If last year's MVP contest is any indication, the NBA's currently working with one of the deepest fields in its history. Hopefully this year we'll continue to build on the theme.
如果去年的NBA竞赛算是某种提示的话，近期NBA处于对其历史上最深入的领域之一产生影响，那么希望今年的竞争会继续谈论这个话题。
More personal attacks on media members, more public sniping from league executives, more historic efficiency, more outrageous game-winners, and more drama that carries us right to the final week of the year.
越是对媒者人身攻击，越是引致上层的公然指责，就越是创历史性的高效，更多破天荒的决胜球和更多的戏剧性情节，这些将伴随我们直到这个赛季的最后一周。
That's the dream. Let's do it all over again.
这就像做梦一样。让我们一切重新开始。
For now, here are my favorite bets on the board.
现在，将是我最喜欢的下注环节。

James Harden: 10/1
（詹姆斯-哈登：1赔10）
Let's have a moment of silence for the value of winning and the 2017 MVP race...
让我们为2017年的MVP竞赛和评判默哀一会儿……
As for this year, Harden low-key has some of the worst odds on the board. He should probably be closer to 25/1.
至于今年，哈登的重要性下降，与之对应的赔率也应该下调，他应该是在大概1赔25左右。
AAU... All-Star game... Draft Lottery...2017 MVP race. Basketball is losing its focus on winning. — Daryl Morey (@dmorey) April 8, 2017
AAU……全明星赛……乐透选秀……2017MVP竞赛。篮球正在一点点的失去对胜利的关注。——达雷尔-莫雷 2017年4月8日
First of all, he'll be splitting possessions with Chris Paul. Second, the Rockets have some of the highest expectations in the league.
首先，他要和克里斯-保罗分享球权。其次，火箭是联盟几支备受大众期望的球队之一。
In light of those two factors, there's a good chance that Houston will struggle to match preseason hype—currently pegged by Vegas as No. 2 in the West—and Harden's numbers will take a significant step back from last year's "Steve Nash From Outer Space" campaign.
鉴于这两点，休斯顿仍有很大的机率难以达到休赛期的期望——现在被拉斯维加斯列为西部第二——哈登的数据将从去年的“外太空来的史蒂夫-纳什”运动中有所回落。
The Rockets will be a better team overall and Harden could be as deadly as ever, but the narratives are not working in his favor.
火箭将会成为一支更好的球队，哈登和以前同样能在球场上有置敌于死地的能力，但故事情节并不如他所愿。
Russell Westbrook: 9/1
（拉塞尔-威斯布鲁克：1赔9）
Given how divisive Westbrook was even in the year he won (averaging a triple-double, and regularly breathing fire live on NBA TV and beating teams by himself), it's hard to imagine he wins again.
鉴于哪怕他在拿下MVP年所引起的各种争议（场均三双，经常在电视直播上上演单骑救主的场面），很难想象他再次拿到了MVP。
At the end of that Rockets series even people who voted for Westbrook were like, "Alright, cool that was fun. Never again." Plus, like Harden, his numbers will take a step back with a second superstar on hand, and the bar for OKC success is set higher this year.
在与火箭系列赛的最后，投票给他的人也这么说：“好吧，很酷，很有趣。但没有下次了。”此外，和哈登一样，随着另一名超级巨星的到来他的数据也会退步，同时今年俄克拉荷马雷霆的成功标准也会被设定得更高。
So Westbrook cracks the top 10 for two reasons.
所以，维斯布鲁克进入前十有两个原因。
First, because adding George really does give him a killer weapon to run with, and arguably the exact player you would design in a lab to be Westbrook's sidekick.
首先，乔治的到来的确能成为杀手锏，可以说是雷霆的实验室里威斯布鲁克真正的助手。
If they click early, it's possible they finish with one of the two or three best records in the league, in which case Westbrook has gotta be in the MVP mix.
如果他们能够提前产生化学反应，将很可能以联盟前三的成绩结束常规赛，如果是这样，威斯布鲁克会再次在MVP候选名单中。
The second reason is style of play. Westbrook went so nuts last year—he took eighteen threes in Game 5 against Houston—that there's room to improve, at least in the eyes of voters. Could he tone down his game to fit with George, win big, and win over a bunch of critics along the way?
第二个原因是球风，威斯布鲁克去年有些太过于偏执——对休斯顿的第五场季后赛他出手了18次三分——这是他可以提升改进的地方，至少在投票者的眼中是这样的。他能稍稍调整他的比赛风格以适应乔治，会更能够帮助赢得球赛，这不就能让批评他的人无话可说了吗？
Probably not. But the possibility at least gives him a better shot than Harden.
也许不会。但这至少给了他一个比哈登更好的机会。
Steph Curry: 15/1
（斯蒂芬-库里：1赔15）
Steph is one of the three best players in the league, and in a literal sense, he is more valuable to his team than any other player in the league. So, yeah, 15/1 feels insane.
斯蒂芬是联盟内最好的三名球员之一，在字面意思上，他对于他的球队比联盟内其他球员更有价值。所以，1赔15真的是太疯狂了。
But it may be difficult for Curry to ever win another MVP.
但对于库里而言要，再拿一次MVP可能会很艰难。
Between fatigue after the past two MVPs, both of which have somehow become controversial (one of the dumbest NBA developments of the past 20 years) and the "But He Has Kevin Durant On His Team! excuse, it may be another 5-10 years before people appreciate how incredible this Curry run has been.
库里的两次MVP都莫名其妙地变得有争议（过去20年内NBA最糟糕的发展状况之一），而且在连庄MVP后的审美疲劳和“但他有杜兰特在他的球队中！”，可能还得5～10年的时间人们才能欣赏到库里引领的潮流多么不可思议。
That's probably how this plays out. Still: If you can get 15/1 odds on the player who's actually the most valuable force on a team that could win 70 games, it's a pretty solid investment.
大概就是这么结束的。即便如此：但是如果一支能拿70胜的球队中实际最有价值的球员赔率能够达到1赔15，这笔投资还是非常值得的。
LeBron James: 5/1
（勒布朗-詹姆斯：1赔5）
This doesn't feel like a LeBron MVP year. That was last season. "But he'll be playing without Kyrie," you say. "The Cavs could still go win 58 games and it'll be one, long coronation for LeBron."
这感觉不像是勒布朗的MVP年。那是上个赛季。“但是他和凯里一起打球了，”你会这么说，“骑士仍然会拿下58场胜利，这段时间将是为勒布朗加冕。”
Maybe. But do you realize how crazy it is that we've spent three months watching the Cavs endure a regime change in the front office, league-wide speculation about next summer, a franchise-changing trade, and LeBron hasn't said a word on the subject?
或许吧。但你的确要知道过去三个月时间我们一直在看骑士经历了制服组的人员变更，全联盟都在猜测明年夏天勒布朗的去向，改变两支球队的大交易，和这期间勒布朗对这些话题只字不提是多么不可思议的事吗？
I'm sure he'll address all this at some point soon, but it's hard to believe that anxiety over his free agency will subside at that point.
我确信他会在某个时间就这些问题说点什么，但很难相信他成为自由球员的舆论在此时此刻会平息。
This year feels like it will be less about appreciating LeBron's greatness and more about decoding his weirdness.
感觉今年像是更少地欣赏勒布朗的伟大，而更多地破解他的不可思议。
What do the Instagram videos mean?
那么Instagram上的视频到底意味着什么呢？
Kevin Durant: 5/1
（凯文-杜兰特：1赔5）
This feels like KD's year, especially as the Warriors widen the gap between themselves and the rest of the league and the NBA becomes a world that orbits around the Warriors.
今年看上去像是KD之年，特别是当勇士拉大了他们和联盟其他球队的差距，NBA的世界变成了主要围绕着勇士。
Durant might've won it last year, too, if not for the injury that derailed the second half of his regular season.
杜兰特去年也本有可能拿到MVP，如果不是因为伤病破坏了他的下半赛季。
He was playing the most efficient basketball of his life, his length and versatility on defense allowed Golden State to make the transition to a new lineup look way too easy, and his presence turned a great Warriors team into what might be the best basketball team ever assembled.
他打出了职业生涯目前最高效的一个赛季，他的身高和防守端的优势全面让金州勇士轻松地过度到一个新的阵容。同时他的存在也让原本就是超级强队的勇士队变成变成了可能是篮球史上最好配置的球队。
It's tough to separate his value from Steph Curry—not to mention Draymond—but that may not matter.
很难把他的价值成就与斯蒂芬-库里分割开——更不要说德雷蒙德——但这也许并不重要。
Sometimes players are so dominant that context and narrative become secondary. For large portions of last season KD was playing basically perfect basketball.
有时候某些球员是如此重要，使得环境和故事都成了次要的。在上个赛季的大部分时间里KD在篮球场的表现是近乎完美的。
That continued in the playoffs, and especially the Finals, and look how that ended. This season could be a continuation on that theme. Except...
在季后赛，特别是总决赛阶段，他的完美表现继续上演，我们见证了它（那个赛季）是如何结束的。这个赛季可能是这个主题的延续，除非……
Kawhi Leonard: 6/1
（科怀-伦纳德：1赔6）
Kawhi had an excellent case for winning MVP last year. His team won more games than James "Winning Used To Matter" Harden, he was dominant on both ends of the floor, and he closed games as effectively for San Antonio as Westbrook did for OKC.
科怀上个赛季也有极好的机会赢得MVP。他的球队比詹姆斯-“胜利高于一切”-哈登的球队赢了更多比赛，他掌控了球场攻守两端，他在关键比赛时对于圣安东尼奥的意义和威斯布鲁克对雷霆的意义相同。
As the season unfolded, not everyone noticed how dominant his offense had become.
随着赛季的开始，并不是所有人都注意到他在进攻端的统治力。
Calling him a "two-way superstar" was almost misleading; he played defense, yeah, but he was also carrying the Spurs offense with some of the most clinical iso-scoring we've seen since Jordan and Kobe.
称他为“双向超级巨星”几乎是一种误导；他是防守端的核心毋庸置疑，但他同样能在乔丹和科比之后用最无情的单打得分能力带动马刺的进攻端。
The problem was that when the race began to heat up down the stretch, Kawhi slowed down, while Westbrook continued to go nuts. Then the playoffs happened—27.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and a Conference Finals trip—and everyone realized how incredible Kawhi had become.
问题在于，当MVP的竞赛升温到冲刺阶段时，科怀减速了，而威斯布鲁克的表现依旧疯狂。然后季后赛开始了——27.7分7.8篮板4.6助攻和一次分区决赛之旅——所有人都意识到了科怀变得有多么不可思议。
Now it's a new year. New race.
现在，是新的一年。新的赛季。
And I need you to look at the rest of this list and see that almost every other MVP candidate has more help.
我需要你明白的是这份MVP候选名单中的其他几乎所有候选人都拥有了更多的帮手。
I need you think about it—really think about it—and ask yourself whether you trust anyone outside of Golden State to finish with a better record than San Antonio.
我需要你思考一下——想清楚这个问题——自问除了金州勇士以外，你还相信谁的战绩比圣安东尼奥更好。
I need you to realize that Tony Parker will miss half the year, LaMarcus Aldridge is fading, Pau Gasol is pushing 40, and it won't matter.
我需要你意识到托尼-帕克将缺阵半年的时间，拉马库斯-阿尔德里奇状态下滑，保罗-加索尔接近40，但这些都不重要。
I need you to look at this picture of Kawhi Leonard walking through the summer in his Spurs game shorts, waiting for an opportunity to kill again.
我需要你看看这张照片，科怀-伦纳德穿着马刺运动衫渡过炎炎盛夏，等待下一次的大杀特杀。
I need you to go back and watch these highlights of Game 4 of Spurs-Grizzlies.
我需要你回去看一下马刺和灰熊系列赛第四场的高光镜头。
I need you to understand that Kawhi Leonard is winning MVP in 2018.
我需要你明白，科怀-伦纳德将会是2018年MVP最有力的竞争者之一。

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