Almighty Coach

Dai Li stared at the list of players in his hands and thought it over.

Wood is a 20-year-old who has the knee of a 50 or 60-year-old. His knee is useless. He needs an athlete patch to recover.

Hall has no menisci in either knee, so he will require an athlete patch.

In addition to the injuries he has accumulated, the most serious problem for Raymond is congenital scoliosis. He also has to use an athlete patch.

Noel has a problem with anticoagulant function. His body lacks anticoagulant hormones. This can also be solved with an athlete patch.

Gray has leg length discrepancy. His situation is the same as that of Shawn Ford, but Gray’s is more severe. If the athlete patches for him were included, I would have to use five athlete patches this season. That is a really high cost.

There is also that Osef fellow. If all goes well, he should be able to play in December.

Osef was unlike the others. The others suffered injuries that caused their bodies to not work as intended. The athlete patches could be used to supplement the missing functions in their bodies. However, Osef was in his current state due to his use of drugs and his unhealthy lifestyle.

The harm caused by drugs to the human body could not be cleared up in a day or two. After a normal person quits taking drugs, it takes six to twelve months for the body to recover. To be completely restored to a healthy state, it takes at least two years.

As an athlete, Osef was physically better off than most ordinary people. He trained every day. His metabolic rate was much higher than an ordinary person’s so his recovery after detoxification would be faster than usual. However, the intensity of an NBA game was extreme. It was not enough for Osef to recover if he wanted to be able to play in the NBA. He needed to receive more training.

…

Hall felt that his one month of physical training had been monotonous. He was a basketball player. Making him stay in the gym all day to work with all kinds of equipment would annoy him after a while.

Fortunately, the new season was coming up, so Hall was allowed to go to the Clippers training base to familiarize himself with his future working environment.

Hall had felt like he was going to suffocate if he didn’t get his hands on a ball soon. He couldn’t help but give the ball in his hands a kiss or two. Another person who felt like suffocating from a lack of basketball was the superstar, Raymond. It would’ve been easier to go a month without eating than it was for him to go a month without a ball.

The two of them went to the training center of the Clippers and started playing one-on-one against each other.

Players who were at such a high level naturally had a strong desire to win. Neither side was willing to admit defeat. Both of them had an impressive scoring ability. They were proficient in various scoring techniques. They were also able to use scoring methods that others would find unreasonable. Therefore, a one-on-one between the two was truly a sight to behold.

On the sidelines, besides Dai Li and Cassel, was Johnson.

Johnson had been an NBA player when he was younger. He could see the conditions of a player just by watching them.

Johnson saw that the two people on the court were full of energy. They were entirely unlike two retired and injured veterans.

“Have they recovered from their injuries?” Johnson asked. He could not be sure but, as a former NBA player, his intuition told him that Hall and Raymond had recovered.

Dai Li did not answer, but asked in return, “Why? Do you think so?”

“Seeing them play one-on-one right now is like seeing them play a few years ago when the Rockets played against the Blazers. If the two of them had been put on a team together back then, they would be the best backcourt combination in the Western Conference,” Johnson said.

“So you should forget Ronny! We don’t need him anymore,” Dai Li said with a smile. He patted Johnson’s shoulder and said, “Ronny is still a restricted free agent. I suggest we trade him for a substitute player inside the three-point line while he still has value. I really need someone to fill that position right now. We could also use him to get next year’s draft pick”

…

This kind of one-on-one match was more physically exhausting than an official game. In official games, players didn’t have the ball for the entirety of an offense. Teammates shared the responsibility of attacking. It was the same when it came to the defense. A player didn’t constantly defend, there were always teammates to share the pressure. In a one-on-one game, everything was up to one person; there was no one to help.

Moreover, the opponent was a top athlete. Trying to go on an offensive and trying to defend in a game like this was even more physically exhausting. After ten minutes of competition, Hall and Raymond were already panting. They both went to the side to rest.

“How is it? Are your knees okay?” Raymond asked, handing a bottle of water to Hall. “I know that after losing menisci, every acceleration, every sudden stop, and every jump puts the knees under extra pressure.”

Hall gently rubbed his knees and then shook his head. “I don’t feel anything in the knees. Only my calf muscles are sore. That’s probably because we were too intense when we played just now, right? A while ago, I’d have to be carried out on a stretcher right now. How about your back injury?”

“I don’t feel anything either.” Raymond subconsciously twisted his upper body and then said, “To tell the truth, before I retired, I suffered pain in my back muscles. My congenital scoliosis caused very serious injuries. Even after playing for so long today, I don’t feel anything at all.”

“When I was going one-on-one against you, I could tell that I didn’t lose too much speed or explosive power. As long as my knees don’t hurt, I can play like I used to,” Hall said. “I have heard before that Coach Li is the best rehabilitation coach in the United States. Now I see it is true. Staying in that room and doing a month of recovery training was worth it.”

“I agree with you. That back injury has been bothering me for many years. I looked for top rehabilitation coaches in the United States, but they couldn’t help me. If I were coached by Li, maybe I would not have had to retire. I might have had several championship rings by now!” He then looked around and searched for Noel, but he did not find him.

So Raymond asked, “Where’s Noel? Where did he go? Why can’t I see him?”

“He might have gone to the hospital for a medical report. You know that the blood clot in his body needs to be monitored from time to time. If a blood clot occurs in his artery, it will kill him,” Noel replied.

…

In a famous private hospital in Los Angeles, Noel was sitting in the doctor’s office. He was looking at the doctors nervously, waiting for them to announce the test results.

The doctor looked at the test report in his hand. He furrowed his eyebrows and his face expressed disbelief.

The doctor’s expression made Noel more nervous. He was worried his condition had worsened.

Finally, the doctor said, “Mr. Noel, the blood clots in your body have disappeared.”

“Disappeared? What do you mean?” Noel asked.

“They may have melted away or been absorbed by your body. I think it is incredible. The clot should not have disappeared so quickly.” The doctor hesitated for a few seconds. Then he asked, “Mr. Noel, have you taken more anticoagulant drugs recently?”

“No.” Noel shook his head. “In fact, I have stopped taking anticoagulant drugs. I remember that you said that anticoagulant drugs will have side effects and that I can stop taking them for a while to avoid the side effects from damaging my body.”

“You stopped taking the medication, but the blood clots in your body disappeared? My goodness, what is going on here? I have been a doctor for 30 years, and I have never seen such a thing.” The doctor couldn’t figure it out how this could happen.

“Doctor, if I have no clots in my body. Can I stop using anticoagulant drugs?” Noel urgently asked.

The doctor thought for a moment and replied, “If no new clots form in your body, and your body’s indicators are normal, you don’t need to continue taking them.”

“Does that mean I can play again?” Noel asked.

“I can’t answer this question. It depends on whether the NBA will approve. If necessary, I can give you a medical report to prove that there is no blood clot in your body,” the doctor replied with a smile.

…

In the bathroom, Wood stood under the shower head and let the water fall on him.

Wood’s body couldn’t help but tremble. It wasn’t fatigue or the water in the shower that made him shake; he was excited.

Like the other players that joined the Clippers, he had been training for more than a month. He faced the fitness equipment all the time and didn’t have any chance to play basketball.

When he had returned to the court today, he realized that his explosive power was back!

Wood, a star player at this level, was proficient in all scoring methods, but what he relied on most was his explosive power. After his knees got injured, he lost his speed and explosive power. He had lost that skill.

Now, after a month of physical training, he was able to showcase his talent once more.

Wood thought that this was a dream. If he were dreaming, he would rather not wake up.

“I can finally see the effect of this training!” Wood muttered to himself.

Wood certainly didn’t know that Dai Li had used an athlete patch on him. Today, Wood had received a new lease on life!