Chapter 292: Chapter 239: In the West, Can’t Even Make the Second Round

What a great point guard.

He has excellent defense, doesn’t dominate the ball, and focuses on orchestrating the offense. If the Magic could get J Kidd, it would completely take the pressure off Hill and Tracy McGrady. It would let the two of them focus entirely on attacking and maximize their scoring potential. For the Magic, it would be a massive upgrade.

Unfortunately, it was a dream Paul Plessey could only dare to imagine.

「The second half began.」

Hill, who had already dropped 19 points in the first half, was clearly starting to slow down.

That was when Tracy McGrady stepped up and took over.

He lowered his stance, the basketball dancing in his hands. He dipped his shoulder, made a simple crossover in front of his body, and instantly exploded forward.

Hill had a quick first step, and McGrady was no slouch either.

He smoothly slipped past Hardaway but didn’t dare to drive too deep, because he still had at least two lines of defense ahead of him in Olajuwon and Ewing.

He sank a floater and turned to jog away.

Hardaway scratched his head, a little speechless. ’Hey, kid, wasn’t I the one who taught you that move?’

Hardaway called for the ball. Looking at Tracy McGrady standing before him, his eyes were filled with gratification.

If Kobe was a fake fan, then the McGrady before him was definitely true love.

"Watch closely," Hardaway said suddenly.

The moment he spoke, he put the ball on the floor hard, backed him down, and created some space. He faked a drive to the baseline, then instantly pulled the ball back.

The fake was so convincing that McGrady fell for it completely. Just as he scrambled to shift his weight back to cut him off, Hardaway spun again, dipping low to slip past him.

He was going baseline after all.

He took one dribble and leaped. Even with Horace Grant rotating over to challenge him, he was undaunted, determined to force the dunk.

Tall and explosively athletic, it wasn’t the first time he had posterized a big man.

A thunderous SLAM.

Hardaway extended his arm and slammed the ball through the hoop.

Horace Grant was really showing his age; he just couldn’t get up anymore.

After landing, Hardaway nodded at Tracy McGrady and jogged away with a grin.

Tracy McGrady was speechless.

’Of course, he didn’t see it as a taunt from Hardaway. But to give a live coaching session on the court during the Finals... isn’t that a bit much?’

’These are the Finals, after all.’

Tracy McGrady’s third-quarter explosion was completely nullified by Hardaway’s own outburst.

At the end of the third quarter, the Phoenix Suns still held a 13-point lead.

"They’re going to win, aren’t they?" Lexi asked, looking from the others to Chen Yu.

Even she could tell that the Magic were being completely dominated by the Phoenix Suns.

Chen Yu nodded.

The game wasn’t over, but from what they’d seen so far, the difference in skill was already crystal clear.

For one thing, the Phoenix Suns were playing very comfortably. They didn’t have that sense of urgency they’d shown in the last series against the Lakers.

Against the Lakers, when they were down 0-2, everyone was giving it their all.

Olajuwon carried a huge responsibility and was running his heart out. Especially during the final Game 7, every single person was fighting for every possession.

Hardaway, too, had pulled out all the stops, hitting all sorts of high-difficulty, miraculous shots and scoring with everything he had.

But against the Magic, even Ewing, who had been a little fired up in the first quarter, had now relaxed, starting to just stroll around near the basket.

The same went for Hardaway. When he started spending most of his time passing, you knew just how casually and effortlessly he was playing.

’If he had to find a phrase to describe it,’ Chen Yu thought, ’it would be ’a walk in the park’.’

They controlled the tempo of the game the entire time. Whenever the Magic showed the slightest sign of a run, the Phoenix Suns would immediately clamp down and push back. It felt like they weren’t even playing seriously, yet they had already built a substantial lead.

The huge disparity in strength between the Western and Eastern Conferences was on full display.

A team with the Magic’s strength, if placed in the West, would make it to the second round at best.

Even getting to the second round would be tough.

The Phoenix Suns, the Lakers, the Kings, the Spurs—the Magic couldn’t handle any of them.

Chen Yu couldn’t help but sigh as he watched the court. Hill fought his way past Marion, only to have his driving lane immediately cut off by a helping Olajuwon. He managed to sink a difficult turnaround jumper anyway.

Just like Hardaway and Ewing, Hill also had a burning desire to prove himself.

After languishing with the Pistons for so many years, he had come to the Magic specifically to win a championship.

But as things stood, Hill could see no hope of winning a championship with the Magic.

In the end, the Phoenix Suns effortlessly defeated the Magic, 107-89.

Hill dropped a game-high 37 points, but it was all in a losing effort. Besides Tracy McGrady, he had no one to help him.

In contrast, the Phoenix Suns were strong across the board.

All five of their starters scored in double digits.

Judging by the two teams’ performances in this game, the media’s earlier claims weren’t wrong at all. The notion that the Western Conference Finals was the *real* Finals, and that whoever emerged from the West—the Phoenix Suns or the Lakers—would be the champion, seemed spot on.

Had the Lakers faced the Magic with their weak interior defense, the Magic would have lost even more badly.

"I have a feeling we can really win the championship this year," Chen Yu couldn’t help but say after the game, even though he knew it was a bit early to be making such a bold claim.

Given the circumstances, as long as the Phoenix Suns didn’t suffer any unexpected setbacks, the championship was practically in the bag.

Sure enough, after winning the first game, the Phoenix Suns gave the Magic no chance in the second, winning decisively once again with a score of 101 to 88.

Even on the Magic’s home court, the Phoenix Suns showed no mercy, beating them again 98 to 91.

With a 3-0 series lead, the Magic’s chances of a comeback were slim to none.

「June 13th, Japan time. The final round of Group G: United States vs. Italy.」

"Chen, did you get the plane tickets?" Alina asked casually before they left for the stadium.

Chen Yu nodded.

Originally, today—the 12th in the United States—should have been the final game of the series.

But for some reason, Brian had decided they would throw one game so they could go back and claim the trophy on the Phoenix Suns’ home court.

You could find plenty of reasons for the decision: they wanted to win the trophy at home, or they wanted to sell tickets for one more home game. Then there was the league’s perspective. A 4-0 sweep in the Finals was too anticlimactic. It had happened last year when the Magic were swept clean by the Lakers, and the TV ratings were abysmal, which didn’t sit well with the broadcasters.

This move certainly carried some risk for the Phoenix Suns, but after three games, the skill gap was so massive that even if they did throw a game, they were still confident they would win the championship.

Chen Yu thought Brian and the others were being a bit arrogant, but then again, ’this would be Phoenix’s first-ever championship. Winning it at home would actually be pretty great.’

Then, Brian had reached out to Chen Yu specifically, asking him to return to the United States to watch the final game.

The game was on the 15th in the United States, which would be the 16th here in Japan.

Chen Yu looked over the schedule and realized it wouldn’t be a problem.

As it stood, the United States Team had two wins in the group stage and was guaranteed to advance out of the group along with Italy.

The only uncertainty was who would finish first in the group.

Even if, by some chance, they did take first place in the group, the first knockout round match wouldn’t be until the 17th.

But that was highly unlikely. They would most likely finish second in the group, with their next match on the 18th.

Therefore, there was more than enough time.

After he discussed it with Contiguglia, the coach magnanimously agreed to let Chen Yu return home.

As soon as this match was over, Chen Yu would head to the airport to fly back to the United States.