Chapter 288: Asking Kobe, Priceless Wealth
This loss was the Suns first of the postseason.
Losing was not the scary part. Failing to learn from it was.
On the bus back to the hotel, Chen Yan sat by the window, replaying everything in his head, trying to understand why he had been so lost against the Spurs defense.
His three point shooting, or lack of it, was a big part of the problem.
Some of that was his own touch. The rest came from the way San Antonio had tightened up on his range, especially those shots from 1 or 2 steps behind the arc.
On top of that, the Spurs game plan made it hard for Phoenix to get into their usual quick transition game.
It felt like both of his strongest weapons were being blunted at the same time.
And the Spurs were not going to abandon a strategy that had just worked.
Chen Yan knew he could not just sit and wait for things to fix themselves. He needed something new.
Kobe Bryant flashed into his mind.
The moment he got back to the hotel, he dropped his bag, took out his phone, and dialed Kobe. They had exchanged numbers during All Star weekend.
"Chen?"
The call connected almost immediately. Kobe's voice came through clear.
"Hey, Kobe. I do not know if you watched tonight's game, but I really struggled in Game 3," Chen said directly. "You are their nemesis. You are the best in the league at dealing with the Spurs. I was hoping you could share some of your experience."
He did not circle around it. He just asked.
Chen Yan was pure about basketball. So was Kobe.
There was no small talk. On the other end of the line, Kobe went straight into it.
"The Spurs have a very mature defensive system," Kobe said. "Schemes can change, but a real defensive system does not. Their priorities are always the same, the three point line and the paint."
"Chen, I watched Games 1 and 2. You killed them with long range shooting both times. That is a great weapon. It is hard to guard. But remember this. When your outside shot is off, or when the whistle and coverage are tilted against you, you have to live more in the two point area, especially the long two. That is your weakest space right now."
"If it were me, I would live there for a while and keep creating looks," Kobe continued. "It is hard for bigs in the paint and for perimeter guys to both cover that area on time."
"You should use screens to get to that 45 degree area on either wing," he said. "Be really deliberate with those mid range looks."
Kobe just kept going. He laid out his reads, his habits, and his counters against San Antonio, piece by piece, without holding anything back.
At that moment he was not treating Chen Yan like a rival at all, just a younger brother who had picked up the phone and asked.
The way Michael Jordan had once treated him.
Kobe had struggled in his first 2 seasons. Back then, Jordan was already a myth walking in a Bulls jersey, and yet he still gave Kobe guidance again and again. That guidance had helped shape the player talking now.
After every Lakers Bulls game, Kobe would stand in the tunnel and wait. Jordan was always one of the last to leave the locker room. He would get treatment, look over the box score, shower, get dressed, and wait until the traffic in the hallway thinned out. It usually took close to an hour.
Kobe still waited. Quietly.
Jordan was moved by how serious the kid was about the game. He told him, "Whenever you need something, call me."
Now, Kobe felt the same way about Chen.
Maybe that was what it meant to pass something on.
For Chen Yan, this kind of experience was, in some ways, more valuable than any single move or skill. It was priceless.
As soon as he hung up with Kobe, his phone rang again.
"Who were you talking to?"
Taylor's voice came in hot, annoyed.
They had gotten into the habit of talking every night before bed, but this time she had gotten a busy signal. Chen had been on with Kobe the whole time.
Chen could not help laughing. "Baby, you are not jealous of Kobe, are you?"
"Kobe?" Taylor repeated, stunned.
She was not the only one. Even Kobe had been a little surprised when he answered and heard Chen asking about pick and roll counters and mid range reads that late at night.
Chen Yan's attitude toward basketball reminded Kobe of himself at that age.
…
After Game 3, the Suns only had 1 off day to adjust.
Game 4 between the Suns and the Spurs was set for May 9.
This time, the team managed to stay mostly undisturbed. Learning from the first trip to San Antonio, the staff handed out earplugs to every player so the noise outside the hotel would not ruin their sleep.
On game day, a police car rolled ahead of the team bus as it pulled out, clearing the way.
The Suns arrived at the ATT Center in good spirits.
Before warmups, Chen Yan opened up the system store in his mind and hovered over the Status Boost Card.
He stared at the icon more than once, tempted, but in the end he backed off and closed it.
One Status Boost Card cost 25 Honor Points. For him right now, that was expensive.
More important, there were still a lot of battles ahead. He could not afford to lean on the system too much. He needed to grow his own game.
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