Chapter 619: Personal Data, Witness to the Dynasty?
Chen Yan finished the regular season averaging 45.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
His offensive output dipped in the second half of the season, especially after Nash returned. With Nash back on the floor, Chen Yan's offensive burden was reduced significantly, and his desire to attack on every possession also decreased.
Even so, he still produced a terrifying average of more than 45 points per game.
Chen Yan became the second player after Wilt Chamberlain to accomplish that feat, surpassing even Michael Jordan's 37.1 points per game from the 1986 to 1987 season.
In terms of individual ability, Chen Yan had already become an idol for a new generation of young players.
Even those who disliked him could not question his talent. At most, they could complain that his style involved too much drifting around the perimeter.
Chen Yan won this season's scoring title without any suspense.
Durant followed behind him, averaging 31.6 points per game.
In a normal season, that number would have been enough to compete for the scoring title. Unfortunately for Durant, he ran into a monster like Chen Yan. He never had a real chance.
James, Anthony, Kobe, and Wade, all elite scorers, followed close behind.
After seeing the scoring leaderboard, fans could not help but marvel at how quickly the 2007 draft class had risen. The 2nd overall pick and 3rd overall pick already occupied the top 2 spots on the scoring list.
But Chen Yan's most outrageous statistic was not just his points per game.
This season, he averaged 6.1 made 3 pointers per game and made more than 500 3 pointers in a single season, setting a new NBA record.
His 3 point percentage was 44.1 percent, ranking 3rd in the league.
That number was even more frightening when considering the difficulty of his shots. Chen Yan was not a pure spot up shooter. Many of his 3 point attempts came over defenders or against double teams.
For him to maintain that percentage under that level of defensive pressure was almost absurd.
Chen Yan's true shooting percentage reached 62.5 percent, second only to Howard's 63 percent.
And it had to be remembered that Howard was in his prime. Most of his offense came inside the paint, with a large portion of his points coming from dunks.
For Chen Yan, a perimeter star with enormous shooting volume, to have a true shooting percentage close to Howard's was terrifying in itself.
Chen Yan also ranked 1st in the league in field goal attempts and field goals made. For a player averaging more than 45 points per game, it would have been strange if those 2 numbers did not rank 1st.
In addition, Chen Yan became this season's steals champion, leading the league with 2.4 steals per game.
He averaged 3.2 turnovers per game, ranking 10th in the league. For a player who handled the ball so much and consumed so many possessions, that number was not high.
He also averaged 9.7 free throws per game, ranking 1st in the league.
It was not because the league favored him. Chen Yan earned so many free throws because of his aggressive playing style. Besides 3 point shooting, attacking the rim was also 1 of his main scoring methods.
Chen Yan also led the league in efficiency.
With an efficiency rating of 32.1, he surpassed James. Michael Jordan's peak season efficiency rating had only been 31.7.
If people looked purely at this season's data, Chen Yan had already surpassed the Basketball God across the board.
With so many statistics ranking among the league's best, even though the Phoenix Suns only finished 3rd in the Western Conference, the media still believed Chen Yan winning MVP was a certainty.
Chen Yan had pushed individual heroism to its absolute limit.
America loved heroes.
If the league did not give this season's MVP to Chen Yan, the fans probably would not accept it.
However, Chen Yan did not spend too much time thinking about personal honors.
His attention was already on the first round.
The top 8 teams in the Western Conference were the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, and Houston Rockets.
Phoenix's first round opponent was the Portland Trail Blazers.
Chen Yan was very confident against this matchup. After all, he had already scored 89 points against Portland this season.
The Trail Blazers' front office felt a headache as soon as it saw the matchup.
Every time Portland played Phoenix, fans would hold up signs cursing the Trail Blazers' management as idiots. They kept saying that if the front office had not made such a mess of things, Chen Yan would have been playing in Portland for 3 years already.
Another team that fans paid close attention to, the Houston Rockets, also caught the final playoff train.
After losing weight, Yao Ming did not suffer a season ending injury. He played on and off throughout the season, and although he looked a little strained at times, at least his career had been extended.
The teams ranked 9th through 15th in the Western Conference were the Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Warriors, Kings, and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The New Orleans Hornets were the most surprising team to miss the playoffs.
Their decline mainly came from Paul's health problems. He only played 45 games this season and spent nearly half the year in the infirmary.
At first glance, the Hornets' roster did not look bad. They had All Stars like David West and Peja. But without Paul, those players' statistics and performance dropped sharply.
Paul was the engine.
Once that engine stalled, the Hornets' sports car could only be dragged forward by an ox.
The top 8 teams in the Eastern Conference were the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, and Chicago Bulls.
Compared with last season, the East had far more suspense.
Aside from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat had also improved dramatically through trades.
To put it simply, the top 4 teams in the East all had a chance to reach the NBA Finals.
The teams ranked 9th through 15th were the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, 76ers, Washington Wizards, and Nets.
Except for the Toronto Raptors, all of them were tanking teams.
The Raptors were truly miserable.
They had made the playoffs in each of the previous 2 seasons. But this year, with other teams strengthening and young talent rising, they had to start their vacation early.
Pierce, that loudmouth, complained directly on social media that the team was unwilling to spend money and had not given him enough help.
Fans saw that and smiled without saying much.
In truth, Toronto's roster was not that bad. They had Bosh, promising rookie DeRozan, high post big man Bargnani, and a traditional point guard in Calderón, who averaged 10 plus 5.
Some fans even commented under Pierce's post that with this lineup, Chen Yan could contend for a championship, but with Pierce, they could only go fishing early.
Pierce immediately began arguing with fans.
His biggest rival in the league was Chen Yan, and the feud between them ran deep.
Now, whenever Chen Yan's name was mentioned, Pierce instinctively remembered the scenes of being completely dominated by him over the previous 2 seasons.
No matter what, fans were in for a treat in the upcoming playoffs.
Of course, the series fans cared about most was still Phoenix Suns versus Portland Trail Blazers.
Everyone wanted to see whether they were about to witness the birth of a Suns dynasty.
.....
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