Chapter 501: Between Two Points, Chen Yan Is the Fastest
After the timeout, the Jazz finally ended their scoring drought.
But the way they did it was a little unusual. The Suns were called for a defensive 3 second violation, giving Utah a free throw.
Deron stepped to the line. Korver was the Jazz's best free throw shooter at 88.2 percent this season, but he was not on the floor. Deron was still reliable, knocking down 4.8 of his 5.6 attempts per game for an 84.9 percent mark.
Swish.
He made it cleanly, cutting the score to 7 to 1.
By rule, Utah kept possession.
Kirilenko inbounded from the sideline. Brewer caught it, pivoted, and immediately swung it to Deron.
Without holding the ball, Deron sent it to Kirilenko on the wing, then ducked into the paint and started posting Nash, clearly looking to bully the mismatch.
Nash knew he could not match Deron physically, but his defensive awareness was sharp. He half fronted immediately, taking away the direct passing lane and refusing to let Kirilenko make the easy entry.
Deron quickly pointed to the top of the arc, directing Kirilenko to reverse the ball.
He was smart enough to understand the situation. If he stayed buried in the paint too long, he would draw a double team the moment he caught it. With his size, that was a dangerous place to get trapped.
Kirilenko passed to Millsap at the top. Boozer drifted toward the elbow, and the lane emptied out.
Deron cut hard to the rim. If the ball had been in Diaw's hands, the pass probably would have come instantly. But Millsap did not have that kind of vision. That was one of the Jazz's recurring limitations. Their players would scrap, box out, defend, and do all the dirty work, but real creativity was in short supply.
When Millsap did not pass, Deron immediately changed course and ran along the baseline to the opposite side. Brewer and Boozer set a staggered double screen, freeing him for a curling mid range jumper.
The shot hit the back rim and dropped in.
3 to 7.
The arena roared to life. Utah had finally made its first field goal.
That was the advantage of being at home. One made basket, one solid defensive stretch, and the entire building could swing the momentum.
Phoenix came back on offense, still committed to the half court.
This time the action centered on Chen Yan and Stoudemire.
A Chen Yan and Stoudemire pick and roll was nothing like a Nash and Stoudemire pick and roll. When Nash ran it, the real fear was his passing. When Chen Yan ran it, the defense had to prepare for the kill. He was not an organizer first. He was an assassin.
Off the screen, Chen Yan drew pressure and slipped a stylish bounce pass into Stoudemire.
The pass was not some lucky flash of genius. He already had that skill in his bag. The only reason his assist numbers were not higher was that the team usually needed his scoring even more than his playmaking.
Stoudemire rose from the free throw line and missed.
Normally that was an easy shot for him, but he was still searching for rhythm. The dunk earlier had given him confidence, but confidence and game rhythm were not the same thing, especially after being away for 2 months.
Brewer secured the rebound with one dribble, then found Deron. Utah pushed the ball right back up.
This Jazz lineup was built for speed and quickness. All 5 players were across half court almost instantly.
Deron dribbled to the top, stopped sharply, and fired a cross court pass to Kirilenko on the wing.
Kirilenko had his hands ready at chest level, but just as the ball was about to arrive, Chen Yan exploded onto the scene from off camera.
He snatched the pass cleanly.
Then he was gone.
He tore toward the other end at full speed, moving so fast the Jazz could not even organize a tactical foul.
Long stride. Gather. Launch.
Chen Yan hammered home the one man fast break with a violent dunk.
Clang.
For an instant, it felt as if the entire arena had been muted.
The home crowd had been screeching nonstop, so Chen Yan answered with the loudest statement possible.
On broadcasts and online streams, fans lost their minds.
"That was insane. I blinked and Utah's fast break turned into a Chen Yan dunk."
"He only needs 3 seconds."
"That speed is absurd. It is like everyone else froze."
"Between 2 points, Chen Yan is the fastest."
Utah went back to its bread and butter on the next trip, running the Deron and Boozer pick and roll again.
Phoenix switched it cleanly. Chen Yan's tomahawk dunk had jolted the entire Suns roster awake. Utah's 2 stars could not find much daylight, so the role players had to improvise. Brewer could not shoot, and at this stage Millsap was still a pure worker. After some stalled ball movement, Kirilenko forced a 3.
His release was stiff and mechanical.
The ball hit the front rim and bounced away.
Kirilenko's form had been shaky all season, and it had somehow gotten worse in the playoffs. During the regular season, people could still argue that Sloan's system limited him. But in this series, he had been starting since Game 2. That excuse no longer carried much weight.
For Phoenix fans, a Kirilenko 3 felt almost automatic in a different sense. When Chen Yan shot, they assumed it was going in. When Kirilenko shot, they assumed it was missing.
He had shot only 27 percent from deep in the regular season. In the 2 playoff games before this, he had been at 20 percent. After this miss, it felt like even that number might fall.
His place on the Jazz had become increasingly awkward. He had the biggest contract on the team, 6 years and $86 million, yet his tactical importance had dropped below Korver's. Korver at least had designed actions run for his shooting. Kirilenko mostly existed to defend, rotate, and use his length to bother Chen Yan and Nash. That was useful, but not 6 years and $86 million useful.
Utah never expected the versatile forward they once chased so eagerly would turn into such a burden. That contract sat heavily on the books, limiting their flexibility and making it harder to build a better team around Boozer and Deron.
And the real problems were still coming. The next year would bring extension issues with Boozer and Millsap, while Deron and Sloan were already showing clear cracks in their relationship. From a distance, the Jazz still looked unified. Up close, the fractures had already formed.
Kirilenko missed, but Utah salvaged the possession. Boozer fought Stoudemire for the offensive rebound and came away with it.
For all of Stoudemire's athleticism, his rebounding instincts had always been average. He had never averaged more than 10 boards a game in a season, and this year he had been at only 8.1.
Utah reset.
Phoenix tightened up again. The Jazz lineup on the floor had a fatal weakness: almost no outside shooting. Their best 3 point threat in the group was still Deron, and he had shot only 31 percent this season.
After calling for two screens, Deron ended up taking the shot himself from the left elbow.
It hit the rim and rolled away.
Utah's offense was too predictable, too easy to read. Fortunately for them, Phoenix was not shooting particularly well either beyond Chen Yan. Stoudemire still had not found his rhythm and had gone 1 for 5 in the first quarter. Outside of that highlight alley oop, his game had been rough.
Grant Hill, back in the starting lineup, had not produced much either. D'Antoni had hoped Hill could attack from the wing whenever Nash and Chen Yan were overloaded, but his jumper was not cooperating tonight.
Combined with Utah's smaller, quicker lineup doing a decent job of slowing transition, the game stayed tight.
At the end of the first quarter, Phoenix led 25 to 22.
.....
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