Chapter 798: Continuing to Lead
Chen Yan's isolation game had reached its peak.
In the past, whenever people discussed the best 1 on 1 scorer in the league, Kobe Bryant was usually the first name that came to mind.
Now, more and more people thought of Chen Yan instead.
His isolation offense had virtually no blind spots.
The defender guarding him was constantly under pressure.
Give him too much space and he would shoot.
Play too close and he could blow past you with 1 step.
Even if the initial drive was stopped, Chen Yan still had an arsenal of brutal stepbacks and sidesteps.
Sometimes, 1 stepback created nearly 2 body lengths of separation.
At that point, there was not much a defender could do.
You simply hoped he missed.
Miami came back on offense.
James received the ball and immediately called for consecutive screens.
New York sent a double team toward him.
Before the defense could completely trap him, James passed inside.
Pau Gasol caught the ball near the free throw line and rose for the jumper.
The contest bothered him.
Miss.
Catch and shoot mid range jumpers had become a much larger part of Gasol's offense in recent years.
Chen Yan dropped back and secured the rebound.
The instant he landed, New York was running.
Wade retreated quickly.
But not too quickly.
He had to respect the possibility that Chen Yan might suddenly stop several steps beyond the 3 point line and launch.
Chen Yan immediately recognized it.
Wade was protecting against the pullup 3.
So Chen Yan accelerated.
Drive.
Wade reacted and stayed close.
Near the free throw line, Chen Yan suddenly spun.
Then he jumped off 1 foot.
James had already anticipated the movement.
The moment Chen Yan left the floor, James jumped with him.
But Chen Yan was not shooting.
He brought the ball behind his body and wrapped the pass around James toward the trailing Curry.
Curry caught it in stride.
Layup.
Good.
During the spin, Chen Yan had seen James rotating toward him.
He had also seen Curry coming from behind.
That was his court vision.
With 6 minutes gone in the 1st quarter, New York led 19 to 7.
A double digit advantage.
Spoelstra called timeout.
Barkley smiled.
"Miami probably should have stopped this earlier. Right now, they do not look like they are playing at New York's level."
Kenny Smith nodded.
"They have not found any rhythm offensively. Let us see what Spoelstra changes coming out of the timeout."
Miami adjusted.
Mike Miller entered the game.
James moved to point guard.
The average height of the Heat lineup became enormous.
Its rebounding, however, remained questionable.
Pau Gasol was still carrying most of the responsibility inside.
Mike Miller and Channing Frye spent most of their time around the perimeter.
Offensively, though, the size and shooting created advantages.
With James running point, Curry was forced to guard Wade.
That gave Wade more opportunities to use his strength attacking the smaller guard.
With 3 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter, Nelson responded.
Curry went to the bench.
Yi Jianlian entered.
Yi took the assignment on Mike Miller.
Chen Yan switched onto Wade.
Nelson's adjustment immediately stabilized the situation.
At the end of the 1st quarter, New York still led 29 to 20.
A 9 point advantage.
Spoelstra stood on the sideline looking frustrated.
His tactical adjustment had barely lasted before Nelson produced an answer.
To begin the 2nd quarter, Spoelstra had Wade lead Miami's reserve unit.
The Knicks bench was known for its offensive firepower.
If neither Wade nor James remained on the floor, Miami risked losing control of the game almost immediately.
What Spoelstra had not anticipated was the lunatic waiting for Wade.
Patrick Beverley.
Beverley attached himself to Wade from the moment the quarter began.
If Wade moved without the ball, Beverley followed.
If Wade tried to receive a pass, Beverley fought him.
If Wade drove, Beverley stayed on his body.
Barkley could not help laughing.
"This kid is going to spend every ounce of energy he has during the 10 minutes Nelson gives him."
That was exactly the kind of defender superstars hated.
Wade was not afraid of another star trying to trade baskets with him.
He hated players who approached defense as though their only purpose in life was making him miserable.
Wade had entered the quarter hoping to conserve energy.
He wanted to preserve his legs for the 2nd half.
Beverley ruined that plan.
Just getting open required work.
Receiving the ball required work.
Driving to the basket required even more.
Miami's reserve offense depended heavily on Wade.
Joel Anthony and Haslem simply did not provide enough scoring.
Haslem had also failed to regain his old form after returning.
Both still offered rebounding, toughness, and effort.
But if their offensive games had been more reliable, Spoelstra probably would not have needed to keep them both on the bench so often.
After 4 minutes, the deficit remained at 9.
Wade had managed to keep Miami afloat against New York's reserves.
At the next dead ball, Chen Yan and Curry returned.
Miami rested Wade.
James, Pau Gasol, and Channing Frye came back.
By halftime, the Knicks had extended the lead.
59 to 44.
James still showed limited offensive aggression.
And with Wade resting, New York had no hesitation about sending extra defenders toward him on the perimeter.
James attempted only 4 shots during the 2nd quarter and scored 5 points.
Miami's lineup simply lacked enough firepower.
Gasol had been forced to cover so many weaknesses around him that he spent much of the half doing blue collar work.
At halftime, he had 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Channing Frye had made 3 3 pointers.
From that perspective, he had accomplished exactly what Spoelstra asked of him.
But his offense could not erase what New York was exploiting on the other end.
David West had scored 12 points in the 1st half.
He was 5 of 5 from the field, with the rest coming from free throws.
Most of those baskets came from attacking Frye 1 on 1.
Frye also contributed very little on the glass.
He had only 2 rebounds in the half.
The same number as Curry.
That forced James to repeatedly drop toward the paint to help secure defensive rebounds.
And every time James had to do that, Miami's transition attack became slower.
Ironically, New York had played the kind of game Miami wanted for itself.
Fast breaks.
Constant transition pressure.
Run and gun basketball.
The Knicks repeatedly found comfortable shots before the Heat could organize their defense.
Chen Yan entered halftime with 22 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds.
Yet Nelson was not entirely satisfied with him.
During the break, he criticized Chen Yan for being too unselfish.
Especially in the 2nd quarter.
There had been several possessions where Chen Yan passed up shots Nelson believed he should have taken.
Nelson had watched Chen Yan's opening rhythm.
He knew Chen had his touch tonight.
When a scorer was feeling that good, Nelson wanted him to be more selfish.
Miami opened the 2nd half with an extreme lineup.
Chalmers.
Wade.
James.
Mike Miller.
Channing Frye.
Spoelstra had decided to fight New York with offense.
All 5 players could shoot from outside, although Wade and James were less consistent than the others.
The spacing immediately gave James more room to attack.
He drove and completed an and 1.
Then he penetrated again and assisted Mike Miller on a 3 pointer.
Spoelstra nodded repeatedly from the sideline.
The adjustment was producing results.
But there was another side to the lineup.
Its defense was extremely vulnerable.
On New York's next possession, Chen Yan used a screen and attacked the paint.
Mike Miller was half a step late on the switch.
Frye saw Chen Yan charging toward him and immediately backed away.
Chen Yan finished with a dunk.
Spoelstra shouted from the sideline.
He wanted Frye to play tougher.
On Miami's next possession, Frye responded.
Perhaps too literally.
He set a screen and deliberately leaned his shoulder into Curry, sending him to the floor.
Whistle.
Illegal screen.
Spoelstra stared at him in disbelief.
That was not what he meant by tougher.
Over the next several possessions, Miami's defensive problems became impossible to hide.
The Heat offense improved.
Their defense became worse.
They simply could not score quickly enough to compensate for how easily New York was scoring against them.
Before half of the quarter had passed, Spoelstra abandoned the experiment.
Mike Miller and Channing Frye came out.
Joel Anthony and Pau Gasol took over the frontcourt.
Using Miller and Frye together had turned Miami's defense into a target.
Chen Yan repeatedly attacked them with the ball.
Even DeAndre Jordan found opportunities to score against the matchup.
With 2 minutes and 9 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter, James finally found a transition opportunity.
He accelerated into the open floor and finished with a windmill dunk.
The play was spectacular.
It did little to change the game.
After 3 quarters, Miami still trailed by double digits.
....
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