Sports Medicine Master System

In a top-floor skybox at the US Airways Center.

Brian nervously clenched his fists, constantly checking the time.

Only 17 seconds remained in the game, with the Phoenix Suns leading 97-96, just a one-point advantage.

Hardaway had the ball, running down the clock at the top of the arc.

Everyone had spread out.

J Kidd stood before Hardaway, arms outstretched, on high alert.

In the stands, many spectators couldn’t help but rise to their feet, nervously watching the court below.

Time ticked away. With eight seconds left on the shot clock and eleven seconds left in the game, Hardaway made his move.

He tried a change of pace, but J Kidd read it perfectly, spreading his arms to block the path.

Hardaway pulled the ball back, regaining control. At that same moment, everyone started moving.

O’Neal charged toward the free-throw line, McDyess screened for Marion near the baseline—everyone was in motion, a chaotic mess.

And right in the middle of this chaos, one man slipped through a seam.

Old Miller!

Hardaway used a series of fakes, initiating contact with J Kidd as he tried to drive past. But out of the corner of his eye, he had already spotted Miller’s movement.

He pump-faked to get J Kidd in the air, then suddenly threaded the ball under Kidd’s arm to the curling Miller.

Anthony turned and lunged toward Miller.

Instantly, only three seconds remained on the shot clock.

Miller caught the ball, stopped on a dime, leaped, and turned in mid-air, his body arching back.

Anthony was already airborne, but he could only watch helplessly as the ball sailed over his fingertips and swished cleanly through the net.

Miller landed on his backside, sliding two meters across the floor. He pumped his fist fiercely, the cold glint of a stone-cold killer flashing in his eyes.

’In the final moments, with the toughest shot on the line, there’s no doubt. Just give me the ball.’

That was Reggie Miller—he never passes the buck.

Hardaway was the first to rush over. He pulled Miller to his feet, and they celebrated with an excited chest bump and a roar.

A three-point lead with only 3.8 seconds remaining. The game was practically in the bag.

On the sideline, Jeff Bzdelik sighed and looked to the heavens. ’That’s what a superstar does,’ he thought. ’There’s absolutely nothing you can do.’

The Nuggets called their last timeout.

3.8 seconds. They had one last possession, a chance to tie the game and force overtime.

The players headed to their benches. Skiles immediately gathered his team to discuss their defensive strategy for the final play.

In the skybox, Brian was on another tirade. Clutching his chest, he said, "Chen, listen to me. Just give up. Whatever consultation fee they’re paying you, I’ll cover it. I’ll pay it, how about that?"

He was breathing heavily.

’This is only the first round!’

’We’re playing at home against the seventh seed in the West, the Nuggets.’

’It feels like last year’s Finals weren’t even this difficult.’

’I guess when a starting-caliber player is on fire and plays the entire game, it’s just too big of an advantage.’

Especially J Kidd.

So far in this game, he has 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists.

That’s an MVP-level performance.

"It’s not about the money," Chen Yu said with a wave of his hand. He then added with a smile, "You have to trust our players, too. Besides, we haven’t even gone all out yet."

The Nuggets were playing their starters to death, but the Phoenix Suns? They were sticking to their normal rotation.

O’Neal, in particular, had only played a little over thirty minutes.

If the Phoenix Suns really went all out and ran their starters into the ground like other teams, this game would have been a blowout long ago.

From that perspective, the Phoenix Suns still possessed a strength that was unrivaled in the league.

For their opponents, even an all-out effort could barely match the level of the Phoenix Suns playing a regular game.

"That may be true, but you can’t tell me a game like this isn’t terrifying," Brian huffed, pointing at the score.

"Even playing the Spurs wasn’t this hard."

Chen Yu laughed. "But isn’t this great? Look at the fans’ reactions. They’re more excited, more immersed. It means the games are more entertaining. How is that not a good thing?"

US Airways Center was packed today.

And by the fourth quarter, many fans were on the edge of their seats, their passion for the game clearly running higher than ever.

If it were a blowout with a huge lead from start to finish, the audience would get bored.

It’s the close matchups that make for a great game.

"I’d still prefer a comfortable win," Brian said with a pout. "I’ve already had the Championship Rings designed. If we don’t win it all this year, we’ll be a laughingstock." Selling tickets was one thing, but a three-peat and establishing the Sun Dynasty was more important.

With O’Neal’s contract getting bigger and bigger, the Phoenix Suns’ championship hopes would continue to dwindle in the future without high-quality veterans like Miller and Payton.

If they wanted a three-peat, this was likely their only chance in the next decade.

"Oh, right." Brian paused, having remembered something. He turned and asked, "Is the league really planning to eliminate hand-checking? Look at that last play. If it weren’t for J Kidd’s arm in the way, Anfernee would’ve driven right past him."

Chen Yu nodded. "It’s confirmed. They’ll probably announce it sometime next month when the time is right."

At this, Chen Yu fell silent for a moment before continuing, "The league is dead set on strengthening perimeter offense. In the future, the game is really going to be all about driving to the basket."

Without hand-checking, it might not have a huge impact on average role players—their skill level is what it is. But for superstars, it’ll be like giving a tiger wings.

A player like Iverson could probably go on an absolute tear.

Brian rubbed his temples and sighed, "We’ll have to start adapting all over again."

A couple of years ago, they allowed zone defense and introduced the defensive three-second rule. It took the teams in the league a season or two to fully adapt.

Just when we’d finally adapted, they’re changing the rules again.

"By the way, do you think after one season, they might change it back again?" Brian leaned in and asked.

Chen Yu thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Take the hand-checking rule, for instance. It’s been changed several times already. In the ’94-’95 season, the standard interpretation prohibited defenders from using hand-checks anywhere from the offensive team’s backcourt baseline to the free-throw line extended in the frontcourt."

This change alone showed that the league was eager to eliminate hand-checking altogether.

The subsequent, continuous revisions to the fine print all followed this same line of thinking.

For example, starting in the ’97-’98 season, the rules specified that a defender could not use their forearm to impede the ball-handler’s forward progress.

Then, in the ’00-’01 season, the league provided an even more detailed clarification, stating that a defender could not make contact with their hand or forearm, except in the frontcourt area below the free-throw line extended. Only in that specific area could a defender use one forearm to maintain contact.

All of these changes were clearly made to favor offensive drives.

That’s why Iverson, who averaged only 26.8 points per game in the ’98-’99 season, saw his scoring soar to 28.4 points in ’99-’00, and then climb even higher to 31.1 points in ’00-’01.

But after just one season, for the ’01-’02 season, the league changed the rules again, reinterpreting it to allow defenders ’brief contact’ with the ball-handler, so long as it didn’t impede their progress.

This opened the door slightly, once again strengthening hand-check defense.

After that, defense began to dominate, and the games became increasingly ugly, especially in the playoffs.

There was no other choice. With TV ratings on the decline, something had to be done. So Stern stepped in again, and this time he went all the way, completely opening up the game to strengthen perimeter offense.

Brian asked, "So are you saying they won’t change it back, or that you just don’t know?"

Chen Yu replied, "Most likely, they won’t change it back. They still feel that two centers banging against each other in the paint is too ugly. They think guard penetration is what’s exciting and what the audience wants to see. To be honest, I quite like the physical battles down low. Basketball is a giant’s game, after all. But that’s how they see it, and there’s nothing anyone can do."

’Like O’Neal, who leveraged his strength to the absolute fullest.’

’Like Olajuwon, who’d put opponents on skates with his Dream Shake under the basket.’

’Like Ewing, whose low-post offense was textbook. Is that really uglier than a guard driving to the hoop for a reverse layup or a thunderous dunk?’

Chen Yu didn’t have an answer. He just knew he preferred the former; that was the kind of basketball he grew up watching.

Brian sighed and tapped on the armrest, lost in thought. After a moment, he muttered, "Does this mean guards are going to be more valuable from now on?"

"Right, speaking of that, I’ll see if I can organize a training camp this offseason. We can focus on the new rules, get some practice in, and let the players get familiar with them ahead of time."

"Especially the rookies. I’ll talk to West and the others later, ask if they’re willing to sacrifice their personal time during the offseason for intensive training. And it won’t just be open to them; any young player in the league can join."

’Business couldn’t stop just because it was the offseason. Otherwise, keeping Nelson and his team of trainers on the payroll would be a considerable expense.’

’He’d just organize a training camp, and open it up to rookies.’

’After all, the most ambitious players would be training to improve during the offseason anyway.’

’Chen Yu had already arranged it with that group of rookies from the Pioneer; they were all coming over in the Summer.’

’Now they could add another item to the agenda: adapting to the new rules.’

Brian nodded, but before he could say more, the timeout on the court ended. The game was starting again.

The whistle blew, and the players exploded into motion.

Amidst a flurry of crisscrossing bodies, the ball was inbounded.

It went to J Kidd.

The Nuggets had to go for three; a two-pointer was meaningless.

The Phoenix Suns had tightened their perimeter defense, even subbing O’Neal out, but J Kidd still managed to slip free and get an open look.

He leaped into the air, feeling his body go slightly off-balance. As the clock started, he released the ball.

SWISH! The ball plunged straight through the net.

The game is tied!

The entire arena gasped. Brian sucked in a sharp breath and clutched his heart again.