Chapter 774: The Mid Range Takes Over
The Knicks inbounded the ball.
Curry dribbled with his right hand while signaling the play with his left.
Chen Yan moved along the baseline with Hamilton staying close behind him.
Curry could not deliver the pass immediately. Forcing the ball into that coverage would carry too much risk.
Instead, he turned and passed to Battier on the wing.
"New York needs to get Chen involved here," Charles Barkley said. "The offense has been ugly. When things get stuck like this, give the ball to your best player and let him settle everybody down."
As if responding to Barkley's suggestion, Battier bounced the ball into Chen Yan, who had established position just outside the paint.
"There you go," Barkley said. "That is what I am talking about."
Chen Yan caught the ball with his back to the basket and backed Hamilton down twice.
Hamilton was not particularly strong, and his frame looked even leaner than Chen Yan's.
Chen Yan prepared to drive directly toward the rim.
Chicago refused to let him attack that comfortably.
Westbrook immediately came over from the opposite side to double team.
Chen Yan reacted without hesitation.
He spun inside.
1 simple move allowed him to slip through the trap formed by Westbrook and Hamilton.
Chen Yan rose into a smooth fadeaway, lifting his right leg slightly as he created separation.
He did not kick the ball back outside.
After watching his teammates struggle through the opening minutes, Chen Yan understood that he needed to carry more of the scoring burden tonight.
Swish!
2 points.
Knicks 2, Bulls 0.
The crowd finally reacted.
After more than 2 minutes of scoreless basketball, someone had finally put the ball through the hoop.
"That is why you go to Chen Yan," Barkley said with satisfaction. "When everybody else is struggling, he can get you a clean shot without needing the offense to be perfect."
Kenny Smith nodded.
"Exactly. Sometimes the simplest solution is the right one. Give your star the ball in a comfortable area and let him create."
Chicago came back on offense.
Westbrook controlled the ball at the top of the arc and looked for an opening.
Hamilton ran out toward the perimeter.
Westbrook tried to find him with the pass, but Chen Yan had already read the play.
Fortunately for Chicago, Westbrook's pass went slightly behind Hamilton.
That prevented Chen Yan from making a clean interception.
He could only get a hand on the ball and knock it away.
"Focus! Focus!"
Thibodeau shouted repeatedly from the sideline.
Chicago still had not scored, and his anxiety was growing.
If the Bulls continued struggling for another few minutes while New York suddenly found its rhythm, the game could get away from them quickly.
Chicago inbounded again.
Westbrook took 2 dribbles before passing to Luol Deng.
Deng raised the ball and surveyed the floor.
Then he fired a strong entry pass to Aşık inside.
Aşık had established deep position.
He caught the ball and immediately went to a hook shot.
The basketball bounced around the rim 3 times.
Then it dropped.
2 to 2.
Of all the possible ways Chicago could have scored its 1st basket, an Aşık isolation post move was probably among the least expected.
But the Bulls did not care.
They were finally on the board.
As Curry brought the ball across half court, he could immediately feel the noise inside the United Center growing louder.
The Chicago crowd had found its voice.
Chen Yan stepped up to screen for Curry.
Curry took 1 dribble to his left and quickly pulled up from beyond the 3 point line.
He wanted to test his shooting touch.
Clang!
The rim gave him the answer.
Westbrook grabbed the rebound and immediately pushed the ball.
New York's transition defense recovered quickly.
All 5 Knicks had already crossed back into the defensive half.
Chicago had only 4 players forward.
Aşık was still jogging up from the backcourt.
Everyone expected Westbrook to slow down and organize the offense.
Instead, he suddenly accelerated.
Taj Gibson cleverly stepped into Curry's path and created just enough space.
By the time the Knicks recognized what was happening, Westbrook had already entered the paint and launched himself into the air.
His layup touch had been unreliable tonight.
So Westbrook decided there was an easier solution.
If the layups were not falling, stop taking layups.
Boom!
Westbrook slammed down a violent 2 handed dunk.
2 to 4.
The United Center exploded.
Fans rose from their seats as the rim shook.
Westbrook landed near the baseline camera, flexed his arms, and roared.
"Ah!"
He had made only 1 of his first 4 attempts.
Yet nobody on the floor matched his intensity.
Westbrook remained the most energetic player in the building.
When New York took possession, the crowd continued roaring.
Westbrook's dunk had completely ignited the arena.
Chen Yan had played in countless hostile road environments, but even he found this level of noise uncomfortable.
So he decided to do something about it.
The moment Chen Yan reached the frontcourt, DeAndre Jordan moved over to set an off ball screen.
DeAndre planted his chest directly into Hamilton's path.
His legs might have felt weak tonight, but setting a screen required far less explosiveness than attacking the rim.
Hamilton was equally determined.
He immediately squeezed around DeAndre and sprinted after Chen Yan.
Hamilton had no intention of conserving energy.
Chicago needed this game, and he was prepared to chase Chen Yan for as long as necessary.
Unfortunately, all that effort accomplished nothing.
Chen Yan caught the ball.
Hamilton recovered.
Chen Yan rose anyway.
Mid range jumper.
Swish!
4 to 4.
"Another one," Barkley said. "Hamilton was right there. Did not matter."
The roar inside the arena immediately dropped.
Chen Yan glanced around and nodded slightly.
That was exactly what he wanted.
Westbrook brought the ball across half court and found Luol Deng.
Deng used a screen to curl toward the 3 point line.
The pass arrived.
He shot immediately.
It was a simple and classic action designed to create just enough separation for the shooter.
Clang!
Deng's jumper missed.
Curry brought the ball back the other way.
DeAndre Jordan approached as though he were going to set a screen, then suddenly slipped toward the basket.
Curry recognized the cut and immediately delivered the pass.
DeAndre caught the ball inside the paint.
Normally, from that position, he would have gathered and attacked the rim with a powerful dunk.
Tonight, he chose a soft floater instead.
Aşık rejected it with a hard swat.
Barkley did not hold back.
"That is way too soft. DeAndre Jordan is playing like a marshmallow tonight."
Fortunately for New York, the block did not travel far.
The ball dropped about 1 step inside the 3 point line and slightly behind the free throw line.
Chen Yan reached it before Hamilton.
The moment he secured possession, Chen Yan immediately showed a shot fake.
Hamilton flew past him.
After watching Chen Yan bury 2 consecutive mid range jumpers, Hamilton had become extremely sensitive to every shooting motion.
Chen Yan calmly took 1 dribble.
His foot came down on the free throw line.
He rose.
Swish!
Another mid range jumper.
6 to 4.
"That is 3 straight for Chen Yan," Kenny Smith said. "Same general area, different situations. Post fadeaway, catch and shoot, then the shot fake into the pullup."
Barkley nodded.
"And that is why the mid range still matters in the Playoffs. Defenses spend so much energy protecting the rim and covering the 3 point line that elite scorers can find space in between."
Kenny continued.
"The difficult part is that the timing changes every possession. The release point changes. The angle changes. If a player is comfortable from those spots, it becomes very difficult to take everything away."
Barkley smiled.
"We have seen the greatest scorers use it forever. Kobe could punish defenses from there, and Michael Jordan built championships around that part of the floor. If you want to be an elite scorer when the Playoffs get tight, that shot is a serious weapon."
Tonight, Chen Yan had already made that weapon clear.
3 straight baskets.
All from the mid range.
....
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