Y13 [EN]: Chapter 272

Carlyle felt a chill down his spine more than once, watching the still-threatening Oklahoma City players. Still, he applauded his players for holding onto a five-point lead and preventing a comeback.

“Good. It’s turning into a high-scoring game, different from what we intended, but we’re maintaining our lead well.”

The players slightly loosened the tension they had been holding like a taut string. Coach Carlyle wasn’t exactly a benevolent leader, but he wasn’t a dictatorial one either. Even when things didn’t go as planned, he was capable of understanding the players’ psychology and motivating them.

“They run and run. Even if the screens aren’t perfect, their players are flashy enough to get past them. They have three players who can easily score 20 points if they set their minds to it. And all three can score from anywhere on the court, at any time.”

Coach Carlyle paused to gather his thoughts before speaking.

“We are experienced. If they try to overwhelm us with their energy, we respond with our experience. Don’t fall for unnecessary provocations, and just play your game. Take responsibility for your plays. There are no special changes. Just do what we’ve shown in our home games so far, what we showed in the first half today.”

Normally, Coach Carlyle would have given additional instructions or pointed out issues with the first half’s performance, but he simply clapped and ended his speech. The players could sense that it was now a battle of mental fortitude.

“Alright! Let’s go!! If we get past this, it’s the Conference Finals, and if we get past the Conference Finals, it’s the Finals again! Let’s go all the way like last year!”

“Yeah. Let’s go as far as we can. Don’t get complacent just because we won last year, let’s do it again!”

As soon as Chandler and Terry echoed Carlyle’s words, they jumped up and shouted, instantly igniting the usually quiet Dallas locker room.

[The third quarter is another close one. This might be the most intense series in this season’s playoffs. No one has won a game by a significant margin, and Game 7 is turning out to be another nail-biter.]

[The games have been decided by the narrowest of margins, and neither team has managed to win on the road. Yet, the results have all been close. And this game is no different! Midway through the third quarter, it’s 78 to 75, a tight three-point game!]

The more intense the game, the higher the fatigue. Naturally, everyone becomes more sensitive and shows signs of exhaustion more quickly.

[Russell Westbrook gets past Serge Ibaka’s screen.]

Westbrook, perhaps instructed to simplify his offense, opted for a pull-up jumper after using Ibaka’s screen, delaying Youngjae’s pursuit, instead of a risky drive.

[He rises up right after getting past the screen?!]

Clang!

[MISS!! Russell Westbrook’s jumper misses. Westbrook’s jumper is still a bit unstable.]

The rebound went to Brandon Wright, who safely passed it to Kidd.

[The two teams are reacting very differently to this final game. Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant hasn’t been on the bench at all, and Russell Westbrook has played almost the entire game, except for a few short breaks. This clearly shows their weakness in Durant’s backup. Durant also led the regular season in total minutes played with 2546 minutes.]

Mike Breen hummed and nodded slightly at the observation.

[He averages about a minute less per game than Deng and Love, who played fewer games, but the total time played puts much more strain on the body. However, Scott Brooks and Kevin Durant himself have no choice today. Durant, still young, wouldn’t want to sit on the bench during this elimination game. Moreover, they don’t have a reliable backup on the bench. At least Durant’s playstyle is less physically demanding than Westbrook and Harden’s.]

But Reggie Miller’s commentary was interrupted. Kidd, who had been slowly dribbling the ball, stopped at the top of the key and lightly passed it to Youngjae, who was on the right wing.

[We’ll have to save this story for later. Jason Kidd passes the ball to Youngjae Yoon.]

[Dallas has Youngjae Yoon and Dirk Nowitzki playing the most minutes. Dirk Nowitzki has played 21 minutes, and Youngjae Yoon has played 23 minutes. This means Youngjae Yoon’s role has become that much bigger, but it also means Dallas’s guard lineup is thin.]

Youngjae, as if hearing Reggie Miller’s praise, lightly stepped over Wright’s screen. It wasn’t a beastly drive-in like Westbrook or Harden, but his agile movements were reminiscent of a cheetah.

Swoosh!

[SPIN MOVE!!! Serge Ibaka, who switched onto Youngjae after the opponent’s pick-and-roll, is humiliated!]

[No matter how young and mobile Ibaka is, it’s impossible for him to properly defend Yoon, who has top-tier speed and footwork among guards.]

At that moment, Wright, who had set the screen, charged in like a flood, and Youngjae lofted a high pass into the open lane.

[Y13 TO HELICOPTER!!!]

Westbrook showed poor positioning and failed to properly check Youngjae and Wright’s alley-oop route.

KWAHHHH!

“WOOOO!!!”

[KABOOM!!! HELICOPTER SLAM!!!]

[What a fantastic alley-oop play! The pick-and-roll led to a mismatch, followed by a drive and an alley-oop, collapsing Oklahoma City’s defense.]

As Wright came down after finishing the attack with a one-handed slam that looked like he was going to tear the rim off, Youngjae went to Wright and bumped into him, and Wright responded by grabbing Youngjae’s head with both hands and repeatedly shouting YES like crazy.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!!

The 20,000-plus spectators couldn’t contain their excitement and all stood up, jumping in place. The rumbling sound filled the stadium, making it feel like the stands were swaying, and Chandler Parsons, J.J. Barea, and Jason Terry, who had been sitting on the bench, unknowingly stood up in excitement and shouted, “Ooooh!!!!”

[The score is back to a 5-point difference!!! And Youngjae Yoon already achieved a double-double with his 10th assist!!]

[And it seems that young players, especially those who aren’t quite starters, definitely have teams that suit them. Wright was drafted high as the 8th pick, but he suffered from frequent injuries and stagnant growth, leading to the pain of being released. He was ambiguous in both forward and center positions. But after joining Dallas, he overcame his frequent injuries and realized his role and abilities, growing into a good player.]

Oklahoma City continued their momentum on their next possession, but Dallas, on defense, unfortunately committed a shooting foul, giving up free throws.

Swish-

[Serge Ibaka makes the first shot.]

Beeeep-

[At the same time, Brandon Wright and Shawn Marion are replaced by Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons. For Oklahoma City, Nick Collison comes out and Kendrick Perkins comes in.]

[Not a bad decision. Currently, Nick Collison and Kendrick Perkins are taking turns at center, and Serge Ibaka is also playing center occasionally. In this case, they are using a more traditional lineup, with Chandler Parsons guarding Kevin Durant.]

[Looking at the regular season matchups, Durant’s field goal percentage is worse when matched against Parsons than when matched against Marion. This may be due to Parsons’ height, rookie-like tenacity, and the fact that he can overpace Durant thanks to his limited playing time.]

Coach Carlyle decided to increase Parsons’ playing time as Durant seemed poised to play the entire game. He figured that if the opponent’s stamina decreased, reducing their activity and jump height, Parsons, with his ample energy, could tire Durant out faster. Teams with a wide range of available players often have two or three players take turns guarding the opponent’s ace, which inevitably tires the ace out much faster.

After Ibaka made both free throws, making it 80 to 77, Kidd grabbed the ball again and crossed the half-court line while continuing to talk to his teammates. Oklahoma City’s man-to-man defense was tight, but Dallas’s organic movement through passes was a step above.

Kidd adjusted his players’ positions at the top of the key, gave a signal, and moved to the right wing himself. James Harden, who was guarding Kidd, stuck to him like glue, and at the same time, Youngjae, who had been on the opposite wing, slowly walked to the top of the key.

Whoosh-

[Jason Kidd passes to Youngjae Yoon.]

[Dallas always starts their offense with a 2-2 from the top or the wing. Except for fast breaks or specific situations, they rarely start directly with a post-up or isolation.]

Youngjae, who had been holding the ball at the top of the key, charged towards Westbrook in an off-beat rhythm, just before Tyson Chandler’s screen came from the baseline.

“?!”

Westbrook, wary of Youngjae’s skillful use of screens, naturally looked back, and Chandler was rushing out to block his left side.

‘He’s aiming for my left!’

Chandler’s screen was solid and precise enough to give the ball handler twice as much freedom of movement. Getting past Chandler’s screen often resulted in an open chance.

‘The timing is a bit off, I’d rather go out first at this time…’

Thung!

“?!”

[WOW! WOW! WHAT AN AMAZING DRIBBLE!]

At that moment, Youngjae instead took advantage of Westbrook’s hesitation and quickly broke out in the direction without a screen. Completely shattering the expectation that he would use the screen, Youngjae ran in the opposite direction and lightly jumped up in a direction that Perkins, who had followed Chandler, couldn’t interfere with.

[Serge Ibaka, the last line of defense, jumps up to block the rim!]

Even for Youngjae, it would have been too much to push straight ahead against Serge Ibaka, who, although slightly lacking as a center, had won the Defensive Player of the Year award based on his solid physique and excellent blocking ability as a power forward. That’s why Youngjae jumped from a distance of more than three steps away from Ibaka.

[He throws a floater!]

A floater mainly used by short guards. Unlike the hand motion of a layup, it wasn’t a scooping motion but a shot where you forcefully scrape from the wrist to the fingers to float the ball high.

It was a technique that was good to use only if you had a natural talent for shooting touch and excellent hand feel. Youngjae had learned the floater from Parker, one of the masters of the floater, and thanks to his relentless practice, his floater was at a very high level.

Height isn’t an issue now, but he still uses it often when facing big men. A floater, if it has a high success rate, can be the best weapon. From a defender’s point of view, there was nothing they could do once the ball floated high. They could only hope it wouldn’t go in.

Whooosh!!!

The ball, which soared close to the top of the backboard, reached its peak and then quickly nestled into the rim.

Swish!

[BANG!!!!!]

[It’s always an amazing floater!! It goes over the defenders’ heads, so it’s really frustrating for the defenders! Youngjae Yoon is truly amazing!]

Youngjae’s floater brought the difference back to 5 points. To break the chain of the continuous seesaw game, Youngjae struggled, but both teams were under tremendous pressure, knowing that losing this game meant elimination. The team that took the lead couldn’t pull away, and the chasing team couldn’t steal the lead.

But Dallas’s crisis began at the end of the third quarter.

[The combination of J.J. Barea and Jason Terry wasn’t too bad on offense, but is it because of who they’re playing today? Their performance is rapidly deteriorating.]

[Oklahoma City also has bench players, but suddenly they can’t make their shots. Dallas is starting to get chased.]

Beeeep!!!

Dallas, who had been slowly chased, ended the quarter having been overtaken when the third quarter ended.

[The third quarter ends! The score is 91 to 88! They are overtaken by 3 points!]