The Chosen

  

原文轉錄自ptt NBA板（感謝翻譯 ptt 板友：eertllams，編輯修訂&排版：TK）


這就是今年3月 SI 那篇 Rose 的專訪，中間有提到 Rose 傳簡訊給 LBJ 的原文，
還有他整個夏天的勤奮練習，這是我今年球季目前，看到描述 Rose 詳實又精彩的一篇文章。

看完讓我覺得，有那種身為 Rose 球迷單純的悸動。

我一定是瘋了，才花時間把這篇文章都翻完。

跟大家分享一下，也當作我本身，
一直follow這個62勝20甜美季賽經驗的一個總結。

--

Second Coming In The Second City

原文http://tinyurl.com/4cya7yh  by Lee Jenkins


By discovering a Jordanesque killer instinct, point guard Derrick Rose has
transformed himself into the MVP front-runner—and Chicago into a title
contender.

在發現擁有喬丹殺手般的本質之後，
控球後衛 Derrick Rose 讓自己變變成了MVP的領先者，
還有，讓芝加哥公牛隊成為冠軍的爭奪者。

A killer was born in a game of cutthroat. Derrick Rose plays it on summer
nights, often after 1 a.m., when he is too restless to sleep. "Let's go
shoot," he tells his three roommates, who then know they will not be sleeping
either. They pile into Rose's Ford pickup, take a 10-minute ride to the
Bulls' practice facility and unlock the door to the court, where they remain
until dawn.

這個殺手，誕生在割喉般殘酷的比賽中。

D. Rose 在很多夏天的夜晚，常常是在凌晨1點，
當他不想睡覺時，他告訴他的三個室友，「讓我們去投籃，」
Rose 知道他們也睡不著，他們擠進 Rose 的福特小卡車，只需要10分鐘車程，
就抵達到公牛隊的訓練會館，然後他們打開大門，在那裡一直打球到天亮。

The version of cutthroat Rose plays goes like this: Two players. Whoever has
the ball starts at the top of the key, gets a maximum of three dribbles and
must score to retain possession. First to 10 wins. Rose usually prevails, but
his roommates—Tim Flowers, Randall Hampton and Bryant Orange—are no
pushovers. They were Rose's teammates at Simeon Career Academy in Chicago,
and he uses moves on them that he was reluctant to show opposing NBA point
guards such as Deron Williams and Chris Paul. One night last summer Rose was
teasing his roomies with step-back three-pointers and 20-foot fadeaways while
tossing in some uncharacteristic verbal shots. The guys endured his boasts
for a while before one barked, "Why don't you ever do this stuff in real games?"

這次 Rose 想玩的殘酷割喉比賽是這樣的：兩名球員比賽。
持球者從弧頂開始，最多只能運三次球，然後得分才能保有持球權，
先拿10分的人獲勝，Rose 通常都能佔優勢，不過他的室友們也不是省油之燈。

Tim Flowers, Randall Hampton 還有 Bryant Orange，
他們是羅斯在西蒙高中的隊友，在面對他們的時候 Rose 用上了一些動作，
這些動作是他在面對其他NBA出色的後衛，
如 Deron Williams 和 Chris Paul 而沒有施展過的。

去年夏天的一個晚上，Rose 用一些後退出手的三分球跟二十尺的翻身跳投，
嘴巴上還帶著一些無可理喻的的言語戲謔，耍了他的室友們一番，
這些傢伙忍受著被 Rose 宰割之後對 Rose 吼說：
「為什麼你從來沒在NBA賽場中做出這些動作？」

Rose fell silent. He had no answer. "They were mad," says the 22-year-old
Rose, "but they were right. I never did that stuff in real games."

22歲的羅斯陷入了沉默沒有回答。在訪問中 Rose 說：
「他們瘋了，但他們是對的。我從來沒有在賽場中展現那樣的動作。」

Outside of those sunrise sessions, Rose rarely shot threes and fadeaways
because he could so easily break down defenders off the dribble and rocket to
the rim. Though a chiseled 6'3" and 190 pounds, Rose also rarely initiated
contact because he could so easily avoid it, even while suspended in midair.
He was a jitterbug and a contortionist but never a hot dog; he was so quiet
and unassuming that teammates sometimes complained that they couldn't hear
what plays he was calling.

在這些深夜的競爭之外的比賽裡，玫瑰很少出手三分球，跟翻身跳投。

因為他非常容易利用運球，突破對方防守球員們，充滿爆發力的切入籃下，
雖然他擁有的6'3身高和190磅的體型，羅斯也很少主動開啟身體的接觸，
因為他可以很輕易的避免接觸，即使當他在半空飛行時。

他像是一個輕巧的舞蹈者或是有軟骨功的的人，但從來都不是一個熱狗，
他總是那麼安靜且不事張揚，他的隊友們有時會抱怨說，
在場上無法聽到 Rose 在叫哪些戰術。

At Simeon, Rose passed constantly because he was already in line for a
college scholarship and he wanted to showcase his friends. At Memphis he
feared alienating the upperclassmen. Taken by the Bulls with the No. 1 pick
in 2008, he deferred to guard Ben Gordon and, after Gordon left, forward Luol
Deng. Rose's good manners earned Chicago .500 records and first-round playoff
exits in each of his first two NBA seasons. Coaches at every level begged him
to take over games, and occasionally he did after hard fouls or questionable
calls or in the face of insurmountable deficits. He erupted just often enough
to prove that a killer lurked within. "But the best ones," Rose concedes,
"are killers all the time."

在西蒙高中，Rose 不斷的傳球給隊友，因為他早已經拿到大學的獎學金，
他想要幫助他的朋友來展示他們的天賦，所以在孟菲斯大學，
他除了不斷幫助隊友，也不想被高年級球員疏遠。

當他在2008年被公牛以狀元籤選中，他把機會讓給後衛 Ben Gordon，
當 Gordon 離開後，又把機會讓給 Luol Deng。

Rose 的禮貌運動，讓芝加哥公牛隊在他加盟的前兩年，都贏得五成的勝率，
連續兩年也都晉級季後賽，但是都出局。

兩個賽季以來，隊上教練都央求 Rose 可以接管比賽，
Rose 偶爾會在一些重大犯規，或錯誤吹犯或是隊上難以克服的失誤時，
他會選擇爆發跟掌握比賽，他偶爾的爆發的足以證明他殺手本質的潛伏。

不過 Rose 承認，最好的應該還是：所有的時間都得成為殺手！

It is a chilling term but high praise in the NBA, reserved for the likes of
Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas. Even in this era
of advanced metrics, there is no quantifying killers, but players can tell
you who they are by the shots they make. "They are the guys who get you the
need baskets," says Bulls reserve forward Brian Scalabrine, referring
vital hoops that stop runs and close out games. "I have a different word for
killers. I call them mother-------. And right now, Derrick Rose is the
baddest mother------ in the league by far. He is the reason we win."

殺手這個令人不寒而栗的稱號，在NBA中能稱得上這樣，
被大家高度讚譽的，也僅有某些人，
像是 Kobe Bryant、Michael Jordan、Larry Bird 跟 Isiah Thomas.

即使有一些進步的評估方法提出，但卻都沒有辦法精準的量化稱得上殺手的人，
但是，有些球員可以明白的告訴你，那些人可以完成那些不可思議的動作。

白曼巴 Scalabrine 說：

「他們是那種可以在重要的時刻跟關鍵比賽的時候，可以進球的人。
我用另一個字來形容這些殺手 MOTHER (媽打)
現在 D. Rose 就是目前聯盟最最最凶狠的媽打！！他就是我們贏球的原因。」

The Bulls were 40--17 through week's end even though power forward Carlos
Boozer missed the first 15 games with a broken right hand and center Joakim
Noah sat out 30 with a torn ligament in his right thumb. The constant has
been Rose, averaging a career-high 24.9 points and 8.1 assists, suddenly as
efficient as he is entertaining. Many NBA players try to add one dimension
every summer. Rose added at least three in the past off-season: Through
Sunday he had already made more free throws (298) than he did all last year,
more than five times as many three-pointers (85), and more need baskets than
anybody else in Chicago since Jordan. Rose has defined MVP—even two members
of the Heat, Chris Bosh and Juwan Howard, joined the Rose-for-MVP campaign
last week—positioned his hometown Bulls as championship sleepers and tabled
the interminable debate about who is the league's best point guard.

公牛(當時)拿下40勝17敗的戰績，強力前鋒 Boozer 因為右手小指缺賽了15場，
Joakim 也因為大拇指開刀，缺了30場，
Rose 忽然間以生涯新高平均25分、8助攻帶領著球隊，並震驚了所有人。

很多NBA球員都會在夏天休賽的時候，為自己增加一個秘密武器。

Rose 則在這個暑假至少增加了三項武器，到這個週日為止，
他的298次罰球，已經超越了前面整個球季，85個三分球是去年5倍，
投進球數，也是自 Jordan 退休之後公牛球員最多的，
他為自己定義了MVP身手，連敵隊 Bosh 跟 Juwan Howard 都支持他成為 MVP。
他的表現讓這個球隊有機會爭奪冠軍戒指，也驅除了關於聯盟最佳後衛的爭論。

When Rose turned pro after his freshman year at Memphis, he met with a Nike
representative who told him he was not yet in the same class as Williams and
Paul. Rose signed with Adidas, and earlier this month he dismantled Williams
and Paul in consecutive games on their home courts. After the game in New
Orleans on Feb. 12, the Nike rep called Rose's older brother Reggie to relay
his congratulations.

當 Rose 結束在曼斐斯的大一生活轉戰職業的時候，他見到了當時代表 Nike 公司的人，
他跟 Rose 說：很可惜你還沒有達到像 D. Williams 跟 CP3 的那種身手。

隨後 Rose 跟 Adidas 簽了約，在稍早的這個月份，
在跟這兩位頂尖球星的對抗中，在對方的主場中，Rose 率隊都拿到了勝利。

在2月12號的比賽結束之後，
Nike 的人再度打電話給 Rose 的哥哥 Reggie，獻上他們的對 Rose 的祝賀。

Randall Hampton was at that game, watching his roommate from the stands. With
a little more than 2½ minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Bulls up by
seven points, Rose dribbled 25 feet from the basket, the usual sleepy-eyed
expression on his face. Paul hopped out to challenge him, respecting Rose's
newfound range. Rose retreated a step farther and thrust back his shoulders,
the signal that he was about to attack. He threw down a furious crossover,
paused long enough to freeze Paul and blew past his right flank. The Hornets'
6'8" forward Trevor Ariza rotated over and cut off Rose's path to the basket,
forcing him baseline. But by then Rose was airborne, levitating above Ariza's
left shoulder, legs splayed as if treading water. He double-clutched and
released a rainbow floater, so high it nearly clipped the top corner of the
backboard. His momentum carried him out-of-bounds as the ball slipped through
the basket. Rose has spent most of his life making the unfathomable look
routine, but the nuances of the play set it apart: the way he drew Paul to
the perimeter, attacked Ariza in the paint, finished the shot—and the
Hornets with it. "This is what we saw on all those late nights," Hampton said
in the stands.

Rose 的室友 Hampton 在現場，看到對上黃蜂的比賽，在剩下兩分半結束比賽的時候，
公牛領先七分，Rose 在籃框25呎外運球，一如往常的睡眼惺忪，
CP3 因為擔心 Rose 新練的外線能力，靠近 Rose 準備抄球，
Rose 小退了一步，聳了一下肩膀，這是他準備要攻擊籃框的訊號。

他一個極度花俏的跨下運球，凍住了防守的CP3，並過了他的右側，
黃蜂6呎8的前鋒 Ariza 換人防守，想要阻擋 Rose 上籃的路線，迫使 Rose 走底線，
但是 Rose 忽然就躍起空中，越過了Ariza 的左肩，
雙腳像滑水一般的幫助 Rose 的身體翱翔，然後，他右手小拋射般躲過防守球員投進籃框。

Rose 的籃球人生，在讓很多看似不可能的進球動作跟角度，變成他的規律。

這些微妙的小動作，讓他變成了與眾不同，
你仔細觀察這個看似簡單得進球，卻包含了：
擺脫 CP3，攻擊在禁區高大的 Ariza，然後高難度的拋球得分。
他的室友 Hampton 說：「這些都是每個晚上，我們可以在公牛比賽中看到的。」

Rose has taken one of his corkscrew leaps into the NBA's elite. Coincidence
or not, his transformation came at the same time the league underwent its own
seismic shift.

Rose 帶著這些特殊的得分手段，讓自己走入的NBA一流球星的境界，
巧合與否，他本身的轉變之外，同一時間聯盟也經歷了一些人事巨變。

Delegations from six teams went to Cleveland in the first week of July to
pitch LeBron James. The Bulls had the last meeting and, by most accounts, the
longest. The New York Times had already published a story quoting an
executive to the effect that James was headed to Chicago. "I think it's a
done deal," the executive said. The Bulls had the point guard and the center,
not to mention salary-cap space to add two max contracts.

在去年七月的第一個禮拜，來自其它六個球團的談判人員來到了克里夫蘭，
來商討如何成為 LeBron James 下一球季的新家。

公牛是最後一個參與會議，也是進行最久的一個球隊，
紐約時報當時甚至已經刊出，根據高層的消息 LBJ 決定前往芝加哥，高層說：這個交易成了！

公牛有控衛，有中鋒，還有足夠的薪資空間可以再招納兩個明星球員。

Rose assumed a curious role in the proceedings. While other stars acted like
college boosters courting the ultimate blue-chipper, Rose's recruiting effort
consisted of one text message, sent mainly for damage control. Rose remembers
texting James, I'm just hitting you up to kill all the rumors that I don't
want to play with you. I'd like to play with you. I just want to win.

Rose 在看待這個招募中，認為自己處在一個很尷尬的角色，
當其他的球星，都好像大學裡面的死忠球迷一樣，瘋狂的夾道歡迎著球隊主力，
但 Rose 的招募努力，就僅僅是一個電話簡訊而已。

這個簡訊的目的，還只是要避免捕風捉影的媒體造成的傷害。

Rose 回憶他傳給 James 的簡訊是：

「我只是要跟你說並消弭那些所謂我不想跟你打球的謠言，我想要跟你打球，我想要贏球。」

The message was vintage Rose, honest and understated, while his peers were
over the top. James expressed his appreciation in a text, but on July 8 he
joined Dwyane Wade and Bosh in Miami. The Heat's new threesome was portrayed
as the product of the AAU culture, with its stacked rosters and superteams,
but Rose came from the same system and took a vastly different lesson from
the experience. "He always told me he didn't want to be on one of those
stacked teams," says Reggie, who coached his younger brother's AAU club, the
Mean Streets Express. "He wanted to be with an underdog."

當其他的NBA球員都過於激動的表現，這個簡訊表現了誠實、古意又直接的 Rose。

不過就在七月八號，LBJ 還是加入了已經有 Bosh、Wade 的熱火隊，
三巨頭的組合，展現了經紀公司AAU，可以用明星打造一個新超級強隊的文化，
Rose 其實也來自同一個經紀公司，但卻從這個組合後，他有完全不同的看法。

幫他處理AAU事務的哥哥 Reggie 說到：

Rose 不想要去那種明星推砌出來的球隊
他想要成為一直不被看好，但實際兇狠的球隊。

Rose recognized that he would be affected by James's decision, but he was
ambivalent about it, according to several associates. He loved the idea of
playing alongside James and of the wins that would inevitably follow. But he
also loved the team he had, with Deng at small forward, and he was not about
to lobby strenuously for an upgrade. "That showed you what kind of guy he
is," Noah says. "If you want to come here and be part of this, that's cool.
If not, we're going to try to kick your ass."

Rose 認為 LBJ 的決定將會影響到他，
但是他對於 LBJ 加入球隊卻有著很矛盾的想法，根據很多與 Rose 有關連的人認為，
Rose 喜歡跟著 James 搭配「一定會拿到很多勝利」的想法。

但是他也很喜歡現在這個沒有 James 的球隊，這個球隊有小前鋒 Deng，
他沒有那麼想要積極的遊說 James 來馬上升級球隊的戰力。

Noah 說：

「這展現出 Rose 是怎樣的一個人格特性；
   如果你想來，就來成為我們的一員，那很不錯。
   如果你不想來，那我們會在比賽中跟你見真章。」

The Bulls took their cues from Rose, and when he revealed no disappointment,
they did the same. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf went so far as to call his team
superior to Miami. If anything, Rose seemed emboldened, eager to accept the
responsibility that James had turned down. "It made me want to get in the
gym," he says. The gym was at St. Monica High in Los Angeles, where Rose
spent more than two months of his summer practicing twice a day, six days a
week with trainer Rob McClanaghan, Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook and
Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love. Other players also stopped by, but
when they tried to take breaks or skip sessions, the regulars told them to
stick with the program or drop it. While Westbrook and Love had their own
summer to-do lists, Rose was building a jumper almost from scratch. He shot
22.2% from three-point range as a rookie and 26.7% in his second season,
while defenses sagged off him. On the rare occasion that Rose let fly, his
release was low and his arc flat. The ball invariably smacked the front of
the rim. McClanaghan told him, "If you can just get to 39 or 40 percent,
where guys have to respect you, it will be over."

公牛隊高層得到了 Rose 的暗示，Rose 對於爭取加盟失敗沒有沮喪，
高層也如此認為，公牛老闆也花很大的心力建立一直可以比熱火更好的球隊。

當時 Rose 在確定接下帶領球隊重建，這個 James 不想接下的重責大任之後，
Rose 一心想的只是：我要快點去練球！

他去得體育場館是在LA的聖蒙尼卡高中，
他每天花兩個時段，一週六天，總共兩個月時間在那苦練，
訓練員是 Rob McClanaghan、雷霆的 Westbrooks，還有灰狼的 Kevin Love 也一起受訓。

其他球員也有來參加，不過當他們想要休息，或是想要迴避某些訓練課程，
這些參與全套訓練的的人會跟他們說，要不然就一起做完，不然就不要來了。

當 Westbrooks 跟 Love 都有很多該做的夏季訓練課程，
Rose 幾乎從頭開始的重新建立他的跳投，
他的新人球季三分命中率22.2%，第二年26.7%，防守者都不太重視他，
他的出手很低，弧度很平，球場常打到前框，
訓練員 McClanaghan 跟他說，你把命中率提昇到40%，
他們開始尊敬你的外線，比賽就可以結束了。（因為 Rose 個人單打能力優越）

McClanaghan lifted Rose's release point, gave him the mantra "no short shots"
and made him hoist upward of 1,000 threes a day, off dribbles and ball
screens, pick-and-rolls and pick-and-pops. He hollered at Rose, "If you want
to be an All-Star, you can't miss these!" and Rose's practice percentage
ticked up, from 60 to 68 to 72. Defenses were not going to sag off him
anymore, but to take advantage of open driving lanes he had to throw himself
into big men as often as he slithered around them. McClanaghan guarded Rose
with a three-foot black football pad, forcing him to absorb contact and
appreciate the resulting free throws. The players who stayed in that gym and
took the punishment—Rose, Westbrook and Love—would make colossal
breakthroughs this season.

McClanaghan 提高了 Rose 的出手點，給了Rose一個規矩：出手的球不可過輕。

並給Rose每天的課程包含投進1000個三分球，運球切入，掩護，擋切的不同訓練，
要想成為全明星，這些訓練都不能錯過，慢慢的 Rose 的命中率從60%到68%，甚至72%。

防守球員再也不能輕視他，Rose 更有切入空間。

但是要利用速度優勢切入後，Rose 還要讓自己習慣於身體的衝撞，
訓練員穿著一個美式足球護具防守著 Rose 強迫 Rose 去習慣身體接觸，
並且因此得到罰球機會，當時留在體育館中完成訓練的三位球員，都在這個球季有突破性的進步。

After Rose returned to Chicago, he raised his voice at media day and declared
himself an MVP candidate. The Bulls wondered what had happened to their
favorite wallflower. "We thought he'd gone nuts," says Noah. The gesture was
indeed out of character, but it was a bold reminder that the Bulls were fine
as constituted, with Rose supplying the spark instead of James. The new
coaching staff had watched tape of every game from the previous season and
seen in Rose a transcendent driver and improviser who often penetrated
without a plan and did not always make full use of his quickness on defense.
New coach Tom Thibodeau stopped practices in training camp when Rose wasn't
chattering on D, and he taught Rose to distinguish between scoring drives and
passing ones. Thibodeau urges Rose to rush directly at the basket—"More
north-south," Rose says, "not as much east-west"—and look for his shot. But
Rose also has to recognize when teams are collapsing on him and who they are
leaving open. Typically, a point guard's scoring rises at the expense of his
playmaking, but Rose is averaging 2.1 more assists than last year.

在 Rose 回到芝加哥，在媒體日，他提高了他的音量，並且說明他也是MVP的角逐者。

公牛球員們納悶的想著 Rose，這個他們最喜歡卻害羞的人，發生了甚麼事？

Noah 說：我們認為 Rose 瘋了，這是一般人對 Rose 舊有散發的個人特質的刻板印象，
但是現在 Rose 卻大膽宣示，將由他，而不是 LBJ 來帶領這個整軍待發的球隊發光發熱。

新來的教練團，也已看了每一場上個球季比賽的影片，
他們發現 Rose 是個超強可切入對方禁區並創造隊友空間的球員，
但是很多時候他的切入，都是有勇無謀，他也沒有充分利用他的速度來防守。

Thibs 在訓練營的時候，如果 Rose 沒有馬上跟隊友溝通好如何防守，會停下練習。
或是 Thibs 會告訴 Rose 要分清楚那些，時候要切入得分，
那些時侯切入之後要分球，並且也鼓勵 Rose 快速得切入禁區取分，不要猶豫。

Rose：「一條鞭切入得分比較好，而不是切進去之後才在找投籃時間。」

當然 Rose 也要同時也要認清楚，當他撕裂對方防守的時候，自己的隊友誰有空檔。

通常當一個控球後衛一直在增加得分之時，就很難顧到其它隊友，
但是今年 Rose 的助攻平均比去年高了兩個。

Early in the season, after a single-digit victory, Thibodeau charged into the
locker room and screamed at the Bulls for not winning by more. Rose beamed.
"That would not have happened here before," he says. Rose played for John
Calipari at Memphis and Vinny Del Negro in Chicago but never for a tactician
like Thibodeau, who leads the Bulls through 75-minute morning shootarounds in
which he reviews every play the opposing team runs and every option off that
play. The Bulls rank second in both field goal defense and scoring defense,
keeping games close so Rose can win them in the end. He scored 17 points in
the fourth quarter to beat the Rockets on Nov. 16 and 11 in the fourth to
edge the Heat on Jan. 15. In a rematch with Houston less than three weeks
later, he made a three at the buzzer to tie and scored five points in
overtime to win. In Phoenix on Nov. 24 he made a layup with 0.1 of a second
left in overtime to tie and added five points in double OT to win. "He has
totally changed," says Hornets point guard Jarrett Jack. "Where he used to
defer, he now realizes it's all on his shoulders."

在稍早得一場小比分獲勝得比賽後 Thibs 在休息是對著球員大叫，勝分不夠多。

Rose 說，這在他在曼婓斯大學，或是在 Del Negro 手下的經驗，絕對不可能發生的。

Thibs 的策略是，每天早上親自帶領球隊投籃練習75分鐘，
他也會回顧之前對手的戰術，跟還有那些其他的選擇。
公牛的防守（當時）是讓對手的命中率跟得分都是全NBA第二低，
這可以幫助兩隊的比分接近，最後關頭由 Rose 來接管比賽。

他在11月擊敗火箭的第四節，拿了17分，在1月擊敗熱火的第四節拿了11分，
後來又對上火箭，他在槍響前投進一個追平三分，然後在OT拿了5分獲勝。

在11月24號對上太陽的比賽，他在第一個加時結束前0.1秒，投進追平分，
然後第二個OT拿了5分保住勝利。

黃蜂的後衛 Jarrett Jack 說：
「他完全改變了，Rose 之前會把機會讓給別人，現在他理解所有壓力該由他自己來扛。」

Had James come to Chicago, he would have been the one making the need
baskets. Rose would have backed off again. The Bulls might never have
witnessed his growth. "We lost out on a top five player," says one club
official, "but we got a top five player too."

如果 James 當時真的來了芝加哥，他將會是那個在重要關頭投籃的人物。
Rose 會再度退卻於他的角色認定，公牛也可能永遠沒有機會看到 Rose 的成長。

一個球隊的職員說：

「我們雖失去了一個聯盟前五的球星 (指LBJ)，
   但我們也得到了一個聯盟前五的球星 (Rose) 。」

Rose is not comfortable with compliments. When told he is playing well, he
shakes his head and mutters, "I wish." In this way, at least, he is still
hard to buy as a killer. He lacks the jutted jaw and pronounced strut and
unrestrained ego. He says sir and ma'am. He apologizes to a tape recorder for
cursing. He never challenges teammates, even though they sometimes wish he
would. Despite his MVP proclamation and the trash talk with his buddies, Rose
carries himself like the 15th man. "I'm way cockier than he is," says
Scalabrine, "and I never play." During film sessions Rose provides a
self-deprecating sound track: "My bad ... my fault ... my mistake ... sorry
about that ... I'll get better at that."

Rose 對於讚美感到很不適應，當有人跟他說，你打得很好，
他總是搖著頭，並小聲地說：我希望。

這種方式，也許是他還不能真的成為一個殺手的因素，
他缺乏那種堅定說出話的自信，他總是說：先生與女士們。

他總是為了錄音不小心錄到他自己的咒罵而感到抱歉，
他從來沒有挑戰過自己的隊友，即使連 Rose 的隊友都希望他可以這樣做。

儘管有著媒體日的MVP宣言，或是私底下跟親密好友的垃圾話，
Rose 常常就好像是隊上的第十五人。

白曼巴 Scalabrine 說：好像連我都比 Rose 自大.....但我卻從來沒機會上場。

在早晨的前場錄影回顧時間，你總是可以聽到 Rose 說：
「我錯了」，「我的失誤」，「我犯錯了」，「對不起」或是「我下次會做好」。

Players new to Chicago accuse Rose of false modesty. Then they get to know
him. "There's no one in the league like this," says Noah. Rose lives with his
roommates in a three-bedroom town house north of Chicago. He drives his
pickup. He hates to spend. He likes to have money around for friends in need.
This season he released his first signature shoe, but not before he gave
instructions to Adidas's vice president of global basketball, Lawrence
Norman: The shoe had to be versatile enough to wear with pants as well as
shorts, so people wouldn't have to buy a second pair. "He takes pride in
being normal," says assistant coach Rick Brunson.

剛到公牛球隊的新球員，認為 Rose 有種不真實的謙虛，直到後來他們才真的瞭解 Rose。
Noah 說：沒有一個聯盟裡的人像 Rose 一樣。

Rose 跟他的一些室友住在一個芝加哥北邊三房的房子裡，
他開著他的小貨卡，他不喜歡花費，他喜歡把錢留著，也許他的朋友會需要用到。

這個球季 Adidas 出了一款 Rose 的新鞋，他跟Adidas的全球副總裁交待，
這雙鞋必須要很多元的讓人可以穿它，還可以搭配長褲或是短褲，
所以人們就不需要再買另外一雙鞋了。

助理教練說：他把榮耀都回歸平淡。

At the end of every practice the Bulls line up underneath one basket, and a
player shoots free throws. If the player makes both, practice is over. If
not, they all run. On Dec. 18 Rose missed a game-tying free throw with 0.8 of
a second left against Del Negro's new team, the Clippers. The next day Rose
asked to shoot the free throws at the end of practice, even though it was not
his turn. He felt in debt. Six weeks later the Bulls faced the Clippers
again, and Randy Foye guarded Rose. On pick-and-rolls Foye ran under the
screens for Rose, daring him to shoot outside. Rose felt as if it were 2009
again. He sank three three-pointers in the first five minutes.

每天練習結束之前，球員開始投罰球，兩個都進，練習結束。沒有的話，大家都要去跑步。

12月18號，在剩下0.8秒球賽結束，Rose 錯失一個追平分的罰球，
對手是原本公牛前教練 Del Negro 領軍的快艇。

隔天的練習，他主動要求去投這個練球結束前的罰球，
即使並不是輪到他，他感到愧疚，六個禮拜之後，公牛再次碰到快艇隊。
守他的人是 Randy Foye，在一個檔拆之後，Foye 被擋住，他懷疑 Rose 可以外圍投射，
Rose 感覺這個場景好像回到2009年的他，不過當天他在前五分鐘內，投進了三個三分球。

No one else is running under screens for Rose, but he is seeing plenty of
traps and double teams, junk defenses usually deployed on Bryant and James.
McClanaghan sends Rose e-mails to help him decipher coverages, and assistant
coach Ron Adams makes him shoot with a heavy ball in practice to maintain his
rhythm. And Rose has identified yet another way to expand his game. He plans
to spend this summer developing post moves, and assuming the regulars are
back at St. Monica High, he can use the 6'10" Love as a model.

如果 Rose 要單打，沒有其他人需要幫 Rose 他掩護，
但是他卻開始面對到很多的陷阱防守跟雙人包夾，
就像是面對 Kobe 或是 James 一樣，防線一道道的佈署，
McClanaghan 訓練員寄了很多 E-mails 給 Rose 去幫助他，如何破解對方的陣地，
助理教練 Ron Adams 也在訓練中用重球，企圖讓 Rose 保持投球的節奏。

Rose 本身還想增加另一方面對於比賽的理解，
就是 Rose 希望在今年暑假裡，加強發展背對單打的動作，
如果去年的那些成員都回去練球的話，
他許可以把6呎10的 Kevin Love 當作一個練習對象。

But summer is a long way off. Even though Noah and Boozer have played only 12
games together, the Bulls still have the third-best record in the Eastern
Conference. They don't yet know what they can be. Noah only returned from
rehabbing his hand on Feb. 23, and he will have plenty of time to mesh with
Boozer before the playoffs.

現在討論 Summer 還有點久，儘管目前 Boozer 跟 Noah 只一起打了12場，
公牛卻已經是東岸戰績第三好的球隊，他們還不知道他們可以走多遠，
因為 Noah 剛從手傷的復健中回到賽場，在季後賽來臨之前，他還需要花上一些時間跟 Boozer 磨合。

Appropriately, one of the Bulls' most reliable players this season has been
Deng, the player Rose would not sell out during free agency. Deng is scoring
17.7 points per game and chipping in 6.1 rebounds, clearly benefiting from
the confidence shown in him. Rose had enough success with his MVP declaration
to throw out one more. "Yeah, I do think we can win it all this year," he
says. "How could I think any different?"

本球季大概最值得信賴的公牛球員會是 Deng，這也是 Rose 最不願意高層交易出去的隊友。
Deng 一場17.7分，6.1籃板，他本身打球也展現自信心，
Rose 除了對 MVP 的決心，他還希望公牛隊可以贏下全部比賽。

If it sounds like he is dreaming, well, that's the most important part of his
routine. Rose naps as much as a newborn, three hours a day, and the siestas
are sacred. No one wants to wake him early. He can be cranky. He has to feel
refreshed at tip-off, even if it means his body clock runs a little late at
night. He can always round up a few roommates, grab the key card to the
practice facility, hop in the pickup and go shoot.

這聽起來很像在說夢話，不過贏球的確是 Rose 最重要的生活重心。

Rose 每天睡午覺的時間就像是小孩一樣多，他一天要小憩上三個小時，
他午睡起來很嚇人的，沒有人想要提早吵醒他，不然他可能會不太爽，
因為在球賽開始的時候，睡過午覺的他會感到很有活力。

即使可能表示，他晚上的生理時鐘會跑得有點晚，但他睡不著得時候，
他總是可以拉上他的幾個室友，帶著 Berto Center 的門禁卡，溜進去投個幾球！

The game, like the player, is cutthroat.

這些小比賽，就跟這個球員一樣地割喉且致命。