Y13 [EN]: Chapter 207

207. 2011-2012 Regular Season

[Isaiah Thomas! Hard to believe he was the last pick of the 2nd round with passing skills like that!]

[He’s short, but he’s fast and agile, and his offensive IQ isn’t bad. It’s commendable how he drove slightly into the high post against J.J. Barea and created a good outside chance for Jimmer Fredette with a kick-out pass. But…]

The problem was Jimmer Fredette. Sacramento ambitiously drafted Jimmer Fredette with the 10th pick in the first round, and he was a player who had met Youngjae at the ESPY Awards in LA before the season. Jimmer Fredette, who won the 2011 BEST MALE ATHLETE award as an NCAA player representative, was nowhere to be seen in front of Jason Terry, let alone Youngjae, and he was clearly struggling to adapt to the NBA stage, unable to play his game.

“Ugh!!”

From the start, Jimmer Fredette’s scoring was based on a unique offense that was only possible in the NCAA, so it was impossible to shake off Jason Terry with movement or dribbling. The defense in the pros wasn’t as weak as in the NCAA, and even against players like Terry, who weren’t particularly known for their defense but played with experience, Fredette couldn’t develop a proper attack. Experts’ predictions that he would struggle to become a proper shooter in the NBA were almost spot on.

Swish-

Jimmer Fredette had no choice but to pass the ball back to Isaiah Thomas.

“He was the best scorer in the NCAA and a nationally recognized shooter, but in the end…”

Youngjae, watching Fredette from the bench, felt a pang of disappointment. It was like seeing the limitations of a player with poor athletic ability.

“Only a fraction of the players who do well in the NCAA can realize their potential in the NBA. That guy is famous enough that even I’ve heard of him, but he’s going to have a hard time like that.”

Kidd, who was watching the game with Youngjae, added his observation.

“Yeah, it’s like seeing the limitations of a shooter with poor athleticism.”

In his past life, Youngjae had experienced many limitations due to his own athletic ability. The current him was able to be where he was because his physical abilities and athleticism had improved. In the end, without a certain level of athleticism, even genius-level basketball IQ [BQ] or fraudulent shooting ability were useless. Even Nash, who was said to have poor athletic ability, was only considered below MVP-level players, but he was definitely not below the NBA level. If he was below the NBA level, then dribbling, skills, passing, and shooting were all useless. If someone body-checked him, he would have no choice but to fall over and be pushed back. He wouldn’t be able to defend or attack. This was the main reason why European players with excellent skills couldn’t settle in the NBA.

“That’s true. You can’t do anything in the NBA without a certain level of athleticism. But, I think he was picked in the lottery [top 14 picks], so if he minimizes his weaknesses and maximizes his strengths, he should be able to survive as a bench player.”

Kyle Korver and Mike Miller, who compensated for their poor athletic ability with BQ and shooting ability and survived as shooters in the NBA, were good examples. In Youngjae’s opinion, these two white shooters were players that Jimmer Fredette should model himself after.

“I feel a strange sense of attachment. I hope he works hard and stays in the NBA for a long time. Like Kyle Korver or Mike Miller.”

These days, Youngjae felt a sense of attachment when he saw players with poor athletic ability but good BQ or shooting. That’s why he wanted to play with players like Korver or Miller, but they were in the same position as him, and they had no chance to play on the same team.

[Haywood’s form may have declined, but he’s still a decent 7-foot big man for his playing time. Plus, he’s strong in post-up defense. Jason Thompson, who can only do hook shots or dunks after post-ups, can’t beat him!! Sacramento is running out of shot clock! 3, 2!!]

Backup center Jason Thompson couldn’t even push past Brandon Haywood, whose performance had plummeted, and passed it out to Dante Green on the outside. However, he was once again blocked by Brandon Wright, who was defending closely with plenty of energy. In the end, he couldn’t shake off Wright, and in a hurry, he passed the ball to the outside, leaving no time to spare. Isaiah Thomas gritted his teeth and had no choice but to shoot a tough shot.

Clang!

The forced 3-pointer, which of course had no chance of going in, hit the rim and bounced high into Brandon Haywood’s hands.

[Brandon Haywood passes the rebounded ball to J.J. Barea for an outlet pass!]

[The Dallas Mavericks! Barea leads the way, followed by Jason Terry, Chandler Parsons, and Brandon Wright, all quickly launching a counterattack! Thomas and Fredette are the only ones quickly backpedaling to defend, and the rest of the players are following behind! But the Mavericks’ lineup is so good for fast breaks that Sacramento’s defense doesn’t look easy!]

Barea caught Brandon Haywood’s long pass unsteadily, but soon regained his composure and passed the ball to Chandler Parsons. Parsons paused at the top of the key for a moment, but soon made a decision and confidently dribbled with his right hand, driving in a smooth curve. Hesitation in a fast break was a recipe for disaster. Francisco Garcia, who barely managed to catch up to Parsons after a moment of hesitation, stuck to Parsons’ left side as he drove, starting to mark him closely, but even that didn’t last long. He only stuck to him from the top of the key to the vicinity of the free-throw line.

“Ugh!!!”

A half-beat late screen after the breakthrough, making it difficult for the defender to anticipate. Garcia was knocked to the ground by Brandon Wright’s solid screen.

Swish-

In that situation, there was no one to stop Chandler Parsons. Parsons used Wright’s screen as a shield, stepped back slightly, and took an easy mid-range jumper. It was a perfect open look that Parsons, who had a knack for shooting, would hardly miss.

[With the 3rd quarter almost over, the score is 72 to 43! The 29-point gap doesn’t seem to be narrowing!]

[Sacramento Kings, this is a lineup that makes you feel like they’ve really given up on the game! No rotation, no tactics, are they just trying to fill 48 minutes and get out of here?!]

Derek Harper, unable to defend them any longer, was sharp in his commentary. Nevertheless, the Sacramento bench seemed to be having fun, with Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins laughing and talking excitedly about something.

“Tsk, and they call themselves professionals.”

Youngjae could only smile awkwardly at Corey Brewer’s bitter words next to him, and Tyson Chandler and Dirk Nowitzki, who heard the story, shook their heads in pity as they looked at the two players.

“You shouldn’t show a shameful game on the court, at least. If you don’t know that’s an unprofessional attitude… you’ll only realize it after you’ve been severely punished. The moment you become complacent after reaching a goal you’re satisfied with, that kind of temptation comes to everyone. But if you’re a professional, you shouldn’t do that.”

Nowitzki’s last words weren’t just his thoughts. It was about not being ashamed of the tens of thousands of fans who came to see this game, and the hundreds of millions of fans who were watching on TV, smartphones, and laptops. The difference between having that kind of professionalism and not having it was more evident in the game than he thought.

“Yoon, Chandler and you will rest for the rest of the time. Change comfortably and take a rest.”

Coach Carlisle was still watching the court with fierce eyes, and Terry Stotts approached Youngjae, having been tipped off by him.

“Yes? I can still play more, though?”

Youngjae looked at Stotts with a puzzled look, as he had seen on the record that he had played less than 20 minutes today. He had rested enough and could still play.

“I know. But, there’s no need to play more. If you look at that scoreboard, there’s no reason for you to play more. Kidd and Nowitzki need to improve their game sense, so they’ll play a little more, but there’s no reason for you or Chandler to do that. It’s already a shortened season, so you need to save your energy in games like this.”

Terry Stotts nodded as if he understood the young player’s passion, but gently coaxed Youngjae. From the coaching staff’s point of view, there was no reason to put a player whose game sense was at its peak into a game with such a big score difference.

“Haa… I understand. Today is the end of the line for me.”

Youngjae sighed and immediately agreed. He was already used to the thorough time management of the starters during his time in San Antonio, and he wasn’t the type to be obsessed with records now. It was enough for him to win as a team and fulfill his role there. If he was the main character, not just a supporting role, he wouldn’t be greedy for detailed numbers.

[Dallas Mavericks set franchise records for fewest points allowed and largest point differential win]

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 101-57. It was a huge 44-point victory, almost a double score. In this game, Dallas set several impressive records, including the franchise’s fewest points allowed (57 points), largest point differential (44 points), fewest points allowed in the first half (23 points), and lowest field goal percentage allowed (25.6%). However, they didn’t set any offensive records because the game was so one-sided. The starters’ playing time was too short, and the garbage time members played a lot.

You might be surprised to see the box score, but the two teams had almost the same number of offensive possessions. In other words, if you convert free throws to field goals, the number of shots was almost the same for both teams, in the mid-90s. Nevertheless, the 44-point difference was due to the overwhelming difference in efficiency, such as field goal percentage (Dallas 46.7% VS Sacramento 25.6%) and 3-pointers (Dallas 44% VS Sacramento 11%). This was despite having more offensive rebounds, steals, and fewer turnovers. It was a game that was impossible to understand just by looking at the stats.

For Dallas, Youngjae Yoon only played 17 minutes, and all the starters, including Nowitzki, Kidd, and Chandler, played less than 25 minutes. Ian Mahinmi and Corey Brewer, who hadn’t had much playing time, received a lot of time. It was a rare sight to see all 13 active roster players playing more than 7 minutes.

The point difference, which had already widened to 20 points in the first quarter, had already widened to more than 30 points in the third quarter, and the point difference continued to widen even though Dallas only put in bench members. The Sacramento Kings didn’t lead Dallas in a single quarter.

The Sacramento players immediately ran to the locker room as if they were escaping as soon as the game whistle blew. They had already looked like they had given up during the game, but they weren’t thick-faced enough to stand on the court even after the whistle blew. Coach Keith Smart also answered a few questions to the reporters with a stiff face and disappeared immediately.

Re: The most one-sided game I’ve ever seen. No, this is just a massacre.

Re: The point difference is a massacre, but to be honest, isn’t it closer to self-destruction? To have that kind of point difference after shooting that much… Plus, the defense doesn’t seem that tight when you watch the game.

Re: The Sacramento kids just threw the game in the second half, didn’t they? They didn’t pass and just played their own individual games?

Re: That’s true, but the shooting was just bizarrely bad. It felt like less than half of the open chances went in.

Re: I think they’re going to be last in the West this season. They avoided last place last year because of Minnesota, but I think Minnesota will be better than Sacramento this season?

Re: Salmons, that [vulgar Korean expression], is still shooting wildly today. I heard that he’s missed 24 consecutive 3-pointers in the last 7 games today?

Re: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow. Is that even possible as an NBA player? No, can he even hold his head up and shoot before that?

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

★Thank you to those who favored, recommended, commented, and gave coupons!!

★Thank you to White Song and Clear v for the sponsored coupons!! Be careful not to catch a cold~~

@Jimmer Fredette… As far as I know, he’s the first white shooter in decades to be picked in the lottery (1~14 picks). Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick were handsome stars in the NCAA, but they didn’t really establish themselves in the NBA. Redick has recently established himself as a starter in the Clippers. Miller was also a failure for a 5th pick. Korver was a hit for a white shooter from the 2nd round. The answer is to pick a white shooter in the late 1st round or late 2nd round.

goimosp, 소심찌질열등남, Goddess Yuri Praise/// As you said, a lack of motivation or playing to get personal stats is the worst from a fan’s point of view;;; The players are trying to get their salaries, but it’s still not a play that I can look at favorably. This often happens in tanking teams or teams covered with single-year contracts (1-year contracts). The former is the appearance seen in Philadelphia or the Lakers in the last 2-3 years, and the latter is the appearance of Dallas in the 12-13 season in reality. Collison, Mayo, and Kaman all only accumulated their own stats and were not interested in the team’s victory, and Chandler, who had transferred to New York at the time, also criticized, “Filling the team with only single-year contracts is the reason for that shape.” San Antonio, Atlanta, Golden State, and Boston are showing good teamwork.

DanTa, Han512, Financia, Lee Dong-seok, Omarion, misscherry/// Thank you for your comments!! Take good care of your health~~

H0H/// I guess so. I wore three layers today ㅋㅋ

Disappearing Soul/// That’s right ㅠ.ㅠ From now on, it’s 5 days a week for several weeks…

Kingdom Brothers/// It’s the same name in Korean ㅋㅋ. In English, Isaiah Thomas is a short player and the 60th pick in the 2nd round, and Isiah Thomas, the leader of the Bad Boys 1st generation and the legend of Detroit in the 80s who led the championship as the point guard before Stephen Curry, is Isiah Thomas. To distinguish them, Korean basketball fans will mainly call the latter Isaiah Thomas. The former is Isaiah Thomas ㅎㅎ