Curry stared at the Kings' five-man lineup across from him and couldn't help swallowing hard.
"This pressure is unreal!"
"This lineup is so weird. Why would the Kings even practice something like this?" Thompson looked puzzled.
"Don't you get it?" Green's voice cut in. "This lineup was built specifically to counter us!"
Sharp as ever, Green immediately saw through the Kings' intentions.
The Warriors' small-ball unit could usually hold its own against normal-sized lineups, but against this five-forward setup, the Kings essentially had them pinned down.
In terms of size, the Kings had the advantage at every spot. And their mobility wasn't far behind the Warriors either. How do you deal with that?
On the bench, Malone sat with the faintest trace of a victorious smile on his face.
"Still too reckless."
Chen Yilun shook his head, leaning back into his chair until his whole body sank into it.
"Why, Sir?"
Tang Zhou, face full of excitement, turned toward him, confused.
"You'll see soon enough."
Chen Yilun picked up his phone with little interest and started fiddling with it.
Malone had wanted to test this lineup for a long time, but Chen Yilun had never been optimistic.
Rolling it out here in the Western Conference Finals was pure stubbornness on Malone's part.
And Chen Yilun had good reason to doubt it.
Everyone else believed the future of basketball belonged to tall, mobile lineups. But Chen Yilun knew the game had never actually developed that way.
The biggest reason? It just wasn't sustainable.
Pat Riley's blueprint imagined five tall forwards on the floor—each able to handle the ball, shoot, facilitate, and rebound.
But that was pure fantasy.
Try finding five players in the league who check all those boxes. You'd be lucky to get even a couple.
The only real fits were guys like LeBron James or Kevin Durant.
And no sane team could afford five LeBrons or five Durants.
So once executives realized that vision was only theoretical, they quickly changed course. Instead, the league began developing super centers with passing and shooting ability, paired with an elite perimeter scorer.
That's how duos like Jokić-Murray and Embiid-Maxey/Harden came about.
As for Malone's five-forward lineup, Chen Yilun could only call it a patchwork experiment.
Gay was already 30 and clearly on the decline. Still useful, but no longer a primary scorer.
Otto Porter Jr. had offense to spare but weak defense. He'd had a solid season with the Kings, but his biggest issue was inconsistency.
And Jae Crowder?
Chen Yilun had spent a year and a half developing him. He finally showed flashes of 3-and-D ability, but there was still a long way to go.
So in truth, only Butler and Thaddeus Young really fit the mold. The rest were just filling slots.
The lineup looked intimidating, but once tested, it was just a paper tiger—not nearly as scary as it seemed.
Sure enough, after some early jitters, the Warriors quickly realized this so-called "five-forward lineup" wasn't all that.
With Jokić on the bench, the Kings did gain mobility, but the defensive pressure wasn't overwhelming.
The bigger problem was their offense, which immediately bogged down.
The ball swung around the perimeter a few times without creating anything. Then it turned into Butler isolations. When Butler ran out of gas, Gay took over. When Gay tired, Porter tried. Then Thaddeus Young would bulldoze inside for a bucket or two.
It was crude and predictable.
The Warriors easily locked it up, and little by little, the lead began to stretch.
"What?!"
Malone stared at the unraveling scene, jaw hanging open.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Theoretically, this lineup was supposed to be the Kings' ultimate weapon against the Warriors. How had it turned into a scythe cutting them down instead?
Worse yet, the clock was running out.
The Kings were already trailing. Malone had thrown out this lineup to deliver a knockout punch and seize Game 2.
Instead, his clever plan backfired. In just a few minutes, the Warriors had widened the gap, pushing the Kings right to the edge of the cliff.
"Where did I go wrong?"
Malone gnawed at his thumb, completely lost.
Then a memory flickered back.
When he'd first prepared this lineup, Chen Yilun had dismissed it as hopeless. They'd even argued about it.
Instinctively, Malone turned to glance at him.
But Chen Yilun was slouched in his seat, fully absorbed in his phone, as if the court meant nothing to him.
Could this be part of your plan too?
A chill crept down Malone's spine.
For the first time, he felt genuine fear toward his partner.
Chen Yilun might seem careless day to day, but Malone knew better. That carefree attitude was all part of his smokescreen. When it mattered, he never held back.
And every move he'd made so far had been flawless.
Even in player development and tactical design—though he rarely overstepped—Chen Yilun's fingerprints were everywhere.
Could this man really never be wrong?
Malone's thoughts trembled with fear.
Whether Chen Yilun ever erred, he didn't know. But today, he himself had definitely made a colossal mistake.
Even when Jokić re-entered, the deficit had grown too wide to bridge. The Warriors shut down the Kings' comeback and sealed the win.
The Kings dropped Game 2.
The series was tied 1–1.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded, Chen Yilun turned off his phone and said flatly,
"I won't be joining the dinner tonight."
Then he walked straight out of the arena without a moment's hesitation.
"Wait, Sir?"
Tang Zhou sensed something was wrong, but he didn't dare stop him. He could only watch as Chen Yilun disappeared.
And Steve Kerr noticed it too.
"Did Yilun and Malone have a falling out?"
His curiosity flared instantly.
Though he couldn't hear from that distance, Chen Yilun's abrupt exit was a clear sign of discord.
"If they really are at odds, this could get interesting."
A sly smile crept onto Kerr's face. Remembering what Old Man West had told him, he thought:
"Maybe we really are in for a double celebration."
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