Y13 [EN]: Chapter 288

With the 24-second shot clock winding down, the Dallas players retreated with frustrated expressions. LeBron James received the ball and slowly crossed the half-court line, facing Corey Brewer one-on-one.

Tung- Tung-

“…”

Whoosh!

Brewer, assuming LeBron was dribbling casually, reached for a steal, but LeBron James smirked and charged forward.

Tung!

[Behind-the-back dribble! Corey Brewer is completely fooled!]

With the defender who was supposed to be guarding him stumbling after a failed steal attempt, LeBron James drove to the basket with ease.

[Wright is protecting the paint, and Parsons, who was guarding Bosh on the perimeter, is double-teaming LeBron James as he drives!]

This leaves huge openings on the outside. Parsons had already abandoned Bosh to help, leaving Bosh wide open at the three-point line. Wade, a threat to cut at any moment, was being loosely guarded by Terry.

“Ha!”

However, LeBron James, paying no attention to the open players, kept pushing forward, focusing solely on the rim. Wright, mindful of LeBron James’s finishing ability under the basket, raised both hands high to obstruct his vision and stood his ground directly in front of the rim. Parsons couldn’t recklessly jump in, as he had to avoid giving up an and-one [a free throw awarded after a player is fouled while scoring] while trying to defend!

“Ugh!!”

Wright fell backward. He looked at the referee, hoping for an offensive foul call, but the whistle remained silent.

Swish!

[BANG!!!]

[It’s ‘King’ LeBron James! Despite good defense from Brandon Wright and Chandler Parsons, he powers his way to the rim and scores! That’s the King’s presence right there!]

[And with that, it’s 40 to 40! The Dallas Mavericks are helplessly allowing a 10-3 run!]

[It’s only the middle of the second quarter, and this is Dallas’s home game, but they look so listless. The Dallas Mavericks are known for their veteran leadership and a strong bench, but today, even the veterans aren’t holding it together. Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, and Jason Kidd are the only ones playing like veterans, but the other players don’t seem to be in good form!]

Coach Carlisle sighed deeply and called a timeout.

“Where has everyone’s head gone? Just because we won last year doesn’t guarantee anything this year, right? Do you think our opponents are pushovers?”

Coach Carlisle snapped as soon as the players sat on the bench. The players had no response to his criticism. Carlisle suppressed his anger, realizing he needed to change the atmosphere.

“Brewer, Terry, and Parsons, take a seat for now. The rest of you need to remember to outwork your opponent. If you lack talent, you can make up for it by running harder and playing smarter. That’s what Detroit did eight years ago [referring to the Detroit Pistons’ championship run], and that’s what we did last season. Never forget that.”

The difference in talent. That was the stark reality between Dallas and Miami, and various tactics, rotations, and hustle were used to compensate for it. Brewer, Terry, and Parsons nodded, and a sense of tension rose among the players.

Coach Carlisle was a master tactician. His capabilities showed the potential to reach the level of Coach Gregg Popovich [renowned coach of the San Antonio Spurs], and he had the ability to disrupt the opponent’s momentum and reorganize the team through well-timed timeouts.

After that, the game remained fiercely contested, and the score remained close even in the fourth quarter.

[Dwyane Wade! Driving hard!]

[Indeed, his hand, which had cooled off when Youngjae Yoon wasn’t guarding him, is now firing on all cylinders, showing confident moves even against Youngjae Yoon! This has been the story of the third quarter!]

[This shows that momentum is crucial. Once momentum builds or a player gets hot, it’s very difficult to stop. That’s why the timing of coaches’ timeouts is important, and the role of veterans is crucial.]

Thud!

Wade aggressively posted up like a fish in water, and Youngjae, realizing it would be difficult to match Wade’s increased strength, subtly extended his right hand.

Tick-

Wade, seemingly irritated by the wrist tap that Tony Allen [known for his defensive prowess] had successfully used against him, cursed audibly. But this level of cursing was within the bounds of trash talk.

‘I need to kill the momentum again.’

Youngjae ultimately decided to take a chance. Being dominated was clearly not good for either Dallas or Youngjae. As time passed, they couldn’t widen the score gap even when Youngjae was on the court, and Miami gained more and more momentum when Youngjae was off, creating a vicious cycle.

Squeak-

Wade faked a move with a pivot and quickly turned counterclockwise. His drive, holding the ball in his right hand to make it difficult to steal, was truly impressive.

‘Drawing an offensive foul?’

Drawing an offensive foul was a gamble. Although Youngjae was skilled at drawing offensive fouls, the Dallas organization itself tended to receive unfavorable calls from the referees. And the current situation wasn’t ideal for drawing an offensive foul. Moreover, there were only about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the score was 90 to 91, with Dallas trailing by one point despite Youngjae’s best efforts.

Youngjae made a quick decision and smartly took a step back. Even if Wade drove in with a spin move, he would ultimately be moving in a circle, so a linear step back would allow Youngjae to cover a much shorter distance than Wade’s movement, effectively cutting him off.

Thud!!

[He’s not getting through!!!]

“The Flash is washed up? Is that why you’re losing to LeBron?” [“The Flash” is Dwyane Wade’s nickname]

Youngjae taunted Wade, engaging in trash talk he didn’t usually do. It was an admission that Wade was a handful, but if he could provoke Wade even a little, it would be worth it.

“Bullshit!”

Wade leaped up with bravado. He could have driven in a little further and pushed Youngjae away, but perhaps annoyed by Youngjae’s constant mind games, or wanting to prove that he could score on Youngjae without any trouble, Wade attempted a floater.

“…!”

But Youngjae’s defense was by no means a weakness. He was a smart defender who compensated for his lack of physicality with meticulous analysis. And among MVP-level players, being physically lacking was relative; compared to all NBA players, his physicality was above average.

To block Wade, who was shooting a floater with his right hand, Youngjae’s left hand, facing him, stretched up to obstruct Wade’s shooting path, and his right hand covered Wade’s eyes, hindering his vision. Wade, perhaps not expecting Youngjae to defend like this, flailed and desperately shot the floater.

Clang!

[MISS!]

[He was too hasty! Ah, just when it seemed like he was getting better, Dwyane Wade continues to struggle against Youngjae Yoon today!]

Nowitzki grabbed the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Youngjae. Youngjae crossed the half-court line while talking to his teammates.

[Y13, playing 30 minutes today, is having a solid performance with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals. He’s defending Dwyane Wade and performing even better than Wade. But Jason Terry’s slump is disappointing in this game.]

Steve Kerr [NBA commentator and former player] watched Youngjae slowly approach the three-point line and spoke, and just as Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen [fellow commentators] were about to chime in.

Whoosh!!

[?! Youngjae Yoon! Sudden three-pointer!]

Youngjae’s surprise three-pointer, unexpected by Wade and the commentators alike, was enough to startle everyone. But Youngjae nodded as he watched the ball’s trajectory.

‘It went in. They probably didn’t expect me to shoot a three-pointer from this spot at this timing.’

Swish-

[KABOOOM!!! WHAT A PERFECT THREE POINT!!!]

[How many players in the league can sink such a surprise three-pointer?! Truly amazing! The score is 93 to 91! The Dallas Mavericks are taking back the lead!]

Watching Youngjae’s incredible performance today, Emily unconsciously started praying with her hands clasped together on the bench instead of cheering.

‘Please, let Yoon’s efforts lead to victory…’

Emily knew best that Youngjae’s mental fortitude had strengthened, but regardless, it was natural for anyone to feel a sense of deprivation, emptiness, and helplessness if the team lost or didn’t achieve the desired results despite putting on a great performance. Emily desperately hoped that Youngjae wouldn’t feel those emotions, and Youngjae felt the same way.

“Just hang in there a little longer. We only have to hold on for five more minutes!!”

Youngjae clapped and encouraged his teammates, and Chandler responded by shouting loudly, firmly supporting Youngjae.

“Only five minutes left! Everyone, don’t let up!”

9 points and 14 rebounds. The teammates knew best about Chandler’s hard work, which couldn’t be simply expressed in stats. It was common for him to have bruises all over his body after the game, and his unwavering toughness even after frightening collisions was enough to call him the pillar of Dallas.

[LeBron James dribbles the ball towards the top.]

LeBron James calmly surveyed his surroundings, but in fact, LeBron James felt the greatest pressure of anyone on the court. Last year, he was criticized relentlessly, and there were controversies over the Big Three pay cuts [referring to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh taking less salary to play together] and The Decision [LeBron James’s televised announcement of his move to the Miami Heat]… He gave up so much and moved to a team to win a championship, but they ended up as runners-up. And the opponent was the Dallas Mavericks, who had inflicted a painful defeat on them last year. Therefore, this was arguably the most desperate situation of his life.

Whoosh!

Thwack!!

[STEAL!!!]

Mario Chalmers – Dwyane Wade – Shane Battier – LeBron James – Chris Bosh. With this lineup, they would definitely pass the ball to Wade or Bosh. Seeing Wade and LeBron’s movements, Youngjae reflexively darted out, and the ball ended up in his hands.

[Youngjae Yoon dashes forward with incredible speed!!]

Youngjae didn’t slow down and glanced back. As expected, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were chasing him with tremendous speed. And behind them were Nowitzki and Terry.

‘Those two!’

Youngjae knew very well that his stamina was plummeting. So he also knew that Wade and LeBron were gradually catching up to him.

[Youngjae Yoon soars!]

[LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are jumping up with him!]

The two jumped up, thinking that Youngjae was currently the most dangerous scorer on Dallas. They thought that Youngjae could squeeze through this gap and shoot, but even though Youngjae jumped, he didn’t direct the ball towards the basket.

“?!”

Inadvertently, Wade and LeBron ended up jumping over an empty basket to block a shot that wasn’t coming, and Youngjae, just before his feet touched the court and he was called for traveling [an illegal movement of the feet while holding the ball], twisted his body and forcefully threw the ball towards the top with his back to the basket.

Thump thump thump!!!

Youngjae lost his balance and tumbled awkwardly, and LeBron and Wade, completely fooled by Youngjae’s fake, could only watch the rim after landing, hoping that the shot wouldn’t go in.

Swish!!!!

[BAAAANG!!! DIRK FROM DOWNTOWN!!!]

[It goes in! A BULLS EYE piercing the very center of the Miami Heat’s heart!!!]

Beep!!

[Timeout! Miami Heat!]