Chen Yu walked over with a wry smile.
"Chen, you’re back?" Beckham’s eyes lit up. He wasn’t angry about the alarm clock and came forward to give Chen Yu a hug.
He could now move around without his crutches.
"I watched the game. Ronaldo is just too good. He saved Inter all by himself," Beckham said excitedly.
He had watched that Inter match too.
Chen Yu used the Eye of All-Seeing to scan Beckham’s foot.
Even though Chen Yu had been away for a few days, Beckham’s recovery should still be on schedule.
After all, the system’s effects were continuous and cumulative.
"Is he always like this?" Chen Yu asked, pointing to the second floor.
’Is that any way to treat your fans?’
Beckham quickly shook his head.
But Chen Yu had a pretty good idea. With Jordan’s foul temper, Beckham was clearly dreaming if he thought they could be good neighbors.
"Michael, you have twenty minutes to report to the rehab center. If you’re late, today’s training volume doubles," Chen Yu shouted up to the second floor.
"Fack!"
Jordan’s complaint came from the upstairs bedroom.
Chen Yu just smiled, ignored him, and led Beckham to the rehab center.
There was a lot to do today.
First, he needed to grind for experience. After being away for a few days, the residual rehab effects weren’t enough, and he couldn’t rely on his skills alone.
Second, he planned to start working on the matter he’d promised Vogel back in Chicago. He needed to recruit doctors, rent a space, find a construction company for renovations, and procure the necessary equipment.
Then there was his own sports lab. For some teams, the offseason had already officially begun, so Chen Yu had to think about opening for business and contacting clients.
Having been away for several days, there was also a pile of administrative work at the clinic waiting for him.
He also had to attend Gerrard’s farewell ceremony in the afternoon.
And tonight was the game against the Kings, which meant he had to get to the arena early.
Chen Yu sighed quietly. ’If I had agreed to stay in Italy with Ronaldo, I’d probably be sunbathing on the Mediterranean Sea right now.’
At five in the afternoon, after seeing Gerrard off, Chen Yu rushed to the US Airways Center.
"Scott, you got a minute?" After briefly explaining his work plan, Chen Yu knocked on the door to Skiles’ office.
"Sure."
Skiles hurriedly got up, welcomed Chen Yu in, and cleared the clutter off his sofa.
His office wasn’t small, but tactical materials, video tapes, and all sorts of miscellaneous items were piled up into small mountains.
Chen Yu placed two elegantly wrapped boxes of Italian Perugia chocolates on the desk. "These are for George and the others."
When he returned from his trip, Moratti had, as usual, thoughtfully prepared plenty of souvenirs for him.
"Thanks." Skiles didn’t refuse. He handed Chen Yu a drink and then asked what was on his mind.
Chen Yu noticed he was looking at rookie reports.
The Suns’ lottery pick hadn’t been assigned a specific position yet, so they couldn’t be sure if they could draft Yao Ming.
Even if they did manage to draft Yao Ming, they still had to go through the scouting reports.
If you don’t have a draft pick, you can always trade for one.
Once this season ended, a few of the team’s veterans were sure to retire, so they would need to reinforce the roster.
Add to that the Kings game tapes scattered everywhere, and it was clear the head coach’s workload was anything but small.
And an academic-style coach like Skiles was usually a workaholic.
"Here’s the thing." Chen Yu cut to the chase, explaining that he had to attend to the National Team, which meant he might not be in the country for the Finals.
Skiles’s focus, however, was on something else entirely. He asked thoughtfully, "Chen, do you think we can still make it to the Finals this season?"
Chen Yu was taken aback. ’Don’t you have any confidence as the head coach?’
Skiles seemed to guess what Chen Yu was thinking. He gave an embarrassed smile and sighed, "I really haven’t thought that far ahead. After all, both the Kings and the Lakers are very strong. Getting out of the West is no simple task."
He remarked with a sigh, then added, "But you’re right. You have your own things to do and you’re busy. We can’t be too dependent on you."
He frowned, looking troubled.
How did they win the first game? They won it by playing Olajuwon for 45 minutes.
How did they lose the second game? They lost because Olajuwon ran out of gas.
But Chen Yu’s words were a wake-up call for Skiles. They couldn’t rely on Chen Yu forever; they had to find another way to win.
Playing Olajuwon for 48 minutes was great, but even with Chen Yu’s help, the toll on a veteran approaching 40 was just too high.
What if he got injured?
"Okay, well, you think about a strategy. I’m heading to the locker room first. But I’m not leaving yet, so there’s no rush," Chen Yu said as he got up to leave.
At six in the evening, the Kings arrived at the US Airways Center.
In the locker room, assistant coach Elston Turner returned and reported what he’d learned from the reporters.
"I thought he would’ve stayed in Italy for a couple more days," Adelman grumbled, frowning.
Beside him, Pete Carril sighed. "Then for this game, we have to prepare for the possibility of Olajuwon playing 48 minutes."
Adelman nodded.
In the last game, when Chen Yu was absent, it was so obvious with Olajuwon. He was clearly gassed in the second half.
And this game would probably be a repeat of the first one.
"Forget it." Adelman waved his hand dismissively. It was unrealistic to hope Chen Yu would stay away forever. He looked up and said, "We’ll stick to the same game plan as last time."
They won the last game, which proved that leaving Kidd open and double-teaming Hardaway worked. Since it worked, why not keep doing it?
Kidd’s shot really was pretty bad.
The main thing was to have Weber operate near the paint, using his outstanding athleticism to help on defense and stop the Suns’ penetration.
At eight P.M., the game began.
The stands were in an uproar because Jordan was at the game, sitting in the front row with his legs spread, looking like a total boss.
Suns’ ball.
Kidd handled the ball, his eyes scanning the court.
Under the basket, Ewing had established deep post position, sealing off Divac, and was actively calling for the ball.
After a slight hesitation, Kidd lobbed the ball into the post.
Olajuwon had intended to come up to the high post to set a screen for Kidd, but seeing this, he immediately turned and started to cut to the basket.
"Don’t need it."
Unexpectedly, Ewing roared, backed Divac down twice to create space, and smoothly sank a hook shot.
Olajuwon stopped in his tracks and glanced at Ewing in confusion. When they were taking the court earlier, he had sensed that Ewing was unusually quiet, as if something was on his mind.
The Kings’ offense was the same as always: a pass-and-cut system that took team basketball to its peak.
For this game, the Suns continued their defensive strategy from the previous two games: lock down Bibi on the perimeter and contain Weber in the paint, preventing him from playmaking and driving.
The tactic was clearly effective. The Kings’ ball movement slowed down considerably. However, that old fox Divac was still adept at finding opportunities. He threw a long pass across the court, and Peggy galloped over, pulled up, and shot.
As a Three-Point Contest champion with a high release point, he sank the shot steadily, even with Marion defending him tightly.
On the sideline, Frank Johnson said in a low voice to Skiles, "Actually, we have three-point shooting ability too. And I feel like over the last two years in the league, especially this year, more and more teams are shooting threes."
The introduction of the defensive three-second rule had, to some extent, forced teams to shift their offensive focus to the perimeter.
And when it came to perimeter shooting, the three-pointer was clearly more cost-effective.
And the Suns had stockpiled several three-point shooters.
Skiles nodded thoughtfully. When adjusting tactics before the game, he had already been considering increasing their three-point attempts during rotations.
Chen Yu’s reminder couldn’t be ignored. Even with Chen Yu here for this game, Skiles planned to use a normal rotation and put more effort into utilizing his bench.
The multi-million dollar-a-year Gugliotta had only played a total of 9 minutes in the first two games. It was a complete waste.
"Hm?"
Just as he was thinking this, Skiles frowned slightly.
On the court, Ewing was calling for the ball again. Skiles felt that Ewing seemed particularly assertive today.
Late in the season, after kicking up a fuss, Ewing had successfully been promoted to the starting lineup at the five-spot. He had also willingly changed his role, gladly doing the dirty work, and his shot attempts had decreased significantly. This was the first time he had been this aggressive in demanding the ball to score.
But thinking back to before the game, Skiles hadn’t noticed anything unusual about Ewing.
It was the same old routine: seal off Divac, back him down toward the basket, a quick fake left and right, then pull back for a bank shot. And it went in.
Watching Ewing run back down the court, an idea suddenly struck Skiles.
’Perhaps having Ewing do the dirty work at the five-spot is a waste of his offensive talent.’
He was, after all, a superstar whose offensive post moves were textbook. After Chen Yu’s treatments this season, his physical condition was decent. He could definitely play more.
"Frank, what do you think about moving Patrick back to the bench?" Skiles asked, turning his head.
Frank Johnson was stunned for a moment. He gave Skiles a strange look, as if to say, ’Have you forgotten? Ewing caused a scene late in the season precisely because he was unhappy about being a backup and got into it with Olajuwon.’
But Skiles wanted to say that Ewing’s issue back then wasn’t about being a backup in general; it was about being Olajuwon’s backup. He felt Olajuwon wasn’t performing well and that he could do better as a starter.
Skiles looked at the court. "We could maybe move Hakeem back to the five, and then start Tom."
Weber covers a lot of ground and can act as a playmaker, but don’t forget the Kings also have Divac. His passing is also a crucial part of their pass-and-cut offense.
Divac also likes to drift out to the perimeter, and Ewing has some trouble keeping up with him.
"Let’s have Hakeem guard Divac, and put Tom on Weber. Hakeem can provide help defense at the rim as needed. Tom’s defense is average, but he’s shorter, has a standard power forward’s build, and is more agile. If he works hard, he should be able to cause Weber some trouble."
"On offense, he can also stretch the floor. He has enough shooting range, which will open up the paint for us."
"Then we move Patrick to the bench, pair him with Teiron, let him play about 20 minutes, reduce the wear and tear on both him and Hakeem, and give him more shooting opportunities to score off the bench."
In the starting lineup, Ewing is the fourth or fifth option on offense, which is a bit of a waste of his scoring ability.
"The Kings’ coordination and offense are just too good. I don’t think even the Lakers could completely shut them down. So we might as well focus on finding ways to improve our own offense." Skiles wasn’t someone who adapted easily, but the current situation was forcing him to make a change.
Frank Johnson nodded thoughtfully, but he was thinking, ’It’s already the playoffs. Isn’t it a bit too late to be adjusting the lineup?’
While the two were talking, Ewing was once again posting up Divac down low.
A back-down, a spin back, and a smooth pull-up jumper that swished through the net.
Divac waved his arm in frustration. ’I don’t think I flopped that much last game. What’s gotten into Ewing? Why is he targeting me like this?’
At the side of the court, the slouching Jordan suddenly sat bolt upright and cursed, "Fack."
When Ewing ran past him and shot him a pointed glance, it suddenly dawned on Jordan. ’That guy... he’s doing this on purpose, right in front of me.’
"Shit, he really holds a grudge."
Watching Ewing run off, Jordan couldn’t help but mutter.

Comments

Loading...