Chapter 491: Basketball Players Do Not Need Women?
The Suns closed it out, 121 to 97, crushing the Magic on the road.
Howard walked off looking more than a little embarrassed. His pregame talk had not aged well. Not only did Orlando lose badly, but Chen Yan erupted for 42 points right in front of him.
At the postgame press conference, a reporter repeated Howard's pregame remarks to Chen Yan. Chen Yan only smiled and said nothing. His answer had already been written on the court.
Howard, however, did not dwell on the loss for long. After the interview, he headed straight for a nightclub.
There was a reason Howard had so many illegitimate children. Most players went to nightclubs to celebrate with a woman after a win. Howard went whether he won or lost, and sometimes just because he had free time. Usually, he did not go with just one.
While Howard tirelessly made his rounds through Orlando nightlife, the Suns were already on the move. The next day they had a back to back against the Rockets.
Houston's record this season was solid. At 37 wins and 25 losses, they sat 6th in the West. That was better than most people expected. McGrady had missed at least half the season, and Yao Ming was still in the middle of his weight loss transformation.
The Rockets had been carried by Yao plus a group of young players and role players. Most analysts believed that even if Yao dragged this team into the playoffs, they still would not get past the second round. But no matter what, they were playoff bound, unlike their longtime rivals in Utah, who were still fighting on the bubble.
The Jazz were currently 9th in the West. Many people thought they had declined, but that was only half true. Their core had not changed much from last season. The real problem was that everyone around them had evolved. Denver had acquired Billups. Portland's young roster had gained enough experience to break out. The Suns, Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs, and Bobcats were all stronger. Even Houston had changed its style and system.
Utah had not changed.
The world had.
So naturally, they were left behind.
…
Before Suns versus Rockets, the atmosphere during warmups was relaxed.
Chen Yan, Yao Ming, and McGrady chatted happily on the court, the three of them bound by a shared hobby: video games.
Men were boys until they died, and games were one of the last truths in the universe.
A lot of middle aged men did not quit gaming because games got boring. They quit because they no longer had anyone to play with.
Chen Yan and Yao Ming often played World of Warcraft. McGrady did not care much for it, so when the three wanted to get online together, they would sometimes switch to Counter Strike and casually shoot each other.
Lately, with Chen Yan's love life stuck in disaster mode, he had been gaming with Yao more often. Yao's wife, Ye Li, did not mind. For a famous and wealthy man like Yao Ming, staying home to play games was practically saintly behavior. He was not out wasting money in clubs. He was just spending a little on internet time. Compared with the usual celebrity nonsense, that was already a model citizen.
Yao smiled and asked, unusually curious, "How are things with your girlfriend?"
Chen Yan looked at him. "I suspect this is psychological warfare before the game."
Yao laughed. "No, I'm just concerned about you."
"Still the same," Chen Yan said. "Cold war."
Yao shook his head with a smile. "Be proactive. You're a man."
Chen Yan immediately changed the subject.
"Tracy, how's the injury?"
McGrady looked as sleepy as ever and replied, "Fine. I'm starting tonight."
Because of the butterfly effect created by Chen Yan's appearance, the Rockets had not faced Utah in the playoffs the previous season. McGrady had not taken the painkilling injection, had not gone through the same chain of events, and had not reached the point of total breakdown with the coaching staff and front office. As long as he was available, Houston still tried to build around him.
The reason McGrady had been in and out of the lineup this season was simple. His body was a museum of old injuries. Back, waist, knees, ankles, all of them took turns sabotaging him. If healthy, he was still around 60 to 70 percent of peak McGrady, no longer a true superstar, but still better than most shooting guards in the league.
And when the game started, he looked the part.
He opened with a quick catch and shoot 3 from the top of the arc.
Outside criticism had been piling up around McGrady, and he badly wanted to prove he still had it.
He was sharp all night. He scored 9 points in the first quarter and reached halftime with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Of course, his success was tied to Houston's system. Yao Ming kept drifting to the high post to open driving lanes for him. Brooks used his speed to create angles and get McGrady clean looks. The Rockets were running a near perfect Princeton offense, and nearly everyone contributed.
The only thing Adelman disliked was the defense.
Even after losing weight, Yao was still a 226 centimeter giant. Because of him, Houston could not fully commit to man defense and had to rely heavily on zones. Yao mostly defended areas rather than people, and whenever Phoenix stretched the floor, he became hesitant. Scola lacked height and verticality, so leaving him alone inside did not give the Rockets much rim protection either.
In the third quarter, Chen Yan and McGrady went straight at each other.
McGrady was no longer in the top tier of stars overall, but his star aura had not disappeared. Once he found rhythm, he was still terrifying.
With 4 minutes and 7 seconds left in the third, McGrady delivered one of the highlights of the night, a steal, a solo fast break, and a reverse dunk.
The moment Chen Yan saw it, his mind flashed back to his previous life. He remembered the reverse dunk McGrady once botched, the one that got stuck on the rim and became a running joke. This time there was no embarrassment. McGrady flushed it hard.
In this timeline, his athletic decline had not been quite as steep. He still had enough lift to throw down powerful dunks once in a while.
Chen Yan's scoring surge continued into the fourth.
McGrady's did not.
Stamina had always been one of McGrady's main problems. Adelman saw it clearly and subbed him out for Weaver. Houston kept the game close through team basketball. They were tough all night.
With 3 minutes left, McGrady checked back in after the rest and immediately gave Houston life again. He scored off a weak side catch after a Yao pass, then set up Scola for a jumper.
After that, Brooks came up with a steal and layup.
Houston ripped off a 6 to 0 run and took the lead.
D'Antoni called timeout.
Coming out of the break, Diaw and Nash connected on a beautiful action, with Diaw assisting Nash on a huge 3.
On the next possession, Brooks used a Yao screen, drove, got fouled, and made 1 of 2 from the line.
The teams were level again.
No one scored in the final minute.
Overtime.
And in overtime, Chen Yan became inevitable.
He scored 8 points by himself, blew the game open, and then iced it with 2 free throws in the closing seconds.
He finished with 50 points.
Another eruption. Another masterpiece.
With Chen Yan leading the way, Phoenix went undefeated in all 4 games that week. He claimed Western Conference Player of the Week without any argument, averaging 46 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
ESPN called his week a continuous rampage.
TNT, meanwhile, took a different angle and pointed out that Chen Yan's explosion had come right after his argument with Taylor Swift.
Fans immediately started joking that basketball players truly did not need women.
But jokes were jokes.
Everyone understood the real reason for Chen Yan's explosion. It had very little to do with Taylor Swift. It had everything to do with Stoudemire's absence. With Phoenix missing one of its two biggest scorers, Chen Yan had no choice but to shoulder an even heavier offensive burden.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]