Chapter 410: Two Games, Two Styles, Chen Yan's Advice
After opening the season with a 3 game winning streak, the Suns finally hit the road. Over the next 4 days they would face the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Milwaukee Bucks.
None of the opponents looked terrifying on paper. The real challenge was the schedule. Packed flights, hotel beds, back to backs, and the constant grind that slowly sanded down even the best teams.
On November 5, Phoenix flew into Indiana.
Chen Yan's outside touch had been off in the previous game, so he showed up to the arena about 30 minutes earlier than usual. He wanted extra reps, extra rhythm, and no excuses.
During warmups, his form clearly returned.
He started drilling 3s from different angles, then kept stepping back, farther, deeper, like the line was moving away from him on purpose. The shots kept falling. The arc looked clean. The release looked effortless.
The Pacers fans gradually realized something was wrong.
First, Chen Yan hit 9 straight deep 3s near mid court.
Then he started launching from the area near the player tunnel.
Then he jogged toward the seats and casually flicked one up from the edge of the stands like he was trying to prove a point.
The building did not know how to react. Some people laughed. Some groaned. A few stared at the rim like it was about to start apologizing.
By the time the game started, the dread in the arena was already real.
Sure enough, Chen Yan buried 5 ridiculous 3s in the first quarter. In the second, he stayed hot and hit 3 more.
With 8 made 3s in the first half, he turned a normal regular season night into a shooting exhibition.
At halftime, the Pacers trailed by 19. Bankers Life Fieldhouse had gone from noisy to strangely quiet, the kind of quiet that only shows up when a crowd realizes it is watching someone else's highlight reel.
…
Phoenix came out in the second half determined to end it early. Finish the job, create garbage time, and let the rookies develop without pressure.
Less than 1 minute and 30 seconds into the half, Chen Yan hit a trailing transition 3.
Swish.
His 9th 3 of the night.
The Pacers fans could only shake their heads. Every shot looked like it was already halfway in before it even reached the rim.
Indiana answered. Danny Granger hit a 3 from the right wing at the 45.
Granger and the newly signed T J Ford were both playing well tonight. If they were not, the Pacers would not even have been within 19 at the break.
Phoenix came right back.
Chen Yan crossed over, pulled the ball back, went into a behind the back dribble, then rose with his foot on the logo just a step in front of half court.
Granger and Marquis Daniels sprinted at him together.
Clang.
It finally missed.
The arena exhaled like it had been holding its breath for 2 quarters. If he started making those too, people would be ready to call the league office and ask if somebody had turned his sliders to maximum.
That miss was not about defense. It was about Chen Yan getting a little carried away.
He only took shots like that when he was feeling it and the lead was safe. If the game was tight, those attempts would irritate teammates, because no matter how talented you are, there is still a line between confidence and chaos.
After missing, Chen Yan immediately locked in on defense.
T J Ford faked the drive, then zipped a bounce pass into the paint to Roy Hibbert.
At 218 cm, Hibbert was one of the tallest active centers in the league. The catch was deep, and Stoudemire was late. It looked like a routine dunk.
Hibbert rose.
And then Chen Yan came flying in from the wing.
Bang.
A violent 2 handed pin against the backboard.
Not a soft block. Not a fingertip brush. A full stop, ball trapped on glass.
Hibbert stumbled as he landed and went down hard. For a second he looked like he wanted to argue with reality itself.
At this point in his career, Hibbert was not a nickname, not a storyline, not a polished veteran. He was a rookie who had played 2 NBA games.
That block would live in his head for a while.
Chen Yan ripped the ball off the backboard and pushed the break himself.
Near mid court, he swung it to Nash on the left.
Nash caught, then immediately returned it.
Chen Yan planted with his foot on the logo again.
Same spot.
Different result.
Swish.
Nothing but net.
The Suns bench exploded like somebody had hit a button.
Tonight, Chen Yan was taking the unreasonable shots all the way to the finish line.
That make broke Indiana's confidence. Over the next 2 and a half minutes, the Pacers went cold, falling into a scoring drought.
Phoenix punished it with an 11 to 0 run.
In the second half of the third quarter, Jim O'Brien benched his starters, and they never returned until the end.
The fourth quarter became a reserve unit scrimmage. Phoenix rolled out Barea, Azubuike, Novak, Barnes, and Jordan. They ran sets, practiced execution, and treated the last 12 minutes like structured training.
Pacers fans started leaving. The ones who stayed were the real ones, the die hard souls who sit through pain because they already paid for the seat and they are too stubborn to surrender.
Final score, Suns 121, Pacers 96.
A 25 point road win.
Chen Yan finished 12 for 18 from the field, 10 for 14 from 3, and 2 for 2 at the line. Game high 36 points.
Last game, he had shown a deep bag, post ups, midrange counters, drives, fast break finishes. This night was almost pure perimeter fireworks, a demonstration of his range and rhythm.
Two games, two completely different versions of Chen Yan.
…
At Indiana's post game press conference, Jim O'Brien did not sugarcoat it.
"We got destroyed by Chen's 3 point shooting. He's turned unconventional shots into routine ones."
Danny Granger took the loss in stride.
"Our firepower was suppressed the whole night. Phoenix was the better team. That's it."
No drama. The Suns were the defending champs. Losing to them was not shameful. It was just reality.
At Phoenix's press conference, Nash was asked about Chen Yan's shot selection.
Nash smiled.
"That's Chen's rhythm. He likes deep 3s and tough 3s off the dribble. I'm used to enjoying the show. My only concern is he's going to corrupt the kids. I've heard some kids in Canadian schools are pulling up from way out the moment they touch the ball."
Chen Yan, standing next to him, laughed and jumped in.
"Steve is right. And I want to say this to every kid who likes how I play. Work on your fundamentals first. Dribbling, passing, layups, footwork, positioning, defense. There's an old saying back home, learn to walk before you run. If you master the basics, then you can play however you want in a game."
He did not want a generation of kids launching logo shots with no handle and no balance. He wanted to inspire them, not mislead them.
…
After the press conference, the Suns immediately headed to the next stop, Chicago.
They only had 1 day of rest before facing the young Bulls.
On the plane, DeAndre Jordan looked worn out. Chen Yan walked over and patted him on the back.
"Hey, rookie. How's the NBA feel?"
Jordan shook his head. "More brutal than I thought. Just thinking about back to backs makes me want to die."
Chen Yan laughed. "That's normal. This is only the beginning. Get some rest, big man. You'll adapt."
The NBA schedule was far harsher than the NCAA. Most players fresh out of college needed time to adjust, not just mentally, but physically. The travel alone could make your legs feel different.
A big reason Jordan's performances swung between good nights and rough nights was exactly that, the rhythm of the schedule.
And because he played next to Chen Yan, the attention was louder. In China, there was already a large group of fans tracking the Suns closely. Some of them knew the bench players and even the G League call ups by name.
Playing next to Chen Yan meant exposure.
It also meant pressure.
And for a rookie big man learning how to breathe in the NBA, that pressure could feel like weight on the chest, until you learned how to carry it.
.....
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