Chen Yu rembered reading a report sowhere that said the Phoenix Suns were a team with imnse offensive potential.
Because with their veterans, forr superstars, and stars, as long as they stayed healthy, no one knew when they might suddenly explode.
And in this ga, Ewing had clearly exploded.
"Fack!"
Staring up at the final score, Adelman, a coach who was usually so refined, couldn’t help but curse.
to 101.
The Kings lost!
Adelman replayed the entire ga in his mind, trying to pinpoint the reason for the loss.
The Suns’ ho-court advantage?
Perhaps not. The Kings’ performance had been normal. Peggy found his rhythm on the periter, hitting 5 of 7 three-pointers and racking up a team-high 26 points.
The other players had also perford well. Overall, they still played with a relatively smooth coordination and weren’t too affected by the ho court.
Of course, failing to contain Hardaway was probably one reason.
Hardaway shot 10 for 17 in this ga, once again efficiently putting up 26 points.
Adelman wasn’t too bothered by that.
’The man isn’t so nobody; he’s a superstar, the famous successor to Jordan. Completely shutting him down is easier said than done.’
But what Adelman hadn’t expected was that Ewing, a true 40-year-old veteran, would have a resurgence and score 22 points over the course of the ga.
’He only scored 8 points last ga.’
A frustrated Adelman didn’t fully snap out of it until the post-ga press conference, when the reporters’ flashbulbs went off in his face.
"Sorry, what was your question?" Adelman ca to his senses and looked at the reporter who had asked.
The reporter gave Adelman a puzzled look and repeated his question: "Rick, what are your thoughts on Ewing getting 22 points and 9 rebounds, especially given that he’s 40 years old? Do you think the Kings lost this ga because of Patrick’s outstanding performance?"
Adelman frowned and quickly gave a formulaic answer: "It’s incredible. Yes, he’s 40 years old, and he’s been in the league for a full 17 years, but he’s still one of the best centers on the planet. Look, he can still score 20 points. That’s not easy at all."
Even as he said this, Adelman couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
’Should I complain about Chen Yu?’
Just as predicted before the ga, both Ewing and Olajuwon had once again played for long stretches.
Olajuwon played 42 minutes, and Ewing played a full 40.
Without even having to think, seeing the two of them still full of energy in the second half, Adelman knew exactly who was responsible.
But the words died on his lips, and Adelman forced them back down.
’That’s Chen Yu, a league employee.’
Besides, playing in this league, who could say they’d stay healthy their whole career? What coach didn’t worry about his players getting injured, about a great talent being ruined by injuries and becoming useless?
In fact, when Weber got injured at the start of the season, it was Chen Yu who treated him.
Complaining about such a top-tier doctor was clearly not a good idea.
’As for Chen Yu helping the Suns as if he were cheating... if I look at it from another angle, right now Chen Yu is the Suns’ team doctor. But what if next season, he becos the team doctor for another team?’
’The Kings, for example. Wouldn’t that be great?’
’If I rember correctly, the dia reported that Chen Yu’s contract with the Suns is a one-year deal. Once this season ends, it’ll be up for renewal.’
’If you can poach players, why can’t you poach a team doctor?’
Instead of publicly complaining about and accusing Chen Yu, with no idea what the final outco would be, it was better to start planning how to poach Chen Yu and bring him to Sacranto during the sumr.
At this thought, Adelman’s perspective suddenly broadened.
’Setting aside the off-court factor of Chen Yu, the ga still has to be played. Even if these veterans can play a healthy 40 minutes, their age is still a factor. If Ewing were truly in his pri, he wouldn’t just be scoring 22 points; it would be 30, maybe even 40.’
’So Chen Yu’s thods have an impact, but not that much of an impact.’
’If Divac’s defense were better, would Ewing have still scored 22 points, no matter how much stamina he had?’
’I still need to look for reasons within my own team.’
So, when facing the reporters’ questions again, the newly enlightened Adelman was even in a slightly better mood. He felt that what he should be considering now was how to win the ga the day after tomorrow.
Adelman’s idea was clearly not an isolated one.
The day after the ga, Chen Yu’s clinic received an unexpected visitor.
The Mavericks’ head coach, Old Nelson.
He wasn’t just the Mavericks’ head coach; he was also their general manager.
Chen Yu gave Old Nelson a tour of his clinic, wondering about the purpose of his visit as they walked. ’Did a Mavericks player get injured?’
’I haven’t seen any news reports about it.’
’Besides, the Mavericks are on vacation. Even if a player really got hurt, that’s a personal matter. The player himself should be the one to co see .’
"So, you’re saying the Suns have been using all this high-tech equipnt in their daily training?" Old Nelson asked, eyeing the massive Floating Pod with a tone full of disbelief.
And then there was the vast amount of equipnt and machinery that filled the entire rehabilitation center.
Even for a seasoned veteran like him, who had been in the league for nearly 40 years, it felt like his eyes were being opened for the first ti.
Chen Yu found this a bit strange. "At the beginning of the season, I rember I compiled a lot of information and suggestions on training and sent it to every team. All these training thods and equipnt I’m talking about were docunted in there. What, you guys didn’t use any of it?"
So of the equipnt was exclusive to NASA and not easy for them to obtain, but other devices, like the Ultra-Low Temperature Freezing Chamber, could be acquired simply by spending money.
"We were planning to use it," Old Nelson said, a flash of embarrassnt in his eyes.
They had received the information, but it was quickly shelved and forgotten.
They were still skeptical of all this so-called high-tech equipnt. For example, the Ultra-Low Temperature Freezing Chamber... ’what’s wrong with a good old ice bath?’
And as for those other training devices and thods... with all the money teams spent, were the trainers they employed just freeloaders?
’Besides, every player is different, so their training thods should be different too. The Suns’ training thods can’t just be directly applied to the Mavericks’ players, can they?’ Old Nelson thought.
’Finally, I’ve been a coach for over twenty years. Do I really need soone to teach how to train players?’
And then there was that Five Animals Qigong. He had wanted to promote it, but the players weren’t interested, so it eventually ca to nothing.
As for those psychological chats, Old Nelson had no idea how Chen Yu managed to implent them with the Suns. He wanted to have heart-to-heart talks with his players, but they wouldn’t open up to him.
"Chen," Old Nelson said, quickly changing the subject to hide his embarrassnt and state his purpose. "This season is about to end. Have you considered taking a position in Dallas? We are very sincere and are willing to offer you an annual salary of 800,000 US dollars."
Chen Yu looked at Old Nelson in surprise. ’So, you’re here to poach ?’
"Sorry, Tang, I have no plans to leave Phoenix at the mont," Chen Yu said, shaking his head decisively.
’My clinic and my career are in Phoenix. Why would I leave?’
’And a re 800,000 US dollars... this is what you call "very sincere"?’
’With my current qualifications, I could earn an $800,000 salary anywhere.’
At the sa ti, Chen Yu didn’t have a good impression of the Mavericks or, more specifically, their owner, Kuban.
’He just has to show everyone how clever he is, right? Complaining to the league... such a petty guy. Working for a boss like that, you’re just asking for trouble.’
The Kolangelos might not be as wealthy, but at least they trusted people. No matter what Chen Yu did, they were willing to support him. That made them much better than Kuban.
Old Nelson was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Chen Yu to refuse so bluntly. He was about to say more, but Chen Yu stopped him.
"Tang, you don’t need to say any more. I really have no intention of leaving Phoenix," Chen Yu refused again.
Old Nelson opened his mouth, then closed it.
However, his visit to the clinic wasn’t a complete waste. Old Nelson suddenly realized that he might have missed out on a precious treasure right from the beginning of the season.
He decided that when he got back, he would go through the materials Chen Yu had given him and study them carefully.
"What was he here for?" Jordan asked curiously, watching Old Nelson’s car drive away.
With soone of Old Nelson’s stature visiting the clinic, Jordan naturally had to co and say hello.
"Take a guess," Chen Yu said with a smile.
Jordan shot Chen Yu a look. "Fine, don’t tell ."
He turned to leave, but after taking two steps, he suddenly whipped his head back and asked, "He wasn’t here to poach you, was he?"
Chen Yu was taken aback. ’This old rogue is actually pretty sharp.’
Seeing Chen Yu’s silent confirmation, Jordan exclaid, "You’re planning to leave Phoenix? Then why go to Dallas? Co to Washington! A million a year. If that’s not enough, we can negotiate. Anyway, I’m about to beco the owner of the Wizards. When you co to Washington, I’ll approve whatever you want to do."
If Chen Yu hadn’t already made it clear he wasn’t planning to leave Phoenix, Jordan would have tried to poach him long ago. Why would he have waited for Old Nelson to co all this way?
"Just get back to your training," Chen Yu said, waving his hand dismissively as he turned and left.
’Leaving Phoenix... I really have no such plans.’
’Where else could I find a city that’s just as big but has a better climate than Phoenix?’
On May 11th, Ga 4 between the Suns and the Kings began.
With a 2-1 lead, Skiles now just wanted to use their ho-court advantage to win one more ga.
A 3-1 lead would give them a huge advantage.
The Kings were clearly aware of this too. Before the ga, Adelman told the locker room directly to treat this ga like a Ga 7. They had to win.
"Vlade, I don’t care what you do, but you absolutely cannot let Ewing score over 20 points again." For once, a stern expression appeared on Adelman’s face.
Divac nodded forcefully. After being repeatedly isolated and scored on by Ewing in the last ga, he was nursing a fire in his belly too.
’If I can’t stop him, I’ll just foul him hard. I can’t let him have a smooth run for the whole ga.’
In this ga, Skiles’s strategy remained the sa, a continuation of the last one. As long as Chen Yu was around, why change tactics?
And in response to Peggy’s explosive performance last ga, Skiles also made specific arrangents, strengthening their wing defense.
However, Skiles never would have dread that in this ga, it wouldn’t be one of the Kings’ five starters who exploded, but a substitute.
Bobby Jackson!
This relatively unknown bench player turned into a "bench bandit" and decided the course of the ga.
Coming off the bench in the second quarter, he had a sudden, unexpected explosion. Facing Hardaway, who was leading the substitutes and playing the point guard position, he drained three consecutive three-pointers. One of them was a shot right in Hardaway’s face—a truly miraculous shot.
His outburst suddenly made Adelman take notice of this faster player, and he intentionally increased his playing ti in the second half.
After all, Bibi had been playing poorly in this series. Despite his strong upper body, he was struggling against the bigger, stronger J Kidd’s defense.
It was better to try the faster, more agile Bobby Jackson.
This change in strategy produced miraculous results.
It wasn’t that J Kidd couldn’t guard Bobby Jackson. The current J Kidd was in his pri; he had the physique, the footwork, and no shortage of experience.
Right now, you could say he was a top-tier defensive beast who could guard positions one through three. Other than a poor shot, he had almost no weaknesses.
But Bobby Jackson was just absurdly hot.
J Kidd wasn’t out of position, and his defense was solid, but once Bobby Jackson got the hot hand, he would shoot the mont he touched the ball, and it would go in.
He shot 11 for 15 for the ga, including 5 for 6 from three-point range, exploding for 27 points.
The key thing was, he only played for 28 minutes.
He was a true bench bandit in every sense of the word.
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