Chapter 540: Sprint Team Style Offense
After the game, the Phoenix Suns immediately flew back to Phoenix. There was only 1 day between Game 4 and Game 5, so time was brutally tight.
While Chen Yan was preparing for the crucial Game 5 battle, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals had also begun.
It was hard to say whether that game was beautiful basketball, but it was destined to be fierce.
The Cavaliers were already down 1 to 2, and another loss would push them to the edge of elimination. For the Magic, this was also a must win. Game 4 was in Orlando, and if they failed to take it, then the crucial Game 5 would shift back to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, putting them in a passive position.
Both teams entered the game quickly, and the score stayed tight from the opening minute.
They traded blows the entire way.
With 6.4 seconds left, Cleveland led 98 to 97, and Orlando had the ball.
The game reached its most tense moment. Cleveland denied Rashard Lewis and Turkoglu hard, which left Pietrus with the shot.
Pietrus let a 3 pointer fly.
It missed.
Cavaliers fans were just about to exhale when Howard exploded off the floor and ripped down a huge offensive rebound.
Cleveland immediately swarmed him. Trapped in traffic, Howard called timeout.
During the timeout, an interesting scene unfolded. It was not Mike Brown drawing up the defensive coverage for Cleveland, but the team's defensive assistant.
Domestic fans had a good laugh at that. In their eyes, the Cavaliers head coach had the easiest job in basketball. LeBron handled the offense, the defensive coach handled the defense, and he just stood there. Plenty of fans joked that they could do the job too.
After the timeout, Cleveland's defense broke down for just an instant, and Rashard Lewis got an open look from deep.
Swish.
At that moment, the value of the hundred million dollar man showed itself.
98 to 100. Orlando had taken the lead.
The camera cut to LeBron.
Everything was on him now.
Would it be a game winning drive, or a game winning pass?
LeBron gave the answer.
Catch.
Turn.
3 pointer.
Quicken Loans Arena exploded.
Playing through injury, LeBron drilled the game winner and forced the series back to 2 to 2.
Afterward, he let out a long breath. He had also lost Game 1 at home, then responded by winning Game 2. In that moment, he felt like he and Chen Yan were walking the same script.
…
On May 27, the Western Conference Finals crucial Game 5 tipped off at US Airways Center.
Garnett's return gave the Lakers a huge boost of confidence. Before the game, Chen Yan quietly used another status enhancement card. Cheating was his private gift from fate, and tonight was a game he absolutely had to win.
The starting lineups were announced.
For the Suns: Nash, Chen Yan, Raja Bell, Azubuike, and Diaw.
The Lakers kept their usual starting unit: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, James Posey, Kevin Garnett, and Marcus Camby.
The moment he saw Phoenix's lineup, Phil Jackson was genuinely surprised.
D Antoni had changed the starting five.
This was an ultra small lineup. All 5 players could sprint the floor and ignite a fast break at any second. It was an extreme setup, and a risky one.
D Antoni had thought about it all night. He believed that with Garnett back, Phoenix would have a very hard time winning with its normal rotation. Since waiting to be beaten was pointless, they might as well go all in and attack first.
In the end, what convinced him to make the change was his own locker room. When D Antoni brought up the idea in the team meeting, the players backed him without hesitation. They wanted to beat the Lakers with the kind of run and gun basketball that had made Phoenix feared in the first place.
On the broadcast, Kenny Smith said, "D Antoni is taking a real gamble tonight. This lineup basically throws their interior weakness right into the spotlight. But at the same time, it pushes their speed and offensive pressure to the absolute limit. This game is going to look very different from the rest of the series."
Barkley nodded and added, "He does not have much choice. Garnett is back, Stoudemire is still suspended, and if Phoenix tries to play this straight up, they are asking for trouble. So he is flipping the whole table."
When Garnett was introduced, the entire arena showered him with boos.
Phoenix fans had not forgotten his clash with Stoudemire. Right now, the hatred in the building toward Garnett was arguably even stronger than the hate directed at Kobe.
Garnett, being Garnett, did not care at all. He walked to the basket, threw a few mock punches at the rim, and looked completely unbothered.
Chen Yan had no idea what Garnett was trying to express. Then again, Garnett had always done strange things. Push ups on the court were normal for him.
The game began quickly.
The Lakers won the tip, taking the first possession.
Fisher passed to Kobe. Kobe did not come out hunting his own shot the way he had in the previous game.
Garnett was back, and Kobe knew there were simpler ways to win.
After one dribble on the right side, Kobe swung the ball to Garnett at the left 45 degree angle beyond the arc.
James Posey stayed planted in the corner. It was a standard triangle setup.
Garnett immediately went to work on Azubuike.
He wanted to bully the mismatch. Azubuike was shorter, and more importantly, still young. Garnett clearly saw him as a target.
But the first move did not go the way he expected.
The moment Garnett put the ball on the floor to his right, Azubuike slid over and cut off the lane.
Garnett had underestimated him. Azubuike's defensive instincts were sharp, and his effort was high. Garnett's footwork was smooth for a big man, but against Azubuike he had no speed edge at all.
After one dribble, Garnett spun with his back to the basket, pivoted off his left foot, gave a subtle shoulder fake, then turned toward the middle and rose for the jumper.
Clang.
The shot was forced, and his touch was not there yet.
The moment the ball came off, Chen Yan, Raja Bell, and Nash all exploded up the floor.
Azubuike ran too.
In the blink of an eye, all 4 Suns were across half court, shifting from defense to offense at full speed.
Only Diaw stayed behind.
Everyone trusted Diaw's passing.
Still, with no simple target available, the pass he threw sailed too high.
Nash leaped and barely caught it with both hands. Fisher used the chance to get behind him and cut off the turn, refusing to let Nash face up.
For most players, the break would have died right there.
But Nash had never been most players.
Without turning around at all, he simply flung the ball over his head with both hands.
The Lakers could not even react in time.
Chen Yan caught it in stride, drove into the frontcourt, and hammered home a one handed dunk.
2 to 0.
The Suns opened the game with what looked less like half court basketball and more like a sprint relay with a basketball in the middle of it.
.....
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