NBA2013-14賽季第一週的比賽已塵埃落定。一起來看ESPN對過去一週的比賽進行盤點，討論了最像總冠軍黑馬的球隊。

印第安納步行者，雖然他們不是嚴格意義上的黑馬，不過在強手如林的東部，不少人都覺得步行者肯定幹不過邁阿密熱火、芝加哥公牛和布魯克林籃網他們。（They aren't exactly a surprise contender, but in an Eastern Conference with Miami, Chicago and Brooklyn, a lot of folks felt Indy might fall off some this year. ）步行者可沒有看起來那麼弱。步行者上賽季季後賽的成功靠的是羅伊-希伯特的防守。他的犯規率居然比拉裏-桑德斯還高，他能不能留在場上還是個問題；而且他的大招也是時靈時不靈。但是無論如何，保羅-喬治行雲流水的進攻和步行者領跑聯盟的防守依舊讓人深深折服。

森林狼拿冠軍不太靠譜，但是賽季之初的表現令人意想不到。我或許他們離總冠軍還比較遙遠，但是他們一直在路上。明尼蘇達在上個賽季是黑馬預測的大熱門，而過去的一週裏，球隊的表現簡直讓人目瞪口呆。除了遺憾告負騎士，森林狼主場胖揍雷霆，客場打趴尼克斯，順手還刷到了史上第三高的凈勝分差注1。實力如此突飛猛進，森林狼的秘訣是？——樂福。這位前鋒上場時勝率和勝場在聯盟排第二，高達29的PER也是高居第五。

Instead, we'll roll with the Pacers. They aren't exactly a surprise contender, but in an Eastern Conference with Miami, Chicago and Brooklyn, a lot of folks felt Indy might fall off some this year. If anything, they look better.The Pacers' postseason success was predicated on other worldly defense from Roy Hibbert, who struggles to stay on the court because of a foul rate worse than Larry Sanders' and who has mastered a skill (verticality) that may or may not be a real thing. But I'm bending with every masterful offensive performance by Paul George and every stonewalling by a defense that again leads the league.

While I can't actually foresee a Timberwolves title, they do look fantastic early on. You know how we say that players who won't actually win the MVP "should be part of the conversation"? Maybe that's the Wolves. They aren't a real contender yet, but they're part of the conversation. Despite a skin-of-their-teeth loss to the Cavs on Monday, Minnesota -- a trendy dark-horse pick a season ago -- has looked surprisingly stout in 2013-14, routing OKC at home, topping the Knicks in Gotham, and boasting the third-best scoring differential in basketball. What changed? Love. The forward is second in the NBA in win shares and wins produced, and his 29 PER ranks him fifth.

☆☆☆☆☆五星級詞彙及短語
☆ foul rate 犯規率；
☆ contender n. 競爭者；爭奪者；They aren't exactly a surprise contender可譯為不能算作嚴格意義上的競爭者。
☆ masterful熟練的；巧妙的；老練的 ；精湛的；精彩的；通常用來形容技術嫻熟。