Y13 [EN]: Chapter 135

The four-point difference could feel like a significant gap depending on the game’s momentum, but it was also a score that could be erased in an instant. Youngjae was focused on scoring within his limited playing time to shift the game’s flow in Dallas’s favor.

‘Oklahoma City’s players are young and full of energy. But that can also lead to a lot of unnecessary movement. We need to exploit their lack of experience as much as possible.’

Those were Coach Carlisle’s words from earlier. Youngjae realized that a lot was implied in that one sentence. High energy levels and constant activity were essential advantages in a fast-paced sport where possession changes every 24 seconds. But even with great activity and stamina, they are still human. There are limits, and fatigue becomes noticeable as the game progresses. Coach Carlisle instructed Youngjae to capitalize on that.

He knew better than anyone how efficient Youngjae’s movements usually were.

[Youngjae Yoon gets the ball at the top of the key, and Nowitzki sets a screen. Oh, Maynard’s movement is tangled up!]

Eric Maynor was completely unable to respond to Youngjae and Nowitzki’s instinctive two-man game. Nowitzki’s screen wasn’t as solid as Chandler’s, but when a seven-foot big man stands tall like a wall, it feels like an insurmountable barrier to guards like Eric Maynor. Moreover, the real value of Nowitzki’s high-post screen wasn’t his precise positioning but his shooting threat.

“…”

Serge Ibaka is a rapidly improving big man, but he still struggles with defending screens. Eric Maynor is blocked, and Youngjae hasn’t attempted a drive yet. Nowitzki completely restricted Ibaka’s movement.

[Ibaka’s choice doesn’t look good! He lightly contests Youngjae Yoon, who is standing at the three-point line, and follows Nowitzki!]

Youngjae didn’t hesitate when he saw Ibaka’s movement. When Ibaka made the exact move he wanted, Youngjae casually shot a three-pointer. With Maynor caught on the screen, he and Nowitzki had plenty of options. The best option, given Ibaka’s movement, was to shoot immediately.

[Yoon shoots without hesitation when he sees an opening! He’s been actively attempting pull-up three-pointers since the playoffs started!]

[BANG!!]

The effortless three-pointer went in with a swish, and Youngjae spread two fingers on his right hand, high-fiving the fans as he backpedaled.

[It seems like the aftereffects of the injury are still there! Today, he’s supporting Barea’s playmaking and focusing on outside jumpers rather than driving, but even so, Yoon’s shooting ability is still terrifying! Oklahoma City, will they ever escape the curse?!]

Mark Jackson also nodded, reacting positively to Youngjae’s play. As a former star guard, he gave high marks to the way the two guards complemented each other.

[When J.J. Barea is on the court, it’s more efficient for Yoon to play as a spot-up shooter instead of a slasher. Barea isn’t a good spot-up shooter, but Yoon can maximize his effectiveness when his backcourt partner is Kidd.]

Jeff Van Gundy also shared his opinion, agreeing with Mark Jackson’s insight. He seemed to appreciate how the rookie was changing his play to fit the lineup.

[Coach Carlisle probably considered that point and had him play with Barea off the bench. By putting Terry in the starting lineup, he can mitigate defensive weaknesses and allow Yoon to play less aggressively.]

The second quarter ended with the score at 59 to 57. Dallas, having barely managed to regain the lead, couldn’t help but sigh at Oklahoma City’s resilience.

[Dallas has a serious scoring imbalance today. Of the 59 points, Nowitzki has 23, the other starting members have 10, and the bench members have 26. Besides Nowitzki, the only starting players who scored were Jason Terry with 5 points from a three-pointer, Shawn Marion with 3 points, and Chandler with a dunk.]

In fact, the shooting touch of Dallas’s starting members today was abysmal. Jason Terry’s five points came from only two of many shots, and Shawn Marion missed one of his four free throws, scoring only three points. The rest was all about feeding the ball to the unstoppable Nowitzki.

[On the other hand, Barea, Yoon, and Peja are on fire. It’s no exaggeration to say that Dallas is in a seesaw battle with Oklahoma because of the bench’s strength. Oklahoma’s bench members aren’t controlling Dallas’s bench at all.]

The only reason Dallas was able to take the lead in the second quarter was because of the bench’s strength. If the bench hadn’t scored 26 points, the game could have easily turned into a blowout. In today’s game, Youngjae, who is playing the role of a spot-up shooter, scored 10 points, including two three-pointers, Peja Stojakovic scored nine points with three three-pointers, and J.J. Barea cleanly added seven points with his drives and good shooting touch. Without them, the comeback would have been nothing more than a distant dream.

Because of this imbalance, the commentators pointed out Nowitzki’s physical burden and began to express concern that this game would be quite difficult for Dallas.

[Nowitzki has a significant offensive burden. He needs some of that burden relieved so he can exert himself on defense as well. Because there isn’t a suitable backup, Nowitzki may have to play more than 40 minutes again today. He’s already played over 20 minutes. Nevertheless, he’s showing 8/8 from the field and 7/7 from the free-throw line.]

[Looking at today’s game, you could say Ibaka is having a tough time. Against a player approaching the legend of Dirk Nowitzki, Ibaka is putting up the best defense he can. In my opinion, it’s amazing that Nowitzki isn’t missing any of those shots! Today, Nowitzki is a robot. A machine that makes 100% of its shots without emotion or fluctuation!]

As the halftime commercials were almost over, Jeff Van Gundy added one more comment about the key matchup to watch in the first half.

[The opponent, Durant, is just as good, if not better. He’s 8/8 from the field and has 21 points. These two players are untouchable today. It’s no exaggeration to say that the outcome of this game depends on whose shooting touch falters first. Durant has also played over 20 minutes and doesn’t have a good backup after trading Jeff Green, so he’ll probably play over 40 minutes.]

In reality, Rick Carlisle was doing his best to stop Kevin Durant by continuously rotating Shawn Marion and Corey Brewer to contain him, but controlling Kevin Durant, who had a natural talent for shooting and had already won the scoring title for two consecutive years, was one of the most difficult tasks for Rick Carlisle.

As soon as the third quarter began, Coach Carlisle took out the tired Chandler and briefly put in Haywood, who was in a slump. He needed to conserve Chandler while he had a little leeway, as his injury could flare up at any time if he was pushed too hard.

[Kendrick Perkins’s post-up! Haywood is coming in for a double team!]

Brandon Haywood approached Kendrick Perkins, leaving Ibaka open. It was somewhat acceptable as a change of pace, seemingly trying to force a fumble or steal, but the failure of the double team immediately led to the opponent’s offensive success.

[Ah, Perkins jumps up and passes to Ibaka in the air!]

“Whoa!”

Ibaka, who received the ball in the wide-open paint, jumped up, and Nowitzki, caught off guard by Haywood’s hasty double team, followed Ibaka a beat late.

Beeeep!!!

[Ah, Nowitzki’s defensive mistake. There was no need to touch that?! Ibaka already dunked, and he awkwardly reached out, allowing an additional free throw!]

In the end, Ibaka cleanly made the and-one [a play where a player is fouled while scoring, resulting in a free throw], and the score was once again reversed to 59 to 60, a one-point difference. He [Coach Carlisle] said he would give limited playing time, but if this kind of back-and-forth seesaw game continued, Coach Carlisle would have no choice but to consider changing his plan. In the end, Coach Carlisle had no choice but to play Youngjae at the beginning of the third quarter, even though he had only used him for 10 minutes in the first half.

[Westbrook and Perkins’s two-man game! But Yoon moves to cover Perkins, not missing Westbrook’s movement!]

This was it. The reason why Coach Carlisle couldn’t easily dismiss Youngjae and had to bring him in after much deliberation. He is the smartest defender against two-man plays among Dallas’s guards. Terry, despite being a veteran, gets caught on screens too easily, and his lateral movement isn’t fast. On the other hand, Youngjae showed top-notch quickness and judgment.

[Perkins’s screen was unfortunate, but Yoon’s pick-and-roll defense is too smart! It feels like no average two-man game can break through when Chandler and Yoon are defending together. Both players are active and know how to defend so well!!]

Westbrook expressed his frustration with Youngjae’s defense again, gritting his teeth. He didn’t want to be dragged around by Youngjae any longer, so Westbrook pulled out a weapon that would overwhelm Youngjae.

[Westbrook! When the drive isn’t working, he puts Yoon behind him and posts him up! Westbrook is much stronger, even though he’s shorter. Youngjae Yoon is slowly being pushed back!]

In terms of strength, Youngjae is no match. But rather than being frustrated by his lack of strength right now, Youngjae was focusing all his attention on how to use his strength in reverse and how to defend next if he was pushed back. Westbrook seemed a little careless, having pushed into the low post, and raised his right hand with an all-too-obvious spin move.

[He creates space and then goes for a spin move into a floater! But Yoon quickly contests the shot, seemingly reading the timing!]

“Show it!!!”

Youngjae shouted even louder and accurately read the timing of Westbrook’s jump. Westbrook was flustered and hastily threw an ambiguous shot at the rim without properly scraping the ball.

[Ah, Westbrook’s floater didn’t even touch the basket. Tyson Chandler grabs the falling ball! Westbrook really doesn’t seem to be in good condition today. 1/8 from the field. He’s hurting the team. Kidd and Yoon are taking turns guarding him, and he’s being completely shut down. If Westbrook is this sluggish, Durant’s burden will only get heavier.]

Westbrook’s errant floater fell weakly, and Chandler, who was boxing out firmly, grabbed the ball with both hands.

[In reality, if Westbrook’s scoring is in sync with Durant’s, Oklahoma City is said to have no weaknesses except for the big men, but Westbrook’s hasty plays are constantly holding them back!]

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

★Thank you for your pre-orders, recommendations, comments, and coupons.

@Westbrook in Game 1 at the time didn’t properly support Durant. He couldn’t even get past Kidd… And in reality, Nowitzki and Durant didn’t miss a single field goal until the middle of the second quarter. The two players recorded 24/24 and 18/19 in free throws during Game 1, respectively.

Angel’s Doctor/// Oh, your first comment!

Financia, Kebabam, Omarion, CountOfDark, VanishingSoul, misscherry/// Thank you for your comments as always!! Have a good week everyone, even though it’s Monday~~

goimosp/// Haha. I’ll have him lead the attack soon. Like a one-two punch? Hehe.

Shooting Start/// Oh, you’ve been watching for a long time, haha. I first encountered Shaq Corp around 2000, but at that time I only encountered it in articles, and I started watching live about 5 years ago. Instead, I look at a lot of statistics and records outside of the game, so it seems like I’ve seen a lot, haha.

In my opinion, compared to the 90s, there is a feeling that fighting spirit and toughness have decreased and are changing towards a more worldly or sophisticated side. In other sports, everyone who has seen the legends of their time, especially in the 90s or early 00s, tends to rate them higher than the current generation of players. In the case of domestic baseball, which I have been watching since I was a child, if you ask me to compare the legends of the past with the current prime players, I would bet on the legends of the past.

Kirarupi, zigichacha/// Harden at the time was still incomplete, and a style like Westbrook’s is not easily penetrated by Youngjae’s specs or style unless you give him space and stick to him tightly, except for post-ups. In addition, Oklahoma at the time had a weak outside, so they were somewhat blocked by Dallas’s team defense, including the zone defense. Youngjae’s specialty is speed and quickness, so he defends well unless it’s a post-up. Westbrook also played poorly in this game, recording 3/15 even though Kidd was guarding him.

chaikopusuki/// Thank you for the compliment^^ I will continue to work harder for good writing in the future, haha.

Reporter Gwanggi/// In terms of offense, he is really a player who can be in the top 10 in all NBA positions, haha. He is the only big man to join the 180 club [players who shoot 50% or better from the field, 40% or better from the 3-point line, and 90% or better from the free-throw line], and he is one of the few players whose average playoff record exceeds 25 points and 10 rebounds. Defense is a bit weak for a legend.

Yabes/// Harden probably wouldn’t have been as good as he is now in the 90s because of the strengthened hand-checking rule [a defensive tactic where defenders could maintain contact with offensive players]. His step-through dribbles and step-back shots are masterpieces. He is a classy player, so he would still have been an All-Star, but because of the overall improvement in standards, there are fewer overwhelming legends. Recently, many promising players from Europe and South America have come, various training methods have been developed, and team tactics have also developed, making it difficult to be invincible alone.