Chapter 662: Crazy Love
After the game, James and Wade walked into the locker room looking dejected.
The reporters questions after the game were sharp, and the 2 superstar brothers could not exactly lose their temper in public. They could only maintain their gentlemanly image, answer the questions, then leave as quickly as possible.
On March 1, the Knicks won the last game of their Eastern Conference road trip, narrowly defeating the Magic, 118 to 114.
This game was similar in nature to the previous one. Both were victories against stronger opponents, because on paper, both the Heat and the Magic had better overall rosters than the Knicks.
Tonight, the Knicks players looked a little tired. Their form was not as sharp as it had been in the previous game, but the win over Miami had injected tremendous confidence into the entire team. They fought until the end and still secured the victory.
After the game, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy spoke frankly.
"Chen Yan is a player who comes with his own system. After he came to the Knicks, he did not just inject energy into this team. He directly raised the level of the entire roster. We often say basketball is a game of 5 players, but Chen is 1 of those rare players who can change an entire team by himself."
Howard was the most frustrated player on the court.
In this game, he produced a monstrous stat line of 30 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
The Knicks weak interior players were no match for him alone, but even so, he still could not lead his team to victory.
Howard fell into self doubt.
When Chen Yan was with the Suns, he could not beat the Suns.
Now that Chen Yan was with the Knicks, he still could not beat the Knicks.
Could this guy really be an insurmountable wall in his career?
Fortunately, Howard was a relatively optimistic person with strong self regulation. That night, he took a few girls to a nightclub.
Otherwise, he might really have become depressed.
On March 2, the Knicks played the Charlotte Hornets on the 2nd night of a back to back.
Inside and outside Madison Square Garden, the noise was deafening.
Every Knicks fan was extremely excited. They shouted Chen Yan's name and held up signs about him.
This game was incredibly meaningful for Knicks fans.
Although it was not Chen Yan's Knicks debut, it was his home debut.
The home fans in New York had been waiting for this day for far too long. During warmups, they kept shouting his name.
Chen Yan continuously shot ultra long 3 pointers from near midcourt, stirring up the fans emotions.
He knew exactly what these people liked to see.
On the other side of the court, Chris Paul was warming up while watching Chen Yan with extremely complicated eyes.
At first, Paul had wanted to team up with Chen Yan.
He did not know why Chen Yan had refused him.
Then, after seeing a young kid like Curry beside Chen Yan, Paul was genuinely puzzled.
Anyone familiar with Paul knew that he was not exactly broad minded.
In tonight's game, Paul's desire to score was extremely strong.
He wanted to crush the Knicks with his own offense and make Chen Yan understand who was better.
On the 1st offensive possession, Paul received a screen from David West, used the Knicks switch, and immediately shot a high post jumper.
Missed.
Paul usually rarely attacked aggressively from the start. He was a playmaking first guard, so everyone could see that he was different tonight.
The Hornets players immediately retreated to the defensive end.
Their starting 5 were Paul, Willie Green, Ariza, David West, and Okafor.
To be honest, this lineup had good mobility.
Both interior players were not heavy footed.
Ariza had chosen to opt out of his contract after winning the championship with the Lakers, seeking a higher salary.
That summer, Charlotte extended an olive branch to him and offered a 5 year, $36 million contract.
That contract was not huge. In that era, it was a mid level deal, but the Lakers could not match it.
There was no other way.
The salaries of the Lakers 2 core players were too high.
Charlotte could be considered to have gone all out that summer.
In addition to acquiring championship defensive stalwart Ariza, they also signed former Bobcats star Okafor, Raptors backup point guard Jarrett Jack, 76ers shooting guard Willie Green, and Italian guard Marco Belinelli.
However, Chen Yan was not optimistic about this Hornets team achieving real success.
It was not because Chen Yan had future knowledge.
Even without that advantage, he still would not favor this team to win a championship.
The reason was simple.
The current basketball trend was small, fast, and agile, with an emphasis on outside shooting.
The Hornets were still playing traditional basketball.
Among the players they brought in, aside from Belinelli, none had reliable outside shooting ability.
This lineup was essentially going against the trend.
It was somewhat similar to the Heat, but not entirely the same.
Miami's 2 superstars could force their way to victory in critical moments.
Charlotte did not have that kind of player.
Chris Paul's individual ability was very strong, but because of his height limitations, he was destined not to become a clutch player like Jordan, Kobe, or Chen Yan.
The Hornets problem was very similar to previous years.
Their ceiling was still the question.
With this lineup, it would not be difficult for them to make the playoffs by playing normally. If they pushed hard, they might even have a chance to reach the top 4 in the Western Conference.
But aiming for a championship was a fantasy.
Forget a championship. Even reaching the Western Conference Finals in the brutal West would require every player to perform beyond himself.
That possibility was too small.
Paul himself knew this very well.
That was why he had desperately wanted to leave Charlotte and team up with Chen Yan.
Knicks offense.
Seeing that there was no fast break opportunity, Curry did not hesitate and passed the ball directly to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan did not rush to dribble after catching it.
After observing the floor, he held the ball with 1 hand and waited for his teammates to get into position.
Chen Yan signaled a play.
Curry and Battier ran to the 2 corners.
Al Harrington stood at the left 45 degree angle beyond the 3 point line.
Kenyon Martin came out to set a screen.
This was the major advantage of a lineup with multiple shooters.
When every shooter spread out to the perimeter, the ball handler gained enormous driving space.
Chen Yan dribbled slowly, using Kenyon Martin's body as a screen to move right.
Ariza immediately went around the screen.
He was also an old opponent of Chen Yan and had studied Chen Yan's style carefully.
After dribbling 1 step to the right, Chen Yan changed direction, once again using Kenyon Martin's body as a screen.
Kenyon Martin stood still like a statue, allowing Chen Yan to use him however he wanted.
Chen Yan expertly used Kenyon Martin's repeated screens to shake off Ariza.
Okafor was forced to switch.
Chen Yan lowered his body, drove hard for 1 step, then stopped.
A simple change of rhythm easily created shooting space.
Without hesitation, Chen Yan pulled up for a high post jumper.
"Swish!"
1st shot, 1st make.
"Wooooooow!"
"Yeah!"
Thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd.
Chen Yan ignited the entire arena with a mid range shot that could not have looked more ordinary.
That tiny detail alone was enough to show how insanely the fans here loved him.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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