絕對稱不上是NBA球迷。
佐敦年代一過，就沒有很留意了。

【吾運動‧吾閱讀】－　#蝦叔 蝦叔跑步 Uncle Shrimp Running
《NBA嘴砲聖經》
作者：席亞．賽拉諾
譯者：威治
出版社：商周出版

「關於灌籃，超級球星中只有三名球員能夠優美的展現出體能，讓觀眾神魂顛倒。第一個是J博士，第二個是佐敦，第三個是文斯（Vince Carter）。」

「任何在比賽中戴護目鏡的球員都可以獲得加成，因為我十分敬重這些戴護目鏡的球員，護目鏡是籃球最不落俗套的配件。」

今年的NBA賽事已進入白熱化階段。本文刊出之時，總決賽正在開打。這年冠軍誰屬，很快便有分曉。目前唯一可以肯定的是，過去四年總決賽上演的「勇騎對決」將不會重現。

此一時，彼一時，回想起自己最留意NBA的年代，已是二十多年前由米高佐敦領軍的公牛王朝時期。在此之後，高比拜仁為湖人出戰的年代也不時會看。可能是先入為主的關係吧，總覺得佐敦的魅力無人能及。及至近年，就真的只知道勒邦占士、杜蘭特等球星了。

不過最近看到一本書，卻重新燃起我觀看NBA的熱情，那就是《NBA嘴砲聖經》，副題是「25個既專業又有趣到讓人以為你是NBA系的籃球問題」。單是看這格局，已知道這書以有趣角度看NBA，像我這種對賽事久沒關注的人大概也可一看。就連眾所周知的籃球迷，前美國總統奧巴馬也推許此書為2017其中一部最佳著作。

再看目錄，你會發現作者確是提出了一系列有趣的問題，例如：史上最棒的灌籃高手是誰？「投進一球」應該算多少分才值得？假使1997年球季讓一隻熊來替換卡爾．馬龍，誰會打得比較好？表面看，問題好像很荒誕，但作者卻真的為此大書特書。他找出了不少關於熊的資料，研究哪種熊最適合打NBA，從而道出了不少關於卡爾．馬龍的場內外表現，令人莞爾。

看這本書，其實就等於重溫了很多NBA的重要人物與經典時刻。胡鬧筆觸只是作者的手法，其實作者本身也得是NBA超級球迷，才足以寫出這本書的內容，去「認真地胡鬧」。

筆者簡介：蝦叔，愛寫作，愛運動。期待未來以一雙腳和一枝筆，繼續從體育探索世界。

#新鴻基地產 #新地公益垂直跑 #勇闖香港ICC #籃球

【Exercise and Read】 － Uncle Shrimp Running

Basketball (and Other Things)
Author: Shea Serrano
Translator: Wei Zhi
Publisher: Business Weekly Publications

The 2019 NBA playoffs have already reached a critical stage, and the NBA Finals will be underway by the time this article is published. While this year's winner will soon be unveiled, we can be sure that there will be no repeat of the championship showdown between Cavaliers and Warriors we saw in the past four years.

In retrospect, I was attracted most by the NBA dynasty of the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan more than 20 years ago. I also watched NBA games from time to time when Kobe Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers. I might be subjective, but I think Jordan's glamour was always unrivalled. The only NBA players who have interested me in recent years are LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

What rekindled my passion for watching NBA games was a book that I read recently, titled Basketball (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated. The book discusses the NBA from an interesting angle and is actually a good read for people like me who haven't paid attention to the game for such a long time. Even former U.S. President Barack Obama, who is a well-known basketball fan, recommended it as one of the best books in 2017.

In the table of contents, you are presented with a set of intriguing questions raised by the author, including: 'Who’s the greatest dunker in NBA History?', 'How many points should [SHOT] actually be worth?', and 'If 1997 Karl Malone and a bear swapped places for a season, who would be more successful?' These questions may sound ridiculous, but the author did treat them seriously. For example, to explain Karl Malone's performance on and off the court, he gathered a wealth of information about bears and studied which type of bears are best suited to playing in the NBA. How can that not put a smile on your face?

This book essentially recreated and brought to life many key figures and classic moments of the NBA for readers. As an NBA super fan, the author was in the best position to raise those hilarious yet enlightening questions and then answer them one by one with his unique wit and wisdom.

About the writer: Uncle Shrimp loves reading, writing and athletics, and hopes he can continue exploring the world through sports.