Y13 [EN]: Chapter 248

2011-2012 Regular Season

In a desperate move, Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew decided to switch Youngjae’s matchup to Joe Johnson. This decision came after Kirk Hinrich and McGrady failed to contain Youngjae at all. Fortunately, Shawn Marion didn’t seem to be in good condition, so Larry Drew was planning to increase Marvin Williams’ playing time.

[With about 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the score is 72 to 81. Dallas is maintaining the point difference they had widened to 10 points, leading the game favorably.]

[Absolutely. It’s a game where their experience is shining through, even though it’s an away game. Dirk Nowitzki, who struggled with his shooting in the first half, has miraculously regained his form in the second half. Including a 3-pointer with 1/2 success, he has recovered to a 50% field goal percentage with 5/10. In contrast, Atlanta’s Josh Smith, who was outstanding in the first half, has only scored 2 points in the second half, with 1/4 shooting including 0/1 from 3-point range, which is critical.]

[Smith and Nowitzki’s performance completely changed before and after halftime. And Jeff Teague is being replaced by Marvin Williams, increasing the height of the lineup. The height of the big men is still low, but this substitution aims to increase the height of the guards and forwards.]

The game resumed, and Atlanta’s Collins passed the ball to Kirk Hinrich.

“…”

Kirk Hinrich, approaching the top of the key, felt confident facing J.J. Barea, who was guarding him, and drove straight in. Barea’s strengths were hustle and drawing offensive fouls, but he was fundamentally a defensive liability. Hinrich was struggling with increased defensive pressure while playing shooting guard due to Teague’s rapid growth, but he was still competitive at the point guard position.

[Kirk Hinrich’s tough drive-in! Barea is barely managing to follow him to the low post without properly stopping him!]

Eventually, Barea, judging that he couldn’t control him, cleverly attempted a steal. However, it was nearly impossible for Barea’s short arms to snatch the ball from Hinrich. Barea’s steals usually came from intercepting passing lanes, not from stopping an opponent’s dribble.

Thump!

[Kirk Hinrich! A fantastic bounce pass!]

But Kirk Hinrich seemed to have anticipated that move. The moment Barea’s left hand cut through the air, Hinrich took another step forward and threw a brilliant bounce pass behind Barea. Ian Mahinmi was guarding the rim, but Josh Smith was the one rushing in to receive the ball like a tidal wave.

Thwack!

“Ugh!!”

Mahinmi, whose defensive abilities hadn’t improved much from last year, lost his balance and fell backward due to Josh Smith’s aggressive drive. The power of Josh Smith, who was digging in with his left shoulder, was beyond Mahinmi’s control.

[Ian Mahinmi falls backward! Brandon Wright is rushing to cover Mahinmi!]

Josh Smith was about to soar up and slam dunk with all his might, but he was startled by Brandon Wright’s incredible bounce and jumping ability. Despite the distance, Wright quickly closed the gap and blocked Smith’s path.

“Tch!”

Smith clicked his tongue when a shooting foul was called. Last year, he had a decent free throw percentage of around 71%, but this season, with a success rate of only about 60%, getting a free throw wasn’t a profitable deal.

“Nice.”

Marion, who was rushing for the rebound, reached out and gave Wright a high-five, and Wright smiled slightly and nodded in response.

[Brandon Wright, that was the best possible defense. It would have been best to defend without a foul, but if that’s not possible, it’s good to stop him with a strong foul.]

[That’s right. Josh Smith’s free throws are inaccurate, so it’s not a bad outcome. Of course, they don’t block him calculating this, but still.]

The home fans at Philips Arena held their breath, watching the free throw, hoping that Josh Smith wouldn’t be affected. Josh Smith tried to calmly shoot the free throw, trying to ignore the thought that tens of thousands of fans were watching only his free throw.

Thump- Thump-

Swish-

[Thankfully, the first free throw is successful. It was really close. And there’s a player substitution.]

[For Dallas, Chandler Parsons is coming in for Shawn Marion, and Jason Kidd is coming in for J.J. Barea. It seems Barea is having a hard time guarding Kirk Hinrich.]

As Kidd and Parsons entered, Josh Smith tried to calm his pounding heart.

[Second free throw.]

Swoosh-

Thump!!

[It hits the rim and bounces! Miss! The score doesn’t narrow from 73 to 81!]

The ball, bouncing high off the rim, fell in the direction where Brandon Wright was standing. Wright lightly pushed aside Marvin Williams, who was next to him, successfully boxed him out, and grabbed the rebound.

The ball flowed smoothly to Kidd, and Kidd, crossing the half-court line, passed the ball back and forth with Youngjae and Parsons, trying to create an opening. However, Atlanta also showed formidable defense, not allowing a wide-open chance no matter how Kidd passed.

Youngjae tried the pick-and-roll with Wright several times, but Smith and Joe Johnson boldly switched, preventing them from gaining a mismatch advantage. Smith’s athleticism was enough to guard even guards, and Joe Johnson had no trouble guarding the lean Wright.

Mahinmi, who could force a mismatch on Joe Johnson, had such inaccurate timing and positioning of his screens that even Youngjae, who was good at using screens, couldn’t completely shake off Joe Johnson.

[Dallas is struggling against Atlanta’s tight defense! The shot clock is down to just 4 seconds!]

In the end, Kidd had no choice but to make a decision. Even if his shooting touch was good, could he make a shot with Kirk Hinrich on him? Kidd couldn’t answer YES to that question. In the first place, excluding Nowitzki and Terry, there was only one player who could create offense on his own.

Swish!

[The pass goes to Youngjae Yoon after all!]

[He’s the only player on Dallas right now who can create his own shot!]

As soon as Youngjae received the ball, he took a step with his left foot, feinting Joe Johnson with a jab step [a quick step to unbalance the defender]. But Joe Johnson only flinched slightly with his upper body and knees, not being fooled by Youngjae’s jab step, and immediately caught up with Youngjae as he tried to get past him to the right.

[Shot clock 2 seconds! 1 second!]

Still, a moment’s gap can act as a very big opportunity in the professional world. Joe Johnson knew that as well. Especially because he knew better than anyone when his nickname, “Big Shot,” would come in handy, he gritted his teeth and followed Youngjae. Joe Johnson continued to reach out and threaten Youngjae’s hands, blocking Youngjae from entering the 3-point line.

‘I’m shooting this!’

As expected, Youngjae jumped from behind the 3-point line without stopping his running speed. Joe Johnson, thinking that he was taller and could jump more elastically than Youngjae, jumped up after him and reached out his hand.

“?!”

But Youngjae didn’t just jump to the side. Even in the moment when his body was leaning, he took into account that Joe Johnson’s physicality was superior to his, and instead of jumping aimlessly to the side, he jumped backward, widening the physical distance with Joe Johnson.

[Y13 FOR TOUGH THREE!!!]

Beeeep-

Youngjae stared at the rim until just before the shot clock hit 0.0. Even with his body leaning and his balance broken, he calmly and with all his strength, pulled up the feeling in his fingertips and shot the ball towards the rim.

‘Joe Johnson.’

Joe Johnson’s defense was truly excellent. Joe Johnson was truly relentless, reaching out and contesting to prevent a clean shot, even with a fadeaway jump [a jump shot taken while moving away from the basket] that seemed to be lying backward. But Youngjae was sure that Joe Johnson would make such a perfect defense.

Swish!

Thump!!!

[The ball hits the backboard!]

Intentionally hitting the backboard to avoid Joe Johnson’s hand. Accurately hitting the ball inside the white square, slightly larger than a ball.

Swish!

[BAAAANG!!!!]

[This is a curse! A curse of Y13 pouring down on the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena!! The score widens to 73 to 84!! An 11-point difference!]

[Really, Yoon is a cursed player for the Atlanta players today. No matter who they put on him in defense, he breaks through, and no matter who they put on him, they can’t do anything on offense.]

Thump thump thump!!!

The shot clock had already stopped at 0.0. But the shot was recognized. Youngjae fell awkwardly backward, but as soon as he confirmed that the shot had gone in, he jumped up and showed his back to the tens of thousands of fans who had come to Philips Arena.

Beeeep!

[Timeout! Atlanta!]

With the timeout, Josh Smith ran to referee Kane Fitzgerald and strongly argued whether it was a shot clock violation, but Fitzgerald smiled and shook his head. Joe Johnson also went and strongly protested, but Monty McCutchen, who watched the situation from another position, also agreed that it was not a violation.

In the NBA, video review was solely at the discretion of the referee. The referee would do it if a review was needed, but players or coaches could not request a video review. If the referee was confident in his decision, he didn’t bother with a review.

“Hey! You crazy bastard!!”

“Wow! That’s a big shot! Big shot!!”

The four players who watched Youngjae’s big shot on the court ran to Youngjae, who had fallen and gotten up with the timeout, unable to contain their joy, and pounded Youngjae’s back.

“Ouch, ouch! I almost fell on my back! My back… ouch!”

Bang bang bang!

Youngjae was only able to escape from his teammates’ hands after being beaten on his back until it turned bright red.

The Atlanta Hawks failed to take advantage of being at home. Even though they controlled Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion well until halftime, Larry Drew’s tactics of quickly putting Joe Johnson on Youngjae and trying to block Shawn Marion with Marvin Williams failed as a result, perhaps because they failed to control Youngjae.

[Josh Smith! That’s such a naive midrange jumper! Compared to the good defense, the efficiency of the offense is still not good.]

Josh Smith, not caring who was in front of him, recklessly shot midrange jumpers as soon as he caught the ball, as if all the good offense and defense from the first half had disappeared. He was shooting long twos near the 3-point line, so he was self-destructing.

[DIRK FOR THREE! GOT IT!]

[Youngjae Yoon’s amazing pull-up jumper splits the rim!]

[CHANDLER MONSTER SLAM!!!]

In contrast, Dallas completely seized the momentum with Youngjae’s big shot. Nowitzki, Youngjae, Chandler… even bench members Parsons and Wright, Barea, and clutch man Terry were in a delusion that they were making every shot as if they had a hot hand. It was no exaggeration to say that Dallas’ momentum was at its peak.

[The game is over! In the end, the Atlanta Hawks invited the Dallas Mavericks to their home and fought hard until halftime, but they suffered a crushing 20-point defeat, 92 to 112! The game tilted sharply in the 4th quarter in particular.]

[Terry and Nowitzki struggled relatively for Dallas, but it was a day when Barea and Youngjae Yoon exploded. Among them, today’s MOM (Man of the Match) is definitely Youngjae Yoon. Let’s connect with caster Jerome.]

Youngjae, who remained on the court for the interview, smiled as he responded to caster Jerome’s interview with a towel around his neck.

“Nice to meet you, Yoon? In today’s game, you recorded the most points and assists on the team with 28 points and 10 assists. Atlanta struggled thoroughly with your 2-2 play. Was Josh Smith’s interview after the first half a good stimulus?”

Youngjae shrugged slightly and said calmly with an indifferent expression.

“He definitely showed a game where he could say such a thing until the first half. So I respected his interview. But after the game, as you can see, the result ended with Dallas’ perfect victory. There were no facts in his interview. It’s a pity.”

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

★Thank you for the advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

@Today was Thanksgiving, so there were no NBA games. In the United States, today is only for the national sport, American football. But Okafor caused an incident. He assaulted a fan who mocked him. Of course, the other person provoked him, but it would be a big problem for a professional player to throw the first punch.

Soshimjjijil Inferior Man/// ㅋㅋ Thank you for the quick comment~~~

H0H/// That’s right. It suddenly got too cold. Be careful not to catch a cold^^^

Dufjrkwl, Goimosp/// My personal guess is that the Warriors’ winning streak will be broken first. The Utah away game looks a bit precarious. Okafor’s suspension will be a significant blow to Philly. Philadelphia without Okafor seems to have a very difficult time even with a 10% win rate. Okafor has not been suspended yet, but there seems to be a few game suspension because there was an assault.

Zigichacha///Even if the Thunder’s Westbrook and Durant are healthy, Donovan’s coach will lose by scoring 120 points and giving up 130 points if he doesn’t establish defensive tactics. I expect 0 wins and 4 losses against the Warriors in the current state of the Thunder. It seems difficult to win even 2 games against Cleveland. I sincerely think that Scott Brooks’ defense was better.

Ultra10/// Joe Johnson did well when he was in Atlanta. However, he was too old to give him the maximum, but in the end, Brooklyn took that maximum and failed. Not only Johnson, but also Deron’s rapid aging due to injuries makes me wonder if Brooklyn’s medical staff is poor. The extreme nature of the media and fans must have been tiring. T-Mac… He’s such a disappointing player. He’s a player who’s fun to watch.

Disappearing Soul, Lee Dong-seok, -DarkANGEL-, Financia/// Thank you for your comments!!

Yabes/// As you said, Lebron’s burden will be reduced if Irving and Love are together. The problem is that Irving and Love are injury-prone to the point where injuries are constant… Moreover, I don’t think Irving will be able to unleash his previous explosiveness due to this injury. Also, it is certain that Curry will go crazy if Irving comes in. It is famous that Irving’s defense is an automatic door. Personally, I don’t think Cleveland has a very good matchup against the Warriors. In the end, even if Irving and Love are there, the victory or defeat will depend on Lebron’s condition and performance. I don’t think Irving will be of much help even if he is there, and I think the difference from last year is that Jefferson is doing a good job of backing up, reducing Lebron’s physical burden, and Love’s jumper is strengthening the power of Lebron’s kickout. The reason why Cleveland is doing well this season despite the series of injuries is that Delavedova’s step-up, Jefferson’s addition, and Love’s adaptation to the change in role are the three reasons.