Loyola University Arena.
Chen Yu, along with general managers, head coaches, and even players from all 28 teams in the league—a crowd of nearly 300 people—gathered together, creating an incredibly lively scene.
The turnout was so massive, you could say even the draft itself wasn’t this lively.
On the court, Yao Ming was undergoing tests under the guidance of former Pioneer coach Carlesimo. A rookie from the University of Oregon, Christofferson, had also been selected to assist with matchup drills.
Brian sat beside Chen Yu, flipping through the physical measurement report.
Yao Ming’s test results showed clear strengths and weaknesses.
His height was, of course, his greatest strength, but his wingspan and hand size were also considerable weaknesses.
But his agility was very good.
"His physicality is a bit lacking," Chen Yu remarked casually.
Brian, beside him, hadn’t yet spoken when Pat Riley on the other side nodded in agreement. "That’s right. He’s a little light. I’m afraid he won’t be able to hold his ground under the basket."
His somewhat slender frame gave the impression that he would fall over with a single bump.
After speaking, however, Riley realized Chen Yu probably hadn’t been talking to him. He gave an awkward smile and said, "Chen, do you think he’ll develop injuries if he puts on more weight?"
Just as Chen Yu was about to speak, Brian gave him a subtle nudge.
Chen Yu immediately changed his tune. "That, I don’t know. It’s hard to say for sure."
Riley pursed his lips and, taking the hint, didn’t ask again.
Brian then led Chen Yu to sit a little farther away.
It wasn’t that Riley had come specifically to fish for information. He had seen the news that Chen Yu had set up a sports lab and came over to ask what it was for.
After they moved, Brian asked the same question: would gaining weight increase the risk of injury?
"There’s definitely a risk, but I think it should be manageable," Chen Yu said.
The test results showed that Yao Ming weighed 296 pounds, or 134 kilograms.
That weight wasn’t light at all; it was already in O’Neal’s ballpark.
Of course, he was also 10 centimeters taller than O’Neal.
The reason he looked slender was mainly due to his upper body. His lower body strength was actually immense, with legs that were frighteningly thick.
In other words, Yao Ming had a very stable base, allowing him to hold his ground under the basket. However, he was lacking in the upper-body tussles that followed, as his shoulder and back muscles weren’t strong enough.
Like a tumbler doll, if the upper body strength is insufficient, it’s still easy to be knocked over.
Therefore, the weight gain should focus on his upper body.
"I feel like he could actually trim down his lower body a bit and add more weight to his upper body to make him more balanced. Getting his weight to around 140 kilograms would be best, striking a balance between physicality and agility."
Chen Yu thought for a moment before adding, "In any case, I personally don’t think that just piling on weight is a good way to deal with O’Neal."
Look at Eddie Curry from last year, who caused a sensation in the league. Countless people hailed him as the "Little Shark." He also entered the league as a heavyweight and was dubbed by the media as the ultimate answer to countering O’Neal.
And what was the result? He still got schooled by O’Neal so badly he didn’t know which way was up.
Blindly adding weight puts too much strain on the body. For someone like Yao Ming, who has the height, a stable base, can hold his ground, and is also sufficiently agile, being more like Olajuwon would actually be better.
Besides, there’s only one O’Neal, and dealing with him is a team effort anyway.
Brian looked at Chen Yu in surprise. "Chen," he said, unexpectedly, "I’ve noticed your understanding of the game has improved a lot."
Chen Yu shot him an irritated glare. ’Is he complimenting me or insulting me?’
Still, having been a team doctor for the past two years, following the team’s training, he had indeed picked up a lot just by being around it all.
So, Chen Yu decided to bring Brian back down to earth. "Of course, the prerequisite for you to even consider these problems is getting a top-three pick and actually drafting him."
With the fourth-worst record, the Knight had a 12% chance of drawing the first overall pick.
A one-in-ten chance might not sound bad, but the actual probability was very low.
Despite this, when he had run into Knight’s General Manager, Jim Paxson, earlier, Paxson had quietly complained to Brian, saying that Brian had robbed them of their first-round pick.
It wasn’t that Robinson wasn’t good enough, but now, seeing Yao Ming’s draft prospects, they felt they had gotten the short end of the stick, as if they had missed out on a grand prize.
Speaking of the lottery, Brian chuckled slyly and put an arm around Chen Yu’s shoulder. "Anyway, the lottery ceremony is coming up soon. You should go. We need to borrow some of your good luck. You have to help us draw a good pick."
The lottery ceremony was on May 19th in New Jersey, which was indeed coming up soon.
The workout lasted for two hours.
It was clear that the continuous travel had taken a toll on Yao Ming’s condition.
He wouldn’t be staying in the United States for long, either; he was scheduled to return to his country the next day to prepare for the World Championship and the Asian Games.
Aside from the Bulls and the Nicks, whom the league had granted special permission to speak with Yao Ming privately, no other teams got the chance to meet with him one-on-one.
This was another point of contention for Brian.
But it all came down to the same thing: what pick they ended up with was the key.
That night, Chen Yu returned to Phoenix.
This three-day trip had a significant impact. Not only was he unable to treat Xiaobei and the others, but he also missed out on farming a large amount of experience points each day.
No experience points meant no treatment effect.
He had promised Eriksson that Xiaobei would be back by May 20th, so Chen Yu couldn’t afford to waste much time.
Chen Yu even began to consider whether he should travel with the team to Sacramento for the first two away games of the series against the King.
There was a game on May 4th, a day off, and then another on May 6th.
He would have to leave for Sacramento a day early and would only return to Phoenix the day after the second game.
The round trip would take a full five days. How many experience points would he miss out on farming?
But after careful consideration, Chen Yu decided to go with them anyway.
Gerrard was almost fully recovered by now, and Van Bronckhorst didn’t have the pressure of the World Cup, so it wouldn’t be a problem even if his recovery stretched into June or July.
Then there was Guardiola, who had already agreed to come to the United States for treatment. He also knew he wouldn’t make it to the World Cup, so the pressure to heal him wasn’t as great; a slow recovery over the summer would be fine.
So that only left Xiaobei. If he intensified the treatment effects, it should still be manageable.
There was one other thing, though. Ronaldo had invited him to Italy to watch the final round of the Serie A season on the 5th.
Chen Yu was torn about whether or not to go.
After thinking it over, Chen Yu decided to book a flight ticket first, just in case.
If they won the game on the 4th, he would fly directly from Sacramento to Italy.
Out of the two away games, winning just one would be enough.
If they lost, he would have to apologize to Ronaldo.
On May 3rd, after resting for several days, the Phoenix Suns departed for Sacramento.
On the morning of the 4th, the team scheduled one final practice session.
After sweeping the Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns had effectively rested for five days. Their condition had greatly recovered, but there was also a fear of being too well-rested and getting rusty.
Chen Yu and Nelson stood on the sidelines, watching the team practice.
"Focusing on defense?" Chen Yu asked casually.
The team was currently focused on practicing defense, specifically man-to-man. They were drilling how to quickly get around screens after an opponent’s pick-and-roll.
They were also practicing how to execute help defense and cover defensive gaps when an opponent cuts to the basket off a pick-and-roll screen.
It seemed like Skiles was planning to rely on defense to beat the King.
It made sense when you thought about it.
Because of their aging roster, this Phoenix Suns team didn’t have explosive scoring ability.
Without three-pointers, their scores were bound to be on the lower side.
The King, on the other hand, had the most spectacular offense in the entire league, with top-tier scoring ability.
Trying to outscore them was clearly not an option.
That meant they could only rely on defense to limit the King’s scoring.
At first, Chen Yu had thought Skiles would opt for a zone defense, but now it seemed he was sticking with man-to-man.
Thinking about it carefully, a zone defense wasn’t a great choice either.
The King used a lot of off-ball movement and screens. Against a zone defense, their constant motion could easily create mismatches.
And since all five positions on the King’s roster had formidable offensive skills, man-to-man was the better option.
Nelson nodded and added, "I’m just worried that Hakeem and the others won’t have the stamina to keep up."
You could say the King ran even more than the Mavericks.
This would be a huge test of Olajuwon and Ewing’s stamina.
Chen Yu smiled. "Well, that’s why I came along, isn’t it?"
Let Kuban complain if he wants. Even if the league really investigated, Chen Yu wasn’t too concerned.
’So what if I give massages? And so what if they’re a little more effective than usual? What are they going to do about it?’
The game was at eight o’clock at night.
Inside the Phoenix Suns’ locker room, Chen Yu led Nelson and the others, methodically carrying out pre-game preparations.
Everyone was busy with their own tasks, and the atmosphere was relaxed, not tense at all.
This was normal. They were all battle-hardened veterans who had seen everything. It was impossible for them to feel nervous.
"Chen, are you really leaving after the game?" Hardaway asked.
Due to the time difference, if Chen Yu wanted to make it to tomorrow’s match, he would have to leave right after the game tonight.
Chen Yu sighed. "It’s not certain. If you guys lose, I won’t go. To be honest, I don’t really want to go. The schedule is too tight, and it feels a bit like it’s not worth it, just to see one game."
Hardaway laughed. "You should still go. After all, this would be Ronnie’s first Serie A title. He specially invited you because he wants you to be there to witness him win the championship."
At this, Hardaway’s smile faded.
’Ronaldo was one step away from a title, but he himself had no idea how far he still was from a championship ring.’
"Keep fighting," Chen Yu said, immediately guessing what Hardaway was thinking, and patted him on the shoulder.
Hardaway nodded firmly, then subconsciously glanced over at J Kidd on the other side, his brow furrowing slightly.
In the previous two seasons, perhaps because of his injuries and poor form, Hardaway hadn’t felt this way.
But this season, playing while healthy, with his body fully recovered, he was slowly starting to feel it.
Hardaway felt that he and J Kidd were somewhat incompatible.
To put it simply, when he played the two-guard, Hardaway felt it was a waste of his playmaking and passing abilities.
In terms of playmaking, passing, and controlling the pace of the game, his skills overlapped with J Kidd’s.
Of course, he could score, and score a lot. There seemed to be no problem with him acting as a pure scorer who could break down defenses.
But in his heart, Hardaway still saw himself as a point guard.
Or rather, a player with more responsibility—a ball-dominant playmaker. He would control the ball, and when his teammates were in form and had a hot hand, he would be the one passing and creating opportunities for them.
When his teammates were having an off night, he would be the one to attack the defense and close out the game.
That was the perfect version of himself in Hardaway’s mind.
It wasn’t that Hardaway thought J Kidd was bad. J Kidd’s playmaking was top-tier, and his defense was outstanding.
But Hardaway still felt that it was a waste of both their talents, that they weren’t a perfect match.
But these were just thoughts. Hardaway quickly retracted his gaze.
Winning the game in front of him was the most important thing right now.

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