Y13 [EN]: Chapter 216

Shawn Marion’s three-pointer went in, but the San Antonio Spurs casually answered with two points, as was typical of their Texas rivalry.

[Tim Duncan and Tony Parker’s teamwork was outstanding!]

[Shawn Marion tipped the ball out, and from the sideline, Tony Parker passed to Richard Jefferson. Richard Jefferson immediately passed to Duncan at the high post, right?]

Following Paul O’Neill’s analysis, Derek Harper nodded and continued.

[Simultaneously with the pass, Tony Parker moved to the outside, circling around Tim Duncan. Bobo followed him but was effectively blocked by Duncan, who set a screen as soon as he handed off the ball! In that instant, Tony Parker was open and moved to the top of the key. As he drove into the right wing, Tyson Chandler had no choice but to guard the penetrating Tony Parker, and was again blocked by Tim Duncan. With a quick kick-out pass, Tim Duncan easily scored two points!]

Bobo still struggled to defend the 2-2 pick and roll. Few defenders can properly stop Parker going over Duncan’s screen, but Bobo was consistently caught by Duncan’s screen, almost head-on.

[Coach Carlisle mentioned in an interview that Bobo has been working hard and improving this season, earning him more playing time. However, his defense still needs work!]

[This is likely because he hasn’t been playing basketball for very long, and he suffered two major injuries in his second year. Unlike offense, defense requires extensive training to build familiarity, which he hasn’t had the opportunity to do.]

The game began as a perfect back-and-forth affair. Dallas scored, then San Antonio, repeatedly. When they missed, they missed equally, so the score remained stubbornly close.

[Shawn Marion, jumper from the high post!]

Whoosh-

[Ah! An airball!!!]

[Shawn Marion shoots an airball! Even though he shot from the weak side, that kind of miss shouldn’t happen!]

[Richard Jefferson’s defense was intense! It seems like he was trying to avenge Kawhi Leonard, who had his shot contested by Youngjae Yoon and also threw up an airball!]

With tight defense on both sides, open looks were scarce. Players on both teams aggressively drove to the basket, determined to make the most of each possession, even if it meant drawing fouls and earning free throws.

“Tch!”

Leonard, who had been known for his defense from the start, had improved even more during his year in the NCAA, and was now pressuring Youngjae. Outpacing him with speed wouldn’t be easy, given Leonard’s long arms and large hands that could easily disrupt the ball.

[Youngjae Yoon eventually passes it out!]

[Attempting a simple isolation play against Kawhi Leonard is difficult. Kawhi Leonard has proven his ability to guard guards well, despite being a small forward. His speed, agility, steals, and shot contests, combined with his athletic build, make him a pretty good defender for a rookie.]

[Youngjae Yoon isn’t having a great game so far. Kawhi Leonard is sticking to him, preventing Yoon from getting good shot opportunities. Yoon’s specialty is creating open looks with smart movement, but that’s not working out well.]

Youngjae felt a mix of pride and frustration as he watched his friend’s improvement. He should be celebrating, but today, that friend was his opponent. It was clear that Leonard’s physical condition and diligence were making it difficult for Youngjae to find good opportunities, even with diligent movement.

Thump!

[Dirk Nowitzki’s tough shot misses. It’s still early, but neither team’s shooting percentage is very good. Tim Duncan grabs the rebound.]

[That’s to be expected. Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t quite found his shooting rhythm this season. San Antonio doesn’t have many great individual defenders, but their system is solid. However, Dallas is no pushover either. San Antonio’s swingmen’s jumpers are being thoroughly contested, and Blair and Duncan are struggling with Nowitzki and Chandler’s height. Because they’re getting pushed around inside, the ball keeps circulating on the outside!]

[To be precise, the low-scoring game is because Dallas isn’t making their shots, while San Antonio is struggling against Dallas’s defense. Frankly, San Antonio doesn’t have many good defenders besides Duncan. Coach Popovich’s system helps them defend to some extent, but their defensive efficiency rating (Def Rtg) is only 14th in the league. Dallas’s defensive efficiency, on the other hand, is 6th. Yoon, Marion, and Chandler are effectively guarding both the inside and outside.]

Thump thump-

Tony Parker, receiving the ball from Tim Duncan and crossing the half-court line, slowly moved to the left wing to assess the situation. Rodrigo Beaubois stood before him, lowering his stance with a determined expression. Was Parker going to run a 2-2 play with Duncan again? Beaubois hesitated, knowing that repeated attacks of the same type would be anticipated and countered.

Thump!

[Tony Parker, bounce pass to DeJuan Blair, who is backing down Nowitzki!]

The moment Parker passed, he darted towards the basket. Rodrigo Beaubois, who briefly lost track of Parker, was startled and followed, but Parker was already next to DeJuan Blair.

[Ah! DeJuan Blair didn’t see him!]

[If Blair had passed to Tony Parker, only Tyson Chandler would have been under the basket! Chandler would have had to guard Parker, and in that instant, Parker could have passed to Tim Duncan for an easy two points!]

However, Parker’s run was in vain. Blair, prone to tunnel vision when he caught the ball, failed to notice, leading to a disjointed offensive play. Tony Parker looked at Blair with disappointment, clicked his tongue, and moved to the right side.

[Here we go! Kawhi Leonard roughly pushes Youngjae Yoon aside for a moment and drives towards the basket! Youngjae Yoon was prepared, but he gets pushed back because he mispositioned himself!]

DeJuan Blair, not missing Kawhi Leonard this time, immediately threw a good bounce pass. Leonard felt Youngjae’s presence as soon as he caught the ball.

‘He’s behind me.’

Youngjae’s tenacious defense, which he couldn’t shake off despite perfectly timing his drive and pushing in with force. Leonard gritted his teeth, planted his right foot, and immediately shot the ball while turning 180 degrees counterclockwise, using his left foot as the pivot. Youngjae, knowing Leonard had no other option, stayed close as soon as Leonard turned, disrupting his balance, then jumped and extended his hand to obstruct his vision.

Tick!

[Kawhi Leonard’s turnaround fadeaway! It almost became an airball!]

[We have to admire Youngjae Yoon’s defensive ability! With this, the score is 6 to 6! The balance remains!]

Tyson Chandler, who grabbed the rebound, made a safe pass to Youngjae, who slowly controlled the tempo and reached the right wing. As expected, Kawhi Leonard was putting on tenacious defense. Youngjae couldn’t help but smile, thinking that if he had this kind of defensive ability from his first season, he would become the 2015 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY). Youngjae put aside his thoughts and began to find his rhythm.

[The one-two punch from the Aztecs [San Diego State University’s athletic teams], who were classmates in NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association]! The match between Kawhi Leonard and Youngjae Yoon is really enjoyable to watch!]

[But Youngjae Yoon seems to be getting used to Kawhi Leonard’s defense now! Youngjae Yoon plays so calmly and skillfully that you wouldn’t think he’s only in his second year!]

Youngjae faked a crossover in front of Leonard, but Leonard didn’t bite. Since it would be difficult to break through Leonard with most dribbling skills, he didn’t force it and stalled for time. To others, it may have looked like Youngjae was on the defensive, but Youngjae didn’t lose his smile and stared at Leonard head-on.

Thump thump!!

“Ugh!!”

Nowitzki’s clumsy but disruptive screen. Nowitzki intentionally lingered near Youngjae, causing DeJuan Blair to come out to the perimeter. In a moment of panic, DeJuan Blair made the mistake of reaching for a steal, thinking he had to stop Youngjae.

[Youngjae Yoon easily evades DeJuan Blair’s steal attempt! He seems to be going in with a crossover, but then a step-back!!]

A light shake of the upper body, a step forward with the right foot, and then a step back to create a balanced stance. The ultimate skill that players with jumpers, including James Harden, use to create distance from the defender in an instant: the step-back. DeJuan Blair momentarily lost his footing, and Kawhi Leonard, blocked by Nowitzki, belatedly rushed towards Youngjae, but Youngjae had already retreated behind the three-point line and was soaring into the air without hesitation.

Swish!!!

[BAAAANG!!! HE SINKS IT!!!]

[Y13’s [Youngjae Yoon’s nickname] three-pointer goes in cleanly! With this, Youngjae Yoon scores the first three-pointer of the game! The score widens to 9 to 6!]

Kawhi Leonard felt a sense of defeat, as if Youngjae, whom he thought he had caught up to, was pulling ahead again. But as long as they were matched up, he had no intention of backing down.

About six minutes passed, and the score was 11 to 10. The nail-biting game continued with only a one-point difference thanks to Youngjae’s three-pointer, and Coach Carlisle called a timeout, thinking it was time to bring in other players.

[Timeout! Dallas Mavericks! Wow, today’s game is intense enough to make your heart pound!]

[It’s like walking on thin ice, where the score difference could widen at any moment if either team makes a mistake! Dallas Mavericks’ Rick Carlisle has called a timeout, and there will probably be a change in personnel.]

At that moment, the camera showed Terry, who was on a stationary bike, warming up lightly, and Mark Followill began to skillfully deliver his prepared lines.

[Speaking of personnel changes, we can’t forget Jason Terry. He is Dallas’s key sixth man, a veteran guard who plays the ace role during bench time. Jason Terry always uses a stationary bike to warm up, they say. Isn’t that unique?]

[Cycling is an excellent exercise for strengthening lung capacity, lower body strength, and knee joints. Players need to be especially careful with their knees as they get older, and Jason Terry seems to have chosen cycling as a way to manage his knees and improve his declining stamina and lung capacity.]

FOX SPORTS showed an interview with Jason Terry before the game, while simultaneously showing game footage in a split-screen format.

“If you don’t see me on the bench, I’m pedaling behind the bench. That way, I can bring myself back up before the game. You can think of it as JET [Jason Terry’s nickname] warming up for a bombing run.”

During Terry’s interview, the San Antonio Spurs’ attack failed, and Gregg Popovich called a timeout. Jason Terry finally got off the bike, high-fived the players who had been playing, and began to take off the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing over his uniform.

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

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

@San Antonio gradually shifted its style to offensive basketball from the late 2000s. The team’s focus shifted from Duncan to Parker and Manu Ginobili, and the roster was structured in a way that made good defense difficult, such as trading Bruce Bowen. The team’s pace also increased, and the number of points allowed also increased quite a bit. Until Danny Green and Leonard developed, they allowed a mid-range number of points for several years. In this season, there are no players who can be considered good at defense, even on the bench, except for Duncan. On the other hand, in Dallas, Chandler, Marion, and Caron Butler are top-tier defenders, and Youngjae, Kidd, and Haywood are upper-tier defenders.

Even without Chandler, Butler, and Youngjae, the team was 9th in defense…

Ultra10/// Chandler is definitely one of the top three or four screeners in the league. Personally, I think a good screener is like a great catcher in baseball, who can upgrade the guard. Thanks to Duncan, most of San Antonio’s guards showed high efficiency in 2-2 situations.

Lee Dong-seok, Eunseol-ya, -DarkANGEL-, GodTenFlower, Financia, Omarion, misscherry/// Thank you for your comments!! Have a great Friday~~~

goimosp/// Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played until he was 42, and his team was a dynasty even greater than San Antonio’s, lol. Duncan is thorough in his self-management, but around that age, anything can happen at any time…

h0h/// If you don’t want to use a smartphone, then… A way to replace the aging Galaxy Player…

Heukgom12/// lol, the movements are so complicated, lol.

Encarnacion/// My personal prediction is that San Antonio’s offense will be better than this season, but their defense will be weaker. They gave up all their starting center and backup center positions, so Duncan is the only traditional center. If Boris Diaw or David West plays center, they’ll have to accept giving up rebounds. Of course, LaMarcus Aldridge is good enough to be a core player to lead San Antonio with Leonard for 4-5 years. He’s already 30 years old, so it’ll be impossible for him to do more than that.

Paraliss/// Oh, if you saw David Robinson, you’ve been watching basketball for over 20 years. lol. Duncan is really amazing. There’s a reason why he’s the all-time #1 power forward, lol.

Don’t Look, GoddessYuriPraise/// Thank you for the coupons!! I think I did okay on the exam, lol.

SarajilYounghon/// Oh, there was a typo. I’ve fixed it^^ Thank you for pointing it out, lol.