Inside the large conference room of the Air Force base, these soldiers had absolutely nothing to do with elegance when it came to watching a basketball game. Even before the clock hit zero, the moment it became clear that the Phoenix Suns had secured the victory, excited men were already jumping onto tables. Stripped down to their waists, they swung their short-sleeved shirts in the air and celebrated wildly.
In an instant, a large crowd swarmed Chen Yu to offer their congratulations. Their enthusiasm made it seem as if the Phoenix Suns had already won the championship.
However, Chen Yu genuinely felt they had a real shot this year. The playoff run for the Phoenix Suns had been epically difficult. The Spurs, the Lakers, and the Pioneer were all tough opponents, yet the Phoenix Suns had beaten them all.
Most importantly, in Chen Yu’s eyes, these three teams perfectly represented three distinct playstyles. The Spurs prioritized teamwork and supreme defense. The Lakers relied on a steady, methodical half-court offense combining inside and outside scoring. Finally, there was the Pioneer, a team with a completely different style that prioritized pure speed. From one extreme to the other, these three teams essentially represented every type of opponent in the entire league. Having survived two Game 7s and defeated teams of every conceivable style, the Phoenix Suns had nothing left to fear.
"By the way, Chen, when is your show going to air? We’re all waiting to watch it," one of the officers asked.
As he spoke, many others nodded in agreement. Some curiously asked who would be the number one pick in next year’s draft, Oden or Durant. Even while stationed overseas, these soldiers cared quite a bit about the NBA.
With the season coming to an end, ABC had already entered the preparation phase for the show and was currently scouting players all across the United States.
While they were chatting, Chen Yu’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw it was a call from Paul Allen. Surprised, Chen Yu walked over to a quiet corner and answered.
As soon as the call connected, Paul Allen got straight to the point. "Chen, if I were to replace the head coach, who do you think would be a good fit for us?"
Chen Yu froze for a long moment before regaining his senses. He asked Paul Allen why he would suddenly have such an idea. The game over in the United States had just ended.
"What do you think? We were up 3-1! I have no idea how on earth he managed to get reverse-swept and lose Game 7."
Taking a 3-1 lead proved that the team had not won by sheer luck. Since they had the stronger roster, losing three straight games only proved that Rivers was an absolute fool.
"I was right there in the arena, watching the team slowly lose the game. And there he was, standing on the sidelines with his arms crossed, staring blankly without a single solution. He didn’t even make one decent substitution!"
Paul Allen vented his frustrations. Looking back on the game, it was an absolute nightmare for him. He had watched his team slide into the abyss and drift away from their championship dreams, while Rivers, the head coach, remained completely helpless.
Chen Yu fell silent. What could he say? That it had nothing to do with Rivers?
In truth, Chen Yu thought Rivers had performed decently in this playoff series. Otherwise, how had the Pioneer won the first three games? In the later games, Rivers had the resolve to bench Randolph, which showed some guts. It was only in the final game that he clearly looked shell-shocked.
As for Paul Allen’s desire to fire the head coach—especially having that thought immediately after Game 7—it was actually quite understandable.
From his perspective as a team owner and a layman, the entire series seemed straightforward. The Pioneer had started out with overwhelming momentum, taking a commanding 3-1 lead. Then, Rivers made a series of baffling decisions, lost consecutive games, and single-handedly ruined their massive advantage. Coupled with his terrible adjustments in today’s Game 7, it was easy to conclude that the head coach was the problem. Not to mention, Rivers didn’t exactly have a rich coaching resume or a proven track record. He had only come to the Pioneer in the first place as a personal favor to Chen Yu.
"Chen, I have always trusted you. You brought change to the Pioneer. So if you feel Doug isn’t right for us, I will replace him. I need a head coach who can lead us to a championship, not just the playoffs."
Hearing his tone, Chen Yu sensed that Paul Allen was quite resolute. As for Rivers’ remaining contract, Paul Allen couldn’t care less about that little bit of pocket change.
"Paul, listen to me. Go home, get a good night’s sleep, and think this over carefully once you’ve calmed down."
Chen Yu didn’t give a direct answer. He offered a word of comfort and hung up the phone. Paul Allen’s idea was clearly born out of temporary anger.
Chen Yu shook his head slightly.
Separated by oceans and mountains, he had no idea how Rivers was reacting right now. If the man knew the owner was already planning to fire him, it would probably scare the life out of him.
But he couldn’t blame anyone else. The guy did have issues with his coaching. Setting aside his limited abilities, his main problem was that he seemed to have plenty of ideas, but the moment things got critical, he would panic and completely lose his bearings.
But even if they did make a change, who could they hire?
Paul Allen wanted a championship-caliber head coach, but how many championship coaches were there in the entire NBA?
D’Antoni wouldn’t work either. Chen Yu felt he was too rigid, even more inflexible than Rivers. His best role was as an assistant coach, quietly studying his tactics. When it came to managing the big picture and leading a team to a championship, he still lacked a bit of fire.
Regardless, the game was over, and the Phoenix Suns had the last laugh. Chen Yu could finally shift his attention. Enduring two consecutive Game 7s had been exhausting.
The next day, Chen Yu began his consultations at the base hospital.
Pilots, especially fighter pilots, suffered from many common occupational diseases, such as aerotitis media, altitude decompression sickness, and pulmonary barotrauma. Orthopedic issues were also extremely common.
Ultra-high-intensity training naturally led to various joint inflammations. Moreover, the immense cervical and spinal pressure caused by the high G-forces of various flight maneuvers frequently resulted in herniated discs and cervical nerve compression.
These conditions were hard to treat. In fact, they were almost incurable.
The base had a comprehensive medical system and even funded numerous human research projects. Yet, faced with various unexplained neck and back pains, the only thing they could do was prescribe painkillers. A few pilots complained to Chen Yu that they had too many missions, were constantly on high alert, and lacked proper rest. As a result, they had to pop painkillers by the handful or secretly smoke weed just to find some relief.
There was only so much Chen Yu could do in this situation. If they could receive regular physical therapy from him over a long period, they would definitely recover fully, but they simply couldn’t afford that kind of expense.
So for the ordinary patients, all Chen Yu could offer was a massage to relax their muscles and provide some temporary relief. He didn’t even need to teach them Kang Jian routines, as the military had plenty of related research projects for that.
As for the severe cases, like those with herniated discs compressing their nerves, he scheduled them for surgery. There weren’t many pilots in that condition—only about twenty. He just needed to set aside two or three days to perform their surgeries in batches.
Meanwhile, the World Cup was in full swing.
On the 7th, Chen Yu suddenly received a call from France Team head coach Raymond Domenech. Over the phone, his tone was exactly like Eriksson’s—it sounded as if the sky had fallen.
With just three days left until the start of the World Cup, the tournament’s most colossal victim of bad luck had emerged. During a warm-up match against the Chinese Men’s National Football Team today, France Team center Gibril Sisay suffered a broken right leg. After playing for a mere ten minutes, Zheng Zhi had snapped his leg in a collision.
Suffering a broken leg at a time like this... even the gods couldn’t save his World Cup dreams now!

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