---

來源：The Athletic
網址：https://reurl.cc/M3Zz2K

MINNEAPOLIS — About 35 minutes before the Minnesota Timberwolves were set to
tip off against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, an eruption could
be heard in the back hallways of Target Center.
昨天灰狼鵜鶘戰開打前35分鐘，在主場Target Center走道傳出一陣歡呼聲。

It came from the locker room, and the timing seemed odd for a team that was
in the doldrums after two straight dispiriting losses to teams that had no
business winning in this building. It came from an announcement from head
coach Chris Finch, just before the regular game plan meeting started.
聲音是從休息室傳來，時機有點怪，畢竟球隊才連輸兩場，之前還在低沉的氣壓裡。這
歡呼聲是來自總教練Finch宣布之後，剛好在平常比賽會議開始之前。

As the team gathered around, Finch told them they had the chance to do
something special on this night. He wasn’t talking about getting revenge on
the Pelicans, who embarrassed them two nights prior. He wasn’t talking about
closing the gap on the Golden State Warriors for the coveted No. 6 seed in
the Western Conference playoff chase. He was talking about doing something
for one of their own and a family that has been through hell.


Finch told his team that he was giving veteran forward Joe Ingles his first
start of the season, even though this was a “must-win game.” As the players
looked around at each other, he told them why a guy who had appeared in only
18 of the team’s previous 71 games, five of which lasted 3 seconds or less,
was suddenly starting for a team that was flailing. He told them that Ingles
’ wife and three children were in town visiting this week and that one of
life’s little miracles had occurred for them at a game against the Utah Jazz
on Sunday.

never been able to sit through the sensory overload of an NBA game from start
to finish. He told them that on Sunday, for the first time ever, Jacob was
able to watch the entire game, an incredible breakthrough for him and the
family that has fought so hard for him since he was diagnosed at 2 1/2 years
old.


There was only one bummer: Ingles did not play in that game. Friday marked
the last day the family would be together before mom and the kids headed back
to their full-time home in Orlando, where Jacob has a school that he loves
and a house that provides him much-needed comfort.


When Finch got word of Jacob’s milestone, he became determined to make sure
that the boy got to see his dad on the court this time. Not only did Finch
plan to play Ingles against the Pelicans, he told his team that he planned to
put him in the starting lineup.
當Finch得知Jacob的重大突破後，他就決定要讓Jacob看到他的爸爸Ingles在場上打球。
Finch不只要讓Ingles上場打球，他還跟隊員說他計畫要讓Ingles先發。Finch說：

“I figured, if we’re going to do it, let’s do it in style,” Finch said.
「我覺得，既然我們要做，就要做的優雅。」

The entire team started clapping and cheering, a response so emphatic that
the cement block walls that separate the locker room from the arena hallway
couldn’t contain the noise. All of a sudden, a team that had lost its swag,
as Julius Randle put it after the loss on Wednesday dropped them to eighth in
the West, was reinvigorated.


“I would want coach to do the same for me if I was in that position,”
forward Jaden McDaniels said.
「若是我跟Ingles有一樣的情況，我也會希望我的教練做一樣的事情。」

What followed was a 134-93 victory over the Pels. Randle had 20 points, six
rebounds and five assists, Rudy Gobert had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three
steals and Anthony Edwards scored 17 points. The most important person on the
court that night went scoreless in six minutes, missing all three of his
shots, committing two fouls and turning it over once. The most important
person in the building, a young boy who was non-verbal early on in his
diagnosis but is now in school and growing and developing and blossoming, was
able to watch an entire NBA game for the second time in a row. The only
difference this time was Jacob got to see his dad play.
“This is the stuff,” Ingles said, “I’ll remember forever.”
而那之後就是一場大勝，134-93，Randle拿了20分，6板，5助；Gobert拿下15分，11板，
3抄，AE拿下17分。但是最重要的那人，上場6分鐘，一分未得，三次出手盡墨，兩次犯


「這會是我永遠銘記在心的一件事。」

----



這篇很長，先翻到這邊。

總教練Finch真的很暖啊~~

----
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 118.150.55.248 (臺灣)
※ 作者: pneumo 2025-03-23 11:12:53
※ 文章代碼(AID): #1dttmtSl (NBA)
※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/NBA/M.1742699575.A.72F.html