2016-2017常规赛落下帷幕！各大奖项花落谁家？

 　　The NBA’s end-of-season awards are a neat time capsule to look back on decades later, with the benefit of perspective . Take 2003-04, for example, when Kevin Garnett was the MVP, LeBron James the Rookie of the Year, Ron Artest the Defensive¹ Player of the Year and Zach Randolph the Most Improved Player. That’s intense and fun, and indicative of a weird² transitional year in which the Detroit Pistons³ won the title.

　　So, the four of us here at Ball Don’t Lie — Dan Devine, Kelly Dwyer, Eric Freeman and Ben Rohrbach — figured snapshots from our coverage⁴ this season would be the best way to tell the story of our ballots⁵. Consider this a timeline of moments that helped shape our decisions during an entertaining 2016-17. Keep in mind: these awards are completely subjective⁶. So they also happen to be 100 percent accurate.

　　EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

　　Bob Myers, Golden State Warriors⁷ (unanimous)

　　MOST IMPROVED PLAYER

　　Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks⁸ (unanimous)

　　COACH OF THE YEAR (To be continued …)

　　Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs (Kelly Dwyer, Ben Rohrbach)

　　Dec. 5, 2016: “His philosophy — shaping young minds so that they might contribute to a greater society in the future — is no different than the one that has served Popovich so well, whether on the basketball court or in his wine business. It is the so-called Stonecutter’s Credo from Jacob Riis: ‘When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it — but all that had gone before.’ Hammer home the importance of being prepared, educated, respectful, disciplined people, and eventually it might sink in, person by person, so that together we avoid repeating history and meeting a disastrous⁹ end. And if Popovich wins a sixth NBA title along the way, that would be nice, too.”

　　DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

　　Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (Kelly Dwyer, Ben Rohrbach)

　　Dec. 20, 2016: “Gobert has been on the cusp of that stardom ever since making his reputation as a top rim¹⁰ protector in the second half of the 2014-15 season. The big man has remained a very solid player and recently signed a deserved four-year extension that could be worth as much as 102 million dollars. That new deal hasn’t kept Gobert from improving — in fact, he’s having what looks to be a breakthrough season.”

　　Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors (Dan Devine, Eric Freeman)

　　Dec. 21, 2016: “It speaks to Draymond’s unrivaled defensive versatility¹¹ that he ranks among the frontrunners for this award even as more and more fans and media members acknowledge that he can cost the Warriors wins with his antics. The Warriors have enough talent to withstand any injury, but Green might be the difference between a very good team and a championship favorite.”

　　SIXTH MEN OF THE YEAR

　　Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets (Eric Freeman, Ben Rohrbach)

　　Dec. 21, 2016: “The former Clipper and Hornet/Pelican is shooting 43 percent on 8.4 3-point tries per game — essentially¹² the same prolific¹³ efficiency as Stephen Curry’s first MVP season. Only the Lakers’ Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson have scored more points from the bench, and neither has been as impactful as Gordon, who has done his work in lineups that consistently outscore opponents and operate on an elite¹⁴ offensive level.”

　　Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors (Dan Devine, Kelly Dwyer)

　　Dec. 29, 2016: “After the whistle, Iguodala jumped in the air, put the ball between his legs, around his back and alley-ooped it to an awaiting Shaun Livingston for the dunk.

　　“As the events unfolded, the announcers dubbed¹⁵ it ‘the greatest fast break that never happened.’ It was a sequence you might see practiced at a Harlem Globetrotters game, Rucker Park or the AND1 Mixtape Tour, and yet the Warriors pulled it off randomly¹⁶ with the relative ease of a layup drill. Of course, the NBA features the best basketball players in the world, and in a few short seconds the Warriors were happy to remind us all of the fact they have a handful of them, even if they were working after a whistle.”

　　ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

　　Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (Eric Freeman)

　　Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee Bucks (Kelly Dwyer, Ben Rohrbach)

　　Dario Saric, Philadelphia 76ers (Dan Devine)

　　MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

　　Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (unanimous)

　　March 25, 2017: “At this point it is fair to conclude that we’re looking at Russell Westbrook, fully¹⁷ formed. After a near-season of telling anyone who would listen that we’d probably never see anything along Westbrook’s lines, he’s come to remind us to take it in now as we can. A prime Westbrook and his fitful team may never look like this again, the setting may never reveal itself in such a way to lead to this sort of end times-style of performance, and the onus¹⁸ is on us to properly document what has and will continue to be a season for the ages.”

　　COACH OF THE YEAR (Part II)

　　Mike D’Antoni, Houston Rockets (Dan Devine, Eric Freeman)

　　“His Rockets, estimated to be a 45-win oddity by most and a flameout by some, are on pace for a 57-win record while working with the No. 3 seed in the West. James Harden reacted fabulously¹⁹ to D’Antoni’s insistence²⁰ that he act as a point guard, he’s well on his way toward acting²¹ as the MVP favorite heading into April (voting season), and no star has paired as seamlessly with his new coach as Harden has in 2016-17 since Derrick Rose’s MVP turn with Tom Thibodeau in 2011 or, perhaps, Steve Nash during his MVP runs under Nash in 2005 and 2006.” — March 29, 2017

1 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

2 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

3 pistons   

活塞( piston的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some pistons have seating rings of metal or leather. 有些活塞上有金属或皮革的密封环。
• A pump uses valves and pistons. 泵使用阀和活塞。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

7 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

8 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

11 versatility   

n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能

参考例句：

• Versatility is another of your strong points,but don't overdo it by having too many irons in the fire.你还有一个长处是多才多艺，但不要揽事太多而太露锋芒。
• This versatility comes from a dual weather influence.这种多样性是由于双重的气候影响而形成的。

12 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

13 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

14 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

15 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 onus   

n.负担；责任

参考例句：

• The onus is on government departments to show cause why information cannot bedisclosed.政府部门有责任说明不能把信息公开的理由。
• The onus of proof lies with you.你有责任提供证据。

19 fabulously   

难以置信地，惊人地

参考例句：

• The couple are said to be fabulously wealthy. 据说这对夫妇家财万贯。
• I should say this shirt matches your trousers fabulously. 我得说这衬衫同你的裤子非常相配。

20 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

21 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。