Hill turned his head, staring blankly at Chen Yu.
"What, you think I’m joking?" Chen Yu retorted.
Hill shook his head slightly, gritting his teeth. "But I..."
Before he could finish, Chen Yu cut him off.
"You’re about to say that you just ca back and you’re not ready. So let ask you, how are you planning to get ready?" Chen Yu pressed, his expression serious.
"Technique?"
"Don’t tell you’ve forgotten how to play basketball after two months off. Or is it your body? You used to have a ninety-centiter vertical, and now you can only manage fifty?"
The questions left Hill completely stunned.
After a long mont, he finally shook his head.
’Of course I haven’t forgotten how to play. And my body?’
In the final stages of his recovery, Chen Yu had constantly increased his workload. It was fair to say that in those last few days, his training intensity was no different from his regular regin.
’It feels like... I’m already prepared.’
But...
Hill’s brow furrowed. He still felt he shouldn’t be playing right now, that he needed more ti to adjust.
Since he had started, Chen Yu decided to press his advantage. With a slightly mocking tone, he said, "Or maybe spraining your ankle has turned you into a coward, too scared to even get on the court? If that’s the case, why did you start playing this ga in the first place?"
The words stung Hill sharply, and his face paled.
Chen Yu didn’t say any more. He stood up abruptly. "I’ll tell Paul to put you in for the second half. Get ready."
With that, he turned and walked towards the players’ tunnel.
’Just as I thought, it’s better to rip the band-aid off. Don’t give Hill a chance to overthink it.’
’The more you think, the more you hesitate.’
In the locker room, Pleasance was a ss. He shot a quick glance at Hill heading to the restroom and whispered urgently, "Chen, are you crazy? I only agreed to put him on the 12-man roster, I never said he would play!"
Chen Yu countered, "Paul, let just ask you this: in his current physical condition, do you think Hill is able to play?"
Pleasance’s mouth fell slightly open, unsure how to answer.
Judging from yesterday’s 3-on-3 scrimmage, Hill’s body was perfectly healthy. There wasn’t a single problem.
"So, why can’t he play?" Chen Yu pressed.
Pleasance was about to lose his mind. "It’s not the sa! What if he gets on the court and gets injured again?"
Chen Yu smiled. "You said it yourself—’what if’. Are you telling that if he plays a week from now, he’ll be immune to injury?"
Injuries are accidents.
As long as the body is healthy, the risk of injury is the sa no matter when you play.
Pleasance couldn’t win the argunt against Chen Yu, but he still shook his head stubbornly. "No. I’m the head coach, and I don’t approve him playing."
His face was set with determination. Chen Yu sighed. "Fine. It’s your decision."
Pleasance nodded, not daring to talk with Chen Yu any longer, and hurried away.
Chen Yu glanced toward the restroom.
’Honestly, more than giving him a push myself, I’d rather see Hill step up on his own and break through this psychological barrier.’
Chen Yu didn’t stay in the locker room long and headed back to the court.
The cheerleaders were dancing.
Chen Yu watched them seriously for a mont. ’They’re missing a little sothing compared to the Heat’s cheerleaders,’ he thought. ’They’re not letting loose enough.’
As he was watching, Jordan sat down next to him.
"What, you failed?" Jordan said with an I-knew-it expression, pursing his lips. "These young guys in the league today just don’t have it. You see the dia always talking about who’s my successor, but what’s the result? Not a single one of them can compare to ."
Chen Yu was amused. ’That’s so legendary trash talk. He’s almost on par with the king of flexing, Larry Bird.’
After a mont’s thought, Chen Yu retorted, "If you look down on them so much, why did you co all this way to watch the ga?"
Jordan’s smug smile froze for a second before he imdiately shot back, "I didn’t co to New York just for Grant. Hey, why don’t you ask why I’m in New York?"
Chen Yu gave Jordan a speechless look. He really wanted to say, ’Why would I ask? It’s not like we’re close.’
"So, why are you?"
Out of respect for the God of Basketball, Chen Yu played along and asked.
Jordan grinned. "This hasn’t been announced yet, but I can give you a heads-up. ."
He pointed to himself and whispered with a triumphant look, "I’m about to beco the owner of an NBA team."
Chen Yu was genuinely shocked by this news.
’An NBA team... that’s got to be worth a lot of money.’
Chen Yu sized Jordan up again. ’Just how much money has this old rogue made?’
"So, are you buying the Nicks?" Chen Yu asked.
’No wonder the Nicks’ owner, Jas Dolan, was here before the ga.’
Jordan broke into a fit of violent coughing.
The Nicks?
’You’ve got to be kidding. That’s the most valuable team in the NBA. He couldn’t afford it even if he sold himself.’
"The Wizards. And I don’t plan on buying the whole team. No need. It’s just a simple investnt, to get a feel for what it’s like to be a team owner," Jordan said nonchalantly. ’That old bastard Larry Bird is always flexing in front of , but no matter how much he flexes, can he top a player becoming an owner?’
Chen Yu laughed to himself, not wanting to burst Jordan’s bubble. ’Right, "no need" to buy the whole team. As if you could afford it in the first place.’
"That’s great. With your reputation, if you beco an owner of the Wizards, their tickets will definitely sell out. You’ll make a fortune," Chen Yu complinted.
Jordan laughed heartily. "That’s what I was thinking too."
Another thought occurred to Chen Yu. If Jordan beca a team owner, he probably wouldn’t co out of retirent again, right?
What kind of team owner personally gets on the court to play?
’Does that an this guy is really and truly retired for good?’
Chen Yu silently activated the Eye of All-Seeing.
There were many traces of old injuries on Jordan’s body, but overall, aside from a layer of fat on his belly, there were no major issues.
anwhile, in the Magic’s locker room.
During the halfti break, Pleasance couldn’t co up with any real solutions. The only thing he could do was give them a taste of their own dicine: double-team Alan Houston.
As for offense, given the reality of the situation, he was out of ideas.
"Let’s go," Pleasance called out to the team, seeing that ti was short.
"Where’s Grant?" Johnny Davis asked from the side, not seeing Hill.
Monty pointed to the restroom. "He went to the restroom."
Pleasance gestured at Houston, signaling for him to go get Hill.
Houston entered the restroom, saw that one of the stall doors was closed, and walked up to knock on it, asking if Hill was inside.
No response.
He knocked again. Still no response.
Just as Houston was about to bend down to see if anyone was inside, Hill’s voice ca from the stall. "I’m in here. You guys go on ahead."
Houston didn’t ask any more questions. Hill wasn’t going to play anyway.
’Taking a dump?’
Pleasance didn’t react much and just motioned for the team to head out.
After the halfti break, the Magic still hadn’t found the secret to winning. Pleasance stood on the sideline, his brow furrowed. He believed the Magic’s problem right now was simple.
Tracy McGrady was great, but not so great that he was unstoppable. The Magic’s defense might be holding up, but when T-Mac was locked down, no one else could share the scoring pressure.
anwhile, the Nicks had clearly found their rhythm and were steadily widening the score gap.
A sudden thought popped into Pleasance’s head: ’This ga is over.’
Just as Pleasance’s head was starting to ache, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Coach, if it’s alright, I’d like to play."
Pleasance whipped his head around and was startled. It was Hill, looking at him with a dead serious expression.
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