Chapter 820: I Admire Your Stubbornness
San Antonio called timeout.
Madison Square Garden erupted.
New York had clearly seized the initiative in the opening minutes.
The broadcast showed the latest fan poll.
88 percent of viewers believed the Knicks would win the championship.
Among Chinese fans, New York's popularity was overwhelming.
No other NBA team came close.
The only matchup that produced anything resembling divided support was New York against the Nets because Yao Ming played for Brooklyn.
Even then, during this year's Playoffs series, the Nets received only about 30 percent support on average.
The Knicks still dominated public opinion.
There was no question that Chen Yan had become the most popular athlete in China.
Many fans even regarded him as the leading figure in Chinese sports, placing his popularity above Yao Ming and Liu Xiang.
In terms of fame and influence, the argument made sense.
When it came to national team honors, however, Chen still had more to accomplish.
His best Olympic result remained a bronze medal.
On the San Antonio bench, Popovich's expression was severe.
He waited about 5 seconds after his players gathered before speaking.
"You are making it too easy for him."
His voice hardened.
"Get into him. Be physical. Apply pressure. Make him uncomfortable."
Popovich looked around the huddle.
"If you have to foul him, foul him. But stop giving him comfortable shots. Letting him score this easily is embarrassing."
There was no complicated tactical adjustment.
Popovich was trying to wake up his team through sheer intensity.
Years earlier, Bruce Bowen would have immediately understood what his coach wanted.
He had built a reputation for using every possible method to disrupt elite scorers.
But Bowen was retired now.
San Antonio no longer had someone willing to embrace that kind of reputation.
Popovich hoped Leonard would eventually become the team's next elite perimeter stopper.
At this point in his career, Leonard had not yet demonstrated major offensive ability.
San Antonio's primary goal was to develop him into a defensive specialist.
But Leonard was not reckless.
His quiet personality did not mean he lacked judgment.
He had no interest in deliberately doing something that would earn universal condemnation.
The timeout ended.
San Antonio returned to offense.
Parker called for Duncan's screen near the top.
This time, Curry changed his approach.
Instead of fighting over the screen, he went underneath Duncan.
No matter which direction Parker attacked, Curry could stay closer to the driving lane.
Normally, that strategy came with an obvious weakness.
The ball handler could simply shoot the 3.
Against Parker, however, New York was willing to accept that risk.
The 3 point shot had always been one of Parker's biggest weaknesses.
During his first 4 seasons, he attempted only around 2 outside shots per game.
The previous season, his 3 point percentage had fallen to 27.6 percent, and he had nearly stopped shooting them entirely during the Playoffs.
This season, he had improved to 30.3 percent.
In the Playoffs, that number had risen to 33 percent.
Parker had spent considerable time during the summer trying to improve the shot.
He understood that the league was changing.
The 3 pointer was becoming more important.
He needed to adapt.
But some players were simply more naturally suited to certain areas of the floor than others.
For Parker, the paint remained his true territory.
Earlier in the season, he had deliberately increased his 3 point volume.
The results were disappointing.
By the middle of the year, he had returned to his usual approach.
Attack the basket.
This season, Parker averaged 6.7 attempts at the rim and made 4.7 of them.
68.6 percent.
Nearly 45 percent of all his field goal attempts came at the basket.
For a guard his size, the numbers were remarkable.
Now Curry was daring him to shoot.
Parker hesitated.
Then rose.
He had to take it.
If he refused an open shot that obvious, New York would only collapse even more aggressively against his drives.
Release.
The ball sailed toward the rim.
Miss.
Badly.
Parker did not show frustration.
The decision had still been correct.
Chen immediately sprinted toward the other end.
David West secured the rebound and looked ahead.
For a moment, the long pass appeared possible.
He decided against it.
San Antonio had already recovered quickly.
There were defenders both ahead of Chen and behind him.
A careless long pass could easily become a turnover.
On the sideline, Popovich quietly exhaled.
He was fortunate New York's starting power forward was David West rather than Boris Diaw.
During his Phoenix years, Diaw had thrown long outlet passes with the accuracy of a quarterback.
New York settled into half court offense.
Chen reached out for the ball.
Leonard fought hard to deny him.
He had clearly listened during the timeout.
Do not let Chen receive comfortably.
But denying Chen Yan with a single defender was easier said than done.
Chen spun toward the paint.
Leonard followed.
Then Chen suddenly stopped and exploded back toward the perimeter.
Leonard reacted well.
He turned quickly and stayed near him.
He did not completely lose position.
But he still could not stop Chen from receiving the pass.
Chen caught the ball and turned sideways.
Leonard pressed against him immediately.
Physical pressure.
Chen gave 1 probing step.
Leonard instinctively created a little space.
That alone showed the threat of Chen's drive.
Once the gap appeared, Chen began dribbling.
Between the legs.
Ball to the left hand.
He suspended the dribble while stepping left.
Bang.
Crossover.
The ball moved to his right.
His entire body shifted half a step in the same direction.
The crowd watched in complete silence for an instant.
Even in the middle of the NBA Finals, Chen's handle had a way of turning a possession into a performance.
Everyone enjoyed it.
Everyone except Leonard.
The rookie could feel the pressure building.
He had no idea which move was coming next.
Chen held the ball momentarily in his right hand.
Then exploded.
1 hard step inside the 3 point line.
Left foot planted.
Sudden stepback.
Parker rushed over.
San Antonio finally sent a second defender.
Chen could have attempted the shot.
He chose not to.
There was a better answer.
Curry was completely open.
Chen leaned backward and fired a bounce pass toward him.
Curry caught it.
Nobody close.
Chen did not even wait to watch the release.
He turned toward the other end and raised both arms.
Celebration before the shot had even left Curry's hands.
Swish.
Curry rewarded the confidence.
In practice, he could make shots that open almost automatically.
Chen trusted his younger teammate completely.
Popovich glared toward him.
He hated that kind of showmanship.
Under Popovich, players were expected to fit within the collective.
His approach to managing a basketball team often resembled military discipline.
No individual was supposed to overshadow the system.
Chen was almost the opposite of everything Popovich preferred.
He celebrated openly.
He played with personality.
Off the court, he appeared in movies and released music.
Popovich admired Chen's basketball ability.
He disliked the style surrounding it.
Those feelings could exist simultaneously.
Chen had equally little affection for Popovich's philosophy.
He believed the Spurs system suppressed too much individuality.
Ginóbili was the rare exception.
Chen sometimes wondered what would happen if he played in San Antonio.
In his mind, Popovich would probably turn him into nothing more than a conventional star averaging around 25 points and 5 assists.
New York continued attacking.
The Knicks built momentum and kept pressure on San Antonio.
Only around the middle of the 1st quarter did New York's shooting finally cool.
That allowed the Spurs to recover several points.
With 2 minutes remaining in the quarter, Chen checked out for his first rest.
His numbers were already impressive.
15 points.
3 assists.
3 rebounds.
San Antonio's defense against him had clearly failed.
Popovich had never been particularly fond of constant double teams.
He preferred structured team defense.
Contain the superstar with designated defenders.
Stay disciplined elsewhere.
Do not surrender open shots to role players.
That philosophy explained why individual stars could sometimes produce enormous scoring performances against San Antonio.
The Spurs were comfortable facing balanced teams.
They were more vulnerable against singular offensive talents capable of breaking structured coverage on their own.
Kobe had hurt them.
Amar'e Stoudemire had hurt them.
Even Bonzi Wells had once caused them serious problems.
Still, Popovich remained stubborn.
He believed in the system.
He believed that over the course of a series, disciplined team defense would eventually prevail.
Chen admired that stubbornness.
Because tonight, his shooting touch was excellent.
And if Popovich truly intended to spend the entire game defending him mostly with single coverage, Chen was more than happy to accept the invitation.
....
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