Chapter 850: Like a Fish in Water

Chapter 850: Chapter 850: Like a Fish in Water

Chapter 850: Like a Fish in Water

Spain returned to offense.

Calderón calmly brought the ball across half court while Pau Gasol stepped up to screen.

Calderón moved laterally toward the right wing.

He reached the 3 point line at a 45 degree angle and prepared to shoot.

Sun Yue immediately lunged toward him.

Sun Yue’s physical tools allowed him to recover even after losing half a step. His length was enough to put a hand directly in Calderón’s line of sight.

Calderón was not a player who specialized in forcing contested jumpers.

He paused and swung the ball to Rudy Fernández.

Rudy gave a quick fake.

Drive.

Zhu Fangyu’s feet were half a beat slow, and Rudy gained a step.

Yi Jianlian immediately rotated over.

The lane closed.

Rudy leaned into Yi and continued forward, trusting his athleticism.

But at the final moment, he still chose to pass.

Yi had stayed attached to him too well.

Forcing the shot would have been difficult.

The ball went back outside to Sergio Llull.

Llull rose from the perimeter.

Chen rotated over.

Contest.

Clang!

Miss.

Spain had failed to score again.

At the broadcast table, Charles Barkley immediately pointed it out.

"Spain has had a couple of decent looks, but nothing is falling yet."

Kenny Smith nodded.

"That is the window China has to take advantage of. A team this good is not going to stay cold forever."

Sun Yue brought the ball across half court and lobbed it inside.

Yao Ming caught it in the post.

Instead of attacking, Yao kept his back to the basket and surveyed the floor.

Then he passed to Chen at the top.

Beyond the 3 point line.

Jonas immediately shouted from the sideline.

"Clear out!"

Before the game, China’s plan had been to establish the offense from the inside.

But Chen had opened the game with obvious aggression.

Jonas adjusted without hesitation.

Let him attack.

Whether Chen had been playing for Phoenix or New York, isolation had always been one of the most devastating weapons available to his team.

Jonas did not need to reinvent basketball.

If something worked, use it.

Rudy Fernández stood in front of Chen.

Spain had no intention of asking the smaller Sergio Llull to handle the matchup.

To Chen, the difference hardly mattered.

He lowered his stance.

Between the legs.

The ball moved into his left hand as Chen slid laterally.

Drag step.

Rudy moved with him.

Chen instantly changed direction and snapped the ball back to his right.

Rudy reacted.

Half a step.

He knew Chen might be setting him up.

But he had no choice except to follow.

Giving Chen open shooting space would be even worse.

Chen shifted his weight.

Accelerate right.

Rudy turned his hips and barely stayed attached.

Then Chen suddenly went behind the back.

Step back.

The ball settled into his left hand.

Rudy slammed on the brakes.

Chen hesitated.

Crossover.

Another dribble.

Rudy was gone.

The crowd exploded.

Every movement had been clean.

Controlled.

Flashy without being wasted.

Chen had completely dismantled his defender using nothing but his handle.

Then came the athleticism.

1 step before the free throw line.

Takeoff.

Pau Gasol saw him coming.

And moved.

Immediately.

Some situations could not be fixed with effort.

Once Chen had launched himself into the air with that much momentum, Pau had no interest in standing underneath him.

Boom!

Chen glided toward the rim and hammered the ball through.

7 to 0.

The arena erupted.

Spain came back down.

This time Pau demanded the ball inside.

Once he caught it, his teammates cleared the side.

Barkley leaned forward.

"Spain is struggling to create anything outside, so now they are going right back to Pau."

Kenny watched the matchup.

"And he has Yao Ming behind him. That is not an easy place to find points."

Pau lowered his shoulder.

1 bump.

Then another.

Yao held his ground.

The lighter version of Yao Ming had sacrificed some of the overwhelming power he once possessed as a post scorer.

That did not mean he had suddenly become easy to move.

Pau tried to force him backward.

Yao stayed planted.

Turn.

Shot.

Heavy contest.

Miss.

"Great defense by Yao," Kenny said immediately.

China was already running.

Chen sprinted upcourt with his hands raised.

Fast break.

Yao secured the rebound.

Looked up.

Long outlet.

Chen caught it in stride.

Attack.

He had no intention of slowing down.

Spain had opened cold.

Chen understood exactly what that meant.

This was the moment to apply pressure.

If China allowed Spain to settle into the game, an elite team like this would eventually punish them.

Chen accelerated toward the rim.

Rudy and Llull converged.

Both reached for him.

Grab.

Whistle.

They stopped the break before Chen could take off.

Chen walked to the free throw line.

First.

Swish.

Second.

Swish.

9 to 0.

Every Chinese point belonged to Chen.

The crowd was loving it.

Even neutral spectators were standing now.

Seeing Chen attack this aggressively in international competition was unusual.

Spain still did not call timeout.

Scariolo trusted his players to settle themselves.

This time, Pau went back to work inside.

He received the ball.

Footwork.

Fake.

Yao shifted.

Pau turned toward his left hand.

Hook.

Good.

9 to 2.

Spain was finally on the board.

Jonas immediately signaled toward his players.

Slow down.

Stay organized.

Follow the plan.

He knew Spain would not remain cold forever.

China came back down.

Sun Yue crossed half court.

Chen moved toward the ball.

Spain reacted immediately.

Calderón and Rudy trapped him.

Sun Yue saw the opening.

Drive.

He accelerated into the gap.

Sun Yue was not merely another international guard.

He had NBA experience himself.

Pau rotated from the paint.

Sun Yue drew him in.

Pass.

Yao caught it in the mid range.

Open jumper.

Release.

The ball circled the rim once.

Then again.

Out.

Pure bad luck.

Give Yao that same open look 100 times and he would make the overwhelming majority of them.

Spain immediately ran the other way.

Rudy attacked first.

Drive.

Kick out.

Calderón caught it.

3 pointer.

Swish!

9 to 5.

Barkley nodded.

"There it is. Spain is starting to wake up."

Kenny agreed.

"That is what good teams do. You cannot build your whole game plan around them missing shots. If China wants to win, they have to keep producing."

China returned to offense.

Yao moved to the high post.

Earlier in his career, Yao had been China’s primary scoring weapon.

Now his role had changed.

Facilitator.

Screener.

Interior defender.

Secondary scorer.

That adjustment had helped extend his career.

Chen circled behind him.

Hand off.

The moment Chen received the ball, he accelerated.

Yao naturally screened Rudy out of the play.

Pau switched.

Chen continued toward the free throw line.

Then suddenly stopped.

Reverse between the legs.

Pullback.

Pau tried to adjust.

That was already difficult enough.

Chen rose before he could recover.

Mid range jumper.

Chen seemed to hang in the air for an extra beat.

Release.

Swish.

11 to 5.

Pau could barely contest.

Honestly, staying upright through Chen’s change of direction was already an accomplishment.

Plenty of NBA stars struggled when moving from the league to international basketball.

Usually for 2 reasons.

Shooting.

And rules.

Some stars depended heavily on NBA spacing, officiating patterns, or specific interpretations that did not translate perfectly to FIBA basketball.

Chen had neither problem.

His shooting was elite from anywhere.

And his success had never depended on favorable rules.

Different court.

Different officiating.

Different defensive structure.

It did not matter.

Chen looked completely comfortable.

Like a fish in water.

His dominance had become so overwhelming in the NBA that David Stern had even considered whether certain rule adjustments might eventually be needed to keep games competitive.

Stern admired Chen and understood his enormous value to the league.

But even he knew there was a point where one player’s dominance could begin making competition feel predictable.

Here in London, there were no special NBA rules to worry about.

And so far, Spain was learning the same lesson everyone else already knew.

Chen Yan was still Chen Yan.

.....

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