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英语原文摘自Tony East在福布斯发表的文章

INDIANAPOLIS – The popular phrase used to describe the 2025-26 season for the Indiana Pacers (and Boston Celtics) is “gap year”. Superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton is out for the 2025-26 campaign with an Achilles tear, so things will naturally look different in the coming months.

印第安纳波利斯——印第安纳溜马队（和波士顿凯尔特人队）用来形容2025-26赛季的流行词是“空档期”。超级明星后卫泰瑞斯·哈利伯顿因跟腱撕裂将缺席2025-26赛季，所以未来几个月的情况自然会有所不同。

The term is applied to the Pacers largely because of the reality that their ceiling is temporarily lower. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024, then the NBA Finals in 2025. With Haliburton healthy, the team’s peak is incredibly high. The gap year cdth comes from the thinking that the Pacers are embarking on a one-season journey without that same peak, but they could reach it again when Haliburton is back.

这个词之所以用在溜马队身上，很大程度上是因为他们目前的上限暂时较低。他们在2024年打进了东部决赛，然后在2025年打进了NBA总决赛。只要哈利伯顿保持健康，球队的巅峰状态就会非常高。“空档期”这个说法源于这样一种想法：溜马队即将开启一段没有巅峰状态的赛季征程，但当哈利伯顿回归时，他们或许能够再次达到巅峰。

But the Pacers themselves don’t agree with the notion. They’re moving forward with hopes to win as much as they possibly can this season.

但溜马队自己并不认同这种说法。他们正在努力前进，希望在本赛季尽可能多地赢得胜利。

“People are saying this is a ‘gap year’ for the Pacers. We don’t view it that way. That’s never been how we’ve operated,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said during an appearance on the Setting The Pace podcast. “We go out there to try to compete to win every season. And obviously, there’s certain seasons where circumstances make it difficult. I’m not saying that’s what this year is, because I think we have a good core group of guys returning who want to win.”

“人们说这是溜马队的‘空档期’。我们不这么认为。我们从来都不是这么运作的，”溜马队总经理查德·布坎南在“Setting The Pace”播客节目中说道。“我们每个赛季都努力争取胜利。显然，有些赛季的情况会让我们感到困难。我不是说今年也是如此，因为我认为我们有一群渴望胜利的优秀核心球员回归。”

It is certainly a tricky spot for the blue and gold to be in. Their best player and two-time All-NBA point guard won’t play this year. Even with the hope of winning as much as they can, they’ll have to do so with players in different roles.

对于蓝金军团来说，这无疑是一个棘手的处境。他们最好的球员、两届NBA全明星后卫今年将不会上场。即使他们希望尽可能多地赢得比赛，也必须让球员扮演不同的角色。

Andrew Nembhard will become the starting point guard, sliding down from the two to fill Haliburton’s spot. Nembhard’s place will be taken by Bennedict Mathurin in the opening five. Myles Turner left Indiana too, which also brings down the Pacers potency for the coming season. His role will be filled by Jay Huff or Isaiah Jackson.

安德鲁·内姆布哈德将成为首发控球后卫，从二号位下撤接替哈利伯顿的位置。内姆布哈德的位置将在前五场比赛中由本尼迪克特·马瑟林接替。迈尔斯·特纳也离开了印第安纳溜马队，这也降低了溜马队新赛季的实力。他的位置将由杰·胡夫或以赛亚·杰克逊填补。

Last season, the Pacers starting lineup of Haliburton, Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Turner had a net rating of +8.86. Nembhard, Nesmith, and Siakam were on the floor with two different players for a total of just 18 minutes, and Indiana lost those minutes by three thanks to a possession imbalance. That matches intuition suggesting a temporary step back might be coming for the Pacers – their new-look group has to build chemistry and has a drop in talent level.

上赛季，溜马队的首发阵容由哈利伯顿、内姆布哈德、阿龙·内史密斯、帕斯卡尔·西亚卡姆和特纳组成，净胜分为+8.86。内姆布哈德、内史密斯和西亚卡姆与两名不同的球员一起上场的时间总计仅为18分钟，而由于控球失衡，溜马队在这18分钟的上场时间输掉了3分。这符合我们的直觉，溜马队可能即将出现暂时的下滑——他们焕然一新的阵容需要建立化学反应，而且球员的天赋水平有所下降。

It’s a reasonable thought that Indiana could win fewer games this season. They have their own first-round draft pick in 2026 and could have a solid selection yet are too good to outright tank. But the notion of a gap year solely on that basis misses the point of any NBA season for each team.

印第安纳溜马队本赛季的胜场可能会减少，这是合理的想法。他们拥有2026年自己的首轮选秀权，而且选秀前景也相当不错，但以球队的实力还不至于完全放弃。仅凭这一点就认为本赛季是空档期，则忽略了NBA任何一个赛季对于每支球队的意义。

29 teams won’t be the NBA Champion in 2026. Many of those groups know that they’re not even capable of doing so. Instead, some franchises embark on fact-finding seasons with the goal of developing players and gathering data.

2026年，29支球队将无法夺得NBA总冠军。其中许多球队甚至知道自己根本无力做到这一点。因此，一些球队会以培养球员并收集数据为目标开展实况调查赛季。

Of course, every team would love to win every game. But it’s not like the Pacers get nothing from their 82 games this coming season. There is a gap in expectations from 2025 to 2027, that’s undeniable. But the opportunity in front of the Pacers – to develop some of their younger pieces, learn more about their group, and establish more versatility for the roster – isn’t a gap in any way.

当然，每支球队都渴望赢得每一场比赛。但溜马队在新赛季的82场比赛中并非一无所获。不可否认，从2025年到2027年，人们对他们的预期存在差距。但溜马队面前的机会——培养一些年轻球员，更好地了解球队，并增强阵容的多样性——无论如何都不是差距。

“It’s going to present a great opportunity in some form,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the year ahead. “I saw a thing today where they had us ranked 20th or 21st in the league going into next year. That’s good motivation. So we’ll have a chance to have a real opportunity to help develop some guys in some real quality minutes. And we’re trying to win.”

“从某种程度上来说，这将会是一个绝佳的机会，”溜马队主教练里克·卡莱尔谈到新赛季时说道。“今天我看到了这样的报道：进入下赛季，我们联盟的排名将在第20或21位。这给了我们很好的激励。因此，我们将有机会在一些高质量的上场时间里帮助一些球员提升水平。我们要努力争取胜利。”

In some ways, the Pacers current roster build is ideal for their shaken short-term reality. If a team was forced to lower their ceiling and develop pieces for a year, they’d want to give younger players as much playing time as possible. Fortunately for Indiana, almost all of their less-experienced players are already rotation pieces.

从某种程度上来说，溜马队目前的阵容构建对于他们动荡的短期现实来说堪称理想。如果一支球队被迫降低上限，用一年时间培养球员，他们肯定希望尽可能多地给予年轻球员上场时间。幸运的是，对于溜马队来说，几乎所有经验不足的球员都已经进入了轮换阵容。

Nembhard, Mathurin, Nesmith, Jackson, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, and Ben Sheppard all project to be rotation players for the blue and gold this year. All of them were drafted in 2020 or later. Huff is older but didn’t debut in the NBA until 2021.

内姆布哈德、马瑟林、内史密斯、杰克逊、奥比·托平、贾雷斯·沃克和本·谢泼德都有望成为蓝金军团今年的轮换球员。他们都是2020年或之后被选中的。胡夫年龄较大，但直到2021年才在NBA首次亮相。

That’s 8 of Indiana’s 10 expected rotation talents that are still at a point in their career where development should be expected — T.J. McConnell and Siakam are the exceptions, and it’s not like veterans can’t improve.

印第安纳球队 10 名预期轮换球员中有 8 名仍处于职业生涯可以期待发展的阶段——T.J. 麦康奈尔和西亚卡姆是例外，但老将也并非无法进步。

So one key goal of this season for the Pacers will be pouring into young talent. Carlisle has improved his player development abilities since coming to Indiana, and it’s part of the reason he was given a contract extension earlier this month.

因此，溜马队本赛季的一个关键目标就是大力培养年轻球员。自从卡莱尔来到印第安纳后，球员发展能力有所提升，这也是他本月早些时候获得续约的原因之一。

“Part of the strength of our coaching staff is the ability to develop players,” Buchanan said.

“我们教练组的优势之一就是培养球员的能力，”布坎南说。

On top of leaning into their younger talents — perhaps 2023 second-round selection Johnny Furphy or 2020 lottery pick James Wiseman could get playing time as well — the Pacers may be able to explore different ways of playing this season beyond their established identity.

除了依靠年轻球员（或许 2023 年第二轮选秀【原文作者的错误，实际是2024年第二轮选秀】约翰尼·弗菲或 2020 年乐透秀詹姆斯·怀斯曼也能获得上场时间）之外，溜马队本赛季或许还能探索超越既定风格的比赛方式。

Haliburton is among the best, maybe the best, transition players in the NBA. He’s a one-of-one passer and low-turnover player. Indiana’s up-tempo style is so potent because of the star guard.

哈利伯顿是NBA最好的转换球员之一，或许是联盟最好的。他是一位独一无二的传球手，而且失误率极低。印第安纳的快节奏打法之所以如此强大，正是得益于这位明星后卫。

Without him, Indiana will have to find the right balance of fine-tuning the way they will play in two seasons while also determining what works best for their 2025-26 group. Is it a slower pace? Smaller lineups, or perhaps bigger ones? These are things Carlisle and his staff can explore this year, and that versatility will last beyond one campaign.

没有他，溜马队必须找到一个平衡点，既要调整未来两个赛季的比赛风格，又要确定最适合2025-26赛季的阵容。是放慢节奏？是更小的阵容，还是更大的阵容？这些都是卡莱尔和他的教练组今年可以探索的方向，而这种多样性将持续到赛季结束后。

Slowing down may be better for the specific players Indiana has available this season. Siakam and Mathurin, in particular, can really get going as scorers in a face-up game. But how does that help Indiana once Haliburton is healthy and their old style returns? It’s logical for the blue and gold to find the equilibrium between their typical rapid pace and the newer, unique lineups and tempo that will help them win this year.

对于印第安纳本赛季可用的特定球员来说，放慢节奏或许更好。尤其是西亚卡姆和马瑟林，他们在面框进攻中得分能力极强。但一旦哈利伯顿恢复健康，球队重拾昔日的风格，这对印第安纳来说又有何帮助呢？蓝金军团理所当然地需要在他们惯常的快速节奏和更新颖、更独特的阵容及节奏之间找到平衡，这将有助于他们赢得今年的胜利。

So, it is a gap year for the Pacers only under the umbrella of a championship-or-bust mentality. But between player development and stylistic considerations, plus growth in versatility, it is far from a year off for Indiana. There’s still a lot at stake and a lot to learn. The franchise needs to nail it all.

所以，对于溜马队来说，这不过是“要么夺冠，要么失败”心态的“空档期”。但考虑到球员发展和球队风格，以及球队的全面性提升，这一年对溜马队来说远非“休息年”。他们仍面临许多风险，也有很多东西需要学习。球队需要全力以赴。