Chapter 805: Composure and Elegance
Miami had possession.
Chalmers crossed half court but did not immediately pass to James.
James raised a hand and pointed toward the paint.
Chalmers understood.
He lobbed the ball inside to Pau Gasol.
Gasol turned, took a look at the defense, then passed back out.
It was not that he did not want to attack.
New York had packed the paint so tightly that finding comfortable post moves was difficult.
The Knicks were still using the same defensive philosophy.
Protect the inside.
Give Miami more room outside.
The reason was simple.
With this lineup on the floor, the Heat lacked reliable perimeter shooting.
Wade received the pass.
As expected, he did not shoot.
He paused and gave Chen Yan a pump fake, hoping to get him airborne before attacking.
Chen did not move.
He knew Wade's shooting profile too well to bite on a casual fake from outside.
Wade lowered his shoulder and drove.
He forced his way toward the paint against Chen's defense, turning his body as he tried to get inside.
But 3 Knicks were already waiting around the restricted area.
There was almost no space.
A clean finish would be extremely difficult.
Wade was not necessarily trying to finish.
He wanted the whistle.
He drove into David West and initiated contact.
Whistle!
Foul.
West shook his head helplessly.
He had simply raised both arms straight up.
There had been no downward swipe.
Still, he did not argue.
West was an experienced and rational player.
Complaining would not reverse the call.
Nelson immediately substituted him out.
Less than half of the 1st quarter had passed, and West already had 2 fouls.
Wade stepped to the line.
Swish.
Swish.
Both free throws.
15 to 8.
Knicks fans were furious.
Miami had scored only 8 points so far.
5 of them had come from the free throw line.
New York returned to offense.
Chen Yan received the ball and immediately saw another double team.
This time, he did not try to beat it himself.
He passed to Battier on the wing.
Battier quickly swung the ball to Curry.
Curry gave a shot fake.
The defender reacted.
1 dribble forward.
Open mid range jumper.
Swish.
17 to 8.
Chen and Curry exchanged a high 5 as they retreated.
Breaking a double team did not always mean dribbling through 2 defenders.
Sometimes the simplest answer was finding the teammate with the better opportunity.
Miami came back.
James and Gasol ran a pick and roll.
James penetrated into the paint.
New York's help defense collapsed.
James immediately passed.
The ball floated toward Gasol.
Gasol extended his long arms, caught it high, and softly laid it in.
Good.
That was exactly the type of high post action Gasol excelled at.
His physical measurements were exceptional.
His standing reach was even 3 centimeters higher than that of the 226 centimeter Yao Ming.
Those long arms made plays around the basket remarkably easy once he caught the ball in the right position.
Over the next few possessions, New York's shooting percentage began to fall.
Miami failed to capitalize.
The Heat could not consistently convert the Knicks misses into points.
7 minutes into the 1st quarter, Miami still trailed on its own floor.
Barkley looked toward the Heat bench.
"Miami might need more shooting out there. New York is packing everybody into the paint because they do not respect enough of these guys from outside."
Kenny Smith nodded.
"That is the problem. If the floor does not stretch, Wade and LeBron have to drive into 3 or 4 bodies. Putting another shooter out there could open the lane."
Spoelstra had obviously considered the same adjustment.
The problem was the tradeoff.
Miami's shooters were vulnerable defensively.
If he added too much shooting, the Heat might lose their defensive balance.
And against New York, 2 or 3 weak defensive possessions could become a sudden scoring run.
With 4 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter, Nelson made his move.
Curry and Battier went to the bench.
Beverley and Yi Jianlian entered.
Miami responded with Mike Miller and Channing Frye.
James and Joel Anthony went to the bench for rest.
But 1 thing never changed.
No matter who entered the game, Miami continued sending 2 defenders toward Chen Yan.
Spoelstra remained committed to the strategy.
Chen had already produced several brilliant possessions against the trap.
Spoelstra did not care.
His logic was straightforward.
If Chen could do this much against 2 defenders, what would happen if Miami left him 1 on 1?
With 4.7 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter, New York had the ball.
The Knicks led 31 to 23.
Yi stood on the baseline to inbound.
Chen received the pass.
The instant he turned, Miami's defenders felt uneasy.
He had caught the ball too easily.
Wade immediately crowded him.
With so little time remaining, Wade could afford to be extremely aggressive.
All he needed to do was force Chen to waste the remaining seconds in the backcourt.
Chen dropped low.
Crossover.
Explosion.
He attacked Wade's left side and blew past him.
Wade immediately turned and chased.
Chalmers stepped into Chen's path.
Mike Miller waited on his right.
Chen had barely crossed half court before Miami trapped him against multiple defenders.
Less than 2 seconds remained.
Passing was no longer realistic.
At that point, moving the ball would only transfer responsibility to someone else with even less time.
Chen had no interest in doing that.
He gathered.
Shot fake.
With his left hand.
There was a reason.
Miller was on his right.
Wade was behind and slightly to the right.
A conventional right handed release risked being stripped or blocked.
Chalmers reacted to the fake.
He jumped.
Chen leaned slightly toward Miller on his right.
Then he quickly raised the ball with his left hand.
Something remarkable happened.
All 5 Miami defenders jumped.
Chalmers in front.
Miller beside him.
Wade behind.
Gasol diagonally ahead.
Even Channing Frye, nearly 4 body lengths away, left the floor.
Frye probably could not have explained why.
His body simply reacted.
Chen released the desperate left handed shot from well beyond the 3 point line.
Clang!
Miss.
But the result almost did not matter.
1 player had touched the ball.
5 defenders had panicked.
Barkley burst out laughing.
"Look at that replay. Every Miami player jumped. I think half the people in the stands wanted to jump too."
The 1st quarter ended.
The 2nd began with Curry and David West returning for New York.
Miami countered by leaving James on the court to lead its reserves.
James had endured a frustrating 1st quarter.
Against New York's bench, he expected to finally find easier opportunities and rebuild his rhythm.
Instead, the Knicks surprised him.
They double teamed him.
Whenever James attacked the paint, another defender waited behind the initial help.
James quickly discovered that playing against New York's reserves was requiring even more effort than expected.
So he passed.
Again.
And again.
4 and a half minutes into the 2nd quarter, James had not scored.
But that did not mean he had been ineffective.
He had already delivered 4 assists.
Miami's shooters were beginning to find rhythm because of him.
Nelson immediately changed the defensive strategy.
No more automatic double teams on James.
He had realized something important.
Miami's strategy against Chen could not simply be copied against LeBron.
Leave Chen Yan 1 on 1, and he might shoot you out of the building.
Double James too aggressively, and he would calmly feed open teammates until they shot you out of the building instead.
Their offensive strengths were different.
With 6 minutes and 9 seconds gone in the 2nd quarter, Chen Yan checked back in.
The score was 45 to 40.
On the surface, New York had done a good job containing James.
In reality, Miami had reduced the deficit while he controlled the offense.
That was LeBron's value.
Basketball ability was not measured only by isolation scoring.
Creating structure.
Finding teammates.
Controlling tempo.
Making everyone around you better.
Those things mattered too.
Chen's first possession after returning looked painfully familiar.
Double team.
He could not help thinking that Miami truly refused to abandon its principles.
Wade stood in front.
James came from the side.
James had not even gone to the bench.
Spoelstra clearly intended to squeeze every possible minute out of him tonight.
Chen lowered his body.
He accelerated away from James.
Not too fast.
Not too slow.
James stopped and changed direction with him.
Chen paused.
Then accelerated again.
Hard drive left.
His foot reached the 3 point line.
Sudden stop.
James slammed on the brakes too, matching Chen's rhythm.
Wade was not so fortunate.
He collided with James's shoulder.
That was exactly what Chen wanted.
It was one of his favorite ways to break a double team.
Instead of fighting both defenders separately, he manipulated their positioning until 1 defender effectively screened the other.
Wade was caught behind James.
James was knocked slightly off balance by the contact.
Chen instantly exploded.
Push off.
Burst.
Past James.
1 against 2.
Channing Frye rotated over.
Chen barely acknowledged him.
Smooth gather.
Controlled step.
High bank shot.
Off the glass.
In.
47 to 40.
The entire possession captured Chen Yan's performance perfectly.
No panic.
No wasted movement.
No visible strain.
Composure.
Elegance.
Effortless control.