2017 NBA All-Star Preview: Storylines To Watch
全明星前瞻：几大看点吊足胃口
The long shadows cast by Kobe Bryant's farewell tour during the 2016 All-Star Weekend are now gone.
在2016年的全明星周末，当时即将退役的科比-布莱恩特吸引了所有人的目光。如今科比的告别巡演已然落幕。
setting up the NBA's 2017 midseason showcase for a whole new batch of rich storylines.
但全明星从来不缺少新鲜的话题。
1. How will Russell Westbrook coexist with Kevin Durant and the Warriors?
拉塞尔-威斯布鲁克将如何与凯文-杜兰特以及勇士球员共存？
The Warriors have scored three routine wins in their clashes with the Thunder this season, but not without triggering plenty of bad blood and subliminal shots.
虽然在本赛季和雷霆的三场交锋中勇士取得了全胜的战绩，但比赛过程充满了火药味。
Tensions boiled over in Oklahoma City on Saturday, when Kevin Durant made his first return visit to Oklahoma City and was greeted by angry mobs in "Cupcake" t-shirts and an exchange of words with Russell Westbrook.
上周六勇士赴客场挑战雷霆，这也是杜兰特加盟勇士后在俄克拉荷马打的第一场比赛。不出所料，他受到了球迷们“热情”的欢迎。很多主队球迷都穿上了印着“纸杯蛋糕”字样的T恤。杜兰特本人在比赛中还和威斯布鲁克喷起了垃圾话。
While Durant's new team had the last laugh, stomping all over the Thunder and then co-opting the t-shirts for their post-game interviews,
勇士笑到了最后，他们在客场完胜雷霆。勇士球员甚至还穿上了“纸杯蛋糕”T恤参加赛后采访。
Westbrook at least succeeded in maintaining his unblemished and defiant lack of forgiveness towards Durant.
至于威斯布鲁克，从他的表现看来，他丝毫不想原谅杜兰特。
All-Star Weekend should give Westbrook the perfect opportunity to take his delightful pettiness to new heights.
“睚眦之怨无不报”，对于威斯布鲁克来说，全明星周末是一次完美的机会——在更大的舞台上展现自己个性的机会。为什么这样说呢？
First, he's one of the few A-listers who take this game somewhat seriously, claiming back-to-back All-Star Game MVPs in 2015 and 2016.
首先，威斯布鲁克会在全明星比赛中认真打球（或者说比其他人认真一点），这样的球员并不多见，他也强势蝉联了过去两年的全明星MVP。
Second, he will be surrounded by the enemy:
第二，威斯布鲁克已经被敌人层层包围：
Warriors coach Steve Kerr will coach the Western Conference, whose roster includes four of his players in Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
西部明星队的主教练是勇士主帅史蒂夫-科尔，勇士的四员大将杜兰特、斯蒂芬-库里、克莱-汤普森以及德雷蒙德-格林全部入选西部全明星。
Third, Westbrook will have nowhere to hide and he knows it.
第三，威斯布鲁克无处可藏，他本人也明白这一点。
The NBA's triple-double leader will need to go through press sessions, team photographs, practices and the game itself with the Golden State squad,
作为本赛季的三双王，威斯布鲁克不仅要和这群勇士球员一起参加新闻发布会、拍摄定妆照、练习、比赛。
not to mention the courtside guffawing that usually takes place on Saturday night.
一般来说，周六晚上全明星们会在场边聚在一起，“愉快”地观看单项比赛。
Fourth, and perhaps most crucially, he is sure to be hammered with question after question about his relationship with Durant, which apparently is still not on speaking terms.
第四，也是最重要的一点，记者们一定会铺天盖地杀将过来，询问他关于和杜兰特有关的问题。显然，威斯布鲁克是不愿意谈论这个话题的。
How will Kerr play this? Will he lean into the drama and put Westbrook on the court with his four stars?
科尔会怎么做呢？他会顺应民意把威斯布鲁克和勇士四将同时派上场吗？
Will he play Westbrook, who was bumped to the West's bench in favor of Curry due to the fan vote, enough to facilitate another run at the MVP award?
另外，虽然由于球迷投票环节不敌库里导致威斯布鲁克只能屈居替补，但他的表现完全是MVP级的。
Will he showcase Durant to make a statement? Then, how will Westbrook respond?
那么，科尔会给威斯布鲁克充足的上场时间吗？他会给杜兰特表现的机会吗？威斯布鲁克又将作何回应？
Will he freeze out Durant if they share the court? Will he surprise everyone and play nice?
如果杜兰特和威斯布鲁克同时上场，威斯布鲁克会给杜兰特传球吗？威斯布鲁克会和杜兰特和谐共存吗？
Will he get angry and shut down questions? Will he find a creative way to sabotage the team picture?
还是说他会化身愤怒的神龟？亦或是创造性地破坏西部明星队的化学反应？
The answers are only days away.
让我们拭目以待吧。
2．Will trade talk overshadow the proceedings?
交易流言对全明星周末的影响
NBA reporters were so close to avoiding the worst of the annual trade rumor mill.
本赛季深陷交易流言的全明星并不少：
While All-Stars like DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Paul Millsap have all had their names surface in trade rumors this season, there hasn't been much recent momentum around any of them.
比如德马库斯-考辛斯、吉米-巴特勒、保罗-乔治以及保罗-米尔萨普。目前来看他们短期内离队的可能性都不大。
Sacramento has apparently pledged to keep (and re-sign) Cousins. Chicago would be up a creek without Butler.
国王管理层已经明确表态会留下考辛斯（重新与他签约）。如果失去巴特勒公牛会沦为乐透球队。
Ditto for Indiana and George. And Atlanta has repeatedly said that Millsap, a natural target given his upcoming free agency, will remain in town.
步行者也是同样的处境，他们不想失去乔治。老鹰也表示如果米尔萨普跳出合同球队将重新和他签约。
But just when it looked like the trade deadline talk might hold off until early next week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver named Anthony as Kevin Love's injury replacement.
下周交易截止日就将到来。在这个关头，亚当-萧华宣布安东尼将顶替受伤的凯文-乐福入选全明星。
While trading Anthony is difficult given his desire to remain in New York, his no-trade clause and his contract's trade kicker,
由于安东尼本人希望留在纽约，因此想交易他并不容易，况且他的合同中还有着不可交易条款以及交易保证金。
the Knicks' nonstop drama and president Phil Jackson's repeated jabs at his forward are sure to receive blanket coverage during Anthony's media sessions.
球队内部不停发生的闹剧以及球队主席菲尔-杰克逊对安东尼的持续指责都将尼克斯推上了风口浪尖。

This is nothing new, of course, as Anthony has been the subject of trade or free agency speculation at All-Star Weekend dating back to his time in Denver.
在全明星周末的媒体日安东尼可有的忙活了。这样的事情已经不是第一次发生了，当年还在掘金打球时安东尼就面临过同样的处境。
Anthony aside, teams like the Celtics, Wizards, Rockets and Clippers continue to look like logical buyers in the wake of the Raptors' move to gear up for the playoffs by landing Serge Ibaka.
除了安东尼，像凯尔特人、奇才、火箭以及快船这些球队都在积极尝试引进球员。就在几天前，为了提高球队在季后赛的竞争力，猛龙从魔术交易来了赛尔吉-伊巴卡。
Meanwhile, the Pistons, Blazers, Mavericks and Kings, among others, fall into the "Might as well do something to do something" camp.
另外，像活塞、开拓者、小牛以及国王这样的球队，都陷入了不上不下的尴尬境地。
Even if none of the biggest names move, there should be plenty of chatter to track.
也许以上这些交易最终都只会停留在流言层面，但在交易截止日前，一切皆有可能。
3. Can the Slam Dunk Contest live up to last year's classic?
扣篮大赛会像去年那样精彩吗？
Don't dwell on the fact that back-to-back defending champion Zach LaVine opted not to pursue a three-peat before he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
前不久扎克-拉文因膝盖伤势而赛季报销，连庄扣篮王也因此无法踏上三连扣篮王的征途了。
The LaVine-less field—2016 runner-up Aaron Gordon, 2017 All-Star DeAndre Jordan, Glenn Robinson III and Derrick Jones Jr.—remains loaded with talent and well-balanced stylistically.
当然，江山自有人才出，拉文去年夺冠道路的最大对手阿隆-戈登、2017年全明星德安德鲁-乔丹、格伦-罗宾逊三世以及德里克-琼斯将为观众奉献一场视觉盛宴。
4. Who will prevail in a loaded Three-Point Contest field?
谁将在竞争激烈的三分大赛中夺魁？
One major advantage of the NBA's current pace-and-space era? It's getting easier and easier to field excellent Three-Point Contest fields.
在如今这个小球战术盛行的年代，越来越多优秀的三分射手得以大展身手。
Yes, Stephen Curry is sitting out this year, but his Warriors teammate Klay Thompson is back to defend his 2016 crown.
斯蒂芬-库里没有参加今年的三分大赛，而他的队友克莱-汤普森将为了卫冕三分王而战。
Joining Thompson are three other 2017 All-Stars—Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry and Kemba Walker, plus 2016 Most Improved Player CJ McCollum,
除了汤普森之外，还有三名入选本届全明星的球员也将出战今年的三分大赛，他们是凯里-欧文、凯尔-洛瑞以及肯巴-沃克。此外，参赛者还有2016年最快进步球员获得者CJ-麦科勒姆，
2017 Sixth Man of the Year favorite Eric Gordon and the NBA's consensus Most Swaggy Player, Nick Young.
2017年最佳第六人的有力争夺者埃里克-戈登以及著名的单打王、最酷炫吊炸天的球员——尼克-杨。
Through Wednesday, all eight players were shooting at least 38.7% on threes and ranked in the top 22 in three-point attempts.
截止到周三，这七名球员的三分命中率全部在38.7%以上，并且三分出手次数都排在联盟前22名以内。
This group possesses starpower and charisma, sports two past champions in Thompson and Irving, and has zero weak links.
这将是一次星光灿烂的三分大赛，7名参赛者中汤普森和欧文都拿过三分王，另外5名球员也尽是三分好手。
5. Can the guards get revenge in the Skills Challenge?
后卫们能在技巧大赛上重整旗鼓吗？
The NBA finally hit on a successful formula for the Skills Challenge by pitting guards versus big men last year.
后卫和内线分组对抗的创意使得去年的技巧大赛大获成功。
With talented bigs like Karl-Anthony Towns and DeMarcus Cousins in the mix, the oft-overlooked event was one of 2016's pleasant surprises.
由于天才内线卡尔-安东尼-唐斯和德马库斯-考辛斯的加入，去年的技巧大赛给人们带来了惊喜。
Who could have predicted the sheer joy that followed Towns's contest-sealing three-pointer to top Boston's Isaiah Thomas?
谁能想到唐斯会在最后的决赛中凭借三分投篮力压凯尔特人的以赛亚-托马斯呢？
This year's field is loaded with All-Stars and future All-Stars:
今年的技巧大赛同样是众星云集：
Anthony Davis, Cousins, Nikola Jokic and Kristaps Porzingis will represent the bigs while Thomas, Gordon Hayward, John Wall and Devin Booker will hold it down for the guards.
安东尼-戴维斯、考辛斯、尼古拉-约基奇以及克里斯塔普斯-波尔津吉斯组成了大个子队；托马斯、戈登-海沃德、约翰-沃尔以及德文-布克将代表后卫们参赛。
The only disappointment? Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, the odds-on favorite for 2017 Rookie of the Year, was a late scratch.
唯一的遗憾应该算是乔尔-恩比德的缺席了。几乎已经预定年度最佳新秀的“大帝”由于伤病将无法出战技巧大赛。
Surely "The Process" would have found a way to steal the show if not for a minor knee injury.
如果不是膝盖的伤势，相信“过程”一定会大出风头的。
6. Who wants to gush over the young bigs in the Rising Stars Challenge?
恩比德缺席，谁将成为新秀挑战赛上最亮眼的大个子？
Although Embiid's absence will also be felt in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night, there are plenty of other headliners to help cover for him.
恩比德同样会缺席周五晚上的新秀挑战赛，不过NBA从来不缺少青年才俊。
Let's start with Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Jokic and Kristaps Porzingis who, along with Embiid, constantly find themselves in the "Who's the next great big man?"
让我们把目光对准卡尔-安东尼-唐斯、尼古拉-约基奇以及克里斯塔普斯-波尔津吉斯。这三名球员，再加上恩比德大帝，谁才是下一个超级内线呢？
The Rising Stars game pits aUSteam led by Towns, Myles Turner, Devin Booker and Lakers lottery picks D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram against a World Team that features Jokic, Porzingis and 2016 lottery picks Jamal Murray, Buddy Hield and Domantas Sabonis.
唐斯、迈尔斯-特纳、德文-布克以及湖人的榜眼丹吉洛-拉塞尔、布兰登-英格拉姆将领衔美国队，对阵由约基奇、波尔津吉斯以及16届乐透新秀贾马尔-默里、巴迪-希尔德和多曼塔斯-萨博尼斯领军的世界队。
Look for Towns, Booker, Jokic and Porzingis to make early cases for 2018 All-Star selections.
这将是唐斯、布克、约基奇和波尔津吉斯争夺18年全明星选票的预赛。

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