Y13 [EN]: Chapter 104

Y13-104

00104 2010-11 Regular Season =========================================================================

As if showcasing Dallas’s signature fast break, Youngjae quickly moved up the court while Minnesota’s players scrambled back on defense. Just before Minnesota could fully set up their defense, Youngjae swiftly drove towards the basket, then quickly stepped back out. Wesley Johnson, initially guarding Youngjae, had to stall for time until Darko Milicic could get under the hoop, but Youngjae’s sudden V-cut [a technique where a player approaches the defender, then cuts sharply to receive a pass] left him momentarily hesitant, unsure whether to protect the basket or follow Youngjae.

With Nowitzki and Youngjae suddenly both open, Kidd considered passing to Youngjae at the right side three-point line, but instead made a safer pass to Nowitzki, who was standing unguarded right next to him.

[Nowitzki’s high-arcing three-pointer!]

However, Milicic came out to contest Nowitzki’s shot, and Nowitzki immediately used a pump fake [a move where a player pretends to shoot to make the defender jump]. Milicic flew past Nowitzki, looking bewildered, and Nowitzki quickly passed the ball to Youngjae on the right side.

[Nowitzki’s shooting fake! And Youngjae Yoon! A three-pointer from the right side…]

Youngjae shot the ball without hesitation. His smooth shooting motion looked like it came straight out of a textbook. With a stable stance, as if he’d practiced it a million times, Youngjae released the ball, and it drew a beautiful arc like a rainbow.

Swish-

[Accurate! Youngjae Yoon!]

As the clean three-pointer went in, Youngjae, after a long time, raised his right arm and held his follow-through, flicking only his wrist. Wesley Johnson, who hesitated and allowed the open shot, glared at Youngjae with a momentary scowl, but Youngjae wasn’t one to be intimidated.

[He deserves to be called a sharpshooter! He had a slump for a while, but Youngjae Yoon is still Youngjae Yoon. The Y13 curse isn’t going anywhere! Blake Griffin can’t afford to let his guard down either.]

[Mark Cuban is already clapping from the sidelines, shouting ‘Rookie of the Year!’ as he watches Youngjae Yoon’s three-pointer!]

The fans at the American Airlines Center cheered and applauded Youngjae’s clean three-point shot, chanting ‘Rookie of the Year!’ Youngjae, in return, lowered his wrist and high-fived the fans along the sideline as he backpedaled.

[Now, Minnesota is launching a counterattack. Michael Beasley crosses the half-court line and stands at the top of the key.]

Michael Beasley, as befitting a second overall pick, had plenty of confidence. And he also possessed flashy skills to match. Sensing that Shawn Marion’s defense was tighter than expected, Beasley faked a drive towards the basket from the top of the key, then attempted a drive-in to the opposite side. Marion quickly closed in on Beasley.

Thud-

[Michael Beasley’s fantastic no-look back pass! Darko Milicic penetrates to the low post, oh!! He also dishes out an incredible bounce pass as soon as he receives it!]

The fantastic pass from Michael Beasley to Darko Milicic was perfectly executed, and Wesley Johnson, who was cutting into the low post in a large semicircle from the left wing, sped up to shake off Youngjae, thinking that receiving that pass would guarantee an easy score. It was a clumsy screen by Luke Ridnour, but Wesley Johnson had no complaints as he managed to create some separation from Youngjae, who was slightly slowed down by the screen.

“Haah!!!”

Bang!!

[Wow! Wow!! When did Youngjae Yoon catch up to Wesley Johnson! He inserts his right hand between Wesley Johnson’s hands, who jumped up to attempt a huge two-handed slam, and snatches the ball like a hook!]

[This play can be considered a block! He used the fact that he was caught on Luke Ridnour’s screen as a feint to follow Wesley Johnson, and a precise block based on his incredible steal ability! They need to launch a fast break right away!]

As soon as Youngjae snatched the ball, he began to sprint towards the opponent’s basket. Shawn Marion, Youngjae, and Tyson Chandler were leading the fast break for Dallas. Youngjae skillfully tried to get past Anthony Randolph, who was waiting for him under the rim with a stern expression, using a spin move, but then applied a reverse spin, changing the direction of his body freely with his left foot as the pivot, like watching a big man’s pivot move, confusing Randolph.

Swish-

And then Youngjae lightly tossed the ball upwards. Randolph stared at the soaring ball with a bewildered look.

Thwack!!!

[WOW!!! SHAWN MARION MATRIX SLAM!!]

[The reason he’s still called the Matrix is because of that! Doesn’t tremendous power explode from that dunk?! It’s hard to believe that’s the power and jumping ability of a veteran player!]

Derek Harper, who was commentating, was visibly excited and lavished praise on the fantastic alley-oop dunk from Youngjae to Marion. Watching Shawn Marion come down from the rim with a thud! Youngjae felt that if the Hulk really existed in this world, he would look exactly like Shawn Marion. Shawn Marion’s athletic ability seemed to transcend human limits.

“Nice!”

Youngjae sharply bent his right elbow to 90 degrees in response to Marion’s roar, and Marion also crossed his arms in the same pose as Youngjae, as if high-fiving with his shoulders.

However, Minnesota’s counterattack was also formidable. After conceding two possessions in a row, the Minnesota players, who often showed disorganized performance, began to cling to the Dallas players with tenacious play.

Also, Minnesota’s offense relentlessly targeted the low post with consistent inside penetration rather than forcing passes. At the center of this was Anthony Randolph, who was starting due to Kevin Love’s injury.

[Wesley Johnson grabs the rebound, immediately to Luke Ridnour. Ridnour! As soon as he receives the ball, he throws an outlet pass!]

[Michael Beasley running towards the left wing! He receives the ball and penetrates towards the rim without slowing down! Michael Beasley’s tremendous sprint targeting Kidd’s slow feet! But Youngjae Yoon is already blocking Michael Beasley’s path!]

[Youngjae Yoon’s defensive ability is also well-known! He is not a professional lockdown defender with great strengths in man-to-man defense, but he is an intelligent defender who understands team tactics well and can read players’ movements quickly to make smart defensive plays. This shows how much he analyzes the movements of his teammates and opposing team players.]

Youngjae collided with Beasley in mid-air. Seeing Beasley’s clenched teeth and a somewhat awkward posture that was more like scooping up a spoon than a layup, Youngjae felt a sense of urgency and immediately reached out to knock away the ball in Beasley’s hand.

Whoosh-

But the ball had already left Beasley’s hand, and the ball, slightly grazed by Youngjae’s fingertips, floated slightly in the air without changing its trajectory.

Thud!

[Michael Beasley TO Anthony Randolph!! Michael Beasley is showing off an incredible pass as if protesting that he is not just a 2nd pick player whose name remains!]

[He is definitely a talented player. Michael Beasley narrowly shakes off Youngjae Yoon’s clever defense, the only rookie this season who threatens Blake Griffin’s dominance! And Anthony Randolph, who is filling Kevin Love’s injury void better than expected, finishes with a two-handed slam dunk!]

Beasley glared at Youngjae with his signature arrogant expression and turned away. Youngjae was also human, so he couldn’t succeed in 100% of all plays. But Michael Beasley’s skillful play was enough to ignite Youngjae’s competitive spirit.

The early stages of the game flowed into a lower-scoring affair than expected. It wasn’t so much that the Minnesota players’ defense was outstanding, but rather that the Dallas players’ shooting touch wasn’t as good as expected. Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting is so accurate that even though others thought he was having a slightly off day, he was still showing a respectable 50% success rate with 2/4. Youngjae doesn’t shoot unless it’s a really good chance, so he was showing a 100% shooting success rate with 2/2, including one 3-pointer. But the shooting touch of the other players, Marion, Chandler, and Kidd, wasn’t very good. Kidd is currently 0/2, and Marion and Chandler have also missed two field goals each, excluding one dunk.

Minnesota wasn’t much different, but as Luke Ridnour’s midrange pull-up jumpers started to fall, the point difference that had been widened began to narrow little by little. Moreover, even though Anthony Randolph was showing many disappointing aspects on defense, he was steadily contributing with hustle plays and inside attacks, so Dallas was now being closely pursued by Minnesota.

However, the biggest problem was that turnovers were occurring too frequently on both teams. Dallas had quite a few turnovers, which was unusual for a veteran team with an average age of 1st place, and today it was showing.

[Jason Kidd, after confirming Rodrigo Beaubois running towards the rim, throws a no-look bounce pass!]

No matter how much Beaubois has matured since his injury and tried to improve his court vision, the weaknesses of Rodrigo Beaubois, the player, could not be completely erased. With his high dribbling and unstable ball handling, he eventually fumbled the pass as soon as Wayne Ellington pressured him.

[Ah, there are many turnovers as the players don’t seem to be on the same page as Jason Kidd’s passes today! Kidd is a player with very few turnovers, but the other players’ plays are disappointing.]

[In this case, Kidd needs to reassure the players to some extent and throw passes that they can handle. Of course, if Beaubois had caught the ball properly, this wouldn’t have happened! In the previous attack, Shawn Marion also failed to react to Kidd’s surprise bounce pass, and the ball went out of bounds. It seems the stamina of the current Dallas starters is flagging.]

[Out of the 9 players who play an average of 15 minutes or more in Dallas, only Youngjae Yoon, Barea, and Chandler are in their 20s. From starters to backups, the team is full of players in their 30s. The stamina problem is an unavoidable consequence.]

The average age of the Dallas starters was the highest in the league. The demanding NBA schedule was enough to exhaust even young players, but for veterans well over 30, such as Jason Kidd (37), Jason Terry (33), Shawn Marion (32), Peja Stojakovic (33), Dirk Nowitzki (32), etc., it was bound to be an enormous burden. Among them, Nowitzki was the youngest, so Dallas’s stamina issues in the second half were almost inevitable. To overcome this, they deepened their bench, but even this couldn’t completely solve the problem.

Beaubois, Peja, and Haywood, who came in for Youngjae, Nowitzki, and Chandler, were doing their best to hold their own against the Minnesota players, but the planned system wasn’t being executed as smoothly as they hoped. With Haywood’s appearance, Minnesota immediately put in Nikola Pekovic, signaling their intention to exploit Brandon Haywood and relentlessly attack the inside.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

★Thank you to those who gave advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

＠Marion’s birthday is earlier than Nowitzki’s, so Nowitzki is the youngest. Of course, that’s only when considering age. In addition to the players listed above, Brandon Haywood (31), Tyson Chandler (28), and Caron Butler (30) were also veteran players at the time. The team’s average age was over 30.

※V-cut: A technique in which you approach the opponent, exchange signals with the passer, then move out to the vicinity of the 3-point line and safely receive the ball from the passer. It is one of the basics of off-the-ball movement.

h0h nim/// Oh, I think this is your first comment!! Congratulations haha

misscherry nim/// ㅋㅋ I’m glad. That’s what I was aiming for

-DarkANGEL-nim, Omarion-nim, Financia-nim, Kundara-nim, huhcafe-nim, Goddess Yuri Praise-nim/// Thank you for always leaving comments^^

Gray Shadow-nim/// It takes a little more time

April Flower-nim/// I wonder if automatic recognition was activated. I remember writing it as privacy. Thank you for pointing it out. I fixed it

Cutie Dong-nim/// Oden would have been a great player if it weren’t for the injury. At that time, Durant’s 2nd pick was normal.

Supreme Under Heaven-nim, CountOfDark-nim/// Thank you for your comments~~~

Brilliant Legacy-nim/// Yep ㅋㅋ Brewer teased him for tearing up and eating paper

Yabes-nim/// It’s a growth story, so it will gradually change. So far, Youngjae is a mix of Manu Ginobili and Danny Green.