Chapter 482: Baby Interview, Despair and Injuries
Stoudemire raised the All Star MVP trophy to a roar that felt like it could lift the roof off the arena, and the first name he thanked on the mic was Chen Yan.
Nobody argued with the order.
The postgame numbers made it plain. Chen Yan finished with 13 assists, and 9 of them went straight into Stoudemire's hands like they were delivered by GPS.
Yao Ming, meanwhile, had one of those All Star nights that felt less like basketball and more like a practical joke written specifically for him. He played 12 minutes, went 1 for 4, and ended with 2 points and 3 rebounds. He was the lowest scorer on the entire Western roster.
Yao could only laugh at it afterward. For him, the All Star Game was never a pure celebration, it was a weird stage play that kept changing scripts.
Early in his All Star career, he played seriously and looked out of sync because everyone else treated the first half like a show. After a few years, he finally learned to loosen up and lean into the entertainment. Right when he was ready to have fun, the All Star Game suddenly turned into a real fight again.
He tried to play along at the start. LeBron came flying in for a dunk, and Yao even smiled and stepped aside like, go ahead, give the crowd what it wants.
A few possessions later, Yao decided to add his own little flair under the rim, only to meet Dwight Howard's block like a slap from reality.
It was the same feeling every working adult knows, just in a louder arena.
It is not that I do not understand. The world just changes too fast.
At least he had company. Yi Jianlian was just as quiet. Yi finished with 4 points and 2 rebounds, barely registering in the flow of the game. Back home, fans jokingly called them the All Star brothers in misfortune.
…
After the final horn, the mixed zone got a surprise visitor.
"Chen Yan, do you know me? I'm your fan!"
Wang Baoqiang, the actor who blew up in A World Without Thieves and Soldiers Sortie, had been invited as a special guest and cornered Chen Yan with the kind of excitement that could not be faked.
Chen Yan recognized him instantly. "Of course. I really like your work."
Baoqiang looked so happy he almost forgot his own questions. It took him a moment to steady himself.
"Chen Yan, please sign for me. You're so famous. I'm really happy. I finally got to fulfill a wish."
Chen Yan signed the basketball and the Suns number 0 jersey Baoqiang was wearing, then leaned into the moment and joked to keep it light.
"You play ball yourself?"
Baoqiang smiled, honest and simple. "Yeah, but not much. Just with some friends when I'm between shoots."
"You've got a martial arts background, your conditioning should be great," Chen Yan said. "You should make a Kung Fu Basketball movie someday. Your fans would go crazy."
Baoqiang laughed. "That's a good idea. It reminds me of Shaolin Soccer. If I ever make Kung Fu Basketball, I'm inviting you for a cameo."
"Then you have to coach my acting," Chen Yan said. "I've watched your stuff. I like your style."
Baoqiang's eyes got even brighter. "I like you even more. I came to Phoenix this time to chase my idol."
Chen Yan waved both hands quickly. "Stop, stop. If you keep talking, people will think we're a couple."
Baoqiang, still smiling, answered without thinking too much. "It's a rare break for me. I didn't stay home with my live in girlfriend. I came to All Star Weekend instead."
Chen Yan's smile stayed in place, but something heavy sank in his chest.
He knew too much about how some stories ended, and the worst part was he could not say it out loud. That was the curse of someone who had seen tomorrow. You could sense the cliff, but you still had to keep walking like the ground was normal.
…
The league also released the All Star ratings.
Nielsen's numbers showed Phoenix was up about 8 percent compared to last year's New Orleans All Star Game. The bumps were obvious, Chen Yan's dunk contest explosion, the OK duo reconciliation moment, and the novelty of 3 Asian players sharing the All Star floor in the same year.
…
After All Star Weekend, reality came back fast.
1 day later, the Suns saw the Clippers again.
Stoudemire carried his All Star heat straight into the regular season and poured in 35 points as Phoenix bulldozed Los Angeles 140 to 100.
It was the familiar script. The talent gap was real, and the Clippers had basically embraced the tank. Even the box score tried to make it look balanced, 6 Clippers in double figures, but it was empty calories. Five of those six players scored exactly 10. The real leader on their side was Eric Gordon with 24, most of it coming while Chen Yan played a looser defensive gear.
Chen Yan did not press the gas. After his last injury repair, his honor points were thin, and he had to be cautious.
Still, even while managing himself, 30 plus came easily. At this pace, the scoring title was his unless something ugly happened and he missed too many games.
On February 18, the Suns hit 140 again in the second night of a back to back. This time the Thunder took the damage.
Stoudemire went nuclear with 43 points. After All Star Weekend, his form jumped another level, and without Nash, that surge mattered. It stabilized the offense and kept the fan base from spiraling into panic.
After a day of rest, Phoenix smashed Charlotte 132 to 112 at home. Chen Yan showed no mercy to his brother Durant, flirting with a quadruple double line: 28 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 7 steals. Stoudemire kept rampaging with 33.
Then, after another day off, the Suns handled Charlotte again, 118 to 101. They were playing so clean and so confident that nobody pretended it would be an upset.
Phoenix finished the week perfect, and Stoudemire took Player of the Week on the back of his explosion.
And then, right when he looked unstoppable, disaster hit.
February 25, the league got the game everyone wanted, Suns versus Lakers. It turned into a nightmare.
Stoudemire suffered a major injury. The diagnosis after the game was a partial iris tear. He needed retinal repair surgery, and his regular season was over.
It was not even the first time he had been forced off the stage. Before the 2005 to 2006 season, he had knee cartilage damage and underwent micro surgery, missed most of the year, returned briefly, and then was shut down again after only 3 games.
Now it was happening again.
D'Antoni's plans blew apart in real time. Phoenix lost the statement game 109 to 121.
Chen Yan tried to carry it alone after Stoudemire went down and dropped 50, but a team like the Lakers did not fold to one man, not even when that man was on fire.
The timing made it worse.
The trade deadline had passed just days earlier.
The 2009 deadline was February 19, 2009. After that, no trades until the day before the June draft.
So there was no rescue coming. No emergency big man. No quick fix.
From here to the finish line, the Suns had to survive with Diaw, Jordan, and Barnes as the frontcourt rotation.
It was brutal.
But in the middle of the wreckage, one piece of good news finally surfaced.
Steve Nash would be back in 2 days.
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]