Y13 [EN]: Chapter 223

00223 2011-2012 Regular Season

After that, the game truly became a reflection of each team’s strengths and weaknesses. The Denver Nuggets relentlessly attacked the paint [the area close to the basket], leveraging the boundless energy of their young players. With the exception of Chandler, Dallas’s big men struggled to keep pace with Denver’s quick movements, leading to easy scores near the rim.

[Danilo Gallinari is double-teamed in the low post (near the basket)!]

Gallinari was immediately swarmed by Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler, but with his signature court awareness, he threaded a bounce pass through the narrow gap between them.

[Kenneth Faried! He bobbles the ball slightly but manages to secure it! Only Dirk Nowitzki is defending the basket!]

Faried’s imposing physicality, which earned him the moniker ‘Manimal’ [a nickname emphasizing his aggressive and athletic play], was on full display. Despite Nowitzki’s best efforts to establish position, he was simply overpowered by Faried’s relentless drive. Eventually, even Tyson Chandler had to provide help defense, but Faried had already gained advantageous positioning, making it difficult for Chandler to directly intervene.

“Khhk!”

As Faried went up for the shot, Nowitzki reached and leaped, attempting to contest the shot at the last moment. However, Faried faked the shot and cleverly passed the ball to Kosta Koufos, who was forcefully cutting in from the side.

[Tyson Chandler!!! Fails to pick up Kosta Koufos!]

[Dirk Nowitzki was pushed back by Kenneth Faried’s strength, leaving Tyson Chandler with a tough decision! But it’s a critical mistake that Kosta Koufos is left unguarded! Shawn Marion should have been on him!!!]

Kwaaaang!!!!

Koufos, receiving Faried’s pass, elevated unimpeded and slammed the ball through the rim with both hands! It was a thunderous dunk, as if he was determined to prevent Dallas from building on their early momentum from easy jump shots.

[Both teams have successfully executed their first possessions. Dallas with their characteristic jump shot, and Denver with their physical play near the basket!]

[Denver’s defensive cohesion is lacking due to significant roster changes, and Coach George Karl favors an aggressive, high-energy style over a disciplined, grinding defense. Consequently, they will inevitably concede open looks to Dallas’s fluid ball movement and precise execution.]

Mike Fratello paused to gather his thoughts before continuing his analysis.

[Dallas struggled with Tyson Chandler, but Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t contain the ‘Manimal’ Kenneth Faried. However, benching Nowitzki is not an option. Nowitzki is the heart and soul of Dallas’s offense.]

Denver showcased a blistering fast-break offense that perfectly embodied George Karl’s philosophy, a coach widely regarded as an offensive mastermind. This approach has led to the team ranking first in the league in scoring this season, but only 19th in points allowed. With the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors’ offensive tempos slowing down, Denver has emerged as an overwhelmingly offense-focused team.

Consequently, Dallas’s veteran players, with their comparatively lower energy reserves, found it challenging to defend against Denver’s relentless attacks.

[Jason Kidd! Once again matched up against Ty Lawson at the top of the key!]

[Ty Lawson keeps getting past him. He can’t control Jason Kidd! Lawson has always been defensively vulnerable due to his smaller stature and a lack of defensive commitment compared to his offensive prowess.]

However, Denver’s up-tempo style had its downsides. Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, expected to be key contributors, continued to battle injuries. More importantly, Denver’s guards struggled to find their shooting rhythm. Even solid defense might have compensated, but Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo were particularly ineffective on this day.

Swish- Swish-

[With just two passes, the ball finds Youngjae Yoon on the right wing! Arron Afflalo! He’s guarding him closely, but his defense is proving ineffective!]

Afflalo was becoming increasingly frustrated. Initially, he leaped with everything he had to block Youngjae’s shot, but Youngjae demonstrated his craftiness by using a pump fake [a deceptive move where a player pretends to shoot] and releasing the ball a beat later. Then, when Afflalo simply raised his hand in a passive attempt to contest the shot, Youngjae confidently sank another three-pointer. This time, Afflalo stuck tight, but Youngjae suddenly initiated a strong drive to the basket, using his shoulder to create space.

“Ugh!”

The force of the drive wasn’t as powerful as Afflalo anticipated, so he took a step back, thinking he could cut off the drive. But the moment he retreated a couple of steps…

“?!”

[Stepback!!! Youngjae Yoon instantly retreats behind the three-point line after driving forward!]

[Arron Afflalo belatedly tries to close out, but no defender can adequately react to such a deceptive stepback! Afflalo, caught off balance, stumbles and falls!]

That player was Youngjae. The player known as Y13.

Shwiiiish-

[YES! HE SINKS IT!!!]

[That’s it! That’s exactly what we want to see! Youngjae Yoon demonstrates to the home crowd that he has improved even more this season! He turns his back to the cheering fans, displaying his number 13! With that shot, he’s 3/3 from three-point range! 2/2 from the free throw line! A perfect 100%, bringing his point total to 11!]

[We have to commend the fantastic three-man ball movement from Jason Terry to Shawn Marion to Youngjae Yoon! Jason Kidd is exploiting the defensive weaknesses of Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo, whose defense is completely ineffective! He’s targeting Denver’s vulnerability, where the players’ understanding of defensive rotations is lacking, and they expend too much energy on offense, leaving their perimeter defense exposed!]

That was the difference. No matter how quickly Denver ran and scored two-pointers, Dallas was a team brimming with veteran experience. Even if their energy levels weren’t as high, their fluid ball movement and meticulously designed offense were too sophisticated for Denver’s young and energetic players to contain.

Moreover, Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo, tasked with making three-pointers for Denver, where three-point shooting was a weakness, were unable to generate quality looks due to the defense of Kidd and Youngjae. The fact that the two players, who had season three-point percentages of 36% and 39%, were a combined 0-for-5 from beyond the arc was a significant factor in the widening score gap.

[Denver managed to keep the deficit to single digits until midway through the first quarter, but Youngjae Yoon’s three-pointer is a dagger! Denver can’t stop the barrage of jumpers raining down from the late 1st quarter! The score is now 35 to 22!]

Coach George Karl couldn’t conceal his frustration and called a timeout. But even if he replaced Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo, who were struggling mightily, there were few viable alternatives. Andre Miller was available, but he was no longer the type of player who could single-handedly turn the game around. Wilson Chandler was still recovering from injury and was primarily used as Gallinari’s backup.

“You’re doing well. Yoon, in particular, I think you should focus even more aggressively on shooting today. Kidd, don’t hesitate to take open shots either.”

In contrast, the Dallas bench was buzzing with positive energy. Youngjae, who had been displaying incredible shooting prowess, was shooting a perfect 100% from the field, including 3-for-3 from three-point range and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Kidd, in his return game, was also shooting well from beyond the arc, hitting 2 of his 3 attempts.

“Nowitzki, Chandler, good job. But as I emphasized before the game, avoid hedge [a defensive tactic where a player briefly steps out to impede the ball handler] defense and try to primarily defend with zone defense, but they keep penetrating the basket [뚫리는군 is Korean for ‘being penetrated’]. Close the gaps a little more and force them to the perimeter.”

In reality, Faried and Koufos were demonstrating efficient offensive production in the paint, shooting 50% and 66% from the field, respectively. Dallas countered by inserting Dirk Nowitzki when Faried was out and replacing him with Brandon Wright, but Wright’s defensive strength was far inferior to Nowitzki’s, making the substitution less effective defensively.

“Anyway, Faried and Koufos have limited shooting ranges. When Nene and Harrington aren’t on the floor, there’s no need to overcommit to defending their jump shots. It’s crucial to maintain our pace and avoid getting drawn into their high-energy style. If this were Denver’s home, adapting to the high altitude would be a factor, but this is our court.”

“Understood.”

“Looking at Denver’s rotation, Faried is likely to be subbed out [빠질 is Korean for ‘to be taken out’], so Nowitzki, you should aggressively exploit the mismatch. Your shooting touch is improving, so be aggressive [적극적으로 is Korean for ‘actively’] on offense.”

[The timeout concludes, and the players return to the court. Dallas starts with J.J. Barea, the hot-handed Youngjae Yoon, rookie Chandler Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki, and Tyson Chandler!]

[Denver counters with Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, Jordan Hamilton, Al Harrington, and Chris Andersen. It appears they’re trying to reduce Nowitzki’s defensive burden by matching Wright against Faried as much as possible. However, Faried plays the most minutes for Denver, and Harrington is a more natural scorer. Regardless, whoever defends Denver’s power forward position will face a significant physical challenge [체력부담 is Korean for ‘physical burden’].]

[Still, Nowitzki’s burden will be less than facing the ‘Manimal’ Faried because Harrington’s defense is so weak.]

The game resumed with Denver in possession. Ty Lawson glanced at Barea guarding him and frowned as he looked at Youngjae, who was closely guarding Afflalo. Youngjae had been a thorn in his side since their Summer League encounters, and Lawson felt frustrated by his inability to dominate [압도 is Korean for ‘overwhelm’] him.

Swish!

However, Ty Lawson, a first-round pick (18th overall), possessed exceptional passing vision. The fact that he could penetrate from the right wing to the basket with Barea, another smaller guard, in front of him highlighted Lawson’s talent.

[Chris Andersen cuts to the basket! Tyson Chandler loses track of him momentarily! Dirk Nowitzki desperately tries to recover, but he’s too late!]

The alley-oop pass hung in the air. The pass, thrown from behind the three-point line, landed perfectly in the hands of Chris Andersen, who rose unimpeded.

Kwaaaang!!!

[BANG!!!]

[As expected, Chris Andersen, nicknamed ‘Birdman,’ throws down a powerful alley-oop dunk! Although it’s only two points, such a flashy play can shift the momentum!]

Barea and Chandler grimaced, but dwelling on past mistakes was pointless. Barea slowly dribbled the ball up the court, briefly held it at the top of the key, and then quickly drove towards the basket. Given Ty Lawson’s defensive limitations as a smaller guard, he had no chance of stopping Barea’s powerful drives [강골 is Korean for ‘strong-boned’].

[Barea penetrates to the high post! Ty Lawson is helpless!]

At that moment, Youngjae, positioned on the right wing, executed a V-cut [a basketball maneuver], moving along the baseline to shake off Afflalo, and then immediately changed direction to get open [빠져나오는 is Korean for ‘to get out’] on the right wing. Afflalo was momentarily caught in the congested [혼잡한 is Korean for ‘congested’] area near the basket, and Barea spotted Youngjae in an unmarked [노마크 is Korean for ‘unmarked’] position while driving [돌파를 is Korean for ‘penetrating’], and lightly passed [뿌려주었다 is Korean for ‘sprinkled’] him the ball.

[Youngjae Yoon! He’s open! Will he shoot or drive [돌파 is Korean for ‘penetrate’]!]

[He chooses to drive [돌파]! He’s aggressive!]

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

★Thank you to those who added this to their favorites [선작 is Korean for ‘add to favorites’], recommended [추천 is Korean for ‘recommend’], commented [코멘 is Korean for ‘comment’], and gave coupons!!

★Thank you to Ramas and Mukroeheon for the sponsored coupons!!

@In some ways, Denver suffered the most significant reduction in team strength in this novel. The absence of Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer slightly mitigated the injuries of existing players.

@Denver’s home stadium is located at an altitude of approximately 1,400 meters above sea level. Roughly equivalent to Sobaeksan Mountain in Korea. It is naturally a high-altitude environment where breathing is difficult. It is also known as the graveyard of visiting teams [원정팀 is Korean for ‘away team’]. When visiting teams [원정팀] come here, they must first adapt to the low-oxygen environment. That’s why Denver has a particularly large disparity between their home and away win percentages [승률 is Korean for ‘win rate’].

Orkasha, Ultra10///NBA has many unique fans [관중 is Korean for ‘audience’]. Some are celebrities, so imagine how fun it would be to watch! At least in Korea, there are some famous fans [관중] in professional baseball. There’s usually one or two for each team: the ‘XX girl,’ or a foreign superfan [광팬 is Korean for ‘superfan’], etc.

Yabesu/// That’s why the White Sox also have a low team payroll [연봉 is Korean for ‘annual salary’] Haha… A penny-pincher of penny-pinchers, Jerry Reinsdorf…. Parker is a player who relies on speed, but it seems that Father Time [노쇠화 is Korean for ‘aging’] has caught up to him faster than expected, perhaps due to frequent international competitions. He was considered next to Chris Paul from 2011 to 2013. And I don’t think it’s wise to play small ball all season long because their activity level and rebounding ability aren’t very good. Then at least they need to attack efficiently, but as you said, their fluid offense isn’t working well. After all, the passing game only works well when a slasher like Parker can create opportunities, but Parker isn’t doing that.

Sarajil 영혼, Painensia, Lee Dongseok, Goimosp, Omarion, Misscherry/// Thank you for the comments [코멘]!! Have a nice weekend!!

H0H/// Haha… Such a trick!! You must have been busy.