Chapter 744: Jeremy Lin's Debut, Chen Yan's Invitation
"Your body is too tense. Relax a little, young man."
Chen Yan smiled as he spoke to Kyrie Irving, who was still sitting on the floor.
It sounded like a warm word of concern.
But to Kyrie Irving at this moment, it hurt more than any trash talk.
For the rest of the 2nd quarter, Kyrie Irving's performance was lackluster.
Chen Yan had not only beaten him on the court, he had attacked his confidence.
For a young athlete, that kind of blow was difficult to recover from in a short time.
At halftime, Kyrie Irving had 13 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.
At 1st glance, the stat line looked decent.
But his shooting was 4 of 14 from the field, including 1 of 3 from 3 point range and 4 of 5 from the free throw line.
The efficiency was painful.
More importantly, only 2 of those 13 points had come against Chen Yan.
Kyrie Irving remained obsessed with scoring on Chen Yan to prove himself, but the more he clung to that thought, the more distorted his movements became.
The Knicks led by 21 points at halftime.
61 to 40.
After returning in the 2nd half, Kyrie Irving made a 3 pointer after using a double screen.
43 to 61.
The deficit was narrowed to under 20 points.
After the halftime adjustment, Kyrie Irving's condition looked much better.
2 possessions later, Kyrie Irving attacked the paint again and drew Beverley's 4th personal foul.
Nelson had no choice but to sub Jeremy Lin back in.
At this time, Yi Jianlian was also on the court.
Chen Yan, Yi Jianlian, Jeremy Lin.
3 Asian faces appearing on an NBA court at the same time, and on the same team, was an extremely rare sight.
Knicks offensive possession.
Jeremy Lin dribbled to the top of the arc, and Chen Yan came up to set a screen for him.
Jeremy Lin understood his intention, moved 2 steps sideways, then passed the ball to Chen Yan.
A mismatch appeared on the court.
It was Chen Yan against Kyrie Irving once again.
Chen Yan dribbled calmly, then turned sideways and pushed inside.
After 2 steps, Chen Yan felt the position was not very comfortable, so he immediately passed the ball back to Jeremy Lin on the perimeter and cut into the paint without the ball.
A small step outside the restricted area, Chen Yan reached out for the ball.
Jeremy Lin lobbed it in.
"He called for the ball in a great spot," Kenny Smith said. "Cleveland needs to double team now, or Chen Yan will score on Kyrie Irving again."
The Cavaliers double team was 1 step late.
Kyrie Irving's playing style tonight had clearly made his teammates unhappy, and no one was eager to help him defensively.
Chen Yan bumped Kyrie Irving, then immediately turned around.
Swish.
Fadeaway jumper made.
43 to 63.
Kyrie Irving shook his head helplessly, while Chen Yan returned to the defensive half with a relaxed expression.
He almost had the word easy written across his face.
"You can tell Chen still respects Kyrie Irving," Barkley said mischievously. "He even used a fadeaway on that shot."
Kenny Smith was even more mischievous.
"That is just Chen Yan's shooting rhythm. He shoots like that even when nobody is in front of him."
Cavaliers offensive possession.
Kyrie Irving crossed half court and looked for a screen, then passed the ball to Jamison on the perimeter.
Jamison's individual offensive ability was still decent, but he did not get many opportunities playing alongside Kyrie Irving.
After all, Jamison was getting older, and Cleveland wanted to develop Kyrie Irving. They would not waste too much energy on him.
In this game, Jamison played more like a spot up shooter.
Clang.
Missed.
Yi Jianlian retreated and grabbed the rebound.
Varejão stepped forward to fight for the ball and accidentally poked Yi Jianlian in the face.
Beep.
The referee's whistle sounded, calling a foul on Varejão.
"Yi, are you okay?" Chen Yan asked.
Yi Jianlian shook his head.
"I am fine. Minor issue."
The game continued.
Chen Yan prepared to replicate the previous possession, moving to the high post to screen for Jeremy Lin.
The Cavaliers chose to double team on this possession.
Kyrie Irving and Anthony Parker focused entirely on Chen Yan, leaving Jeremy Lin wide open.
This was an open shooting opportunity.
Jeremy Lin hesitated for a moment and chose not to shoot.
Instead, he went with his specialty and drove to the basket.
Varejão tried to rotate over, but he did not expect Jeremy Lin to be so fast.
Before Varejão could arrive, Jeremy Lin stormed into the paint like lightning and scored a layup.
43 to 65.
Jeremy Lin scored his 1st 2 points as a Knicks player.
Although he did not face much defensive pressure, he looked very excited.
Chen Yan high fived him in celebration.
"Good job. That is how you should play. Use your strength and explosiveness."
At this time, Jeremy Lin's shooting was not stable, but his speed was absolutely top class.
He had physical gifts that were uncommon among Asian players.
Jeremy Lin's draft combine measurements showed a standing vertical jump of 76 cm and a running vertical jump of 96 cm.
His biggest advantage was speed.
According to the combine data at the time, Jeremy Lin's acceleration speed was 22.42 kilometers per hour, while Wall's was only 21.32 kilometers per hour.
In terms of acceleration, Jeremy Lin's performance was the best among guards in that draft class, even surpassing John Wall, the number 1 pick renowned for his speed.
Cavaliers offense.
Kyrie Irving crossed half court and called for a pick and roll.
Cleveland's offense was too one dimensional.
Either Kyrie Irving isolated, or he ran a pick and roll.
But the purpose was always the same.
Give the new number 1 pick experience.
After the pick and roll, the Knicks double teamed Kyrie Irving.
David West and Jeremy Lin closed in quickly, and Kyrie Irving almost turned it over. He stumbled as he passed the ball out to the perimeter.
This time, Jamison's shot went in.
Swish.
3 pointer made.
46 to 65.
Jeremy Lin dribbled across half court.
Chen Yan received the ball, and Kyrie Irving immediately came up with Anthony Parker to double team him.
Jeremy Lin was the open man again.
Chen Yan quickly passed the ball.
Kyrie Irving was prepared on this possession and immediately returned to his position.
Jeremy Lin took a step to the left, then quickly dribbled with his right hand.
Kyrie Irving was directly faked out.
Jeremy Lin once again had an opportunity to drive hard to the basket.
This time, Varejão rotated over to defend, but Jeremy Lin's speed had already picked up. He drew a defensive foul on Varejão.
Swish.
Clang.
1 of 2 free throws made.
46 to 66.
Jeremy Lin was finding his rhythm, and his confidence was slowly building.
Chen Yan patted him on the back in encouragement.
"Keep playing like this. They do not understand your strengths, so maximize your advantages."
At this time, Jeremy Lin's right hand was clearly stronger than his left.
But Kyrie Irving did not know that, which was why he had been so easily faked out on the previous possession.
Cavaliers offensive possession.
Jamison posted up inside for an isolation play.
Jeremy Lin sagged off on defense and went to contest Jamison.
Jamison raised his hand and passed the ball, giving Kyrie Irving a brief open look.
Jeremy Lin quickly recovered to the perimeter.
Kyrie Irving paused slightly, waiting for Jeremy Lin to rush in front of him before suddenly accelerating.
Jeremy Lin was completely beaten on this play.
Kyrie Irving had timed him perfectly.
DeAndre Jordan quickly rotated out.
Kyrie Irving executed a double crossover into a spin move, then used his left hand for a high arcing layup that went in.
"Nice, fancy dribbling," Kenny Smith praised.
Barkley also nodded.
"Kyrie Irving is a natural ball handler. His feel for the ball is excellent."
Knicks offensive possession.
Jeremy Lin called for a pick and roll after crossing half court, and DeAndre Jordan moved to the high post.
Using the screen, Jeremy Lin immediately accelerated and drove to the basket.
Varejão switched defensively in time on this possession, staying close to Jeremy Lin.
Although Jeremy Lin had played well in these few possessions, he remained calm.
He chose not to force the shot, instead turning and passing back to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan's 3 step sequence after receiving the ball was simple.
1st, a shot fake.
Then, a step with his right foot.
Finally, a drive to the left.
Simple, but extremely practical.
The effect of this move varied completely depending on the player using it.
A player like Chen Yan, who could both drive and shoot, could easily fool defenders.
If DeAndre Jordan tried the same thing, the opponent would probably ignore him completely.
After getting past Anthony Parker, the Cavaliers perimeter defense began to collapse.
Chen Yan made a no look pass to Yi Jianlian beyond the 3 point line.
Yi Jianlian paused for 1 second, drawing Kyrie Irving's help defense, then quickly made a lateral pass to the open Jeremy Lin.
Jeremy Lin raised his hand and shot.
Swish.
The basketball dropped cleanly through the net.
"Jeremy Lin!"
The arena DJ shouted Jeremy Lin's name, his voice boiling with excitement.
The Knicks fans and bench players all stood and applauded.
Jeremy Lin had indeed played well in these few minutes, far exceeding everyone's expectations.
Chen Yan was also happy to see his teammate perform well.
He would not deliberately suppress Jeremy Lin, nor would he step aside just to let Jeremy Lin recreate Linsanity in this life.
He would simply play normally.
By the end of the quarter, Jeremy Lin had scored 7 points and enjoyed a brief moment in the spotlight.
The game lost its suspense in the 4th quarter.
Jeremy Lin played another half quarter during garbage time, scoring 4 points and adding 1 assist.
The Knicks easily defeated their opponent.
115 to 88.
In his Knicks debut, Jeremy Lin delivered an impressive performance of 11 points and 2 assists.
Chen Yan was not surprised by Jeremy Lin's performance.
He had the ability.
Jeremy Lin played well in this game, but the spotlight still belonged to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan easily recorded 39 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.
Kyrie Irving had 19 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds.
The box score looked good, but Kyrie Irving's 19 points came on 19 shots.
He was clearly dissatisfied with that efficiency.
After the game, Chen Yan walked up to Kyrie Irving and shook his hand.
Kyrie Irving thought Chen Yan was just being polite and greeting him.
But he did not expect Chen Yan to speak in the next second.
"Kyrie, I really like your playing style, and I think you have a lot of potential. Are you interested in joining my Li Ning studio?"
As an independent studio under Li Ning, Chen Yan could sign NBA players individually, similar to the relationship between Jordan Brand and Nike.
Kyrie Irving was stunned, frozen in place for 3 seconds.
He had been fully focused on how to defeat Chen Yan.
But Chen Yan had been thinking about how to use him to make money.
.....
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