造梦场

Adam Formal

Where is the biggest hotbed for NBA-caliber talent？ Theres the huge difference between peoples champion and experts champion.

最能孕育NBA级球员的地方是哪？专家和大众之间对此有着巨大的分歧。

Our quest to determine which location has served as the biggest hotbed for NBA-caliber talent in recent years rolls on. At first， we began with Washington， D.C.， Chicago， Los Angeles and New York City all in the mix for the title， but two have already been stricken from the competition.

我们仍然在寻找最能孕育NBA级别球员的地方。最初，我们挑选了华盛顿特区、芝加哥、洛杉矶和纽约参与竞争，不过有两座城市已经被淘汰了。

As a reminder， were still only looking at players who will suit up during the 2015-16 season. Players are eligible to compete if the high school they graduated from was within an hours drive of the city in question.

在此提醒，我们考虑的只有2015-16赛季仍然打球的球员。能参与竞争的球员，他们毕业的高中必须在所说城市开车一小时距离范围内。

Yes， that means Taj Gibson， who was born in Brooklyn and began his education there， is still representing the West Coast， since he transferred to Stoneridge Prep for his sophomore and junior years. Similarly， Kevin Love will not be suiting up for Los Angeles， because despite entering the world in Santa Monica and attending UCLA for his college career， he played high school ball in Lake Oswego， Oregon.

是的，这意味着出生、并在布鲁克林接受教育的泰·吉布森仍是西海岸的代表，因为他高二和高三转学到了Stoneridge预备校。与此类似，凯文·乐福无法代表洛杉矶，因为他生活在圣莫妮卡，大学就读于UCLA，但他高中却是在俄勒冈州的奥斯威戈度过的。

With those qualifications firmly in mind， heres how we arrived at our championship matchup， as dictated by your votes： Chicago （79.9%） VS Washington D.C. （20.1%）； Los Angeles （89.4%） VS New York （10.6%）

严格遵守这些标准，以下就是各位投票后产生的决赛对阵：芝加哥（79.9%） VS 华盛顿（20.1%）；洛杉矶（89.4%） VS 纽约（10.6%）。

Both cities served as clear-cut favorites during the semifinals， but now theyre pitted against one another in a much tougher clash.

两座城市在半决赛里都占据了明显优势，但两座城市开始了直接较量，竞争更加激烈。

As for Chicago， theres just something about the Windy City that never ceases production of high-quality NBA talents. Though the playground scene is falling apart in plenty of locations across the country， the sport as a whole is still thriving in Illinois most famous spot， and the city keeps developing elite players.

对于芝加哥，“风城”总是源源不断地提供高水平的NBA球员。尽管全国很多地方的球场环境不断恶化，但这项运动仍然在伊利诺伊州最有名的地方不断繁荣，而这座城市也在不断培养顶尖球员。

Thirteen from the city itself played in the Association during the 2014-15 campaign， with a handful more checking in from just outside in neighboring suburbs.

2014-15赛季有13名来自这座城市的球员在NBA打球，还有更多球员出自城市附近的郊区。

But a wealth of talent doesnt necessarily mean this squad is loaded with current superstars.

但是拥有大量球员并不等于拥有很多超级巨星。

We dont know what Derrick Rose is now that hes coming off so many surgeries and has struggled to remain effective unless hes had multiple days between appearances. Dwyane Wade has trouble playing a full season， and has stopped excelling on defense in an effort to conserve energy for the scoring end.

我们不清楚德里克·罗斯的具体情况，因为他做过那么多手术，而且很难保证效率，除非能多得到几天休息时间。德维恩·韦德很难打完一个完整的赛季，而且为了在进攻端保留体力，他的防守也不再出色。

In the frontcourt， Kevin Garnett is but a shell of his old self—still effective in certain areas， of course—while Jabari Parker is both trying to gain footing in the league and recover from an ACL tear of his own. Anthony Davis is the clear star here， serving as the 22-year-old MVP candidate who figures to get even better after his historic showings in 2014-15， but is he enough to stave off a stacked Los Angeles lineup？

前场方面，凯文·加内特是过去那个加内特的简化版——当然，某些方面他仍然很有效率——贾巴里·帕克既要在联盟立足，又要从膝盖十字韧带伤病中恢复。安东尼·戴维斯显然是这里的明星，22岁的他作为MVP候选，2014-15赛季打出惊人的表现后，他显然会变得更好，但他一个人能阻挡阵容齐整的洛杉矶队吗？

During the previous season， 18 different players born in Los Angeles proper dressed for one of the NBAs 30 squads—five more than Chicago. That total grows substantially when the surrounding area is included.

上赛季，有18名出生在洛杉矶的球员效力于不同的NBA球队——比芝加哥多五人。如果算上洛杉矶周边地区，那么总数还会出现明显增加。

Though we dont have enough time and space to list all of the smaller cities adjacent to L.A. （which qualify as part of the metro area）， there are so many notable ones. James Harden went to Artesia High School in Lakewood， California. Studio City boasts the Holiday brothers—Jrue with the New Orleans Pelicans， and Justin， who is now with the Atlanta Hawks. Compton claims DeMar DeRozan， Tyson Chandler， Tayshaun Prince and plenty others. Trevor Ariza and Amir Johnson received their secondary education in Playa del Rey.

尽管我们没有足够的时间和空间列出洛杉矶周边的所有小城市（这些都属于我们说的城市地区），但洛杉矶还是有很多知名球员。詹姆斯·哈登就读于加州雷克伍德的阿蒂西亚高中；斯蒂迪奥城养育了霍勒迪兄弟——鹈鹕的朱及现在老鹰的贾斯汀。康普顿出产了德玛尔·德罗赞、泰森·钱德勒、泰肖恩·普林斯和很多其他球员。特雷沃·阿里扎和阿米尔·约翰逊在普拉亚德尔里地区读的中学。

Is it any wonder that Los Angeles boasts such a plethora of talents？ Even the second team—Jrue Holiday， DeRozan， Paul Pierce， Johnson and Chandler—would be quite competitive.

有人想知道为什么洛杉矶能出产这么多球员吗？甚至第二阵容——朱·霍勒迪、德罗赞、保罗·皮尔斯、约翰逊和钱德勒——都很有竞争力。

Unfortunately for Chicago， it has to play against the Tinseltown① starters. And that means going head-to-head with two premier MVP candidates in the backcourt.

悲剧的芝加哥，他们必须和好莱坞式的首发阵容对战，这意味着要直接挑战两个后场MVP的有力竞争者。

Russell Westbrook and Harden make for a flat-out ridiculous guard combination， and they already have some established chemistry from their mutual time with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Plus， with Ariza and Gibson cleaning up behind them， they can focus all their energy on scoring.

拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克和哈登的组合太夸张了，而且两人在俄克拉荷马雷霆时就培养出了化学反应。此外，有阿里扎和吉布森干脏活累活，他俩可以集中精力得分。

There are certainly weaknesses in the Los Angeles lineup—the lack of rim protection at center， for example—but the star power does a lot to cover them up.

洛杉矶也有明显的软肋——比如中锋缺少护筐者——但明星的能力能弥补这些问题。

Experts Champion

专家眼中的冠军

It has to be Los Angeles. Though Davis is the best player on the court for either team， there are too many uncertainties littering the Chicago lineup.

那必须是洛杉矶了。尽管戴维斯是两队中最好的球员，但芝加哥队有着太多的不确定性。

We dont know what to expect from Rose， who has been massively inconsistent since going down an injury-plagued road. Even when hes been healthy for relatively lengthy stretches， hes struggled to remain effective on the offensive end， posting nauseating shooting percentages far too often. Joining him in the backcourt is a 33-year-old Wade， one who cant dial it up like he used to in his prime for the Miami Heat.

我们不知道该对罗斯抱有怎样的期待，饱受伤病困扰的他状态极不稳定。即便他能在较长时间里保持健康，他的进攻效率也很成问题，过多地出现命中率过低的情况。和他搭档后场的是33岁的韦德，他已经不能像巅峰时那样打球了。

Dont get me wrong. Thats still a strong backcourt.

别理解错了，那依旧是很强的后场。

Its just not one that can hope to compete with Westbrook and Harden， both of whom are coming off seasons that left them as strong contenders for the leagues most prestigious individual award.

只是没人觉得他们能和威斯布鲁克和哈登竞争，两人上赛季都是联盟最高个人荣誉的有力竞争者。

Sure， Davis destroys Nikola Vucevic in the one-on-one battle at center. Underrated as the USC product may be while playing for the Orlando Magic， hes not nearly on the same level as The Brow when lining up at either end of the court.

As for Chicago， Though the playground scene is falling apart in plenty of locations across the country， the sport as a whole is still thriving in Illinois most famous spot.

对于芝加哥，尽管全国很多地方的球场环境不断恶化，但这项运动仍然在伊利诺伊州最有名的地方不断繁荣。

戴维斯在中锋位置上能一对一摧毁尼古拉·武切维奇。正效力于魔术的南加大球员武切维奇也许被人低估了，但无论在攻防哪一端，他都无法与浓眉对抗。

But the rest of the frontcourt is a fairly even battle. Though Parker and Garnett are the bigger names， theyre both too far removed from their primes—the former on the early side， the latter on the later one—to boast any sort of significant advantage over Gibson and Ariza. Plus， the second-year Milwaukee Buck is playing out of position at the 3.

不过双方其他前场就势均力敌了。尽管帕克和加内特更有名，但两人距离巅峰期都有一段距离——前者还没到，后者已经过去——这让他们很难在吉布森和阿里扎面前得到很大优势。此外，雄鹿的二年级新秀打的还是三号位。

Davis presence alone means this game is going to be close. But with Chicago failing to establish clear-cut superiority at any other spot in the lineup， this championship clash belongs to the City of Angels.

戴维斯的存在意味着这会是一场接近的比试，但因为芝加哥没能在任何一个位置上建立起明显优势，所以城市对抗的胜者是洛杉矶。

Peoples Champion

大众眼中的冠军

The people have spoken. After 3，814 votes were cast， a champion has emerged.

大家表明了自己的态度。通过收集到的3814张投票，冠军诞生了。

With 63 percent of the ballots cast in its favor， Chicago now gets to accept the crown as the ultimate hotbed of basketball talent in America. Age and injuries arent going to hold Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade back， while Anthony Davis is just too much for Nikola Vucevic and the rest of the Los Angeles starting five to corral.

在投票中获得63%的支持，芝加哥现在成为美国的终极篮球运

①Tinseltown意为星光熠熠之城，即好莱坞。