Chapter 103: James Shows Off His Top Basketball IQ and Intelligence!
Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland, Ohio
After warm-ups wrapped up, both teams filed back into the locker rooms for final prep. It was just another regular season matchup—game 41 out of 82—nothing special on paper. Coach D'Antoni didn't go deep into the playbook. After a quick jersey swap and lacing up their game shoes, Chen Yan and the Suns jogged back onto the court through the player tunnel.
The lights dimmed. Music blasted. The starting lineups were announced center court.
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup: Steve Nash, Chen Yan, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Amar'e Stoudemire.
Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Lineup: Damon Jones, Larry Hughes, LeBron James, Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Raja Bell returned to the Suns' starting five after a short injury stint. His job tonight? Guard the league's most explosive small forward—LeBron James. Pressure was on.
This wasn't just any game—it was broadcast nationally across the U.S. The NBA had been hyping it up as "James vs. Chen Yan", trying to spark a fresh storyline. Sure, Chen wasn't at LeBron's level yet, but the league was clearly pushing him as the next big thing. With Chen's insane performances since the All-Star break, fans were eager for the matchup.
Tip-off.
The moment the whistle blew, both Chen Yan and LeBron locked in. No smiles. No trash talk. Just focus. That's what separates stars—elite competitive fire. Everything off-court gets shut out once the game begins.
At the jump, Amar'e seemed distracted and mistimed his leap. Ilgauskas tapped the ball gently to James.
Cavs ball.
LeBron brought it up slowly with his left hand, his eyes scanning. His right hand signaled a set play. He wasn't hunting his shot like Kobe—LeBron preferred to get his teammates involved early.
At the top of the arc, James zipped a bounce pass inside to Big Z.
Ilgauskas caught it, pivoted, and tossed up a soft hook shot.
Clank.
The ball hit back iron and bounced out.
Big Z had touch, no doubt, but it looked like his hands were still cold.
Boris Diaw grabbed the board and instantly ignited the Suns' break. A pinpoint outlet pass flew past Nash and Raja Bell—straight to a streaking Chen Yan!
Diaw's timing was chef's kiss. Chen didn't even need to slow down to catch it.
Larry Hughes was assigned to guard Chen. A former steals champ and elite defender in his prime, Hughes had lost a step after nagging injuries.
Chen hit the turbo button, blew past Hughes like he was standing still.
One-on-zero.
Chen exploded to the rim, cocked back, and hammered a two-handed dunk that shook the basket.
BOOM.
The rookie had just thrown down in enemy territory—and early.
LeBron's face turned stone cold.
Next Cavs possession, LeBron walked straight to the top of the arc and demanded the rock.
This was LeBron 1.0—before he bulked up, before the post-up game. Back then, it was all about the drive and the pull-up.
With the ball one step beyond the three-point line, he signaled Gooden over.
Pick-and-roll incoming.
Guarding LeBron meant being ready for 100-plus screens a night. That's just how he played. The only rule when defending him: never let him get a runway.
Raja Bell knew the assignment. As Gooden set the screen, Raja fought over the top—textbook technique.
But LeBron read it instantly. He changed direction on a dime, using Gooden's body as a shield to slash the other way.
Elite adjustment.
Before the help defense could rotate, James had already knifed through the paint.
Then came the hammer—a signature tomahawk dunk.
Lean, quick, explosive—LeBron's early-career dunks had that rare blend of power and grace. He floated, then detonated.
LeBron's thunderous dunk sent the Cavaliers crowd into a frenzy.
As he landed, James stared down Chen Yan with that trademark intensity, trying to send a message: This is my house.
But the awkward part? Chen Yan didn't even notice.
Before the ball had even finished bouncing out of bounds, he was already sprinting down the court like a missile.
The Suns were back on the attack—blitzkrieg style!
Steve Nash crossed half-court with the ball and quickly hit Chen Yan near the logo.
Without breaking stride, Chen exploded to the left wing.
He was clearly playing with a chip on his shoulder. Back-to-back losses had him locked in, hungry, and pissed off. And now, he was out for blood.
Larry Hughes immediately dropped back to cut him off. But even he felt the pressure—Chen's burst was something else.
As Chen neared him, he suddenly dropped low and hit a sharp crossover.
Larry saw an opening and pounced. As the 2004-05 steals leader, this was his bread and butter.
But he made one fatal mistake—he underestimated Chen Yan's dribble control.
Bang!
Chen snatched the ball back with a lightning-quick counter crossover just as Hughes lunged in.
Damn it! Hughes cursed internally, knowing full well he'd just lost the step—and his balance.
Chen blew past him, stormed into the paint, and threw down an emphatic one-hand jam.
Two possessions. Two dunks. The Suns led 4–2.
"Stop gambling! Stay in front of him!" Cavs head coach Mike Brown was already barking from the sidelines, visibly frustrated. He hated reckless steal attempts—especially this early.
"Back-to-back dunks in transition! That's four quick points for Chen to start the game!" Barkley's voice boomed in the TNT studio.
Kenny Smith nodded. "Chen's deadly in transition. Fast break scoring? Number one in the league right now. His speed, explosiveness, footwork—it's elite. You give him even a sliver of daylight, he's gone."
Stung by those two early buckets, the Cavs slowed the pace. They weren't about to let Phoenix run wild and turn the game into a track meet.
Damon Jones brought the ball up and found LeBron on the wing.
James fed Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the post, but the big man didn't like the angle. He kicked it right back out.
The Cavs started moving the ball around, but the shot clock kept ticking.
With the clock under 10, LeBron went into attack mode. He took a long stride into the paint and kicked out to the corner.
Larry Hughes caught it wide open.
But instead of pulling the trigger, he hesitated, faked the shot, and drove inside.
James let out a silent sigh. The paint was already packed—four, maybe five bodies—including himself.
This was classic Larry Hughes. A slasher at heart, allergic to outside shots. Career 41.4% from the field, and just 28.1% from three.
He used to flourish next to Arenas in Washington, where their styles complemented each other. But next to LeBron, who also thrived attacking the rim? Redundant.
That's why Hughes' scoring average had plummeted—from 22 points a game to barely 12 now.
He just wasn't that Pippen to LeBron's Jordan.
Clang!
Hughes forced a layup against Chen Yan and missed. The ball bounced hard off the glass.
Amar'e Stoudemire snagged the rebound and immediately found Nash.
Nash looked up, spotted Chen Yan already at full sprint.
"Here we go again!" Barkley shouted. "That's three straight!"
"Lightning fast! What kind of finish is he bringing this time?" Kenny added as the TNT crew's voices escalated.
The crowd started rising to its feet—something was brewing.
LeBron was already in pursuit.
Though it looked like Chen had a wide-open lane, anyone who's seen James chase down blocks knew better. He was hunting.
As Chen crossed the three-point line, his instincts kicked in. He could feel the danger behind him. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye confirmed it—James was closing in.
Still, Chen didn't hesitate. Two quick strides, and he elevated.
A dunk in front of LeBron?
The fans started buzzing. They lived for these chase-down moments. The tension was electric.
Bang!
James soared in and sent the ball flying off the backboard!
The arena exploded!
But then—whistle!
Goaltending. Bucket counts.
LeBron froze, arms outstretched in disbelief.
He turned toward the jumbo screen, watched the replay—and sighed.
Sure enough, the ball had already hit the backboard before he got there.
No doubt about it. Goaltending.
He shook his head and jogged back on defense.
As he passed midcourt, Chen Yan jogged past him with a sly, almost smug grin.
That's when it clicked.
James got played.
Rookie or not—Chen Yan wasn't just fast.
He was clever.
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