Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 437: Chapter 373: Being Too Powerful Isn’t a Good Thing

Protests or curses, the game had to continue.

For Popovich, this Zhuge Weiqi, the biggest problem remained how to defeat the Phoenix Suns.

After the first game, if there was one lesson to be learned, it was that they couldn’t simply give up on their perimeter defense.

Of course, they couldn’t give up on the paint either.

Giving up on double-teaming O’Neal in the paint would only lead to a more brutal defeat.

This placed even greater demands on Duncan. He had to position himself further out to link the interior and exterior defense, and the moment O’Neal got the ball, he had to instantly rotate back to trap him.

There was no other choice. They just had to work Duncan even harder.

And then...

The Spurs collapsed once again.

And it only took three quarters.

In the third quarter, Dale Curry, coming off the bench, seemed to have rediscovered his touch as the league’s three-point king. He went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, helping the Phoenix Suns bombard the Spurs with a 34-21 run in that single quarter.

That run stretched the lead to over 20 points.

Only two minutes into the fourth quarter, seeing that the deficit was insurmountable, Popovich gritted his teeth and pulled his starters from the game.

He was waving the white flag!

The key thing was, this was the Western Conference Finals, and this was the Spurs.

In the NBA, the Spurs had always been the epitome of team basketball and unwavering tenacity. When had anyone ever seen the Spurs voluntarily give up and surrender?

Even when trailing by 20 points!

Duncan, coming off the court, immediately draped a towel over his head, his face devoid of any smile.

He was still the Spurs’ best player. With 25 points and 12 rebounds in three quarters, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the best player on the court.

But with the team losing so badly, he was at a loss.

In the stands, even the famously loyal Spurs fans erupted in a massive chorus of boos.

This wasn’t some goddamn meaningless regular season game!

If they didn’t fight to the very last moment, how were they any different from cowards?

They were the Spurs! They could die on their feet, but not live on their knees!

The massive waves of boos made even Callesimo a little scared.

"Greg, doing this, won’t it..." Callesimo’s face paled as he listened to the various curses and jeers.

Popovich’s face was taut. He stood near the sideline, silent and stiff, and remained that way until the game ended.

to 85.

The Phoenix Suns beat the Spurs again, this time by 11 points.

The series score was now 2-0.

The moment the game ended, the reporters on the sidelines rushed over clamoring for answers.

Even before the game was over, swarms of Spurs fans had already begun to file out of the stands.

For this to happen to the Spurs was simply unimaginable.

Even the Phoenix Suns were in no mood to celebrate.

"What’s gotten into him?" Chen Yu craned his neck to look at the opposing bench, asking in confusion.

’The Popovich I remember isn’t someone who would voluntarily surrender.’

Nelson thought for a moment, then his expression changed slightly. He said in a low voice, "Chen, could he be doing this on purpose? As a sort of silent protest?"

’Since we can’t win anyway, I might as well just give up the game to show my protest.’

After he blasted them in the press conference the day before yesterday, the media went into a frenzy. But the league office alone remained completely silent, as if biding their time, without making a single move.

Popovich probably felt that just blasting them wasn’t enough, so he decided to use his actions to protest and force the league office’s hand.

"They’re not going to boycott the next game, are they?"

If the Spurs were to boycott a Western Conference Finals game, the fallout would be enormous.

"No way," Chen Yu quickly shook his head.

’If Popovich really incited the Spurs to boycott, he’d never be able to work in this league again.’

On the other side, Popovich didn’t take any interviews, turning and heading straight into the players’ tunnel.

At the post-game press conference, a swarm of reporters gathered on the Spurs’ side.

The moment Popovich appeared, arms shot up one after another.

All the reporters stared eagerly at Popovich.

They had a strong premonition that Popovich was like a volcano about to erupt.

"Why did you pull your starters in the fourth quarter?"

Unexpectedly, Popovich was surprisingly calm in the face of the question. He explained, "It’s simple. Tim was exhausted. You all saw it. I asked him to take on more responsibility, and that took a huge toll on him."

"At that point, I was hoping to get some results by changing the lineup, especially to strengthen our perimeter defense, and ideally to give the starters some time to rest and prepare for the final, decisive moments. You see, I even put in Meng Ke. He’s very strong, and his defense on O’Neal is quite good."

"Unfortunately, the deficit was too large. Our bench played very well, but they still couldn’t turn the tide. Considering how tired the starters were, I decided not to put them back in."

Popovich finished his explanation with a smile.

The reporters below the stage were dumbfounded. They looked at each other; this was not what they had expected.

One reporter jumped in and asked, "Greg, are those your real thoughts?"

He stared intently at Popovich.

’If you’ve been kidnapped, just blink.’

"Of course." Popovich shrugged nonchalantly. "The Phoenix Suns are very strong. They have almost no weaknesses. It will be very difficult for us to win. All we can do now is keep working hard and look for a way to win."

His smile left all the reporters with a single feeling: fake. So fake!

They had every reason to suspect that after blasting the Phoenix Suns the day before yesterday, Popovich had received a warning from David Stern, which was why he was being so well-behaved.

The game had an early start at six o’clock and was over by a little after eight.

So, as soon as the game ended, the entire Phoenix Suns team boarded a Bus to the airport, preparing for an overnight flight back to Phoenix.

On the Bus, Chen Yu sat in the front, checking a day’s worth of work emails from the clinic on his phone.

"Chen, look at this." Nelson, sitting beside him, leaned over and showed Chen Yu his phone.

On the small color screen was a simple WAP webpage.

In the last couple of years, phones had gained the ability to access internet websites directly, so some media outlets used this method to update news in real-time.

But the content was still predominantly text-based.

"Was I wrong?" Nelson asked, puzzled. He had really thought Popovich would continue his crazy tirade after the game, blasting the Phoenix Suns for being too strong, unbeatable, and so on.

Who would have thought Popovich would say nothing at all?

It felt like he had backed down completely.

Chen Yu took the phone and carefully read the press release, especially Popovich’s direct quotes. Then he frowned and said, "The fact that he’s saying nothing is actually more trouble."

"What do you mean?" Nelson didn’t quite understand.

Chen Yu handed the phone back and said, "Think about it. If he really kept targeting us with sarcasm and protests, people would just think it’s an angry outburst because he can’t beat the Phoenix Suns. He keeps saying we’re unbeatable, but it’s not like we won 82 games in the regular season. We’re still ranked second in the West."

"We played the Spurs four times during the season, and we lost two of those games. He’s already said everything he needed to say. It’s like he exposed a problem, then backed off to let the audience think for themselves about whether we’re the problem."

’If you stay at the forefront of the charge, you’re more likely to become the target for everyone.’

’He’s probably telling all the other teams in the league, ’Look, I’ve said my piece, I’ve surrendered, I’ve protested with my actions. I’ve paved the way for you, so hurry up and join in.’’

’That old fox is still as shrewd as ever. A bit cunning.’

Nelson frowned, seeming to understand. He sighed and asked, "By the way, what did he want to talk to you about yesterday?"

Yesterday, Popovich had asked to meet with Chen Yu.

"What do you think?" Chen Yu shrugged helplessly.

The moment they met yesterday—man, the Spurs’ owner Pete Holt, GM Buford, and Popovich’s entire coaching staff were there. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a job interview.

"Did you know, they even promised to fund the construction of a hospital for me in San Antonio."

Unsurprisingly, those guys were trying to poach him.

Offering five million a year wasn’t enough. Holt even said outright that if Chen Yu would come over, he was willing to finance the construction of a specialized hospital for him.

"They’re that serious?" Nelson’s eyes widened.

But on second thought, Nelson added, "Then again, if you think about it, that’s not really a sign of sincerity, is it? Everyone knows investing in a hospital with you is a moneymaker."

This was Chen Yu, an authority in orthopedics, a gold-plated brand in the world of medicine. With a brand name like that, it would be strange if a hospital *didn’t* make a crazy amount of money.

It was safe to say that Chen Yu didn’t need to go to Wall Street with a PowerPoint to attract investment. If he just put the word out that he wanted to open a hospital, a horde of investors would be at his door the next day, waving checks.

"Exactly."

Chen Yu snorted. ’Those guys are so cunning.’

’They’d invest in a hospital for me, then use the profits to pay my salary, right?’

’Why don’t I open my own hospital? Is it because I don’t have money, or because Hill’s father doesn’t have money?’

For the past two years, Hill’s father had been pestering Chen Yu about expanding the clinic.

Chen Yu had never agreed, precisely because he knew his reputation as a "miracle doctor" couldn’t be mass-produced. If he opened a hospital, he’d be the only one, and he’d be completely overwhelmed.

Putting the matter of moving aside, Chen Yu glanced up at Skiles, who was sitting diagonally across from him.

With the way things were trending, if the Phoenix Suns eliminated the Spurs 4-0, it would absolutely cause a huge uproar.

It could very well lead to a situation where everyone ganged up on them.

’If even a team as dominant as the Spurs gets swept 4-0 by you, then there’s truly no one left who can be your opponent.’

Chen Yu had a feeling Brian might be thinking of throwing a game or two.

But intentionally throwing a game was a nasty business, and it would be a huge problem if they got caught.

At that moment, Chen Yu suddenly felt that sometimes, being too strong wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Popovich may have been all smiles at the post-game press conference, but the Spurs’ decision to pull their starters in the fourth quarter and give up on the game still sparked a massive debate.

Again, this was the Western Conference Finals!

You could lose, but you couldn’t lose so spinelessly, so frivolously.

「The day after the game.」

「New York NBA Headquarters.」

After David Stern arrived in the morning, he immediately summoned several of his vice presidents.

Meeting!

In the spacious conference room, Stern sat with a dark expression, not saying a word.

The remaining vice presidents looked at each other, knowing perfectly well what Stern wanted to discuss.

The silence lasted for nearly ten minutes before Stern couldn’t take it anymore.

He tapped his fingers on the tabletop and looked at the others.

’So everyone’s going to play dumb, are they?’

The silence persisted. No one was a fool; they all knew this was a thorny issue that couldn’t be easily resolved.

Just then, Adam Silva, a bald man sitting in the middle of the conference table, pushed up his glasses and said, "David, I might have an idea."

In an instant, all eyes turned to him.