Sports Medicine Master System

As the season drew to a close, many teams were about to shift their focus to preparing for the draft, and reports on the new rookies were starting to pile up.

This year, there weren’t many high-profile rookies, which made the towering yet agile Yao Ming incredibly attractive. Many media outlets predicted his draft position could be in the top five, or even the top three.

What team doesn’t need a big man?

Especially a big man who can run, jump, and has decent offensive skills.

"Well, there’s nothing I can do about that," Chen Yu said with a shrug. "It’s not like I can magically pull a number one pick out of a hat for you to choose whoever you want."

Brian sighed and said no more, focusing his attention back on the game.

This year’s Mavericks were an offensive powerhouse, and they loved to launch threes from outside.

From one to five, every starter had the ability to shoot threes.

The Suns had also stockpiled some shooters on the perimeter, but this was merely a tactical supplement. The Suns’ primary method of scoring was still penetration and the subsequent kick-out pass.

The Mavericks, on the other hand, stubbornly used the three-pointer as a primary weapon.

"Feels like more and more guys are shooting threes now," Nelson commented from beside him.

Chen Yu nodded. After all, it’s one more point than a two.

"Relying on just threes isn’t reliable enough. You have to play inside; that’s what’s truly dependable." In this era, a three-point percentage of 35% was considered expert-level; the absolute ceiling was about 40%.

Meanwhile, an inside center could easily shoot 50-60%, which was far more reliable than shooting threes.

Just as they were speaking, Reef LaFrentz caught a pass from Nowitzki on the wing at the three-point line, rose up, and sank a three.

Two steps away, Ewing’s face was a mask of confusion. ’You’re a big center, what are you doing running out here shooting threes?’

But the Mavericks had clearly made specific adjustments. Whenever LaFrentz took a shot, it was always from the perimeter, looking for opportunities to bait Ewing out of the paint.

This setup made Ewing extremely uncomfortable. He couldn’t guard that far out, but he couldn’t just ignore him either—the guy could actually hit his threes.

It was safe to say the Mavericks’ coaching staff had done their homework for this game.

But halfway through the second quarter, while the Mavericks maintained their lead, they hadn’t managed to extend the gap.

And in Old Nelson’s eyes, not leading by more than ten points was as good as losing.

Because the Suns were playing without Hardaway, who averaged over 24 points per game.

His replacement, Mario Elie, had almost no offensive initiative left at his age. He was never great at creating his own shot to begin with, and so far, focusing on defense, he had only taken two shots, both of which clanked.

So, to say they were giving up a whole Hardaway was no exaggeration.

Perhaps sensing his father’s concern, his son and assistant coach, Little Nelson, said, "Dad, Penny injured his wrist. And the Suns have been vague and secretive about his condition. If Penny’s injury wasn’t serious, they would have announced it by now. The fact that they haven’t can only mean it’s pretty bad."

"Even if he recovers quickly, he’ll need at least two weeks, right? There’s a game on the 21st and one on the 24th. He should miss both. If we win this one and secure home-court advantage, then win our first two home games, our lead will be huge even if he comes back for Game 3. We’ll most likely eliminate them and advance."

Del Harris, nicknamed the "Silver Fox" and also a Mavericks assistant coach, nodded in agreement. "The Suns are a strong team this season, but Penny’s injury came at the worst possible time. Just like Donnie said, if we win this game, our chances of advancing to the second round will be very high."

This season, although the Suns’ record wasn’t head and shoulders above the rest and their roster was frighteningly old, no one dared to underestimate them.

Hadn’t plenty of media outlets been saying that the Suns were a team with championship potential?

Their regular-season record wasn’t stellar because old-timers like Ewing and Olajuwon were holding back, not playing all out. Come the playoffs, in clutch moments, their experience would be their greatest weapon.

That’s why, toward the end of the season, the Mavericks had briefly considered whether they should push harder for third place and let the Lakers battle it out with the Suns, or just drop down to sixth to avoid the Suns altogether.

But they later found it would be difficult.

They couldn’t push forward, and if they fell back, they would have to face the Lakers in the first round.

After much deliberation, the Suns still seemed like the best option.

Then, who would have thought that in the last few games of the season, Hardaway would get injured? It was like a gift from the heavens.

Old Nelson folded his arms, his gaze fixed on Nowitzki on the court.

Finley was the team’s number one guy, that was true, but Old Nelson knew deep down that how far the Mavericks could go in the playoffs would depend more on Nowitzki.

So far, the Mavericks had failed to pull away and build a lead of more than 10 points over the Suns for several reasons.

First, Nash was being completely shut down by J Kidd.

He was playing through an injury, and with his already slight build, he was being eaten alive by a defensive master like J Kidd.

His playmaking was gone, his accurate three-point shooting had vanished, and he was a ghost on the court.

Then there was Nowitzki.

Today, Nowitzki was clearly struggling under Olajuwon’s defense.

It felt as though Olajuwon had seen right through him and was suppressing him from every angle.

On the defensive end, Nowitzki was often criticized by the media for being soft.

Of course, this was pretty much a fact. His rebounding was decent, but his rim protection was a complete mess. Against a veteran like Olajuwon, who had experience, physicality, and technique, he was truly willing but unable.

And his greatest strength, his offense, hadn’t shown up.

Nowitzki was a face-up player, but his skills weren’t mature enough yet. After getting into the low post, he couldn’t just turn into a fadeaway. He often needed to take a dribble first, or give a face-up fake, to find his rhythm before shooting.

But Olajuwon seemed to have zeroed in on this and was doing an excellent job of disrupting Nowitzki’s rhythm.

With his long arms and fearlessness of contact, Olajuwon had held Nowitzki to 2-for-8 shooting so far. One could imagine just how miserably he was being defended.

Finally, their overall defense kept breaking down, failing to stop the Suns’ offense.

Compared to the Mavericks, the Suns were actually playing with more structure. Olajuwon was directing traffic from the high post, combining inside and outside play with various pick-and-rolls and hand-off actions. They were also very unselfish, never forcing a bad shot if the opportunity wasn’t there, and they were patient. Despite missing their scoring weapon in Hardaway, they still managed to put up a lot of points.

The Mavericks’ defense, on the other hand, was weaker overall.

Because they had more white players, they didn’t have the same level of defensive assets.

Just then, Rivers said grimly, "Donnie, you might have a point, but I can tell you this: Hardaway will definitely be back for the first game of the playoffs."

Seeing Little Nelson look at him in confusion, Rivers turned his head and glanced at the opposing bench.

Through the shifting figures, he could vaguely make out the side of Chen Yu’s face.

"Because they have Chen Yu. He’ll definitely find a way for Hardaway to make a smooth return." ’Even though I can’t stand the guy,’ Rivers thought, ’that’s a personal dislike. If I were a head coach picking a team doctor, I’d choose Chen Yu in a heartbeat, no questions asked.’

Little Nelson was stunned for a moment, then swore under his breath.

Chen Yu’s existence was practically a bug in the system.