几个月前，我和猛龙全明星凯尔-洛瑞有过交流，他可是个大球痴，我问他联盟里看谁看得最多，他说每个人都看，但接着又挑出了一个球员。
A few months ago, I asked Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors All-Star and basketball junkie, who he had been paying attention to around the league. Lowry said he watches everybody, but then singled one player out.
“我现在是以赛亚-托马斯的小迷弟，”洛瑞跟我说。“我特别迷这个小矮个，爱的痴狂。”
"I'm mesmerized with Isaiah Thomas right now," Lowry told me. "I'm mesmerized with his little ass. It's f---ing crazy."
洛瑞其实说出了NBA很多人的心声。托马斯，2011年选秀区区60顺位，上个赛季就升华为全明星，而今年他的故事就更加传奇了。场均28.9分，只比拉塞尔-威斯布鲁克和詹姆斯-哈登稍低，这二位可都是MVP竞争人，而且还各种统治第四节。布拉德-史蒂文斯赋予了他巨大的权利，托马斯顶着更大的压力与担子，仍打出了更高的效率和更少的失误。虽然每支球队都想尽办法地针对，但却都拿他束手无策。
Lowry spoke for much of the NBA. Thomas, the No. 60 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, had ascended to All-Star status the previous season, but the story got even more special this year. He averaged 28.9 points, trailing only MVP candidates Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and made a habit of dominating fourth quarters. Empowered by coach Brad Stevens, Thomas coupled his increased responsibility with more efficiency and fewer turnovers. Despite being atop every opposing team's scouting report, nobody could slow him down.
“他的灵巧，”洛瑞说。“他的机动性、节奏变化、近筐终结、制造杀伤，我还只是列举了他能力中的一小部分，现在我也认真地观察他，从他那里学习更多细节。”
"It's his shiftiness," Lowry said. "It's his movement. It's his hesitation. It's his finishing at the rim. It's his foul-drawing. I just try to take something from everything. Right now I'm really watching him closely and taking little things from him."
元旦那会儿，勒布朗-詹姆斯评价托马斯是这支凯尔特人成功的关键原因，称他是“独一无二的天才”和“毋庸置疑的明星”。全明星周末，斯蒂芬-库里大赞托马斯的自信与坚韧，说他打球“每个人都爱看，除了他的防守人。”
Back on New Year's Eve, LeBron James said Thomas was the main reason for the Celtics' success, calling him a "unique talent" and a "clear-cut star." At All-Star weekend, Stephen Curry raved about Thomas' confidence and perseverance, saying he's "fun to watch except when you're trying to guard him."
今年，以赛亚成了家喻户晓的名字，记着Isaiah有两个“a”，不是Isiah。季后赛一开始，托马斯的传奇一季更加精彩，妹妹首轮前不幸离世，他却并未因此缺席哪怕一场比赛；次轮第一场，他嘴上挨了一肘，丢了一颗门牙，但那一场又得到33分9助攻，带领球队取胜。做了几个小时的牙齿修复手术后，他又砍下53分逆转获胜；奇才那之后终于懂得包夹托马斯了，可他摇身一变从冲锋陷阵的将军成了指挥若定的元帅。
This was the year that Isaiah -- with two As -- became a household name. Once the playoffs started, Thomas' legend only grew. He never missed a game despite the tragic death of his sister just before the start of the first round. He took an elbow and lost one of his front teeth in the first game of the second round, finishing that particular contest with 33 points, nine assists and a win. After hours of oral surgery, he scored 53 points in a comeback victory, and when the Washington Wizards decided to swarm him after that, he adjusted by being more of a facilitator.
但到了东部决赛，托马斯的神奇之旅戛然而止。第二场，打了18分钟后，托马斯因臀部伤势离场，之后不久，凯尔特人宣布他季后赛报销。三月中旬，他就伤过这一处，然后半决赛第六场再度加剧，在最不合时宜的时候，伤处又肿了起来，球队便决定让他休战。
In the conference finals, Thomas' special season ended suddenly. He left Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a hip injury after playing just 18 minutes, and the Celtics soon announced he was done for the playoffs. He had initially suffered the injury in mid-March, then aggravated it in Game 6 of the semifinals and, when the swelling increased at the worst time, the team decided to shut him down.
消息一出来，波士顿看上去已经没希望了。之前他们已经连续两场被骑士吊打，包括130-86的耻辱一败。但是，绿军用第三场的绝杀强势回应，第四场更是一度领先16分，但克利夫兰最后还是完成逆转，取得3-1领先。
When that news hit, it seemed like Boston was toast. It had already been blown out twice by the Cavaliers, including a humiliating 130-86 defeat in the second game. The Celtics, however, responded with a buzzer-beating win in Game 3, and they led by 16 points in Game 4 before Cleveland fought back and took a 3-1 lead in the series on Tuesday.
波士顿没了托马斯，看着却貌似更强了。怎么会呢？这有意味着什么呢？
Boston has at times looked better without Thomas. How can that be? What does it mean?
最明显的改变首先在于防守端，1米75的小托马斯有时要去防进攻威胁小一点的球员。凯尔特人的季后赛对手们，都试过用挡拆针对性攻击托马斯，或者在低位欺负他。波士顿的前场本就个小，所以托马斯一下场，外线的马库斯-斯玛特、艾弗里-布拉德利就可以用体型、速度和全能弥补内线的不足。
The obvious place to start is on the defensive end, where the 5-foot-9 Thomas often has to be hidden on less threatening players. Every team the Celtics have played in the postseason has tried to target him in pick-and-rolls and in the post. Boston is a small team in the frontcourt, but when Thomas is on the bench, it can make up for that with the size, speed and versatility of perimeter defenders Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley.
托马斯不在，凯尔特人就不用过多地换防、补防，在三分线外封堵射手也做得更好。骑士的进攻几乎是不可能防得住，而波士顿的运动能力和对抗让不可能之事有了一丝希望。
Without Thomas, the Celtics have switched less, scrambled less and done a better job of running shooters off the 3-point line. The Cavaliers represent an almost impossible challenge for most defenses, and Boston's extra physicality and athleticism have made a difference.
托马斯防守十分卖力，但他不在场时，凯尔特人常规赛防守效率有99.7，比赛季联盟第一的防守还要好；他在场，这个数字就成了108.6分，即每百回合多丢8.9分，和纽约尼克斯差不多。
Thomas competes defensively, but with him on the bench, the Celtics had a 99.7 defensive rating in the regular season, which would have ranked first in the league if sustained for a full season. With him on the court, they had a 108.6 defensive rating, which was about the same as the New York Knicks' mark.
那么问题来了，波士顿需要托马斯才能打出最好的进攻。第三场，波士顿的转移球和跑位极其可怕，克服了托马斯缺阵的问题。给史蒂文斯个赞吧，还有布拉德利、斯玛特和约纳斯-杰里布科，他们的自主得分能力帮了大忙——布拉德利有那个绝杀的机会，也要拜杰里布科和斯玛特所赐，他们俩18投12中，三分12投9中。而不幸的是，第四场的斯玛特9投1中，三分5投1中。
The conundrum, of course, is that Boston needs Thomas in order to be the best offensive team it can be. The Celtics were significantly In Game 3, they had so much ball movement and player movement that they overcame his absence. Credit Stevens, and credit Bradley, Smart and Jonas Jerebko for their shot-making -- Bradley only had his chance to make the game-winner because Smart and Jerebko combined to shoot 12-for-18 and 9-for-12 from deep. Unfortunately for the Celtics, Smart shot 1-for-9 and missed four of his five 3-point attempts in Game 4.
骑士打东决是做了详尽准备的，也不怕告诉别人。泰伦-卢其实并不想托马斯有太好发挥，尤其在波士顿的主场，那的球迷都是跟着球队共存亡。骑士保留了第二轮的打法，对小托马斯采用延阻与快速换防，就像对付洛瑞和德玛尔-德罗赞那样，波士顿的整体性又不好，无法见招拆招。小托马斯缺席的六节比赛中，凯尔特人成功利用了骑士常常走神的毛病，但骑士第四场第二节也提升了强度，波士顿的进攻随之崩坏。
Cleveland entered the conference finals with a specific game plan, and it was not shy about sharing it. Coach Tyronn Lue did not want Thomas to go off, especially in Boston, where the crowd can feed off his energy. The Cavaliers blitzed him the same way they blitzed Lowry and DeMar DeRozan in the second round, and Boston was not connected enough offensively to counteract that. Through six quarters without Thomas, the Celtics exploited the Cavs' sometimes-poor focus away from the ball, but Cleveland dialed up the pressure in the second half of Game 4 and Boston's offense fell apart.
“这算是个不小的挑战吧，毕竟我们之前对这一轮的准备都是针对托马斯的，”詹姆斯说。“现在他们的打法大变，所以我们也要搞明白对手的策略，还有其中的本质，所以小托马斯不在反而对我们提升了难度。但现在两场过去了，我们也懂了不少，所以第五场打得应该会更好。”
"It's a difficult challenge because our preparation going into the series was going against a team with Isaiah," James said. "They're playing a lot differently now, so we're trying to figure out exactly what they're running and things of that nature, so it's been very difficult on us without I.T. on the floor. But now this is two games that we have. We've been able to see them, we're going to get a better understanding, so we should be a lot better in Game 5."
第四节10分55秒，杰伊-克劳德命中三分，凯尔特人追到86-90。他们追分已经做得很不错了，但还是需要一些进攻上的驱动力。一般来说，这会儿就该轮到托马斯接管比赛了，但现在波士顿只能继续挣扎前行。骑士最后112-99取得胜利，靠的是两位超级巨星的进攻火力。欧文全场42分，第三节单节就21分，然后詹姆斯第四节也得到15分全场34分。
When Jae Crowder made a 3-pointer with 10:55 left, the Celtics trailed 90-86. They were undoubtedly in striking distance, but they needed some kind of offensive spark. Normally, this is where Thomas might try to take over, but instead Boston struggled to get anything going. The Cavaliers ended up with a 112-99 victory, thanks largely to their two best players generating offense. Irving had 21 of his 42 points in the third quarter, then James had 15 of his 34 in the fourth.
“他们简直难以置信，”史蒂文斯说，“欧文第三节根本挡不住，勒布朗如你所见第四节各种进球。我觉得我们努力过了，上半场差不多是季后赛中的最佳表现。防守端也做的非常好，进攻上我认为大家传球、空切打得很有整体性。然后种种原因吧，做了这么多却还是不太够，取胜稍微难了些。”
"They were unbelievable," Stevens said. "Irving was incredible at the end of the third and then obviously LeBron had all those baskets in the fourth. I thought that we played, you know, as well as we've played maybe the entire playoffs in the first half. We were really good defensively. Offensively I thought we moved and cut and played together. And then for whatever reason, all those things became a little bit more difficult."
困难当头，就需要巨星来解决困难，需要他们强杀内线，逼迫协防；需要他们迎着对手完整的防守阵型创造投篮机会。到了季后赛，这就更为重要，对手把你的进攻都研究透了，想面对他们强行得分就更难了。托马斯在关键时刻，是凯尔特人绝对的最强进攻选择，比其他人高出一大截；现在有机会扳平大比分，凯尔特人就更想念他了。另一边，骑士就奢侈得多，詹姆斯和欧文都能接管。也许这样想过分简单了，但波士顿这回倒霉就倒霉在没有定海神针的角色上。
When things get difficult, you need stars. You need players who can get into the lane and make the other team send help. You need players who can create good looks against a set defense. This is particularly important in the playoffs, trying to score against teams that have scouted your offensive sets. Thomas is by far the Celtics' best option in big moments, and they missed him when they had an opportunity to tie the series. Cleveland, meanwhile, has the luxury of being able to turn to either James or Irving. As simple as it sounds, that is what doomed Boston down the stretch.
