Y13 [EN]: Chapter 148

00148 2010-2011 Finals =========================================================================

Youngjae was receiving treatment and briefly dozed off. It was just a moment, but he felt like he’d had a pleasant dream. When he woke up, it seemed like halftime had started; the stadium was noisy and buzzing with excitement.

“Yoon, time to get up and move around a bit.”

At the team doctor’s words, Youngjae got up, stretched, bent over, bounced the ball the doctor gave him, and took a few steps. He still felt a faint ache, but compared to when he was subbed out, his body felt much better, and he smiled brightly. He felt like he could play.

“Doctor! You’re the best!”

“Haha, is that so? But remember one thing: be honest about the pain in your back during timeouts. That’s the only way to prevent more serious problems. Back injuries are hard to fully recover from. In some ways, they’re more troublesome than a fracture or a ligament tear.”

“I understand.”

Youngjae slowly ran onto the court. As expected, it was halftime, and the event MC was hosting various contests with the fans. Youngjae wondered where Emily, Lauren, and Steve were, so he looked toward the seats he’d been told about, but he couldn’t see them properly because of the crowd.

“?!”

Then, Youngjae’s eyes caught the scoreboard. He was speechless.

[HOME Dallas 36 : AWAY Miami 48]

[The Dallas Mavericks have been helplessly overwhelmed by the Miami Heat’s counterattack since the middle of the 2nd quarter!]

With Mike Breen’s [a well-known NBA commentator] disappointed exclamation, commentator Steve Kerr [another NBA commentator and former player] nodded and said,

[Dallas’s shooting touch isn’t very good today. The fact that most of the starting members are in their 30s forces them to carefully manage playing time. On the other hand, the Miami Heat’s Big 3 [LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh] played without proper rest until the 2nd quarter, which allowed them to take a temporary 12-point lead. Dallas can’t win unless they score over 100 points. In that sense, 38 points in the first half is a very disappointing score.]

Beee-

Just before the 3rd quarter started, Coach Carlisle glanced at Youngjae, who had returned with a determined expression. Coach Carlisle, who had been kept informed of the situation throughout the 2nd quarter, judged that Youngjae’s condition had improved significantly and that he could play normally from the 3rd quarter.

“Yoon, you see the point difference?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Get out there.”

Coach Carlisle took out J.J. Barea and Jason Terry, who had struggled in the second quarter, and put the starting backcourt combination of Jason Kidd and Youngjae back on the court.

[Youngjae Yoon! Youngjae Yoon, who hadn’t been seen throughout the 2nd quarter, is back with the start of the 3rd quarter! With this, Dallas will start the 3rd quarter with a lineup of Jason Kidd – Yoon Youngjae – Corey Brewer – Dirk Nowitzki – Tyson Chandler!]

[It’s a great relief for Dallas. The fact that Youngjae Yoon, whose further participation in the game was uncertain due to a back injury, has returned to the court means that he can at least play. The key is how much they can reduce the 12-point difference within the 3rd quarter.]

[On the other hand, the Miami Heat finally has two of the Big 3 on the bench for the first time. The lineup is Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, LeBron James, Udonis Haslem, and Joel Anthony! It’s a lineup of two shooters and two role players tailored to LeBron.]

The 3rd quarter started, and Youngjae watched Mike Miller, who came out as a shooting guard instead of his usual position, and slightly bent his waist to start defending in a low stance.

‘I can handle this.’

Youngjae felt a slight strain rather than a sharp pull in his back, but he thought he could play with this level of pain.

[Mario Chalmers drives in from the right wing, going around the top in a large arc!]

[That’s a bit much! Even with Jason Kidd’s reduced speed, he can definitely stop such an obvious drive!]

Chalmers was blocked by Kidd at the high post, so he hurriedly scanned his surroundings and passed the ball to LeBron James on the right. Haslem, receiving the pass from LeBron, passed the ball to Mike Miller, who was standing on the side, with just one dribble.

[Mike Miller! The timing to shoot is late!]

[I can only describe it as great defense by Youngjae Yoon. The pass was good, but Mike Miller was instantly isolated by Youngjae Yoon’s tenacious defense!]

Mike Miller, as if he had no choice, started to post up against Youngjae. As a player who originally plays forward, although he can also play as a shooting guard, Youngjae slowly started to get pushed back by the tough physical play.

‘Got it!’

Mike Miller thought he had finally created space and was about to pass the ball back to LeBron James with his left hand to rotate the ball again.

Tak!

[Youngjae Yoon! Fantastic steal!!]

[Mike Miller seems to be underestimating Youngjae Yoon too much! Such a weak pass is just begging to be stolen!]

[For players with poor passing against players who are quick and read passing lanes well, sloppy passes only add to the steal count.]

As soon as Youngjae grabbed the loose ball, he threw it forward. Corey Brewer was already sprinting past the half-court line as soon as he saw the steal. Seeing that, Youngjae threw the ball without hesitation.

[Corey Brewer running at tremendous speed! Even LeBron James can’t catch Corey Brewer, who reacted to the steal first and is launching a fast break!]

[But Mario Chalmers is tenacious! He briefly blocks Corey Brewer’s path! Brewer! What will he do?]

Brewer was slightly flustered, but it was okay. Even if Chalmers and LeBron James made a quick recovery, there were players who boasted the best mobility for each position, such as Youngjae and Chandler, besides Corey Brewer.

Whoosh-

[Brewer looks back for a moment and kicks the ball out to the outside! Youngjae Yoon catches the ball on the opposite left wing!]

[Youngjae Yoon receives the ball and goes up for a 3-pointer from that spot!]

The anxious feeling of wanting to make up for not playing during the 2nd quarter could be poisonous. Youngjae knew that well, so he tried not to feel pressured to do something here. He just tried to play as usual and shot a 3-pointer with the mindset of doing his best.

The fingertips that grazed the ball felt electrifying all over his body. Youngjae fixed his gaze on the rim and jumped.

Thump!

[The shot hits the back of the rim! It soars high into the sky!]

Was it a little too long? The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced up. The ball, which soared high enough to go over the backboard, looked like something out of a cartoon.

Swish-

It fell gently and went in.

[BAAAANG!!!!]

[It’s Youngjae Yoon! From a steal to a spot-up 3-pointer. This kind of sharpshooter, this kind of intelligent play, this kind of off-ball movement! He’s calm, unlike a player who just came back on the court!]

Youngjae felt his heart drop as he thought of the ball soaring so high, but he clenched his right fist as soon as the shot went in and quickly retreated.

[That’s 10 points! Blocking one possession and scoring 3 points is encouraging! It was a play that could revive their momentum!]

[If they keep getting stops and scoring like this, the 12-point difference will quickly narrow. The Miami Heat needs to be nervous!]

Coach Erik Spoelstra [Miami Heat’s coach] was still able to hide his impatience, but inside, he kept fiddling with the Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh cards he had ready. His plan to let the two players rest until at least the middle of the 3rd quarter was becoming increasingly uncertain, and anxiety began to grow.

[Another steal!! Youngjae Yoon! His steal ability is really showing today!]

[Isn’t that already 3 steals in the 3rd quarter alone?! Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller are completely lost!]

[He’s a player with good steal ability even though his wingspan is short, so if you try to attack against Yoon with poor ball-handling, that kind of situation will happen. Chalmers and Miller need to focus on off-ball movement when matched up with Yoon.]

Youngjae began to pressure his opponent with a more aggressive defense because his assignment wasn’t Dwyane Wade. Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller weren’t good at passing accurately or with good court sense, so even if Youngjae tried to steal, it was easy for him to get his fingertips on the ball, and they became the culprits who completely shifted the momentum to Dallas by giving up as many as 3 steals in 7 minutes of the 3rd quarter.

[Dallas isn’t rushing, are they? Jason Kidd isn’t forcing things because the Miami Heat’s defense against the transition is pretty good.]

But Kidd looked to the side while running a set offense, and he kept worrying about Youngjae. In just 7 minutes after being substituted, he had a solid performance with 9 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 3 steals, including 1 3-point shot, 2 drawn fouls, and 4 successful free throws, but it was visible that he was gradually reaching his limit.

It’s not a major injury right away, but the back can be a fatal injury for a basketball player. In particular, back injuries are almost never completely cured. Almost unconditionally, athletic ability deteriorates, and performance declines. In the case of Steve Nash, he had chronic back injuries, so he had personal ways to manage it, but Youngjae was still a rookie. Of course, it’s common for the starting players of each team to play with an injury, but that’s only possible when it’s manageable.

“…”

Kidd glanced at Coach Carlisle and requested a timeout, and the referee accepted the timeout. Coach Carlisle tilted his head at Kidd’s timeout request, but he nodded as if he understood when he saw the player Kidd was looking at.

“Good job. You succeeded in reducing the 12 points to 5 points. The Miami Heat will probably put Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade back in. Yoon, good job. Let’s go back to the locker room for treatment for now. Your 3rd quarter was 100%, no, more than 200% of what I wanted.”

Youngjae’s posture was constantly getting higher due to the increasing pain in his back, and he was having difficulty moving his body fluidly.

“I know. I know it’s not a very serious injury. You’ll probably recover if you rest for a few days. And you need to get a thorough examination after the game just in case. But if you overdo it and play more now… it could come back as a bigger injury. That kind of gamble is poison.”

Coach Carlisle’s words were spot on. But even so, Youngjae couldn’t hide his disappointment, but he soon nodded in agreement. His physical age was still 19, but his actual age was much older. He wasn’t energetic enough to refuse the coach’s instructions in this situation.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. I understand. You’re probably angry at yourself. But, even though the Finals are a short-term series, it’s still Game 1. And you’re now in your first season as a pro. To be honest, it’s not like the team will collapse without you. I hope you know that I and the players aren’t so incompetent.”

A team that doesn’t collapse without him. At these words, Youngjae nodded with a slightly relieved expression. Carlisle’s words were cold, but they weren’t wrong. His importance in the team was great, but it wasn’t to the extent that the team’s power would collapse without him like Nowitzki or Chandler. And he wasn’t a veteran who could play well even when injured. Then the answer was obviously rest.

Tyson Chandler, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Corey Brewer, J.J. Barea, Brian Cardinal, and all the other players sitting on the bench patted Youngjae on the shoulder or tapped his head once or twice, telling him it was okay as he prepared to change clothes and enter the locker room.

“We’ll win without you, so don’t worry and rest.”

At Brewer’s words, Youngjae forced a smile and walked to the locker room with the team doctor.

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

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

@Youngjae’s injury is not a major injury. A little rest is enough to not interfere with the remaining games. However, since he was shocked, he is not in normal condition for a day or two.

@In reality, if Nowitzki is missing, Dallas’s offense becomes tight, and if Chandler is missing, the defense collapses by half. Youngjae can be seen as the next most important along with Kidd and Marion. Carlisle’s words are cold but true.

Radiant Legacy///I agree haha. It was the first comment as soon as I uploaded it, thank you!!

Lazze, RapireandJint///It was a short but intense bombing lol

goimosp///Howard also came down from being the overwhelming number one center to a good center after his back injury. Back injuries are really fatal. Nash is… so he’s not a prime minister ㅠ.ㅠ Failed to conquer the north…. 3 times in the conference finals.

h0h/// There will be no major aftereffects.

Omen///That’s right. He’s not that important yet, and he’s not good enough at how to do it even with injuries like veterans.

CountOfDark, Financia, huhcafe/// Thank you for your comments. Have a good day tomorrow too^^

Ultra10///Yes. That’s right. Nowitzki’s control of the paint is weak. His defense was only slightly above average even at his peak. Of course, his defensive rebound is excellent, so he maintains 25-10, which is only 4 people in playoff history. These days, spacing and 3-pointers are becoming important, so Nowitzki’s style is in the spotlight in power forwards, but originally, they preferred big men with good paint control as you said.

myus1004///Thank you for the coupon!!

zigichacha///As you said, Bosh’s affection for Miami is less than Wade’s. But even though Houston and other teams made offers, he chose Miami, and money is money, but he seems quite satisfied with the team and city of Miami. Wade is;; He’s a franchise and his spirit of sacrifice is good.

Juyoun/// Ah, you studied in the United States ㄷㄷ. We are very envious of those who went and watched it in person. Even if not, talking to the local guys.

Mekkantherv///lol I’m not sure if we can make good use of that.

Mr.Smith///Thank you. I will try to repay you with good writing in the future^^