Y13 [EN]: Chapter 218

Y13-218 2011-2012 Regular Season =========================================================================

Thump!

[Youngjae Yoon with an incredible no-look bounce pass! It’s like he anticipated Shawn Marion being open – a truly remarkable play!]

Shawn Marion gritted his teeth and shot the ball. Marion’s release is incredibly quick and unique, almost rushed, making his shooting motion unlike any other. Because of this, his feel for the shot is completely different from the norm.

Thump!

[Shawn Marion misses a wide-open mid-range jumper!]

Derek Harper stopped himself mid-sentence, commenting, “Shawn Marion is having an off day.” Nowitzki watched the ball bounce off the rim and backboard, already positioning himself for the rebound. He stepped forward with his left foot, cutting in front of Matt Bonner to gain inside position, then extended his right foot further to create space. Matt Bonner, boxing out Nowitzki to prevent him from getting to the paint, was surprised by Nowitzki’s sudden shoulder thrust. Once Nowitzki established his position, Bonner had no chance of moving him.

“Uwaaaah!!”

Dirk Nowitzki, taking only a half-step back from Matt Bonner to create separation before jumping, leaped with ease. Seeming to emphasize his 7-foot stature, he jumped almost as high as Bonner despite being further away, his hand reaching far above Bonner’s.

Thud!!!

Nowitzki lightly tipped the ball, guiding it towards the rim.

Thump-thump-

The ball, struck firmly by Nowitzki’s palm, bounced a couple of times on the rim, and then…

Swish!

[BINGO!!!! HE GOT IT!!!]

[A fantastic tip-in! Despite starting further back, Nowitzki extended his hand perfectly to score over Bonner!]

Matt Bonner wore a bewildered expression, unable to believe Dirk Nowitzki had just scored a tip-in on him. Nowitzki, only then realizing the shot went in, let out a louder-than-usual shout and pounded the Mavericks logo on his chest. As Youngjae and Marion approached, Nowitzki exchanged high-fives with them, his palm stinging from the impact.

The second quarter was already over ten minutes in. Coach Gregg Popovich, visibly frustrated, glared at the court with his arms crossed.

[The rivalry game between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs! So far, the Dallas Mavericks are dominating the second quarter! The score reflects it: 45 to 35! Of course, the San Antonio Spurs’ potential can’t be ignored, but if this continues, they’ll be in trouble!]

[The San Antonio players can’t contain Jason Terry, who’s on a scoring spree after a quiet spell! He’s a player with incredible movement, and because he’s paired with Yoon or Brewer, Parker or Neal have to guard him!]

To guard Youngjae or Brewer, Leonard or Green inevitably had to be assigned. While Terry was having a scoring outburst, Youngjae was still the team’s leading scorer on average and had the second-most points today. Brewer’s forward-like physique made it difficult for Parker or Neal to defend him. Moreover, Parker and Neal carried a significant offensive load, so expending more energy on defense risked dulling their offensive performance.

“Hmm.”

Coach Popovich was deep in thought. Initially, he tried to limit Jason Terry’s scoring by assigning defensive specialists like Kawhi Leonard or Danny Green to him, and Tony Parker or Gary Neal to Youngjae, but the results were disastrous.

If it were just about limiting Jason Terry’s shots, the score wouldn’t be so lopsided. However, Youngjae was racking up more assists than Parker, showcasing his exceptional court vision and precise passing (Youngjae: 8.1 assists, Parker: 7.4 assists).

[Youngjae Yoon grabs the ball again and drives forward with speed! Youngjae Yoon crosses the half-court line in an instant! Jason Terry, Chandler Parsons, and Brandon Wright trail behind at full speed!]

Youngjae reached the top of the key and feigned a stop, facing Danny Green. Suddenly, he accelerated and charged towards the basket. Danny Green, caught off guard, used his upper body to block Youngjae’s drive, halting the breakthrough at the high post.

‘…’

Youngjae knew this defensive scheme well. The San Antonio Spurs were known for their thorough team defense and trap strategies. This was possible because all the players were willing to run and play selflessly. Instead of forcing blocks or steals, they focused on making the opponent’s shots as difficult as possible. And in the paint, as always, stood the reliable Tim Duncan, the team’s defensive anchor for the past 15 years.

‘Duncan.’

With Duncan guarding the paint, Youngjae didn’t feel the need to force a shot at the rim. It was easier to shake off Danny Green, so Youngjae momentarily pivoted on his left foot and spun half a circle clockwise.

“?!”

Danny Green seemed to protest, subtly stepping back and focusing on blocking Youngjae’s path. However, Youngjae simply smiled and spun half a circle in the opposite direction, returning to his original position.

[Youngjae Yoon! Uses the spin move as a fake, then executes a reverse spin! The distance between Danny Green and Youngjae Yoon increases instantly!!!]

Adding a step-back jumper was the perfect finishing touch. To move forward after moving backward, one has to stop the backward momentum and step forward again. In that brief moment, Danny Green and Youngjae were two steps apart, and Youngjae effortlessly launched a mid-range jumper.

Swish-

[BUCKET!!! AMAZING STEP-BACK JUMPER!!!]

[With such skillful spin moves, fakes, step-backs, and accurate shooting, a player like Danny Green can’t stop him. Danny Green is still relatively new to the main rotation. He’s not a bad defender, but his opponent is simply too skilled.]

Danny Green had been waived twice (by Cleveland and San Antonio) and hadn’t been able to establish himself until he secured playing time due to Ginobili’s injury. He had only been in the rotation for three weeks. There was no way he could effectively stop Youngjae.

Youngjae casually made the shot and performed his signature move of spreading his arms and turning to show the fans his blue number 13, further energizing the home crowd. Parsons gave him a thumbs-up, and Wright jokingly asked Youngjae for a great alley-oop pass, since he had just shown something amazing.

The game, which had been flowing smoothly, began to develop a strange atmosphere in the late third quarter. The Dallas Mavericks had extended their lead to a whopping 17 points when Tim Duncan committed an uncharacteristic turnover with a clumsy pass in the middle of the third quarter. Boboua stole the ball and passed to Marion, who finished with a powerful one-handed dunk. But was it because of the sense of security that came from dominating their rivals to such an extent?

[Rodrigo Boboua! Is immediately double-teamed! Youngjae Yoon rushes in to help Boboua, who is frantically looking for an open teammate!]

Whoosh-

However, Boboua’s hurried pass went astray, and Youngjae leaned forward as much as possible, stretching out his right hand to barely catch the errant pass.

Thwack!!

[Kawhi Leonard steals the ball!! Youngjae Yoon cleverly saved the ball from going out of bounds, but because it was such a poor pass, he couldn’t prevent Leonard’s steal!!!]

Youngjae gritted his teeth and stayed close to Leonard. Although Leonard, as a forward, had the speed to guard a guard, he couldn’t shake off Youngjae, who was fast even among guards, while dribbling. Youngjae, sticking close to Leonard slightly past the half-court line, tried to stop him, but Leonard was already looking at Gary Neal, who was cutting past Youngjae.

[Kawhi Leonard safely passes to Gary Neal with an overhead pass!]

[Youngjae Yoon stretched out his hand to block the pass, as if he had anticipated it, but it wasn’t enough! Where did Rodrigo Boboua, who should be guarding Gary Neal, go! It’s a moment where Youngjae Yoon’s defense is wasted!]

[Gary Neal, wide open for a 3-pointer!]

Swish!

[BANG!!! GARY NEAL!]

[The score is now 71 to 75!!! The San Antonio Spurs have erased a 17-point deficit!]

[What are the Dallas Mavericks doing as a team! Barea, Terry, and Parsons kept allowing 3-pointers, so they were replaced by Boboua, Yoon, and Marion, but the San Antonio players’ hot streak shows no signs of cooling down! Dirk Nowitzki’s feet are so heavy that he can’t play perimeter defense! Is his physical condition still a problem?! Still, that kind of play shouldn’t happen at the professional level!]

[They already tried to stop the opponent’s momentum by calling a timeout, but the San Antonio players’ hot hands are not cooling down!]

Coach Rick Carlisle eventually shook his head and called another timeout. Tyson Chandler, unable to contain his anger, became furious.

[The San Antonio Spurs have now made 7 consecutive 3-pointers from the late third quarter to 3 minutes into the fourth quarter! The bench, which scored only 4 points in the first half, has already scored 30 points in the second half!]

Starting with Matt Bonner, Gary Neal, and Danny Green, the three players were on fire from beyond the arc. Tiago Splitter, who came in for DeJuan Blair, showed active movement and didn’t hesitate to make kick-out passes with excellent court vision, even feeding (a big man passing from the high post to the outside or low post) while using himself as bait. Dallas was collapsing, completely falling apart.

“What are you guys doing!!!”

As soon as he reached the bench, Tyson Chandler couldn’t contain his anger and threw a towel, shouting. Youngjae, also frustrated as he came to the bench, understood Chandler’s outburst. He wasn’t in a position to act recklessly. No matter how much the NBA valued skill over seniority, it wasn’t wise for him to raise his voice first in Dallas, which was full of skilled veterans.

Normally, veterans like Kidd, Nowitzki, and Terry, who had played in Dallas for a long time, should have been the ones to speak up, but one was injured, and the other two were defensive liabilities. The only players on this team who could loudly address the defense were Chandler and Marion. However, Marion had a quiet personality, and Chandler was a passionate leader, so this role always fell to Chandler. He was a necessary player for the Dallas team, which had many quiet veterans and was easily influenced by the game’s momentum.

“We can’t attack, we can’t defend. Why are we even playing basketball! Just because we were ahead until the third quarter, we think we can just play casually?! We’ve allowed 7 consecutive wide-open shots. Wide-open!!! Get your heads in the game!!”

“…”

The players responsible for perimeter defense naturally had nothing to say, even if they had ten mouths. Chandler, who had been struggling alone in the paint, was so frustrated that he tried to block 3-pointers by going out to the perimeter himself and jumping as hard as he could, essentially having a shooting contest because Nowitzki’s legs were too tired. Chandler hated the fact that the game had turned around like this.

“Chandler. Calm down. Getting angry won’t solve anything.”

Chandler’s intention was to snap the players out of their stupor, not to actually get angry with them, so he calmed down and accepted a new towel when the coach intervened.

“… Haa, I know. But I thought we would just keep getting beat up like idiots if I didn’t say something. I thought we would have come to our senses during the timeout earlier, but we keep doing this, so I’m frustrated.”

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

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@Chandler scolds the guards and forwards who have lost their focus. When you’re getting bombarded like that, it’s hard to regain your composure. In times like that, tough players need to wake up the team with physical plays or strong words. Sometimes, they deliberately make hustle plays or commit hard fouls to change the atmosphere. Players like Joakim Noah and Andrew Bogut are this type. They are defensive leaders and drill sergeants who bring the players back to reality. Howard and Marc Gasol don’t usually make loud noises.

@Danny Green is one of the NBA’s greatest Cinderella stories. He was drafted 46th overall in the second round and was waived twice before dramatically establishing himself in San Antonio and becoming one of the league’s best 3&D [three-point shooting and defense] shooting guards, almost winning the 2013 Finals MVP ㅋㅋ. One theory is that after being waived by San Antonio, he told Popovich, “I will do everything you want, coach. Whether it’s rebounding, defending, cheering from the bench, or fetching water, I will do whatever you want me to do,” so Popovich brought him back. Believe it or not, he was just starting to establish himself at this time, so don’t think of the Danny Green he is today.

Ultra10///Well, San Antonio’s preseason predictions always involve them being old, lacking talent… something like that. But the reality is that they are the Western Conference’s first place… That’s San Antonio ㅋㅋ. Looking at the roster alone, you wonder how they managed to be the Western Conference’s first place with those players. If San Antonio solves their center problem this season, I think they can definitely go to the Finals. If you think about it, it can be seen as a roster optimized for a small-ball lineup [a lineup that emphasizes speed and shooting over traditional size]. The Clippers seem to have bad matchup against San Antonio, so if they don’t meet the Clippers, I think they will go to the Finals without any problems. The Clippers’ inside game seems to just destroy San Antonio’s inside.

H0h, Sarajiyeonghon, Blue Gaori/// Thank you for your concern. Fortunately, I feel a little better after getting an IV and eating porridge.

Lee Dongseokdong, Omarion, -DarkANGEL-, Financia/// Thank you for your comments. A new week starts tomorrow, so good luck with Monday blues~~

goimosp/// For the next 2 years, it’s a terrible bubble contract [a contract that is considered to be significantly overvalued]. From the 3rd year, it will feel like they got him a little expensively(?). Looking at the increase in the salary cap, it will roughly increase by more than 1.7 times compared to the current salary. Of course, even if you interpret it positively, it’s still an overpay;;; Given Cleveland’s situation, they are all-in on the 2-3 years that LeBron will maintain his prime.

Heukgom12///The most common one is Slam Dunk. It’s a national comic book and national animation for those who like basketball. The next one I would recommend is Sora no 날개 [Wings of the Sky]. Most basketball comic books are Japanese comic books. So, the focus is on the protagonist’s growth and trials, so apart from Slam Dunk, it’s a bit far from actual basketball. In particular, never watch Kuroko’s Basketball;; Personally, I think it’s not basketball but just fantasy. I heard that they recently made something called Basketball as a drama, but the proportion of basketball is not very high.

Hanareumbalgeunbit/// Thank you for pointing that out^^