Y13 [EN]: Chapter 130

Y13-130 2010-2011 Semi-Conference Final =========================================================================

[Barea breezes past Shannon Brown’s defense. He penetrates to the low post but passes to Nowitzki when blocked by Gasol. Kobe is fooled by Nowitzki’s fake. Nowitzki uses the gap to drive slightly!]

It was hard to believe this was the same Barea who’d been dismissed as Coach Carlisle’s favorite until the season’s midpoint. He casually brushed aside Shannon Brown and passed to Nowitzki, who then subtly faked his signature jump shot, completely fooling Kobe Bryant.

[Ah, he pretends to drive but passes to the opposite sideline! Jason Terry has a completely open chance! Fisher tries to catch up, but it’s not enough! Terry rises up!]

Derek Fisher struggled with perimeter defense today. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t compensate for Kobe Bryant’s lingering ankle injury. This weakened the perimeter defense, and Dallas, the best jump-shooting team in the playoffs, was ready to capitalize.

Swish!

[It goes in! Jason Terry!]

-Beep!

[Ah, timeout for the LA Lakers! Coach Phil Jackson shakes his head and gets up from the bench. It’s frustrating when the game doesn’t go well, right?]

[The Lakers are really having a tough time. I don’t think there has ever been a series that has gone so badly.]

The Lakers’ biggest weakness was their decline in the second half of the season. Coach Phil Jackson knew about Kobe Bryant’s ankle, but Pau Gasol’s slump, Ron Artest’s low scoring, Andrew Bynum’s inconsistent mentality, and Derek Fisher’s lackluster leadership all contributed. These potential weaknesses, which had been masked by the Lakers’ strong start, all surfaced at once, overwhelming even Phil Jackson.

[Phil Jackson’s record is shown. His regular season winning percentage is 0.704, the highest of all time. He also holds the record for the most playoff wins (229). His achievements with the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers are so great that no other modifier is needed. He also has a whopping 11 championship titles, more than enough to count on both hands. It’s really overwhelming. In addition, he has also recorded 13 conference championship titles. The fact that Phil Jackson created the current Lakers remains unchanged, but… it seems difficult to avoid defeat this time!]

Hubie Brown’s explanation prompted Mike Tirico to nod and add to his comments.

[Ah! Coach Phil Jackson has never suffered a 4-0 defeat in the playoffs before? If they lose today, he will suffer his first 4-0 sweep in his retirement season. It can’t be a good season for Jackson.]

The game became increasingly one-sided. Neither the Lakers fans nor the players could stop Dallas’s incredible shooting. It felt like 70-80% of their shots were going in, especially the three-pointers from Jason Terry, Youngjae, and Peja Stojakovic. On the other hand, the Lakers’ outside shots, except for Kobe’s, were failing, including those of Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, and Derek Fisher.

[Ah, Pau Gasol is also losing in rebounding! Even if it’s Dallas’s defensive rebound, he has to actively box out, but Pau Gasol can’t even use his hands!]

As soon as Nowitzki grabbed the rebound, he passed an outlet pass to Youngjae, who was running forward. Watching the ball fly, Youngjae caught it near the half-court line and started sprinting. Kobe Bryant, who had been guarding him closely, glared at Youngjae.

[Youngjae Yoon, he doesn’t slow down and engages in a 1:1 battle with Kobe!]

Kobe Bryant displayed the veteran defense expected of one of the best shooting guards. But the difference between a player with an ankle injury and one without was significant.

“Hmph!”

Thud!

Youngjae created space from Kobe Bryant, who was slowly backing away. Youngjae, with a smooth step-back, bent his knees and raised both hands.

“Ugh!!”

Kobe Bryant screamed and jumped, but Youngjae didn’t.

Whoosh-

[Youngjae Yoon, a fantastic pump fake!! It’s a perfect fake that even Kobe Bryant can’t help but be fooled by!]

[Youngjae Yoon’s pass to Peja Stojakovic, who was penetrating to the right sideline! PEJA FOR THREE!!]

Swish-

[BUCKET!!!]

[Peja Stojakovic, a perfect shot with no flaws!]

Peja slapped Youngjae’s back in gratitude. Youngjae was momentarily stunned by the sudden hit, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

[Peja has 3/3 three-pointers until the end of the 2nd quarter! Peja Stojakovic is breaking the Lakers’ hearts with every three-pointer!]

Hubie Brown continued his passionate commentary with excitement. As the 3rd quarter began, the game tilted further towards Dallas. Kobe Bryant struggled to keep up, but the rest of the Dallas players performed so well that Nowitzki didn’t have to overexert himself. Sharpshooter Jason Terry, perfect three-point shooter Peja Stojakovic, and Youngjae, who was on fire in the playoffs, all contributed. Coach Carlisle managed Nowitzki’s playing time.

[Well, Jason Terry is also being replaced by Barea, right? And Jason Kidd is being replaced by Youngjae Yoon. Finally, Tyson Chandler is also being replaced by Brendan Haywood.]

[Coach Carlisle doesn’t need to overdo it. Besides, the Lakers players’ play is also getting rough, so I think rotation is natural to preserve the players’ stamina.]

Even during bench time, the Lakers struggled to narrow the score. They were barely preventing it from widening. J.J. Barea, playing like Allen Iverson in the playoffs, tormented the Lakers with his dribbling, passing, and playmaking.

[Barea watches the situation for a while at the top. Brendan Haywood comes out to the top and sets a screen, right?]

As Haywood set a screen, Barea drove to the low post, using the screen to his right. Simultaneously, Youngjae, who had been in the high post, moved to the side, and Pau Gasol came out to hedge and block Barea.

[Oh my god! J.J. Barea! Is that the Barea we knew?! He deserves to be named the unsung hero of this playoffs.]

[Pau Gasol’s hedge limited his view due to the big men in the low post, but Barea seems to have checked the situation on the opposite court through that gap! J.J. Barea, who found Youngjae Yoon, who had retreated behind the three-point line on the weak side (the opposite side where there is no ball), throws a laser pass!]

Youngjae jumped as soon as he received the pass, which was a little high but landed perfectly in his hands. After entering the playoffs, Coach Carlisle instructed Youngjae to simplify his off-ball movement. Youngjae had been running from the high post to the low post, and from the low post to behind the three-point line, using the chaotic situation, which quickly drained his stamina. Such movements were needed in the regular season or against teams with strong defense, but Coach Carlisle sensed that he would need Youngjae to play even five more minutes in the game.

‘Yoon, just shake off your marker. I’ll give you separate instructions if spacing doesn’t work, but otherwise, you’ll only move within the limited space behind the three-point line and the high post. If you lead the attack or drive with the ball, you can do it as usual, but if you continue to do off-ball movement like that, your stamina won’t be able to handle it yet. You’re not strong in stamina yet. Maybe next year or the year after, but for now, you need to adjust.’

Swish-

[WOW!!! WONDERFUL SHOT!!]

Coach Carlisle’s insight was correct. Youngjae, who used to have a shorter shooting distance due to lack of stamina in the late 3rd and early 4th quarter, felt that his stamina was fine and was grateful for the adjusted role.

The Lakers players lost their will to fight due to Dallas’s raining three-pointers. Phil Jackson’s head-shaking reflected the Lakers’ feelings. But this sense of loss made the Lakers players act out, and the game became dirty.

Thud!!

Beep!!

[Ah! Lamar Odom! He hit Nowitzki’s arm instead of the ball! Of course, it’s a foul!]

[Even if the score is nearly 30 points apart since the 4th quarter started, that’s not the behavior of a champion! It’s an early 4th quarter that many fans will be disappointed with! Although the score difference is large, there are still about 9 minutes left in the game.]

Mike Tirico nodded at Hubie Brown’s criticism and expressed concern, saying, ‘We have to be careful of injuries in this situation!’ Dallas, who had regained 14 seconds of attack time, handed the ball to Kidd.

“Hoo.”

There was no need to rush. The score was already 68 to 92. There were only 9 minutes left. There was no reason to risk momentum with a reckless attack. Steve Blake’s expression showed he didn’t want to play anymore.

[Well, Nowitzki’s screen!]

As expected, Nowitzki ran to the top and set a screen. Kidd tried to go over the screen, and at that moment, a Lakers player charged at Nowitzki.

Thud!!

“Ugh!!”

Beep!!!

“Fucking Asshole!!!”

Thud!

[Lamar Odom! What an absurd foul! It’s a shameful foul as a professional!]

[This is the NBA, not the NFL! Lamar Odom, who ran from the low post and shoulder-tackled Nowitzki! Nowitzki, who had fallen, protested, and Barea confronted Odom!]

“Hey, hey! Hold on!”

“Dirty bastard!!”

Kidd, Peja, and Chandler ran to stop Nowitzki and Barea, but the two players were already enraged, shouting insults they had never used before.

“Are you even a pro?! You idiot!!”

“Captain! Hey! Calm down. We’ll lose if we fight!”

The anger was so intense that three people stood in front of Nowitzki and calmed him down. When the situation calmed down, the referee gave Odom a flagrant 2 foul. Odom shrugged as if he had done nothing wrong and headed to the locker room. Kobe and Fisher calmed the players, but Bynum still looked disgusted. Nowitzki made both free throws and continued the attack.

============================ Work Review ============================

★Thank you for your advance selection, recommendation, comments, and coupons!!

＠I’m a little late again today. I’m sorry. I can’t seem to build up a reserve…

＠I’ll skip the recommendations today. I’ll do it again from the next episode ㅠ.ㅠ