青年軍 誰的未來更光明 湖人還是76人?
Brighter Future The Sixers Or The Lakers?
誰的未來更光明，湖人還是76人？"Would you rather have the next five years of Philly or LA?" is probably my favorite NBA argument for the next year, in no small part because both fan bases would accost you and tell you the answer is obvious. It's a tough call, though.
新的一年裏，我最喜歡的NBA話題就是5年之內湖人和76人哪個隊能成長爲一支強隊。因爲對於這個問題兩隊的球迷都會告訴你答案不是明擺着是自己的主隊。但是，問題的答案也許沒那麼明顯。There are red flags on both sides. Include Embiid's injuries (and the likelihood that they never really go away), jumpshot allergies for Simmons and Fultz, and Bryan Colangelo's broader inability to improve the roster beyond using the pieces that Hinkie left him.
沒錯，看似茁壯成長的兩支球隊都有不少隱患：費城這邊，大帝的玻璃屬性自打他踏進聯盟以來就一直如影隨行；對跳投嚴重過敏的西蒙斯和富爾茨；以及始終沒能打好薩姆-辛基給他留下的的一手好牌的總經理科蘭傑洛。
But also include Lonzo's own jumper struggles and limited ceiling as a superstar, Chekhov's LaVar Ball lurking behind the scenes, a largely unproven roster with questionable trade value, a still mostly-unproven coach, and the very real possibility that the Lakers have spent the past eight months getting played by LeBron.
而洛杉磯湖人的煩惱也不少，球哥的投籃問題以及，對於他有沒有成爲巨星的潛力的質疑和球爹對他的影響；一票未能兌現實力的球員和飄忽不定的交易價值以及一個初出茅廬、還沒有證明自身的教練；以及極大可能浪費了過去的八個月的時間去給勒布朗當猴耍。
And yet: Philly, when everything clicks, is the scariest young team in the league. If Embiid stays healthy he'll be one of the five best players in the league, and if Simmons gets even half of a jumpshot he'll be close to unstoppable by the time he's 23 years old. If Fultz reclaims his jumper, they have the pieces in place to own the East through the next decade.
但是，健康專注的76人是聯盟之爲之膽寒的青年軍，健康的恩比德是聯盟前五的球員，而如果西蒙斯能投進一半投丟的球，在23歲之前他將會成爲一名近乎完美的球員。同樣要是富爾茨能練出籃子，那76人將有機會在未來稱霸東部。For the Lakers, Brandon Ingram has all the makings of an excellent second superstar, and as far fetched as LeBron and Paul George rumors seem, L.A. is not going to strike out on big names forever. There is real talent on hand now—Lonzo's getting better as the year unfolds—and it won't be very much longer before the combination of weather, fame, and cap space render everyone's Lakers jokes obsolete.
再看湖人，英格拉姆具備成爲一個金牌二當家的所有潛質，而就目前的形勢看，如果明年得不到勒布朗或是喬治，那麼湖人在有限的未來都無法吸引一名超級巨星加盟。但是湖人的手上現在有大把的天賦——球哥在未來的幾年裏會越打越好——或許湖人等來天時地利人和的那天、離所有嘲笑湖人的段子都變成爛梗的那天，真的不遠了。But then, even if it works in LA, would that be enough to trump a decade of Simmons, Embiid, and Fultz? Or should "decade of Simmons, Embiid, and Fultz" come with several giant asterisks until further notice? We can have this argument for the next seven months and there will be absolutely resolution. That's why it's great. But speaking of seven months from now...
然而，就算湖人的未來真有這般光明，這樣的湖人能擊敗那時的恩比德、西蒙斯、富爾茨嗎？或是那是76人的天賦不止上面這三位呢？在未來的7個月裏湖人和76人的競爭將會越來越有趣，但7個月以後的事兒嘛，誰能說得準呢？更多精彩內容請關注微信公衆號、新浪微博：籃球英文堂
