Chapter 526: Details of the Matchup, Two Extremes
After a brief postgame interview, Chen Yan went straight back to rest.
His off ball game had been devastating that night, but it had also drained a huge amount of energy. His stamina was elite, but even elite stamina had limits.
Nowitzki walked off with a lonely silhouette, his season ending there, his championship dream shattered once again.
Rick Carlisle was deeply disappointed as well. Before the series began, the outside world had high expectations for Dallas. Many believed their roster and playoff experience would create major problems for Phoenix. Instead, they were eliminated 4 to 1.
Carlisle's feelings were complicated.
On paper, the Suns had advanced 4 to 1, but anyone who actually watched the series knew it had not been easy. Game 2 had been a knife edge battle that Phoenix survived only because the Three Carriages exploded in the closing stretch. If Dallas had stolen that one, the entire shape of the series might have changed.
Still, the most frustrated person in the Mavericks camp was Artest.
Before the series, he had loudly declared that he would lock Chen Yan down. Five games later, he had been silenced completely. When he finally faced the media, his usual arrogance was gone.
Chen Yan had not only beaten him. He had beaten the confidence out of him.
And yet, that same beating also earned his respect.
Not just from Artest, either. That was how the NBA worked. This was a league where only strength truly spoke. If you wanted respect, you earned it with your game. Nothing else mattered.
After Phoenix advanced, Kobe was the most restless person in the league.
Denver had caused the Lakers real trouble. Through 4 games, the series was tied 2 to 2. Kobe and Anthony had spent those games locked in a brutal physical duel, and the clash between them had become one of the biggest talking points in the playoffs.
Once Phoenix reached the Western Conference Finals, Lakers versus Nuggets instantly became must watch television. In Game 5, the crucial swing game, both teams went all out. The game turned into a wrestling match. If Kobe and Anthony had not both carried superstar status, the referees probably would have thrown them out before halftime.
It was ugly, tense, and vicious.
In the end, Kobe's experience won out.
He led the Lakers to an 89 to 80 victory in Game 5, playing 44 minutes and finishing with 28 points on 8 of 19 shooting, while making all 9 of his free throws.
Anthony answered with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists in 45 minutes, shooting 8 of 21 from the floor and 8 of 10 at the line.
Under that level of physical contact, neither star shot well.
But once the Lakers won the pivotal Game 5, the path to the next round suddenly looked clear. Nearly everyone outside Los Angeles believed the Lakers would finish the job and set up another showdown with Phoenix.
That belief proved correct.
Kobe, desperate to validate himself with a championship as the unquestioned leader, closed the Nuggets out in Game 6 and sent the Lakers into the Western Conference Finals with a 4 to 2 series win.
So the matchup the outside world had largely predicted finally arrived.
Phoenix versus Los Angeles.
The Suns versus the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
The hype exploded immediately.
Some newspapers called the series the first true step toward a Suns dynasty. Others framed it as Kobe's revenge campaign.
Either way, the collision between Kobe and Chen Yan was overflowing with drama. Two superstar shooting guards, two alpha scorers, two players who carried entire cities on their shoulders. It was a genuine Mars colliding with Earth event.
Compared with that, the Eastern Conference drew far less attention.
Only the diehards were watching Atlanta against Orlando. The biggest names in that series were Howard and Joe Johnson, and neither had a style that really lit up the public imagination.
In the end, Orlando advanced with ease, eliminating the Hawks 4 to 1 and booking a place in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The other Eastern semifinal had even less suspense.
Cleveland crushed Boston 4 to 1.
Durant was completely overwhelmed by James. At that stage of his career, Durant was still too raw. His offensive skill set was not polished enough, and in terms of mentality and leadership, he was nowhere near James.
Watching James celebrate with his teammates, then seeing Chen Yan advance on the other side, Durant suddenly felt a heaviness in his chest.
His frustration rose another level.
On May 21, after a full week of rest, the Suns finally faced their next great test at home.
They were here.
Kobe Bryant and his revenge army.
The Western Conference Finals opened in Phoenix.
The series followed the standard 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 format, and because Phoenix owned the better regular season record, the Suns would host the first 2 games.
Most players do not truly enter the zone until they step on the floor.
Kobe was different.
He looked locked in from the moment he stepped off the plane.
His brows were furrowed, his jaw set, his expression grim.
The entire Lakers team carried that same mood. With Kobe setting the tone, nobody on that roster dared to look relaxed. Not even Garnett, another big name, could challenge that emotional authority.
Kobe's personality was known across the league. Obsessive. Competitive. Ruthless. Once he entered that state, the rest of the team naturally fell into line.
Before the game, Phil Jackson was asked about it.
Phil replied that nervous energy before a major battle was not a bad thing. In fact, being too relaxed could be worse. He also made it clear that he believed the Lakers could beat Phoenix.
At US Airways Center that night, there was not a single empty seat.
Tickets had sold out weeks earlier. Front row seats were being resold for prices so outrageous that domestic fans joked you could buy a house for the cost of attending one game.
Everyone in the building had put on the orange shirts handed out by the team.
Whenever the Suns played the Lakers, the building was electric. In the Western Conference Finals, it felt ready to explode.
Phoenix fans believed their team would beat the Lakers and return to the Finals. That confidence came from 2 places. First, the Lakers had already been beaten by this team before. Second, the Suns now had the best player in the world.
Past results and present roster strength had fused into absolute belief.
Before tipoff, star reporter Rachel Nichols caught up with Chen Yan and asked him to predict the outcome of the series.
Chen Yan answered without hesitation.
"We are going to win. Not just tonight. I mean the whole series."
Rachel smiled. "You sound very confident. Are the Lakers that vulnerable in your eyes? Or do they simply pose no threat to Phoenix?"
Chen Yan replied calmly, "The Lakers are a great team. They are respected across the league, and everyone takes them seriously. But they are not going to take this series, because they are facing us. What we need to do is very simple. We just have to repeat what we did last year."
The interview was broadcast live, and viewers all over America heard every word.
His confidence almost spilled off the screen.
Kobe, by contrast, declined all pregame interviews.
He walked onto the floor with a cold expression, started his shooting routine in silence, and never said a word.
On one side was Chen Yan, bright, composed, and openly defiant.
On the other was Kobe, silent, coiled, and lethal.
Two extremes.
And that only made the meeting feel even bigger.
.....
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