Y13 [EN]: Chapter 88

Y13- Episode 88 (88/296)

00088 2010-11 Regular Season ====================================================

However, the Washington Wizards’ refusal to give up didn’t guarantee they could close the gap against the Dallas Mavericks, the league’s second-best team. Dallas was on a hot streak, boasting a recent record of 15 wins and only 1 loss. Instead of panicking, Coach Carlisle aimed to capitalize on the Wizards’ growing desperation by instructing his players to use as much of the shot clock as possible on each possession.

Instead of the fast-paced transition offense Dallas displayed in the first half, they abruptly switched to a half-court offense, frustrating Washington. This slower pace made it difficult for Washington to overcome their large deficit. Dallas boasted a strong defense and reliable scoring options, while Washington lacked consistency on both ends of the court, needing fast-paced play to build momentum.

Thump, thump.

The player who enabled Dallas to effectively run a half-court offense without Kidd was Youngjae. Carlisle instructed Barea to focus more on scoring, while Youngjae orchestrated the game and distributed the ball, leveraging his stable ball-handling and versatile playmaking abilities.

To cut into the 15-point deficit, Washington was forced to rely heavily on Nick Young and Jordan Crawford, who excelled in fast breaks and offensive bursts. However, Dallas had no intention of rushing their attacks. They used the full 24 seconds of the shot clock, exploiting Washington’s vulnerable defense with high-percentage plays.

Youngjae capitalized on this by consistently feeding passes to Barea and Nowitzki. Marion and Chandler continued to set screens for Youngjae and Barea, who used these screens to execute pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop plays, constantly attacking from the high post to the low post. Jordan Crawford’s weak defense, and even John Wall’s fatigue, meant they were constantly getting beaten on the perimeter.

[Nowitzki! He’s open again!]

[Seraphin had to move to stop Barea’s drive after Chandler’s screen.]

[A dilemma, a dilemma! All of Washington’s players are struggling against Dallas’s well-organized tactics!]

[Dallas this season is nearly unbeatable when their key players are healthy. This is evident in their overall second-place ranking, despite Butler’s season-ending injury and Nowitzki and Chandler each missing two to three weeks.]

Since the elimination of illegal defense rules, set plays, including 2-2 plays (a type of offensive play involving two players), have become the primary offensive strategy, rather than 1-on-1 isolation and individual brilliance. Therefore, the ability to execute and defend against 2-2 plays has become a major point of emphasis.

Washington had few players who could skillfully execute 2-2 plays or defend against them effectively. Moreover, defending 2-2 plays requires team defense tactics beyond individual ability, an area where Washington was severely lacking. In contrast, Dallas had four players—Kidd, Youngjae, Marion, and Chandler—who were adept at screen defense and possessed a strong understanding of defensive tactics. This season’s Dallas, when healthy, showcased perfect teamwork, earning the reputation as Carlisle’s tactical masterpiece.

Swish-

A high-arcing jump shot released from a 7-foot frame. Evading the late challenge from Treveon Booker, Nowitzki leaned back, bending his left leg like a crane to create space from Booker.

[HE SINKS IT!!!]

[Dirk Nowitzki’s fadeaway is money!!]

Dirk Nowitzki’s signature fadeaway silenced the Verizon Center as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on it.

As the third quarter drew to a close, Washington seemed to lose hope. Despite the efforts of John Wall and a few others, the difference in talent was too apparent. With the starters reaching their physical limits, Coach Saunders decided to conserve their energy and brought in the garbage time unit [players who typically see limited playing time]. Coach Carlisle followed suit, substituting Rodrigo Beaubois, DeShawn Stevenson, Brian Cardinal, and Ian Mahinmi, who usually played fewer minutes, to preserve his starters and give his bench players some playing time.

[Although there’s still the fourth quarter left, the Washington Wizards seem to have lost their will to compete.]

[It’s a shame! Coach Saunders, I think he should have given the game a longer look. Today’s game highlighted a significant disparity not only in team strength but also in the coaches’ player substitutions and strategic decisions. Continuing to play John Wall, Nick Young, and Rashard Lewis to overcome the immediate point difference simply didn’t work!]

[That’s right, this is the essence of a coach’s ability. You can see why Rick Carlisle is considered a strategist! By drastically slowing down the game tempo after a fast-paced first half, Washington’s players were forced to become impatient. The key was forcing the opponent to expend more energy on defense through well-organized team play!]

Jeff Van Gundy paused to take a drink of water, then continued as if he had more to add.

[The important thing to remember is that this would have been an inefficient strategy for last year’s Dallas Mavericks. Slowing down the tempo requires the ability to score even when the opponent’s defense is set and the ability to consistently stop the opponent’s offense. Dallas, being a team that relied on jump shots, had to either make a lot of passes to create open looks or attack in transition before the defense was set. Moreover, their poor rebounding allowed easy fast breaks, resulting in high points allowed, making it impossible to control the game’s pace.]

[However, the presence of Youngjae Yoon, a reliable slasher and quick guard defender, and Tyson Chandler, one of the league’s best screeners and a double-digit rebounder every game, has completely transformed Dallas from last year. Dallas has also perfected Carlisle’s modified zone defense-based defensive tactics and can now effectively run a half-court offense! These two players are as crucial to Dallas as Nowitzki.]

Dallas’s momentum was undeniable, and despite the gloomy atmosphere, the home fans were enthusiastically cheering for John Wall, who was giving it his all.

“Run! Let’s run a little more! It’s not over yet!”

No matter how much John Wall encouraged and tried to rally the team, he was still just an inexperienced rookie. With Coach Saunders already conceding the game, it was safe to say that Washington had no chance of defeating Dallas, regardless of John Wall’s performance.

Beeeep-!

[The game between the Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks at the Verizon Center concludes with a 110 to 97 victory for the Dallas Mavericks by a 13-point margin!]

[Until the middle of the first half, there was hope that the Washington Wizards could end their four-game losing streak and give their home fans a much-needed victory, but they succumbed helplessly to Youngjae Yoon’s improved play and fell to a five-game losing streak!]

[A player who used to prioritize passing displayed incredible scoring ability, and with well-timed passes combined with a high shooting percentage, the defending team was caught in the unenviable position of having to defend both the shot and the pass! Now! Let’s welcome Craig Sager JR to interview today’s MOM (Man of the Match)! Youngjae Yoon! Craig?]

Youngjae had been named MOM a few times during the regular season, but that was when Nowitzki was injured. This marked the first time Youngjae had received the MVP award in a game where all of Dallas’s starters were playing.

“Craig Sager JR from ESPN! Y13, that was an amazing game! You’ve been fantastic so far, but today you were unstoppable! You played 26 minutes and recorded 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers with 8/15 shooting from the field, 3/6 from three-point range, and 4/5 from the free-throw line! You seemed to attack the basket a lot today! Was today’s play your own idea? Or were there instructions from the coaching staff?”

Youngjae shrugged slightly, then leaned into the microphone that Craig held out and began the interview.

“It was something I was feeling personally. It’s a habit from my student days, and I’ve always been in the habit of looking for my teammates first. As a result, I felt that my pass-first play style was becoming predictable to other players. Recently, my assist-to-turnover ratio (A/T ratio) [a statistic measuring a player’s passing efficiency] has been increasing. To address that, I adjusted my play style in this game.”

Craig nodded and smoothly transitioned to the next question.

“Yoon’s performance has been consistently strong since the All-Star break. Is the Rookie of the Year competition you mentioned in the Rookie Challenge MVP acceptance speech still a goal?”

“Of course. It’s true that Blake Griffin is having a sensational season, but I don’t think I’m lacking either. I’m working hard in my own way, and I want to win the Rookie of the Year award. But even if I don’t win the Rookie of the Year award, I have another goal this season, so I’m not solely focused on it.”

Craig looked intrigued and subtly asked Youngjae what his other goal was.

“There’s something that every player wants to achieve above all else. That’s winning a championship. I believe our team is the best among the 30 teams. If we maintain this momentum, I think we can win the championship in the Finals. I don’t think there’s anything more honorable in team sports than earning a championship ring.”

Craig nodded at Youngjae’s confident ambition. Anyone who followed the NBA knew that Dallas’s momentum this season was quite impressive, so it wasn’t an unrealistic goal.

“You seemed to have a lot of matchups with John Wall. What are your thoughts on John Wall?”

“John Wall is a great player. The fact that he was selected first overall in the rookie draft speaks to his talent. However, I don’t know if I’m just fortunate, but I think I’m able to compete with John Wall because I’m playing with the best teammates in the league in Dallas. His skills are beyond my ability to properly assess.”

Craig finally asked Youngjae about something outside of the game.

“Lastly, there was an article that came out during the All-Star break. Can you tell us about your relationship with Emily Kinney, the singer-songwriter and actress who will be appearing in The Walking Dead 2?”

Youngjae laughed and responded to Craig.

“Steve brought Lauren and Emily with him during the All-Star break. That’s when I first met her. Actually, we were planning to explore the Staples Center together, but something came up unexpectedly, so Emily and I went to see it alone. Um… Emily is a very nice person. We still keep in touch.”

Youngjae finished his answer vaguely, and Craig, sensing his reluctance to elaborate, ended the interview. As soon as Youngjae entered the locker room, he couldn’t help but yell as a shower of water suddenly drenched him.

“MOM!”

“Congratulations on getting MOM!”

The players sprayed water bottles at Youngjae and splashed him with water, so Youngjae ran around the locker room trying to avoid it, but Tyson Chandler grabbed Youngjae from behind.

“So, we did the basketball shower last time?”

“Oh, come on! So petty… Ugh!”

“Feels good! Yeah, I’m petty, so keep spraying! Ah! But don’t spray me!”

In the end, Youngjae, completely soaked by his teammates’ prank, took a refreshing shower and boarded the bus to the hotel. The teammates were chatting excitedly about the satisfying victory, taking group photos and enjoying the celebratory atmosphere. Youngjae also joked around with his teammates for a while, returned to his seat, leaned back, and took out his smartphone from his pocket.

[Did you win?]

Youngjae smiled and sent a simple message.

[Yes. Thank you. EK]

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

★Thank you to those who gave me a pre-emptive purchase, recommendation, comment, and coupon!!

★Thank you for the sponsorship coupon from asofas!!

※Garbage time unit: Usually includes the third players for each position, that is, the 11th to 15th players on the roster. In the NBA, teams use 7 to 9 players as their main players, and the remaining players are put in when the rotation players are injured or when the game is almost decided. In baseball terms, it’s similar to the mop-up crew.

※Assist to Turnover Ratio (A/T ratio): Assist/Turnover ratio, which is mainly applied to point guards. This ratio is meaningless for forwards or centers. Even among point guards, there is a big difference between players who make a lot of gambling passes or solve problems directly and stable leading guards. For example, just because Jose Calderon’s A/T ratio is high doesn’t mean he’s a better player than Tony Parker or Russell Westbrook. It’s a good stat to see as an indicator of a guard’s stability.

Kalpa-nim/// First comment haha Thank you~~

Caebavam-nim/// John Wall’s growth has been stagnant since his first season;;;

Move aside-nim/// Of course ㅎㅎ. He still has a long way to go.

skkt0113-nim/// Usually, people who have regressed like older people rather than people of the same age or younger. Besides, Youngjae is 20 years old, but his mental age is almost 30. Besides, Melli is not the same age in the first place.

Goddess Yuri Praise-nim/// Top rookies really seem to grow on a monthly basis rather than on a yearly basis.

Luscinia-nim/// Thank you for your compliment!! We are also happy that you have become interested in basketball thanks to our novel.

Write well! -nim/// Thank you for the coupon!!

misscherry-nim/// I will try to describe more diverse changes in the future ㅎㅎ

Painenancia-nim, Kundara-nim, Omari On-nim/// Thank you for your comments~~

Lafir and Jint-nim/// Washington only showed role-player-level performance except for Pierce. Wall and Beal were too hopeless.

huhcafe-nim/// ㅎㅎ Thank you for supporting Youngjae. As our novel’s keynote is realism and growth, we will gradually go up ㅋㅋㅋ

zigichacha-nim/// It became too anticlimactic;;; It may end in almost 5 games, or even 4 games.