The Oklahoma City Thunder might have ended the San Antonio Spurs dynasty in Thursday night’s series-clinching Game 6, setting up a Western Conference Finals showdown with the Golden State Warriors in the process.

俄克拉荷馬雷霆隊已經在周四晚上與圣安東尼奧馬刺隊的第六場比賽中一舉拿下馬刺隊，獲得了通往西部決賽的入場券。他們將在決賽與金州勇士隊進行會師。

On the surface, these Western Conference Finals seem to be a lesser-than option. For months, we’ve been looking forward to the seemingly inevitable matchup between the 67-win Spurs and 73-win Warriors. A 55-win Thunder team? What are they going to do against Stephen Curry and the world-beating Dubs?

表面上來看，西部決賽的對抗陣容理應沒有太多懸念。幾個月來，觀眾們一直期待讓擁有67勝戰(zhàn)績的馬刺隊與73勝的勇士隊在最終對決。然而，最后卻是55勝戰(zhàn)績的雷霆隊成為黑馬，在最終比賽中脫穎而出。面對史蒂芬·庫里和這支出色的球隊，雷霆會如何應對呢?

A lot, actually.

實際上，雷霆隊潛在的優(yōu)勢也非?？捎^。

But it’s hardly a lesser-than matchup from the Warriors’ perspective. The Thunder have given the Warriors trouble every time they’ve played this season.

但是在勇士隊眼中，他們卻不敢小看雷霆這支隊伍。在本賽季的比賽中，每逢雷霆隊與勇士隊對抗之際，雷霆總會給勇士制造一些麻煩。

The Thunder made some key adjustments to turn around their series with the Spurs, and it’s unknown how many of those moves will translate to the Warriors’ matchup. But the team’s newfound ability to adapt will serve it well against the Warriors.

在與馬刺的系列比賽中，雷霆隊做出了一些重大調整，并取得了顯著的成果。然而，雷霆隊將采用哪些對策來應對與勇士隊的比賽，目前還不得而知。但就雷霆隊超強的適應能力來說，和勇士隊的這場對決還是頗有看頭。

But the bigger reason the Warriors are displeased to see the Thunder advance is that they will have to face Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant again, and both are puzzles the Warriors’ have struggled to solve.

然而，對于勇士來說，他們之所以不愿意看到雷霆隊晉級決賽是因為這樣一來他們不得不再一次遇見拉塞爾·威斯布魯克以及凱文·杜蘭特，這兩人都是勇士隊心頭上的大麻煩。

No one can stop Durant. Kawhi Leonard, the Defensive Player of the Year, did little to slow the 2014 MVP in the Western Conference semifinals.

沒有人可以阻擋杜蘭特。即使是NBA最佳防守球員科懷·倫納德也不能阻擋這位2014賽季的最有價值球員。

Durant should be even more productive against the Warriors, as he averaged 36.3 points in the Thunder’s three games with Golden State this season. Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green are all excellent on-ball defenders.

杜蘭特在本賽季與勇士隊的三場比賽中場均得分在36.3分，照此看來，杜蘭特在勇士隊可能還會發(fā)揮更佳水平。安德烈·伊戈達拉，克萊·湯普森，哈里森·巴恩斯以及特雷蒙德·格林等也都是非常優(yōu)秀的防守帶球隊員。

The bigger issue for the Warriors might be Westbrook. The Warriors (like most teams in the NBA) have trouble slowing down athletic, penetrating point guards, and of that style of player, Westbrook is the cream of the crop.

對于勇士隊來說，他們心頭最大的麻煩則是威斯布魯克。事實上，NBA中包括勇士在內的諸多隊伍都沒有辦法壓制那些行動敏捷，突破能力極強的控球后衛(wèi)。威斯布魯克，就是這類球員中的佼佼者。

The Warriors struggled with Damian Lillard in their five-game Western Conference semifinal series, and have struggled to stop John Wall, have seen Reggie Jackson burn them, and lost a game to Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics. A penetrating, athletic point guard (who, if he can shoot the 3-pointer, is completely lethal) allows teams to match the Warriors possession for possession, even when Golden State pushes the tempo.

在西部半決賽系列與開拓者對決的五場比賽中，勇士隊一直在努力壓制達米恩·利拉德。除此之外，他們也曾在比賽中全力阻止約翰·沃爾，曾經因為雷吉·杰克遜而遭受過失利，并當過以賽亞·托馬斯和凱爾特人隊的手下敗將。任何一個突破能力強并且行動迅速的后衛(wèi)(如果3分球命中率還高，殺傷力會更大)都會對勇士隊造成一定程度上的威脅，即使是勇士隊全力快攻可能也不能扭轉局面。

The Thunder might have lost all three regular-season matchups with the Warriors this season, but Oklahoma City was tied or led in the fourth quarter of all three contests. Add in OKC’s newfound ability to come through on offense in crunch time, and it’d be foolhardy to predict that the regular-season series would be repeated with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.

本賽季常規(guī)賽中，雷霆與勇士交手3次慘遭橫掃。但在第四季度的三場比賽中，雷霆不是和對方打成平局就是贏過對手。再加上雷霆隊最新練就的關鍵時刻靠進攻取勝的技能，至于決賽會不會重演常規(guī)賽的結局，現在還不能妄下定論。

The Warriors should be favored in the series, no doubt, but the Thunder are hardly the pushovers that many will peg them to be. They might not be as deep or as talented as Golden State, but the Thunder have the right combination to give the Warriors all they can handle in the Western Conference Finals.

毫無疑問，勇士隊在這次決賽系列的比賽中呼聲很高。然而，雷霆隊也不是許多人想象中那么容易就打敗的對手。雷霆隊的隊員們或許不像勇士隊那樣經驗豐富或天賦異稟，但雷霆隊一定會在決賽中全力以赴，以對抗強大的對手勇士隊。