美国国家公共电台 NPR--NBA playoffs enter round 2 with no clear favorite

NBA playoffs enter round 2 with no clear favorite

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Mike Vorkunov, the national basketball business reporter for The Athletic², about the second round of the NBA playoffs — just eight teams are left.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Eight teams are left in the NBA playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks³ had the best regular season record, but they were knocked out in the first round. That opens up the Eastern Conference. And tonight out west, LeBron James and the Lakers begin a series with the reigning⁴ champion Golden State Warriors⁵. Joining us to talk about that game and Round 2 is Mike Vorkunov. He's an NBA reporter for The Athletic.

Mike, Round 1 - chock full of upsets. I mean, what was the regular season for?

MIKE VORKUNOV: That's a question a lot of people are asking right now because it has not been predictive of the playoffs so far. And that's, you know, been an issue for the NBA for so long that the regular season wasn't worth watching sometimes. And if you didn't tune⁶ in during the regular season, you probably didn't miss anything with the playoffs so far.

MART?NEZ: I mentioned how the Bucks had the best regular season record. It was the Miami Heat that beat them. And then they took Game 1 over the Knicks on the road in New York. Mike, they're the lowest seeded team left. So are the Heat the slipper⁷-wearing Cinderella team of the playoffs?

VORKUNOV: I guess maybe it depends how sprained⁸ and large Jimmy Butler's ankle is with that slipper on. He's going to be the determining factor for them depending on how far they can go. He sprained his ankle in Game 1, and their hopes are riding on him.

MART?NEZ: Now, one game that's sure to get a lot of eyes is the battle of Steph Curry⁹ and the Warriors against LeBron James and the Lakers. That's tonight. What can we expect in that series?

VORKUNOV: A little bit of, you know, mid-2010s nostalgia¹⁰ maybe, a lot of star power.

MART?NEZ: That was a great era, Mike.

VORKUNOV: (Laughter) It was. It was great. Everyone loved it. The NBA loved it. But, you know, these are two teams that - the Golden State Warriors have the sixth best record in the Western Conference, and they're going to have home court advantage in that series 'cause the Lakers are the seven seed, becoming one of the first teams ever to go through the play-in and then win their first round series. They kind of refurbished their team mid-season at the trade deadline and have really made a run since. And I'm sure you and everyone else saw Steph Curry drop 50 points in the Game 7 win over the Kings. So it's going to be great.

MART?NEZ: You know, what I kind of love about this matchup, the Lakers and the Warriors, is that both of those teams - they ushered¹¹ out and swept away these two young trash-talking teams. Dillon Brooks¹² of the Grizzlies¹³ called LeBron James old out loud, and some thought even though Warriors are the reigning champs that they were also getting old. So I kind of like that the old guys kind of ruled in this series.

VORKUNOV: Yeah. You know, they were standing¹⁴ up for the old guard, as you said. Steph Curry's 34. LeBron's 38. But they just seem to be ageless to some degree.

And a lot of people, especially in the middle of the year, thought this was going to be the year that was finally it for the Lakers and for LeBron. They'd missed the playoffs. They'd have to do something. And the Warriors obviously struggled all season with their on- and off-court problems. And yet here they are, playing again, one more time, and one of them is going to get to the Western Conference Finals.

MART?NEZ: You mentioned their ages. I mean, considering that, is this, for either one or both, their last stand, possibly?

VORKUNOV: It's probably more likely for LeBron than for Steph Curry, 'cause he is 38.

MART?NEZ: How dare you, Mike? How dare you?

VORKUNOV: (Laughter) I know. Now I'll have all the LeBron fans coming at me. But considering his age, kind of the uncertainty¹⁵ of the Lakers, you know, who knows? But really, I think the thing that we've learned about both is that you can't write them off despite their ages. They're just too good.

MART?NEZ: One more thing, Mike. I mean, the playing field does seem to be more level this season. What does it say about the league?

VORKUNOV: Well, I think that's what we're all going to try to find out, whether this was an anomalous¹⁶ year with parity¹⁷ almost a league wide or if this is the way that the NBA is trending now with changes in the CBA and just the talent, just the way it's been spread across the league.

MART?NEZ: Mike Vorkunov is an NBA reporter for The Athletic. Mike, thanks.

VORKUNOV: Thank you.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

3 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

5 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

6 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

7 slipper   

n.拖鞋

参考例句：

• I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。
• The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。

8 sprained   

v.&n. 扭伤

参考例句：

• I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤，把脚脖子扭了。
• When Mary sprained her ankles, John carried her piggyback to the doctors. 玛丽扭伤了足踝，约翰驮她去看医生。

9 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

10 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

11 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 grizzlies   

北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 127-113 earlier Tuesday night. 在周二晚上早些时候，太阳以127：113击败孟菲斯灰熊。
• Whatever you do, do not blink.They're like grizzlies. 无论你做什么，别眨眼。他们跟熊有点相象。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

16 anomalous   

adj.反常的；不规则的

参考例句：

• For years this anomalous behaviour has baffled scientists.几年来这种反常行为让科学家们很困惑。
• The mechanism of this anomalous vascular response is unknown.此种不规则的血管反应的机制尚不清楚。

17 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。