Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 359 - 300: Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

Zhang Weiping was taken aback for a moment.

"You know, you’re right." Zhang Weiping thought back carefully. Today, whenever O’Neal went to the free-throw line, he almost always made his shots.

And it was a well-known fact that O’Neal was terrible at free throws.

for 8, a nearly 90% free-throw percentage, was something even many guards couldn’t achieve.

But O’Neal had done it.

Su Jun thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it was a fluke. I remember a game last year, Lakers versus Nuggets, where O’Neal made all 13 of his free throws."

That was probably the highlight of O’Neal’s free-throw history, and the only one.

Just then, Yi Xiaohua suddenly chimed in, "Director, did you guys notice that O’Neal’s free-throw form is different? I noticed that he took a long time for all eight of his free throws, and when he squatted to shoot, he had this little shoulder-shaking motion, like this."

Yi Xiaohua mimicked the motion, shaking her shoulders.

The two men looked at each other. They really hadn’t noticed that detail.

Zhang Weiping looked toward the Phoenix Suns’ bench. Chen Yu was sitting in the back row, talking to Nelson beside him without even looking up.

"It seems O’Neal was telling the truth about practicing his free throws. And Chen Yu must have helped him adjust his form. The crucial thing is that it actually worked."

It wasn’t like the Lakers hadn’t found free-throw coaches for O’Neal before, but he just could never get it right.

The fact that Chen Yu could pull it off just showed he was on another level.

Su Jun thought of J Kidd and said, "Coach Zhang, you’ve got to admit, a professional is a professional. Look at J Kidd—in those few preseason games, his shooting was a lot more accurate. Are those iron balls he rolls around really useful for practicing shooting?"

The key was how Chen Yu had even thought of such a method.

Zhang Weiping pondered for a moment before speculating, "Maybe it really is useful. Think about it, rolling those two iron balls trains finger dexterity and strength. That should be good for shooting stability."

Speaking of shooting, Su Jun thought of Yao Ming again and let out a long, gloomy sigh. "Da Yao is really off to a bad start."

He played for 18 minutes, went 0 for 4, didn’t score a single point, only grabbed 5 rebounds, and racked up 3 fouls and 3 turnovers.

His performance was nothing short of a disaster.

Zhang Weiping glanced at the broadcast table, where an excited Barkley was chattering about something, and said helplessly, "The Lakers already get a lot of attention. After this game, I can already imagine the kind of criticism and blame he’s going to face."

Many Lakers fans were already unhappy about trading away O’Neal.

At least they still had the number one draft pick. But now with the top pick performing like this, it would be a wonder if the Lakers fans didn’t riot.

As the timer hit zero, the score was finalized at 103 to 81.

Everyone expected a battle of titans, but who would have thought it would be a one-sided blowout.

Chen Yu stood up and joined the audience in applauding the players.

Although he hadn’t expected the Lakers’ strength to decline so quickly, winning this game was naturally the best possible outcome.

They were getting their championship rings, after all. They couldn’t lose on a night like this. That would have been a real downer.

After the game ended, Kobe, his face taut, headed straight for the players’ tunnel.

Having scored 29 points in a losing effort, he was clearly not satisfied with the team’s performance.

Yao Ming wanted to leave too, but he was already surrounded by reporters.

Jackson saw this, but after a moment’s hesitation, he didn’t intervene. Learning how to deal with the media was also a very important lesson.

After the game, Olajuwon came straight to the Phoenix Suns’ side. After greeting Hardaway and the others, he turned and hugged Chen Yu.

"Chen, thank you."

Because of Chen Yu, his career was now completely fulfilled.

Chen Yu patted his back, thought for a moment, and said, "Hakeem, look after Yao. He’s a genius."

Olajuwon nodded before leaving.

Chen Yu turned his head and met Nelson’s expectant gaze.

"Party time?" Nelson blinked.

Chen Yu knew that Brian had already made all the arrangements and was just waiting for the game to end.

"Not yet. Work first," Chen Yu said, patting Nelson’s shoulder.

No matter how excited they were, the work that needed to be done couldn’t be ignored.

The team had a lot of veterans. To keep them healthy over a long season, they had to start with these small, consistent efforts.

The Phoenix Suns’ huge win in the season opener made the entire league cry wolf.

The next day, ESPN wrote an article heaping praise on the Phoenix Suns.

"The OP Duo. This is the most imaginative and most anticipated duo. In yesterday’s game, Hardaway and O’Neal connected on the inside-outside more than once, delivering spectacular alley-oop dunks. It reminds us of many years ago, when their younger selves also shook the entire league."

At this point, ESPN showed no mercy, dragging Gabriel and the Magic’s management out for another round of harsh ridicule.

The article stated bluntly that heaven had given the Magic many chances to win a championship, but they were too foolish to seize them.

"Throughout the entire game, the Phoenix Suns displayed incredible chemistry. Whether on offense or defense, they were terrifyingly strong. Looking across the entire league, is there any team that can stop them?"

"Chen, look, they’re saying this year’s champion has already emerged—and it’s us."

The next day at the breakfast table, Lexi showed Chen Yu a copy of the Arizona Republic.

Chen Yu, looking a bit drained, glanced at the paper and said casually, "You can’t believe what reporters write. It’s just for entertainment."

It was just one regular-season game. It wasn’t as exaggerated as the media made it out to be, with all that talk about the Lakers falling from grace and the Phoenix Suns being invincible. None of it had any real reference value.

"By the way, how come you have so much energy?" Chen Yu shot Lexi a strange look.

They had celebrated late into the night and came back together, yet Lexi was still full of vigor.

After breakfast, Chen Yu didn’t go to the arena.