Chapter 739: No Point Guard Available
6 straight wins.
The Knicks had started the new season perfectly.
Curry was very excited when he saw the team's strong momentum, and he proactively approached Nelson to request a return.
Curry felt he had recovered enough.
Although he had only played 5 games this season, this was a shortened season with a late start. If it had been a normal season, a quarter of the schedule would already have been completed.
Curry felt he had rested long enough.
It was time to rejoin the team.
Nelson decisively rejected his request.
The reason was simple.
It was for the sake of Curry's career.
As an experienced coach, Nelson understood the importance of proper recovery very well. Moreover, the team doctor had given a return date in mid February.
Returning early would bring no benefits, only hidden dangers.
Chen Yan also told Curry not to rush and to use this time to practice glute activation more. Changing the way he generated force could reduce pressure on his ankle and help prevent reinjury.
After listening, Curry stuck out his butt, indicating that he had been practicing recently and that his butt had grown a size.
Chen Yan patted Curry's butt hard and said, "Indeed. It is a perky butt."
On January 6, local time in the United States, the Knicks challenged the Washington Wizards on the road.
In the era after Arenas, the Wizards were practically unwatchable.
They had lost all 6 of their 1st games this season.
Their goal this season was to contend for the number 1 draft pick, nothing else.
This game was considered a foregone conclusion by the outside world.
However, some Knicks players gave everyone a surprise.
They shot 3 of 20 from 3 point range for the entire game, with Chen Yan making 2 of those shots.
The entire Knicks team was out of form.
Chen Yan's performance was also mediocre.
He shot 9 of 21 from the field, including 2 of 6 from 3 point range, and 3 of 4 from the free throw line, finishing with 23 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds.
The Wizards surprisingly won the game.
Blatche, Wall, and Lewis all exploded, each scoring more than 20 points.
After winning, Wall was extremely excited.
He screamed into the camera, "We are unstoppable!"
Anyone who saw him would have thought Wall had just won the championship.
The winning streak was interrupted, but Chen Yan did not think it was a bad thing.
A newly formed team needed some tempering.
It was better to suffer a setback in the regular season than in the Playoffs.
Losing 1 game was not unacceptable.
The loss energized the entire team.
On January 7, in a back to back game, the Knicks crushed the Detroit Pistons.
Today's Pistons had nothing to do with iron blooded defense anymore.
Only Tayshaun Prince, the Little Prince, remained from the original 5 Tigers.
In this game, the Knicks scored a whopping 132 points at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Led by Chen Yan, New York routed Detroit by 34 points.
Stuckey, the so called prince of Detroit's rebuild, had 14 points and 4 assists for the entire game.
Only then did Pistons management realize that this prince was truly a lost cause.
He was only capable of around 15 points and 5 assists per game, and that was with a large share of the team's possessions and shot attempts.
He simply could not shoulder the role of a team's core player.
Honestly, even an older Iverson was infinitely better than him.
After 1 day of rest, the Knicks returned home to face the Bobcats.
Meeting his good brother Augustin again, Chen Yan showed no mercy, hitting 10 3 pointers in a single game.
This time, the Bobcats were not as resilient as last time.
They surrendered by the end of the 3rd quarter.
After the game, Chen Yan treated Augustin to a late night snack.
However, 1 late night snack could not soothe Augustin's psychological trauma.
In these 2 matchups, Chen Yan had aggressively targeted Augustin, repeatedly picking on him and dominating him.
But Augustin did not hold a grudge.
Americans had a different mentality from Chinese people.
No matter how fierce the competition was on the court, they could still be friends off it.
Augustin would not privately ask Chen Yan to go easy on him.
In his view, Chen Yan playing his hardest against him was a form of respect.
Not being able to defend him was a problem with his own ability.
He would just go back and practice more.
Chen Yan and Augustin talked a lot, mostly about their college days.
True friends never bragged about how amazing they were when they got together.
More often, they reminisced about the past.
Chen Yan missed his NCAA days.
Although he did not have much money in college, things were pure.
Everyone came together to play for love and dreams.
Looking back, it had been a long time since he had sat face to face with Durant like that for a heart to heart.
It was not that there was a rift between them.
The Black 8 incident had caused a significant psychological shadow for Durant.
Whenever Durant saw Chen Yan, he would recall the painful memories of that upset, so during these past few months, he had been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding Chen Yan.
Durant would not avoid Chen Yan forever.
Some wounds simply needed time to heal.
The Knicks next opponent was the Philadelphia 76ers.
They were similar to the Bobcats, playing commoner basketball.
Iguodala, their leading scorer, could not even average 20 points per game.
Such offensive firepower was clearly inadequate for a team's top player.
Iguodala did not have the ability to be the main man.
Making him lead a team was like forcing a duck to climb a perch.
However, although Iguodala did not have the ability to be the main man, his attitude and defensive ability were undeniable.
From the start of the game, he made things difficult for Chen Yan for several possessions.
Iguodala had a good physique and good speed, and his physical tools were also decent.
However, Chen Yan quickly adjusted, then continuously hit fadeaway 3 pointers over him.
Chen Yan had this kind of personality.
If someone defended him well for a stretch, he would then intensify his offense and break through that defender.
This was not only on a tactical level, but also on a psychological level.
Chen Yan would not let any player feel that they could guard him.
He wanted to plant fear in every matchup.
In the 1st 2 minutes of the game, Iguodala was a little smug.
Chen Yan is nothing special.
I can defend him now.
1 minute later, Iguodala's inner monologue had already changed.
Whoa.
This guy still has some tricks.
I have to give it everything.
After halftime, only 1 thought remained.
Just kill me.
This guy is not human.
In the final 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter, Chen Yan continuously scored 12 points over Iguodala, including a buzzer beating mid range shot.
Chen Yan's outburst even made Iguodala depressed.
In the 3rd quarter, Philadelphia gradually began to collapse, and Chen Yan successfully clocked out after 3 quarters.
This was the most comfortable rhythm.
If every game could be like this, Chen Yan would not mind if his stats shrank a bit.
Tonight's numbers were fixed at 39 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Another easy triple double.
Many experts stated that if Chen Yan wanted to, he could become another player after Oscar Robertson to average a triple double.
Chen Yan had that ability.
But now, he did not seem overly obsessed with stats.
He was happy to get good numbers, but he would not force them if they did not come naturally.
He certainly would not do something like padding stats during garbage time.
It was meaningless and dishonorable.
After defeating the 76ers, the Knicks immediately flew to Memphis to challenge the Grizzlies.
It was another back to back game.
The Knicks were full of complaints.
The schedule was really unfriendly, but this unfriendliness was not aimed only at them.
In the shortened season, every team had a dense schedule, and the pace was incredibly fast.
66 games had to be squeezed into exactly 4 months.
On average, there was a game almost every 2 days.
The Grizzlies had strong momentum this year.
They had excellent players both inside and outside.
Love and Marc Gasol formed a twin white interior, becoming the strongest twin towers combination in the league's paint.
The Knicks could only try to speed up every possession.
If they got into a half court battle, they would definitely suffer.
Memphis also had capable perimeter players like Gay and Conley.
This game was a hard fought battle.
With 4 and a half minutes left, the game was still tied.
The Grizzlies strategy was simple.
Play in the half court and utilize the advantage of their 2 big men.
"The game is not even over yet, and both Memphis big men have already recorded double doubles," Kenny Smith said.
"And today, Memphis perimeter shooting has also been good," Barkley added. "They have hit 12 of 20 attempts."
Before the 2 commentators finished speaking, Marc Gasol muscled his way inside and scored a 3 point play against DeAndre Jordan.
The Memphis home court erupted in cheers.
Although DeAndre Jordan's running and jumping ability was far better than Marc Gasol's, basketball was not only about running and jumping.
Marc Gasol's offensive experience was simply too rich.
He knew how to use his weight to lean on DeAndre, preventing him from jumping, then used skill and size to make the shot.
With 4 minutes left, the Knicks needed a hero to step up.
Normally, this was Chen Yan's time to take control of the game.
But today, Barea came out to steal the show.
He first used a screen to drive hard to the basket, answering Marc Gasol with a 3 point play of his own.
That shot was very tough, and Barea himself was excited, pumping his fist after landing.
After making the free throw, Barea completed a steal in the backcourt, then assisted Chen Yan for a 3 pointer.
1 minute later, Barea hit another trailing 3 pointer on a fast break.
Then he pulled up and scored on Conley in isolation.
Seeing his teammate in good form, Chen Yan decisively gave up the ball.
At the same time, in the final 2 minutes, he guarded Conley very tightly, performing excellently on both ends of the court.
With 50 seconds left in the game, the Knicks were already leading by 7 points.
The outcome was decided.
But then, an accident occurred.
Barea twisted his ankle on a drive and kick play.
Barea lay on the baseline clutching his ankle, looking extremely pained.
His teammates rushed forward to check on him.
It was clear that they genuinely cared about Barea.
Chen Yan quickly waved his teammates away.
At this moment, Barea did not need greetings from his teammates.
He needed fresh air.
Barea's sudden injury was related to his overexertion in the final quarter, and also to the tight schedule during this stretch.
Because of the lockout, the 66 game regular season had to be completed within 126 days.
That meant every team had to endure not only high density games, but also back to back schedules and even 3 games in 3 nights.
Even though NBA players were all athletic talents with exceptional physical quality, they still could not withstand the injury problems brought by high intensity competition.
Counting every player who had suffered injuries, big or small, since the regular season officially started on December 26 of last year, less than 1 month had passed, and 110 players had already been injured.
A terrifying number.
Some injuries were major, while others were minor.
The Lakers, with veterans as their core, had a mediocre record this season.
So far, 4 of their players had already suffered injuries.
The Knicks ultimately won this game 115 to 109.
However, the entire team was not happy.
After the team doctor diagnosed him after the game, Barea was ruled out for 4 to 6 weeks.
That meant he would not be able to play for at least 1 month.
With both Curry and Barea injured, the Knicks only had Beverley and Anthony Carter as point guards.
Carter was old and could only be a stopgap.
Beverley would have to play most of the minutes.
Beverley played very actively, but this was his 1st NBA season.
Due to his lack of experience, it would be difficult for him to serve as the starting point guard of a championship contender.
It was estimated that Chen Yan would have to occasionally fill in at point guard during this period.
In the next game against the Thunder, Beverley was completely dominated by Devin Harris.
At this stage, Beverley could play off the bench and function as a role player.
But once he played extended minutes, many problems appeared.
Fortunately, Chen Yan and David West played well in this game.
David West scored 28 points, dominating Horford in the paint.
Chen Yan once again delivered a triple double, finishing with 32 points, 15 assists, and 11 rebounds.
With Barea out, Chen Yan had to take on more organizing duties, so his scoring naturally went down while his assists went up.
Nelson noticed Beverley's discomfort.
In the next few games, he started Anthony Carter instead, and the results were good.
In the following week of games, Anthony Carter averaged 8.9 points and 5.9 assists.
His role was more obvious beyond the stats, especially in orchestrating the team.
During this week, the Knicks also achieved a 4 and 1 record.
It could be described as smooth sailing.
At present, the Knicks sat at the top of the Eastern Conference, and everything was developing according to the planned script.
But good times did not last long.
In the game on the 24th, old Carter's back injury flared up, and he left the game directly after halftime.
Although the Knicks ultimately won that game, they now faced a very serious problem.
They truly had no point guards left on the team.
.....
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