Y13 [EN]: Chapter 70

2010-11 Regular Season

Youngjae anticipated Ibaka’s screen and started running as Harden began his drive. Ibaka’s screen was solid and well-placed, but Youngjae, expecting it, stopped briefly right in front of Ibaka’s screen before accelerating again, twisting his body to slip through.

It was as if Youngjae considered Ibaka a teammate and went *over* him, a remarkable move. Neither Ibaka nor Harden could say anything about Youngjae’s snake-like movement.

Originally, Harden should have had the space to either break through or shoot an open three after being freed by Ibaka, but Youngjae’s incredible defense didn’t allow for that.

Harden ended up forcing a drive. Despite not shaking off his defender after receiving Ibaka’s screen, he was determined to finish. Ibaka moved to the perimeter to create space for Harden’s drive. With Youngjae’s seasoned defense and quick, smooth side steps, Harden decided to try and draw a foul rather than make the shot.

“Hiss!”

[James Harden attempts a quick drive!]

[Oh! James Harden, attempting to drive to the left, stops momentarily, creating distance from Yoon and accelerating in the opposite direction!]

Bang!

Beeeep-!!

“Offensive foul! James Harden!!!”

Harden looked wronged, wondering what had happened, but Youngjae was on the ground, feigning pain. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like a major impact, and Sean Marion helped him up. Youngjae rose with a pained expression.

[Amazing, truly amazing, Youngjae Yoon! Each game seems to be a valuable asset for him to step up! I’ve never seen a player learn and grow so quickly! After James Harden’s sudden change of direction, he anticipated the direction by reading his center of gravity and positioned himself in advance. Otherwise, inducing such an offensive foul would be impossible. James Harden must feel like cursing his opponent!]

James Harden, completely outplayed by Youngjae’s unbelievable predictive defense, began to understand why Westbrook was struggling so much today and why he himself had been so tightly marked in their previous game. Until then, they had been trading successful attacks, but now Youngjae was blocking Harden with a level of defense that was a step above.

After that, Harden, with a determined look, began to stick to Youngjae like glue. Originally, Harden was often criticized for his lack of defensive effort. The energy and tenacity he showed on offense didn’t translate to defense, leading to criticism that he was a defensive liability. However, as his attacks were thwarted by Youngjae, he began to show a fierce determination.

Youngjae found James Harden’s physicality and activity overwhelming, but he knew that if he got tied up here, it would put more pressure on his teammates. In particular, Nowitzki, who was playing through ligament inflammation, had only played for about seven minutes, but if the game went awry, he might have to be re-inserted, putting strain on his knee.

‘Now that I’m the team’s captain, it’s my duty to make sure he gets enough rest when he needs it.’

Nowitzki was still at his peak, but he was already 32. He could break down at any time. Moreover, with his knee in bad shape, another injury to his knee or ankle could sideline him for months. Dallas’ offense without Nowitzki was bleak, so they hadn’t been able to properly manage his playing time. As a team that made the playoffs every year, Nowitzki’s number of games and playing time were enormous.

Youngjae remembered that Nowitzki would suffer from frequent injuries after winning the championship. His defensive ability, which wasn’t great even in his prime, would decline sharply.

Youngjae knew that the remaining players had to fight hard to win so that Nowitzki wouldn’t have to overexert himself. Every game was important. But could there be a player as desperate as one who knew the future and was determined to change it? Could there be a player as desperate as one who had overcome a near-death experience and rediscovered basketball?

‘If there is, I just have to work harder.’

Youngjae gritted his teeth. He knew that he had to run tirelessly within his limited playing time of about 25 minutes. Even when he didn’t have the ball, he stirred up the defense. When he received the ball, he made sure to create meaningful offense. On defense, he never gave up and fearlessly dove for loose balls.

[Youngjae Yoon goes over Sean Marion’s pick again! James Harden follows, but can’t shake off Marion’s screen! With Sefolosha and Westbrook off the court, the defensively weak Harden has no choice but to guard Youngjae Yoon!]

[Oklahoma City blatantly double-teams Youngjae Yoon! Even though Harden was blocked, Eric Maynor immediately marks Youngjae Yoon! Youngjae Yoon dribbles the ball once between his legs and charges in without a moment’s pause!]

Youngjae, holding the ball as if carrying a plate, used his relatively greater height than Maynor to push off the ground and jump. Facing Maynor, who was reaching for the ball he held up in his right hand, and Nick Collison, who was standing in front of the rim trying to block his shot, Youngjae simply flicked the ball backward with his right wrist and landed without hesitation.

[Who is that soaring up behind Youngjae Yoon!]

[OH MY GOD!!! SHAWN MARION POWER SLAM!!!]

[Is that the reincarnation of the Matrix! Shawn Marion soars up to receive Y13’s incredible back pass! Nick Collison jumps up belatedly, but gets an in-your-face slam dunked on him!]

The best 2-2 offense is said to be one that you can’t stop even if you know it’s coming. Shawn Marion and Yoon Youngjae were exactly that pair. Youngjae receives a pass from Kidd, and Shawn Marion takes away one of Youngjae’s defenders regardless of position. Then, he penetrates to the basket to draw the attention of the players and passes the ball to Shawn Marion, who is rushing to the rim, for an easy score.

Even if Youngjae didn’t drive, there were many options. Youngjae wasn’t just a guard who was good at layups. Occasionally, if the opponent was conscious of his drives and guarded the basket, Youngjae would nonchalantly sink accurate jumpers that drove the Oklahoma City guards crazy, and they couldn’t hide their annoyance.

[BANG! Another incredible 3-pointer from Youngjae Yoon!]

[Youngjae Yoon, re-inserted as soon as the fourth quarter begins, runs tirelessly! By stirring up the opponent like this, there’s no chance for their defense to get organized!]

[Amazing, truly amazing. Oklahoma City is completely stifled. Kevin Durant seems to be mindful that there are still about 10 minutes left, but the other players’ feet have become heavy. They’re moving sluggishly!]

Kevin Durant encouraged the players, clapping and shouting to urge them to do better. However, the other players seemed to have lost their momentum, their feet dragging and their expressions lacking motivation. In reality, only Durant was doing his part.

Coach Dwane Casey also instructed Sean Marion and Caron Butler to focus on defending Kevin Durant rather than the opposing power forward, Serge Ibaka, in order to control Kevin Durant as much as possible, but Kevin Durant was a scoring machine who was hard to stop even with a double team.

After driving in, he used his superior height for layups or floaters, step-back jumpers, and 3-pointers… So far, Durant had recorded a total of 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists with 8/15 shooting, including free throws.

“Keep running until the end! The game isn’t over yet!!”

The score was already 82 to 97. It was a 15-point difference, but Kidd urged the players not to let their guard down. There were still 10 minutes left, and 15 points could easily be overturned in 10 minutes.

[Youngjae Yoon penetrates the basket again! Even without the ball, running with such incredible activity and speed tires out the opposing defender and breaks down the defensive tactics!]

Kidd, recognizing Youngjae’s relentless movement, immediately passed the ball to him. As the incredibly accurate pass landed in Youngjae’s right hand, Youngjae jumped without being able to stop his running speed. He was also human, and still a rookie who had never played more than 30 minutes. He was able to run like crazy because of Dallas’ strict time management and substitutions, so Youngjae himself knew best that he had to run until his heart burst before going to the bench.

Even until the second quarter, the opposing defender struggled to keep up with him. Sean Marion’s amazing screen also played a part, but as time went on, it became difficult to shake them off. As the defender began to stick to him even when going over the screen, Youngjae began to feel his stamina waning.

From this point on, getting a proper open chance was really difficult. The opponents were tired, but the attacking players were also tired, so the sharp passes, excellent speed, and activity that created open chances were significantly reduced.

Thud!

That’s why Youngjae couldn’t shake off Harden, who had chased him right up to his chin, and shot a pull-up jumper. Feeling that his shots were getting shorter, Youngjae used the shooting form he had used in the Chicago game again. Although he didn’t use it often, it wasn’t awkward because it was a shooting motion he had been steadily practicing since the Chicago game.

As soon as he receives the ball, he takes one or two steps and jumps straight up. His body leans in the direction of the steps, but his eyes remain on the rim until the end, and he extends his hand further forward than usual to narrow the distance. Then, he scrapes the ball as quickly and forcefully as possible.

[Youngjae Yoon, a pull-up jumper as is!]

Thud-

[Hits the rim! The ball that hit the rim once soars upwards?!]

Swish-

[Goes straight into the rim! An amazing shot!]

[I can only admire Youngjae Yoon! The performance he has shown so far has been an activity that no one can think of as a rookie, but today’s performance seems to be the ace of Dallas! 9/14, a whopping 65% field goal percentage with a whopping 26 points! Plus 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals! Finally, only one turnover! Would you believe that this record came in just 27 minutes?!]

[Oh oh! He is a perfect super rookie. He is a perfect figure as the only challenger to Blake Griffin’s throne, Youngjae Yoon! His curse is getting stronger and stronger. Oklahoma’s Russell Westbrook and James Harden will both feel that today is the worst of their recent games! There are 9 minutes left, and the score is widening to a whopping 17 points!]

Youngjae played for one more minute, once again blocking Russell Westbrook’s attack, and was replaced by J.J. Barea. Youngjae’s face was full of pride, and Nowitzki, proud of Youngjae, tapped him on the head and greeted him.

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

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

＠Now, off-season bait is starting to come out. Paul-Jordan discord rumors, Rose-Butler discord rumors, etc. I don’t think the former is true, but the latter doesn’t seem impossible. Of course, it’s still in the rumor stage, so we’ll have to wait and see. Since Butler is an RFA [Restricted Free Agent], if he stays with the Bulls, the discord rumor will be a rumor, and if he leaves, the rumor is likely to be true. Restricted FA is advantageous to the original team, but if the rumor is true, they won’t let Rose and Butler play together.

＠Duncan and Ginobili are likely to extend their active careers. They are really amazing old men. However, because of their age, if Parker and Mills don’t recover their condition and Green, Kawhi, and Splitter don’t step up, it will be difficult to improve their strength. This team also doesn’t get big FAs [Free Agents] and doesn’t have that much salary cap.

Mandingman/// First comment! Thank you for your comment~~

Kashas/// Yes, it’s the second comment lol. I’m glad you had fun today.

Naye/// You’re too kind lol. I will continue to improve!!

Kanen, Tteuraegeseo, Brilliant Legacy/// Thank you for your comments!!

zigichacha/// It’s Family Month and there are many holidays lol;; There are also a lot of festivals and events…

Shadow Boy/// I’m glad^^ The game should be immersive. I’m sorry that it’s been a bit lacking. I’ll try harder lol

papilion/// Yep. It’s a strong team. Because it’s the winning team. However, it wasn’t overwhelming.

Gahan Khan/// Thank you for your reply to another reader’s comment. It was a bit disappointing in the regular season, but in the playoffs, they almost overwhelmed their opponents.

Lafir and Jinte, misscherry, Kundara, Omarion, -DarkANGEL-/// lol Thank you for your comments always~~

Yabes/// Are you an underdog style lol. Houston looks a bit difficult, but Atlanta’s victory or defeat depends on how well Irving performs.

dydqlsl/// I’m looking forward to next year’s Oklahoma to see what happens when the coach changes. The future of Kanter and Waiters is also a problem.

Cheonsangbyeolli/// Yes. Since it’s a basketball novel, daily life is important, but the immersion of the game is the most important lol