紐時賞析／「誇張到讓人啼笑皆非」NBA季後賽最佳假摔獎得主是…

金塊隊中鋒約柯奇倒在地板上，希望裁判吹對手犯規。（美聯社）

For Best Playoff Performance, the Floppy Goes To....

論季後賽表現 最佳假摔獎得主是…

In the 2023 NBA playoffs, LeBron James got in on the act. And Stephen Curry, and the league’s MVP, Joel Embiid. Kyle Lowry keeps trying, but, oh, does he need help. Even Nikola Jokic has taken a bow.

在2023年NBA季後賽中，詹姆斯跟進了，還有柯瑞，以及聯盟最有價值球員安比德。羅瑞一直嘗試，但，喔，他確實需要幫助。甚至約柯奇都參加演出。

Yes, this postseason has showcased the beauty of basketball. The upstarts, upsets and dominance. But it has also been marred by players of all stripes — ahem, Malik Monk, the sixth man for the Sacramento Kings — falling and flailing as if stung by a cattle prod.

是的，本季的季後賽展示了籃球之美。後起之秀、爆冷與宰制，但也被形形色色的球員搞砸了—嗯，沙加緬度國王隊第六人蒙克—跌倒跟扭動就像被趕牛棒刺了。

All in desperate attempts to hoodwink referees into calling fouls.

全都是不顧一切試圖矇騙裁判吹犯規。

Welcome to the National Basketball Floppers Association.

歡迎來到國家籃球假摔球員協會。

Flopping isn’t new, of course. In the 1970s, Red Auerbach, the Boston Celtics’ fabled and curmudgeonly leader, railed on national television against the “Hollywood acting” that was sullying the game.

當然，假摔不是什麼新鮮事。在1970年代，波士頓塞爾蒂克隊的傳奇火爆領袖「紅頭」奧拜克就在全國電視節目抱怨正在毀掉比賽的「好萊塢演技」。

“NBA floppers are almost always overacting,” said Anthony Gilardi, a Hollywood acting coach. “You watch these guys with their pratfalls and their on-court stunts, and it’s so over-the-top cringeworthy as to be hilarious.”

好萊塢演技導師吉拉迪說，「NBA假摔球員幾乎總是演得太假，你看着這些傢伙跟他們的屁股着地摔和場上花招，誇張到讓人啼笑皆非」。

I asked Gilardi to watch video clips of sham playoff tumbles and offer an assessment. He had seen most of the plays and knew the subject well. He’s a Celtics fan who has seen all of Marcus Smart’s greatest flops.

我請吉拉迪觀看季後賽假摔的影像短片並提供評價，他看過大部分比賽，很瞭解這個主題。他是塞爾蒂克隊球迷，看過史馬特所有最偉大的假摔。

There’s a vast difference, Gilardi said, between players reacting to contact in a way that creates an illusion that a foul has occurred and being so obvious that every fan in the arena can tell the reaction is fake. It is the difference between what we see from an Oscar nominee and an actor on a run-of-the-mill soap opera.

吉拉迪表示，球員對碰觸做出反應制造發生犯規的錯覺，以及太過明顯以至於場內每個球迷都可看出反應是假的，兩者之間有巨大差異。這就像奧斯卡獎入圍者與平淡無奇肥皂劇演員之間的差異。

“In soap operas, it’s often the case you can absolutely tell they are acting,” he said, emphasizing the word the way Heat guard Max Strus would a shoulder bump. “There’s not enough subtlety to create the illusion.”

他說，「在肥皂劇中，通常你可以知道他們正在演」，他強調「演」這個詞的方式，就像熱火隊後衛史特魯斯肩膀被撞的樣子，「沒有足夠的巧妙來製造幻覺」。

The flop, part acting and part competition, is now baked into the NBA. It shows off athleticism and skill, a deep thirst for winning as well as showmanship — attributes that define the league. It’s all part of the spectacle.

假摔，一半在表演一半是比賽，現在融入了NBA，它賣弄運動能力與技巧，對勝利的深切渴望以及表演技能，這界定了聯盟的屬性，也都是比賽場面的一部分。

So why not have some fun with it? Maybe, instead of resisting and demonizing the flop, we should embrace it — but demand better acting.

所以何不樂在其中？或許，與其抵制與妖魔化假摔，我們應該擁抱它，但要求更好的演技。

With the dominant way Jokic has been playing to get his team to the franchise’s first N.B.A. finals, the concept of stopping him seems like pure theater.

照約柯奇大殺四方讓金塊隊首度進入NBA冠軍決賽的打法，阻止他的念頭似乎是純粹作戲。

文／Kurt Streeter　譯／周辰陽