Chapter 806: The Most Elegant Pullup
The first half came to an end.
New York led 57 to 47.
A 10 point advantage.
Chen Yan entered halftime with 27 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.
Inside Miami's locker room, Spoelstra and his assistants immediately began discussing adjustments.
Spoelstra looked over the tactical board.
"The double team is not stopping him anymore. What do we do in the 2nd half?"
He paused.
"What if we defend him 1 on 1 and focus on cutting off his connection with the rest of the team?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the rest of Miami's coaching staff looked alarmed.
Absolutely not.
With the way Chen was shooting tonight, leaving him in single coverage sounded less like a defensive strategy and more like surrender.
He might simply shoot Miami out of its own arena.
But that created the real problem.
If 2 defenders could not stop him, what exactly was Miami supposed to do?
Send 3?
4?
At that point, they might as well concede the game.
New York had too many other weapons.
Curry could not be ignored.
David West was an All Star level scorer.
Curry had yet to make an All Star team, but his ability was clearly already at that level.
Years earlier, Detroit could send 3 or even 4 defenders toward Tracy McGrady when facing Orlando, sometimes denying him enough space to make a normal shooting motion.
That strategy worked because Orlando lacked enough secondary threats to consistently punish the coverage.
Trying the same thing against these Knicks would be suicide.
After a long discussion, Spoelstra settled on a compromise.
Miami's perimeter defenders would take turns guarding Chen 1 on 1.
They would crowd him aggressively and deny shooting space.
The moment Chen drove, both wings would collapse.
The interior defense would step up as well.
Everyone would work together to stop him from reaching the basket.
And whenever Chen called for a pick and roll, Miami would trap him immediately.
That last point was especially important.
Chen's release was extremely fast.
If Miami switched casually, even the smallest hesitation could create enough room for him to shoot.
New York's halftime instructions were much simpler.
Nelson addressed the team.
"Set good screens for Chen. Give him room to attack."
Then he looked around the locker room.
"And everybody stay ready to shoot. If Miami sends 2 defenders at him, the ball can come to any of you. When you get an open look, make it."
The 2nd half began with both teams returning to their full starting lineups.
James had rested only 4 minutes during the entire 1st half.
If the game remained this close, Spoelstra was prepared to leave him on the court for the entire 2nd half.
For James, that was hardly unprecedented.
During his Cleveland years, he had frequently played more than 45 minutes in important Playoffs games.
His physical endurance had always been extraordinary.
Miami's new defense worked initially.
Wade stayed extremely close to Chen and did an excellent job limiting his touches.
But the effort came at a cost.
Wade became almost invisible offensively.
Chen did not score during the first 3 minutes of the 2nd half.
He still recorded 2 assists.
At the other end, James repeatedly attacked the basket and drew fouls.
Chalmers also continued hitting from beyond the 3 point line.
Miami quickly cut the deficit to 4.
66 to 62.
After several minutes of observing the defense, Chen understood exactly what Miami was doing.
And once he understood it, he began attacking the weakness.
The Heat were preparing heavy help against his drives.
That meant if Chen simply refused to drive, much of the defensive structure became irrelevant.
In effect, he was still being guarded 1 on 1 on the perimeter.
Chen raised a hand.
Spread out.
His teammates cleared the floor.
Wade squared up.
He was confident.
For the past few minutes, his defense had worked.
Chen crossed the ball.
Then came his signature wide crossover.
The ball swept hard into his left hand.
Another sharp crossover brought it back to his right.
1 dribble.
Pullup from the mid range.
Wade immediately lunged forward.
His priority was obvious.
Give up the drive if necessary.
Do not let Chen shoot comfortably.
It still was not enough.
Chen had created barely half a step of separation.
Against Wade, that was enough.
Chen rose cleanly.
Swish!
The ball snapped through the net.
68 to 62.
Wade could contest almost perfectly and still lose the possession.
Chen was taller.
His wingspan was longer.
Once he created even a fraction of space, Wade had difficulty affecting the release.
Miami came back on offense.
Wade received the ball but immediately moved it sideways.
He was still conserving energy for defense.
New York packed the paint.
James attacked.
He beat Battier off the dribble.
Then immediately saw 2 more defenders waiting inside.
The deeper he went, the more crowded the lane became.
There was no clean path to the rim.
James pulled the ball back.
His eyes glanced toward the perimeter.
His hand went the opposite direction.
Pass inside.
Gasol caught it.
Pump fake.
David West expected another quick high post attempt and jumped early.
Gasol never intended to shoot.
He waited.
Then rose directly into West's body.
Contact.
Whistle!
The shot dropped.
And 1.
Even the normally reserved Gasol pounded his chest and roared.
There had been several questionable whistles in Miami's favor tonight.
This was not one of them.
West had clearly left his feet.
Gasol had simply taken advantage.
Nelson watched from the sideline with concern.
West now had 4 fouls.
Miami had attacked the paint relentlessly all night.
As one of New York's most important interior defenders, West was entering dangerous territory.
Gasol stepped to the line.
Swish!
68 to 65.
Only 3 points.
The arena came alive.
"Defense!"
"Defense!"
"Defense!"
Miami's crowd could sense an opportunity.
New York came back down.
Chen received the ball at the left 45 degree angle beyond the 3 point line.
He held it in his right hand and tucked it behind his back.
Wade pressed tightly.
He was no longer worried about what happened behind him.
If Chen beat him, Miami's help defense was waiting.
And with Wade's speed, he believed he could recover and rejoin the play.
Chen suddenly brought the ball out from behind his back and raised it into a shooting motion.
Wade stayed disciplined.
No reaction.
Chen did not waste another movement.
1 hard dribble sideways.
Stop.
Rise.
Pullup.
Smooth.
Decisive.
Elegant.
The ball struck the back of the rim.
Then dropped through.
71 to 65.
Chen turned and ran back on defense.
There was something unusually beautiful about his pullup jumper.
The movement never looked rushed.
His balance remained perfect from gather to release.
At the peak of his jump, everything seemed to pause for an instant before the ball left his fingertips.
Among current NBA players, few possessed a pullup jumper that looked as effortless.
In pure aesthetics, it carried shades of Tracy McGrady at his best.
High elevation.
Smooth release.
Complete control.
Chen Yan made one of basketball's most difficult shots look graceful.