Y13 [EN]: Chapter 262

2011-2012 Playoff Round 1

As the referee’s whistle blew, the ball went up, and DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler jumped for it. In the NBA, jump balls aren’t tossed very high, so reaction speed and athleticism are more important than sheer height.

*Thwack!*

[DeAndre Jordan tips the jump ball! The LA Clippers start with possession!]

[Chandler isn’t particularly strong on jump balls, with a success rate of less than half. DeAndre Jordan, on the other hand, wins almost two-thirds of his jump balls.]

Chris Paul started dribbling the ball slowly, his mind racing. After failing to be traded to the LA Lakers, the team he originally wanted, and then failing to move to Golden State, he ended up with the LA Clippers as a last resort. It was a trade, so his own will wasn’t really involved, but he opted-in because of a partner like Blake Griffin. However, as the season progressed, he began to doubt whether this team was the championship contender he desired.

[※Chris Paul had a player option (meaning he could decide whether to execute the contract) for the one year remaining after the 2012 season, and he exercised this option, committing to play until 2013.]

‘…’

The individual skills of the players weren’t bad, but the chemistry wasn’t great, and it felt like the LA Lakers’ junior team. The LA Lakers owned Los Angeles, and the Clippers felt like they were just renting space. He joined with the ambition to change that, but it seemed impossible to expect big changes in just one year with a locker room culture steeped in defeatism and a poorly constructed roster.

‘It’s too early to give up yet.’

Paul, wearing his newly acquired white arm sleeve, dribbled the ball and looked at Youngjae guarding him at the top of the key, quickly assessing the situation and deciding on the direction of the attack.

The squeaking of basketball shoes. A low, fast, and steady dribble. Top-notch jab steps and dazzling ball-handling. Youngjae was having a hard time containing his excitement while facing Paul.

[Blake Griffin sets a screen! But Youngjae Yoon avoids it!]

Griffin’s screen wasn’t the best, but it was a screen that Paul could use effectively. As soon as Griffin was in position and stood firm, Paul quickly drove towards the basket.

“Keuk!”

However, Youngjae’s ability to navigate screens was exceptional, both on offense and defense. Thanks to his body, which seemed to anticipate the opponent’s movements and react instantly, Youngjae took a step forward, blocking Paul’s drive while narrowly avoiding Griffin’s screen, showcasing excellent defense.

[Wow! That screen evasion is almost magical! He’s a master of pick-and-roll defense! He rarely gets caught on screens, and even if he does, his reaction time is amazing!]

Paul had no choice but to force an opening. Yoon had good teammates and a well-established tactic of utilizing them, so if things got too difficult, he could reduce his role and still contribute to the victory. But Paul didn’t have that luxury. If he was shut down, the Clippers’ offense would be cut in half.

[Paul has no choice but to force it. After all, the Clippers are a team that can’t do anything if Paul is contained. Paul is involved in everything from the beginning to the end of their offense.]

A drive that was more direct than Paul’s usual style. Even for Youngjae, who had good size and speed, it was impossible to completely stop Paul’s drive once he committed. He might reach out occasionally, but if a steal attempt failed in this situation, Paul would have a clear path to the basket.

“Haaah!!”

Paul, who had driven into the low post, suddenly stopped and jumped back as if falling.

“…”

It was a fadeaway jumper, plain as day. For Chris Paul, known as a midrange master, it was a tough shot he could definitely make. But Youngjae quickly closed the distance, jumping with all his might not directly in front of Paul, but from a slightly left angle.

“?!”

Paul, momentarily flustered, glanced at Youngjae. Griffin, who had executed the pick-and-roll perfectly, drove to the basket and jumped as planned, but Youngjae was right in the path of the potential alley-oop pass.

‘Throw it higher… No, it’ll get intercepted.’

Eventually, Paul decided to abandon the alley-oop and belatedly focused on the rim, but it was almost impossible to shoot properly with his body balance and release already compromised.

*Clang!*

[Ah! Chris Paul’s midrange jumper is unsuccessful! The shot is too short, grazing the rim and falling straight down out of bounds!]

[This, this is really… amazing. Youngjae Yoon’s defense, anticipating the possibility of Paul passing an alley-oop to Griffin in a pick-and-roll situation, judging Griffin’s roll direction, and even interfering with the shot, is truly incredible!]

Reggie Miller couldn’t hide his excitement, and as possession went to Dallas due to the great defense, Paul’s expression twisted in frustration. But regardless of Paul’s expression, Youngjae calmly joined the offense.

[Jason Kidd grabs the ball and crosses the half-court line.]

[The Clippers, having failed their first attack, need to stop this one. If they lose momentum in an away game, Dallas is a really hard team to beat.]

Kidd stopped skillfully on the left wing, glanced at Vince Carter guarding him, and quickly fired the ball to the top of the key.

[Jason Kidd to Youngjae Yoon.]

Youngjae, standing at the top of the key, posed as if he would shoot as soon as he received the ball, but glanced at Paul, who didn’t move. It was clearly a defensive strategy based on the fact that Youngjae rarely shot long-range 3-pointers. But Youngjae smiled slightly and rose up without hesitation from just behind the 3-point line.

*Whoosh!*

“?!”

[A sudden THREE-POINTER by Youngjae Yoon!!!]

A 3-pointer utilizing the distance from the opponent, the height difference, and a slightly quick release. Chris Paul had his right hand up just in case, but it was difficult to defend properly due to the height difference. Since it was a shot selection that was not even 1% predicted, it was not easy to block the opponent’s vision.

As Paul’s defense was late, Youngjae calmly and accurately flicked the ball. Because Youngjae’s jumping ability was low, but the height of the basic release point was high due to the height difference, and the release was a little faster, the ball drew a graceful arc and was sucked into the rim.

*Swish!*

[BAAAANG!! WHAT A GREAT THREE!]

Kevin Harlan’s trademark exclamation BANG burst out, and the 20,000 spectators erupted in a huge cheer as Youngjae’s 3-pointer went in, and everyone stood up.

[Fantastic! Y13 [Youngjae’s jersey number]! He’s pulling out a hidden weapon in the playoffs! He’s a player who keeps the opponent guessing by mixing in more diverse patterns! He’s been a good 3-point shooter since last year, but this is an unexpected preemptive strike.]

Youngjae lightly high-fived Kidd, who had passed the ball, and the Clippers players found it difficult to hide their frustration as they watched Youngjae’s play. In Games 1, 2, and 4, the most difficult opponents were Youngjae and Nowitzki, who were unpredictable as soon as they got the ball, so it was natural for the Clippers to feel frustrated if he put in shots like that in today’s game as well.

Starting with Youngjae’s 3-pointer early in the 1st quarter, Nowitzki, whose shooting touch and post-up game were on fire from the start, continuously tormented the Clippers’ midrange defense.

[Face-up – Post-up – Turnaround Fadeaway! It’s Nowitzki’s trademark!]

The ultimate leaning fadeaway, where he bent his right knee and then straightened it as he turned around, leaning further back, was a shot that couldn’t be stopped no matter how hard DeAndre Jordan tried to block it.

[BANG!!!]

[Nowitzki! Extremely high shooting percentage! A clean 3/4! He scores 6 points cleanly in 8 minutes of the 1st quarter!]

[The Dallas offense, with Youngjae Yoon recording 7 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist with 3/3 shooting including 1/1 3-pointers, forming a potent one-two punch, is tremendous!]

*Beeeep!!*

[Timeout! LA Clippers!]

[With the score widening to 19 to 12 in 8 minutes, they have to stop the bleeding.]

For 1 minute, both teams’ benches showed tremendous concentration, with no one daring to approach, as they instructed their teams about the remainder of the 1st quarter and reviewed the planned tactics.

“Yoon will temporarily play as the 3 [small forward]. The Clippers don’t have particularly tall players at the 3 position. Neither Nick Young nor Caron Butler are tall forwards. The goal is to raise the tempo and shake up the opponent. Haywood and Nowitzki will take care of rebounds on defense, Yoon will play the linker role [facilitating ball movement], and Barea and Terry will immediately initiate the attack.”

*Beeeep!*

[The timeout is over, and Dallas is running the rotation as expected. J.J. Barea leads, followed by Jason Terry, Youngjae Yoon, Dirk Nowitzki, and finally Brandon Haywood. Coach Carlisle is bringing out the 3-guard lineup that he likes to use. This season, Dallas’s guard lineup is thin and the forward lineup is thick, so it’s a lineup that hasn’t been used often.]

[They’re rotating an unexpected lineup even in this situation. In comparison, the Clippers are only replacing Vince Carter with Randy Foye at the 2 [shooting guard]. It’s definitely difficult to rotate when the momentum is clearly against you.]

“Hey!”

Barea raised his voice loudly, living up to his nickname of “little giant,” and directed the players to move according to the plan.

[Is J.J. Barea preparing to drive to the basket?]

[Barea is a decent backup because he’s on Dallas. Among backup players, he has a high-level pick-and-roll game.]

Barea judged that he shouldn’t do anything reckless while facing Paul. Barea was well aware that Chris Paul was one of the best steal artists in the league, a player of a caliber that Barea couldn’t easily challenge, even though they were both relatively short.

*Whoosh-*

[He doesn’t force it. Barea passes to Youngjae Yoon, who’s on the right wing.]

*Whoosh!*

[Youngjae Yoon! As soon as he receives the ball, he throws an entry pass to Nowitzki!]

Griffin stuck to Nowitzki tightly to avoid being victimized by Nowitzki’s combo attack (face-up – post-up – turnaround fadeaway), but as soon as Nowitzki received Youngjae’s accurate pass, he switched to a face-up instead of a post-up and forcefully pushed his left shoulder into Griffin’s chest.

“Keok!”

It would be a mistake to think he wasn’t strong because he was a big man with a thin frame and a lanky build. Dirk Nowitzki was a versatile offensive player who was capable of aggressive face-ups and fast breaks during his prime. His offensive skills were so good that he could be called a cheat code, to the point where he was called a 7-foot small forward.

[Nowitzki! A tremendous drive reminiscent of his prime!]

Nowitzki was a player that even Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, who were also in their prime, couldn’t properly defend. His speed decreased as he entered his 30s, but it was not easy for Griffin to stop him because he had developed post-up moves and added savvy to his game.

[Blake Griffin is being pushed helplessly! DeAndre Jordan, who was guarding Haywood, is running over, but it seems too late!]

Nowitzki was already soaring towards the basket, and DeAndre Jordan belatedly rushed in, thinking he had to interfere somehow, but it was absurd to expect Jordan, a big man with a low basketball IQ, to stop Nowitzki, who was like a slippery eel.

*Swish-*

*Beeeep!!!!*

[Dirk Nowitzki! Easy layup followed by an and-one [a foul drawn while making the shot]!!!]

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

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

★Thank you for the sponsorship coupons, chaikopusuki and Wolhacheonhae!!

＠My younger sibling participated in the re-comment today, so some of the comments will feel a bit different.

＠I will repay yesterday’s missed update with a double update tomorrow. I’m sorry.

Athoro, BlackMoonHwaya, chaikopusuki/// I’m not aiming for second place. I’m not aiming for second place. Why is this being typed twice? Why is this being typed twice?

Hmm. As I was setting things up, my personal ranking ended up being second place, but still, Youngjae is the man who wears the championship ring… And the day Youngjae takes first place will definitely come. It’s unsettling to have a temporary hiatus without finishing as the team’s signature, but I will try to see you as soon as possible.

Lee Dongseokdong, -DarkANGEL-, DisappearingSoul, Omarion, Financia, Puhengheongheong, WhiteSnakeKiller/// Thank you for the comments! The hellish OOO [likely referring to a difficult period or task] is approaching. Hellish Monday… Triple O…

Yabesu///Chandler’s personal stats aren’t flashy, so he needs to excel with team defense, but I can explain that the Dallas team defense is only at a similar level to last year, so that’s the result. Chandler doesn’t have tremendous rebounds or blocks like Howard or Ibaka, and if you look at secondary stats or detailed metrics, he’s a good player, but conversely, it’s a shame that he’s a player who needs to be judged by secondary stats. Howard and Ibaka have flashy stats, and LeBron also had a career-high defensive season, so he dropped to 4th place. At this time, LeBron was blocking Rose and Gasol, and there was a strong impression that he could defend positions 1 through 5, so he was even mentioned for Defensive Player of the Year. Nowitzki’s defense weakened, but I can say that the 3 through 5 starters and backups other than Nowitzki all being above average in defense also influenced Chandler’s ranking drop.

H0h/// As I was setting things up, the score was 2nd place, the score was 2nd place, unintentionally second, unintentionally second, even here. Even here. Am I the only one who’s typing twice? Am I the only one who’s typing twice?

LapirandJint///Since my past life was a point guard, I couldn’t completely shed that. Dallas’s style is also to pass a lot. Youngjae is playing only on teams that pass like crazy in both his past and present lives ㅋㅋ [Korean laughing sounds]. Still, I think 20.7 points is enough to play the role of an ace, since he’s on the same team as Nowitzki, who has to make up for defensive losses with +20 points or more. Of course, he doesn’t have the mindset to become a scoring champion like Kobe or Wade, and he also lacks stamina and physicality. Even if he only scores around 20 points like Paul or Deron, he can still play the role of an ace, as long as he has a big man partner who can score 20 points like Griffin or Boozer. That’s Nowitzki for Youngjae.

And it seems that if one of the point guard and shooting guard is an ace, the other has no choice but to be a 3&D [three-point shooter and defender]. Harden and Lawson, Wade and Dragic, Kobe and Nash were terribly mismatched. In the end, Beverly for Harden, Chalmers for Wade, and Fisher for Kobe were the best partners. The reason why Youngjae matched Kidd the best was because Kidd became a 3&D. Terry can also play a decent 3&D role.

Bilene///The expensive one is the best… I don’t really care about the taste ㅋㅋㅋ [Korean laughing sounds]

anguqwhdk///Are they also bland? I’ve heard that there’s a lot of natural food in Eastern Europe, but England too;;;

BlackWam///As someone who can eat pizza or pork belly from the morning, I welcome this kind of breakfast. Since I eat more than 4 slices of pizza even in the morning… I also heard that famous restaurants are foreign food ㅋㅋ [Korean laughing sounds] (I, the younger sibling, can’t even imagine that kind of diet… Even though I’m big, my appetite is surprisingly small.)

Jimbbing///I have to avoid the original… It’s ironic.

Naye///Well, the proportion of 3-pointers isn’t small, but compared to Curry, it’s obviously a drop in the bucket. Curry is so overly high in 3-point proportion that he’s called a new human even in the NBA.