Austin Rivers had heard the rumblings about Chris Paul.

奥斯汀-里弗斯最近听到了不少人们对克里斯-保罗的指指点点。

Rivers, who knows Paul's game as well as any of the Houston Rockets after playing with him for three and half seasons with the LA Clippers, didn't see Houston much early in the season but acknowledged, "Everybody's been saying (Paul was) just a little flat or whatever."小里曾在快船与保罗共事三个半赛季，他比任何一个休斯顿人都清楚保罗有多出色，虽然他是今年中途才刚刚加入的火箭，但他承认：“所有人都在说他打得一般般。”

"(But) since I've been here, he's been pretty damn good," says Rivers, a bargain signing for the Rockets in the buyout market right after Paul suffered a hamstring strain in December that caused him to miss 17 games.

“可是，自我来到休斯顿之后，他（保罗）一直很强势，”里弗斯说。去年十二月，保罗由于腿筋伤势休战17场，火箭因此也在买断市场签下了里弗斯救急。

"We play through James (Harden) and Chris. We trust those two. Honestly, I'm not just saying this, we still feel like Chris is one of the top-tier point guards in the league. When he's on his A-game like he is now, there's not too many point guards who are better than him."“我们的打法围绕着詹姆斯-哈登和保罗展开，大家都信任他们。这不只是嘴上说说的，我们依然觉得克里斯是顶级控卫。只要他打出自己的水平，那联盟里没有几个控卫能比得上他。”

Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni has seen this situation play out before during his time coaching a certain two-time MVP with the Phoenix¹ Suns.

火箭教练迈克-德安东尼其实经历过类似状况，之前他曾在太阳执教过两连MVP史蒂夫-纳什。

"I saw Steve Nash do the same thing," D'Antoni says when asked why he's so optimistic about Paul's future. "Dallas gave (Nash) up for dead, but they didn't know his brains and how much he wanted it and how much he was willing to sacrifice his life to prepare himself to do it.

“我看过纳什做到同样的事情，”德安东尼表达了对保罗的乐观，“达拉斯当时彻底放弃了纳什，但他们根本不了解他的球商和对胜利的渴望，以及他那种为之放弃生命的意志，全身心地投入准备。”

"As long as (Paul) has that, there's no way he's going to get dumber or whatever. ... I'm telling you, he's going to be right there with (the all-time great guards)."“只要保罗有这些品质，那他就不会有所谓的下滑之类现象，我话放这儿了，他必定能进入到历史最伟大控卫之列。”

Paul's scoring (15.8 points per game) and field goal percentage (41.9) are at career-low levels, but there's no doubt that he has been a dominant² force despite inconsistent shooting during the Rockets' recent surge.

保罗的场均得分（15.8）和命中率（41.9%）都是生涯最低；但在火箭最近的连胜中，毫无疑问，即便保罗的投射并不稳定，他依然是一个巨大的助力。

That trend tracks to even before the current six-game winning streak³ started with a road win over the Warriors⁴, when Paul had 23 points and 17 assists to lead Houston to a victory without Harden.

而这样的现象在火箭这波连胜之前就存在了，客场对阵勇士的比赛里，保罗得到了23分17助攻，带领哈登缺阵的火箭拿下胜利。

Paul is averaging 16.6 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds⁵ in the past 11 games, which coincides with his minutes restriction⁶ being lifted following his recovery from the hamstring strain.

过去11场比赛，保罗场均有16.6分9.9助攻5.6篮板，而恰恰在这段时间，他的上场时间限制也解除了。

NBA

The Rockets' second unit, with Paul running the show, is dominating opposing benches again like it did last season. His net rating during that stretch is plus-11.7 points per 100 possessions, by far the best of Houston's starters.

火箭的替补席在保罗的运营调配之下，把对手的板凳摁在地上摩擦，找回了上赛季的风采。保罗的每百回合净效率值达到了11.7，是这段连胜期间火箭全队最高。

Since Paul returned to the lineup on Jan. 27, the Rockets have an offensive efficiency of 117.1 when he is on the court and 106.4 when he is off the floor. And according to Second Spectrum⁷, he has created 6.8 "wide open" looks per game for his teammates this season, most in the NBA (that number jumps to 7.4 since Jan. 27, which is also tops in the league during that span).

自从1月27日保罗复出后，他在场时火箭的进攻效率达到了117.1，他下场后则为106.4。根据Second Spectrum提供的数据，保罗本赛季每场能为队友创造6.8个空位机会，全NBA最高。（1月27日至今的比赛里，保罗每场能帮队友找到7.4个空位，在同期间依然领衔全联盟。）D'Antoni expresses complete confidence that Paul can continue starring deep into his 30s, much like high-IQ Hall of Fame point guards of the past such as Nash, John Stockton and Jason Kidd.

德安东尼对于保罗拥有绝对的信心，相信他能够在奔四的年纪继续发光发热，如同当年的名人堂控卫纳什、约翰-斯托克顿和杰森-基德。

But one major difference between Paul and both Stockton and Kidd is that the men who rank first and second in NBA history in assists were remarkably⁸ durable⁹ deep into their careers.

斯托克顿与基德分列历史助攻榜前二，与这两位相比，保罗有个巨大的不足——生涯末期的健康状况不好。

Stockton missed a total of 22 games in his 19 years, playing every game — only 50 during the 1998-99 lockout season — in 17 different seasons.

斯托克顿在19年生涯中一共只缺席了22场比赛——17个赛季中他做到了全勤（由于1998-99赛季停摆只出席50场）。

When Kidd finally won a title at age 38 with the 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks¹⁰, it marked the sixth straight year he played at least 80 games in the regular season.

基德虽然在38岁才在达拉斯赢得冠军，但在那个赛季的之前六年，基德每年都能出场至少80次。

Paul, on the other hand, missed 21 games in 2016-17, 24 last season and 23 (two to suspension) this season.

另一边，保罗在2016-17赛季缺席了17场，上赛季24场，本赛季23场（其中两场是由于禁赛）。

Rehashing that painful history is pointless for Paul, as relentless¹¹ a competitor as there is in the NBA. His plan is simple: Keep putting in the work.

现在再说这些意义不大，保罗依然是NBA中最具竞争心的人之一。他的计划也很简单：不断努力。

"One of the things I've always prided myself on is preparation," Paul says. "Freak accidents happen or whatnot. Injuries, they come and go. But preparation is about discipline.

“我对自己最骄傲的一点是我未雨绸缪的意识，”保罗说，“各种怪事随时会发生，伤病来来去去，但为之做好准备就要靠自律了。

I prepare myself every day, every day. If I prepare the way that I know that supposed to, whatever happens, happens."每天我都会做好准备，只要我做好这些，诸事皆可坦然面对。”