The Nuggets’ morale soared after tying the game at the buzzer.
But unfortunately for them, this was the moment the Phoenix Suns decided to bare their fangs.
With a thunderous CRASH, O’Neal bulldozed past Camby and threw down a monstrous dunk.
O’Neal had played 35 minutes and scored 23 points. It was hard to say if he was coasting, but he definitely wasn’t going all out.
But now the game was forced into overtime. If they weren’t careful and lost, it would mean having to play another game.
Players didn’t get paid extra for playoff games, so the fewer games played, the better. O’Neal understood this math perfectly.
So, the moment overtime began, O’Neal’s offensive aggression ratcheted up, and he immediately demanded the ball.
After two consecutive championships, and without Chen Yu keeping an eye on him, he had admittedly gotten a little complacent.
But he was only 32, his body was healthy, and he wasn’t carrying that much extra weight.
Most importantly, his name was Shaquille O’Neal. When he wanted to score, there was hardly anyone in the league who could stop him.
Rim-hanging dunks, power moves in the low post, little hook shots—it was all about efficiency.
In just five short minutes, Jeff Bzdelik, on the sidelines, was jolted from his sweet dream. The fantasy of tying with the defending champions, or even stealing a win in Phoenix, shattered. He now profoundly understood the massive gap between his team and a true title contender.
It was just as the saying goes: your all-out effort might just be your opponent’s casual performance.
to 105. The Suns secured the win.
They took a commanding 2-0 series lead.
In the suite, Brian mulled it over and said, "Chen, it’s one thing against the Nuggets, but we can’t be this careless against the Spurs or the Lakers."
The Spurs aren’t the Nuggets. One slip-up and you can lose the game.
Chen Yu stood up to leave. "Don’t worry," he said. "This is only for the first round, at most. I have to go to Japan with Liu Xiang in early May, so I won’t have time anyway."
The way things are looking, the West is probably going to be a bloodbath. There might even be a few Game 7s.
In that case, the first round would end right around early May. By then, Chen Yu would have already left Phoenix. It’s not like these teams could charter a plane to Japan to see him.
And by the time Chen Yu returned, the second round would likely be over.
If the Suns met the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, then even without Brian saying a word, Chen Yu would never help the Spurs.
Popovich himself knew that Chen Yu was only helping because it was the first round and didn’t affect the Suns. If it came down to the Western Conference Finals, Chen Yu was the Suns’ owner; they’d be lucky if he didn’t try to sabotage them during halftime, let alone help condition their players.
"Good. In any case, we only have one goal this year: a three-peat!" Brian declared passionately.
Just as Chen Yu had predicted, the Western Conference truly turned into a meat grinder.
Aside from the Suns, who still swept the Nuggets 4-0 to be the first to advance to the second round, the other three series all took unexpected turns.
The Wolves were at a disadvantage, but this year’s team was genuinely strong.
An increasingly mature Garnett, who could score, defend, and play selflessly, had truly brought a qualitative improvement to the Wolves.
First, Sam Cassell exploded for 40 points to secure a home victory for the Wolves.
After the game, instead of flying to Dallas, they flew directly to Phoenix for physical conditioning.
They then managed to win both away games, taking a 3-1 lead.
But the Mavericks managed to claw one back, staving off elimination.
In the end, however, the gap in talent was too wide. The Wolves advanced to the second round with a 4-2 series win.
It was a similar story for the Spurs.
Dwyane Wade, in his first-ever playoffs, played nothing like a rookie. His drives were sharp, and he could defend.
At one point, Hubie Brown even had him handling the ball and serving as the primary defender on Parker, with excellent results.
Over six games, Wade averaged 18.2 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds, leading countless media outlets to argue that he, not LeBron James who hadn’t even made the playoffs, should have been the Rookie of the Year.
But alas, the gap in team strength was too great, and the Spurs ultimately eliminated the Grizzlies 4-2 to advance.
The Kings had it the worst.
Perhaps because they had shared a flight and team tactics had been leaked, the series was dragged out to a hard-fought seven games.
The King were still a powerhouse, a top-three team in the West.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, having signed Odom this season, had also made a qualitative leap.
Odom’s all-around game and agility perfectly compensated for all of Yao Ming’s weaknesses.
Combined with Kobe’s evolution on the perimeter—he put up a monstrous 28.7 points per game over the seven-game series—the Lakers’ starting lineup was truly formidable.
Yao Ming also had an excellent showing, more than holding his own against Divac and averaging 18.9 points and 10.4 rebounds for the series. His future looked incredibly bright.
Ultimately, the King were just a cut above, advancing to the second round.
Compared to the unremarkable East, the first round in the West was incredibly exciting, with stars frequently erupting for high-scoring games.
It was only after talking to Tatum that Chen Yu learned why the league was ignoring the endless complaints from the Eastern Conference teams. The ratings for the Western Conference games were through the roof, up 40 percent year-over-year.
The ratings for the Game 7 showdown between the King and the Lakers were even rivaling those of last year’s Finals.
However, Chen Yu could no longer concern himself with the upcoming games.
The most important thing right now was Liu Xiang. Chen Yu needed to help him get into peak condition for the International Association of Athletics Federations Golden Grand Prix in Osaka on May 8th, where he would be making a run at the Olympic record.
This meant that as soon as the Wolves’ game against the Mavericks ended on May 2nd, Sanders didn’t take his team back to Minnesota to rest. Instead, they flew directly to Phoenix.
They would just treat it as preparing for the second round ahead of schedule.
It was only after checking into their hotel that Sanders was surprised to learn that Chen Yu wasn’t in Phoenix.
"He’s gone? Where to? When is he coming back?"
After assistant coach Randy Wittman contacted Chen Yu’s clinic and relayed the news, Sanders fired off the three questions, then stood frozen in place.
Randy Wittman gave a wry smile. "They said he went to Japan for some track and field Grand Prix. It’s not clear when he’ll be back. In any case, I don’t think there’s any way he’ll make it back before this series is over."
Sanders stood stunned for a full half-minute before his head cleared. He frowned. "So, that means we’re on our own for the rest of this series?"
He paused, then added, "But on the bright side, the Suns can’t get his treatments either. That means we’re all back on a level playing field."
Randy Wittman nodded. ’That must be it.’
’Chen Yu has left the United States. How are these Western Conference teams supposed to replicate what they did in the first round?’
’Those teams in the East should finally quiet down too.’
"Wait, that’s not right," Sanders suddenly shouted.
"What’s not right?"
Randy Wittman jumped, startled.
Sanders said, "Look, think about it. In the first round, all the Western Conference teams got treatments from Chen Yu. We rode our starters hard, dragging out series that could have been sweeps into six or seven games."
’With the Mavericks’ level of talent, how could they have possibly snagged two wins from the Wolves without Chen Yu’s help?’
"Playing like that is actually damaging to the team. The starters play heavy minutes, the injury risk goes up... and do you really think it doesn’t take a toll?"
"The packed schedule, the travel back and forth to Phoenix... even if their bodies recovered, what about the mental strain?"
"The series gets dragged out to six or seven games, you’re worrying about winning every single night, the starters are playing massive minutes... you don’t think that puts a huge psychological burden on the players?"
"Even if they aren’t physically tired, they’re mentally exhausted."
"That’s a significant burden in itself."
"And what about the bench? Playing this way, our reserves got almost no minutes. We lost a first-round opportunity to build team chemistry. To catch our flights, we even gave up on full team practices between games. That’s a loss, too."
"But here’s the thing. Every team in the West played like this, except for the Suns. They also got Chen’s physical conditioning, but they used a normal rotation."
"They swept the Nuggets 4-0 and have been well-rested for days, just waiting for us."
"This means that, instead of a potential 4-0 sweep of the Mavericks where we could have worked on our lineups and chemistry to prepare for the Suns, we’re now worn down from a six-game war. And we have to face a completely fresh Suns team that has zero wear and tear. Tell me we didn’t get screwed!"
"F*ck! Is this a conspiracy by the Suns?!"
Sanders demanded, his eyes wide.
Randy Wittman was stunned. Without Sanders’s analysis, that angle had never even occurred to him.
But thinking about it carefully, Sanders’s analysis was flawless.
’Otherwise, why would every other team in the West run their starters into the ground while only the Suns used a normal rotation?’
’Just to show off how special they are, right?’

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