"Forget it! Andre, you're in for the second half! We're going small!"
The moment Steve Kerr spoke, everyone knew the decisive battle was about to begin.
With Iguodala at power forward and Green at center, the small-ball lineup was the Warriors' deadliest weapon.
This formation maintained strong defense while maximizing spacing, letting their offensive firepower explode to the fullest.
"Isn't going straight to small-ball a little too aggressive?" Alvin Gentry asked with concern. "The Kings still have plenty of strong defenders."
But Kerr cut him off sharply.
"No time to hesitate. They're already pressing down on us. We have to go small."
"Then the Warriors are doomed."
Chen Yilun grinned, picking up a piece of fruit from the cup in front of him and eating it with relish.
"Why's that?"
Sitting beside him, Peja leaned over curiously. "The Death Lineup! The most destructive unit in the league right now, maybe even in history. How can you make it sound like it's easy to crack?"
"It's not as scary as you think."
Chen Yilun tossed a slice of watermelon into his mouth, juice flooding his mouth with refreshing sweetness.
"As professionals, we need to look beneath the surface."
He wiped the juice from his lips and went on. "Don't just believe the media when they call it the Death Lineup and assume it's some undersized group."
"Don't be fooled! They're not playing Moreyball at all!"
His words struck Peja like a thunderbolt.
"Is Curry short? He's 6'3"—that's perfectly normal size for a point guard. Against smaller guards like Paul, he can even exploit mismatches."
"Is Thompson short? He's 6'7". With that frame, he could easily play small forward on plenty of teams."
"And Barnes and Iguodala? Both around 6'8", classic forward size. Tell me, which of them is small?"
While Peja sat stunned, Chen Yilun calmly picked up another piece of fruit, chewing slowly.
"The only one you could call undersized is Green. At just under 6'6", him playing center is a stretch."
After finishing, he tossed his empty cup into the trash and continued.
"Don't take everything the media says at face value. They call it the Death Lineup and you actually think they're running Moreyball?"
To be fair, Peja's misunderstanding wasn't strange. Chen Yilun's so-called mentor, Steve Kerr, often claimed publicly to be part of the Spurs' system.
But in truth, he'd only been a player there, never an actual assistant under Popovich.
Kerr's first real step into team management came in 2007 with the Suns, alongside none other than Mike D'Antoni—the face of the Moreyball philosophy.
So the confusion was natural.
"Then what is this 'Death Lineup' really supposed to mean?"
Peja's eyes widened like a curious kid.
"Uh…"
Chen Yilun thought hard but couldn't find the right words.
"It's basically just a lineup made of five small-ball style players."
During the regular season, thanks to the Warriors' dominance, many teams were tempted to copy their formula. The Kings were no exception. Inside the front office, some voices pushed for trades to mimic the Warriors' roster.
Even owner Ranadivé had mentioned it to Chen Yilun.
But he shut it all down.
Not out of arrogance—he simply knew the Warriors, at their peak, were impossible to replicate.
Timing, chemistry, and luck—miss even one and the whole thing falls apart.
In all the league's history, a team like this had only come together once, by sheer chance.
Blind imitation was something Chen Yilun would never allow.
Besides, the real pinnacle players of the small-ball era—the answers to this version of the game—were already being nurtured within his own team. He had no reason to rush.
The Warriors' rise had devastated traditional centers like Howard, Drummond, and Whiteside.
For a time, many believed the center position itself was on the verge of extinction.
But Chen Yilun knew better. This was only temporary. At its core, basketball will always be a big man's game.
The sudden shift had just thrown big men off balance. Once they developed shooting range, then the true peak of the small-ball era would begin.
Look at Jokić and Embiid—super centers who can pass and shoot. As soon as they emerged, they started dominating the MVP races.
"So what do we do in the second half?"
Snapping back to reality, Peja had somehow gotten a bucket of popcorn and was munching away.
"We deal with whatever comes!"
Chen Yilun snatched the bucket and shoved a handful into his mouth.
"They're betting we can't match their mobility. As long as we keep up with their speed and then hit them back hard on offense, we'll be fine."
"Will that really work?"
Peja pouted at the stolen popcorn. "At least give it back after a couple bites!"
"Cheapskate!"
Chen Yilun rolled his eyes.
"Just buy another bucket! You're really fussing over popcorn?"
"Fine, fine, fine!"
Peja could only laugh helplessly at his boss's habit of taking advantage of him.
"But can we really win this way? That Death Lineup has been playing together for almost two seasons now. Can we beat them?"
"Why do we need to beat them?"
Chen Yilun grabbed another handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth.
"How could our makeshift squad possibly beat the perfectly synchronized Warriors?"
"Then why are you—"
Before Peja could finish, the halftime buzzer sounded.
Chen Yilun's eyes lit up as he watched both teams walk back onto the court.
"We don't need to win. We just need to break Steve Kerr's magic."
Watching Kerr stride onto the court in his suit, Chen Yilun let a cold smile creep across his face.
"Sorry, mentor. You may have just climbed onto the pedestal—but I'll be the first to knock you off."
...
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