Y13 [EN]: Chapter 76

Y13-76 2010-11 Regular Season

Carlisle called a timeout, struggling to contain his anger. The bench players’ role is to maintain the momentum built by the starters and keep the game flowing. Of course, relying solely on bench players isn’t usually feasible, so starters are strategically mixed in. The bench players need to show they can hold their own, even against the opponent’s starters. Basketball isn’t a sport where starters can play all 48 minutes; numerous substitutions occur, making the bench players crucial.

“Mahinmi, you were playing well, but if you get easily pushed around, the opponent will exploit that relentlessly! Why try fancy dribbling when you should be using your agility and height? Are you trying to show off? Go join an artistic basketball league!”

Mahinmi simply lowered his head, unable to respond. He had been trying to stand out, capitalizing on Brandon Haywood’s poor performance. He felt pressured to make a splash instead of playing consistently, leading to ill-advised plays.

“Barea, you’re too predictable! Isn’t the fundamental of a point guard to be unpredictable? When you get the ball, it rarely goes to other players. If your drive is blocked, quickly pass to your teammates. Stop hogging the ball!”

Barea clearly acknowledged his mistake, nodding in response. He felt responsible for losing the lead, as he should have been directing the game better as a point guard. He knew he was still lacking in court vision, despite his best efforts.

“Cardinal, Marion! Good. Your defense is frustrating the opponents. Cardinal, move more actively on the perimeter. Your efficiency needs to improve relative to your movement! And Marion, your cut-ins and screens need better timing!”

Carlisle gave immediate feedback to the players, even as they came off the court.

“The game is only in the second quarter. Kidd, Yoon, Marion, Nowitzki, and Chandler will go back in. Cardinal, be ready to sub in for Marion and Nowitzki. Terry, same for you! Mahinmi! Remember your strong start and be ready to play at any moment. Let’s take back the lead!”

Carlisle substituted four players, giving each specific instructions. The rested players entered the court, eager to face the Celtics, while those substituted reflected on their mistakes and observed the game’s flow.

[Dallas and Boston are making frequent substitutions after the timeout.]

[Dallas has returned to their starting lineup of Kidd, Yoon, Marion, Nowitzki, and Chandler. Boston counters with Nate Robinson, Allen, Wafer, Garnett, and Davis. Dallas seems to be trying to regain the lead by using the starting lineup again since they’ve been overtaken! In contrast, Boston is resting Rondo and Pierce, who led the bench time, and using Garnett and Allen together to avoid losing the lead!]

Youngjae maintained a calm expression, watching Ray Allen watching him, and remained vigilant. The ‘Master Shooter,’ also known as ‘Manlev Suga’ (short for Max Level Shooting Guard, a term emphasizing his shooting prowess), was renowned for his three-pointers, but in his Seattle prime, he was a versatile scorer capable of powerful drives. Age and physical issues had transformed him from a slasher to a shooting specialist.

Youngjae noticed Nate Robinson, dribbling the ball, frequently glancing at Ray Allen. Kidd seemed to notice this as well, subtly leaving Allen’s side slightly more open.

[Nate Robinson passes to Ray Allen!]

[Ray Allen executes a slight fake and immediately jumps, seemingly unconcerned with Yoon’s defense! Youngjae Yoon also jumps at an amazing timing!]

Youngjae felt a chill observing Allen’s focused expression in mid-air. Whether he tried to block or contest the shot, Allen’s gaze remained fixed on the rim, unwavering.

“Ugh!!”

The ball arced towards the rim, teasingly grazing the edge. Youngjae watched the basket as soon as he landed.

Thud-

[Ah! Ray Allen’s three-pointer hits the rim…]

Swish!

[Goes in!! Ray Allen’s perfect three-point shot!!]

[Yoon did his best to defend, but Ray Allen cleanly made the three-pointer in that tough situation!!!]

Wow!!!

TD Garden erupted in cheers. Ray Allen passed by Youngjae, simply saying,

“Good.”

Youngjae felt a surge of emotion upon hearing that single word. It wasn’t anger or sadness.

Awe for the opponent he had to overcome. And an intense desire to win.

[Jason Kidd passes to Nowitzki, Kidd has the ball at the top for a moment?!]

Nowitzki approached Youngjae on the left wing and set a screen, and Youngjae immediately sprinted in the opposite direction.

[Here it comes!!! Kidd throws the ball from the top. Nowitzki’s veteran screen in a situation without the ball! Youngjae Yoon uses that screen fantastically!]

[Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are both caught up with Nowitzki! Wafer, who was guarding Marion in the low post, desperately chases after Yoon!!!]

As soon as Youngjae caught the ball, he turned towards the rim and jumped. Wafer pursued, but Youngjae’s superior agility allowed him to release the ball quickly, showcasing his skill against Wafer.

A little faster. Youngjae quickly scraped the ball with all his might, seeing Wafer’s hand rising belatedly.

Thwack!

Beeeep!!!

“?!”

Bon Wafer was flustered. Youngjae’s hands were extended forward. Unlike Ray Allen, who could replicate his shooting motion and power consistently, Youngjae skillfully adapted his style to the situation.

[Youngjae Yoon’s special shooting form! He shoots the ball with an incredibly fast release speed, unlike usual, and stretches both arms forward to narrow the distance and induce a foul at the same time!!]

With Reggie Miller’s rapid-fire explanation, Youngjae’s shot went in cleanly, without even touching the rim.

[Yes!!!]

[Basket count!!]

The cheers momentarily ceased. The crowd and the Celtics were stunned by Youngjae’s cold-blooded three-pointer.

“Ooh!!!”

“Nice!!!”

Youngjae clenched his fists, reveling in the thrilling sensation, and raised his right hand high, displaying two fingers for the audience to see.

[Wow! Y13’s amazing shot! And the following ceremony!]

[He succeeded two 3-pointers today!! Can we see Youngjae Yoon using both hands today?!]

Youngjae embraced the audience’s boos as if they were cheers and made the free throw. Ray Allen couldn’t help but smile faintly at Youngjae’s display, as if acknowledging his potential to surpass him.

[Ray Allen!! This time, he breaks through smoothly with Garnett’s screen!!]

[Youngjae Yoon, missed him for a moment, but quickly follows! But he’s still a little late!]

[Ray Allen’s floater!! Youngjae Yoon jumps up again and does his best to block Allen’s shot!]

Swish-

[Ah! Fantastic double clutch!!]

[Youngjae Yoon’s defense was late, so he reached out his hand, but it wasn’t enough! Ray Allen had already anticipated that! It was a stable and fantastic shot!]

[Youngjae Yoon shoots again as soon as he gets the ball!!]

[Rajon Rondo’s defense was late!! Youngjae Yoon 3 points!!]

[Yeeeees!!!! Amazing!!!]

[Already the fourth finger!!! Youngjae Yoon showing off an amazing three-point shot!!!]

The second and third quarters evolved into an unintentional showdown between Ray Allen and Youngjae. Allen, recently relegated to the fourth-leading scorer on the team behind Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo, showcased his skill. He led the team’s offense with precise shooting and clever movement.

Their performance was so strong that their teammates deferred to them, playing supporting roles.

[Ray Allen is currently trying to keep the Celtics from losing the lead with 19 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists! 3/4 on three-pointers! A whopping 75 percent success rate!!]

[But challenger Yoon’s counterattack is also strong! Currently, he has a whopping 21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals! 7/12 field goal percentage, and 4/6 on three-pointers! It’s amazing! The main scorers of both teams, Nowitzki and Terry, Garnett and Pierce, are volunteering to be their assistants for today’s game.]

[Timeout!! Boston Celtics!!]

“Ooh!!!”

“Yoon!! You’re awesome!!!”

With the timeout, the players rushed to Youngjae, shouting and high-fiving. Youngjae was happy and shouted and jumped, bumping into them, but he knew he couldn’t relax yet.

The score was 87 to 89. Dallas was only leading by 2 points. Coach Carlisle encouraged the players, praising their performance, but cautioned against complacency.

“Yoon! Good play. You seem to be in great condition today. But don’t get carried away. Give your best every moment, but stay calm.”

Youngjae nodded, replying, “Yes!”

“Mahinmi, Marion! That’s the spirit! When defending, don’t let them get the rebounds, and when attacking, use your mobility well against the relatively slow Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis!”

Mahinmi and Marion nodded proudly. Mahinmi, who played the most minutes this season, played 11 minutes and had 4 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, playing a high-level game in the 2010-2011 season. In particular, thanks to Youngjae, who gave Mahinmi an amazing pass, Mahinmi was able to find confidence in dunks and under the basket, which was a weakness in scoring.

“Nowitzki! It’s good to be aggressive, but there are some disappointing points in your defense today! The opponent is Garnett, but you still need to block him better!”

Even Nowitzki couldn’t escape Carlisle’s criticism. He had scored 24 points with an impressive offensive performance, but he wasn’t effectively containing Garnett. Nowitzki seemed aware of this, nodding silently.

“It’s the last quarter now! Don’t let your guard down and let’s go!!”

“Yes!!”

That’s how the fourth quarter began. Boston seemed to be planning to use all of the starting members except for Garnett, who played the most minutes today, throughout the fourth quarter. They were maintaining a close game throughout the game, and Boston needed to continue their winning streak from Boston’s point of view. Ray Allen couldn’t be substituted, but they couldn’t easily take out the best shooting sensation in the team.

Dallas was also effectively using an 8-man rotation due to Butler and Peja’s absence. Apart from the starting five, only Terry and Barea played more than 20 minutes. Surprisingly, Mahinmi played a considerable amount of time today. Coach Carlisle put in Barea and Terry to give Marion and Youngjae a rest. As Haywood became serious, Tyson Chandler and Nowitzki had no choice but to play a lot of time.

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

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

@Youngjae is constantly standing out in the game, but it’s because I’m writing about games where he stands out, so he doesn’t perform that much every game. There are many games where he gets 털리 (dominated), and there are days when his shooting isn’t good.

쿤다라님/// Congratulations on the first comment~

찬란한유산님, 그림자유산님, 파이넨시아님, 여신유리찬양님, -DarkANGEL-님/// Thank you for always commenting~~

러프99님/// lol If you have so much, the nickname is Hey Wood… It’s a 먹튀 (eat-and-run) so it’s hard to deal with;;

misscherry님/// Thank you for pointing out the typo!! Youngjae power is slowly coming~~

라피르and진트님/// It’s still the same even though it’s not the Cleveland 1st generation 릅롼 (LeBron + Rondo). He’s still at that level even with just role players.

huhcafe님/// Thank you for your support. I’ll keep up the good work in the future!!

브라운귀때기님/// It’s a pity that Love is injured by accident. It’s also true that Irving is not in good condition because he’s not feeling well everywhere… I hope he can rest and be in good condition in the finals.