Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 159 - 111: Aren’t They Going for an Eighth-Seed Upset?

Chapter 159: Chapter 111: Aren’t They Going for an Eighth-Seed Upset?

"We were a bit unlucky."

Skiles said as much at the post-game press conference.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Suns’ locker room was incredibly heavy.

Was it just bad luck?

Chen Yu stood with Nelson, arms crossed. Even a layman like him could see it: in the final moments, not a single person on the Suns could step up and score.

Not like Iverson.

In yesterday’s game against the Magic, Iverson went on a rampage in the final quarter. He didn’t pass at all, just brought the ball past half-court by himself and attacked.

Passing? What was that?

But Iverson could make the shots. He could score. He was just that dominant.

But on the current Suns, Robinson was old and Marion wasn’t mature enough. As for their biggest star, J Kidd, hoping for him to score was less realistic than hoping for Marion’s unorthodox shot to be a little more accurate.

If Hardaway were here, things would probably be much better.

That guy always seemed to play better the deeper he went into the playoffs.

"It’s okay, we still have a chance," Hardaway said, trying to lift everyone’s spirits. "The next game is at home. If we win this one, we can still turn it around."

But the morale didn’t seem to be very high.

Even if they won the next one, their chances of winning at the King’s home court were slim.

"Chen, do you want to keep them back for a chat later?" Nelson whispered.

He was talking about a therapy session.

Chen Yu shook his head. "No, let’s talk about it tomorrow."

Training was scheduled for tomorrow. It wouldn’t be too late to talk then.

They just lost; they needed some time to decompress.

But deep down, Chen Yu had a nagging feeling that talking wouldn’t do much good.

They were simply outmatched. They couldn’t win.

Even a layman like Chen Yu found the King’s offense a joy to watch—all those cuts and ball movement, as fluid and brilliant as mercury.

Especially Weber.

He was averaging 27.1 points per game in the regular season this year, second only to O’Neal among interior players.

Robinson’s defense was good, but he was getting old. He could limit Weber, but you couldn’t say he could completely shut him down.

And thinking about facing the red-hot Lakers if they made it to the second round, Chen Yu felt the Suns’ prospects were dim.

After a two-day break, on May 2nd, the Suns faced the King once more.

For this game, Hardaway once again rushed to be there in person.

It was a do-or-die game. A loss meant the end of the season. This was no joke.

For this game, Brian had mobilized the fans early, determined to turn the US Airways Center into a truly intimidating home court.

Chen Yu also made time to lead the medical team in ensuring the players were in peak physical condition.

Chen Yu even freed up a few of his "recovery effects" and used them on J Kidd and the others.

Ronaldo and Hardaway had a long time to recover from their injuries, so they could be put on the back burner for now.

After a few "recovery effects," the starting five were indeed in much better shape.

Chen Yu had done everything he could. Now, it was all up to J Kidd and his teammates.

That afternoon, J Kidd arrived at the arena early to practice his shooting with help from Jon Hamm.

During their chat the day before, J Kidd had been incredibly frustrated about bricking all three of his shots in the final moments of the last game.

By the time Chen Yu arrived, J Kidd was already drenched in sweat.

’Last-minute prep is better than no prep at all, but he hasn’t managed to fix his shot all season. Does he really think a little extra practice now will make a difference?’

Chen Yu stood to the side, using his Eye of All-Seeing to observe J Kidd’s shot.

’He seems pretty accurate, though,’ Chen Yu thought as he watched.

After catching the ball, he’d pull up and sink it.

Practice and a real game were two different things, of course, but the gap shouldn’t be this huge.

Moreover, Chen Yu noticed that J Kidd’s shot off the dribble seemed a bit worse than his catch-and-shoot.

But Ham had noticed this long ago, which was why J Kidd would sometimes linger on the perimeter, waiting for a catch-and-shoot opportunity.

Chen Yu remembered Ham’s analysis: last season, J Kidd’s three-point percentage was 33.7%, but this season, it had dropped by a full 4 percentage points. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

It was because when Hardaway was still playing, he could pass the ball to J Kidd.

Hardaway was one of the league’s famous tall point guards, known for his exquisite passing.

Now that Hardaway was out for the season, J Kidd was missing someone to create for him. Forcing him to shoot off the dribble naturally caused his percentage to drop.

As he continued to watch, Chen Yu began to notice something.

It seemed that when J Kidd shot off the dribble, he had an excessive wrist-snapping motion that looked very awkward.

’That might be a problem.’

But Chen Yu couldn’t discern much more at a glance.

He’d probably need a full-blown sports science lab to properly analyze it.

After watching a little longer, Chen Yu went over and told J Kidd to stop.

He felt J Kidd was getting too anxious. A good shot couldn’t be developed overnight. The offseason was just around the corner; if he wanted to improve, he could just practice slowly then.

Chen Yu used his last "recovery effect" on J Kidd to ensure he was in peak physical condition, then went to the sidelines early to wait for the game to start.

At the US Airways Center today, even the cheerleaders were dancing with more energy.

Waves of cheers, each louder than the last, echoed through the arena.

It really had the atmosphere of a do-or-die battle.

Hardaway sat next to Chen Yu, his hands clasped nervously.

"Don’t get too excited."

Chen Yu quickly grabbed Hardaway.

Originally, Chen Yu would have been able to watch the game in peace. But now, he had to keep an eye on Hardaway.

The guy was so engrossed in the game that whenever he got excited, he’d completely forget his leg was still injured and instinctively try to jump up and cheer.

One wrong move and he’d probably have to start his recovery all over again.

But in the first quarter, the Suns truly played with their backs against the wall. Their defense was tough, their offense ferocious, and in a single quarter, they actually beat the King 29 to 14.

They were up by 15 points after just the first quarter.

Incredible!

Chen Yu didn’t even know the Suns could be this dominant.

Especially Robinson.

The guy was playing like he was back in his prime with the Pioneer, dropping 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the quarter. And that wasn’t all; under his defense, Weber went 0-for-8 in the first quarter, a disastrous performance.

At the end of the half, the Suns were up 47 to 36, still leading by 11 points.

"Chen, we can win this!" Hardaway hugged Chen Yu excitedly.

Chen Yu’s attention was fixed on his knee. ’If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have let him come to the game,’ he thought.

But it really seemed like they could win today.

’An 11-point lead... surely they won’t blow it in the second half, right?’

He thought about going with them to Sacramento for the next game. It would be the most crucial one, and he felt he should at least earn the salary the Suns were paying him.

The game moved into the second half.

In the third quarter, Weber still couldn’t find his shot.

Robinson was defending him too well today.

But for some reason—maybe they’d relaxed too much during halftime—the Suns’ shooting percentage dipped slightly in the third quarter.

In that quarter, the King put up a 23-to-16 run, closing the gap by another 7 points.

The lead was down to 4 points.

Hardaway, who had been so excited just moments before, was now like a frost-bitten eggplant—wilted. He sat there tensely, glancing at the clock from time to time.

The clock ticked down, second by second.

By the time they were halfway through the fourth quarter, the Suns had allowed the score to be tied.

Skiles called a timeout, but it was no use.

After a continuous scoring run, the King’s momentum had completely swung in their favor.

The Suns, on the other hand, started to get anxious.

The cheers from the stands gradually faded. The King took the lead, first by 2 points, then by 4.

The lead yo-yoed between 4 and 6 points, but the Suns just couldn’t seem to catch up.

With 30 seconds left, in the midst of the chaos, Peggy even managed to steal the ball from Tony Delk.

It’s over!

The moment Delk turned to chase the ball and then fell gracelessly to the floor, a collective, heavy sigh swept through the entire US Airways Center.

Beside him, Hardaway had already buried his face in his hands in anguish.

Lexi also subconsciously tightened her grip on Chen Yu’s arm, her face taut with tension.

Although a defiant Marion managed to grab consecutive offensive rebounds, it was all for naught.

As the clock hit zero, the US Airways Center fell as silent as a funeral hall.

Only the King’s players were cheering.

Chen Yu sat there quietly.

Even though he had anticipated this outcome, it was still hard to accept now that it had actually happened.

A whole season of hard work... ended just like that.

"Let’s go. Let’s go see them."

Chen Yu had thought Hardaway wouldn’t be able to handle it, but to his surprise, he stood up quickly and walked toward the court.

He spoke with a dejected J Kidd, hugged Robinson, and embraced the rookie, young Charalidis.

Facing his fellow European Divac, he hadn’t scored much, but he had pulled down 12 rebounds.

Chen Yu also found Nelson.

"It’s over," Nelson said, his face full of resignation.

This season, after Chen Yu’s arrival, the Suns had changed a lot.

For instance, more scientific training methods, and the introduction of a large amount of new equipment and devices.

But they still fell in the first round.

"It’s okay. We’ll be back next season," Chen Yu said, hugging Nelson.

Next season, when Hardaway—a fully healthy Hardaway—returned, the Suns would definitely not perform like this.

At the post-game press conference, both Skiles and J Kidd were in low spirits.

J Kidd rested his chin on his hand, a forlorn look on his face. After briefly answering a few questions, a reporter asked him for his summary of the season.

J Kidd thought seriously for a moment, then suddenly said, "Actually, there’s someone I especially want to thank."

Seeing all the reporters look at him, a smile finally appeared on J Kidd’s face. "It’s Chen. We went through a lot this season, but luckily, Chen came. He brought a lot of new ideas and made many changes to the team."

"Did you know? We have professional physical therapists and Massage Therapists. Chen is the head of the medical department; he doesn’t actually have to do these things. But after every home game, after every daily practice, he personally gives us massages and physical therapy."

"His massages are incredible. Really, I’m not kidding. If any of you ever get to experience it, I can tell you, it will be one of the most wonderful experiences of your life."

The reporters all looked at each other, perplexed.

’A massage is a massage. How special could it be?’

But once J Kidd started talking, he couldn’t stop. "He also set up a counseling room for the team. After every practice, he would chat with us for five minutes. I still remember the first time I talked with him."

To this day, J Kidd still had no idea what Chen Yu had written in his notebook that time.

"That was the most painful time for me. I’m very grateful to Chen. If it weren’t for his help, I might have broken down."

As he said this, J Kidd became visibly emotional.

When the ’domestic abuser’ signs appeared in the home stands, J Kidd’s mental state really shattered.

If not for Chen Yu’s continuous conversations and attention, J Kidd wasn’t sure if he would have had the courage to stay in Phoenix.

"Chen brought us change, and he made us better. This season is over, but next season, we will be back," J Kidd said to everyone, his voice firm and resolute.

’The Backcourt 2000 duo hasn’t even had a chance to officially light up the league yet.’

No matter how unwilling they were, the end was the end.

The Suns’ 2000-2001 season had officially come to a close.

On the drive back to the clinic, the atmosphere in the car was a bit somber.

Lexi couldn’t stand it anymore and changed the subject. "By the way, didn’t the Magic have a game today too? I wonder how they did."

"I’ll ask." Hardaway, in the back seat, took out his phone, presumably to call a friend in the media.

A moment later, Hardaway suddenly blurted out, "Fack!"

"Did they lose?" Chen Yu glanced at the rearview mirror.

Hardaway shook his head blankly, a look of shock on his face. "No, they actually won! Grant had 33 points, Tracy had 29. The two of them combined for 62 points and beat the Digital People by 7!"

Chen Yu almost slammed on the brakes.

’For real? The Magic actually won?’

’Doesn’t that make the series 2-2?’

’Are the Magic really that good? If they keep playing like this, aren’t they going to pull off an eighth-seed upset?!’