Chapter 666: The Long Regular Season Finally Ends
After winning the highly anticipated game against the Indiana Pacers, Chen Yan returned to New York.
His tense heart could finally rest for a while.
He had fulfilled the promise he made when he joined the Knicks.
He had led the team into the Playoffs.
That evening, Taylor Swift also returned from Los Angeles after finishing her show.
Previously, when Chen Yan was in Phoenix, he and Taylor had been in a long distance relationship. Taylor's work often required her to be in cities like New York and Los Angeles.
It was not until Chen Yan came to New York that they officially began living together.
But Chen Yan soon realized that they did not see each other as often as he had imagined.
Taylor often had to record songs, film shows, and hold concerts.
As for Chen Yan, there was no need to say much. Half of his time was spent traveling for road games.
"Baby, how was the show?"
As soon as they met, Chen Yan gave her a big hug.
"The usual," Taylor said with a smile. "Ever since I got together with you, half of every show is spent with the host asking about you or our relationship."
"Then do you want to try breaking up with me? That way, the hosts will stop gossiping."
Chen Yan teased her.
"You are right," Taylor said. "Then the host would not spend half the show asking about you. They would spend the whole show asking why we broke up."
Chen Yan burst into laughter after hearing her words.
Chen Yan and Taylor often teased each other like this. They even bickered from time to time.
That kind of interaction made a couple's relationship interesting.
Being overly polite was not suitable for young people in this era.
"What are you planning to do next? More appearances? Recording an album?" Chen Yan asked.
"Spare me, please. I have not had a vacation in almost 3 months. I plan to rest for a few days," Taylor said.
"I envy you. My workload is about to get heavy. The Playoffs are starting soon, and this is my 1st time playing in the Playoffs while representing New York. I cannot mess it up," Chen Yan said.
Taylor said, "All of New York will support you. I know how crazy the fans here are because I am a Knicks fan too. Haha."
"That is exactly why the pressure is even greater. All of New York is expecting something from me," Chen Yan said.
"So, since there is no game tomorrow, do you want to release some pressure?" Taylor said, her voice turning teasing.
"You just got off the plane. Are you not tired?" Chen Yan said with a half smile.
"Did you not just get off the plane too? Are you tired?"
Chen Yan did not say much.
He picked Taylor up and carried her toward the bedroom.
It was indeed getting late.
They needed to rest.
The next day, the entire Knicks team had a day off.
Curry and his wife, Ayesha, came to Chen Yan's house for lunch.
Curry was all smiles and in excellent spirits.
Good things made people happy.
Not only had the Knicks secured a Playoff spot early, but Ayesha was also due to give birth soon.
This would be Curry's 1st child.
"Stephen, you still look like a kid. I really cannot believe you are about to become a father," Chen Yan said with a laugh.
"Chen, you should hurry up too," Curry said, also laughing.
Chen Yan waved his hand.
"It is still too early. We are not even married yet."
Curry looked puzzled.
"Do having children and getting married have anything to do with each other?"
In the West, especially in America, many people had children first and got married later. Some did not marry at all, maintaining their relationship as lovers.
Chen Yan smiled.
"This gets into the difference between Eastern and Western cultures, and that cannot be explained in just a few words. But even if we were married, I still would not plan to have children so soon. I still want to enjoy my prime youth. Besides playing basketball, I want to travel, act, and release songs. Recently, a modeling agency invited me to walk the runway. I have not tried that before, so I plan to do it during the offseason."
Hearing acting, releasing songs, and walking the runway, Ayesha, who was nearby, immediately became interested.
Ayesha's dream was to become an artist.
Chen Yan continued chatting with her on that topic.
Honestly, Ayesha did not have much potential as an artist. Her image, voice, and acting skills were not particularly outstanding.
But everyone should have the right to pursue their dreams, and Ayesha was no exception.
In terms of acting, Chen Yan could not offer Ayesha much advice.
But in singing, he had achieved some success himself, even if not as a full time singer, and had won a Grammy Award.
Ayesha expressed her gratitude to Chen Yan, but when it came to singing, she seemed more willing to let Taylor guide her.
After all, in most people's eyes, Taylor Swift was the professional singer.
Although Chen Yan had won a top honor, his primary identity was still that of a basketball player, so his music always gave people the impression of being a casual hobby.
When Ayesha became excited, she even wanted to sing a high note for Chen Yan on the spot.
But Chen Yan and Taylor politely declined.
She was pregnant, and if she exerted herself too much and the baby came early, things would become troublesome.
On April 12, the Knicks defeated the Chicago Bulls at home, 109 to 100.
The Bulls now intended to promote Westbrook within the team, but Westbrook's performance was still not stable enough.
He did not seem very compatible with Luol Deng and several of the team's big men, especially Tyrus Thomas and Taj Gibson.
Westbrook wanted them to help him box out and sacrifice some rebounding numbers, but neither of them was willing.
They did not understand Westbrook at all.
What does a point guard need rebounds for?
In fact, Westbrook was learning from Chen Yan.
During Chen Yan's time in Phoenix, the team's big men often helped him box out, allowing him to grab defensive rebounds and immediately push the ball upcourt in transition.
Westbrook felt he had the speed and ball handling ability to replicate this tactic.
However, neither head coach Tom Thibodeau nor his teammates were very optimistic about it.
In the final game of the season, after securing their Playoff spot, the Knicks adopted a rotation strategy.
All of New York's starters rested, and they ultimately lost to the Boston Celtics, 100 to 91.
The Knicks 1st round Playoff opponent was the Boston Celtics.
The Big 3 combination of Durant, Rose, and Stoudemire had shone brightly this year. Many fans predicted they would become this year's Eastern Conference champions.
However, many other fans believed they were too green, and that teams like the Heat and Magic would perform better in the Playoffs.
Regardless, Boston was the best performing team in the regular season, securing the top seed with a 60 and 22 record.
Since the Celtics had already clinched the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference, they also used a rotation strategy for this game.
So although this matchup was said to be a preview of the Eastern Conference 1st round, it actually had little reference value.
Thus, the long regular season finally came to an end.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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