Chapter 682: You Can Dodge the 1st, But Not the 15th
"Oh, man! Chen Yan just dunked on Kostic!" Kenny Smith exclaimed.
Barkley shook his head with a smile. "Poor guy. He became Chen Yan's backdrop."
Kenny laughed. "But he should not feel too bad. Almost every big man in the league has been posterized by Chen Yan. At this point, getting dunked on by Chen Yan is practically a badge for NBA big men."
Barkley said, "Maybe after Chen Yan retires, he can make a 30 minute compilation of his poster dunks."
"A compilation specifically of big men getting dunked on," Kenny added.
Boston initiated its offense.
Durant held the ball and passed it to Stoudemire, who tried to use his speed to force a shot against Kenyon Martin.
However, Martin's defensive position was good on this possession, and Stoudemire was heavily bothered when he released the shot.
The basketball bounced off the backboard.
After Battier secured the rebound, he swung his elbows left and right, confirming the space around him was clear before passing the ball to Curry.
After the conflict in the 1st quarter, the physical contact between both sides remained intense.
Battier's move was not only to protect possession, but also to protect himself.
Curry dribbled into the frontcourt, stopped a small step outside the 3 point line, and looked up at the basket.
The next moment, Rose immediately rushed up, refusing to give Curry even a single easy shot opportunity.
Curry immediately used a behind the back dribble, pulling the ball to his left side.
The move did not shake off Rose, and Curry did not hold the ball for long. He immediately passed it to Chen Yan at the right 45 degree angle beyond the 3 point line.
After Chen Yan caught the ball, Al Harrington immediately came up, and Chen Yan quickly got rid of Daniels using the screen.
Stoudemire switched immediately, and Daniels also left Al Harrington to chase Chen Yan.
Chen Yan dribbled 1 step to the right.
Stoudemire and Daniels immediately became tense, thinking he was looking for shooting space.
Just as the 2 closed in, Chen Yan gathered the ball, leaned slightly back, and sent a bounce pass to Al Harrington.
Harrington had already retreated to the 3 point line.
At this moment, there was no defender within a meter of him.
Chen Yan was like a magnet, firmly attracting Stoudemire and Daniels around him.
Rose, on the other side, also chose not to rotate over.
The height gap between him and Harrington was too significant.
Al Harrington adjusted his breathing and took the open 3 point shot.
"Swish!"
62 to 61.
The Knicks completed the comeback.
Rivers fell into deep thought.
His defensive strategy had not only failed to achieve its intended effect, but had also exposed even more flaws.
Although Boston was only down by 1 point, the mentality of the young Celtics players immediately changed.
Durant received a pass from Rose and pulled up without hesitation.
"Clang!"
The sound of an air ball rang out.
Kenyon Martin grabbed the rebound and passed it to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan slowed down 1 step outside the 3 point arc, and Kenyon Martin came from behind to set a screen for him.
Kostic switched onto him.
This time, Boston did not double team.
Chen Yan pulled out 1 step and immediately began isolating against Kostic.
Chen Yan bent down, lowered his center of gravity, and slowly leaned toward Kostic.
With his left hand hovering over the ball, he changed direction, transferred it to his right hand, and at the same time subtly shifted his right shoulder and took a small step.
Kostic moved laterally to keep up.
Chen Yan immediately put the ball between his legs, changing his dribbling hand back to his left.
Chen Yan unleashed a killer crossover.
Kostic suffered a terrible fate.
He was frozen in place.
Chen Yan drove near the free throw line, pulled up, and made the 2 point shot.
64 to 61.
Something was wrong.
Rivers decisively called a timeout.
"The Celtics have been forced to call timeout," Barkley said. "Chen Yan has taken over this stretch."
Kenny said, "Boston needs to rethink its defense. They cannot let Chen Yan play this comfortably."
If Rivers had heard Kenny Smith's words, he might have spat blood.
He had already designed a multi player defensive trap against Chen Yan.
Yet in the eyes of outsiders, this targeted defense still looked like it was allowing Chen Yan to play comfortably.
After the timeout, Durant began playing without the ball.
This adjustment had an immediate effect.
Durant used an off ball screen to run a back cut along the baseline.
Kenyon Martin switched and followed him out.
Durant faked, then drove inside, smoothly sinking a mid range floater with a very soft touch.
64 to 63.
The score remained tight.
New York offense.
Chen Yan received the ball at the top of the arc.
Daniels defended him closely.
Chen Yan held the ball in his right hand behind his back.
Chen Yan swayed his large hands left and right, then drove to the right.
Daniels kept up.
Chen Yan held the ball in his right hand, leaned his left hand toward the middle, and made a Buddha Pose.
Chen Yan wanted to make Daniels jump and draw a foul from him.
Daniels already had 4 fouls.
If he was forced to sit, Boston would have to rotate Rose or Durant onto Chen Yan, which would significantly affect their offense.
However, Daniels did not bite.
After guarding Chen Yan for so many games in this series, he had gained some understanding of him.
Chen Yan immediately changed moves and drove to the right.
Daniels defended perfectly on this possession.
Chen Yan did not continue wrestling with him. Isolation was very tiring.
Chen Yan protected the ball with his back to Daniels, then turned left.
Daniels was about to follow when he ran directly into Kenyon Martin's arms.
As Chen Yan began moving with the ball, Stoudemire came up to help.
One major trick to defending Chen Yan was not letting him build speed.
Once Chen Yan got going, he could use his abnormal physical ability to do almost anything in the air.
Chen Yan saw his path blocked and immediately took a step back with a double between the legs dribble.
Al Harrington then cut through the middle.
Stoudemire could only retreat to chase Harrington. Otherwise, if Chen Yan passed, Harrington would have an open layup.
At that moment, Daniels also chased back from the side and rear.
Daniels was sprinting very quickly.
Chen Yan glanced diagonally behind him, and when Daniels rushed in front of him, he calmly gathered the ball and moved 1 step sideways, perfectly creating a timing difference.
The moment Daniels stopped, Chen Yan had already shot.
"Swish!"
Even against Boston's layered defense, Chen Yan could still handle the ball with ease.
Boston offense.
Rose and Stoudemire ran a pick and roll, and Rose made a bounce pass to Stoudemire cutting to the basket.
Stoudemire caught the ball, took 1 step, drove into the paint, and used his explosiveness to rise and make a layup for 2 points.
66 to 65.
New York offense.
Chen Yan held the ball on the perimeter.
Just like the previous possession, Kenyon Martin came up to set a screen.
After Chen Yan got past Daniels, Boston's formation immediately collapsed, and Stoudemire also blocked his path.
Chen Yan did not force the drive.
He paused for a moment, while his peripheral vision caught Daniels chasing back from behind.
Daniels was sprinting very fast.
Chen Yan deliberately shifted his body a small step to the right, causing Daniels to run into him from behind.
Chen Yan stumbled a few steps before falling to the floor.
There was some acting involved in this play, but on the basketball court, sometimes if you did not exaggerate a little, the referee would not even see it.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle blew, and Daniels was called for his 5th personal foul.
Rivers had no choice but to substitute him out for Weaver.
As Daniels walked off the court, he shook his head.
Damn it.
He had avoided the 1st, but could not avoid the 15th.
Weaver's defensive level against Chen Yan was practically a free pass, so Rivers immediately made another defensive adjustment.
He had Durant guard Chen Yan.
This would certainly affect Boston's offense, but Rivers had no better option at the moment.
.....
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