This was Chen Yu’s first ti learning just how complicated it was for an NBA team to play a ga, especially an away ga.
Equipnt manager, tactical scout, video analyst, trainers, and finally the coaching staff and players—a massive entourage of over thirty people.
And that was just the people. Then there was the equipnt.
Jerseys, basketball shoes, various training equipnt, plus the players’ and coaches’ personal luggage, amounted to a good seventy or eighty suitcases.
Then, everyone would board a small chartered private jet and fly directly to New York.
Before they left, Hill even had his housekeeper make a few extra packed als.
"Don’t private jets provide food?" Chen Yu had flown on budget airlines like Southwest Airlines where they at least gave you a sandwich for lunch.
While packing his luggage, Hill explained, "It’s not that they don’t provide it, but it’s not very good, and we also worry about getting sick."
He even brought up an example. On the eve of Ga 5 of the ’97 Finals, the Battle of Celestial King Mountain, Jordan ate a piece of pizza and ended up with vomiting and diarrhea from food poisoning.
"Didn’t he have the flu?" Chen Yu was completely shocked.
Chen Yu had watched that ga on TV and hadn’t noticed anything majorly wrong with Jordan. It was only later when he saw the news that he learned Jordan had the flu. ’But at the ti,’ he thought, ’it couldn’t have been that serious. Otherwise, how could he have dropped 38 points?’
Hill shook his head. "It was food poisoning. He ate sothing that wasn’t clean. That’s why for the past two years, we’ve been very careful about food when we play away gas. We bring our own whenever we can. If we have consecutive away gas, we only eat at the hotel, since we stay at star-rated hotels where the food is usually fine."
Chen Yu was secretly amazed. ’Damn, that’s incredible!’
Food poisoning, vomiting, diarrhea, that physically weak, and he could still drop 38 points? ’Is he even fucking human?’
As he marveled at this, Chen Yu took another look at Hill.
’Look at Jordan and that willpower. Then look at you. You get one injury and end up with psychological problems.’
’Just for that, you’re not qualified to be Jordan’s successor.’
On this trip to New York, Chen Yu was traveling with the Magic.
One reason was to monitor Hill’s condition. The other was that it was a good opportunity to go to New York and et with Stern.
The appointed ti was the 5th.
At four in the afternoon, the team arrived in New York and then took a Bus directly to Madison Square Garden Arena downtown.
This arena, like the Waterhouse Center, was also old. After all, the fourth-generation building was already over thirty years old.
It was located right above Pennsylvania Station, not far from the Empire State Building or the Olympic Tower, where the NBA Headquarters is located.
Chen Yu had been here many tis, so there was nothing new to him.
If there was any difference, it was just that he used to enter through the main hall, whereas this ti he was using the players’ tunnel.
The ga was at 7:30 PM, so the team had arrived three hours early to acclimate to the court and get ready.
However, the dia had arrived even earlier. When the group got off the bus and walked towards the locker room, the tunnel was lined with reporters on both sides.
"Hill, over here!"
Almost all the reporters were shouting Hill’s na.
Yesterday, the news that Hill had returned and was practicing with the team had sent shockwaves through the entire sports world.
Then, early this morning, the Magic’s official website updated the roster for the away ga against the Nicks. Everyone was shocked to discover that Hill was not only moved off the injury list but was also placed on the 12-man active roster.
In other words, if Pleasance was willing, Hill could play in this ga.
He just ca back!
The dia, slling a story, moved in, afraid of missing any big news.
Hill smiled and waved but didn’t stop.
Chen Yu heard so reporters shouting his na. After the last incident, his face had gained a certain degree of recognition in the basketball world.
Chen Yu didn’t stop either, keeping his attention focused on Hill.
Ever since yesterday, when he learned he would be traveling with the team today, Hill’s reaction had been very calm.
But the calr he was, the more serious Chen Yu felt the problem was.
Upon reaching the locker room, all the accompanying staff were already at their posts.
The equipnt manager organized and distributed jerseys and shoes. For players with special preferences, he also had to prepare headbands, wristbands, and the like.
Pleasance’s coaching staff wasn’t idle either, discussing the Nicks’ recent performance and this ga’s tactical plan with the tactical scout and video analyst.
anwhile, the trainers, following their plan, began different pre-ga warm-up routines tailored to different players.
Even Houston had set up a massage table to give so of the veterans massages, wrap bandages, and apply kinesiology tape.
Chen Yu stood there empty-handed, feeling a bit out of place. Seeing Houston applying kinesiology tape for Amichie, he couldn’t help but walk over and say, "Let ."
Houston imdiately and obediently stepped aside.
Amichie’s left calf had so muscle tightness. As Chen Yu cut the kinesiology tape, he casually shared his experience with Houston.
"You have to locate the muscle precisely. Your knowledge of anatomy has to be solid, you need to be clear on the function of human tissues. Then you have to consider the player’s specific way of exerting force. If you wrap it too tightly, he’ll be uncomfortable himself."
With the Eye of All-Seeing, it was much more convenient for Chen Yu than simply relying on touch.
Houston watched in silence, wishing he could borrow a cara to record it all.
After finishing with a few players, Chen Yu gestured for Hill to co and sit down.
Kinesiology tape doesn’t just relieve issues like muscle tension; it can also improve joint stability, so it can be used even when there are no problems.
Hill gave a wry smile. "Chen, I’m not going to be playing."
’I just made the active roster.’
"Just in case," Chen Yu said as he quickly wrapped the bandages and told Hill to go warm up on the court.
’This guy, still clinging to wishful thinking.’
Just watching Hill’s warm-up, you couldn’t see anything wrong at all. Having rested for two months, his body was even healthier than Tracy McGrady’s and the others’.
Chen Yu actually hoped Hill would be more proactive and talk about being made to travel with the team for a ga so soon.
’When there’s a problem, you can’t just bottle it up.’
But Chen Yu had been waiting for a whole day, and Hill still hadn’t brought it up.
Because of Hill, the attention on this ga was frighteningly high.
Of course, the Nicks themselves drew a staggering amount of attention.
During the pre-ga press conference, a swarm of over a hundred reporters gathered, and their most pressing question was about Hill’s coback plan.
An ESPN reporter’s question was particularly sharp, asking if Pleasance was following in Rivers’s footsteps and forcing Hill to return early again for the sake of the team’s record.
Pleasance wanted to curse. Yesterday, when Chen Yu had proposed the idea, he’d had a faint feeling he would end up being the scapegoat.
So, Pleasance said without hesitation, "This was a professional opinion given by Chen. You can ask him."
The reporter who asked the question thought to himself, ’You don’t have to tell us. We were going to ask him anyway.’
Therefore, after the locker room was opened to the dia, the crowd of reporters surrounding Chen Yu was no smaller than the one around Hill.
"He’s very healthy."
No matter who asked, that was Chen Yu’s only answer.
Over on his side, Hill was also struggling to handle the reporters’ questions. To be honest, he couldn’t figure out why Pleasance wanted him to travel with the team and play so soon either.
Most importantly, Chen Yu had actually agreed to it.
Fortunately, Pleasance returned to the locker room and shooed away all the reporters.
He glanced at Chen Yu and Hill, then silently announced the starting lineup for the ga.
Hill, naturally, was not on the list.
Chen Yu was standing in a corner of the locker room when he suddenly heard Genet behind him whisper to a colleague, "I heard from Colon of the Nicks that Jordan is coming to watch the ga in person."
Chen Yu was slightly taken aback. ’Jordan?’
Although he grew up in Chicago, Chen Yu was already 15 when Jordan entered the NBA, so he wasn’t that big of a fan.
Of course, he was the top superstar in the United States. There was no doubt about that.
Lexi was a huge fan of Jordan, so after hearing he would be at the ga, Chen Yu’s first thought was whether he should get an autograph for her.
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