Chapter 60 The new season begins, a war of words with Pierce!
On October 5, the Suns' first preseason game started at the American West Arena at home. The opponent was the Rockets with the Yao-Mai combination.
Since the summer league is played in Las Vegas, this is Chen Yan's first appearance in the American West Arena wearing a Suns jersey.
Tickets for the game were sold out three days ago, and fans have been eager to see Chen Yan, a potential new star!
In addition, this game also has the selling point of the Chinese Derby.
It turns out it was just a gimmick.
Because Dayao only played 8 minutes in this game and made 1 of 1 shots from the field. He basically just did a few back and forth runs to get used to the rhythm of the game.
Chen Yan played 17 minutes in this game and scored 15 points.
In order to adjust the lineup for the new season, D'Antoni constantly replaced players, sometimes five up and five down, sometimes 3 with 2 main players and substitutes, and sometimes 4 substitutes with a main player sandwiched between them.
With his playing time cut into pieces, Chen Yan was already very efficient in scoring 15 points, basically at a level where he feels hot from the start.
What’s funny is that Chen Yan and Dayao’s playing time is staggered.
Therefore, this preseason "Chinese Derby" has turned into a virtual derby, and there is no scene of the two of them even being in the same frame on the field.
Tracy McGrady, another star of the Rockets that Chinese fans care about, played 11 minutes and made 1 of 3 shots. This can no longer be considered a stroke, it was just a formality.
The players have rested for the whole summer, and many of them have not regained their playfulness, so the coach will not let the main players play for too long in the first few games of the summer league.
For these stars, the preseason is a game to calm them down.
After the game, Chen Yan treated Dayao to a meal. The last time he was in Houston, it was Dayao who entertained him. This time in Phoenix, of course, he would do his best to be a landlord.
In the next few preseason games, D'Antoni still focused on adjusting the lineup.
He gave Barea, Azubuike and Barnes a lot of playing time and let them try out various players.
In these preseason games, Chen Yan's performance is still efficient, and he can basically score just by playing.
However, Chen Yan did not deliberately score points. The preseason itself was a warm-up game, and no one would take him seriously if he scored 100 points.
More importantly, I am taking the initiative to cooperate with Nash and Diaw, the team's high-quality passers, hoping to develop a tacit understanding with them as soon as possible to prepare for the upcoming regular season.
The 8 preseason games ended quickly, and the Phoenix Suns' record is 6 wins and 2 losses. They will have a week's rest, and then it will be the opening game of the new season!
During the training camp and preseason, new players such as Barea, Azubuike and Barnes also showed their strength.
But if they want to gain full trust from their teammates, they must prove themselves in the regular season and playoffs.
This is the same for Chen Yan.
Chen Yan originally thought that the income from playing in the summer league was low enough, but he did not expect that it would be even lower from playing in the preseason.
After 8 games, I only got 3 honor points, which is a miserable bunch.
Including the 8 honor points gained in the summer league, the total is 11 points.
After Chen Yan thought for a while, he replaced the 10 honor points with two attribute points in the [80]-[90] range, all of which were added to the three points.
Since the training period, Chen Yan has deeply felt the importance of three-pointers in the Suns' tactical system. In such a run-and-gun team, three-pointers are the soul.
After adding points, Chen Yan opened his personal panel.
【Name】:Chen Yan
【Height】:198cm
【Weight】:93kg
【Armspan】:218cm
[Bounce in place]:98cm
[Run-up bounce]: 105cm
【Ball Control】:90
【Speed】:92
【Stamina】:90
【View】:84
【Breakthrough】:90
[Laupup]:85
【CIC】:81
【Three points】:82
【Free throw】:80
【Pass】:85
【Moving Position】:90
【Steals】:88
【Strength】:76
【Backboard】:60
【Defense】:76
【Blocks】:68
【Spirit】:95
[Skills]: God-level ball stealing, answer crossover, shadow tracking, hot start (passive), perfect hand shape (passive)
Honor points: 1
Overall rating:a
In addition to three points, Chen Yan found that some other attributes also had slight changes compared to before.
This is the result of Chen Yan's training over the summer.
Looking at the attributes and skills on his panel, Chen Yan said that he was ready and waiting for the opening game!
...
...
On November 1st, the Phoenix Suns welcomed their first opponent of the new season, the Toronto Raptors, at home!
Last season, the Toronto Raptors ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference. After the introduction of Paul Pierce this season, the team's hard power has been further improved.
Coupled with strong young players such as Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, Calderon, and Bargnani, this Raptors is also hailed by the outside world as the team most likely to become the dark horse of the new season!
At the pre-game press conference, Pierce and Bosh attended as team representatives.
"Paul (Pierce), tonight's game is your first game with the Raptors, and it is also the first game for Suns No. 2 Chen. Can you comment on this rookie?"
"I don't know him. Maybe you can name some players I'm more familiar with, such as Nash." Pierce replied expressionlessly.
"We all know that you are one of the most comprehensive scorers in the NBA, and Chen is also a player who is good at scoring. He has broken the single-game scoring record in the NCAA Championships and Finals. Who do you think can score more points in this game today?
A high score?" The reporter continued to ask.
Pierce was already very upset when he was kicked out by his old club this summer. Now that the media is comparing him to a rookie, Pierce's anger suddenly increased.
"What?! What is this league? That rookie is praised like this by you without even playing a single NBA game? Can I interpret this question as you deliberately insulting me? Wait until he has some results before you compare with me.
!”
Pierce's outburst made the atmosphere at the scene suddenly become awkward. The reporters were silent collectively. Bosh stretched out his slender neck and looked around, wanting to leave but not daring to leave. It was very funny.
Soon, the reporter conveyed Pierce's words to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan knew that the media must be causing trouble, but Pierce's remarks really attacked him. Chen Yan was not a softie, and he had to respond.
"Pierce is right. I really don't deserve to be compared with him. I will never achieve the achievement of being stabbed 13 times in 35 seconds in my life."
In the early morning of September 25, 2000, Pierce had just entered a Boston dance club and had a conflict with others because he struck up a conversation with the sister of a gangster.
Pierce relied on his physical strength to resist other people's knives and performed a set of boxing techniques similar to military boxing. In the last 35 seconds, he was stabbed 11 times and almost died.
Pierce's friends quickly sent him to the hospital and performed surgery. Miraculously, he was discharged from the hospital in three days and resumed training one month later.
Although the true number of hits was 11, the opponent took 13 shots, and Chen Yan counted the two misses.
Chen Yan's answer made the reporters laugh. If Pierce heard this, he would probably be furious on the spot.