Y13 [EN]: Chapter 55

Y13-55 (55/296)

00055 2010-11 Regular Season =========================================================================

Rick Carlisle reminded Youngjae of his role once again.

“Yoon, Hollins might put Tony Allen on you to control you. You probably felt it in the last game, but his defense is threatening, so play carefully. And Tony’s jumper is notoriously bad, so keep a reasonable distance and try to draw an offensive foul. Barea will be the main ball-handler as usual, and you’ll create opportunities through simple ball-handling when Barea is blocked.”

“Understood.”

Youngjae also had a tough experience with Tony Allen’s defense. Solid strength to play as a small forward. Calmness that doesn’t fall for fakes. Impeccable timing for steals and jump to block shots. His defense had been proven in the previous year’s Boston Celtics.

In the 09-10 playoffs, he defended Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers) and LeBron James (then Cleveland Cavaliers) well, and Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) and Vince Carter (then New Jersey Nets) were almost locked down.

Of course, Tony Allen now wasn’t as good defensively as before. It was his first year coming from the Boston Celtics to the Memphis Grizzlies. First of all, he is a player who shows extreme strength in 1:1 defense in a well-organized team defense, but Memphis’ team defense was not well organized. In addition, he had to be able to attack as he had to come off the bench, but his playing time fluctuated as he made excessive turnovers and airballs in attack.

“Slow down! Catch your breath!”

Before he knew it, there were only about 4 minutes left in the second quarter. The score was 55 to 50. The 5-point lead was repeating like a seesaw game. Barea was ordering his teammates to play a set offense. Youngjae was also feeling anew that Memphis’ paint [the area close to the basket] was incredibly tight.

The combination of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph’s height and power. On the other hand, the combination of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, and Rudy Gay on the outside was incomplete and chaotic.

Conley’s defense was interfering with Barea’s lead, and Barea, who kept dragging the ball, passed the ball to Youngjae as if he had no choice. Youngjae began to think about what to do against Tony Allen. There was still plenty of time. At 12, 11… When it became 10 seconds, Youngjae started rushing at Tony Allen with a determined expression as if he had made a choice.

[Youngjae Yoon’s drive-in!]

[Memphis’ defense is amazing! There’s nowhere to go?!]

[In this situation, I think the best option is for Yoon to break through Tony Allen as is and shoot!]

Youngjae’s thought was exactly that. A slasher [a player who frequently drives to the basket] who has to break through is finished if he loses confidence. Youngjae decided that the best way to get through to Memphis, who fights with defense, was ‘1:1 breakthrough and then floater [a high-arcing shot over a defender]’. Even if he poked the ball to Chandler in the tight paint, he couldn’t handle it if Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph came in with a double team. Even if Chandler faced the two and passed the ball to Cardinal, Cardinal was not Nowitzki. It was difficult to withstand Rudy Gay’s power, and his tough shot success rate was not good today to overcome Gay’s interference and shoot. It was worth aiming for Shawn Marion, but in Marion’s case, his shooting success rate was good only if he attacked the paint. His jumper still had too low a success rate.

“Hmph!”

If so, he decided that this was the most likely attack. In front of a defender like Tony Allen, a clumsy trick is likely to fail.

[Oh! Yoon’s powerful drive-in that I’ve never seen before!]

[Yoon is determined! He’s trying to fight Tony Allen! Youngjae Yoon, who penetrates without slowing down!]

With the squeaking sound of shoes dragging, Youngjae leaned his right shoulder, which was pushing Tony Allen, against Allen’s body, and used it as an axis to perform a tremendous spin move.

[Yoon’s fantastic spin move! He quickly turns counterclockwise using his right shoulder as an axis! Youngjae Yoon penetrates the baseline over Tony Allen!!!]

[He broke through, Zach Randolph is rushing to block him!!]

Youngjae did not let his guard down as he looked at Zach Randolph blocking his way. Youngjae, who kicked the court with his right foot and soared, showed a fantastic movement of moving the ball from his right hand to his left hand while floating in the air.

[Double clutch!! Zach Randolph is completely fooled!!]

Thud!

It was then. Tony Allen’s right hand, grabbing Youngjae from behind and blocking the shot with his right hand, trying to snatch the ball like a hook, just as he was about to put his last left hand up. The right hand came into Youngjae’s sight, and in that instant, Youngjae raised the ball with all his might to the end of his left hand. The ball, which drew the highest possible parabola that could be shot, could touch the rim.

Beee-!!!

Clatter!

The three people twisted in the air had no choice but to crash onto the court as they were, and Youngjae looked at the rim while lying down.

Thump- Thud-

[Ah! It’s a pity! The ball that bounced on the rim eventually becomes an airball [a shot that doesn’t hit the rim or backboard]!]

[It was a really wonderful moment. Was it only about 4 seconds?! I can’t even imagine how many tens of times Youngjae Yoon and Tony Allen’s mind games went back and forth in those 4 seconds! Anyway, it seems like Youngjae Yoon’s narrow victory this time. Anyway, he got a free throw!]

[But isn’t Tony Allen amazing too? He tries to block from an invisible place, grabbing the back of Youngjae Yoon, who is trying to lightly go up with a layup after a double clutch for a perfect shot until the end! He is indeed a top ace stopper!]

Youngjae got up holding Chandler’s hand, but his expression was stiff. Tony Allen’s tremendous elasticity and defense, and the terrifying block that swept past his eyes. The moment he saw that hand, he felt a tingling sensation from his back.

“Hey. It’s okay.”

Chandler and Barea patted Youngjae on the shoulder and head as they looked at him.

“There are times like that. Think and move a little faster. Don’t be too impatient.”

“Don’t be intimidated! You did a good job. Finish the free throw well!”

Youngjae’s stiff expression eased to some extent at the encouragement of the two. Youngjae, who stood on the free throw line and received the ball, unknowingly looked at Allen standing on his right. With eyes full of awe and fighting spirit. The opponent is a player who can lock down even top-level players like Wade and Kobe.

Swish-

Oooooo-

Swish-

Jeers flowed from the audience, but Youngjae didn’t care. Youngjae, who lightly put in two free throws, licked his dry lips and tried to relieve the tension.

Youngjae gradually became excited, constantly repeating in his mind that he would overcome his opponent. This is why he plays basketball, a den of monsters where there is another strong enemy above him as he grows. Youngjae never wanted to leave this den.

The fourth quarter started and Youngjae was matched up with O.J. Mayo again. In Memphis’s position, they had no choice but to increase Mayo’s playing time even if it meant taking the defensive weakness in order to reverse the score. It was because Tony Allen’s spot-up jumper [an unguarded shot taken after stopping in a stationary position] was too bad to rotate with the starters.

Youngjae started the fourth quarter and this time played in combination with Jason Kidd. In Dallas’s position, they put Kidd and Youngjae, who have good defense, on the court together to maintain the point difference they had made in the third quarter.

[Jason Kidd, with the ball, crosses the half-line]

[He immediately directs the players with his finger and passes the ball to Yoon.]

Haywood immediately screened in front of Youngjae, and Youngjae quickly attempted to break through as if brushing past Haywood. Mayo missed Haywood in Haywood and Youngjae’s perfect pick-and-roll [an offensive play where a player sets a screen for a teammate who handles the ball].

[Yoon, takes off his marker and runs into the paint!]

[Is he going up? Ah, a bounce pass to the side! Haywood receives and two-hand dunk!!]

Quah!!

Mayo followed Youngjae, and when Marc Gasol, who was originally Haywood’s marker, blocked his way, Youngjae put his eyes on the front and lightly sprinkled a no-look bounce pass to the side, and Haywood succeeded in dunking the ball. It was an orthodox and perfect pick-and-roll play.

“Nice pass!”

Haywood bumped fists with Youngjae as he returned, as if satisfied with the pass.

[Mike Conley, unable to break through, passes the ball to Rudy Gay]

[Kidd and Chandler’s teamwork was good. Chandler briefly controlled Conley’s breakthrough, and Kidd immediately came and filled the spot.]

Conley came out to the wing after the breakthrough failed, and after looking around the court for a while, he passed the ball to Rudy Gay. Rudy Gay was the most likely isolation option [when a player is given space to play one-on-one] when the attack did not go well in Memphis’s position, so he entrusted the ball to him. Rudy Gay received the ball and posted up [positioning oneself close to the basket] against Shawn Marion a few times, and as soon as he widened the distance, he shot a fadeaway jumper [a jump shot taken while fading away from the basket]. It wasn’t a very good selection because Marion was right next to him.

[Rudy Gay! It’s a tough shot.]

[It hits the goal and goes far. Jason Kidd rebound!!]

[Ah, Kidd throws it far!!]

Whoosh-

Youngjae was matched with O.J. Mayo at the top. Seeing the direction Gay’s shot was hitting the rim, he quickly judged and sprinted to the opponent’s court. O.J. Mayo followed belatedly, but the distance was already widened.

[Ah, Yoon!! When did you get there!! It’s really fast speed and judgment!!]

[He’s already crossed the half-line. Mayo tries to follow, but it seems like it’s not enough.]

[Yoon, looks back for a moment, then puts up a stable layup and turns around.]

[Ah, it’s really a fast break [a quick transition from defense to offense]. It’s a play that is only possible if there is a player who quickly counterattacks, and a player who quickly judges and passes with accurate power and direction as soon as he receives the rebound. It was really a fantastic play by Kidd and Yoon.]

-Beeeee

[Ah, Memphis is calling a timeout after all.]

[They can’t help but call it. They are giving up the initiative while continuously allowing possessions. They have to catch up quickly, but on the contrary, it’s getting wider, how can they regain the initiative?]

Rick Carlisle’s face was less stiff than Youngjae remembered, thanks to the team’s good performance in the early season. In Youngjae’s memory, Carlisle and Popovich were coaches whose smiling faces were hard to see on the court.

“Good, Yoon. Good job. You did a good job in your role. Let’s replace you with Terry.”

“Yes. Then Terry, please.”

Youngjae shared a high-five with Terry and sat on the bench, wiping away sweat with a towel and starting to rest. Terry and the five others who were about to take the court gathered next to Carlisle and began to listen carefully to Carlisle’s words.

Youngjae was replaced by Terry, and even when Terry played, Dallas continued to push Memphis. As the middle of the fourth quarter passed, Dallas took out all the starting players and put in backup players with less playing time such as J.J. Barea (PG), Brian Cardinal (SF), Steve Novak (PF), and Ian Mahinmi (C), distributing the stamina of the starting players. DeShawn Stevenson (SG) also revealed his appearance, pushed out of the starting competition, playing with them. He has fallen into a member who is put in during so-called Garbage Time (time when you are losing or winning by a large point difference). They are the third position-specific members who prepare for the stamina distribution of the starting/main bench players and possible injuries.

[Well, the game is over. The Dallas Mavericks win an overwhelming 110:93 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies by 17 points in the FedEx Forum game. They are properly succeeding in revenge against Memphis on the road!]

[Yes. The Dallas Mavericks are really on a stormy momentum this season. There are no gaps in both attack and defense. The point margin is +13 while recording 6 wins and 1 loss. It is currently the 3rd highest point margin in the league. They are continuing the momentum of the previous victory against the Boston Celtics!]

[That’s right. Today, ace Dirk Nowitzki scored only 12 points (6/14 field goals) with a field goal percentage of less than 50%, but Jason Terry led Dallas’s attack with 21 points, Sean Marion with 18 points, and Yoon with 17 points. All three players showed high-sensitivity field goals of over 60%, literally smashing Memphis’s defense.]

[Wouldn’t it be because Randolph was attached to Nowitzki as a full-time marker [a defender assigned to guard a specific player]?]

[That’s right. Nowitzki still shows weakness to players who stick to him toughly with their bodies, and it’s a pity today. Still, they won with the outstanding performance of other players. Instead, Nowitzki contributed a lot to the team in defense today, grabbing the most rebounds in the team.]

[Well, I’ll finish the broadcast by telling you about Dallas’s victory. This is Mike Breen on commentary and Craig Sager on caster.]

Because it was an away team and a garbage game, the Dallas players lightly shared high-fives after the game and ran into the locker room. Youngjae was also satisfied with his performance in the first game he played as a starter.

He failed to gain an advantage in the matchup with Tony Allen again today, but the opponent was different from him in the area of defense. Besides, he also blocked Tony Allen from scoring during the matchup time. Instead, he decided to give meaning to properly blocking O.J. Mayo, whom he couldn’t properly block last time. Anyway, Tony Allen was difficult to play for a long time due to Memphis’s situation, and O.J. Mayo was the starter.

============================ Work Review ============================

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

※Ace Stopper: Refers to a player who can perfectly block (mainly guards and forward defenders) aces. Tony Allen, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George can be examples. Mainly shooting guards or small forwards.

※Garbage Member: Usually, NBA uses 2 starting/bench members for each position. They only use about 7 to 10 members per team. Since there are 5 positions, it is difficult for the third position-specific member to get playing time. It is difficult to play an average of 10 minutes unless there is an injury to the starting/main bench member. They are called garbage members because they are only used when they are winning or losing by a large point difference.

※Gain and Loss Margin: The average of the margin of points scored and points lost per game.

＠Memphis at this time is not a complete defensive team like now. Their defense was only 9th in the season. Rather, Dallas was the 8th defensive team. It can be said that it is almost the season with the best defense in Dallas history.

＠Houston played a shameful game that is hard to see as a playoff. They didn’t play the game from almost 2 minutes left. It’s Houston’s home… The fans are also ashamed. Coach McHale shouted in the locker room, but I’ll have to watch to see if he can rebound in the second game. Houston was defeated because they succeeded in mass-producing turnovers by strongly pressing Harden by trusting DeAndre Jordan’s rim protecting and combining Redick’s activity.

Black Satan, Brilliant Legacy, Handsome Man in Front of You, Goddess Yuri Praise/// Thank you!!

Cabomaile/// You can think of this novel in the same line as a baseball novel that starts from the major leagues. I think it is a miracle to advance from Korea to the United States in basketball novels. You should just see it as going from the bottom to the top of American basketball.

Lonzheart/// Clip won a valuable 1 win today without Paul. Griffin is really amazing.

Yabes/// For now, Gols looks smooth. I’ll cast a vote for the Clip in the Clip and Houston. The Harden blockade tactics are perfect, and they can’t control Griffin at all. I think the team that wins the 2nd game between Cleveland and Chicago will go up. I want to give Washington a hand against Atlanta.

-DarkANGEL-/// First of all, Gols seems to be going up smoothly in the West. Their stamina is well saved and there are almost no injuries. If the Clip sweeps Houston, it will be a close match. In the East, if Cleveland wins the 2nd game, Cleveland will win, and if Chicago wins the 2nd game, Chicago will win. No matter who comes up between Washington and Atlanta, it seems difficult to pass Cleveland and Chicago. Of course, it’s just my personal opinion. Even experts are wrong lol And San Antonio was so disappointing. Especially if it wasn’t for the last mistake on the recorder’s side, Kawhi’s tip-in might have succeeded…

magara, Yonbainchel, Consigliere/// Tomorrow is a whopping preliminary army!!!ㅋㅋㅋ ㅠ.ㅠ But I will continue to serialize.

zigichacha/// Washington didn’t have a veteran go-to-guy, but Pierce is properly filling that spot. If Cleveland loses even the 2nd game where J.R. is absent, it will be difficult. It’s a bit difficult to get 4 wins and 1 loss without Love…

Rough99/// ㅋㅋㅋ Is that so?

Harem Wannabe/// Thank you!!

anwkdk/// Anyway, FIBA is the problem… The quality of club games is getting worse and worse due to too frequent national matches in soccer as well. Especially because of injuries. Asia and South America also have jet lag problems.

misscherry/// You still have to grow more^^

Miyalma/// Rivalry is under consideration, but I’m not thinking about Jordanization yet.

Omarion, Financia, Cheonsangbyeolri, Nakwolhee/// Thank you for your comments as always^^

Cutie Dong/// He’s a bodhisattva to Dallas fans. It’s a bit unfortunate, but looking at this playoff, it seems like he really has to go to the sixth man role. Unless Kidd, Marion, and Chandler in their prime are playing together. Dallas’s defense is at a serious level in other positions as well.

Sikh Sergeant/// Nice to meet youㅎㅎ