Chapter 499: Stoudemire Returns, Game 3 Begins
Along with 2 straight wins, the Suns received another piece of good news before Game 3.
Amare Stoudemire was coming back.
Phoenix fans were ecstatic. They had been waiting nearly half a season for his return. The Suns had played excellent basketball without him in the second half of the year, but everyone understood the same thing. Only when Stoudemire was back on the floor would this team feel whole again.
Phoenix had already beaten Utah twice without him, both by comfortable margins. Now that Stoudemire was returning, many fans were already joking that the Jazz could start packing their fishing gear.
But in the NBA, the truth before a playoff game is often buried under layers of smoke.
Before the team left for Salt Lake City, Chen Yan got a call from Taylor Swift.
She had seen plenty of outside reports and was genuinely worried about Utah's style on its home floor.
"Be careful on the road," she said. "Do not go all out on every play, and no matter what, do not get hurt."
Chen Yan laughed softly into the phone.
"Utah's home court is not some horror movie. At most, the air is thinner and the crowd is louder. The rest is the same as anywhere else."
"I read reports saying they play dirty, like real fighting, like they can injure someone at any time."
Chen Yan laughed again.
"That is exaggerated. The Jazz have been in the league for years, and you have not exactly seen them taking people out one after another. Besides, all this media talk actually helps us. If the whole outside world is watching them, they will think twice before doing anything too reckless. If someone actually gets hurt, every fan in the country will go after them."
Taylor hummed in understanding on the other end.
After the call ended, Chen Yan boarded the team flight to Salt Lake City.
The playoff schedule was unforgiving. Games came almost every other day, and real rest was a luxury.
On the plane, Stoudemire suddenly pulled out a bag, reached inside, and produced a pair of protective goggles.
"How do I look?" he asked, adjusting them with a serious face. "Pretty handsome, right?"
Chen Yan took one glance and smirked.
"If you wear those tonight, you look like an educated thug."
The surrounding teammates burst out laughing. Nobody had ever associated Stoudemire with elegance.
Stoudemire, however, was completely serious.
"Just watch. I am going all out tonight."
During his recovery, he had spent long stretches lying face down for 22 hours a day to help his retina heal. That process had worn him down physically and mentally, but it had also filled him with frustration and hunger. He had been dying to get back on the floor.
Chen Yan chuckled.
"Take it easy. If you get hurt again, the next stop might be the CBA."
"The CBA?" Stoudemire asked, confused.
"China's league," Chen Yan said.
"China's league? I have a lot of fans there. I like that place."
Azubuike immediately jumped into the conversation.
Azubuike knew Chinese fans liked him, and he understood exactly why. Playing beside Chen Yan had changed his visibility and even helped him land a shoe endorsement.
He was not the only one. Barea and Diop had also picked up brand deals, one with PEAK and one with Anta.
The Suns were starting to resemble those old Houston Rockets teams. Even the bench players and deep rotation guys had become familiar faces to fans. Chen Yan's presence elevated the commercial value of the entire roster.
Stoudemire was eager to go wild, but the coaching staff and teammates kept reminding him to stay under control. If he came back and immediately got hurt again, the CBA joke might stop being funny.
By the time the Suns arrived in Salt Lake City, it was already evening. The moment they stepped off the plane, a wave of cold air hit them.
Salt Lake City sat below snow covered mountains, and the climate felt completely different from Phoenix.
Technically, it was one of the larger inland cities in the western United States, behind only Denver and Phoenix. But riding through the city on the bus, Chen Yan could not shake the feeling that it looked more like a quiet town than a major sports city. Without the name, he might have mistaken it for some remote place in the middle of nowhere.
Which only made the reputation of its home court feel stranger.
Because once he stepped into the arena that night, Chen Yan immediately understood where that reputation came from.
The EnergySolutions Arena was alive in a different way.
Jazz fans did not care that Phoenix was the top seed in the West. They did not care that the Suns had won the first 2 games by comfortable margins. The moment they entered that building, they became a wall of hostility and noise.
Profanity, boos, insults, chants, constant screaming. It hit the Suns the moment they walked out.
The sound was sharp and relentless, like a power drill grinding at their nerves. Even experienced players could feel the pressure.
Before tipoff, Sloan hammered the same points again and again. Get back on defense faster. Run more pick and rolls. Cut more aggressively off the ball.
Fast defensive recovery would slow Phoenix's transition game. Pick and rolls and back cuts would help Utah score more efficiently. If those 2 things were executed properly, Sloan believed the Jazz would have a chance.
But the word he repeated more than any other was toughness.
In his mind, beating Phoenix was not just a tactical problem. The Jazz had to make the game physical. In the previous matchup, Utah's aggression had backfired because too many players picked up fouls too early. Sloan told his team not to worry. This was Game 3 in Utah. The whistle would not be the same.
Jazz players could feel it too. They were ready to turn the game into a fight if needed. More than one of them walked onto the floor with the idea of making Chen Yan live through the kind of punishment Jordan once dealt with in older playoff battles.
Utah's starting lineup stayed the same as in Game 2. Okur remained on the bench. He understood why. If he played, Chen Yan would hunt him immediately.
Phoenix made only 1 change from its previous look.
Stoudemire was back in the starting lineup.
Grant Hill started at forward, and the other positions stayed the same.
Before tipoff, the broadcast zoomed in on Stoudemire, and his new protective goggles instantly became the focus of attention.
Kenny Smith commented, "Stoudemire is wearing eye protection tonight. The question is whether it affects his rhythm."
Barkley followed with, "His return changes the whole geometry of Phoenix's offense. He gives them a real interior threat again. Utah cannot sell out on Chen Yan and Nash the way they did the other night."
With that, the game began.
Stoudemire beat Boozer cleanly on the opening tip.
His injury was in his eye, not his legs, so his burst and elevation were still there.
Nash brought the ball up to the top of the arc and swung it to Grant Hill. Hill fed Stoudemire just outside the lane, then immediately drifted to the opposite corner to clear space.
Seeing the floor open up, Stoudemire attacked without hesitation. He put the ball on the floor and drove straight at Boozer.
The shot hit the glass and bounced away.
He had clearly come out a little too eager. His rhythm was not there yet.
The crowd roared with delight. In Utah, the fans stood almost from the opening possession and never really sat down again.
Millsap grabbed the rebound and looked for Deron. Deron brought it up slowly on the left side and settled the offense.
He paused at the right wing beyond the 3 point line, swung the ball to Brewer, then immediately got it back as part of the action. Brewer looked as if the ball was hot and wanted it gone the second it touched his hands.
Deron turned the corner and attacked. Nash beat him to the elbow and cut off the path. Deron had to stop.
He was built like a truck, but even he was not going to run over a set defender and beg for an offensive foul.
Boozer flashed to the opposite elbow to receive the pass. He held it for 2 seconds, then kicked it out to Kirilenko.
Kirilenko stepped out to the 3 point line, looked around, and realized the possession was dying. With only 10 seconds left on the clock, he finally took the shot.
Clang.
Kirilenko's value came from cutting, slashing, and help defense. Spot up 3s were not his strength.
Diop grabbed the rebound. Millsap failed to secure a second chance and retreated.
Utah got back quickly on defense. Sloan's instructions were being followed to the letter.
The Jazz were still loaded toward the perimeter, with 3 defenders effectively guarding above the 3 point line, just like in the previous game.
D'Antoni had seen this coming. That was one reason he put Grant Hill out there and brought Stoudemire back into the lineup. He wanted more options to punish Utah for extending the floor.
But on the Suns' first real attack, it was Chen Yan's individual brilliance that broke the shape of the defense.
He got the ball at the top against Brewer and immediately attacked right. Kirilenko came over hard to trap.
Chen Yan stopped for half a beat, then exploded around Kirilenko the instant Kirilenko stepped forward. There was no extra flourish to it. It was pure speed and timing.
Brewer tried to slide over and recover, but Kirilenko had effectively screened his own teammate. The trap had backfired and created a clean lane.
That was the danger of a poorly timed double team against a scorer like Chen Yan. One wrong step and the defense ends up hurting itself.
Chen Yan burst into the lane, took a long hop step, and went right at Millsap. Millsap rotated over, but Chen Yan finished over him with a soft layup that still carried force.
2 to 0.
If that had been Garnett or Duncan waiting at the rim, maybe the finish would have been more difficult.
But Millsap was an undersized interior player, barely 2 meters tall without shoes. Chen Yan attacked him like he was not there.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]