Chapter 797: No Chance at the Start
"Yeah!"
Madison Square Garden erupted.
Battier clenched his fist as he ran back on defense, feeding off the roar of the home crowd.
On Miami's possession, Battier attached himself to LeBron James.
James repeatedly dribbled between his legs at the top of the arc, but Battier stayed directly in front of him.
This was not where James was most dangerous.
His greatest weapon came when a teammate created space with a screen.
Give James a clear lane and enough room to accelerate, and he could attack the paint like a tank.
Pau Gasol moved toward the high post.
James immediately used the screen and attacked from the right as New York adjusted its defense.
DeAndre Jordan followed from behind and to the side.
David West abandoned Channing Frye and stepped over to help.
That was exactly what James wanted.
After taking another step toward the paint, James pushed the ball out with his left hand.
Pass to Frye beyond the 3 point line.
Frye caught it wide open.
Chen Yan immediately sprinted toward him.
Frye had time to shoot.
But when he saw Chen closing, he hesitated.
That brief pause killed the opportunity.
Frye passed sideways to Wade.
On the Miami bench, Spoelstra stomped his foot in frustration.
Against a team like New York, completely open shots were rare.
When one appeared, the correct response was usually simple.
Shoot.
Frye had hesitated.
By the time Wade caught the ball, David West had already recovered and pressured him.
Miami continued moving the ball.
Eventually, the rotations created a mismatch.
Wade found himself attacking David West.
He immediately drove.
The 2 collided.
Wade bounced backward.
David West was simply too strong.
Wade was one of the most powerful guards in basketball, but against a true power forward, his physical strength no longer created an advantage.
Fortunately for Miami, Wade was far more than a player who relied on strength.
He crossed the ball over and changed direction toward his left.
West slid laterally with him.
Wade immediately went behind his back and brought the ball back into his right hand.
Then he stopped dribbling.
Gather.
Rise.
Wade jumped off 1 foot and lifted his right leg as he leaned backward.
Fadeaway jumper.
The motion allowed him to get the shot away quickly before West could fully recover.
Wade had been scoring in the NBA for too long to waste a small opening.
Swish!
2 to 3.
New York came back on offense.
Curry crossed half court and surveyed Miami's defense.
Chen Yan immediately began moving without the ball.
He and Wade ran around one another through the half court.
This was exactly why opposing superstars rarely volunteered to guard Chen Yan for an entire game.
It was exhausting.
Hamilton had once been famous for his endless movement and conditioning, yet even he had pushed himself to complete exhaustion while chasing Chen Yan.
There were not many players who could handle that workload comfortably.
DeAndre positioned himself along the baseline and set an off ball screen.
Wade tried to fight around it.
DeAndre added a little extra force, subtly tightening his shoulder as contact arrived.
Wade fell backward onto 1 knee.
The fall looked dramatic.
The referee ignored it.
Battier saw Chen Yan moving toward the corner and immediately relocated toward the 45 degree angle, clearing the space.
Miami hesitated.
Switch?
Double team?
Neither option felt comfortable.
That was the advantage of surrounding Chen Yan with shooters.
Every defender had someone else they could not afford to abandon.
Curry fired the pass toward the corner.
Pau Gasol stayed closer to the paint.
Miami relied heavily on him for rebounding, and he could not recklessly chase every perimeter action.
Then Miami made a communication mistake.
Gasol thought James would rotate.
James thought Gasol would step out.
Both hesitated.
That was all Chen Yan needed.
Catch.
Rise.
Perfect shooting form.
Swish!
2 to 6.
Kenny Smith stared at the replay.
"Miami just gave Chen Yan an open 3. You cannot do that."
Barkley shook his head.
"That is the worst possible guy to lose track of. If Chen gets those looks tonight, this could get ugly fast."
Miami returned to James at the top of the arc.
After several passes, the ball eventually found its way back into his hands.
James put the ball down, attacked hard for 1 step, then kicked it out to Frye.
Again, James had fallen into an old habit.
He was not attacking decisively enough.
Only 5 seconds remained on the shot clock.
Frye had no time to reset the possession.
He caught the pass and immediately pulled up.
David West was already in front of him.
Difficult shot.
Clang!
Miss.
DeAndre secured the defensive rebound with an unnecessarily dramatic motion.
Recently, some media outlets had started joking that Chen Yan was New York's Michael Jordan while DeAndre was becoming New York's Dennis Rodman.
The comparison had originally been nothing more than casual talk.
DeAndre had taken it seriously.
He had begun leaning into the role, constantly looking for chances to show personality on the court.
"Pass the ball!" Curry shouted.
DeAndre was taking the showmanship a little too far.
After securing the rebound, he had even glanced toward the cameras.
He finally gave the ball to Curry.
Curry advanced along the sideline.
Chalmers immediately applied physical pressure, preventing him from accelerating into transition.
With limited space near the boundary, Curry chose not to force the issue.
He slowed down.
New York entered its half court offense.
Miami had done its job on the possession so far.
If the Heat could consistently prevent the Knicks from running, a major part of New York's offensive threat would disappear.
Unfortunately, the other part was Chen Yan.
New York ran the same basic action as before.
This time, Wade fought with everything he had and squeezed around DeAndre's screen.
Chen Yan caught the ball in the corner.
Shot fake.
The movement was extremely convincing.
Wade did not completely leave his feet, but he hesitated for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
Chen Yan put the ball down and exploded sideways.
Then he suddenly stepped back.
The separation was enormous.
Nearly 2 body lengths appeared between him and Wade.
Chen Yan rose.
Smooth release.
Swish!
2 to 9.
Barkley leaned forward.
"That stepback was clean."
Kenny nodded.
"That is Chen's 2nd 3 pointer already. New York's first 3 made baskets have all come from beyond the arc."
Madison Square Garden was already on its feet.
Chen Yan had opened the game in excellent rhythm.
Whenever he started this well, the possibility of another huge scoring night immediately entered everyone's mind.
That was exactly what the home crowd wanted.
Fans came to Madison Square Garden for 2 things.
A Knicks victory.
And a spectacular performance from their superstar.
Miami's next possession ended in disaster.
The Heat lost their rhythm, and Chalmers threw a pass directly into Curry's hands.
Turnover.
Miami already looked anxious.
New York had opened the game by raining in 3 pointers, and the pressure was starting to affect the Heat.
Curry immediately launched the ball toward the frontcourt.
Chen Yan was alone.
1 against 0.
But James was coming.
He sprinted from behind and to the side with terrifying speed.
This was his favorite defensive situation.
The chase down block.
James measured his steps.
Accelerated.
Jumped.
Chen Yan left the floor almost at the same moment.
James rose high enough to challenge nearly anyone in the league.
He expected to erase the layup against the backboard.
Just before the collision, Chen Yan pulled his body inward.
Then he continued gliding.
James had already committed.
Chen Yan floated beneath the basket, switched hands in the air, and finished an extremely difficult reverse layup.
Swish!
2 to 11.
James struck nothing but the backboard.
His palm slapped it hard.
After landing, he looked down.
His hand had turned red.
That alone showed how much force he had put into the attempted block.
Miami came back on offense.
New York tightened its defense around the paint.
James could not find a driving lane.
He passed to Wade.
Wade took 1 dribble toward the basket, then returned the ball to James.
James caught it and rose from the mid range.
Swish!
Finally.
4 to 11.
New York's defensive strategy against James remained the same.
Keep him away from the rim.
Make him shoot.
James had improved considerably as a perimeter shooter over the past several years.
His mid range jumper was better.
His 3 point shot was better.
Those improvements were the result of serious offseason work.
New York still preferred giving him those shots.
James attacking the basket was simply far more dangerous.
The Knicks came back on offense.
This time, Chen Yan handled the ball himself.
He immediately isolated against Wade.
Wade pressed tightly and tried to make every dribble uncomfortable.
The pressure was strong.
Not strong enough to disrupt Chen Yan's mechanics.
Chen Yan crossed repeatedly.
Left.
Right.
Then he reached the high post and gathered.
Feet set.
Pullup.
Swish!
4 to 13.
Everything about the shot looked effortless.
The balance.
The flexibility.
The coordination.
The handle leading into the jumper.
Miami had fallen into an early hole.
The Heat also liked to attack in transition, using opponents misses to generate fast breaks.
Tonight, that strategy had produced almost nothing.
New York simply was not missing enough.
And when the Knicks kept putting the ball through the basket, Miami had no transition opportunities to exploit.
....
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