With a little over a month in the season left, James Harden and Russell Westbrook will likely finish neck-and-neck in MVP voting this season as a result of their spectacular performances this year, and yet, that fails to capture how otherworldly the tandem has been.
常规赛还有一个多月才会结束，但可以预想的是，本赛季打出逆天表现的詹姆斯-哈登和拉塞尔-威斯布鲁克将在MVP的评选中并驾齐驱，成为当选的热门。
It's easy to forget now, but the duo played together a few years ago and helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 2017 Finals, where they lost in five games to the Miami Heat.
现在想起当年两人同队时的光辉岁月，不禁有些恍如隔世的感觉。也许很多人已经忘记，哈登和威少在几年前曾联手作战，帮助俄克拉荷马雷霆队杀入总决赛，最后和如日中天的热火在大战五场后落败而归。
Harden was a versatile sixth man then, but his departure via trade to the Houston Rockets turned him into a rather unique superstar.
在那时，哈登还只是一个全能的第六人，但在雷霆通过交易把他送到休斯顿火箭后，他彻底进化成为了一个独一无二的超级巨星。
At 6'5'' and 220 pounds, the Beard looks like your prototypical swingman, but he is in fact anything but prototypical. Harden possesses what one might deem as slightly above average athleticism, decent quickness, a killer first step and good-if-not-great upper body strength.
196cm的身高220磅的体重，这看起来是一个典型侧翼球员的身材，但哈登实际上和“典型”二字一点沾不上边。哈登拥有稍稍高于平均水准的运动能力，还算不错的敏捷度，极具杀伤力的第一步和也许不算杰出但也十分优秀的上肢力量。
His physical tools are far from overpowering, but his offensive repertoire most definitely is. Harden plays the game at his own pace and dares opponents to challenge his best effort.
他的身体条件还远远达不到逆天的地步，但他的进攻技巧绝对是无可比拟的。哈登总能把比赛控制在自己的节奏之下，激怒他的对手来挑战自己，然后全力击败他们。
The 27-year-old Rockets point guard likes to slow things down in an effort to process information in a manner very much reminiscent to Neo after he discovered his true power in The Matrix films.
这个27岁的火箭控位喜欢放慢节奏来阅读比赛，这让我想起了《黑客帝国》中，发现了自己真正力量的尼奥。
Harden operates at varying speeds, a trait that consistently throws off defenders. At times, he will deliberately slow himself down while being guarded closely, only to pick up steam and explode toward the hoop for a strong finish.
哈登可以很好的掌控自己的速度，所以他总能够轻易地摆脱对手的防守。在被紧逼时，他有时会刻意放慢自己的速度，这样他就可以慢慢提速，然后猛地一个加速冲向篮筐，强硬地终结这次进攻了。
His combination of footwork, speed shifts and shooting prowess make Harden a nightmare matchup for every player in the league, regardless of size.
哈登将自己的脚步，变速能力和投射技巧结合得十分完美，这对于联盟中任何一个与哈登对位的球员来说简直是个噩梦。
Take Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan as an example. This past week, Jordan switched the pick-and-roll a few times and got matched up with Harden and got roasted in the matchup.
就拿快船队中锋德安德鲁-乔丹作为一个例子。就在上周火箭对阵快船的比赛中，小乔丹在挡拆换防后和哈登进行过几次正面交锋，他被痛扁了一顿。
On the first switch, Harden went into ultra slow-mo mode, by dribbling Jordan to sleep, faking the drive with a jab step and then finishing it all off with a gorgeous step-back 3-pointer.
在第一次换防后，哈登进入了“慢动作”模式，他缓缓地运球，然后趁着小乔丹晃神的功夫，一个试探步假意突破，随即用一个漂亮的后撤步三分终结了这次进攻。
Jordan took a mental note.
小乔丹默默记下了这次进攻。
Three possessions later, they met again, with Jordan prepared this time around. On this try, Harden dribbled Jordan into sleep again, crossed over and blew by Jordan, slowed down as if to indicate he was going to make a pass to the corner (he casually looked into that direction) and instead made an easy uncontested layup.
三个回合后，两人又碰头了，但这次小乔丹已是准备周全。在这次进攻中，哈登又是一段缓慢的运球，然后一个Cross Over晃过小乔丹。随后他放慢速度，像是要把球传给底角的队友（他的眼睛有意无意地望过那个方向），但实际上，他选择了直杀篮下，轻松地上了一个空篮。
The Beard possesses a multitude of impressive skills (ball-handling, shooting, passing and the uncanny ability to goad players into reaching for the ball to draw fouls and score), but none of them are on par with his mind.
大胡子的武器库里有非常多杀伤力非凡的武器（持球，投射，传球和非常可怕的造犯规能力），但没有一个技巧能够比拟他那非凡的篮球智商。
Harden views the floor like a basketball genius given his ability to assess variables. such as personnel, tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, defensive rotations and match ups.
哈登拥有篮球天才特有的那种阅读比赛的能力，他可以快速地分析像队友的配置，习惯，优缺点以及对手的防守阵型和对位人员这些球场上的变量。
He processes all of this info within a split second and reacts in a manner that that allows the Rockets to thrive with a top-two league offense.
他只需要几秒钟时间就可以处理完这些信息，随后做出调整。在他的带领下火箭打出了联盟前二的进攻水平。
Interestingly enough, Harden's mind was a known commodity dating back to his lone Finals appearance.
非常有趣的是，哈登的篮球智商早在他唯一的一次总决赛之旅中就已经为人熟知。
A member of the Heat's coaching staff offered as much to Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins, prompting him to write: "When the Heat faced the Thunder in the 2017 Finals, they prioritized Harden over Westbrook and (Kevin) Durant, believing he was the superior playmaker even though he was the sixth man."
一个热火的教练组成员向体育画报记者Lee Jenkins透露道：“当热火在2017年总决赛对阵雷霆时，他们选择优先针对哈登而非威斯布鲁克和杜兰特，因为他们认为尽管哈登是球队的第六人，但他是一个非常优秀的组织者。”
All Harden's been missing is the right teacher to unlock all of his gifts, and Houston head coach Mike D'Antoni has done a masterful job of creating the perfect offensive environment for a player some might consider to be the brightest in the league.
哈登仅仅需要一个正确的导师来释放他的天赋，而火箭主教练德安东尼就是那个人，他为这个被看作联盟最聪明的球员创造了一个十分完美的输出环境。
Indeed, a rival coach shared with Jenkins: "The smartest player in our league is LeBron James. James Harden is second."
事实上此言不假，一个火箭对手的教练跟Jenkins说过：“联盟里最聪明的球员是勒布朗-詹姆斯，詹姆斯-哈登次之。”
Harden's evolution from scoring threat to league leader in assists has been a marvel to observe.
哈登从联盟顶级得分手到领跑联盟助攻榜的进化历程是一个值得我们好好观察的奇迹。
After all, it's not like he stopped putting up points. If anything he's on the verge of becoming the league's top all-around player as evidenced by his career-high averages in rebounds (eight), assists (11.3), free-throw attempts (10.9) coupled with his customary scoring (28.8).
毕竟，他并没有放弃得分而后主打传控，实际上，哈登正在像联盟最顶级的多面手进化。本赛季他打出了职业生涯新高的篮板（8个），助攻（11.3个）和罚球（10.9个）数据，而他的得分则是一如既往的稳定（场均28.8分）。
Harden is a player like no other, and yet, his former teammate has challenged his every move this season with a historic campaign.
哈登是独一无二的，而他的前队友正在用史诗级别的表现向他发起着挑战。
Russell Westbrook, averaging a triple double this season, could very well finish the year by averaging double figures in points, rebounds and assists; a feat that has not been accomplished since Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson managed it during the 1961-62 campaign.
拉塞尔-威斯布鲁克本赛季到目前为止打出了场均三双的表现，他也非常有可能把这个数字保持到赛季结束。在名人堂成员奥斯卡-罗伯特森在1961-62赛季打出这样的数据之后，还没有人能够完成这样的神迹。
The 28-year-old Westbrook has been a force of nature in every facet of the game by virtue of an energy tank that appears to be limitless.
28岁的威斯布鲁克在比赛的方方面面中展现着自己惊人的身体素质，他不知疲倦，他的燃油库似乎从来就没有见底的时候。
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard plays with reckless abandon and is constantly on the attack. It often appears as though games morph into a litmus test of manhood, and Westbrook is always poised to win them.
这个在夏天被队友“无情抛弃”的雷霆控卫一直都处于进攻模式，有的时候让人感觉他把比赛演变成了一次对于自己男子气概的测试，他总是时刻准备着去赢下比赛。
He makes appearances in every possible aspect of each and every contest to the point where one must wonder if his infectious zeal is a product of a competitiveness that borders on maniacal.
他无处不在，他从比赛的方方面面影响着比赛。他的在赛场上的激情极具感染力，有时我们不得不怀疑，这样的斗志是否是他那近乎疯狂的求胜欲望的产物。
He is Kobe Bryant, DeMarcus Cousins, Gary Payton and Oscar all wrapped into one.
他是科比-布莱恩特，德马库斯-考辛斯，加里-佩顿和奥斯卡的结合体。
Westbrook will take every single shot if he must (Kobe), verbally challenge opponents and officials (Cousins), play with a swagger that vacillates between self-confidence and disrespect (Payton) and then do every single thing on the hardwood that will tilt the balance from defeat to victory (Robertson).
威斯布鲁克会在需要他站出来的时候坚定地投出每一次投篮（科比），用语言激怒他的对手和裁判（考辛斯），能在自信和轻蔑间随意切换（佩顿），会为了扭转败局付出一切（罗伯特森）。
What's most fascinating about Brodie is that he checks into games with an energy reserved for fringe players attempting to prove to their coach they belong both on the team and in the league.
Brodie（威少的昵称）最让人钦佩的一点是，威少会为每一次比赛倾尽全力，就像他是个急需向教练证明自己属于这支队伍和联盟的边缘球员一样。
Westbrook plays at a speed few in the NBA could ever dream of reaching. Indeed, he's the basketball version of Dominic Toretto with a never-ending NOS tank.
威斯布鲁克的速度十很少有球员能够企及的，实际上，他就是篮球界的多米尼克-托雷托（《速度与激情》中的主角），他配备的氮气加速系统的燃料是无穷无尽的。
更多精彩内容请关注微信公众号、新浪微博：篮球英文堂
上一篇： 沙特国王亚洲行 与印尼总统玩自拍