Chapter 765: A High Profile Debut
When Chen Yan heard that Rose had suffered a season ending injury, his 1st reaction was regret.
If there was ever a player who fit the phrase that extraordinary talent could come with cruel misfortune, it was Derrick Rose.
Rose was immensely gifted, played with good sportsmanship, and had a solid character. Chen Yan genuinely enjoyed watching him play and especially enjoyed competing against him.
Chen Yan's transmigration had created countless butterfly effects that changed the careers of many NBA players.
The fact that Yao Ming and Greg Oden were still playing in the league was partly connected to Chen Yan's influence.
Rose was different.
Chen Yan felt that Rose's injury had always been difficult to avoid because the problem came from the way he played.
No matter which team Rose joined, his knees and ankles would struggle to survive such a violent style.
Changing direction without reducing speed.
Exploding toward the rim.
Landing without properly absorbing the impact through his knees.
What body could withstand that punishment for years?
Unless, of course, someone possessed a cheat like Chen Yan.
Put simply, Rose's body could not fully support the demands of his aggressive playing style.
This season, Derrick Rose attempted 17 shots per game.
Of those, 6.1 came near the rim, accounting for 36 percent of his total attempts.
His shots from inside the paint reached 8.3 per game, representing 47 percent of his overall attempts.
Those numbers revealed an obvious issue.
Driving and attacking the basket made up an enormous portion of Rose's offense.
The pressure that placed on his knees and ankles was easy to imagine.
Physical contact around the rim was far greater than on perimeter jump shots.
Furthermore, only 19.6 percent of Rose's shots in the paint were assisted.
In other words, most of those attempts came from his own creation.
He was repeatedly attacking in isolation, which placed an even greater burden on his body.
With Rose going down, Durant was the player who suffered most.
This season, Durant had been determined to redeem himself and compete for a championship.
Yet before the Playoffs even began, his 2nd most important offensive weapon was already gone.
From this point forward, Durant could rely primarily on Stoudemire.
The offensive potential of that inside and outside partnership was still formidable, but Boston's firepower would undoubtedly decline.
More importantly, without Rose on the floor, opponents could double team Durant much more aggressively.
Durant would inevitably have to adjust his playing style during the postseason.
Chen Yan did not have much time to think about Boston.
The compressed schedule left almost no breathing room.
The Playoffs would begin in only 2 days.
The Knicks had just 1 day to rest and prepare.
The final Eastern and Western Conference standings were released.
New York finished 1st in the Eastern Conference and secured the best record in the entire league at 56 wins and 10 losses.
Boston finished 2nd in the East at 50 and 16.
Miami finished 3rd at 47 and 19.
Indiana finished 4th at 42 and 24.
The Nets finished 5th at 41 and 25.
Orlando finished 6th at 37 and 29.
Philadelphia finished 7th at 36 and 30.
Chicago claimed the final Playoffs position at 35 and 31.
In the Western Conference, San Antonio finished 1st at 50 and 16.
The Los Angeles Lakers finished 2nd at 47 and 17.
Memphis finished 3rd at 41 and 25.
The Los Angeles Clippers finished 4th at 40 and 26.
Denver finished 5th at 38 and 28.
Dallas finished 6th at 36 and 30.
Utah finished 7th at 36 and 30.
Oklahoma City finished 8th at 35 and 21.
Chen Yan's former team, the Phoenix Suns, finished 10th at 33 and 33 and missed the Playoffs.
Judging from the records, the old pattern of a dominant Western Conference and weaker Eastern Conference had disappeared.
Both at the top and throughout the standings, the East had become stronger than the West.
The individual statistical titles were equally noteworthy.
Chen Yan captured the scoring title with an overwhelming average of 37.5 points per game.
He also led the league in assists at 11.1 per game.
Curry missing most of the season contributed heavily to Chen Yan winning the assist title.
For long stretches, Chen Yan had been forced to serve as both New York's primary scorer and its main facilitator.
Howard won the rebounding title with 14.5 rebounds per game.
Remarkably, Chen Yan also appeared near the top of that list.
He averaged 10.4 rebounds and ranked 7th in the league.
Chen Yan averaging a triple double for the entire season became one of the biggest stories in basketball.
He was the 1st player since Oscar Robertson to accomplish the feat and the 1st player of the modern era to do so.
The media praised him relentlessly.
Many declared that this season represented the absolute peak of Chen Yan's career, mostly because they focused heavily on statistics.
And statistically, his season was undeniably spectacular.
Some media outlets even joked that the league should make an exception and deliver the regular season MVP trophy to Chen Yan's house before the official announcement.
With the best team record in the NBA combined with his absurd individual numbers, the MVP race had effectively lost all suspense.
Chris Paul led the league in steals.
Serge Ibaka led the league in blocks.
Kobe Bryant earned the unofficial title of the league's biggest bricklayer by averaging 13.1 missed shots per game.
Whenever discussions about missed shots came up, fans naturally thought of Kobe.
In reality, however, this was the 1st season since 2007 to 2008 in which Kobe had actually led the league in misses.
Monta Ellis had held that distinction during the previous 2 seasons, while Wade and McGrady had done so before him.
The Lakers had suffered numerous injuries this season, forcing Kobe to carry a heavier offensive burden.
Compared with the previous year, he attempted roughly 4 additional shots per game.
Naturally, more attempts also produced more misses.
New York's 1st round opponent was the Chicago Bulls, exactly as expected.
Most observers believed the series contained almost no suspense.
The general prediction was simple.
Chen Yan would lead the Knicks past Chicago with ease, likely completing a sweep.
Outside of New York's series, the matchup between the Nets and Pacers also drew considerable attention from fans in China.
Yao Ming had returned from injury in April and looked good.
During the month, he averaged 14.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.
With 2 elite offensive threats already carrying the Nets, Yao focused more on facilitating the offense.
Naturally, his scoring numbers were lower than during his peak years.
The day before the Playoffs began, Chen Yan invited the entire Knicks roster to dinner at a pizza restaurant he had invested in.
Chen Yan owned stakes in so many businesses that he sometimes forgot which companies actually belonged partly to him.
In fact, his teammates had been the ones to remind him that he had invested in this particular restaurant.
His attention had never really been focused on business.
At heart, Chen Yan considered himself a pure basketball player.
That was somewhat ironic considering he earned more from business than any active NBA player.
The atmosphere during dinner was relaxed.
Nobody discussed basketball.
Instead, the players talked about life, movies, video games, and music.
Chicago's atmosphere could not have been more different.
Everyone on the Bulls was tense.
Westbrook in particular was still doing additional training the day before Game 1.
He possessed an extremely strong personality.
The more people doubted Chicago, the more determined he became to prove them wrong.
On April 28, the series finally began at Madison Square Garden.
Before the game, Westbrook spoke to reporters.
"I know we are not the favorites," he said. "But we are not afraid. We are going to give everything we have. The Bulls are prepared to fight until the end."
"We have only 1 goal. We do not want to disappoint the fans who support us."
Before the opening tip had even arrived, Westbrook had already made his determination clear.
Soon, it was time for the player introductions.
The lights inside Madison Square Garden dimmed.
One by one, the Knicks players emerged.
Every time the arena announcer called a New York player's name, deafening cheers rolled through the building.
Chen Yan was introduced last.
The instant he appeared, Madison Square Garden erupted.
His entrance music thundered through the arena, creating an overwhelming atmosphere.
But the music was only part of the presentation.
Lighting and special effects accompanied his entrance.
A spotlight locked onto Chen Yan.
Fireworks erupted from both sides of the entrance.
For a moment, Chen Yan looked less like a basketball player and more like the central figure in a major stage production.
Under the eyes of the entire arena, he exchanged high 5s with his teammates one by one and slowly made his way toward center court.
The spotlight followed him.
When Chen Yan reached the middle of the floor, he waved toward the crowd and blew a kiss into the stands.
Every movement triggered another explosion of cheers.
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
The chant began naturally and quickly spread throughout Madison Square Garden.
The Bulls players stood on the sideline with their hands on their hips, visibly impatient as they waited for Chen Yan's entrance to end.
Hamilton shook his head.
"Does this guy think he is The Beatles or Michael Jackson?"
Taj Gibson looked equally unimpressed.
"Why stop there? He might as well do the moonwalk, bring out a piano, and hold a concert."
The Bulls players were clearly irritated.
They disliked Chen Yan's extravagant entrance and everything it represented.
But there was nothing they could do about it.
This was Madison Square Garden.
This was New York.
And tonight, it was Chen Yan's stage.
....
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