"Any regrets?" Chen Yu gestured for Guardiola to sit down and asked with a smile.
Guardiola sighed and turned to look out the window.
In ’94, when he was subbed off in the 69th minute, he probably never dreamed that it would be his final appearance in the World Cup.
"If I said no, would you believe me?" Guardiola turned his head back and asked in return.
Chen Yu smiled, stood up, and said, "Get ready. Surgery is first thing tomorrow morning."
The 24th, Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
Chen Yu drove to the US Airways Center early.
"You were looking for me?" Chen Yu asked as he pushed open the door to Brian’s office.
Brian quickly stood up, tossed Chen Yu a drink, and then pushed a contract over. "Take a look. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, we can discuss it."
After speaking, he snuck a slightly nervous glance at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu picked it up and saw that it was his own contract.
It wasn’t thick. There weren’t many clauses, and Brian hadn’t dared to add any stipulations like requiring him to travel with the team for away games.
Chen Yu flipped to the back.
Annual salary: 1 million US dollars.
Although this was practically a minimum salary among NBA players, for a team doctor, it was definitely the highest salary in the entire league.
As for the term, it was still one year.
Brian had probably wanted to extend the term but didn’t dare.
A one-year contract was clearly more advantageous for Chen Yu.
After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu picked up a pen and signed his name.
’There’s no need to overthink it. I probably won’t be leaving Phoenix for at least a few years anyway.’
"This calls for a celebration." Seeing Chen Yu sign his name, Brian cheerfully collected the contract, turned to get some glasses, and said they should celebrate.
It was still early before the game, so they had time. The two chatted idly while drinking.
The conversation turned to Yao Ming.
"By the way, has the Eastern Team made their demands yet?" Chen Yu asked.
Brian nodded. Before, nothing was certain, but now that it was, they could naturally start negotiating in earnest.
"I’m not in a hurry. That’s a headache for his agent." Brian pursed his lips and added, "It’s actually quite a hassle. Not only do we have to deal with his home team, but also the Chinese Basketball Association. Chen, I really don’t get why Yao needs his country’s basketball association’s permission just to play abroad."
Like the United States Basketball Association, who the fuck listens to them? They have no authority over the NBA, nor any of its players.
Chen Yu shrugged. "I’d like to know that too."
It felt pretty absurd.
Brian continued, "I have a feeling the Basketball Association, or rather, their Basketball Management Center, is going to be a lot of trouble, because we’ll need them to issue a letter of clearance. But you could help out when the time comes. That Director Yao you met last time you were in China is part of the Basketball Association and has a certain amount of power."
"Oh, right, you’re also with the union. If Yao comes to the NBA, shouldn’t you guys at the Players’ Union also step in to help coordinate?"
Chen Yu paused for a moment. If Brian hadn’t mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten that he was a member of the Players’ Union himself.
"You’d have to ask Michael Curry about that," Chen Yu shrugged.
’Speaking of which, since the Suns are giving me a raise, shouldn’t the league and the union give me a raise too?’
Brian waved his hand in frustration, not wanting to talk about Yao Ming anymore, and asked if Chen Yu had his travel plans sorted out.
Chen Yu was set to depart the next day.
Chen Yu put down his glass and said with a laugh, "Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to bring you back a souvenir."
With that, he stood up and left.
The team being down 0-2 didn’t affect the medical staff. Everyone still went about their pre-game duties as usual.
"I have a feeling we’re going to get blown out today." During warm-ups, Nelson glanced at Olajuwon, who was seriously practicing his Five Animals Qigong, and said with a lack of confidence.
For this game, Skiles had already decided on a lineup change.
Ewing was back on the bench, with Olajuwon starting at center.
However, unlike when they played the Kings, Skiles made another personnel adjustment.
He also moved Gugliotta to the bench, starting Teylon Hill instead.
Although they were giving up on the double-team, they still had to play defense.
But Skiles, who was counting on Olajuwon to score more, didn’t want him to expend too much energy on defense. That’s why he was starting Teylon Hill, to share some of the defensive pressure in the paint.
At the same time, he would also help guard Old Horry.
He was a purely defensive blue-collar player; this was his job. Expecting Gugliotta to focus on defense was less useful than having him sink a couple more shots with the second unit.
Chen Yu laughed and said, "Don’t be so pessimistic. I’ve always felt our lineup at the start of the season was pretty strong."
This season, the Suns and Lakers had faced each other four times.
The last game was in late March. By then, the Suns had already changed their lineup, moving Ewing into the starting five.
And they lost that game.
But in the three games before that, when Olajuwon was starting, the Suns were actually 2-1 and had played pretty well.
This showed that this lineup was actually effective.
Of course, regular-season results didn’t mean much. This was the playoffs, where the loser goes on vacation.
"I hope we can win," Chen Yu sighed. ’I’m about to leave; I really don’t want to see the team lose.’
At 7 PM, the game officially began.
NBC Television was broadcasting live.
In the studio, the commentators, besides Kevin Johnson and Hanna Strom, also included guest NBC television analyst and NBA legend, Bill Walton.
The "Red Giant" was dressed in a well-fitting suit, a humble and gentle smile on his face, but his answer to Kevin Johnson’s question was extremely sharp.
"While I sympathize with Patrick and think he deserves a Championship Ring, the Lakers are truly stronger than the Suns. And Hakeem, he should really be considering retirement too."
Kevin Johnson grimaced. ’You’ve really got some nerve,’ he thought.
But after the first two games, anyone with eyes could see that the aging Olajuwon and Ewing couldn’t stop O’Neal.
And if they couldn’t stop O’Neal, the Suns could forget about winning.
After a moment of contemplation, Kevin Johnson continued, "But Bill, the Suns have made a lineup adjustment, moving Ewing back to the bench. Do you think a change like this will be effective?"
Bill Walton pursed his lips. "If Hakeem were 10 years younger, maybe this adjustment would work. But right now, I think Scott just doesn’t know what to do anymore. Just on the issue of who starts between Patrick and Hakeem, how many times has he tinkered with it?"
He adjusted it during the regular season, and then in the playoffs against the Kings, he adjusted it again.
With just that small group of players, he’s already gone through several starting lineups.
Kevin Johnson said, "Actually, Olajuwon has played very well this season, and it’s incredible that he’s managed to stay healthy. Chen’s contribution has been huge. There were media reports earlier saying that Chen plans to leave Phoenix after this season, though I don’t know if that’s true or not."
Mentioning Chen Yu made Bill Walton think of that bunch of butchers on the Trail Blazers.
’If it weren’t for them, I should have had a much more glorious career.’
After a moment’s thought, Bill Walton said, "I think any team in the league that wants to contend for a championship should do everything in their power to get Chen. His value to a team is immense."
A team contending for a championship isn’t afraid of being weak; they’re afraid of player injuries.
To be able to keep Ewing and Olajuwon, plus a bunch of other veterans, healthy for an entire season—Chen Yu is definitely the ultimate asset for a championship run.
The two of them weren’t optimistic about the Suns’ last-minute lineup change, but once the game started, they were a bit dumbfounded.
At halftime, the Suns were surprisingly up 58-52, leading the Lakers by 6 points.
At the arena.
The players from both teams had already left the court.
A white-haired Phil Jackson stood on the sideline, silent and expressionless.
He couldn’t quite figure out how the Lakers had fallen behind.
In the first two games, especially the last one when Ewing fouled out, Jackson had felt that the Suns were at their wits’ end, with no tricks left up their sleeve.
Therefore, in Jackson’s script, the Lakers were supposed to win at least one of the next two games, if not both, then return home to win the series 4-1, a gentleman’s sweep of the Suns.
But after this first half, that feeling of having a guaranteed victory suddenly faded.
The Suns team before him now seemed different.
His assistant coach, Kurt Rambis, suddenly said, "Phil, isn’t this the same lineup and playstyle the Suns used at the start of the season?"
Jackson paused, then it suddenly came back to him.
Even last year, in the first preseason game against the Suns, Hardaway had made his comeback.
Back then, both teams had only tested the waters and hadn’t played seriously, but even then, Jackson had gotten the feeling that the Suns were actually quite strong.
And this game before him was almost a carbon copy of that one.
Olajuwon was guarding O’Neal one-on-one. On the defensive end, he couldn’t limit O’Neal much, but he could call on Teylon Hill for help defense and rotations. You could only say they were barely holding their own.
But on the offensive end, Olajuwon roamed in and out of the paint, setting high screens, and getting the ball back after a perimeter player drove and kicked it out. This style of play left O’Neal pulled in two directions and feeling very uncomfortable.
And Olajuwon had a good touch today, already scoring 8 points in the first half.
Meanwhile, Ewing was also making an impact with the second unit.
Relying on just this small change, the Suns had managed to take the lead against the Lakers through their offense.
points in a half, nearly 60, was by no means a low score.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the Suns’ locker room was much more relaxed.
People were chatting amongst themselves; at least it was no longer so gloomy that no one was talking.
Skiles stood with a few assistant coaches, watching Chen Yu and his staff work while listening to Boylan and the others discuss their plan for the second half.
Today’s adjustment had clearly worked, catching the Lakers off guard.
Of course, O’Neal still scored a lot of points—17 in the first half. It felt like another 30-plus point game for him.
So, the coaches were still focused on discussing how to limit O’Neal.
Just then, the usually quiet Phil Weber suddenly spoke up. "I actually have an idea. Since we can’t cut off the passes from the Lakers’ perimeter to O’Neal, why not change our approach and stop them from looking to pass to him in the first place?"
There were only a few ways to limit O’Neal.
Either you double-team him, or you have someone front him and try to cut off the entry pass from the perimeter.
If he can’t get the ball near the basket, he can’t score, no matter how strong he is.
Seeing the others look at him, Phil Weber explained, "What I mean is, what if we loosen up our perimeter defense? For example, give Kobe more room to shoot. If he takes more shots, O’Neal will naturally get fewer attempts. And Kobe’s touch isn’t good today, so letting him waste possessions would also be an indirect way of limiting O’Neal."
Skiles, who had been lost in thought, suddenly snapped back to attention, his eyes lighting up.
’That’s not a bad idea at all!’

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