"Something on your mind?"
Chen Yu glanced at the stammering Brian.
Brian lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I know they held a meeting over in New York, and it was about you."
His old man was the team owner, so there was no way he wouldn’t know about the movements of the NBA’s Board of Governors.
Chen Yu put down the file in his hand, sat up straight, and said, "What a coincidence. I also know they held a meeting."
The gossip from the New York Headquarters couldn’t be hidden from Chen Yu, either.
Brian didn’t say what Old Kolangelo discussed in the meeting. Instead, he sized up Chen Yu with a searching gaze before saying after a long moment, "Chen, we’ve already renewed our contract. Most importantly, we’re friends, very good friends."
There was a hint of nervousness in his tone.
The contract they had signed with Chen Yu was an employment contract. And since it was an employment contract, unilaterally terminating it wouldn’t be too much trouble.
It wasn’t as if signing the contract meant Chen Yu had to slave away for the Suns for three years. If Chen Yu wanted to, he could leave at any time.
So, the contract wasn’t the restraint; their friendship was.
"Alright, alright." Chen Yu waved his hand dismissively. "I never said I was going to leave Phoenix. I know what I’m doing."
He had chosen Phoenix and set up his clinic here not just because the Suns had extended an invitation, but in large part because among the cities of the league’s 29 teams, Phoenix’s climate was the most suitable for recuperating from injuries.
In the future, Chen Yu truly had no plans to leave Phoenix.
"That’s good." Brian repeated, "That’s good," his excitement palpable. Not daring to linger, he quickly left the office.
Chen Yu shook his head slightly. The outside world was in an uproar, with the media frantically discussing where his next team would be.
The fervor was even greater than the discussions about who would get the number one draft pick.
Speaking of which, the draft lottery was the day after tomorrow.
He wondered who would get the number one pick and snag the super rookie, James.
At 7:30 PM, Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals tipped off.
Popovich had talked a big game, but when the match started, he still hadn’t made any major adjustments.
He even relaxed the defense on O’Neal, letting Duncan focus on scoring.
Perhaps he felt that they couldn’t stop the Suns defensively, so he decided to just go all-out on offense.
Because the Suns didn’t have a great way to limit Duncan either. O’Neal was still listless, and McDyess was too short.
This led to O’Neal wreaking havoc under the basket in the first quarter, scoring 11 points in the period alone.
Midway through the second quarter, Brian finally arrived courtside, taking his usual seat next to Chen Yu.
They didn’t talk about the recent issue, instead making small talk about wedding preparations.
As they chatted, the topic shifted to the draft lottery happening the day after tomorrow.
"By the way, how are the talks with the Grizzlies going? Are they willing to trade their first-round pick?" Chen Yu asked.
In reality, among the lottery teams, the Grizzlies were the most likely trade partner.
Not only because they needed a capable center, but also because they had multiple first-round picks.
They still had their own first-round pick.
However, this particular first-round pick was special and couldn’t be traded.
Back in ’97, they had made a deal with the Pistons, giving them a protected first-round pick.
It had to be conveyed by ’03 at the latest.
In the following years, the Grizzlies’ first-round picks were all quite high, so they were reluctant to give it up and dragged it out until this year. Now, they had no choice. Regardless of the lottery results, they had to give the pick to the Pistons.
Additionally, in a three-team trade with the Rockets and the Magic back in ’99, they had acquired the Rockets’ first-round pick for this year.
The Rockets had a terrible record this year. If they didn’t get incredibly lucky in the lottery, it should be the ninth pick.
Brian’s trade target was this very pick.
Finally, before this year’s trade deadline, they made another trade with the Magic, sending away Drew Gooden in exchange for Mike Miller, who wasn’t getting much playing time with the Magic because of Hill.
In that trade, they also received the Magic’s first-round pick for this year.
But the Magic had an excellent record, so the pick was at the end of the first round and not very valuable.
"It shouldn’t be a problem." Brian was full of confidence, probably because he’d given the Grizzlies an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Chen Yu thought for a moment and said, "You better think this through. If someone snipes Wade before you can get him, you’ll have lost big."
"It’s fine. It’d be best if we can draft him, but it doesn’t matter if we can’t. We’ll still be championship contenders." Brian seemed quite philosophical about it.
Amid their idle chat, the first half came to an end.
The Suns were up 54 to 51, leading by only 3 points.
Chen Yu couldn’t help but take a couple of extra glances at Duncan.
points in the first half. He was the main reason the Spurs were able to keep the score close.
McDyess was still a bit too short. Against an ordinary power forward, he could use his strong body and excellent athleticism to limit his opponent effectively.
But this was Duncan, the two-time reigning MVP, the undisputed best power forward in the world. Against him, McDyess’s lack of height became an obvious disadvantage.
In the first half, Duncan had scored 10 points over McDyess’s head using just his bank shot.
But Chen Yu wasn’t too worried.
The Spurs’ strength was concentrated in Duncan, whereas the Suns were strong as a whole team.
Unexpectedly, when the second half began, Duncan suddenly exploded.
On the wing of the paint, he posted up on McDyess with his back to the basket.
McDyess’s face was taut as he desperately held his ground against Duncan, not giving an inch.
But Duncan, with his incredibly stable base, remained as immovable as a mountain. He suddenly exerted force, executed a turnaround, and shot.
Another bank shot.
The release point was extremely high.
The ball swished through the net, scarily accurate.
On the next possession, it was Duncan again.
It was as if he had taken over the Spurs’ offense.
Same spot. He backed down McDyess, used his strength to create space, turned to face the basket, lowered his body to drive, pushed McDyess towards the baseline, and went up for a hook shot.
It went in again.
A look of helplessness was written all over McDyess’s face.
Chen Yu glanced at Skiles, who was still sitting there as steady as an old dog, whispering something to Boylan beside him.
He looked relaxed. With a 2-0 series lead, he probably wasn’t taking the Spurs seriously anymore.
Soon, Duncan shot again.
Another turnaround jumper, off the glass, scarily accurate.
Chen Yu suddenly thought of Yao Ming.
Yao Ming would be coming to Phoenix soon for skill enhancement training.
Chen Yu had been contemplating how to best utilize Yao Ming’s advantages and improve his scoring ability.
After much thought, Chen Yu still felt that the turnaround jumper was the best option.
He had the fundamentals for it, and at his height, it would be almost impossible to bother or block his shot.
Then there was Kobe.
The Lakers had also paid up for Chen Yu to help Kobe improve his skills.
From the potential training camp he had run, one of the many lessons Chen Yu summarized was that a player must learn to maximize their own strengths as much as possible.
Wade had a quick second jump, so he could focus on improving his ability to finish after penetration.
As for Kobe, Chen Yu rested his chin in his hand and began to ponder what advantages Kobe’s talents really offered.
His physical measurables were excellent, but not the absolute best.
On a scale of 10, he was probably an 8 or a 9.
’But,’ Chen Yu thought, ’Kobe’s greatest talent is perhaps that he has no overly obvious weaknesses.’
His vertical was excellent, not top-tier, but definitely not bad.
The same went for his strength, flexibility, and so on—not top-tier, but definitely first-class.
Some players, like Wade, had outstanding speed and an astonishingly quick jump, but were lacking in height.
But Kobe didn’t have that; he had no glaring flaws.
In Chen Yu’s view, this was, in fact, his greatest advantage.
Thinking about Kobe’s playing style over the years, an idea began to form in Chen Yu’s mind.
’Kobe’s skills aren’t refined enough yet.’
He had outstanding explosiveness, which made it easy for him to create an advantage with his body and execute various drives initiated from the high post.
But he lacked some finesse in his technique.
Athleticism will eventually decline, but technique is eternal. Jordan could still average 20 points per game at 40—that’s the advantage of technique.
As his mind wandered, a series of gasps came from the stands.
Chen Yu looked up to see Duncan on the floor. The whistle had blown; he must have been fouled.
Beside him, Brian muttered, "Duncan is just on another level."
Chen Yu looked up at the jumbotron overhead, which was already showing the replay.
Duncan made his move from the elbow, got caught in a double-team by O’Neal and McDyess, lost his balance, and threw the ball up as he was falling.
Somehow, he’d managed to toss it in.
’His body control and touch are just too good,’ Chen Yu thought.
There wasn’t much time left in the third quarter. Chen Yu asked, "How many points does he have this quarter?"
The Suns were now only leading by 2 points.
If he makes the free throw, the lead will be cut to 1.
Brian shook his right hand. "7 for 8, 14 points already. He’s not human."
He shot a subtle glance at Chen Yu.
He’d never seen Duncan this dominant.
Duncan stepped to the free-throw line and coolly sank the shot.
That’s 15 points.
in the first half. Before the third quarter was even over, he had already exploded for 34 points.
The key was that he hadn’t picked up many fouls. At this rate, wasn’t he headed for 50 points?
Skiles stood up and walked to the sideline, no longer able to sit calmly.
BEEP!
The third quarter ended.
Duncan’s point total for the quarter was locked in at 17.
"Shaq, you have to be more aggressive," Skiles said, grabbing O’Neal during the timeout with a serious expression.
McDyess clearly couldn’t guard Duncan anymore.
O’Neal nodded, breathing heavily, and couldn’t resist turning to glance at Chen Yu.
’Duncan wasn’t this hard to deal with last year!’
In the fourth quarter, the Suns tightened their defense, but they still couldn’t stop Duncan.
His touch was frighteningly good, and he was calm and smart enough to have great awareness for passing out of double-teams and drawing fouls.
Chen Yu hadn’t noticed it before, but now he felt that the officiating today was a bit one-sided.
Not even halfway through the fourth quarter, Duncan was already at the free-throw line for the third time.
for 6 from the line.
In just half a quarter, he had already scored 10 points.
points!
Most importantly, the Suns had lost the lead and were starting to fall behind.
The rest of the Spurs weren’t worried about scoring now; they were all defending for their lives.
Catch, quick half-turn hook shot.
In again.
The stands fell silent. 50 points!
Chen Yu suddenly recalled a game last season between the Spurs and the Mavericks where Duncan scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with a career-high 53 points.
’Is he going to break that record today?’
The key difference was that game was in the regular season, while this was the playoffs.
To score this many points while being double-teamed by O’Neal and McDyess... the quality of this performance was frighteningly high.
Skiles started calling frequent timeouts.
Hardaway also began to assert himself, repeatedly attacking the Spurs’ defense.
In the clutch, he was still a reliable scoring option.
But every time they managed a tough basket, Duncan would immediately answer with one of his own.
Chen Yu couldn’t help but say, "They’re going to lose."
This was what a top-tier superstar was. Truly unstoppable.
Brian leaned back in his seat, rubbing his temples with a helpless look on his face. Then he said, "If we lose, we lose. At least it’ll stop people from always saying we’re unbeatable or whatever."
If they had really swept the Spurs 4-0, Brian would have felt a bit unnerved himself.
As Marion’s contested three-pointer missed, the game ended.
to 101.
The Suns lost the game by a margin of 4 points.
Duncan finished with an astonishing 55 points, scoring half of his team’s total by himself.
As soon as the game was over, reporters immediately surrounded Duncan.
He had fully displayed his MVP prowess in this game.
Facing the cameras, Duncan remained calm. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Actually, there’s one person I’d really like to thank: Chen Yu. If he hadn’t healed my knee, I don’t think I could have scored this many points."
The expressions on the faces of the many reporters instantly turned strange.
’Thanking your opponent after a win? Are you sure you’re not doing that on purpose?’

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