Y13 [EN]: Chapter 99

Y13-99 (99/296)

00099 2010-11 Regular Season ====================================================

March 10, 2011

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas.

David visited the stadium with his family after a long time. He was looking down at the court with a sulky expression, all because of what his friends had said at school that day.

“See? I told you monkeys can’t do it.”

“The reason they lost to New Orleans without Chris Paul is because of Yoon, right?”

Unaware and immature kids were making racist remarks and freely spouting malicious comments about Youngjae. Eventually, they even said Youngjae was overrated and that the limitations of the first Asian guard picked 25th overall were showing. David ended up yelling at those friends.

“Just watch! Yoon will definitely make a comeback in today’s game! And don’t say things you don’t know! Dallas is doing so well thanks to Yoon! What is your team, Houston, even doing right now? They are doing better than your New Orleans!”

Because of that, a fight broke out, and David’s mood wasn’t great. His parents brought him to the Dallas home game today to cheer him up.

“David, there’s Yoon.”

Seeing Youngjae making shots with perfect accuracy during pre-game practice, David’s expression finally eased, and he started focusing on Youngjae’s play.

“Hoo!”

Youngjae, stepping onto the court, was a bit nervous as he was starting for the first time in ten days. But after the 1-on-1 match against Brewer, Youngjae had asked Marion, Nowitzki, and Chandler for 1-on-1 training during the morning practice before the game. Youngjae, who even succeeded in battling under the basket against Chandler in training, gained some confidence. However, he didn’t let go of his tension because there was a difference between practice and real games.

“Relax. This is the first game back for both of us, right?”

“Chandler, I’ve already played five games since returning?”

Youngjae glared at Chandler, as if asking if he was teasing him. Chandler chuckled and offered Youngjae a fist bump.

“Hey, it’s practically the first game. Isn’t it?”

Youngjae lightly bumped fists with Chandler and stepped back, nodding as he watched Chandler easily win the jump ball.

[Hello, this is ESPN bringing you the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks! With commentators Brian Dunton and Mike Breen. Nice to meet you!]

[Nice to meet you, Brian. The Dallas Mavericks, who won the jump ball, received a big boost in today’s game: the return of Tyson Chandler. When Chandler was out with an injury, Dallas’s team defense was, to put it mildly, terrible.]

[That’s right. Brandon Haywood and Ian Mahinmi weren’t enough, and Dirk Nowitzki even had to play center for a while. Jason Kidd dribbles the ball past the half-court line!]

Kidd stood at the top of the key and glanced around the court. The New York Knicks had Amar’e Stoudemire at center, Jared Jeffries at power forward, Carmelo Anthony at small forward, and Tony Douglas and Landry Fields as their backcourt partners. They were maintaining a win rate slightly above 50%, but it was only due to the individual abilities of Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. Their team tactics were terrible.

Moreover, their bench was ranked among the lowest in the league. Besides Shawne Williams and Roger Mason, who played the most minutes, there were only Ronny Turiaf, Anthony Carter, and Bill Walker. This was because they had sacrificed too much to acquire Carmelo Anthony. They gave up key players like Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, Raymond Felton, and Anthony Randolph in exchange for Anthony. The only other player they gained was Chauncey Billups. Corey Brewer, who was also acquired, was immediately released and joined their opponent, Dallas. Naturally, the quality of the team had to decline. It was criticized as a trade that gutted the team to get Anthony.

‘Should I aim for the paint…’

Using Chandler’s screen to execute a 2-on-2 attack was the best option. Chandler’s movements looked sharp, so it wasn’t a bad idea. New York’s interior defense was a disaster.

However, Kidd wanted to confirm something in the first quarter.

‘Whether Yoon can play normally or not.’

He knew from training that Youngjae’s play had improved to some extent. But he needed to check Youngjae’s current state, as he had just emerged from a mental slump.

Kidd intentionally called for Youngjae and passed him the ball. As soon as Youngjae received the ball, he sensed Kidd’s intention and signaled to Chandler. Then, he received a screen and started driving towards the basket.

[Here we go! Youngjae Yoon, who has been playing passively since his return. Will he shake off that passive play today?]

[Statistically, he hasn’t been terrible. But if you watch the games, the raw stats and actual performance can be very different. In the last four games, Youngjae Yoon’s stats were similar, but his actual impact didn’t match them.]

[Landry Fields is blocked by Chandler, struggling to get out! Jared Jeffries quickly blocks Youngjae Yoon’s drive-in!]

Youngjae saw Jeffries’ movement and quickly spun past him. Then, he fearlessly went up towards the hoop. Kidd’s intention was to see if Youngjae’s ability to finish at the basket had returned. Youngjae couldn’t ignore Kidd’s intention. And he wanted to know himself. Whether he had returned to his old self.

[Amar’e Stoudemire jumps up with him!]

[Youngjae Yoon, it looks like he’s going to get tangled up with Amar’e Stoudemire!]

Youngjae slightly twisted his body to turn his back to Amar’e, who was attempting a block. He thought it would be better to protect the ball than get blocked since Amar’e had already taken position before him.

“Ugh!”

Even in that situation, Youngjae turned his head back to look at the hoop and threw the ball with appropriate force. He didn’t let go of his focus until the end, scraping the ball with his fingertips. Like a circus performer, he shot a circus shot and safely landed.

Beeep!!

[Ah! Foul on Amar’e Stoudemire! And Youngjae Yoon’s circus shot…]

Swish-

[Oh, that’s too bad. It’s a miss! It seems like shots with strong contact are still unstable.]

Mike Breen’s sigh was heard, and Youngjae sighed and shook his head. It was true that he still couldn’t maintain his balance as well as before when there was strong contact. He unconsciously hesitated or couldn’t control the strength of his shots.

Whoosh-

[Instead, he makes both free throws cleanly, bringing the score to 2-0. He’s definitely more aggressive than in previous games, but his accuracy still seems to be lacking. Still, plays without contact, like free throws, have improved.]

Youngjae felt his confidence slowly building from the first play. Even though his accuracy was slightly off in the actual game, he had managed to finish even in competition with an opponent. He then started showing a stable performance on defense as well.

[Tony Douglas, to Landry Fields. Landry Fields, goes over Jared Jeffries’ pick! Youngjae Yoon followed, but he was a bit late! Eventually, Chandler switches onto Landry Fields instead of Yoon, and Youngjae Yoon covers Jared Jeffries. It’s a mismatch, but Chandler is one of the best in the league at defending mismatched guards.]

Landry Fields thought it would be impossible to face Chandler and passed a plausible bounce pass to Amar’e Stoudemire, who was running towards the rim on the opposite side.

“Keuk!”

Youngjae struggled to withstand Amar’e’s strength. The difference in position and height between Youngjae and Amar’e was clear. Youngjae skillfully pushed his shoulder in and clung to Amar’e, who was jumping towards the rim, until the end. He scratched at Amar’e’s ball like a hook to disrupt the shot before Amar’e reached his peak.

Whoosh-

But Amar’e Stoudemire wasn’t called ‘Beast’ for nothing. His strength and speed were so great that his offensive power rivaled Nowitzki among power forwards. As soon as he noticed Youngjae’s intention to hook the ball, he stretched his right arm straight up to protect the ball and intentionally let his arm get caught in Youngjae’s hand.

Beeeee!!!

Youngjae had already heard the foul whistle and had to stop this shot as much as possible to avoid giving up additional free throws. Youngjae gritted his teeth and stretched his left hand towards the ball, trying not to be pushed back by Amar’e as much as possible.

[Amar’e Stoudemire’s floater!]

Thud thud-

[Ah, it’s a miss. Youngjae Yoon gave up a shooting foul, but he made the best defense against Amar’e Stoudemire!]

[He showed that he wouldn’t be pushed back by colliding with him until the end, and he showed a sensible defensive play. It seems that Youngjae Yoon’s play, which made Amar’e Stoudemire lose his balance, lowered the accuracy of the final shot!]

Youngjae lightly bumped fists with Chandler and watched Amar’e Stoudemire’s free throws. Amar’e’s free throws were accurate for a big man, but not that high. However, he made both free throws cleanly this time, and Amar’e Stoudemire talked with his teammates and lightly backpedaled.

Youngjae licked his lips with his tongue, thinking that his defense was decent, and nodded. He had a confident expression that he felt like something good would happen in today’s game.

[Youngjae Yoon is showing active play today! He is abandoning his passive play of avoiding contact and actively jumping in.]

[He is showing a lot of activity right now and has completely shaken off Tony Douglas. He is cleverly using Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion to get rid of his marker!]

Youngjae caught the ball at the high post and faked a pivot, a move typically used by big men, against Landry Fields, who came to help. Then, Landry Fields was tricked by Youngjae’s step and leaned his body, and Youngjae turned away from Fields in the opposite direction.

[Youngjae Yoon shakes off Landry Fields with a spin move! He’s open!]

Swish-

[Clean! Youngjae Yoon’s mid-range shooting!]

Instead of sticking to passive plays, he actively collided with opponents to create space. Landry Fields couldn’t keep up with Youngjae’s unique, experienced, and sly fakes.

It wasn’t just that Youngjae was making practical plays on offense. He was also showing plays that tightly bound his opponents on defense.

[Landry Fields! Another turnover! He keeps fumbling due to Youngjae Yoon’s persistent close defense!]

[Ah, unlike Tony Douglas, Landry Fields doesn’t seem to be in good condition. It seems even worse today! Youngjae Yoon already has two steals before the first quarter is over! Landry Fields is a player who was selected for the Rookie All-Star team this season, but he is being completely toyed with by Yoon.]

[That scene can only be described as Youngjae Yoon’s excellent defense! He is constantly inducing Landry Fields’ fumbles by properly utilizing his teammates!]

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

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

＠Now that the Finals are over, all that’s left is the fun of enjoying the draft and the offseason. I’m curious to see which team Porzingis, who is so hot these days, will be picked by. He is the most dangerous and has the highest potential among the top players in this draft.

Challanhan Yoosan-nim, Financia-nim, Kundara-nim/// Thank you for always giving comments ㅎㅎ

Sorausamno-nim/// This is just my personal opinion, but I think that in basketball, what differentiates similar talents is effort. For example, even if a bench-level talent works hard enough to spit blood, they can never surpass an MVP-level talent if they don’t have injuries. In the first place, players with great talent but lack of effort eventually perish due to injuries or mental problems. Like Bynum or Odom. It’s hard to express how much effort can cover because it’s a bit comprehensive.

In the first place, talent itself cannot be activated without effort. The boundary between effort and talent is a bit ambiguous. No matter how much LeBron-level talent you have, if you only receive organizational training instead of physical and individual skill training like Korean players, you will only be able to become a top-level KBL [Korean Basketball League] player. In other words, talent>>>>effort, but I think that talent is meaningless without some effort.

Eunseol Seolya-nim/// Hehe, we also started playing basketball while writing this article. Until then, we were mainly watching.

Yathongida-nim/// Fortunately for Youngjae (?), this club is not so stupid and doesn’t spend money ㅎㅎ

Fabian-nim/// There are limits to being alone. LeBron fans shouted for a one-man championship, but it didn’t make sense in the first place. The one-man championship itself is just the deification of those one-man fans. In the NBA Finals, no matter how outstanding one person is, if the rest are lacking, there is no answer. I thought stamina and shooting touch would hold him back, but it happened from the 4th game.

Dal’s WaterdropºHeaven-nim/// Of course, it’s also because of his age, but his play is so ripe… Even LeBron in the late 2000s would have had a hard time. His jumper was worse then than it is now. He was struggling alone;;;

Yabes-nim/// I predicted it, but I didn’t really think he would receive it ㄷㄷ. Moreover, Curry’s 0 votes and LeBron’s 4 votes were even more shocking.

misscherry-nim/// Yes. In that case, being gentle is good, but shock therapy is also good. That’s more than a certain amount.

Shillimdong Gorilla-nim/// Hehe, I can’t drag this out for too long. Of course, he hasn’t fully recovered yet.

Archius-nim/// Curry has been exploding since last year. He was 6th in MVP last year. This season is in full bloom. Of course, Curry is a style that needs the team to support him to some extent.