Star-Filled Teams Face Each Other in NBA Finals
球員云集的勇士隊和騎士隊開打總決賽
The NBA Finals begin Thursday night in Oakland, a city in northern California.
NBA總決賽于周四(美國時間)晚上在加州北部城市奧克蘭開始進行。
Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA championship. It was the first major title for a Cleveland sports team since the 1960s.
去年,克利夫蘭騎士隊擊敗了金州勇士隊奪得NBA總冠軍。這是克利夫蘭所有運動隊自上世紀60年代以來奪得的第一項重要冠軍。
The year before, Golden State, based in Oakland, defeated Cleveland for its first championship since 1975.
前一年,奧克蘭市的金州勇士隊擊敗了騎士隊奪得了該隊1975年以來首個冠軍。
This year, the two teams will meet again for a chance to find out which one is really the best.
今年兩隊將再次相遇一教高下。
Cleveland is led by one of the NBA's all-time great players, LeBron James. He is playing in the Finals for the seventh-straight season. He is the first player to do that since the 1960s.
克利夫蘭騎士隊由NBA歷史上最偉大球員之一的勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)率領,這是他連續(xù)七個賽季進入總決賽。自上世紀60年代以來,他是第一個做到這點的球員。
The Golden State Warriors have Steph Curry, the league's Most Valuable Player last year, and Kevin Durant, one of the NBA's best players.
金州勇士隊擁有去年聯(lián)盟最有價值球員(MPV)斯蒂芬·庫里(Steph Curry),以及NBA最佳球員之一的凱文·杜蘭特(Kevin Durant)。
The series is "best of seven," which means the first team to win four games will be champion.
該系列賽是七戰(zhàn)四勝制(Best of Seven),這意味著先贏足四場的球隊將會獲得冠軍。
The teams have a number of other All-Star players, they are among the best in the NBA. Cleveland has Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, while Golden State has Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
這兩支隊有很多全明星球員,他們位居NBA最佳球員行列。騎士隊有凱里·歐文(Kyrie Irving)和凱文·樂福(Kevin Love),而金州勇士隊有德雷蒙德·格林(Draymond Green)和克雷·湯普森(Klay Thompson)。
So in this match-up of star players, which team will win?
所以在這些明星球員的精彩對位中,哪只球隊能笑到最后?
James thinks his Cavaliers will win. "I feel good about our chances, very good," he said.
詹姆斯認為他的騎士隊會贏。他說,“我覺得我們的機會非常好。”
But he is in the minority. Many experts are picking the Warriors to win.
但是他屬于少數(shù)派,很多專家都認為勇士隊會贏。
Tim Reynolds is the basketball writer for the Associated Press news agency. Reynolds wrote that Golden State will win in seven games.
蒂姆·雷諾茲(Tim Reynolds)是美聯(lián)社的籃球作家。雷諾茲寫道,勇士隊將會在七場比賽中獲勝。
His reason? Cleveland's defense is not good enough to stop Golden State.
他為什么這么說呢?騎士隊的防守不夠好,防不住勇士隊。
"James will push Golden State to the limit. But in the end, the 2016 loss will be avenged and the championship confetti will finally fall on Durant."
他說,“詹姆士將會把勇士隊逼到極限。但是最后,勇士隊將會為2016年的失利復仇,杜蘭特終將拿到冠軍。”
The website FiveThirtyEight.com wrote that the Warriors might be the best team in NBA history, even better than last year's team, which set a record with 73 wins.
538.com網(wǎng)站寫道,這支勇士隊可能是NBA歷史上最好的球隊,甚至超過了去年創(chuàng)下73勝記錄的那支勇士隊。
The site's "prediction system" gives Cleveland only a 10 percent chance of winning the championship.
該網(wǎng)站的預測系統(tǒng)認為騎士隊獲得冠軍的機會只有10%。
But one NBA coach thinks Cleveland will win. Tom Thibodeau is the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He called Golden State "dominant," but also complimented James.
但是有位NBA教練認為,騎士隊將會獲勝。湯姆·蒂博多(Tom Thibodeau)是明尼蘇達森林狼隊的教練。他稱勇士隊是統(tǒng)治者,但是也稱贊了詹姆斯。
"You can never bet against LeBron. If a game is close down the stretch, he can take it over," Thibodeau said.
蒂博多說:“你永遠沒法小看詹姆斯。如果一場比賽接近尾聲,他有能力接管比賽。”
I'm Dan Friedell.
丹·費里德爾報道。
The NBA Finals begin Thursday night in Oakland, a city in northern California.
Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA championship. It was the first major title for a Cleveland sports team since the 1960s.
The year before, Golden State, based in Oakland, defeated Cleveland for its first championship since 1975.
This year, the two teams will meet again for a chance to find out which one is really the best.
Cleveland is led by one of the NBA’s all-time great players, LeBron James. He is playing in the Finals for the seventh-straight season. He is the first player to do that since the 1960s.
The Golden State Warriors have Steph Curry, the league’s Most Valuable Player last year, and Kevin Durant, one of the NBA’s best players.
The series is “best of seven,” which means the first team to win four games will be champion.
The teams have a number of other All-Star players, they are among the best in the NBA. Cleveland has Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, while Golden State has Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
So in this match-up of star players, which team will win?
James thinks his Cavaliers will win. “I feel good about our chances, very good,” he said.
But he is in the minority. Many experts are picking the Warriors to win.
Tim Reynolds is the basketball writer for the Associated Press news agency. Reynolds wrote that Golden State will win in seven games.
His reason? Cleveland’s defense is not good enough to stop Golden State.
“James will push Golden State to the limit. But in the end, the 2016 loss will be avenged and the championship confetti will finally fall on Durant.”
The website FiveThirtyEight.com wrote that the Warriors might be the best team in NBA history, even better than last year’s team, which set a record with 73 wins.
The site’s “prediction system” gives Cleveland only a 10 percent chance of winning the championship.
But one NBA coach thinks Cleveland will win. Tom Thibodeau is the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He called Golden State “dominant,” but also complimented James.
“You can never bet against LeBron. If a game is close down the stretch, he can take it over," Thibodeau said.
I’m Dan Friedell.
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Words in This Story
title – n. the status or position of being the champion in a sport or other competition
avenge – v. to harm or punish someone who has harmed you or someone or something that you care about
confetti – n. small pieces of brightly colored paper that people often throw at celebrations (such as weddings and parties)
dominant – adj. more important, powerful, or successful than most or all others
down the stretch – adj. used to describe the final moments of an event, often used in horse racing