Chapter 542: Seizing Control and Pressuring the Lakers
"What a beautiful trailing 3 from Chen Yan. That has become one of his signature weapons in transition," Kenny Smith said.
Charles Barkley immediately followed up.
"The shot was great, but the pass was great too. There's a reason D'Antoni started Azubuike tonight. He runs hard, he fits the pace, and he and Chen have real chemistry."
On a certain basketball forum, fans joked that chemistry was only part of it. Azubuike was also Chen Yan's guy. When the boss wants the ball, you throw him the ball.
From the opening tip, Chen Yan made it clear that he came to attack. When he scores big, the Suns usually win. His offense was often the clearest weather vane for Phoenix.
Phil Jackson remained calm on the sideline. The game had only just begun. A coach who panicked that easily would never be called the Zen Master.
The Lakers simplified the next possession. Fisher sent the ball directly to Garnett, while Kobe occupied the weak side and created room for him.
Still targeting Azubuike, Garnett wasted no time this trip. He took 1 dribble and rose straight into a jumper.
The shot was clean.
4 to 10.
Phoenix pushed the ball in immediately. Nash brought it up, called for a screen, dribbled 2 steps to the right, then swung it to Chen Yan.
The moment Nash gave it up, he drifted right back beyond the 3 point line.
That had always been one of his habits. First, he was a major shooting threat from there. Second, that spot gave him a cleaner view of the floor and made it easier for him to read the movement around him.
Chen Yan caught the ball, gave a quick shot fake, blew by James Posey, and forced Garnett to step over.
He did not pass right away. He drove hard at Garnett first, leaned into him, and only then kicked it out to Azubuike.
He wanted to create even more room for his teammate.
Azubuike pulled up from mid range.
It was his first shot of the night, and his hand was not fully settled yet, but the ball bounced softly off the front rim and dropped through.
4 to 12.
The Lakers answered quickly. After a crisp sequence of passes, Kobe cut into the lane and floated one in.
6 to 12.
Kobe was not only a great on ball scorer. He was also elite without the ball, and more importantly, he was willing to play that way. That separated him from a lot of star players Chen Yan remembered from his previous life.
Nash pushed it back up the floor, but now the Lakers were beginning to adjust to the speed of Phoenix's small lineup. Their defenders got back much faster.
In the half court, Nash flashed a signal. Chen Yan understood it immediately, coming up for a handoff.
The motion drew the Lakers' attention toward Chen Yan, but Nash never gave him the ball. Instead, he drove himself.
Kenny Smith laughed on the broadcast.
"That was a fake handoff. That's the kind of two guard action that gives defenses headaches."
Nash got to the elbow, and the Lakers' defense tilted toward him again.
That was when Nash slipped a bounce pass to Chen Yan, who was cutting diagonally into the lane.
The first look had been false. The second look was the real one. Nash had always intended to get the ball back to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan caught it cleanly, mainly because the defense had already shifted its eyes elsewhere.
Garnett was in front of him, James Posey was closing from behind on the diagonal, and Fisher had turned up on his side.
A triple team, a dead end for most players.
Chen Yan found a way through it almost casually.
His momentum was already flowing downhill, and driving straight into the crowd made a foul more likely.
He lowered his shoulders and took his first step through the narrow gap between Garnett and Fisher.
On the second step, he went airborne.
A one step scoop finish.
The rhythm was beautiful.
Garnett and Fisher both jumped, but Chen Yan had prepared for that. He leaned his entire body into Fisher.
From Fisher's point of view, there was no way Chen Yan should have been able to finish that. Even getting a clean look felt unlikely.
Then the whistle came.
Even while losing balance in midair, Chen Yan somehow flung the ball over his head.
It looked like a wild toss, but the home crowd rose as one. Everyone in the building felt another miracle coming.
The ball kissed the top corner of the glass, dropped almost straight down, and fell cleanly through the net.
Fisher spread his hands and wanted to argue, but for a moment even he did not know what argument to make.
Chen Yan had clearly baited the contact, but he had done it within the rules of the game. Complaining would lead nowhere, and one bad word could easily turn into a technical. Fisher was too experienced to lose control there.
Chen Yan knocked down the free throw.
6 to 15.
The Lakers went back to work, and for the first time their players showed a hint of impatience.
Kobe wanted the ball in isolation. He wanted to calm his teammates down the fastest way possible, by scoring himself.
He bent low, dribbling in place, crossed it to his left, then turned his body and used his back to protect the ball from Raja Bell.
Bell gave him half a step. It was intentional. He wanted to cut off the drive while still sitting on the pull up.
Kobe could either pass or rise.
Kobe rose.
That area, deep in the long 2 range, is normally one of the least efficient parts of the floor. Most players cut those shots out over time.
Kobe was not most players. If he thought he could make it, he would take it. He believed every spot on the floor belonged to him.
The jumper dropped.
Charles Barkley chuckled.
"That's Kobe. You sag a little, he takes it personal."
Kobe turned and shook his head at Raja Bell on the way back, as if to say, You give me that space, I'm going to make you pay.
A few years earlier, Raja Bell might have reacted with something a lot more physical. But he had grown since then. He was not going to do anything that hurt the team.
Kobe did not get to enjoy the moment for long.
Nash sped the ball up, then changed direction at the top and knifed into the lane.
Posey stepped over from the side to help. Nash fired a no look pass to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan did nothing flashy. He caught it, took the natural rhythm step, and floated it in.
It looked effortless. It looked graceful. It looked inevitable.
So far, Chen Yan had not missed a shot. Every release seemed to find the net.
He knew the Lakers were feeling pressure, and oddly enough that made him calmer. His mindset was clear, his rhythm was excellent, and under those conditions the rim looked as wide as the ocean.
Charles Barkley nodded as the Suns kept rolling.
"Phoenix has come out throwing punches. This smaller lineup has absolutely worked for them."
Kenny Smith gave the measured version.
"The small lineup has been very efficient early, and it has highlighted everything Phoenix does well. The question is how long they can sustain it."
As a veteran coach, D'Antoni understood the same thing. This style could not be maintained forever. But it did not need to last forever. If it could help Phoenix seize control early, then it had already done its job.
Over the next few minutes, the Suns' shooting naturally cooled a bit. Even so, they refused to slow down. They kept the pressure high, ran every chance they got, and shot the moment a real opportunity appeared.
By the end of the 1st quarter, Phoenix led 32 to 24.
They had not only played well. They had imposed their style on the game and put the Lakers on the back foot.
…..
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