Inside the locker room, Skiles had returned from the pre-game press conference. He gathered everyone to go over the pre-game plan.
"Anfernee," Skiles said, looking at Hardaway. "You’ll be handling the ball today."
With J Kidd’s unexpected injury, what could Skiles do? No matter how frustrated he was, the game had to go on. The first problem he needed to solve was who would take control of the ball now that J Kidd was out.
Move Tony Delk into the starting lineup?
That was clearly not a good option.
Looking at Tony Delk’s career, he was not a true point guard. The only thing he could do as a point guard was bring the ball past half-court and then pass it to someone else.
Controlling the pace of the game, passing the ball to where it needed to go—in these aspects, he and J Kidd were leagues apart.
Therefore, after a serious discussion with the coaching staff, Skiles decided to move Hardaway back to the one-spot.
Better to trust Hardaway than anyone else.
After all, among the many labels attached to Hardaway was "tall point guard."
Hardaway had evidently anticipated this outcome and nodded slightly in agreement.
Skiles continued, "Anfernee, you not only have to orchestrate the offense, you have to score. With Jason out, I need you to take on more responsibility."
He had to handle all the playmaking and even shoulder J Kidd’s perimeter defense responsibilities—becoming the true primary ball-handler.
Hardaway just nodded, his expression calm.
Skiles tried to find something in his eyes, but ultimately found nothing.
They would find out the results after the game was played.
"Finally, be patient. Pass the ball more, pay attention to your teammates’ positions, share the ball. Don’t rush the offense. I need a high success rate," Skiles added.
This had gradually become the core of the Suns’ tactical philosophy since the season began.
One reason was that several players on the team were relatively unselfish and willing to pass.
The other was that they were genuinely older and couldn’t run as much. If they forced the pace, Skiles was afraid they’d burn out too quickly. So, they simply slowed down, played methodically, passed the ball a lot, and looked for opportunities through ball movement to ensure a high success rate.
"Of course," Skiles said, looking at Hardaway again, "the ball is in your hands. If you need to force the issue, don’t hesitate."
Hardaway wasn’t like J Kidd.
When the shot clock was running down, even if J Kidd wanted to attack, he didn’t have the ability.
But Hardaway was different. His ability to score against a set defense wasn’t bad at all.
Passing was good, but this was the NBA. In clutch moments, you still needed a star to solve the problem.
Hardaway nodded again, his face betraying no emotion.
Chen Yu stood in the corner, arms crossed, silently observing Hardaway.
Hardaway’s reaction could be described as being perfectly calm on the surface, despite the storm brewing within.
’That conversation we had earlier might have actually worked.’
Chen Yu couldn’t help but feel emotional. ’Psychology is such a strange, powerful thing.’
Responsibility, fighting spirit, mentality.
Some stars are just stars, while other stars can be called superstars.
The difference is never just about skill; it’s about the things beyond skill.
’Looks like that psychological treatment effect wasn’t used in vain.’
During their earlier chat, when Hardaway had taken the initiative to ask about J Kidd’s condition, Chen Yu felt the conversation might be effective and had silently used a psychological treatment effect.
Even though it was only Bronze Level.
But now, it seemed to have worked.
At 8 PM, the US Airways Center was packed to the rafters.
This season, because the Suns had signed Olajuwon and Ewing back-to-back, their attendance had been consistently high.
It didn’t matter how old they were; they were still star players.
From ticket sales alone, signing those two was already worth it.
The players from both teams took the court.
Dressed in a gray suit, Alvin Gentry stood on the sideline as usual, waiting for the game to start.
His gaze fell on the Suns players.
A 38-year-old Olajuwon, a 35-year-old Robinson, and the starting shooting guard, the also 35-year-old Vinnie DeNegro.
The nickname "team of the old, weak, and injured" wasn’t a joke.
In contrast, for the Fast Ship’s five starters, the oldest, Jeff McInnis, was only 27.
The rest were all from the ’99 draft class, a mere 22 years old: Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, and Corey Maggette.
Young and talented—that was the best way to describe this Fast Ship team.
「Midcourt.」
The ’98 number one pick, Michael Olowokandi, faced off against a legend, the ’84 number one pick, Olajuwon. He leaped up and easily tipped the ball away.
Olajuwon’s jump was actually decent.
After surgeries on his knees and back, his vertical had recovered somewhat.
But failing to win the tip-off only proved once again that his listed height of seven feet was padded.
Olowokandi on the other side had the same official height, but when they stood together, he was clearly a bit taller.
However, in the twilight of his career, Olajuwon had grown accustomed to losing the tip-off. After landing, he quickly turned and got back on defense.
The Fast Ship pushed the ball with great speed.
Youth was their biggest advantage, and they naturally wanted to exploit it.
However, the fast break didn’t materialize right away.
Hardaway’s shadowing of the ball handler slowed the Fast Ship’s advance.
Skiles’s bread and butter was still defense.
This season, the Suns’ defensive resources were limited, but their perimeter defense was actually decent, thanks to J Kidd.
J Kidd’s shot was poor, but his perimeter defense was top-tier.
At the start of the season, Skiles had considered following the league trend and practicing a zone defense.
Look at the Wolves—with their zone defense, their record was excellent.
But only after practicing it did he realize that stuff required talent too; it wasn’t something you could master just by wanting to.
Seeing the poor results, Skiles had no choice but to change course and return to his familiar defensive strategies.
However, he still made some adjustments.
Because Olajuwon was old and slow to get back on defense, if they faced a fast team that liked to push for fast breaks, their interior would easily be left vulnerable.
So Skiles made a change: pressure the ball-handler high up the court.
The goal wasn’t to get a steal, but mainly to slow down the opposing team’s fast break, giving Olajuwon enough time to get back.
They had been practicing this all season, so even with J Kidd out, Hardaway filled in nicely and shouldered the responsibility.
After all, Hardaway had height, and his defense was above average.
Odom caught the ball and planted his feet. The other Fast Ship players cut back and forth. Spotting an opening, he made a bounce pass. Brand cut to the basket, received the ball, leaped, and threw down a thunderous dunk.
On the sideline, Gentry clapped for Brand.
Brand wasn’t tall and his athleticism was average, but he had a freakishly long wingspan. Combined with his strong body, his ability to attack the rim was exceptionally strong.
But in the next moment, Gentry’s brows furrowed slightly.
Unlike the Fast Ship’s fast, high-impact style of play, once the ball was in the Suns’ hands, it was like a car that had been speeding on the highway suddenly slamming on the brakes and returning to a congested city center.
Hardaway dribbled, advancing the ball up the court at a leisurely pace.
Beside him, Olajuwon and Vinnie DeNegro were slowly jogging into the frontcourt.
If Gentry had counted correctly, it took a full seven seconds for the ball to cross half-court and for Olajuwon to enter the paint.
It was like an old car. You turn the key, and the engine has to sputter a couple of times before it slowly rumbles to life.
And that wasn’t all.
Once everyone was in position, they began to run their plays methodically, just like in a team practice.
The ball moved, passed continuously.
The clock ticked down, second by second. With less than ten seconds left, they were still passing, as if they hadn’t noticed the shot clock was about to expire.
The key was, all this continuous ball movement wasn’t creating any good opportunities.
Finally, with only five seconds left, Marion caught the ball, drove to the basket, and made a floater.
It still came down to individual skill.
Gentry grimaced as he watched. He specialized in revitalizing a team’s offense, and watching the Suns’ offense now made him feel uncomfortable all over.
It was like driving an old car: turning the key, shifting gears, signaling, releasing the brake and clutch, and finally slamming the gas. You go through all the motions, only to look around and realize you’re slower than someone on a bicycle.
This was the first time the Fast Ship had played the Suns since the season began.
They had video analysts who collected and organized information on the Suns and submitted reports.
The reports mentioned the Suns’ slow offensive tempo, but Gentry hadn’t expected it to be *this* slow.
What frustrated Gentry even more was that the Suns’ sluggish pace was actually affecting the Fast Ship.
The Fast Ship kept trying to get out and run, to play fast.
’I know your players are old and mine are young, so why wouldn’t we play fast?’
But every single one of the Suns’ offensive possessions had an air of wanting to use the full 24 seconds, which completely disrupted the Fast Ship’s rhythm.
What frustrated Gentry even more was that in the time it took for him to be dazed by this, the Fast Ship had actually fallen behind.
At the end of the first quarter, the Suns led 27 to 21, a 6-point lead.
Gentry was a bit bewildered. He felt like the Suns hadn’t attacked much, while the Fast Ship, on the other hand, had been taking a lot of shots. Why were the Suns in the lead?
"Alvin, the shooting percentage!" Head assistant coach Dennis Johnson came over and showed the stat sheet to Gentry.
Gentry’s brow furrowed the moment he saw it.
In the first quarter, the Suns had only taken 19 shots.
The Fast Ship, meanwhile, had taken 25, a full 6 more than the Suns.
But the Suns’ shooting percentage was significantly higher, close to sixty percent.
Clearly, the Suns’ offensive success rate was higher.
Gentry scratched his head, his brow still furrowed. ’This doesn’t really prove anything.’ He thought for a moment and said, "Let’s just keep playing. Keep the score close. Our chance will come in the fourth quarter."
In Gentry’s view, the aging Suns’ most fatal flaw was stamina.
Last season with the Rocket, Olajuwon was also a starter, but he only averaged 26 minutes per game.
But this season with the Suns, his playing time had shot up, averaging 34 minutes per game. Moreover, analysis of the collected data showed that eighty percent of Olajuwon’s shots were concentrated in the first three quarters.
In other words, by the fourth quarter, he was gassed.
It was perfectly normal, given his age.
And this situation was likely common throughout the Suns.
So Gentry believed that even if they were trailing now, it wasn’t a big deal. Come the fourth quarter, they could use their youth to make a comeback.
The 22-year-old Brand and his teammates could play the entire game without any problem.
Still, their offense was having issues and they weren’t stopping the other team, so adjustments had to be made.
But no matter how the Fast Ship adjusted, the Suns remained the same.
Even Chen Yu, sitting on the bench, could feel that the Suns were playing a particularly dull game today.
That in itself was nothing new; the Suns had played like this before.
The key was Hardaway.
Chen Yu’s gaze was fixed on Hardaway. He was silently keeping a tally in his head.
Hardaway hadn’t attacked much.
Just defense and passing. He had practically transformed into a blue-collar role player, almost never initiating the offense himself unless it was the last resort.
At halftime, Hardaway was only 3 for 5 from the field, with 8 points.
His efficiency was decent, and he had orchestrated the team’s offense well enough to keep the Suns in the lead.
But Chen Yu felt something was wrong.
’He should be attacking. That’s his sharpest weapon.’
’This is the Fast Ship, a bottom-feeder team. Playing this way can get them a lead.’
’But against the Lakers, if you play like this, you’d be dead by halftime, let alone the full game.’
’Didn’t Skiles tell him to take on more responsibility? Is this how he’s doing it?’
And then in the third quarter, the Fast Ship had a surge and managed to fight their way back.
As the fourth quarter began and the point differential shrank, just when Chen Yu was starting to wonder if something was wrong with Hardaway, he suddenly changed.
He brought the ball to the high post, gave a hand signal, and waved for everyone to clear out.
Facing McInnis, he suddenly exploded, using a crossover to blow past him in a single step and charge toward the basket.
When Olowokandi rotated back to the paint, ready to defend, Hardaway came to a sudden stop, spun back toward the baseline, and leaped high into the air. His body seemed to hang there for a moment as he smoothly released the ball.
On the bench, Chen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
In that moment, Chen Yu thought he saw a shadow of Jordan in Hardaway.

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