Chapter 533: Anything Is Possible in the World of Basketball
Kobe was a complete two way force tonight, finishing with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. The stat line was not as eye catching as a 40 point or 50 point explosion, but it was even more damaging to Phoenix. He controlled the game in every area, and that was the biggest reason the Lakers walked away with the win.
Garnett added 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Camby only scored 9 points, but he still hauled in 16 rebounds and rejected 3 shots. With the Lakers dominating both inside and outside, their victory had a very solid foundation.
For Phoenix, only Chen Yan truly played to his standard. He scored 33 points, while almost everyone else was mediocre. Stoudemire was especially disappointing, finishing with only 8 points and 7 rebounds. He had almost no presence in the game at all. Not only was he completely outplayed by Garnett, his production did not even compare favorably to Camby.
Of course, the loss could not be pinned entirely on Stoudemire. Phoenix was cold from the perimeter all night, and the bench was equally poor. Overall, there was plenty of blame to go around.
At the postgame press conference, Chen Yan did not say much. He answered a few questions briefly, then returned to the arena for extra shooting work. It was something Kobe often did as well. Chen Yan was not quite as obsessive, but at their core they were the same kind of player, pure basketball men with an extreme hunger to win.
After a while, several other Phoenix players also returned to practice. A blowout loss at home to a hated rival was something no one on the roster could accept.
When D Antoni saw that scene, his confidence for the next game rose immediately. The loss had not split the team apart. If anything, it had pulled them closer together.
The next day, as expected, the media pounced on Phoenix.
A heavy home loss instantly made many people pessimistic about the Suns. Plenty of voices outside were already doubting their ability to repeat as champions, and many believed the Lakers would be the team advancing to the NBA Finals this year.
The fans went to war again. Or rather, another online civil war broke out between Kobe supporters and Chen Yan supporters. Lakers fans argued that the combination of Kobe and Garnett was unstoppable. Suns fans argued that Phoenix had simply gone ice cold, and that one bad shooting night did not define a series.
Chen Yan did not read any of it. He stayed away from both his computer and his phone. He had no interest in letting outside noise affect his mindset.
After lunch, Taylor Swift called.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Just finished eating. Now I'm petting the dog and watching a movie," Chen Yan said with a laugh.
"You sound like you're in a pretty good mood. I thought you'd be really upset after the loss. I was even thinking about flying to Phoenix this afternoon to see you."
Chen Yan laughed again. "It's one loss, not the end of the world. I'm not the kind of man who brings work emotions back home. You do not need to come keep me company. After Game 2, I'll head to Los Angeles with a win."
Taylor laughed. "You definitely can do it. I love that confidence. By the way, what movie are you watching?"
"Rudy," Chen Yan said.
She laughed again. "Watching an inspirational movie to fire yourself up?"
Chen Yan smiled. "Not really. It's just my favorite movie. I watch it every now and then."
Later that day, the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cavaliers and the Magic also began.
Cleveland had finished with a much better regular season record and had home court advantage, so the general opinion outside was that they should win Game 1 without too much trouble.
But basketball games are never decided by predictions.
The Cavaliers ran into trouble immediately.
Old Shaq's mobility was not what it once had been, and he could not gain any real edge against Howard. Howard used his terrifying athleticism to score again and again inside.
Cleveland adjusted quickly. James and Mo Williams answered with jumpers, and for a while things stabilized. Orlando's lineup was the classic one star, four shooters setup. On offense, Howard planted himself in the paint, pulled defenders in, and kicked the ball out to shooters. On defense, the entire structure rested on Howard. He was a defensive system by himself.
But no matter how dominant Howard was, his no fly zone only extended through the paint. If the opponent's jump shooting caught fire, he had no perfect answer.
Cleveland looked sharp in the first quarter and built a double digit lead.
James had an aggressive mindset from the opening tip, scoring 11 points in the first quarter with a mix of drives and jumpers. He was determined to reach the NBA Finals for the third straight year.
Third time should be the charm, right?
In the second quarter, James and Mo Williams kept attacking. They alternated scoring bursts, and Cleveland went into halftime leading 54 to 40.
In the first half, Orlando's outside shooting was off. It was somewhat similar to Phoenix's poor shooting night in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Howard had never been known for explosive solo scoring, so most commentators favored Cleveland heavily at the break.
Then the second half began, and the entire game changed.
Howard began attacking the rim with much greater force. First he powered through Ilgauskas, then he used his quickness to beat O Neal for a layup.
Cleveland reacted in a panic and brought in Varejao. Mike Brown hoped Varejao could flop his way into drawing an offensive foul and disrupt Howard's momentum.
Instead, Howard immediately caught an alley oop and dunked right over him.
Varejao went flying in dramatic fashion, collapsing at the slightest contact, but not only did he fail to draw the offensive foul, he was whistled for the defensive foul instead, gifting Howard a 2 plus 1.
In truth, it was basically a 2 plus 0, because Howard still did not make his free throw, but the poster dunk completely ignited Orlando's energy.
Even Magic Johnson on commentary could not help joking, "Howard almost dunked Varejao's afro clean off his head."
From that possession on, Orlando exploded. They ripped off a 13 to 2 run in 3 minutes and flipped the game completely.
In the third quarter, Mo Williams' shooting began to cool off. James controlled the ball even more, which meant more difficult shots ended up in Mo Williams' hands. But Mo was a rhythm scorer, not a superstar. Once those attempts became difficult, his percentage was never going to hold up. He was not the kind of player who could make impossible shots the way Chen Yan or Kobe could.
It was not that James was unwilling to take hard shots himself. At that point in his career, his outside jumper simply had not developed enough. His shooting was better than in previous seasons, but not to the level where he could consistently kill a defense with it.
James' ball dominant style really needed a historically great shot maker beside him, someone like Wade or Irving. Mo Williams was still a level below that.
That was Cleveland's biggest issue. They lacked a primary closer, a player who could efficiently convert difficult scoring chances. That limitation also capped their ceiling.
At the start of the fourth, the benches battled.
J J Redick, Pietrus, and Gortat all came alive, leading another Magic surge. Cleveland quickly reinserted James and Mo Williams when they saw the game starting to slip.
James answered by scoring 5 straight points, which helped, but his points still came mostly from easier and more conventional offensive actions. That did not solve Cleveland's real problem. It also ended up taking away the simpler opportunities their role players were best suited to finish.
That was often the contradiction in James led teams. He could pile up huge numbers, but if the supporting cast was not placed in the right positions, the team offense still stagnated.
A superstar who truly lifts a team is one who handles the difficult shots himself and lets role players feast on the easy ones. That is how you maximize everyone's value. That is how you raise the team's overall shooting percentage. That is how you win more games.
In the end, Cleveland lost 91 to 95 at home, bitterly handing away Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Both home teams had lost their opening games.
After watching that, Chen Yan became even more alert.
Because in the world of basketball, anything is possible.
With that thought in mind, he opened the system panel he had not checked in a long time.
He wanted to add points.
He wanted to evolve again.
.....
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