---

                              The layup masters

                                  上籃高手

       Is being good at the layup as simple as getting to the rim?
       There’s rarely a distinction made between a player’s ability
       to get in layup range versus his ability to actually sink it.
       Perhaps that’s because “a layup” is also a metaphor for
       something easy, like a “gimme” putt in golf.



       Whoever popularized the metaphor probably never tried to score
       over NBA giants, I’d hazard.

       我大膽假設宣傳這個說法的人可能沒有嘗試在NBA的巨人們前上籃得分。

       The layup also gets no respect because it doesn’t demand respect.
       Unlike the dunk, the layup fails to seize an arena’s attention
       with a sudden lightning bolt at the hoop. Instead, it takes an
       indirect route off the backboard before meandering along the rim,
       waffling on whether to finally be a basket already.



       Incredible dunks look super intentional, as though a player’s
       life depended on forcing the ball through the rim at that moment.
       Incredible layups look accidental, as though a fouled Dwyane Wade
       thought “Why not?” while flinging the ball in the backboard’s
       general direction.



       So the layup commutes between “you’re open and should always
       make it” and “you weren’t looking at the rim, that was total
       luck.” It’s hard to get recognition for being good at something
       when both the routine and the spectacular are so easily dismissed.



       Well, no one is dismissing the mighty layup in these parts. The
       shortest bank shot is indeed a skill -- and an important one. Here
       are some players who, according to Basketball-Reference.com, have
       mastered the ancient art, along with some guys who could stand to
       do better.





                                  LeBron James
                     Made 70 percent of layups, attempted 357

                             在357次上籃出手中命中70%。

       When LeBron stole Game 1 from Indiana with an off-hand layup,
       there was far less marveling at his steely reserve than there
       was criticism of Frank Vogel for letting it happen.



       An open layup is a high percentage shot for anyone, but it says
       something that LeBron is comfortable with his off hand in a high-
       pressure moment like that. His ambidexterity is the foundation of
       his short-range arsenal.

       對任何人來說空檔上籃是個高命中率的出手，但這透露出Lebron在關鍵時刻
       能舒服的用非慣用手出手。靈活的雙手是他近距離進攻武器的基礎。

       Not only is LeBron better at getting to the rim than everyone else
       but he might be more accurate once there than everyone else, as
       well. Last season, LeBron shot 70 percent on layups. He attempted
       at least 200 layups more than anyone with a better layup conversion
       rate.



       The aforementioned ambidexterity allows LeBron to explore any angle
       at any time. A favorite tactic of his is to shield the defender
       with his back while banking a no-look lefty. It’s a bit like a
       reverse lay-in that doesn’t finish on the other side of the hoop.



                                  Isaiah Thomas
                    Made 67 percent of layups, attempted 151

                           在151次上籃出手中命中67%。

       Pound-for-pound (Copyright: Allen Iverson) the best layupper
       around. At a tiny 5-9 in socks, Thomas shouldn’t be able to hit
       67.1 percent on these shots. He has had a lifetime of practice
       against taller players, though.



       Thomas hasn’t mastered any one thing in particular. He just has
       the full layup repertoire. He’ll switch hands when it suits him.
       He’ll loft it high off the glass like Steve Nash. He’ll shield
       off contact with his back while scooping the ball forward. He has
       the up-and-under down.



       Seriously, watch this guy at the rim. Better yet, record this guy
       at the rim, pause right before the layup happens and appreciate
       how impossible the feat looks. Water can’t find a way through
       cracks the way a Thomas layup can.

       認真的說，來看這傢伙上籃，甚至能錄下來更好，並在上籃發生前暫停，好
       好欣賞他的十八般武藝。Thomas的上籃比起流水穿石還來的刁鑽。

                                   Tony Parker
                   Made 67 percent of layups, attempted 331

                           在331次上籃出手中命中67%。

       This is the defining Parker trait and always has been. There’s
       also a striking quirk to his game. Although Parker can use his
       left hand if the situation requires, he prefers to use his right,
       even on the left side of the backboard. I’d say the signature
       Tony layup is a right-handed scoop on the left side of the rim.
       That is, if the signature Tony layup isn’t an overhand try in
       which he’s leaning backward on an invisible recliner.



                                Marcus Thornton
                 Made 70 percent of layups, attempted 156

                          在156次上籃出手中命中70%。

       Look, I’d be lying if I said I could fully explain Thornton’s
       layup skill, but he’s been great two years running (69.3 percent
       on layups last season). He isn’t especially fluid with his moves,
       but he’s good with either hand. Thornton also doesn’t force
       anything around the rim. Most of his lay-ins come off assists.





                               Brandon Jennings
                  Made 50 percent of layups, attempted 281

                          在281次上籃出手中命中50%。

       Kevin Costner’s “back, and to the left” line creeps into my
       head whenever Jennings drives. Detroit’s new starting point
       guard has a tendency to lean backward off balance while flinging
       lefty prayers. Hopefully Jennings learned something from former
       teammate Beno Udrih, who shoots contested layups quite well.



                              Carmelo Anthony
                  Made 50 percent of layups, attempted 335

                          在335次上籃出手中命中50%。

       He’s even worse at contested layups when you consider how often
       he’s rebounding his misses for easy putbacks. But those putbacks
       might answer the question of why Anthony is so mediocre near the
       basket. Melo loves chasing his own shot, and the first try might
       be a careless prelude to the chase. He’s also not especially adept
       at using his left hand and thus forces a lot of action with his
       right.



                                 Dion Waiters
                  Made 50 percent of layups, attempted 245

                          在245次上籃出手中命中50%。

       He’s the right-handed Jennings, although there’s more hope for
       Waiters going forward, I’d say. He’s stronger than Jennings
       (eventually my “Strongta Ellis” nickname will get off the ground,
       I just know it), taller than Jennings and younger than Jennings.
       I’m banking (OK, I’ll stop) on an improved Waiters near the rim.



                                Ramon Sessions
                  Made 49 percent of layups, attempted 290

                          在290次上籃出手中命中46%。

       Sessions was among the worst perimeter player on layups last
       season, but he hasn’t been this bad in the past. Last season
       could be a fluke -- or the result of a once-quick point guard
       slowing down. I’ve noticed he tends to go right when the path
       is blocked off.



                                  Omer Asik
                  Made 48 percent of layups, attempted 145

                          在145次上籃出手中命中48%。

       I stayed away from listing big men because so many of their
      “layups” are really post moves or strained putbacks, but Asik
       deserves a mention. He converted 94.6 percent of his dunks, nearly
       47 better than he managed on layups. From 3-10 feet, he shot
       27.4 percent.



       Few players better demonstrate the difference between grip and
       other kinds of fine motor skills. Asik is good at dunking; he has
       no issue putting his clamps on the rock and tomahawking it through
       the hoop. Once his hands try a more delicate layup, though, the ball
       flies off the window as if Asik’s playing handball.



                                  Ricky Rubio
                   Made 45 percent of layups, attempted 164

                          在164次上籃出手中命中45%。

       I don’t want to judge too harshly, as Rubio was coming back from
       an ACL tear. This is his second season of poor finishing, though
       (48.4 percent on layups in his rookie year). It’s curious that
       Rubio struggles like this because he’s so well coordinated and
       so well aware of angles when it comes to passing. Perhaps the
       problem is his running balance. On drives, Rubio often staggers
       as if he’s in an invisible potato sack race.





                              Russell Westbrook
                   Made 58 percent of layups, attempted 478

                          在478次上籃出手中命中58%。

       Westbrook might be the player whose facility at making layups
       simply means he gets to the rim a bunch. That’s not entirely
       fair, though, because Westbrook can and does finish with either
       hand.

       Westbrook是個熟練的上籃者，簡單來說是他切進籃下次數實在太多。不過這
       樣說並不完全公平，畢竟他的確雙手都可以上籃。

       You just wouldn’t expect the dynamic point guard to be a whole
       12 percent worse on layups than LeBron, given Westbrook’s elite
       speed and hops. It appears, from the video clips, as if Westbrook
       flies into the lane with more desire than strategy, willing the
       ball toward what might be the hoop. That’s nitpicking because,
       even if Westbrook is only OK at converting layup attempts, it
       matters more that he is creating so many of them.




原文網址－
http://tinyurl.com/mddt75v


--
新手NBA外電翻譯+數據分析部落格

http://mola79321.pixnet.net/blog

歡迎來討論!!!

--
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 124.218.28.55
※ Cousins15:轉錄至看板 Kings                                      09/17 22:05
※ Paraguay:轉錄至看板 LeBronJames                                 09/18 02:27

--