Sports Medicine Master System

Two days later, Old Nelson once again led his team to Phoenix.

The large contingent of over thirty people rode on a bus to their pre-booked hotel.

By the time they arrived at the hotel, it was already evening.

Outside the hotel, reporters who had heard the news had gathered behind a security cordon, snapping photos of the entire Mavericks team.

"Da Zhi!"

There were quite a few Chinese reporters in the crowd, craning their necks and shouting.

Wang Zhizhi, who was wearing a backpack, slowed his pace and waved to the shouting reporters before hurrying into the hotel after his teammates.

The last ones off the bus were the members of the coaching staff.

Old Nelson wore a grim expression. After getting off the bus, he glanced at the swarming reporters, patted Little Nelson, who was behind him, on the back, pointed toward the press, and motioned for him to go ask about Hardaway’s condition.

To this point, the Suns hadn’t announced whether Hardaway would return for tomorrow’s game.

Perhaps the well-connected reporters would know something.

After watching Little Nelson walk over, Old Nelson led the rest of the group into the hotel.

The staff all had their own jobs, so he didn’t need to worry about the specific details. Old Nelson’s biggest concern right now was still the Hardaway situation.

For the past two days, the Suns hadn’t even opened their daily practices to the public. They were clearly doing it on purpose, not wanting outsiders to know Hardaway’s status.

But Old Nelson had thought it through. Hardaway was injured on the night of the 11th and examined that same night. Counting from the following day, his recovery period had only been eight days.

He had repeatedly watched the footage of the injury and consulted the team doctor. The doctor said that even if Hardaway’s wrist wasn’t fractured, an impact of that severity would definitely cause a muscle contusion.

At the absolute fastest, he would need to rest for over two weeks.

And that didn’t even account for the adjustment period after his return.

Therefore, even if Hardaway was ruled out for the entire first round of the playoffs, Old Nelson wouldn’t have found it the least bit strange.

Little Nelson returned, his expression grave.

"Donnie, how did it go?" Harris asked anxiously.

Little Nelson shook his head and let out a long sigh.

Everyone frowned. Old Nelson said, "The Suns have locked down all information. I doubt the media would know anything."

The others nodded in agreement.

The media might be well-connected, but this kind of information was extremely difficult to obtain.

"No." Little Nelson quickly shook his head. "I mean, I found out. Just half an hour ago, the Suns updated their team’s injury status. Hardaway was removed from the injury list; he’s confirmed to play in tomorrow’s game. I sighed because I can’t believe Chen Yu got Hardaway back on the court in just one week."

Including tomorrow, it would only be nine days. It was simply miraculous.

The men’s expressions went blank.

Rivers silently shook his head, an ’I knew it’ look on his face.

Harris slapped the table in frustration, also letting out a long sigh.

"Fack," Old Nelson cursed under his breath. Last year, during the Magic’s eighth-seed upset, it was because of Chen Yu that both Tracy McGrady and Hill made their comebacks, completing that miracle. Now, it was happening again.

’What the hell, is he secretly using some kind of magic? This is totally broken.’

Seeing everyone’s grim expressions, Little Nelson tried to console them. "Maybe he’s playing through the injury. After all, it’s been such a short time. Besides, it was his shooting hand. Coming back this quickly, his shot will definitely be affected. It might even disrupt the Suns’ existing coordination and chemistry."

Old Nelson remained silent.

Rivers shook his head slightly and let out a soft snort. ’How could that be possible?’

’That’s Chen Yu we’re talking about. If Hardaway wasn’t fully recovered, he would never have let him return.’

’I mean, look at how I got fired.’

"Forget it. Let’s not dwell on this," Old Nelson said, snapping out of it. "Penny’s injury was just a fluke. We’ve been planning how to deal with a full-strength Suns team all along, so we’ll stick to our game plan."

Everyone nodded, but they couldn’t help the feeling of dread in their hearts.

They couldn’t even beat them when they were missing Hardaway. This series was going to be incredibly difficult.

「The game was at 8 PM the next evening.」

At 5 PM, Chen Yu and his group set out.

It was a large group.

Chen Yu and Lexi.

Hardaway was also coming straight from the clinic.

At the same time, VIP clients like Beckham and his wife Victoria, Pires, Gerrard, and Van Bronckhorst were all planning to watch the game live.

It was the playoffs, after all.

On the bus, Hardaway kept looking at his phone, his expression anxious.

"Anything? Still no news?" Chen Yu, sitting next to him, turned and asked.

Hardaway shook his head in frustration.

It was about his ex-wife. She had said she was bringing their daughter to Phoenix to watch him play, mentioning an afternoon flight, but he hadn’t heard anything from them yet.

"I’m sure it’s nothing." Chen Yu patted Hardaway’s shoulder. Just as he was about to say more to comfort him, a phone vibrated.

Hardaway glanced at it and frowned.

"They’re not coming," Hardaway said, his voice dejected. He gave Chen Yu a forced smile.

Chen Yu inwardly shook his head. ’Hardaway and Lazata’s marriage hadn’t ended amicably at all; they had somehow turned into enemies.’

Chen Yu instinctively turned and glanced toward the back of the bus.

In a back row, Beckham was holding his son, pointing out the window to amuse him, while Lexi was sitting with Victoria.

For some reason, the two of them really hit it off.

Lexi came from an average background, and as a doctor, her work was demanding. During her residency, she was lucky to get a shower in on time, let alone worry about makeup and dressing up every day.

After getting her medical license, it became a habit, and she rarely wore makeup.

But in the last two days, as if possessed, she had bought a pile of expensive cosmetics and started flipping through fashion magazines.

Of course, with Chen Yu’s current wealth, it wasn’t that they couldn’t afford it.

Chen Yu just suddenly felt that ’people really do change.’

’Fortunately, our relationship is still very stable.’

"It’s alright," Chen Yu said comfortingly. "Even if she’s not here in person, it’s the same if she watches on TV at home."

Hardaway nodded. "Don’t worry, I get it. I won’t let off-court matters affect me."

He took a deep breath, turned off his phone, and silently began flexing his wrist.

During the period when J Kidd was injured, he had carried the team on his own and come to understand his responsibilities.

Later, when Ewing and Olajuwon had their conflict, Hardaway understood even more clearly what this season meant to veterans like them.

There were people counting on him.

It was a heavy responsibility.

So for this year’s playoffs, Hardaway knew exactly what he had to do.

Tonight, the US Airways Center was dazzling with lights, transformed into a sea of white.

The game hadn’t even started, but with the Suns’ incredibly ugly gorilla mascot performing its signature, explosive dunk show, the atmosphere in the arena had already reached a fever pitch.

Beckham and his friends were sitting courtside with the Suns’ owner, Jerry Colangelo, and Chen Yu was sitting beside them.

"Chen, is this your mascot? It’s so... ugly," Beckham asked in a low voice, turning his head while covering his son’s eyes so the gorilla wouldn’t frighten him.

Chen Yu was at a loss for words.

’How should I put it? It’s definitely ugly.’

Supposedly, the original plan was to have a sunflower as the mascot, but for some inexplicable reason, the fans took a liking to the gorilla instead.

He might be ugly, but he was talented. He loved playing pranks and joking around, and on top of that, he could perform dunks—a unique existence among NBA mascots.

Every year, the Suns paid the guy inside a salary of 120,000 US dollars, which was likely one of the highest for a mascot in the entire NBA.

Just then, the mascot suddenly rushed in front of Chen Yu and started doing a goofy dance.

Chen Yu’s expression flickered.

The gorilla’s love for pranks was a required part of his persona.

Of course, he wouldn’t prank the audience members—after all, they’d paid for their tickets.

His targets were the players.

Sooner or later, every player on the team had been pranked by him.

"Fack, Jes, what are you trying to pull?" Chen Yu cursed under his breath and quickly whispered.

The NBA has a clear rule that mascots are not allowed to reveal their true identities, but as a fellow team employee, Chen Yu of course knew who the performer was.

His name was Jes, a guy not yet thirty. He used to play ball himself, later became a member of a trick-dunk performance squad, and eventually became the man inside the Suns’ mascot costume.

Jes pulled Chen Yu to his feet and started dancing the cha-cha right in front of him.

The crowd erupted with catcalls and cheers.

Chen Yu shot a look at Brian. ’No wonder Brian insisted I sit courtside. This must have been planned all along.’

With so many people watching, Chen Yu couldn’t just refuse, so he had no choice but to awkwardly dance along.

He was clearly clumsy, and from the sidelines, Ewing’s unrestrained laughter could already be heard.

Chen Yu cursed inwardly, then noticed Jes’s assistant wheeling out a... bomb?

It was a fake one, of course. It stood half as tall as a person, was pitch-black, and had a glowing fuse that made it look like it could explode at any second.

Jes ran to the sideline, returned with an inflatable sledgehammer, and handed it to Chen Yu. He then gestured for Chen Yu to smash the bomb open.

The whole arena was in an uproar, shouting for Chen Yu to bring the hammer down.

Chen Yu sighed and muttered, "Jes, if some kind of mystery liquid sprays out of this thing, you and I are going to have a serious talk."

He lifted the inflatable hammer and brought it down.

It didn’t break.

But the next moment, a puff of white smoke rose up as the large bomb slowly split open. Amidst the smoke, there was a two-tiered cake inside.

On top was a glowing electronic candle.

The arena lights suddenly dimmed, and the music shifted to a soft, gentle melody.

At some point, Jes had retreated into the shadows. Nelson emerged from the darkness, holding a microphone. "Chen," he said, his voice carrying through the arena, "this was something we all came up with together. This has been your first full season as the team doctor. You’ve given so much to this team, and we couldn’t have the record we have today without your help. Thank you."

He was speaking for everyone.

When Chen Yu turned his head, he saw Brian and his father. Then he saw that on the players’ bench, every player and coach had risen to their feet and was applauding for him.

Even the opposing Mavericks were applauding.

The stands erupted in thunderous applause, filled with whistles and cheers.

"Come on, cut the cake," Nelson said, handing him a cake knife.

"You guys... when did you plan all this?" Chen Yu asked softly.

Nelson just smiled without answering and pointed at the cake again.

Chen Yu took a deep breath and reached out to cut the cake.

But just then, Chen Yu noticed Nelson take a few steps back.

’Not good!’

Chen Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately froze.

But it was too late.

The cake in front of him instantly exploded.

’Fack!’

Chen Yu closed his eyes. The warm, fuzzy feeling that had just swelled in his heart was blown to smithereens. ’I should have known there was another trick waiting for me.’

’Jes, you just wait.’