Y13 [EN]: Chapter 52

Y13-52 (52/296)

00052 2010-11 Regular Season ====================================================

Commentator Son Dae-beom and caster Lim Yong-soo were already hoarse, their voices strained as they continued their commentary with great excitement.

[Yoon Young-jae is playing exceptionally well. I can’t take my eyes off him!]

[Indeed. He’s carrying over his performance from the Summer League and preseason. It might be premature, but he could definitely be in the running for Rookie of the Year!]

“Good! Keep it up! Yoon! Feel free to play even more confidently!”

With about two minutes left in the third quarter, Carlisle watched Young-jae, who had played a total of 13 minutes through several substitutions since the middle of the first quarter. He seemed satisfied, praising him and asking for even more confident play. The score was 65 to 49, with Dallas leading by a significant 16 points. There was still plenty of time left, so they couldn’t afford to be careless, but Carlisle knew that it was difficult to experiment with various player combinations or tactics unless they had a lead like this. He paused to gather his thoughts and then spoke loudly to the players.

“Alright! The game isn’t over yet! Terry and Kidd! You two will replace Barea and Butler. Terry, guard Augustine, and Yoon, guard Henderson. Kidd, you’ll cover Wallace! Nowitzki! You rest a bit, and Brian Cardinal, get ready. Just focus on your role as a stretch power forward [a power forward who can shoot well from outside]. Look for open spaces rather than setting screens, and stick tight to Diaw on defense! Ian Mahinmi! You need to set good screens and box out thoroughly to control the rebounds! Alright, everyone, get ready to go out!”

Coach Carlisle clapped his hands, encouraging the players. Ian Mahinmi, who was making his first appearance in a game since joining Dallas, looked visibly nervous, but Tyson Chandler stepped up to pat him on the back, helping him to relax.

Carlisle’s preferred offense was the ‘PUSH’ attack. It was a self-devised strategy to maximize the roster, which lacked slashers [players who aggressively drive to the basket] and players who could post up effectively in the paint [the area near the basket]. The goal was to attack quickly before the opposing team could set up their defense, creating high-percentage jump shots.

Carlisle had been deeply impressed by the Phoenix camp in the past. This offense, similar to Mike D’Antoni’s ‘Run and Gun,’ relied heavily on Jason Kidd. This was because the players were generally slow and their jump shots were inconsistent. They aimed to exploit small gaps created by random pick-and-rolls [a play where a player sets a screen for a teammate driving to the basket] to set up jump shots for Nowitzki, Terry, and Marion.

Using a small lineup to quickly develop attacks through fast breaks. Until last season, they often used a three-guard combination of Barea, Terry, and Kidd, but it had drawn a lot of criticism due to defensive issues. Moreover, Barea was a backup player, so he inevitably had limitations in his abilities, and his short stature made him particularly vulnerable.

But now, things were different. With Young-jae, who excelled on both offense and defense, they could utilize fast breaks in a variety of ways. Unlike Barea, he didn’t lose out in height matchups against players in the same position. Furthermore, unlike Barea, he had excellent court vision and could handle the role of a point guard, so even if a fast break was shut down, he had the ability to transition immediately to a set offense. This made opponents think, ‘Oh? What do we do when they don’t do a fast break and go into a set offense?’

“Everyone, stay calm! Move more!”

Kidd controlled the tempo, which could easily become rushed, and slowly transitioned to a set offense. Charlotte was the one who needed to chase the game, not Dallas. There was no need to rush the tempo and risk a counterattack that could shift the momentum in an instant. Besides, the current combination of players on the court was capable of consistently scoring points even with a half-court offense.

“Move! Move!”

Kidd shouted at the players, who were blocked by Charlotte’s tight defense, emphasizing the need to keep moving. D.J. Augustine, who was guarding him, was also sticking to him tenaciously, showing his determination to stop this possession.

“I read it!”

Augustine saw Kidd looking towards the rim and extending his hand with the ball, anticipating a pass. He felt a thrill of excitement as he reached out to steal the ball, but Kidd passed the ball to the right, completely unrelated to the direction he was looking.

Once again, Young-jae and Stephen Jackson were in a one-on-one situation. Young-jae dribbled the ball a couple of times and then immediately started driving towards the basket.

[Is Yoon Young-jae going for a drive?!]

[He’s going in! Stephen Jackson! He’s wavering!]

Stephen Jackson, who had been trying to back away slightly in anticipation of a drive, was caught off guard by Young-jae’s incredible hesitation move, which created distance between them. Young-jae then quickly stepped back. As a result, Jackson, who had been moving backward, lost his footing as he tried to move forward again.

[Oh! Ankle breaker! Yoon Young-jae delivers an ankle breaker [a move that causes a defender to lose balance] to Stephen Jackson!]

[He shook him back and forth, leaving him disoriented! It’s a wide-open look for Yoon Young-jae from three! It’s good!!]

Young-jae’s clean three-pointer went in without even touching the rim. He clenched his fist and immediately returned to the court. He had every reason to celebrate, but his quick return prompted his teammates to pat him on the shoulder and congratulate him.

Young-jae’s whirlwind performance came to an end, and it was already the beginning of the fourth quarter. Coach Carlisle called a timeout, allowing Young-jae to rest and forming a lineup with Barea and DeShawn Stevenson. As discussed in the meetings after the preseason, he wanted to give DeShawn Stevenson a certain amount of playing time. Fortunately, the point difference with Charlotte was already large enough to allow for lineup testing.

The combination of Barea and Stevenson didn’t look very good, and their shooting slump showed no signs of improving. From Dallas’s perspective, it was a concerning situation, as they needed both of them to step up for the sake of future rotations.

On the other hand, Tyson Chandler, who came in for Haywood, showed a strong presence in the paint and proved to be a more than capable starting center if his minutes were managed well. Dirk Nowitzki, of course, was a perfect all-around ace, demonstrating his prowess without needing any further explanation.

[The game is over! The Dallas Mavericks win their opening game with an overwhelming score of 111 to 86! Charlotte will be disappointed that they couldn’t carry over their momentum from last year!]

[Today’s MOM [Man of the Match] will be Dirk Nowitzki, right? He played 33 minutes and recorded 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 block, including 6/6 free throws and 11/15 two-point shots. He was the core of Dallas’s offense.]

[Another fact that cannot be overlooked is Yoon Young-jae’s sensational NBA regular season debut, right? He played 22 minutes until the middle of the fourth quarter and showed tremendous performance that is unimaginable for a rookie’s debut game, with 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 turnover, with 1/1 free throws, 4/7 two-point shots, and 3/5 three-point shots. Just looking at his pure shooting, he showed an amazing shooting accuracy of over 58% with 7/12 shots.]

[Moreover, what’s really impressive about Yoon Young-jae is that he doesn’t seem like a rookie. Usually, it’s not easy for a rookie to play a role like a cog in a machine that fits perfectly into the team’s tactics, right? But when you watched today’s game, you never saw Yoon Young-jae failing to keep up with the team’s tactics or disrupting the team’s play. That makes him an even more promising player.]

The American Airlines Center, Dallas’s home arena, was a scene of utter frenzy. The players, coach Rick Carlisle, and the coaching staff shared their joy with the home fans, who were roaring with cheers, waving their hands as they entered the locker room.

As Young-jae entered the locker room, he was overjoyed to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the key players of the victory, Kidd, Barea, Terry, Nowitzki, Butler, Marion, and Chandler, talking about today’s game. It was only the first game, and even if this performance didn’t continue consistently, Young-jae thought that he would never want to forget this moment.

“I think I’m drownin, asphyxiated… Iwanna break this spell that you’ve created…”

On the plane, a person with a rather sweet male voice was humming MUSE’s “Time is Running Out.” The plane was flying towards Tennessee, and the other passengers on the plane, except for the man with the sweet voice, were either sleeping or watching movies, spending their time in their own ways.

“Oh, Yoon? Are you interested in the song?”

Tyson Chandler, who was sitting next to the man, heard the sweet singing and exclaimed, “Oh-” as he gently nudged the man’s side.

“I just like the song. It’s Muse, you know?”

The man called Yoon was none other than Young-jae. The Dallas Mavericks players were on the plane for their away game against Memphis. On the plane, Young-jae thought about whether to rest like the other players, but he wasn’t particularly sleepy, and immersing himself in various thoughts was quite important to him, so he put on his cheap headset and hummed along to the song, lost in thought.

Before long, the 2010-11 regular season began, and the Dallas Mavericks played six games. Starting with a great victory in the opening game against Charlotte, they tried to build on their momentum, but they suffered a narrow 2-point loss to Memphis, who they had invited to their home.

Regarding the input of Young-jae and DeShawn Stevenson, which Coach Rick Carlisle had fiercely discussed with the coaching staff at the end of the preseason, he increased DeShawn Stevenson’s playing time in the second game, but the result was a crushing defeat. The team’s overall field goal percentage was 47% to 39%, they made three more shots, and their three-point field goal percentage was 33% to 27%. Dallas also had seven more assists, and their rebounding wasn’t that bad. Looking at it this way, it was a game they should never have lost, but the reason for the narrow 2-point loss was none other than turnovers and free throws.

The points scored after turnovers were 14 for Dallas and 19 for Memphis, a difference of 5 points. In terms of possessions, the Dallas Mavericks gave Memphis five more possessions due to turnovers. On top of that, the number of free throw attempts was 24 and 36, a difference of 12. No matter how good the game was, it became a battle they couldn’t win. The fact that they had fewer free throw attempts meant that they couldn’t properly control the opponent’s drives and shots and had to stop them with fouls.

O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen, who faced off against DeShawn Stevenson, relentlessly exploited DeShawn Stevenson’s clumsy defense and continued to draw shooting fouls. In the end, the Dallas Mavericks, who conceded 20 points to O.J. Mayo, including four 3-pointers, recorded their first loss.

After that, they played a total of four games against the Clippers (away), Denver (away), Denver (home), and Boston (home). Rick Carlisle and the Dallas coaching staff figured out how to organize the guard rotation for the first half of the season.

They significantly increased Young-jae’s playing time, with Barea backing him up. In Barea’s case, he was playing as Jason Kidd’s backup point guard and the third shooting guard, averaging 11.2 minutes, 6.16 points, 1.83 assists, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals, which were decent stats for a backup guard. The problem was Barea’s turnovers.

In comparison, Young-jae gradually increased his playing time and was now averaging 18.5 minutes, 12.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.83 rebounds, 2.16 steals, and 0.83 blocks, boasting tremendous efficiency compared to his playing time. He was being evaluated as the most promising rookie in the Dallas area, with people saying that he could aim for Rookie of the Year if he increased his playing time.

In any case, Dallas was continuing their good momentum with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, and they were now on a plane to Memphis Grizzlies’ home to take revenge for their home loss.

For Young-jae, he couldn’t help but look forward to another matchup with O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen. In particular, Tony Allen was one of the best guard defenders in the NBA, and Young-jae hadn’t been able to perform well against him, so he was determined to pay him back this time.

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

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

★Thank you for the sponsorship coupons, abcdganadarara and Kwon Woo-hyun™!!

★Thank you for the review, Orbellar!!

@In the end, Atlanta went up. Jeff Teague became the first player in 23 years to record 0 points and 13 or more assists ㄷㄷ. In the end, the team that was supposed to go up in the East went up. Only the elimination game remains in the West. Clippers and Spurs.

@Adaptation and teamwork take time more than you think. And as those who watch American sports know, high-paid players and franchise stars get more playing opportunities than outstanding rookies unless they fail miserably.

zoshs White/// Congratulations on your first comment~ Thank you for your comment

Shadow Boy/// The opponent is weak, but it’s an impactful debut ㅎㅎ

Thank you for your comments, Only Love and -DarkANGEL-~

Lafir and Jint/// Yes, these days, 2:2 defense has become as important as man-to-man defense. Of course, the difference is that this part is not just about being good at it yourself, but also about the defense of the big man who does 2:2 defense with you. I also prefer players who are good at defense rather than offense. The modern trend also focuses on defense.

Thank you for making it fun, Vegemilgun, Hwimol, and Niahpekkotminamㅋㅋ

Yabes/// Top 5 in the point guard worldㅋㅋ They are also the opponents that Young-jae will be matched up against. Kidd is slow, so he can’t block point guards well ㅋㅋㅋ

Onsaemirow/// ㅎㅎ It seems like you were well immersed. I often get too emotionally involved when reading novels ㅋㅋㅋ

Cheonsangbyeolri/// Thank you for your opinion. I also wanted to express Korean reactions and analysis/interpretation of Young-jae in Korea. The Korean broadcast and the American broadcast will probably continue to be mixed. I’m still thinking about which one will take up more weight.

Kwon Woo-hyun™/// In reality…ㅠ.ㅠ I can only sigh when it will come out

Laytime/// 엌ㅋㅋ There are many people who want to watch sports novels all at once.

Devil’s Number/// Yes. It’s like trying to compensate for elasticity with flexibility. Basically, I think athletes should do cardio or stretching regularly, even if they don’t do weight training. In the novel, Young-jae is compensated, so even if he doesn’t have the athletic ability of LeBron or Westbrook, he will be at a high level.

Dots/// One of us is a Mari Hanwha fan ㅋㅋㅋ

encoding/// Oh, another NBA fan has come ㅋㅋㅋ

Milk Boy/// Air Jordan인가요ㅋㅋ Can he overcome that person ㄷㄷ

misscherry/// Thank you for waiting for our article. Thanks to the readers, I have fun writing every day

Omarion, SavageGenius/// Thank you for your comments