Y13 [EN]: Chapter 242

242. 2011-2012 Regular Season

The game was nearing its end. From the beginning of the fourth quarter, both teams were keenly aware that even a single turnover could tilt the game, leading to an extraordinary level of focus.

[Dwight Howard! He is absolutely dominating Dallas’s defense in the paint! Dallas’s inside defense ranks within the top 10 in both paint points allowed and opponent field goal percentage, but Howard is in top condition today.]

[Orlando could have taken the lead if the accuracy of the other shooters was just a bit better! Nelson, Anderson, and Turkoglu are doing well, but Redick and Richardson are playing terribly.]

[Frankly, it’s not that Orlando is playing poorly, but Dallas’s shooting is just too good. A three-point oriented team shooting 45% from the field isn’t bad. The problem is that Dallas, also a jump-shooting team, is shooting well over 50%.]

Jameer Nelson seemed determined to uphold the pride of the three-point shooters, displaying remarkable shooting accuracy. Capitalizing on Howard’s ability to draw double-teams, his three-pointers from the top of the key, sides, and wings were a formidable weapon.

Nelson, Anderson, and Turkoglu were shooting above 40%, but Redick and Richardson combined for only 2 successful shots out of 12 attempts. On the other hand, all of Dallas’s players except Kidd were in excellent shooting form. Key scorers like Nowitzki, Youngjae, Terry, and Marion were all tormenting Orlando with over 50% field goal percentages.

[Haywood is trying his best to contain Howard! His defensive range has narrowed, but he’s still a decent 1-on-1 defender!]

Thud!

Dwight Howard powerfully drove into the paint again with his shoulder. Even Tyson Chandler, one of the league’s best defenders, struggled to control him. It was almost comical to think that Haywood, known more for his individual defense than brute strength, could effectively guard Howard in the battle for position.

“Hey!”

Hedo Turkoglu, posting up against Parsons at the high post, shouted loudly. Howard recognized the signal and leaped up with force.

Whoosh-

[Hedo Turkoglu! He throws up a fantastic alley-oop pass while posting up against Chandler Parsons!]

[He twists his upper body back to check Howard’s position before throwing it up as if he’s shooting?! Turkoglu’s clever plays like that are why he doesn’t lose his starting spot in Orlando!]

“Haywood!!”

Nowitzki urgently called out to Haywood while rushing towards the basket to stop Howard, but Howard was already in the air. Nowitzki and Haywood belatedly jumped up from the front and back, desperately trying to foul Howard, a futile attempt that looked more pathetic than anything.

[Dwight Howard! He shakes off both players and catches the ball in the air with his right hand!]

Bang!!!

Beeeep-!

[BANG!! OH, OH!!! WHAT A PERFECT SLAM!!!]

The rim shook violently as he forcefully grabbed it, and Howard hung on the rim with his entire body supported by his right hand before dropping to the court.

MVP!

MVP!!!

[MVP chants pour down on Dwight Howard! That incredible alley-oop dunk from Dwight Howard clearly shows that the game starts now!]

[And he got the and-one! Howard’s free throws aren’t great, but it’s frustrating for the opponent. Howard’s free throw percentage is only 47%, so if they had just defended it, they could have limited him to 1 point.]

Haywood, who was knocked away by Howard’s immense power, and Nowitzki, who was pushed far back, couldn’t help but grimace as they watched Howard exert such power even in the fourth quarter.

Clang-

[Haha! His free throws are still shaky! But Dwight Howard just shrugs and walks away as if it’s nothing!]

[It’s still a shame; if he had made that free throw, it would have been 88-88, a tie, but they fail to take the lead, remaining at 87-88 with a 1-point deficit.]

Coach Carlisle, thinking he needed to stop the momentum, called a timeout. Stan Van Gundy stared at Carlisle, who was the same age as him, before holding up the clipboard for his players.

‘Alright, what method are you going to bring out now?’

Stan Van Gundy hadn’t won a championship either, but he was still a very capable coach. Had Carlisle not won the championship last season, he would have been evaluated similarly. Moreover, Carlisle had much more talent at his disposal.

“We need to concentrate more now. From this point on, each offensive and defensive play will determine the outcome of the game.”

Coach Carlisle calmly encouraged his players and continued.

“Howard is playing almost full time right now. But his backups are weak, and it’s a close game in the late fourth quarter. He’ll probably keep playing for the rest of the time.”

Chandler and Haywood gave wry smiles. They wondered if that guy’s iron stamina would ever run out. Despite the two of them alternating on defense, they had already conceded 14 free throws to Howard and each committed 4 fouls.

“I think you guys are doing your part well. That’s reflected in the score. If we were playing poorly, the score would have been lopsided a long time ago. Besides, we’re not even at home. But we’ve maintained the lead so far. That’s proof that we’re playing well.”

Coach Carlisle paused for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Alright, we’re nearing the end. Yoon, Terry, Marion, Nowitzki, Chandler. Get ready.”

Youngjae, who had been resting, nodded in response to being subbed in as point guard instead of Kidd, and he stood up from the bench, taking off his jersey.

“Try to utilize screens as often as possible. Until now, I gave you a lot of freedom because we needed to increase the proportion of individual drives, but now the two players on the perimeter need to move quickly and create open looks. Your 1-on-1 is powerful enough, but now it’s clutch time, so hold back unless it’s a sure thing.”

Coach Carlisle had allowed Youngjae, who was in excellent condition today, to isolate [play one-on-one] more than his usual instructions, but now it was clutch time. On days like this when his condition was good, it was good to trust his own rhythm, but the defense becomes rougher and fewer fouls are called in clutch time. Youngjae nodded in agreement with Coach Carlisle’s words, and he felt a slight excitement as he faced Howard, which made him feel good.

“Keep creating space until an open chance appears. Don’t get caught up in your own rhythm and shoot recklessly. All five of you must be ready to shoot, and you must create space so you can shoot.”

“…Understood.”

Youngjae silently nodded at Coach Carlisle’s words and walked onto the court, starting to discuss signals and strategies with Nowitzki and Marion. They had practiced together enough and continued to show good teamwork in team practices, but maintaining communication and having conversations was still very important.

Beeeep-

[Alright, the Dallas Mavericks are bringing out Youngjae Yoon, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, and Tyson Chandler. The Orlando Magic respond with Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, Hedo Turkoglu, Ryan Anderson, and Dwight Howard.]

[Dallas is maintaining their clutch lineup from this season. After the first few games, Dallas’s clutch backcourt combination has been fixed as Yoon-Terry. This is because Kidd has shown the limits of his stamina and aging, and he hasn’t been a reliable shooter in the clutch. So, Kidd starts, and Terry comes in as Yoon’s partner to finish.]

[Orlando has put in Redick, who has relatively more energy saved, instead of Jason Richardson, which could be a variable. Originally, Richardson should have come out, but he’s playing so poorly today that they’ve brought in Redick as a change of pace.]

With the whistle, the referee handed the ball to Nowitzki, and Nowitzki passed the ball to Youngjae. Youngjae, who had crossed the half-court line, didn’t attempt a risky isolation this time when Redick blocked his path. This was because the opponent would defend more aggressively since fouls were called less frequently during this time.

[Dirk Nowitzki! He blocks Redick’s left side while guarding Ryan Anderson! At the same time, Youngjae Yoon attempts to drive to the right!]

“Ugh!!”

Redick, who was caught on Nowitzki’s veteran screen, groaned without realizing it and stepped back. Ryan Anderson rushed towards Youngjae to stop him, but Nowitzki smoothly returned to the top of the key after setting the screen on Redick, and Youngjae drove in as if intentionally crashing into Anderson.

[Youngjae Yoon! He aggressively drives into Ryan Anderson! At that moment, Dirk Nowitzki comes out to the top?!]

[Ah! Youngjae Yoon throws an incredible back pass! He twists his body instantly, turns his back to Anderson, and throws a great pass to Nowitzki, who came out to the top! Dirk Nowitzki, as soon as he receives the ball, shoots a 3-pointer!!!]

Nowitzki smiled as he looked at Youngjae, who had thrown an amazing pass. The ball felt so perfectly smooth that Nowitzki felt goosebumps all over his body, and the ball soared high as if it would pierce the ceiling before being sucked into the net without even touching the rim.

…

The Amway Center, which had been heated up by Dwight Howard’s alley-oop dunk, was silenced as if cold water had been poured on it, and Nowitzki took out his mouthpiece and chewed on it, holding up three fingers.

[BANG!!! DIRK NOWITZKI!]

[Dirk Nowitzki scores his 21st point with that!! Orlando’s hedge and recovery failed. Nowitzki’s uniqueness shines once again. The fact that the screener can shoot high-percentage 3-pointers forces the opposing defender to hesitate about where to defend for a moment. That momentary gap creates a shooting chance for Nowitzki or the ball-handler.]

[We can’t help but praise Youngjae Yoon! That’s his 7th assist with this assist. Jason Richardson and J.J. Redick are tightly guarded and can’t control Youngjae Yoon! The field goal percentage of the two players Yoon mainly guarded today is truly terrible. On the other hand, Yoon himself scores 28 points, recording more points than the combined score of Orlando’s four guards!]

87 to 91. The one-possession difference widened to two possessions for the first time in the fourth quarter. As a result, Jameer Nelson couldn’t help but become anxious. Nelson pondered and pondered, then glanced at Youngjae, who was blocking his path, and thought it would be better to pass to Turkoglu, who was playing well today, rather than facing Youngjae directly, and he passed the ball to the right wing.

Tick-

“?!”

But Youngjae seemed to have anticipated that as well, and his left hand grazed the ball. Fortunately, it only grazed the tip of his fingers, so Turkoglu caught it, but if he had been a little slower, a steal would have occurred.

“…”

Turkoglu received the ball, and Howard, who was in the paint, slowly came out and stopped next to Marion, who was guarding Turkoglu. Then, Turkoglu dribbled once to the left, and Marion’s veteran skills prevented Howard’s first screen attempt from working. But Turkoglu immediately stepped to the opposite side, and Marion was surprised by Turkoglu’s smooth dribbling and tried to rush to the opposite side again.

Thud!

“Argh!!”

But Marion, who seemed to have crashed straight into Howard’s screen, which wouldn’t allow it a second time, was knocked backward, and Turkoglu didn’t miss the momentary gap.

[Hedo Turkoglu’s wide-open 3-pointer!!]

Clang!!!

[Ah! It misses! And the ball bounces short. 3-pointers usually bounce far, though. Dirk Nowitzki grabs the rebound.]

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

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

@Howard was an iron man with no game absences until this point. His playing time was also among the highest in the league.

@Today’s game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers was quite a classic. It seemed like the Clippers would easily win in the first quarter, but in the end, they were overturned. As expected, a team with good 3-pointers can always come back. Their 3-point shooting in the fourth quarter was something like 8/9 or 9/10. Moreover, a team that is good at 3-pointers and also plays good defense is bound to be extremely strong. The Clippers created close games in both games, but they couldn’t reach victory in the end. Personally, I think it’s Doc Rivers’s limitation. Looking at the Clippers over the past three years, I feel that Doc Rivers is lacking in strategy. He’s weak in the clutch, and his offensive tactics are too simple, except for Paul and Griffin’s 2-on-2. Compared to San Antonio, Atlanta, and Golden State, it’s almost like they have no tactics. They rely almost entirely on the individual abilities of Paul, Griffin, and Crawford. It seemed no different from Oklahoma City or Houston until last year.

Ultra10, Inkingdool/// I think Houston’s problem is the coach rather than player reinforcement. Bringing in more scorers will only ruin the team chemistry. Lawson and Harden’s roles and ball distribution haven’t even been established yet, and if another scorer comes in… I think their performance will be even worse than it is now. It seems more urgent for a new coach to recreate the defensive power of last year’s regular season. According to local media, there are signs of team chemistry collapsing. There are many reports that the team members don’t trust Harden. Harden only enjoys attacking and has no motivation to defend. His field goal percentage is also terrible. The more serious problem is that it may be difficult to normalize the collapsed chemistry unless it’s a charismatic coach.

Harden’s overload is also due to the composition of the general manager, Mori. So, Lawson, who was brought in to reduce Harden’s burden, has become a nuisance due to the coach’s incompetence.

H0H, Lee Dong-seok, Financia, Omarion, Jam.Za.Bee/// Thank you for your comments!! Have a great weekend~~~

Kingofking/// Haa…. Why did I write those words… If you could write down which episode it is in a message or comment, I will correct it. It’s too much to look for all of them..;;;

-DarkANGEL-/// It’s a team that lacks one thing. Above all, Howard, who should be in charge of the one-two punch, has decreased physical abilities, and there are no tactics that utilize Howard due to the incompetent coach. Naturally, Harden is bound to be overloaded. Frankly, if the coach of the current Houston squad was Popovich or Carlisle, I think they could definitely go to the Finals. Their energy level is high, their defense is good, their 3-point shooting is good, and the team is good.

Makélélé/// I think today’s game shows once again why Green is the core of the Warriors. He prevents them from being pushed back on rebounds even when they rotate the small lineup, he blocks Griffin to increase Paul’s burden, and he is a player who makes good use of the open chances that come out when Curry is double-teamed. Moreover, he can defend all positions from 1-5, his BQ [Basketball Quotient] is good enough to direct the team’s defensive rotation, and his leadership is good enough to be the team’s vocal leader. Personally, I think he is next to Griffin, Davis, and Cousins among power forwards this season. I think he is the best 3rd option in the league.