沒有保羅導航,快船該如何繼續航行?

J.J. Redick had seen Chris Paul in pain before—and, more often than not, he'd seen him fight through that pain and keep playing.

這已經不是J.J-雷迪克第一次看到克里斯-保羅受傷了——在大多數情況下保羅會帶着傷繼續作戰。

It wasn't until the second half of the Los Angeles Clippers' Martin Luther King Jr. Day game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, when Paul didn't emerge from the tunnel at Staples Center, that Redick began to worry.

但讓雷迪克開始擔心的事發生了，在馬-路德-金日開打的快船對雷霆的比賽中，保羅受傷下場後就再也沒有在斯坦普斯球場的球員通道出現。

Perhaps a second-quarter tangle with Russell Westbrook had done more than tweak something in the point guard's left hand.

這或許是因爲第二節與拉塞爾-威斯布魯克纏鬥比用左手擰東西要花費更多的力氣。

Perhaps Paul's fit of anger on the way to the locker room pointed to a repeat of what happened during Game 4 of the Clippers' first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2016 NBA playoffs.

這又或許是因爲這次的受傷讓保羅在回更衣室的路上想起了去年季後賽首輪對陣開拓者的第四場發生的令人痛心疾首一切。

"I'm not assuming the worst by any means," Redick said following L.A.'s 120-98 win,

“我無論如何都不會想着會出現最糟糕的情況，”雷迪克在快船120比98贏得了比賽後的採訪中說道。

"but I recognize there's probably a good chance he's maybe out a game or two, best case. Worst case, we'll deal with that."

“但我意識到他有可能會缺席一到兩場比賽，這是我能想到的最好的結果。如果是最壞的結果的話，我們會努力去應付的。”

The Clippers now face that worst case.

現在快船要應對最差的情況了。

The results of Paul's MRI on Tuesday revealed a torn ligament in his thumb—the same thumb he sprained during the preseason.

保羅的核磁共振報告顯示他的大拇指的韌帶撕裂了——正是他在季前賽扭傷的那根手指。

with surgery slated for Wednesday and six to eight weeks of recovery after that, according to the team.

根據隊醫報告，他將會在星期三進行手術並需要六到八週才能回到球場。

Paul's latest setback comes at a tough time in the schedule. After hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, L.A. will play away from home 11 times over its next 13 games.

這次傷病恰恰發生在了在快船賽程最艱難的時期。在週四主場打完森林狼之後，快船將在接下來的13場比賽中打11場客場的比賽。

That stretch includes three matchups with the Golden State Warriors, two with the Atlanta Hawks and away dates against the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celticsand Utah Jazz.

其中還包括三次與勇士的對決，兩次和老鷹的纏鬥和與猛龍，凱爾特人和爵士的三場背靠背。

And that's before the Clippers host the San Antonio Spurs on the return leg of a back-to-back that begins in Oakland, California, coming out of All-Star Weekend.

上述的都是主場對陣馬刺前的賽程，而在全明星週末之後，快船又將面臨一段從奧克蘭開始，在洛杉磯結束的連續背靠背之旅。

Can the Clippers remain contenders despite Chris Paul's latest injury?

在保羅受傷以後快船還能保持在冠軍競爭者的陣營中嗎？

A six-week retreat would put Paul back in uniform March 1—when theHouston Rockets come to town—after a 16-game absence.

如果保羅可以在六週後康復，他會缺席16場比賽並在3月1日對陣休斯頓火箭的比賽中披掛上陣。

If he needs eight weeks to recover, he would miss 24 games before returning to face the Milwaukee Bucks on March 15 in L.A.

如果他需要八週才能康復，那他將缺席24場比賽並在3月15日主場對陣雄鹿的比賽中迴歸。

The All-Star break will mitigate some of the damage that might have otherwise been done to the Clippers' record, though it will come at the cost of Paul's suiting up for the Western Conference squad in New Orleans.

全明星週末可以減小保羅的傷病對快船戰績的影響，儘管保羅只能穿着西服參加新奧爾良的全明星週末了。

His 17.5 points, 9.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game and .471/.395/.876 shooting splits had all but assured the North Carolina native of a 10th straight All-Star appearance.

他每場17.5分，9.7助攻，2.2搶斷的數據和47.1%，39.5%，87.6%的命中率足以確保這個來自北卡羅納州的控衛第十次入選全明星。

So did Paul's impact on L.A.'s fortunes, from his league-leading real plus-minus (9.27, per ) to the Clippers' 27-9 record with him in the lineup this season.

他對快船隊的影響和他的數據一樣優秀，他聯盟領先的正負值（據ESPN統計高達+9.27）和快船有他出場時27勝9負的出色戰績都說明了這一點。

LAC has had to survive without its floor general before: He was sidelined seven times over an eight-game stretch from late December to early January with a nagging hamstring strain.

快船之前就應對過沒有他們的球場指揮官出場的困境。保羅因爲左腿筋的拉傷在十二月末到一月初的八場比賽中缺席了七場。

His absence touched off a six-game skid that preceded the team's current seven-game winning streak.

而他的缺席導致了快船迎來了一波六連敗，在這之後快船則是打出了一波七連勝。

That dip came without Blake Griffin, as well. The 27-year-old power forward has been out of action since he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Dec. 20.

這次的連敗中布雷克-格里芬同樣沒能上場。這個27歲的大前鋒在去年十二月接受右膝關節鏡手術後一直缺陣至今。

Griffin, though, could be back in the rotation soon. The Clippers originally pegged his recovery time at four to six weeks, the latter of which would put him in uniform for a Feb. 1 road date with thePhoenix Suns.

但格里芬很快就可以回到輪換陣容中去了。快船原本預計格里芬的恢復時間會是四到六週，如果他休戰六週，那麼格里芬將會在客場對陣太陽的比賽中復出。

He's recently been seen working out at L.A.'s practice facility in Playa Vista and going through his pregame routine on the court at Staples Center.

最近我們已經可以在快船隊在普萊亞維斯塔的訓練場地看到格里芬訓練的身影，他也會參加斯臺普斯球場的賽前熱身。

Griffin's return—along with his 21.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game—would go a long way toward mitigating Paul's absence.

格里芬以及他場均21.2分，8.8板，4.7助攻的優異表現的迴歸，會大大減小保羅的缺席給快船帶來的壓力。

For now, though, the Clippers can't sit around and wait for their younger franchise star to pick up the slack. They also cannot put it all on his shoulders once he's ready to go.

但目前來看，快船不能僅僅指望這個年輕一些的超級球星帶領他們度過困境。他們不能讓這個剛剛復出的大前鋒承擔所有的壓力。

"Next guy up, I guess," Redick said. "We've dealt with this quite a bit lately, and we'll continue to plug away."

“我猜我們需要有下一個人站出來，”雷迪克說。“我們最近一直在跟傷病對抗，我們會繼續堅持下去。”

In the meantime, L.A. will need more from everyone on the roster, especially its remaining guards. Austin Rivers was the first to assume Paul's position,

同時，快船隊需要每一位球員都貢獻更多的力量，尤其是剩下的後衛們。奧斯汀-裏弗斯是接替保羅位置的第一人選。

and he helped the Clippers maintain a double-digit cushion during the second half while racking up 16 points, six assists and a game-best plus-minus of plus-29 against the Thunder.

正是依靠他的出色表現，快船在對陣雷霆的下半場一直保持着兩位數的領先，小裏弗斯全場得到了16分6助，正負值全場最高，達到驚人的+29。

"We asked him to guard Westbrook for 98 percent of the game, and then we didn't know he was going to have to run the team, too,"

“在比賽的98%的時間，他被我們安排去防守威斯布魯克，但我們沒想到他在進攻端也打出carry全場的表現。

L.A. head coach Doc Rivers said. "That was asking a lot, but he came through for us, so that was big."

快船主教練裏弗斯說道。“這對他來說要求有些過高了，但他爲我們克服了這些困難，這是他的夜晚。”

The younger Rivers won't be asked to fill Paul's Jordans on his own, however. Raymond Felton, a sturdy veteran presence off the Clippers bench, started at the point four times during Paul's last sideline stint.

小裏弗斯不能成爲唯一一個代替保羅給小喬丹喂球的人。雷蒙德-菲爾頓，快船板凳席上的強壯老將，在先前保羅缺席的比賽中曾經擔任過四場的首發控衛。

Jamal Crawford can assume some of his creative duties, too, and he might be better off doing so amid his recent shooting woes (20.5 percent from the field, 8.3 percent from three-point range over his last five games).

賈馬爾-克勞福德也可以發揮一下他的創造力，但他最好先改善一下自己最近掙扎的投籃表現（過去的五場比賽中他的兩分命中率只有20.5%，三分命中率更是隻有8.3%）

All three figure to see significant jumps in playing time, just as they did when Paul was previously out of commission.

如果和之前保羅缺席後幾場比賽的情況相似，這三個球員上場時間會出現大幅的增加。

What you won't see the Clippers do is heed any nagging calls to break up their core.

快船絕不會考慮那些交易的電話來拆散自己的核心。

They'll need a healthy Griffin to help them survive sans Paul and might not have their leader back until after the Feb. 23 trade deadline.

他們需要一個健康的格里芬來克服沒有保羅的困難時期, 而且在2月23號交易日截止前他們可能都會處於一個無核的狀態。

At least both should be fine well before the postseason starts in mid-April.

但這些問題到了四月中旬季後賽開打的時候，應該都不會再困擾快船了。

The more immediate concern will be L.A. holding steady in the standings. Just four games separate the fourth-place Clippers from the sixth-place Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies on the Western Conference ladder, and the Jazz (two games back) are lurking in between.

快船眼下的當務之急是保持自己的排名的穩定。快船西部第四名的戰績只比第六名的雷霆和第七名的灰熊領先4個勝場，而只以兩場落後的爵士也是虎視眈眈。

L.A. will play as many as 19 games against teams currently in the playoff hunt by the time Paul heals. That brutal swath could jeopardize whatever slice of playoff home-court advantage the Clippers had been eyeing.

在保羅恢復前，快船將和現在處於東西部的季後賽競爭者打多達19場比賽。這種地獄模式的賽程很可能將快船一直覬覦的季後賽主場優勢生生奪走。

Not that they are going to concede to the doom and gloom.

但這不意味着他們會向厄運屈服。

"We just have to keep attacking and keep moving forward," Austin Rivers said. "I know we can keep this win streak going if we take it game by game and keep stepping up."

“我們需要做的就是保持侵略性並且不斷向前，”奧斯汀-裏弗斯說道。“我知道，只要我們一步一個腳印不斷提升自己，我們將會延續現在的連勝。”

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