While Su Jun was earnestly discussing whether or not Chen Yu practiced Qi Gong, in the United States, the mood in the TNT studio broadcasting the Suns-Nuggets game was pure banter.
"I heard Sanders was cursing someone out, and it was really nasty," Barkley said with a grin.
Kenny Smith couldn’t stop chuckling. "Old Nelson is just too devious," he said. "I read in the media reports that to hide their movements, they intentionally left some players behind and even notified the Target Center that they wanted to use their training facility for recovery practice."
"And what happened? Apparently, the arena staff noticed the Mavericks weren’t all there, and that’s how Sanders found out all their starters had disappeared."
"Even the hotel didn’t know Nowitzki and the others had left. The Mavericks even had the hotel prepare their meals on schedule. It was a clear attempt to keep the Wolves from finding out their plans. So tell me, why wouldn’t Sanders be pissed? I’d be cussing up a storm too if it were me. Old Nelson is just too cunning."
Ernie Johnson laughed. "The main problem is they really got screwed over. In the first game, the Mavericks played their starters the whole way, and Finley still hit a buzzer-beater to win it."
"Then the Mavericks went to Phoenix and got their energy back. But now, even if the Wolves want to go to Phoenix, it’s too late. If the Mavericks pull the same thing for tomorrow’s game and win again, the Wolves will have lost two home games and be in real trouble."
"If the Wolves end up getting eliminated because of these two home games, believe me, Sanders’s language is going to get even filthier."
Barkley, never afraid to stir the pot, added, "I bet it won’t just be Sanders cursing. It’ll be Garnett, Cassell, and Spree Well all joining in. I mean, can you blame them for feeling wronged?"
The three of them roared with laughter.
Kenny Smith knocked on the desk again and said, "And then you have the Kings and the Lakers. They actually chartered a private jet together to fly to Phoenix! My God, who’s the broke one here, the Kings or the Lakers? Couldn’t they even spare the money to rent their own planes?"
"Oh, and we even got a photo from on board the plane. Take a look."
With a wave of his hand, a "photo" appeared on the big screen behind him.
Of course, it wasn’t a real photo. No matter how resourceful the media is, they could never get an actual picture from inside a private jet.
It was a cartoon.
In the cabin, Weber, Peggy, Kobe, and Yao Ming were sitting around a table playing cards, with Odom, Bibi, and others gathered around them.
Not far away, Adelman and Jackson were huddled together, drinking and discussing team tactics on a blackboard.
Barkley snorted and burst out laughing.
"Seriously, they might as well just play their game at the US Airways Center. It’s not like the schedules can’t be adjusted."
Although no one knew what exactly happened on that plane, the scene was definitely a first in playoff history.
Kenny Smith nodded enthusiastically, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Why stop at the Lakers and the Kings? All the Western Conference teams should just come! One game in the morning, another in the afternoon. A few hours is plenty of time to swap out the court floor. Chen Yu would be ecstatic. The Suns would make a killing on ticket sales alone!"
Barkley’s eyes lit up. "Yeah! Maybe this was Chen’s plan all along. He’s the owner of the Suns, after all. Think how many more tickets they could sell doing this!"
Ernie Johnson cleared his throat to get their attention. "It’s one thing for Sanders to be angry. At least they only missed their chance for two home games. They can just follow the other Western teams to Phoenix from now on. Dallas is closer, anyway."
"The person who probably wants to curse the most right now is John Carroll. The Celtics are the team farthest away from Phoenix. Even if they wanted to come, they wouldn’t have the time."
As soon as he said that, Kenny Smith slammed his hand on the desk and yelled, "Who says he isn’t cursing? He already did!"
He snapped his fingers, and footage from the post-game press conference after the Celtics’ home game against the Nicks appeared on the big screen behind him.
Even the normally suave John Carroll, with his NCAA background, couldn’t help but launch into a spittle-flying tirade at the reporters.
"Fairness! All we want is fairness!"
At the end of his tirade, he banged on the table and repeated with a dead-serious expression.
And TNT had turned that very line into a hilarious remix video, repeating it over and over.
At the end of the clip, a reporter asked Carroll if, for their upcoming games—whether it was the away game in New York or, should they advance, games in other cities—he would arrange for his players to go to Phoenix.
"Of course, we’re going! Why wouldn’t we?!"
Carroll shot back without a moment’s hesitation, his eyes wide.
The look on his face made Barkley laugh so hard he slid under the desk.
「At that moment, it was already ten o’clock at night in New York.」
To accommodate viewers in the East, the Suns versus Nuggets game had started at 6:00 PM local time.
At the NBA Headquarters in the Olympic Tower, David Stern still hadn’t left. The afternoon meeting about changing the no hand-check rule had run long, so he wasn’t in a rush to get home and had stayed to watch the Suns game.
Stern was paying close attention to the Suns’ playoff run.
Every year, the NBA needed a major storyline.
This year, aside from Little Emperor James’s rookie season, the main storyline was whether the Suns could defend their title, complete a three-peat, and create the first dynasty of the new millennium.
In fact, Stern was even considering continuing his previous plan: giving things another push to elevate Hardaway to legendary status.
Hardaway had always been the player the league was grooming to be Jordan’s successor.
As the architect of a three-peat Suns dynasty who had returned to his peak form after being plagued by injuries, Hardaway was more than worthy of the league’s promotion.
Then, during the halftime show, Stern saw the shameless mockery from Barkley and the TNT crew.
All of it—the talk about playing every game at the US Airways Center, the cartoon, Carroll’s viral video—made Stern frown.
Just as Carroll had complained, the situation in the West was one thing. It was a hassle, for sure, but on the surface, it was fair. If you could go to Phoenix, so could I. Aside from the unlucky Wolves, who got tricked by Old Nelson, every other team was in the same boat.
Only the East was at a clear disadvantage due to the distance.
"Adam, what are your thoughts?" Stern asked after a moment of silence, looking at Silva beside him.
After a brief pause, Stern added, "Should we talk to Chen and tell him to stop doing this?"
’In the end, this is all because of Chen Yu. A word with him should be enough to sort this out.’
Silva sized up Stern, trying to divine his true intentions. After a moment of silence, he said, "David, I think we’d better not."
When Stern looked at him, Silva continued, "First, we already placed a restriction on Chen last year. If we do it again this year, I’m afraid he’ll resent it. We reached a tacit understanding before. If the trust between us is damaged, that understanding could be shattered."
Last year, the league had imposed a restriction because Chen Yu was helping Suns players recover their stamina in the middle of games.
The outcome had been positive. Both sides reached an unspoken agreement, Chen Yu became the team owner, and he truly did change his ways, barely interfering in team affairs anymore.
Otherwise, with the Suns’ current roster and Chen Yu’s protection, how could their record have possibly slipped to second in the West?
If they imposed another restriction now, they had no idea how Chen Yu would react. If he got upset and decided to break their agreement, secretly helping the Suns, the league would be powerless to stop him.
They couldn’t very well assign someone to watch Chen Yu around the clock.
"Besides, at least now when other teams come to Phoenix, Chen helps them out too."
Stern nodded slightly, gesturing for Silva to continue.
Silva said, "As for whether it’s unfair to the Eastern Conference teams, I don’t see an issue. The West plays against the West, and the East plays against the East. It doesn’t really affect the balance between them."
If the West wants to run their starters into the ground and play themselves into exhaustion, that’s their own business.
The East isn’t getting any help from Chen Yu, so they’ll just keep playing the way they always have.
"If it becomes an issue in the Finals, we can just talk to Chen then."
Pushing up his glasses, Silva glanced at the television screen and said, "And one more thing, David. Don’t you think all of this has actually made the Western Conference games more exciting?"
Stern paused, a little surprised. He hadn’t actually considered that angle.
Silva smiled. "The fans want to see the stars play. With the stars staying on the court longer, the games are closer and more exciting. Isn’t that exactly what we want?"
Ratings have been on a steady decline, but this whole affair might actually be saving them.
"As for the East... it’s a ’West is strong, East is weak’ conference imbalance. The Eastern teams already draw less attention, so we can just let it be."
"David, believe me, the initial ratings for this game are definitely not going to be low."
The Suns have won the title two years in a row, so they already have a huge following.
And the Nuggets were also playing well; it wasn’t a one-sided blowout. That’s why Silva was confident the ratings wouldn’t be too low.
Stern raised an eyebrow. After a moment’s thought, he got up to make a call, asking his assistant for the current ratings.
A short while later, after the second half had begun and the third quarter had ended, the ratings statistics for 10:00 PM sharp came in.
"A 7.2? It’s that high?"
After hearing his assistant’s report over the phone, Stern couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
’And this is only the first round of the playoffs!’

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