The Oklahoma City Thunder might have ended the San Antonio Spurs dynasty in Thursday night’s series-clinching Game 6, setting up a Western Conference Finals showdown with the Golden State Warriors in the process.
俄克拉荷马雷霆队已经在周四晚上与圣安东尼奥马刺队的第六场比赛中一举拿下马刺队，获得了通往西部决赛的入场券。他们将在决赛与金州勇士队进行会师。
On the surface, these Western Conference Finals seem to be a lesser-than option. For months, we’ve been looking forward to the seemingly inevitable matchup between the 67-win Spurs and 73-win Warriors. A 55-win Thunder team? What are they going to do against Stephen Curry and the world-beating Dubs?
表面上来看，西部决赛的对抗阵容理应没有太多悬念。几个月来，观众们一直期待让拥有67胜战绩的马刺队与73胜的勇士队在最终对决。然而，最后却是55胜战绩的雷霆队成为黑马，在最终比赛中脱颖而出。面对史蒂芬·库里和这支出色的球队，雷霆会如何应对呢?
A lot, actually.
实际上，雷霆队潜在的优势也非常可观。
But it’s hardly a lesser-than matchup from the Warriors’ perspective. The Thunder have given the Warriors trouble every time they’ve played this season.
但是在勇士队眼中，他们却不敢小看雷霆这支队伍。在本赛季的比赛中，每逢雷霆队与勇士队对抗之际，雷霆总会给勇士制造一些麻烦。
The Thunder made some key adjustments to turn around their series with the Spurs, and it’s unknown how many of those moves will translate to the Warriors’ matchup. But the team’s newfound ability to adapt will serve it well against the Warriors.
在与马刺的系列比赛中，雷霆队做出了一些重大调整，并取得了显著的成果。然而，雷霆队将采用哪些对策来应对与勇士队的比赛，目前还不得而知。但就雷霆队超强的适应能力来说，和勇士队的这场对决还是颇有看头。
But the bigger reason the Warriors are displeased to see the Thunder advance is that they will have to face Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant again, and both are puzzles the Warriors’ have struggled to solve.
然而，对于勇士来说，他们之所以不愿意看到雷霆队晋级决赛是因为这样一来他们不得不再一次遇见拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克以及凯文·杜兰特，这两人都是勇士队心头上的大麻烦。
No one can stop Durant. Kawhi Leonard, the Defensive Player of the Year, did little to slow the 2014 MVP in the Western Conference semifinals.
没有人可以阻挡杜兰特。即使是NBA最佳防守球员科怀·伦纳德也不能阻挡这位2014赛季的最有价值球员。
Durant should be even more productive against the Warriors, as he averaged 36.3 points in the Thunder’s three games with Golden State this season. Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green are all excellent on-ball defenders.
杜兰特在本赛季与勇士队的三场比赛中场均得分在36.3分，照此看来，杜兰特在勇士队可能还会发挥更佳水平。安德烈·伊戈达拉，克莱·汤普森，哈里森·巴恩斯以及特雷蒙德·格林等也都是非常优秀的防守带球队员。
The bigger issue for the Warriors might be Westbrook. The Warriors (like most teams in the NBA) have trouble slowing down athletic, penetrating point guards, and of that style of player, Westbrook is the cream of the crop.
对于勇士队来说，他们心头最大的麻烦则是威斯布鲁克。事实上，NBA中包括勇士在内的诸多队伍都没有办法压制那些行动敏捷，突破能力极强的控球后卫。威斯布鲁克，就是这类球员中的佼佼者。
The Warriors struggled with Damian Lillard in their five-game Western Conference semifinal series, and have struggled to stop John Wall, have seen Reggie Jackson burn them, and lost a game to Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics. A penetrating, athletic point guard (who, if he can shoot the 3-pointer, is completely lethal) allows teams to match the Warriors possession for possession, even when Golden State pushes the tempo.
在西部半决赛系列与开拓者对决的五场比赛中，勇士队一直在努力压制达米恩·利拉德。除此之外，他们也曾在比赛中全力阻止约翰·沃尔，曾经因为雷吉·杰克逊而遭受过失利，并当过以赛亚·托马斯和凯尔特人队的手下败将。任何一个突破能力强并且行动迅速的后卫(如果3分球命中率还高，杀伤力会更大)都会对勇士队造成一定程度上的威胁，即使是勇士队全力快攻可能也不能扭转局面。
The Thunder might have lost all three regular-season matchups with the Warriors this season, but Oklahoma City was tied or led in the fourth quarter of all three contests. Add in OKC’s newfound ability to come through on offense in crunch time, and it’d be foolhardy to predict that the regular-season series would be repeated with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.
本赛季常规赛中，雷霆与勇士交手3次惨遭横扫。但在第四季度的三场比赛中，雷霆不是和对方打成平局就是赢过对手。再加上雷霆队最新练就的关键时刻靠进攻取胜的技能，至于决赛会不会重演常规赛的结局，现在还不能妄下定论。
The Warriors should be favored in the series, no doubt, but the Thunder are hardly the pushovers that many will peg them to be. They might not be as deep or as talented as Golden State, but the Thunder have the right combination to give the Warriors all they can handle in the Western Conference Finals.
毫无疑问，勇士队在这次决赛系列的比赛中呼声很高。然而，雷霆队也不是许多人想象中那么容易就打败的对手。雷霆队的队员们或许不像勇士队那样经验丰富或天赋异禀，但雷霆队一定会在决赛中全力以赴，以对抗强大的对手勇士队。
