Magic, Bird Rekindle Old Lakers vs. Celtics Rivalry 魔术师和伯德回忆昔日王朝对决
Hall-of-FamersMagic Johnson and Larry Bird sat down to discuss the glory days of theLeague’s oldest rivalry and to dissect this year’s retro-look NBAFinals.
名人堂成员魔术师约翰逊和拉里·伯德坐下来讨论联盟历史最悠久的王朝对决，并讨论今年的总决赛对阵形势。
From the jump hook to the “Memorial Day Massacre,” Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are walking ESPN Classic highlight reels.
魔术师约翰逊和拉里·伯德现在做客ESPN的经典重现环节，回忆当初的跳起勾手到“纪念日大屠杀”。
Althoughneither Hall-of-Famer is afraid to talk about their once heatedbattles, there is nothing but respect these days between the twoall-time greats as the Lakers and Celtics prepare to reprise theirrivalry in this year’s NBA Finals.
虽然这两位名人堂成员都不忌讳他们当初的激烈交锋，但是这么多年过后，湖人和凯尔特人将在今年的总决赛重现昔日经典对抗，留在这两位全明星巨星心里的只有彼此的尊敬。
“Every great franchise must go through down times,” said Magic. “Both franchises went through down times, but now they’re back.
“每段伟大的传奇都会随时间而淡去，”魔术师表示，“这两段伟大的传奇都会随时间而淡去，但是他们现在回来了。”
“It’s great for the league, it’s great for basketball,” said Bird of the teams’ simultaneous returns to power.
“这对整个联盟来说是伟大的事情，对篮球运动来说，也是件伟大的事情。”伯德在谈到两队同时回到总决赛时表示。
WhileJohnson and Bird were two of the most transcendent players of theirgeneration, the former Laker said that he was completely oblivious atthe time as to the monumental impact he and Larry would have on today’sgame.
虽然约翰逊和伯德是他们那个时代最出色的两名运动员，前湖人球员约翰逊表示他并没有意识到他和伯德对现在篮球运动的影响。
“Weprobably both didn’t know that we would jumpstart the NBA to what it istoday and that we would be able to play for two storied and historicalfranchises like Boston and LA.,” said Johnson.
“我们都不清楚我们会对NBA的发展有什么影响，能够为像凯尔特人和湖人这样具有传奇和历史地位的球队效力。”约翰逊表示。
Technicallyspeaking, 21 years have passed since the Lakers and Celtics last met inthe Finals, but Magic and Bird remember their captivating matchups asif it were yesterday.
从技术角度讲，两队最后一次在总决赛碰面，还是21年以前的事情了，但是约翰逊和拉里·伯德都还记得那些令人称赞不已的比赛，仿佛那些事情就发生在昨天。
“Itwas great to be in that hated rivalry for so many years,” said Magic,revealing that even though fans in Boston and L.A. despised each other,the players on the court always held the utmost respect for oneanother.
“能够身处长期相互仇视的传奇球队对抗中，我感觉很好。”约翰逊。他还透露虽然凯尔特人和湖人队的球迷也相互仇视，但是球员在场上还是相互尊敬对方。
“He knows how to make other players better,” said Magic of Bird. “Today, nobody has surpassed him when it comes to that.”
“他知道如何让其他球员变得更出色。”约翰逊在谈到伯德时表示，“就算现在，在这一点上，还是没有人能够超越他。”
Whilethe former players certainly fill several chapters of the NBA historybook, they’re quick to point out that their individual matchup paled incomparison to the original competition between Bill Russell vs. WiltChamberlain that paved the way for the league’s oldest rivalry.
虽然这两名球员肯定会在NBA的历史上留下自己的地位，他们不约而同地指出，跟前辈巨星拉塞尔与张伯伦的对抗相比，他们俩的对抗还显得有些苍白。拉塞尔与张伯伦的对抗为联盟历史最为悠久的对抗奠定了基础。
“It’shard to call it a rivalry when you don’t win,” said Johnson of theearly Celtics domination over L.A. “Year after year, the Celtics keptbeating the Lakers. I think that it was an incredible series, but BillRussell kept winning. I always admired Bill and Wilt, but Bill wouldalways get the best of him.”
“如果你没有取得胜利，就很难说是对抗。”约翰逊在谈到早期凯尔特人统治了与湖人队的比赛时表示，“凯尔特人击败湖人，这样的情况一次次发生。我认为这是一个不可思议的系列赛，但是拉塞尔不断获得胜利。我一直都很崇拜拉塞尔和张伯伦，但是拉塞尔总是能够笑到最后。”
Forthat reason alone, Magic said that finally beating the mighty Celticsin the 1985 NBA Finals—the first time the Lakers had done so in ninetries—stands as his greatest accomplishment on the basketball floor.
正因为如此，约翰逊表示最终能够在1985年的总决赛中击败强大的凯尔特恩队——这也是湖人在9次对抗中首次战胜对手——是他在篮球场上所取得的最伟大的成就。
Timelessbattles aside, both legends are eager for the attention to shift tothis year’s modern-day update of the storied rivalry.
将两队无休止的战争搁在一旁，这两名传奇巨星都迫不及待地将注意力转到今年的总决赛上，这也是两队长期对抗历史的再次延续。
“Thisis their stage,” said Magic. “It’s Kobe’s stage, it’s KG’ stage, it’sPierce’s stage, Ray Allen’s stage, it’s Gasol’s stage, and they willtake advantage of it.”
“现在是他们的舞台了。”约翰逊说，“这是科比的舞台，加内特的舞台，皮尔斯的舞台，阿伦的舞台，加索尔的舞台，他们会好好利用这一点的。”
WithBryant the only member of that group with previous championshipexperience, Bird said that, “It’ll be interesting to see how theyperform. There’s going be a lot of pressure on them.”
考虑到只有科比是上述球员中唯一有过夺冠经历的球员，伯德表示，“看他们如何发挥将是很有趣的事情。他们将会面临很多压力。”
AlthoughMagic proudly wore the purple and gold and Bird, the signature Bostongreen, both players agree on one thing: Lakers vs. Celtics is about asgood as it gets in sports.
虽然约翰逊身穿紫金战袍，而伯德则穿着凯尔特人的绿色球衣，两名巨星一致认为：湖人与凯尔特人的对抗将对体育运动的发展有利。
“Eventhough names have changed, players and coaches, when you think aboutmost fans round the world, if you ask them what two teams they want tosee in the finals, they’d pick these two teams,” said Magic.
“虽然球员和教练的名字发生变化，但是当你想到全世界的大多数球迷时，如果你问他们最希望看到哪两支球队出现在总决赛中，他们肯定会选择这两支球队的。”
约翰逊表示。
“Every games means something; there’s going to be a lot of highs and a lot of lows,” said Bird.
“未来每场比赛的意义都很大；他们的发挥肯定会有高潮，也会有低谷。”伯德表示。
Whilethe two old rivals turned friends’ emotions have simmered somewhat inthe two-plus decades since Boston and L.A. last met on the NBA’sbiggest stage, there’s no doubt about who’ll they’ll be rooting forwhen the Finals tip off this Thursday.
自从两队最后一次在NBA的总决赛舞台碰面，已经过去21年之久，两名巨星也由往日的敌人发展为朋友，但是，毫无疑问，当今年的总决赛在本周四正式打响，他们还是会一如既往地支持各自的球队。 |
發表於 2008-6-5 04:30 AM
| 