BASKETBALL (siehe auch FUßBALL)
Spieler startet/setzt sich durch
= player came out on fire/catches fire/is on fire/is clicking on all cylinders; player was wreaking havoc with the opposing team; player shot lights-out; player was “all systems go”; player’s shooting range was bonkers; player is unstoppable when in a zone; “it’s just coming together”, player said; player is getting untracked
er hat reichlich Punkte gesammelt = player dropped/scored/poured in 45 points; player reeled off 12 points in 2 minutes; player torched/ erupted/lit up opponent for 40 points; player is capable of hanging 50 points on any foe any night; player goes off for a career-high of 61 points
Spieler setzt Zeichen = player sets/puts an emphatic stamp/exclamation point with a vicious dunk; superstar tried to make a mark/set the tone on the game early on; player makes a statement with a monster/spectacular block
bis dato ist sein Durchschnitt sehr passabel = so far this year player averages/has averaged 20 points; player averaged 19,8 points during the winning streak; player is averaging 30 points in his last 9 games
Spieler hat in den letzten drei Begegnungen 65% seiner Würfe getroffen = player is shooting/has averaged 65% in last 3 games
Mannschaft setzt sich schnell ab = team draws first blood/dashes out to a 30 – 20 lead and never lets go; team minus (name of superstar) led from wire to wire; team managed to carve out/stretch the lead to ten points/2 goals
Mannschaft will unbedingt gewinnen = team is keen to see off/put away other team
Mannschaft liegt wieder zurück = the nine-point lead evaporated into a five-point hole; team is off to a rough start; we were trying to overcome a slow start but we fell behind by 15 points at the half
in der ersten Halbzeit hat Mannschaft zu viele Punkte liegen gelassen = team gave up too many points in the first-half
in der zweiten Hälfte war unser Angriff nicht gut aufgelegt = we didn’t have much of an offensive pop in the second half; player/superstar blanked (i.e. was scoreless) in the second half; our offense was totally out of whack in the second half
im ersten Viertel hat Mannschaft kaum Körbe erzielt = team plods its way to all of nine points in the first quarter, as shots didn’t go down/ fall/drop
es war negativer Rekord, da noch nie so wenige Punkte in einem Spiel erzielt wurden = fewest points ever in a game, it was league’s record for futility
Mannschaft hat kaum getroffen/viele Fahrkarten geworfen = team threw many bricks and lots of shots clanged off the rim
wir müssen an unserem Angriff arbeiten = we need to stoke up our offense, our scoring is definitely coming up short
Mannschaft/Spieler hat zu viele leichte Körbe vergeben = team missed a lot of bunnies/gimmies (i.e. easy baskets); too many easy shots were off the mark; those were shots the player would normally make in his sleep; they clanked/missed too many shots; shots were just banging off/rattling off the rim; player threw too many clunkers/duds
Mannschaft hatte viele Möglichkeiten zu punkten = team had enough good looks/stops
das war/en Fehlwürfe/eine Fahrkarte = player hit just air/whiffed on two easy looks; he threw/fired a brick/an airball; player bricks two free throws in the final stages of a game
Gibt’s nicht, dass er den (sehr leichten) Korb nicht trifft! = that was a gimme/a bunny (i.e. an easy basket, can’t miss it!)
das Zusammenspiel/die Chemie stimmt noch nicht = game strategy is not jelling yet; team is still in the process of building chemistry after major roster changes
es flutscht mal wieder = team chemistry has been reignited; squad carved up/picked apart their defense; team cracks opponent’s defensive pressure; our elite offense gave opponent fits/caused them a lot of distress; the offense is humming (along)
heute ist die Mannschaft wieder besser drauf = team looks far more in synch tonight/this afternoon; team regained its swagger/flashed its moxie again
Mannschaft erzielt zehn Punkte hintereinander = team is on the run now, rips off/scores ten points in a row
bei Schwalbe (Basketball) wedelt Spieler sehr oft mit den Armen = flop/flopping is when a player (flopper) lets himself fall on purpose with the intention of getting a foul call by the ref; player tries to sell it impressively even though he may have just been half-heartedly pushed/hit; players very often do some arm or leg flailing (wild swinging) in order to induce ref to call the foul; player tries to sell a foul; some players are constantly lobbying for calls
Spieler kann sehr gut simulieren/lässt sich geschickt fallen (bei Schwalbe) = that’s great theatrics/histrionics by flopping/flailing player
es gab viele kleine Nickligkeiten = there were a lot of minor/ticky-tack/tic-tac (light contact) fouls
gestern Abend hatten wir zu viele Ballverluste = last night we posted/logged/racked up too many turnovers; team coughed up/made/ committed 10 turnovers
unsere einzige Schwachstelle waren die Ballverluste = the only blip/cloudy spot for the team were turnovers
die amerikanische Aussprache für “Abwehr/Verteidigung” beim Sport/Basketball = "defense" is the word and it is pronounced DEfense (stress first syllable) or simply say “d/D” (pronounced “dee”)
erfolgreiche Mannschaften zeichnen sich durch eine hartnäckige Verteidigung aus = successful teams play stingy/plucky/gritty/stifling/ smothering/sturdy/scrappy/tenacious defense/”d”; team had opponent dead to rights; team started to flex its defensive muscle; squad delivered a stellar/gutsy/vintage defensive effort; our team is a defense juggernaut; team wore the opponent down with its defense
unsere Verteidigung war klasse/spitze = everyone was defensively in tune and locked in; last night our defense was simply masterclass;
team throws a wrench into the opponent’s well-oiled OFfense (stress first syllable, too); players buckled down/locked in on defense; defensively we worked our tails off/turned up the heat; that was good hustle; it was a lockdown defensive effort; tonight we leaned on hard defensively; last night team delivered a signature defense performance; yesterday our defense was elite; “props to our defense”, the coach said
gute Abwehr/Verteidigung ist ansteckend = good defense carries over to offensive aggresiveness
Abwehr ist unsere Kernkompetenz/ Stärke = defense is our team’s calling card/our staple/trademark; we managed to leave the opponent scoreless for a long time; with our good D we always want to wear teams down; we have some savvy/smart players who can read the defense/the game (and therefore improve their scoring chances)
heute Abend treten die Mannschaften mit der besten Verteidigung aufeinander = best defensive teams match up tonight
unser Angriff war nicht koscher = our offense was out of whack
Verteidigung hui, aber Angriff pfui = at least we played good defense to make up for our offensive doldrums
Spieler verbuchte 8 Steals = player was in a defensive groove as he posted 8 steals
unsere Defensive war nicht konsequent = team had a brain fart on defense; team kind of lagged defensively; team was dead meat on defense; team lacked defensive intensity; team let two of their streakiest shooters get loose; defensively there was a lack of toughness/ effort; we were a little lax on “D” last night
man versucht, die besten Spieler des Gegners kaltzustellen/eng zu bewachen = team tried to smother/blanket the opponent’s best shooter; coach decides who will guard the opponent’s best player; the superstar was crowded/shadowed/hounded all the way by the opponents’ best defenders; defender locks in closely on opponent’s best player; superstar got pestered/locked down by opponent; defender did a good job in cooling off/shutting out/clamping down the other team’s star player; prolific scorer got bottled/handcuffed by smart defenders; great “d” made the opponents’ offense look pretty pedestrian
Spieler ist ein starker Verteidiger = he is a premier defensive player; player always puts up a good fight
mit ihrer bissigen Abwehr konnten wir nicht mithalten = they were an annoying pest defensively; team played in-your-face/hard-nosed defense; their D rushed us; opponent clamped down/tightened the screws on defense
wir müssen in der Defensive griffiger werden = we need to bring it defensively/defend like a brick wall; we have to up our physicality; team needs to double down on defense; team has to bring more toughness defensively; we’ve got to get as physical as we can; we need players who embrace the physicality and never shy away from it
unsere “D” hat den Spieler ausgeschaltet = good defense managed to take out/snuff out/stop the player’s momentum
die Verteidiger gehen nicht gerade zimperlich mit dem Superstar um = the superstar gets hounded/swarmed/stifled/knocked around by the tough defense
Verteidigung bricht zusammen = team defense collapses/shrivels/breaks down; our defense was simply atrocious; game got away from us at the arc/in the paint
unsere Abwehr lässt viel zu wünschen übrig = our defense is falling short/not clicking; we were struggling on the defensive end; defense was in short supply
Mannschaft braucht eine bessere Defensestrategie = team needs to get a handle on its/their defense strategy; we need to turn the corner defensively; we need some more defense intensity; we have to dig in on the defensive end
beim Wurf wird Spieler spektakulär geblockt = that was a monster rejection/block; player provided the exclamation point when he blocked/rejected the shot; his shot got snuffed out/swatted/smacked away by block; “Get out of here!” (zu Deutsch “unfassbar”), was the description of the announcer/game broadcaster when shot was flatly rejected
Spieler blamiert sich beim Block (durch kleinen Spieler) = the big fellow suffered/experienced the ignominy of having his shot blocked by a midget
“zurück an den Absender” (Beschreibung eines geblockten Wurfes) = that was a beautiful “return-to-sender”
Spieler gibt einen Pass = player kicks/fires/flicks/dishes a pass across the floor to other player; midfielder whips it/the ball out across the field/pitch to the striker
das war ein absoluter geiler Pass = that was a jaw-dropping/nifty/gaudy/superb/fancy/nice pass/feed; that was a hell/heck/lollapallooza of a pass
nach einem geilen Korb ist der Kommentator total begeistert = “Unreal! Are you kidding me?!”; Get outta here!
Spieler ist mit vielen Fouls belastet = player is mired in foul trouble
die längsten Spieler holen die meisten Rebounds = usually the tallest players grab/get/corral the most rebounds/boards
beim Rebound ist unser Big Man spitze = our Big Man usually wreaks havoc in the key/paint; he is a monster in the paint
heute Abend geht die Mannschaft mit “kleineren” aber erfahrenen Spielern ins Rennen = team rides a small lineup with experienced players in tonight’s game
Spieler erzielt Korb mit seinem Paradewurf = he hits another one of his patented step-back jumpers
Amerikaner haben Dirk Nowitzki als erfolgreichen ausländischen Spieler in der NBA in bester Erinnerung = as a very successful international/foreign player, Dirk Novitzki captured the imagination of Americans
NBA-Fans kennen den Rückwärtswurf von Dirk Nowitzki = NBA fans are familiar with Dirk’s signature one-legged fadeaway shot
Spieler hat ein Paar Dreier getroffen = player bracketed/was on cue for a pair of three-pointers
endlich wird erster Dreier markiert = team breaks through for first three-pointer
Spieler fühlt sich wohl hinter der Dreierlinie/erzielt viele Dreier = player cozied up at the 3-point arc; player started to hit from downtown; player is hot/on fire from deep
Spieler wirft und trifft (einen Dreier) = player fires up/lets fly/jacks up/shoots/pops a three/treythree pointer and nails it/knocks it down/ drills it/cans it/buries it
das war ein sehr langer Dreier = that was a three/trey from way-out-there/downtown/the parking lot
Spieler wirft den spielentscheidenden Dreier = player knocks down a dagger three; that was the dagger shot that gave the team all the momentum back; player delivered/dealt a dagger/threw a haymaker/put the final nail in the coffin to silence the crowd
Spieler kann nur die eine Sache gut machen = player has only one signature move; player is a “one-trick pony”, e.g. he can only dunk or slam/flush the ball/throw it down
berühmter Superstar hatte schwache Trefferquote bei Freiwürfen = Shaquille O’Neal (former NBA superstar) was a free-throw challenged player; player struggled again from the free-throw line, going 2 for 8
immer den Spieler foulen, der oft nicht Freiwürfe trifft (dies wird in der NBA “hack-a-Shaq tactic” genannt) = team fouls opponent’s poorest free-throw shooter (patterned after Shaquille O’Neal, who was a poor free-throw shooter) to slow down the game
beim Freiwurf ist Spieler übergetreten = player gets called for crossing at free-throw line
Spieler schießt Freiwurf absichtlich daneben, um den Rebound zu holen = that was an on-purpose miss in order to grab the rebound
es ist immer eine Ehre, im Madison Square Garden (Arena in New York) zu spielen = it’s always great to perform in/at the NBA’s most cherished stage
das war eine hervorragende Leistung = that was Wilt Chamberlain-esque ("the" 60’s superstar, one of the greatest players ever)
vor allem bei ausverkauften Spielen kann man noch außerhalb der NBA-Hallen (gleiches gilt für andere Veranstaltungen) von einem “scalper” Eintrittskarten zu Wucher-/Schwarzmarktpreisen erwerben = especially when NBA games are nearly sold out (same applies for other public events) you can still buy tickets from any “scalper” standing outside the arena, who resells them at a much higher price
Spitzname für einen exzellenten Dunker = Dr. Dunkenstein is a nickname for a player (originally Darrell Griffith, “only” 6ft 4in/193 m tall) who displays outstanding slam-dunking skills
und wenn ein Dunking-Versuch des Gegners daneben geht, freut sich immer das Heimpublikum = if a player from the opposing team muffs a dunk, the home crowd is always delighted
der Vorgang wird wiederholt (Sprungball/Freiwurf) = refs decided for a do-over of a jump-ball/free throw
das war ein wilder Wurf = player fired off an outlandish/weird shot
Spieler können vor sich hin dunken, da Sieg nicht mehr gefährdet war = when a game is no longer on the line players can enjoy dunking with high-flying/reckless/wild abandon, so every player joined the fun; with the game iced players go on a dunking spree
das war ein Spielzug für die Spielerstatistik = that was a great play for the sake of statistics/to pad the stats
der Ball war nicht mehr kontrollierbar = player lost the handle on the ball
Spieler berührt als Letzter den Ball = ball glanced off player’s fingers before going out of bounds
der Ball war im Aus = player stepped out of bounds; player’s foot clipped the line
so wird ein Pass genannt, der zum Korberfolg führt = a basket scored directly off a teamate’s pass is an “assist”
wichtige Statistiken für Spieler sind ein Double Double oder ein Triple Double = a player posts a double-double when he scores at least 10 points and grabs 10 rebounds in a game; and when 10 assists are added to this tally it becomes a triple double
er ist ein vielseitiger Aufbauspieler/Guard = he is a do-it-all/an all-around point guard
Spieler ist ein Alleskönner = player is/brings the whole package; he’s a do-everything player; player can read the game
Spieler hat eine Schwäche = a chink in (player’s name) armor is his lack of speed
ein Aufbauspieler der zu viel rumfuchtelt = he is a herky-jerky point guard
er ist ein kräftiger Spieler, der gerne in Richtung Korb zieht = he is a bulky player who likes barrelling/muscling his way to the rim/basket
so wird ein Spieler genannt, der viel zu gerne wirft = a player who shoots whenever possible is a “ballhog”
Spieler hat zu viel geworfen = player had a greedy game
Spieler hat sich schussbereit positioniert = player has a good look
seine Treffsicherheit war heute ausgezeichnet = player’s accuracy/marksmanship was second to none tonight
wir sind eine vielseitige Mannschaft = team has the whole/complete package: rebounders, good shooters, shot-blockers, ball handlers, you name it
wenn das Spiel am Ende der regulären Spielzeit unentschieden steht, gibt es eine fünfminütige Verlängerung = if game is tied at the end of regulation a five-minute overtime/extra period ensues
es gibt ein Aufwärmtraining am Morgen des Spiels, auch die Taktik wird durchgespielt = the pre-game warmup, usually held in the morning is referred to as a shootaround; in the morning shootaround players usually walk through some plays
Basketballspieler tragen gerne Baseballmützen = basketball players enjoy wearing baseball caps back-to-front
in den neunziger Jahren waren die Chicago Bulls das Aushängeschild der NBA = in the nineties the Chicago Bulls were the biggest act/the go-to team/the signature team in the NBA
die Zeiten ändern sich, so auch die NBA = times are a-changing in the NBA, it’s back-to-basics basketball and more foreign/international players
die Vorlaufzeit für eine neue Ligamannschaft beträgt ein Jahr = if a new team wants to join the league there is a lead-in time of one year
neue Mannschaft bereitet sich für die Liga vor = new franchise is getting ready to roll
Stadt erfüllt nicht die Voraussetzungen, um sich als neuen Standort für die NBA zu empfehlen = city doesn’t qualify/washes out/falls through as new addition to NBA
Liga stellt Finanzlage eines Vereins auf den Prüfstand
= the franchise’s financial plight has been the subject of interrogation by the League
Liga forciert den Verkauf einer Mannschaft = distressed owner of loss-making franchise is forced to sell by League; other owners can exercise/wield their authority (i.e. vote it up) to buy out strife-torn/turmoil-torn club
