Chapter 577: Entering the Small Ball Era Ahead of Schedule
The postgame locker room was still buzzing when the interview began.
"Chen, you got the season off to a strong start. How do you feel right now?" the reporter asked.
"Great," Chen Yan replied. "For me, this was not just an opening night win. Today was also the day I received my second championship ring. To win on a day like this makes it even more special."
"Are you satisfied with your performance tonight?"
"Not satisfied. No matter when you ask me, I will always give the same answer. There is an old saying, complacency leads to loss, humility brings benefit. I am never satisfied with myself, which means there is always room to improve."
He paused, then smiled.
"But I am very satisfied with my teammates. They are the best teammates I could ask for, a group of people I trust completely."
The moment he finished speaking, the system notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Team Chemistry +1!]
[Ding! Team Chemistry has reached 100!]
[Team Skill upgraded: Blitz Storm 2.0]
[After activation, the entire team gains a 5% increase in off ball sprint speed during fast breaks, a 7% increase in passing accuracy, a 25% increase in finishing at the rim, and a 13% increase in shooting accuracy.]
[Note: Team skills can only be used once per game and last 3 minutes.]
After 2 full seasons, Team Chemistry had finally reached its maximum value.
Of course, chemistry did not grow from winning alone. Good teamwork mattered, and so did a stable core rotation. If teammates changed every few months, there was no way real chemistry could ever form.
The skill upgrade was another step forward. Chen Yan had already won the biggest individual honors in basketball, including the regular season MVP and Finals MVP, but he still had room to grow. There were still skills he had not fully mastered, others that had not yet reached their peak, and even his overall rating was not yet at the top.
Sometimes even he wondered just how far he could still go.
On the other side of the arena, LeBron James was also facing the media.
"Our opponent is the defending champion, so we knew this would be a tough game," James said. "My teammates and I played hard tonight. Losing hurts, but it is not something we cannot accept. This is only the first game of the new season. We still need more games to find our rhythm. I believe in my teammates, I believe in this team. We are united, and we are moving toward the goal we set for ourselves."
Even if James had thoughts about his future, he would never reveal them publicly. That had always been one of his strongest qualities.
"LeBron, what do you think of Chen's performance tonight?"
"You know, Chen is my brother. From the first time I met him, I knew he was going to make it. We text each other a lot and always encourage one another. He is one of the best players in the league now. Playing against him is both an honor and a motivation for me."
As always, James spoke well of his opponent. He had long understood that the world was not just about confrontation. It was also about relationships. Praise a man first, and more often than not, he would return it, whether sincerely or out of courtesy.
...
2 days later, on November 5, the Suns went on the road to face the Clippers.
The Clippers were a familiar opponent. Both teams played in the Pacific Division, which meant they met at least 4 times every season.
Over the previous 2 years, the Suns had barely ever lost to them. Most of those games had ended in comfortable Phoenix wins.
So when the two sides met again, almost everyone expected another routine Suns victory.
Instead, the Suns ran into a stubborn fight.
The game was tied 29 all after the first quarter, and Phoenix led by only 4 at halftime.
The Clippers' offense looked completely different this season. Baron Davis, Thornton, Gordon, and Rasual Butler were all pushing the tempo and firing away. Kaman had turned into a pure role player, living mostly on rebounds and the occasional post up in the half court.
The Suns had clearly inspired them.
The Clippers had a collection of perimeter scorers. Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, and Thornton were all capable of getting hot, even if none of them were truly stable over a full game. But for a run and gun team, that unstable, explosive style could actually be an advantage.
Once they caught fire, they could trouble anybody.
That was exactly what happened that night.
In the 3rd quarter, Baron Davis and Rasual Butler combined to hit 4 three pointers, and by the end of the period the Clippers had turned the game around and taken a 7 point lead.
The crowd in Los Angeles erupted. Many local fans had assumed only the Lakers were capable of upsetting Phoenix in this city, but now the Clippers were giving them a surprise.
The Clippers held onto that lead until there were just 4 minutes left.
But the Suns were still a back to back champion. Their poise, experience, and closing instincts were on another level. In the final stretch, Phoenix tightened up, went on a 10 to 0 run, and snatched the game back.
In the end, the Suns escaped with a hard fought 111 to 109 win.
Chen Yan finished 12 of 21 from the field, 6 of 8 from 3, and 7 of 7 from the line for 37 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. His touch had fully returned, but the rest of the team was not nearly as sharp as they had been in the opener.
Besides Chen Yan, only 3 Suns reached double figures: Stoudemire with 23 points, Grant Hill with 16, and Barea with 10.
The Clippers had 6 players in double figures, but they lacked experience and, more importantly, they lacked a true super scorer to settle the game when it mattered most.
2 days later, the Suns went to Golden State.
It was another pure shootout.
This time, Phoenix exploded from the opening tip and crushed the Warriors 131 to 101.
Both teams played wide open, but the difference in efficiency was enormous. Golden State shot only 42.4% from the field and 41.1% from 3. Phoenix shot 55% overall and a ridiculous 55% from beyond the arc.
The Suns were also a team built around 3 point shooting. When both sides played the same style, that gap in accuracy made the final result inevitable.
After a day off, Phoenix returned home to face the Timberwolves.
Chen Yan had always remembered Minnesota as a slow paced team, so when he saw their starting lineup, he was genuinely stunned.
Lamar Odom was starting at center, and Ronny Turiaf, only 201 centimeters tall, was starting at power forward.
Andrew Bynum had basically been discarded and pushed to the bench. After leaving the Lakers, his decline had accelerated alarmingly. What made it worse was that he was only 23 years old, right in what should have been his prime.
From the opening minute, Minnesota pushed the pace.
Odom, Turiaf, Brewer, and rookie point guard Flynn all ran the floor hard and tried to turn every rebound into a break.
The tempo was high on both sides. The first quarter was a back and forth battle, but in the second, the gap gradually opened.
After all, the Suns were the original blueprint for small ball. Not every team that tried to run could actually threaten them with it.
By the final buzzer, Phoenix had won 121 to 109.
After that game, the Suns became certain of one thing.
The rest of the league had already started chasing their style.
The Suns' success had inspired copycats everywhere, and the NBA had entered the small ball era ahead of schedule.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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