传球，但他表明他可以成为一个相当好的传球威胁，而且他在切入篮下或进攻篮板上显然也是很大的威胁。

“As you saw lately, we want to get more towards some movement off-ball, and I think we can really be good at that as we improved throughout the year,” Udoka said. “Putting him in those positions, obviously, those ATOs (after timeouts) you can draw up to get those looks as well, where he’s getting touches out of the mid-post or the elbow and getting our split game going there.”

“正如你最近所看到的，我们希望更多地进行无球跑动，我认为随着我们全年的进步，我们真的可以做到这一点，”乌多卡说，“显然，将他放在那些位置，在暂停后你也可以画出那些战术，他从中路或肘区触球并通过传切来组织比赛。”

One of the more interesting wrinkles in the Suns game was how Williams was used in the pick-and-roll. A lot of Boston’s possessions get sluggish because Williams will roll through the lane early in the play, flare out to the dunker spot out on the baseline, then look around trying to figure out what to do from there.

与太阳队的比赛中，还有一个更有意思的事情是，威廉姆斯在挡拆中的使用方式。波士顿的很多进攻都变得迟缓，因为威廉姆斯会在比赛中过早的冲过罚球线，到底线的扣篮点，然后环顾四周，试图从那里弄清楚该怎么做。

Usually he is waiting to be called back up to the ball to run pick-and-roll again, where he’ll set the screen, pivot to the rim and roll hard. But the Celtics tried something different where he would stop short of setting the screen and get the ball, and then they would run split actions to get an entry pass into the paint.

通常他会等着被叫回球前再次进行挡拆，在那里他会设置掩护，转向篮筐并顺下。但是凯尔特人队尝试了一些不同的方法，他会停下来设置掩护并拿到球，然后他们会分开行动以获得进入禁区的传球。

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Grant Williams was on the floor for all these plays, so it’s not as if Horford can’t be a part of this scheme. But will teams keep sagging off him and not bite on these split actions to clog up Robert Williams’ passing lanes? Does that take away driving opportunities for the Jays and the point guards?

格兰特-威廉姆斯在所有这些比赛中都在场上，所以霍福德并不是不能成为这个计划的一部分。但是球队会继续让他下顺，而不是借助防守的空当让罗伯特-威廉姆斯找到传球的路线？这是否会剥夺塔特姆、布朗和控球后卫的进攻机会？

Pulling this off against a team that executes on both ends as well as the Suns do is an impressive feat. If it’s repeatable, it’s a crucial new bit of variety to Udoka’s offense that can save Brown’s and Tatum’s legs for crunch time, when we know they’re going to be doing everything.

与一支在攻防两端都表现出色的球队像是太阳队比赛的时候，能做到这一点是一项令人印象深刻的壮举。如果它是可重复的，那么对于乌度卡的进攻来说，这是一个至关重要的新变化，可以在关键时刻拯救布朗和塔图姆的腿，当我们知道他们将做所有事情时。

“The variety part, I think just having the full complement back, we were getting into a groove of guys kind of having a package of some play calls for certain guys and mixing that up,” Udoka said. “Keeping teams off balance obviously helps with all the options out there.”

“多样性部分，我认为只要有完整的补充，我们就进入了一种能够将每个人打球的特点都融合进去的状态，”乌度卡说，“让球队打破现有的平衡显然有助于解决所有问题。”

The Celtics have had probably more trouble keeping their cohesion than defenses have had trying to figure them out. The more they spread out responsibility to create, the harder they are to contain. Now that everyone is back, it’s time for Udoka to lean in to everyone’s creativity and make it easier for Brown and Tatum to get what they want.

凯尔特人队在保持凝聚力方面可能比防守方试图解决的问题更多。他们越是分散创造的责任，就越难控制。现在每个人都回来了，是时候让乌度卡发挥每个人的创造力，让布朗和塔特姆更容易得到他们想要的东西。