By comparison, the home team’s locker room back at the AT&T Center was far more luxurious.
So Chen Yu joked that he was planning to renovate the visitor’s locker room at the US Airways Center, modeling it after the Spurs’.
Popovich gave a wry smile, completely devoid of enthusiasm.
But after a moment of silence, he said, "Thank you."
Chen Yu had every reason to ignore the situation, but he still came over the moment the game ended.
"Nothing to thank me for. You know the kind of person I am."
Chen Yu smiled and walked into the locker room.
’The biggest reason I’m helping the Spurs right now is definitely because I’m a doctor. When faced with an ailment, there’s no reason not to treat it.’
’My original principles have never changed.’
’Besides, deep down, I feel that doing this is also good for the Suns.’
’For one thing, we need to win fair and square.’
’Of course, that’s just to shut up the media and the fans. It’s not actually that important.’
’What’s more important is that I know Popovich’s character. At his core, he’s someone who will do whatever it takes to win.’
’Especially when the Spurs are cornered, he tends to make reckless decisions.’
’The Spurs invested so much this year. As the head coach, he’s under immense pressure. If they get eliminated in the first round because of Duncan’s injury, what would he do?’
’There’s a very real chance he’d choose to take out one of the Suns’ key players in retaliation.’
’It only takes a moment to give in to that impulse, and he’s capable of doing it.’
’This is only the first round. For the safety of my own players, I have to eliminate that risk.’
’If I help the Spurs, Popovich will owe me one. Then, even if they do get eliminated, he’ll have a ready-made excuse for the fans.’
Inside the locker room, the atmosphere was tense.
The Spurs players, who had been sitting, rose to their feet one by one to greet Chen Yu.
Duncan also pushed himself up, carefully keeping weight off his foot, his expression complex as he looked at Chen Yu.
"Chen... Thank you."
He looked like he wanted to say more, but in the end, "thank you" was all that came out.
"It’s nothing. Even if I weren’t here—even if I were all the way back in Phoenix—I’d fly over immediately if you got hurt."
It was a polite remark.
But the words clearly moved Duncan, as well as many other players in the room.
Because they knew in their hearts that with Chen Yu, it wasn’t just talk.
This was why Chen Yu commanded so much influence and respect from players throughout the league.
"Alright, let me take a look."
Chen Yu took the gloves from Camp, put them on, and began to remove Duncan’s sock.
After sitting out for a quarter, his ankle had already swollen.
The others gathered around nervously, every eye fixed on Chen Yu.
Chen Yu’s next words would decide the fate of their entire series.
If he couldn’t play in even just the next game, they would lose both away games, and the Spurs’ chances of being eliminated would skyrocket.
Chen Yu began his examination.
’In truth, the Eye of All-Seeing had already made everything perfectly clear.’
Seeing Duncan’s expression turn dead serious, his hands even trembling slightly, Chen Yu cracked a joke. "You have a master’s in psychology. Your mental fortitude can’t be this weak, can it?"
Unexpectedly, the joke only made Duncan more nervous.
"Chen, is it serious?"
’If it wasn’t serious, Chen Yu wouldn’t have brought up my psychology degree.’
Popovich, standing nearby, felt his world go dark.
Chen Yu quickly said, "No, that’s not what I meant! Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. I guarantee you’ll be able to play in the next game."
"Really?"
Duncan was stunned.
Popovich, who had just felt his world go dark, clutched his chest as if he’d been granted a last-minute reprieve. It was too much of a roller coaster; his heart couldn’t take it.
"Chen, thank you."
He quickly grabbed Chen Yu’s hand, thanking him over and over.
Finally, he asked if they should go to the hospital for imaging.
"Even if we do get imaging, it won’t be right now." Chen Yu shook his head and told Popovich not to worry about things here and to just go to the post-game press conference.
After losing the game, Popovich had looked like he was attending a funeral. Now, however, he went on his way cheerfully.
"Come on."
Chen Yu beckoned to Duncan and led him into the medical room.
It was just a simple sprain, easy enough to treat.
There were forty hours until the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. That was more than enough time.
「At the post-game press conference.」
The moment he sat down, the reporters in attendance went wild, leaping to their feet with hands raised.
"Greg, how’s Tim? Is he really injured?"
"What were the results of Chen’s examination? Is Tim’s injury serious?"
Chen Yu had gone straight to the Spurs’ locker room the moment the game ended, so there was no doubt that Duncan was injured.
Popovich instinctively wanted to share the good news, but the words died on his lips as he abruptly stopped himself.
A calculating look flashed in his eyes, and he spoke in a somber tone. "That’s right. Unfortunately, Tim sprained his ankle. I know what you’re all wondering—whether Tim can return for Game 2."
"As for that question, I can only say that I don’t know. Maybe he can, maybe he can’t."
Chen Yu had explicitly said he could get Duncan ready for Game 2.
But on the spot, an idea had popped into Popovich’s head: feign weakness. By saying Duncan couldn’t play, he might lull the Suns into a false sense of security.
But as soon as he said it, Popovich noticed the reporters below were giving him strange looks.
Their eyes seemed to be filled with suspicion.
"Are you sure about that, Greg?" a reporter retorted.
So, Duncan was injured. That much was confirmed.
But they’d also thought it through. They had even found the replay: Duncan had just lost his footing when he landed and twisted his ankle slightly.
The twist hadn’t looked severe.
Otherwise, Duncan would have been down on the court immediately; he wouldn’t have finished the third quarter before sitting out.
Most importantly, Chen Yu himself had handled it.
’Nash had that nasty fall last year and was back in just a few days. A simple sprain like this? In Chen Yu’s hands, it was a guaranteed fix.’
’Not be able to make the next game? Who did he think he was fooling?’
Popovich’s expression became a little unnatural. He seemed to have forgotten just how much faith these reporters had in Chen Yu’s abilities.
Even though Chen Yu had never given them the time of day.
"You’re misinterpreting me," Popovich argued, a bit awkwardly. "What I mean is that Duncan’s injury isn’t serious. Whether he can play in the next game will depend on his recovery."
The reporters all wore "I knew it" expressions. It was obvious Popovich had just intentionally exaggerated Duncan’s injury.
And they weren’t the least bit surprised that Popovich would pull a stunt like that.
"Alright, next question."
Popovich’s expression was starting to look strained.
「Meanwhile, Chen Yu had already administered emergency treatment to Duncan.」
To speed up his recovery, Chen Yu chose a very aggressive treatment: bloodletting.
Using the Eye of All-Seeing, he precisely located and drained the bruised blood that had formed in the sprained area.
Normally, this wouldn’t be necessary. A cold compress and time would be enough for it to heal on its own.
The bruised blood would eventually be reabsorbed by the body.
But Duncan needed to be back on the court in forty hours, a period that wasn’t even long enough to get past the acute phase of the injury.
So a more aggressive approach was necessary.
However, bloodletting came with another risk: it could easily trigger an immune response, leading to increased inflammation and an even slower recovery.
However, Chen Yu could use medicinal effects to control any inflammation. After the bloodletting, he would use Acupuncture to stimulate local blood flow, so draining a little bruised blood wasn’t a major issue.
"Don’t you even think about trying this."
Chen Yu warned quickly, seeing Camp observing with curiosity.
’Without the Eye of All-Seeing, how could you precisely locate the bruised blood? And without the system’s effects, who could possibly control the inflammation?’
’So this kind of treatment was something only I could perform.’
Camp nodded blankly.
Once he was done, Chen Yu had Camp arrange for Duncan to go to the hospital for imaging. He was to be admitted directly, and Chen Yu himself would go to the hospital the next morning for further treatment.
After taking care of all that, Chen Yu finally returned to the visitor’s locker room.
They hadn’t left yet. Everyone was waiting for him.
Skiles wore a serious expression.
Chen Yu chuckled. "Scott, with that look on your face, you’d think we were the ones who lost. Cheer up."

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