Almighty Coach

by Stayrr

How could a poor graduate student without any background or connections become successful? With a coaching system? An upgrade? This is not a computer game, but real life we’re talking about! This will be a fantasy based on reality. Dai Li will fight back against all those who would mock and humiliate him with his astonishing and awe-inspiring training skills. From a nobody he’ll t

21. 601 - 626

Read Almighty Coach - Chapter 601 - Pass the Ball to Wood online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 601: Pass the Ball to Wood

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The new season had officially begun.

The first game of the new season at the Staples Center was reserved for the LA Lakers. The Clippers, who were based in the same city, flew to Portland to face off against the Blazers for their first game of the season.

The Blazers were a strong team. They had been consistently made the playoffs in recent years. They had also been improving. In the fiercely competitive Western Conference, reaching the playoffs proved a team's strength.

In comparison, the Clippers were not considered a strong team. They had traded away their key player, Ronny. They signed on some retired ex-stars who were making their comebacks. They had become a shelter for the old and weak. Commentators and fans alike were optimistic about the Blazers' chance of victory.

In the predictions made before the game began, every commentator interviewed said that the Blazers would win. The betting odds by the gaming company verified this.

The fans at the Blazers' home court were very excited. Although the game had not yet begun, they were thinking about how they would celebrate the first win of the season.

In the Blazers' locker room, the players were relaxed. All of them felt that the game could be easily won. The substitutes were eager to play. They felt that their team would gain a massive lead very quickly. Once that happened, they could get seven or eight minutes of playing time. For those players who had not yet entered the rotation, having the opportunity to play in front of the coach was something worth celebrating.

The Blazers' coaching staff were also very relaxed. After all, their opponent was the Clippers. They were the shelter for the old and weak. The coaching staff did not believe that a group of retired veterans could be too strong. In addition, the Blazers' backcourt duos were the best in the NBA. They could easily defeat the Clippers.

On the other hand, the atmosphere in the Clippers' locker room was much more serious. Hall, Raymond, and Gray were all back after retiring. This was the first official game they would be playing since their comeback. Gray took it especially seriously. The former genius did not have much experience. He had only played about one hundred NBA games. Now that he had made his comeback and was starting for the Clippers, he felt nervous.

Dai Li sat alone on a chair. He held a clipboard in his hand. He seemed to be closing his eyes, but he was actually using the Prophecy Request Box.

To all the gods and goddesses on both heaven and earth, let me draw a good lot! Dai Li silently recited in his head. In the system, a sign came out of the Prophecy Request Box.

It is a good lot! Although it could be better, it can be considered to be a good one. Let me look at what is written on the sign quickly.

Dai Li immediately checked the sign. On it, it said, "Pass the ball to Wood."

What does this mean? Dai Li thought about it. He eventually stood up, walked to the middle of the players and said, "Let's talk about the game plan."

The players immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to Dai Li.

Dai Li coughed and cleared his throat. "We have a very simple strategy this game. Pass the ball to Wood."

The players looked at Dai Li, waiting for him to continue, but Dai Li had stopped.

Wood couldn't wait any longer. He took the initiative and asked, "Coach. Then what?"

"Then what?" Dai Li asked.

Wood looked at Dai Li with a blank stare. "I mean, after the ball is passed to me, what should I do? Is it a pick and roll, a breakthrough? Should I create opportunities for the players outside the three-point line, or should I directly rush for the basket?"

"Well, you can decide that yourself," Dai Li said casually.

"Decide by myself?" Wood blinked in confusion. He had played basketball for so many years and he had never seen a coach arrange such a strategy.

"Is there a problem?" Dai Li asked. "Wood, you are the point guard. You are the leader on the court. The organization of the offense is your responsibility, isn't it?"

"Yes, but…" Wood looked a little hesitant.

"Are you worried that you can't handle this responsibility?" Dai Li asked with a smile.

Wood did not answer, which was an admission that Dai Li was right.

"Do you think you haven't recovered fully?" Dai Li asked. He did not wait for Wood to answer. "Wood, there are many excellent players in our team. They used to be superstars, but no one has recovered fully; that includes you.

"I know you need more time to find your rhythm and the rhythm of the game. However, the regular season has started, so we don't have that much time. I need someone to take the lead and step up, to lead the team forward. I think that person is you!

"You started your rehabilitation training in May, earlier than everyone else. You have recovered the most. That is why I chose you. I think you can take on this responsibility. You don't need to worry about it, as long as you do what you think is right, you should do it boldly."

Dai Li looked at Wood trustfully as he was talking to him.

Wood was moved. He did not expect Dai Li to trust him so much. The effects of the Specter of Authority made Wood feel that Dai Li's words were as right as the words on holy scriptures.

"Coach, I will definitely try my best," Wood said positively.

When he saw the players walk onto the court, Dai Li tightened his face to conceal his sly expression. He thought, I've been able to put the sign from the Prophecy Request Box into motion!

…

Wood stood on the court and looked around the stadium.

The regular season was a bit unfamiliar to him. Due to his injuries, he had played less than 30 games in recent seasons. He had even forgotten how playing in the regular season felt.

The player standing opposite him was staring at him. This Blazers player was named Damian. He was the key player on the Blazers. He was one of the Blazers' backcourt duos. He was named the best rookie during his rookie season. He was selected as an All-Star three times and was put on the All-NBA team once.

In terms of age, Wood was only two years older than Damian, but Wood had entered the NBA earlier. When Wood was named the regular season MVP, Damian was a rookie who had just entered the NBA. This player won rookie of the year had become one of the best backcourt players in the NBA. Wood, the youngest regular season MVP in NBA history, had become an injured veteran that had lost his luster.

Wood and Damian were the same height, 6 feet 3 inches. They also weighed about the same. One was 192 pounds, the other was 193 pounds. In terms of achievements, Wood and Damian were also similar. They both were named All-Stars three times. They both were on the All-NBA team once. Both had won an All-Star Skills Challenge. The only difference between the two was one of them was a regular season MVP.

Wood knew that his opponent would be very difficult to deal with. His stats were almost the same as Wood's during his peak. He did not know whether he would be able to compete with this rising star.

On the opposite side, Damian looked at Wood with a provocative stare.

There was no shortage of provocations in the NBA. The younger generations were particularly bad. Provoking their seniors was very normal. Some of the seniors couldn't wait for the younger generation to provoke them. They would bully the rookies and push them onto the ground.

Today, it was Damian who was obviously trying to push his senior, Wood, onto the ground.

As an All-Star backcourt player, Damian never felt that he was any worse than anyone, but when people talk about the best players in the NBA, they didn't consider him as being one of the best. When compared with the defenders of several other strong teams in the Western Conference, Damian was put at the end of the list.

In the Western Conference, the Rockets' defender once was the MVP of the regular season. The Thunder's defender once was the MVP of the regular season. A Warriors' defender was named the regular season MVP twice. Although Damian's stats were those of a top defender, and his performance was good, he had never received the title of MVP in a regular season. This lack of an MVP title seemed to tell Damian, "In the Western Conference, you are still a rookie!"

Carrying the anger of having never been an MVP, he had to face off against Wood, the youngest player ever to be named MVP in a regular season. Damian wanted to defeat Wood for this reason.

Damian wanted to prove to the world that he was much stronger than a regular season MVP!

…

This was the first game of the new season. Both sides seemed to have not entered with the proper mindset. This was evident in the standard of the defense and the positioning of the players.

It was expected for the Clippers to be slow when it came to getting into the correct mindset. After all, the team was made up of comeback players. They had not participated in an official game for a year or two. They needed time to recover and adapt.

For the Blazers, it was simply because the new season had only just begun and the players were still in the "holiday mood."

Besides the defenses, the two teams were pretty much neck-in-neck for most of the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers were 10 points behind.

Damian scored three of his five three-point attempts. Adding in his two free-throws, he scored 11 points in total.

Damian was good at getting points. He was accurate, especially on three-pointers. He had a good handle on the ball and he had a field goal percentage of 37%. He depended on three-pointers for his offenses; half of his shots were taken outside the three-point line. It was not surprising for a player like him to get dozens of points in a game.

On the Clippers' side, Wood also shot three-pointers, but his were much worse than Damien's. His best method of offense was to rush towards the basket and face off against the defense. This method was also known as the "knee killer." None of the players in history who used this way to score had good knees.

It was because of this method that Wood had the knees a fifty-year-old.

With the help of Dai Li, Wood's knees had returned to their previous state. Once he had the explosive power and speed, he started to score by using methods like rushing forward to attack.

There was a beautiful change of direction dribble. He made a sudden start-and-stop, with strong explosive power, then a quick rush, and a smooth layup. Wood's signature attack could turn the defenders' defense into a mess. If no one came to assist on defending, it was difficult for a single defender to stop Wood's attack.

Still, the scoring rate of the last few throws was a bit horrible. Only one of the seven shots were made. It made Wood speechless. His field goal percentage for these kinds of rushing methods was close to 50%. This did not include free-throws. If the seven free-throws were counted, he would have a field goal percentage of 70% by using this method of attack.

…

"Our field goal percentage is a bit bad," Cassel said with a worried look.

"I know," Dai Li nodded. "Wood still needs time to get back the feel. I believe that he will get back his feel for the game soon."

Dai Li turned his head and looked at Cassel as he spoke. Cassel still looked a little anxious. Dai Li continued to say, "Wood is a regular season MVP. If he is given enough opportunities, he will return to his prime condition. From my point of view, real competition is the best teacher for an athlete!"

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Chapter 602: Natural Born Leader

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Rush in, throw, and miss.

Rush in, throw, and miss.

Rush in, throw, and score.

Rush in, throw, and miss. Draw a foul for a free-throw.

Rush in, throw, and miss.

Rush in, throw, and score…

If the free-throws weren't counted, Wood's field goal percentage was just 33%. For two-pointers, this was quite low. Most shooters' field goal percentage for three-pointers were higher than that as well.

Although Wood's knees had recovered, he had not regained his rhythm. His sense for the game had also not recovered. When he made a beautiful change-of-direction move, rushed towards the basket with quickness and explosive power, and overcame the tall defenders inside the three-point line, he still couldn't put the ball into the basket.

On the sidelines, the Blazers' assistant coach in charge of defensive training was embarrassed and depressed. Wood's rushes were too incisive. The Blazers were not good at defending. Their defenses completely broke down when faced with Wood's rushes.

Right next to him, the Blazers' coach, Terry, looked at their lead of a dozen points. He looked worried. It didn't seem like they were leading by a dozen points, but more like they were a dozen points behind.

"Wood's knees have recovered!" The head coach of the Blazers, Terry, finally said.

Watching for this long, the recovery was impossible to miss.

Wood did too many change-of-direction moves, sudden stops and rushes, and jumps. He also attacked the defensive players with difficult moves. To make these moves, a person needed a good pair of knees.

Every change-of-pace dribble or sudden move put a lot of pressure on the knees. That was why Wood's knees were those of a fifty-year-old. This was basically an irreversible injury. Once it appeared, it would only get worse and worse. It would not get better.

Wood began to use this offensive method at the beginning of the game. This was the style of offense he was best at. In the beginning, the Blazer's head coach realized that his knees had had a season to recover. When the first quarter began, his knees were not under great pressure. The few difficult maneuvers were to be expected.

Terry reached the conclusion that Wood's current style would not last long. He knew that Wood's knees had been badly injured and they were already in a sorry state. He would at most be able to carry out several difficult moves occasionally. If he continued to play like this, his knees would definitely not last.

When he was on the court, Wood had been continuously using those type of difficult moves. He didn't seem worried about his knees. His speed, explosive power, and control were telling everyone that his knees were in good condition.

The head coaches in NBA teams were definitely good at what they did. They spent their entire life working with basketball. A player could be deciphered in a single glance from the head coaches. The Blazers' head coach was naturally able to analyze Wood in his current performance.

"Wood's knees have recovered!" Terry, the Blazers' head coach, had a complex expression on his face. It was in transition between doubt and shock.

"Coach, what did you say?" The assistant coach next to him asked.

"I said Wood's knees have fully recovered!" Terry added the word "fully" this time.

The assistant coach thought for five or six seconds before he was able to understand the true meaning of what he said. "Impossible!"

He looked at Wood, who was on the court and recalled the difficult moves Wood had been using. His tone changed and he asked, "It shouldn't be possible, right?"

The assistant coach's tone shift illustrated that he had the same opinion as the head coach.

Terry didn't answer. He just looked at Dai Li. He was sitting on the Clippers' bench on the other side.

Dai Li had been the head coach of the Clippers for half a season, so the coaches of the NBA teams had already figured out some details about Dai Li. They knew he was very good at rehabilitation training and that players who had suffered serious injuries had fully recovered under his care. He was very good at leading older athletes into their second primes.

However, the Blazers' head coach did not consider that through Dai Li's rehabilitation training, Wood's knees could recover!

Wood was the youngest MVP in history. He could be regarded as a superstar. His injury was no secret. Although the seriousness of each of Wood's injuries had not been disclosed publicly, each team had someone responsible for estimating the severity of the injuries. The estimates were usually not far off.

Some of the team's physical trainers and doctors even used Wood's injuries as a case study to prevent their players from suffering the same injury. They studied how a player could recover from similar injuries.

Terry knew how serious Wood's knee injury had been. He didn't think Wood's knees could recover and he didn't think Wood would able to maintain his speed and explosive power. The media used the words "fifty or sixty-year-old knees" to describe Wood. They had told the world that the youngest MVP in history had become useless.

What happened today was beyond Terry's understanding. Wood's knees were fully recovered! If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Terry wouldn't have believed it. Even now, he still had some doubts about what he saw.

How could such a severe injury go away just like that?

After a brief period of shock and confusion, Terry realized that the person whose knees had recovered was Wood. This was not some minor player, nor an ordinary good player, but the youngest player to get the title of MVP in a regular season in NBA history.

…

Rush in, throw, and score.

Rush in, throw, and score.

Rush in, throw, and score. Successfully created a foul for a free-throw.

Wood scored three times in a row.

What a familiar feeling! Wood quickly ran back to his half of the court, but he was still thinking of the previous shot in his head.

Wood used to use this scoring method to dominate in the NBA. Since his knee injury, he could no longer use this method to score. He had forgotten the feeling of rushing and scoring. It was only now that he had remembered the sensation he felt when he scored.

I've found my rhythm again! Wood felt joyful.

After the miraculous recovery of his knees, Wood started high-intensity training. He was eager to find his own rhythm and to get back into the flow of a match.

Such things could not be rushed. Even if he did well in training, without actual experience a player could never get their rhythm back.

This was the case with basketball players. They might be ferocious tigers in training, but they turned into dogs in an official game.

On the training grounds, many players were able to run fast, jump high, and shoot accurately. In a high-intensity game, if they could maintain that for ten minutes, they were considered a top athlete. For example, a certain NBA player who played inside the three-point line often released videos of him shooting free-throws. In training, he made all of his shots. In real games, he was lucky to make one out of two free-throws. If he made both of the free-throws, everyone on his team's bench cheered for him.

This was the difference between training and competition. Simple free-throws became doubly difficult. The chance of scoring was reduced by half. Wood's change-of-direction move, his confrontation with the defenders, and his layup required many attempts before he could get into the flow of regularly scoring.

Fortunately, Wood had recovered that flow. He had also recovered his confidence.

Each time he attacked, he became more and more determined.

Wood's dribble made Damian lose his balance, and he lost his position as a result. Wood used the chance to rush towards the basket and make a beautiful throw. The ball went into the hoop.

Damian looked at Wood very unhappily. This was due to a mistake made by him, the defender.

Damian was not good at defending. His defense had received criticism. The Blazers' backcourt duo was once described as the "backcourt leaking duos." It was common for them to leave a gap in their defense accidentally. However, in the last two seasons, Damian's defensive skills had improved a lot. He wasn't the one responsible for leaving a gap in their defenses.

When facing the best players of the NBA, however, Damian's defense left a lot of openings for the attackers.

It is just a two-pointer! I will get you back with a three-pointer! Damian thought as he gestured to his teammates to perform a pick-and-roll maneuver. He scored a three-pointer straight away.

The three-pointer was Damian's best scoring method. After scoring the three-pointer, Damian looked at Wood provocatively, as if to say that a three-pointer would always be one point more than a two-pointer.

Wood quickly responded in the next attack. He made a very easy high shot, and the ball went into the basket. The attack also created a foul, so he received a free throw. In the end, he also received three points.

The game entered a phase in which the two point guards kept scoring.

…

Cassel looked at the scoreboard. The score was 63-63. He couldn't help but say, "Wood has found his rhythm. Coach Li, your arrangement worked."

Dai Li smiled and did not answer. "Pass the ball to Wood." Although it was only a good lot from the Prophecy Request Box, it was not the best. It was similar to only getting second place in an exam. Getting second place was also good enough sometimes.

After a timeout, Dai Li sent out Gray, the center.

Gray was getting a lot of fouls, so he did not have much actual playtime. Whenever he was on the court, however, the Clippers had an advantage inside the three-point line. A good center was beneficial to any team that they were on.

On the court, the Blazers had gotten tougher defending against Wood. Wood changed his style. He no longer obsessed with rushing. He started to pass more often, and the person who benefitted the most from this was Gray.

Rushing forward and then passing to another player was a common strategy in basketball. The Rockets' strategy of passing to another player to score at the last second turned an ordinary player inside the three-point line into a player with excellent scoring ability. Wood might not be as good as the backcourt duos of the Rockets, but Gray was better than the Rockets' backcourt duo when it came to receiving the ball and scoring. He was able to split the pressure of attacking with Woods. This made it so that the Blazers' players inside the three-point line did not dare to surround Woods.

At this point in the game, Woods had demonstrated why he was a regular season MVP.

…

"Whoomp!"

The basketball entered the basket was extremely crispily. Damian had allowed three three-pointers to get into the basket in a row.

Terry wanted a timeout to let Damian calm down but the rebound was caught by a player from the Clippers.

The ball was in Wood's hands. He was very focused. With sharpness and calmness in his eyes, he was constantly observing the positions of his teammates. He directed where they should go with his hands.

Wood was like a general on the battlefield, waving the flags and mobilizing thousands of horses.

He is a natural leader! Dai Li let out a long sigh. He remembered a phrase on Wood's evaluation of Wood when he participated in the NBA draft: "He is a natural leader!"

There weren't many players in the draft that received such an evaluation.

A regular season MVP was indeed a good leader for a team. The responsibility of the leader was to lead his team to victory!

On the court, Wood looked at his teammates around him. There was Gray, who committed five fouls. There was Halls, who hadn't gotten his groove back. There was Raymond, who was still trying to get used to playing in a proper game. Not one of his teammates were able to give much help. This made Wood feel like he was back on the Bulls. That was the season he won MVP.

That season was similar to right now. He had two all-star teammates who played inside the three-point line. Both of them had missed about 30 games and they played around 30 games with injuries. Wood had to carry the whole team. He played 81 games, scored 25 points, received 4.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists. This helped the Bulls achieve a record of 62 wins and 20 losses in the NBA. This record proved the value of an MVP.

He had a similar feeling to back then. His teammates were only able to offer limited help. He had to rely on himself to win victory for his team.

Wood was convinced that he could do it because he was the leader of this team. All he had to do was to carry out his role correctly.

…

Terry felt mentally exhausted. He sat in his chair and looked at the scoreboard.

Initially, the scores of both teams had been quite close but, in the last two minutes, the Blazers' players kept making mistakes. The Clippers took the opportunity to seize the lead. The Clippers were now leading by six.

Six points. It was two three-pointers to tie. They needed not only strength but also some help from lady luck.

The youngest regular season MVP! The youngest leader! Terry looked at Wood with fear in his eyes.

The next second, he looked at Damian.

In terms of the honors that they received, the only difference between Damian and Wood was that one was a regular season MVP and the other was not. The title of "leader" also came with the honor of being a regular season MVP.

In Terry's eyes, Damian was indeed strong. He was also capable of leading the team to victory, but he was not a qualified leader. He was far from being able to be described as "leader."

Wood was different. He was a real leader. There was no doubt that Wood had proved this when he was on the Bulls. Even now, it was difficult to find such players in the NBA.

"How did he recover from such a severe injury?" Terry muttered to himself again.

On the bench on the other side, Dai Li said in a commentator's tone, "Wood is different from other players. He is a natural leader, so I feel assured leaving the decisions on the court to him. He knows how to win. He does what needs to be done to secure victory!"

…

Someone needed to take control at the most crucial part of the game.

The Blazers sent out their All-Star player, Damian.

The Clippers sent out their leader, Wood.

The result was predictable.

In the first game of the season, the Clippers beat the Blazers 105 -101 and got their first win of the season.

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Chapter 603: Simple Rehabilitation Training

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Auckland, Golden State Warriors Training Camp.

Fidel, the team doctor, hurried into the room. There was a TV on the wall. On both sides of the TV, there was a tactical board of the court. On the other side was a whiteboard.

This was where the team analyzed and discussed tactics. Fidel did not come here often. Right now, all members of the coaching staff had arrived.

Fidel felt like he was late. He said apologetically, "Sorry coach. I rushed here as fast as I could."

After Fidel finished talking, he went to the back to find a seat.

"Fidel, sit here." The Warriors' coach, Nicholas, pointed to a seat close to him.

It was the seat facing the TV. Usually, the head coach, Nicholas, would sit there alone. There was an extra chair there today.

Although Fidel felt somewhat overwhelmed and a bit flattered, he nodded and sat next to Nicholas.

"Fidel, look at this." Nicholas pressed the remote.

The game between the Clippers and the Blazers appeared on the TV.

Fidel didn't understand for a while. He thought about it carefully. The Clippers and the Blazers were both teams in the Western Conference and the Clippers and Warriors were also in the Pacific Division. Their chances of facing off against each other were quite high. In the next two weeks of competition, the Warriors would not meet the Clippers or the Blazers. He was just a team doctor. He didn't know much about tactics, so he didn't quite understand the reason Nicholas wanted him to watch the video.

"Coach, why am I watching this?" Fidel asked.

"Look at him." Nicholas pointed to Wood on the TV. "Look at Wood."

"Oh, he played very well. There were a few very beautiful shots. It was enjoyable to watch!" Fidel was a bit slow to catch on.

"What else?" Nicholas asked.

"What else!" Fidel thought about it and said helplessly, "Well, you may not be happy to hear it, but my two sons are fans of his."

Fidel's slowness made Nicholas feel discouraged. If it weren't for Fidel's medical skills, Nicholas would have kicked Fidel out.

Nicholas had no choice but to clarify, "I want you to watch his movement. Don't pay attention to whether or not they were well executed. Analyze, from a professional's point of view, how much has his knees have recovered."

Nicholas said everything very clearly. He was afraid Fidel might misunderstand again.

Fidel suddenly understood the situation. He gave a little smile. He then looked at the TV screen. After focusing on it for ten seconds, he said, "In my professional judgment, Wood's knees are in better condition than most normal players. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to pull off such difficult maneuvers. For example, if you rewind a bit…"

Nicholas pressed the rewind button. Fidel pointed to the TV. "Yes, here, after the sudden stop, the immediate change in direction, then a jump-and-throw. Such coherent movements, coordination of the body, and explosive power require great strength. The average player cannot perform such actions. Doing something like this puts the joints on the knees under pressure in all sorts of areas within a short time span. Unless he has a very strong knee, he will get injured very easily…"

Fidel's analysis was as fierce as a tiger. As he was talking, he suddenly stopped.

"Wait a minute. Is this Wood?" Fidel stared at the screen in surprise.

After repeated confirmation, Fidel found that this was not a simulation. Suddenly, he showed an expression of shock, "How did Wood's knees recover? This is impossible!"

"So you also think it is impossible?" Nicholas asked.

Fidel nodded and thought for a while. "Wood's injuries stem from a cruciate ligament tear. The torn cruciate ligament caused the subsequent menisci tearing. In fact, cruciate ligament rupture is a very common knee joint injury. The traditional medical treatment is arthroscopic ACL reconstruction, but the treatment for this is more complicated. As far as I know, Wood did undertake this treatment. This is an arthroscopic surgery. It is not only for the use of ACL reconstruction but also for the use of arthroscopic reduction and fixation surgery…"

Fidel's professional analysis was, again, as fierce as a tiger. Professional jargon kept coming out of his mouth.

When Fidel finished his analysis, Nicholas asked, "So your conclusion is that it is impossible for Wood to recover from his injury?"

"In theory, yes." Fidel shrugged and said, "But our reality is different from theory. Wood has really recovered."

"Can you be sure? I mean, is it possible that he only did well this one game, but his knees still haven't recovered?" Nicholas asked eagerly.

Fidel frowned. This time, he thought about for a long time. "This is a possibility, but I am not inclined to believe it is the case. From the technical performance shown by Wood, I think his knees have recovered."

"What you mean is that his knees have returned to their state when he was in his prime?" Nicholas asked, unwilling to believe it.

"From this performance, I can draw such a conclusion," Fidel nodded.

"Damn! Another MVP player," Nicholas said somewhat angrily. "The competition in the Western Conference is getting tougher and tougher!"

…

It wasn't only the Warriors, the defending champions, that paid close attention to the game between the Clippers and the Blazers. Other teams paid close attention to it as well. They focused on the fact that Wood had fully recovered.

This was not good news for the other 29 teams, especially for the ones in the Western Conference. It was very bad news. The competition in the Western Conference was fierce. The gap in skill between the teams in the playoffs was very small. It was often the case that three or four teams would compete for one or two places in the playoffs.

A healthy Wood meant that there was another MVP-level superstar in the NBA. It also meant that there was another team in the battle for a place in the playoffs in the Western Conference. That team was the Los Angeles Clippers.

An ordinary All-Star player could change the record of a team. An ordinary superstar player could change the results of the playoffs, and a regular season MVP was enough to change the situation of the entire NBA.

Every team had the same question. How did Wood recover from such a severe injury?

…

The schedule of the regular season was packed. The day after the Clippers returned from Portland, they had back-to-back games. Their first opponents were the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns wanted to tank this season. They didn't want to win the game at all. Wood played very well in this game. He got 30 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. The Clippers eventually defeated the Suns.

Their next opponent was the Thunder. They had superstars on their team. This game was another battle between stars. In the end, the Thunder defeated the Clippers in the last 1.9 seconds. Wood's performance in this game was still very good. He got a 2010 double-double.

The record of two wins and one loss at the beginning of a new season was a very good result for the Clippers. This record convinced everyone that Wood had really recovered.

Many people had speculated, like Nicholas, that Wood's performance was just a one time deal, and that his knees had not really recovered. They believed that he was only able to play the way he did because he had rested for a season, so his knees were slightly better. There was no way he would be able to maintain his performance.

Now, this speculation had been completely shattered. Playing as he did in one single game may be accidental, but doing it for three consecutive games dispelled any thoughts that it might be "accidental."

…

After the back-to-back games, the Clippers had a two-day break, but the players did not rest. In addition to training, the Clippers arranged for a meet and greet with the media.

Although the usual practice for a meet and greet with the media was just to take photos and give interviews, the event was packed into a very short two hours.

Wood was clearly popular. He was a famous athlete when he was young. He used to be a popular athlete in the past, and only lost his popularity due to his injury. Now that he had recovered, he became interesting to reporters again.

Wood had suffered such a severe injury and had recovered in a short time. This was something that everyone was very interested in.

Dai Li accepted several interviews and left the scene. When he left, he did not forget to call Johnson, the general manager.

"Were there a lot of new faces today?" Dai Li asked with a smile.

"There were more people than usual. Many of them were indeed unfamiliar. They did not seem like they were reporters from Los Angeles."

"They all came for Wood, right?" Dai Li stayed silent for two or three seconds, and then said, "How many of them were sent by other teams to gather information on us?"

"There were some, but probably not much," Johnson said. "I think most of the new people were sent from hospitals. "

"Hospitals? What do you mean?" Dai Li did not understand.

"Private hospitals, including joint research institutions and professional rehabilitation institutions. They must be very curious about how Wood recovered so well," Johnson said. He lowered his voice and then curiously asked, "Coach Li, can you tell me, in secret, how you helped Wood recover? I won't tell anyone."

"Through rehabilitation training of course!" Dai Li said very casually.

Only a fool, however, would believe what he just said. Johnson didn't.

"What? Don't believe me?" Dai Li pointed to Johnson's knee and said, "If you don't believe it, tear your cruciate ligament, I will definitely help you recover…"

"Are you teasing me?" Johnson said with disdain.

"I won't charge you for my service! That should be good enough right?" Dai Li replied.

Johnson looked at Dai Li with slight resentment. "If I really do what you said, tear my ligament and find you to help me recover, I would leave need money to treat my mental illness."

…

At the meeting with the media, a reporter asked Wood how he recovered.

There was silence. Everyone's eyes were concentrated on Wood. They hoped to get an answer from him. The reporter did not even press the shutters on their camera, fearing that the shutter's "squeaky" sound would drown out Wood's answer.

"This is how I did it. I did rehabilitation training. The effect of rehabilitation training was very good. My knees have recovered completely," Wood said.

"Was it just rehabilitation training?" a reporter asked immediately.

Wood thought about it and replied, "To put it accurately, it was a long-term process, with large amounts of physical training. In fact, I started rehabilitation training since the end of the last regular season."

Nobody asked you for the amount of time you trained… The reporters stared at Wood a little depressingly.

Another reporter took the microphone and asked what everyone wanted to know, "Besides rehabilitation training, have you used other methods to recover? For example, a new treatment method?"

"No, it was just simple rehabilitation training," Wood's innocent tone made the reporters feel like they had hit a wall.

"Just through simple rehabilitation training? Who would believe that?"

"Such a severe injury. How could it recover through just rehabilitation training? How is this possible?"

"Does Wood think we have no medical knowledge!"

"Wood is deliberately keeping it a secret. He does not want to tell us the truth!"

The reporters sent to inquire about the news all knew that they would have to return empty handed…

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Chapter 604: Free-throw Lane Defender

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Seattle, Davis Institute of Traumatic Arthritis.

Although it was called an institute, it was actually a well-known private hospital. The institute's owner, Professor Davis, was an expert in the treatment of knee injuries.

Professor Davis was sitting in front of his computer, carefully looking at the results of an MRI on the computer screen. Davis groaned. "Impossible, how could it fully recover?"

When Wood was injured, he received a consultation from Professor Davis. Davis gave him a treatment plan. Therefore, Davis's Institute of Traumatic Arthritis had Wood's medical records and the results of various tests they had run.

I have experience with hundreds of cruciate ligament tears and no one has been able to recover 100%. Wood is different from other patients. He had serious strain-related injuries and his wounds were more prone to inflammation. Even if surgery were performed, the postoperative complications would be difficult to avoid.

The subsequent tearing of his menisci continued worsened this. Because the cruciate ligament could not fully recover, he was more vulnerable than other athletes and his knees got worse every time he was injured. If he had not rested and continued to play, his knees would only have gotten worse!

Wood's knee injury, from the perspective of medical science, was a death sentence. It was irreversible. Unless new treatment methods were applied…

When he thought about new treatment methods, Professor Davis's eyes sparkled with a burning glow.

Medicine was the fastest-growing scientific field in the world, yet, there were still a large number of diseases that couldn't be cured by medicine. Everyone was sentenced to grow old and die eventually, but everyone wanted to live longer. Medicine that could make people live longer was the easiest kind of medicine to get funding for. It was also the most profitable.

Therefore, if a new method of treating cruciate ligament tears suddenly appeared in the field of medicine, Professor Davis would feel as if his field was better off.

The phone rang and Professor Davis's eyes left the computer screen. He answered the phone.

"Professor Davis, I contacted the Clippers' internal staff through some of my personal contacts. The answer he gave me was the same as what Wood said in the interview. Wood's recovery was entirely through rehabilitation," the person said frankly.

"Rehabilitation training? Haha. That might fool the average person," Davis said disdainfully. After a few seconds, he asked, "Were you able to get Wood's latest MRI results?"

"Well, I am afraid that it is somewhat difficult. It is related to a patient's privacy. Leaking his private details will violate the law…" The other party hesitated.

"I can pay you an extra investigation fee," Davis said. "I am a doctor. I have given Wood treatment. I just want to know how much his knees have recovered. This is an innocent request with the development of medicine in mind."

"In that case, I am willing to contribute to the development of medicine." The other party laughed and said, "Professor, if your time permits, I will collect the check from you tomorrow."

The other party was clearly concerned about the investigation fee.

…

The NBA announced the best player in the first week of the new season.

In terms of his stats, Wood was not the best. His average was 257. There were some strong players on other teams that had 2510 or 308. Regarding the team records, the Clippers only had two wins and one loss. It wasn't very impressive compared to other teams in the Western Conference that had three or four consecutive wins.

However, Wood was still named the best player of the week.

He had been the youngest person to become an MVP. He was not short on fans or popularity. Wood sold the most jerseys in the NBA. When he recovered and showed that he was able to perform well, countless fans returned to him. After he was named best player of the week, he gained even more fans.

In the following games, the Clippers defeated the Spurs, the Grizzlies and the Thunder, gaining a three-game win streak.

The Grizzlies had gone through a significant change in their lineup the last few seasons. The once proud key players inside the three-point line were of no use during an era where small ball playstyles were popular. The Grizzlies had just changed their coaches as well. They hadn't had a chance to create a new strategy, so they had been expected to lose to the Clippers.

The Spurs were getting unlucky this season. Their key player was fighting with management as they refused to renew his contract in advance. When the new season started, he refused to play, citing his injury. It was clear that he was not interested in staying on the Spurs and wanted to go to another team that could offer him a high salary. Because of this, the morale of the Spurs was low. The players were not in a mood to compete. Even the Spurs' longtime coach couldn't stabilize the situation. It wasn't unexpected that such a team would lose.

As for the game against the Thunder, it was a battle between superstar defenders.

Wood used to be a regular season MVP. The Thunder's point guard was also a regular season MVP. He was famous for getting triple-doubles. Wood was good at breaking through his opponent's defense and so was the Thunder's MVP point guard. The two of them would inevitably face off in this game.

The last time the two teams competed, both of them had started to compete with each other. They were both point guards, and they were both regular season MVPs. Neither was willing to give in to the other and neither was afraid of the other. When the official game began, they performed equally well. They both played exciting basketball.

The Thunder's point guard averaged three double-doubles in previous seasons. Not a lot of people in the NBA could do this. He received his title as MVP because of this. He scored a triple-double in this game. However, his triple-double was overshadowed by the Clippers' player's triple-double.

It wasn't Wood who had gotten the triple-double; it was the center substitute, Karaby.

Karaby got 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocks.

In a basketball game, 99% of the triple-doubles were a combination of scores rebounds assists. It was difficult for players who didn't have many chances to get ten points. It was possible for those who had an adequate ability in getting rebounds to get ten rebounds. Those who were decent at passing, as long as their teammates weren't too bad, could easily get ten assists as well.

However, getting ten blocks and ten steals required a bit of luck and cooperation.

Karaby had been the blocked shot leader four times. He had achieved four triple-doubles in his career. All in scoring, rebounding and blocking. This was the fifth time he had a triple-double. It wasn't out of the ordinary.

At the "old age" of 35, however, getting a triple-double in scoring, rebounding, and blocking was seen as incredible.

This was thanks to the Thunder. The Thunder's point guard was competing with Wood. Wood scored by breaking through the opponent's defense. He wanted to prove that he was better than Wood, so he kept using the same scoring method as Wood.

The Thunder's defender was good. He was a seven-feet and could shoot from a middle distance. He also had the ability to defend in the free-throw lane. However, he only managed to block one shot the entire game.

On the Clippers' side was Karaby, a four-time blocked shot leader. After using the age-reduction card, he had reverted back to his skill at 30, his prime. Coupled with his years of experience, this old timer was able to determine when his opponent would turn and when they would do a layup. When they attempted to put the ball into the basket, his hand would reach out and block them.

So when the Thunder's point guard insisted on breaking through his opponent's defense to score, the result was obvious. Every attempt to score was a chance for Karaby to block him. Karaby did not hesitate to do so. When he couldn't block the ball, he found ways to interfere with the opponent's layup. This resulted in his triple-double.

A triple-double consisting of scoring, rebounds, and blocks was something that might not happen even once in a season. Such a performance would undoubtedly make the next day's headlines.

People started to notice Karaby's performance this season. He averaged 10.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game. His stats were high because his triple-double dragged his averages up. 10.8 points and 12.2 rebounds were not expected of a 35-year-old veteran.

When people compared his current performance to when he was the blocked shot leader, they found that them similar. If Karaby maintained his current performance, he would become the best defender in the free-throw lane.

Karaby had been exchanged for Ronny. When they were being traded, many people felt that it was a bad deal for the Clippers to get a first-round draft pick and a 35-year-old veteran in exchange for a young, key player from their team.

Now it seemed that the deal benefited the Clippers. Not only had the Clippers gotten a first-round draft pick, but they had also received one of the best defenders in the free-throw lane.

There was never a shortage of players outside the three-point line who could score in the NBA. There were always rookies with strong attacking abilities every year. However, there was always a shortage of good defenders inside the three-point line. Those who were able to defend in the free-throw lane were not typical players. Even when small ball playstyles were popular, a good defender inside the three-point line was still something that most teams needed if they wanted to become champions. Every strong team wanted to have a player like that.

…

In a luxury apartment in Sacramento, a 40-year-old man was sweating on a treadmill.

He was 6.5 feet tall, had a shaved head, and no tattoos on his muscles. He looked very clean.

The TV hanging on the wall next to him was playing the five best performances in the NBA from yesterday. The first wasn't a shot, but a beautiful block.

It showed Karaby leaping high up, slapping the basketball in the air, and the ball flying to the other half of the court.

"Beautiful block! Karaby is only a few years younger than me, but he can still jump so high! He got a triple-double as well. It seems like he has become a young man again," he said to himself. He pressed the treadmill's pause button and the treadmill slowly stopped.

The man picked up the phone on the table, opened Twitter, and found Karaby.

"Hey, old guy! I can't believe you can still jump!" The man typed.

A few minutes later, Karaby actually replied.

"Flyboy, jealous? I have found youth again! You wanna have a go?"

After the man read the reply, he furrowed his eyebrows.

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Chapter 605: Too Talented

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The NBA announced the player of the week for the second week of the regular season in the Eastern and Western Conferences. The Clippers' center substitute, Karaby, was awarded the acclaim in the Western Conference.

His last season was not bad, but he was only ever able to get a double-double. This was common in the star-filled Western Conference. Getting a triple-double, on the other hand, was rare. Getting a triple-double was enough for him to get named the player of the week.

Karaby was very happy. At 35, he had regained his youth and been named the best player of the week. He hadn't even won this title in his prime.

Karaby treated the entire coaching staff and his teammates to a meal; they did not hold themselves back. They all came with the thought of using as much of Karaby's money as possible. They ordered a table full of luxurious foods.

In the private dining area of the hotel's restaurant, Karaby happily handed his credit card to the waiter. Karaby had earned tens of millions of dollars in his career, so the cost of such a meal wouldn't bother him. If he had to treat his team to a meal every time he achieved a triple-double, he would happily go bankrupt.

His teammates were very happy, but Gray was spacing out a bit.

As the substitute center of the team, Karaby had been maintained an average double-double of 1010 this season. Now, he had gotten a triple-double through his blocking. In contrast, Gray had been plagued by fouls. He played even less than Karaby, a substitute.

Dai Li noticed Gray's worries. A starting player doing worse than his substitute would obviously make one feel depressed.

Dai Li went to Gray's side and sat down. After thinking in silence for a few seconds, he asked, "Are you feeling worried?"

"Hhmm?" Gray was slightly absent-minded. He quickly composed himself and replied, "No, no."

"I thought you were worried about Karaby taking away your spot in the starting lineup," Dai Li said with a smile.

Gray did not answer this time. He did indeed have this fear in his heart. After all, Karaby's performances were much better than his and Karaby was much more experienced. As long as Karaby maintained his current performance, he could play in the starting lineup of any team.

Dai Li said, "The reason why I keep you in the starting lineup instead of Karaby is that I recognize your potential. Karaby has done well recently, but he has reached his limit. You are different. I cannot even see your limit."

Dai Li was not trying to comfort Gray. Gray had a rare genius that only appeared once every 30 years. The detector rated him as an S level talent. He definitely had much room to grow.

"However, you need to solve your problem with fouls. You get too many. This fragments your playing time and affects your stats," Dai Li said. An eccentric expression flashed on his face.

Gray was plagued by fouls. In 20 minutes of playing time, he was able to get an 11 8, plus 2.3 blocks. If this were converted to 36 minutes, it would definitely be a double-double.

Taking into account that his playing time was very fragmented, his stats could definitely improve. Dai Li also thought that if Gray could control his personal fouls like the other players inside the three-point line, he could very easily average 2015.

Gray, who was sitting opposite Dai Li, listened to him. He agreed with him and nodded as he listened. He knew that he committed too many personal fouls.

"Coach, what should I do?" Gray asked.

"According to my observations, your fouls occur when you block and when you fill in. When you are defending during a one-on-one situation, your fouls are under control. You need to improve in these two areas."

Dai Li extended his finger as he spoke. He then said, "First of all, let's talk about blocking. You definitely can block, I might even say that you are good at it…"

Gray heard this and smiled timidly. His face looked very old, and a few wrinkles suddenly appeared on his face.

Gray could get 2.3 blocks per game with his 20 minutes of playtime. This proved that he was very good in this respect. If converted to the 36 minutes of playtime of an average player, Gray might get four blocks per game. He was able to be blocked shot leader by just by getting three blocks at the beginning of the year. If he got four blocks in a game, he could enter the hall of fame.

Dai Li suddenly changed his tone, "You should not block for the sake of getting a block."

Gray hesitated and then tentatively said, "I don't do anything like that coach. I really don't. I'm not trying to push up my stats."

"I didn't mean to say that you were deliberately trying to boost stats. I mean you always want to block the ball." Dai Li paused and said, "Sometimes, you don't need to block at all. You just need to interfere with your opponent's throw to keep the ball from going into the basket. Then you can get the rebound. Wouldn't that be easier?"

Without waiting for Gray to answer, Dai Li already lifted up his second finger. "We are now going to talk about defense. You have a major problem with guarding. You are too obsessed with guarding an opponent. You want to block off his path completely. You have the ability to do so, but it bears the risk of getting more fouls. In fact, many times you just need to interfere and put some pressure on your opponent to make him lose his rhythm. That's enough. That would be considered successful defense."

Dai Li changed his tone and then asked, "Do you think that, as a defender, you should guard against the ball or the player?"

"That…" Gray obviously hesitated.

In basketball, there were 10 players on both sides. TThe most important thing in this sport was the basketball itself. The goal of the attacker was to put the ball into the basket and the defender's goal was to stop the ball from entering the basket. Simply put, the defender should guard against the ball.

In the development of basketball over the years, the answer had become less clear. The players on the field had different roles to play. They needed to cooperate and implement strategies. In the end, the game was still being played by people. In the NBA, guarding against the player was mainstream. Regardless of whether there was a ball in the opponent's hand, the defender should guard against the attacker he was responsible for. Nowadays, even junior high school students knew they needed to guard against the people that were in front of them. The defenders should be guarding against the people instead of guarding the ball.

"Guard against the people," Gray replied.

Dai Li smiled and said, "But you like to guard the ball.

"When I asked you this question, you hesitated a bit. Obviously, you also know about your bad habit."

Gray nodded. Of course, he knew.

The coaches in the NBA were not useless. If Dai Li could realize this, other coaches would realize it too. They definitely used this to exploit Gray.

Dai Li became serious. "If you know, why not change?"

Gray lowered his head and was silent.

Dai Li was able to understand Gray.

Sometimes, being too talented might not be a good thing! Dai Li lamented in his head.

What made Gray stand out was his talent. He was tall and had a large wingspan, a strong body, exquisite technique, an amazing jump, and quick moves. He really was a genius that only appeared once every 30 years. This wasn't something that people said without reason.

Gray's habit when defending was that he would always rush towards the ball, instead of guarding against the players. This was because he was too talented.

For example, when an opponent rushed underneath the basket to attack, other defenders thought about how to interrupt their opponent. The first thing that came to mind was interfering with the opponent when they shot the ball. Gray thought about how to block the ball. Because of his height and wingspan, he was able to block the ball easily.

Blocking, when compared to interrupting a shot, required more technical movements, increasing the chances of committing a foul.

For example, when defending or filling in, other players tried to prevent their opponents from advancing, closing the space the attackers were able to maneuver in. If the defenders could force the opponent to pass the ball or force them to shoot, the defense was considered a success. However, Gray wanted to put maximum pressure on the attackers when defending. He was not afraid of confronting anyone because he was strong enough and fast enough. If his opponent was nimble, he was able to keep up.

The probability of getting fouls was greater when maximum pressure techniques were applied and the opponents had no room to maneuver. After all, the ball was in the attacker's hands, and they were the ones who had the initiative. It was much easier for the attackers to make the defenders commit a foul than the other way around.

Gray was seven feet tall. When defensive tricks used by the players outside the three-point line were used by Gray, it was magnified. If done by someone shorter, the referee might not notice it. When done by Gray, the referee definitely saw it. He would then get a foul.

At the end of the day, Gray had a lot of fouls because he was too talented. Any other player inside the three-point line, a player who couldn't jump, couldn't block, and sometimes shouted to intimidate their opponents, just went underneath the basket and waited for a rebound.

Gray was not like this. He was able to touch the board just by jumping. Why wouldn't he block his opponents?

Any other player with a big physique wouldn't put all their effort into guarding the point guard. Point guards were fast and nimble, they wouldn't be able to keep up. It was hard for players with big physiques to guard against those with small physiques. Guarding against a point guard was just asking for trouble! Being able to interfere with them for a while was considered good enough.

Gray was different. Although he had a big physique, he was as fast as a point guard. He was taller and stronger than them. Of course, he would want to pin them down!

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Chapter 606: Short End of the Stick

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The conversation between Dai Li and Gray ended.

Dai Li felt that Gray already knew his shortcomings. People who could make it to the NBA were not fools. They knew how to solve their problems.

For Gray, his problem with fouls was a challenge he needed to overcome. This was Gray's so-called "rookie wall." If he successfully overcame this challenge, he would be like a bird that had just learned to fly; the sky would be his limit.

As for whether or not he could overcome this challenge, that would depend on Gray himself.

As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. There was a phenomenon in the NBA: players with the better physiques were more likely to foul. If one were to look at the players with the most fouls, the top ten would be made up of players with good physiques. Those who that couldn't jump high or run fast were less likely to get fouls.

This was Dai Li's analysis. These muscular players were able to run quickly and jump high. When defending, they felt that they could pin down their opponents. They only needed to harass them a little, but they always wanted to apply maximum pressure. In order to apply this pressure, they had to perform maneuvers that were technically difficult, increasing their chance of fouling their opponent.

Although Gray had played in the NBA for several seasons, he had only played around 100 games. He was regarded as an experienced rookie. He wasn't a superstar, so refs never looked the other way on his fouls. Whenever he committed a foul that was ambiguous, or that could be ignored, the referees didn't hesitate to blow their whistles. If Gray became an all-star, the referees might be more relaxed in calling in his fouls.

In fact, every player who played inside the three-point line had to deal with getting too many fouls. Every player who played inside the three-point line had the experience of getting kicked off the court because they committed six fouls. If they didn't have this experience, they were ashamed.

…

In the next game, the Clippers went to Oracle Arena in Oakland to challenge the defending champion, the Warriors.

The Warriors were the strongest team in the NBA. They and the Clippers were both in the Pacific Division.

According to the NBA's scheduling rules, teams in the same division had to play four games against each other every season. Under this system, it was tough to be in the same division as a very strong team.

For example, in the Pacific Division, the Warriors were super strong. The other four teams (the Lakers, the Clippers, the Kings, and the Suns) were no match for the Warriors. As long as the Warriors played seriously, the other four teams would get four losses. By the end of the season, their record would be worse than teams in other divisions. In the fiercely competitive Western Conference, a difference of winning and losing one game could cause a shift in ranking by two or three places. If they lost another one or two games, they would not be able to get into the playoffs.

Before the start of the game, Nicholas, the Warriors coach, was at the bench. He looked at Karaby, who was warming up, and pouted.

"Karaby has gained a new lease on life. The Clippers got such a good deal! If we had a player like him, our chances of winning the championship would be much higher," Nicholas said to himself.

Karaby had returned to his prime this season. This made him a favorite amongst many teams, and that included the Warriors. Karaby had height, ability, and speed on his side. He could guard the entire free-throw lane with his blocking. One, he could shoot well. He could even shoot three-pointers. He was very suitable for the Warriors.

Karaby's only drawback was that he was thin. However, this was not a problem for the Warriors. The small ball playstyles that were currently popular had been popularized by the Warriors. Traditional tactics had no place in the Warriors' strategy. It was better to have someone control the entire space inside the three-point line than to have a large player act as a single obstacle for opponents.

Nicholas couldn't help but glance at his center substitute. Although his guy was also physically strong and had explosive power, he was a little slow. He was like an explosive. One never knew when he might blow up and hurt his own teammates.

Nicholas looked at him, and then jealously looked at Dai Li's substitute bench. He remembered Dai Li's record. When Dai Li was the head coach of the U.S. track and field team, he was able to give new life to a lot of older players.

"It is good to be young!" Nicholas sighed. It wasn't clear whether he was referring to Dai Li or the athletes who returned to their youthful prime with Dai Li's help.

…

The Clippers and the Warriors were neck and neck in the first two quarters. However, in the third quarter, the Warriors seemed to have found their footing, leading by 23 points.

The Warriors displayed their own unique characteristics when they played. They achieved the lead in the third quarter by employing their traditional method. The first quarter was for warming up, the second quarter was warm-up for the substitutes, the third quarter was for going all out, and the fourth quarter was for preparing to get off work. Statistically speaking, the Warriors had an APBRmetric value of 130 in the third quarter. The Warriors employed this method against the Clippers that day.

There were many excellent teams in the NBA, but none of them were able to crack the Warriors' tactical system. There was no way it could be done by a half-baked basketball coach like Dai Li. The only thing he could do was use the Prophecy Request Box and try his luck.

I drew a bad lot! Dai Li looked depressed and looked at the result of the Prophecy Request Box. If it were a good lot, the game could be reversed. The bad lot was useless.

Dai Li didn't even want to look at the result of the Prophecy Request Box. He thought about it. Since they could not win, he decided to give up. There were 82 games in a season. It didn't matter if they lost one game. Moreover, they were losing to the Warriors. There was no shame in losing to the Warriors.

"You guys are up!" Dai Li pointed to the substitutes who usually didn't get to play. They couldn't get into the rotation in most games so, when they were called to play, they were happy. They had a quarter to showcase their skills.

"Coach, I want to play for a while longer," a voice out of nowhere said. Dai Li turned to look. It was Gray.

Gray actually asked to play on his own. Was he affected by our last conversation? He was able to keep his fouls under control today. This may be because of his opponents. The players on the Warriors rely on shooting to get points. They tend not to rush underneath the basket. Dai Li nodded and agreed to Gray's request. At the same time, he told his players, "If Gray wants the ball, pass the ball to him."

…

The Clippers made a player substitution after a dead ball.

They gave up! Nicholas smiled smugly. He felt that the entire game was under his control. He turned his head and gestured to the substitutes to get warmed up.

The Warriors changed their entire lineup with substitutes during the next dead ball. The players on the starting lineup and the other key players in the rotation were all sitting on the bench, laughing. Getting off work after the third quarter was a routine that they were familiar with.

…

There was still a quarter left in the game.

Gray ran to the low post area. He got the ball into the basket using a technique for attacking from the low post area that he was familiar with.

The Warriors' defenders were startled by this style of attack. They were unfamiliar with it and did not how to defend against it.

American basketball players were typically paying less and less attention to attacks from the low post area. The number of players in the NBA that specialized in attacking this area was very small. The top-ranking players with good physique were few and far between. They were prized by every team. The players who were not in the rotation didn't usually have the chance to come into contact with such players. Thus, they did not know how to deal with such a traditional attack.

What's more, Gray was not the traditional, slow-moving center. He had outstanding flexibility. He was comparable to the defenders in terms of agility and speed. With his height, wingspan, outstanding physical abilities, and speed in the three-point line, he definitely had the advantage when going one-on-one.

Gray scored on a few consecutive attacks. Although he did not lessen the gap, Gray felt like he was finding his rhythm.

He liked it when he got the ball in the low post area and went one-on-one. Every time he scored, Gray felt a sense of accomplishment.

The Warriors weren't able to stop Gray. They didn't bother to guard against him. After all, the Warriors relied on three-pointers for their offense. They had a lead of 30 points. They had the option to let him score.

The third quarter came to an end and the fourth quarter started. The Clippers had caught up to within 20 points. The Warriors made two consecutive three-pointers and widened the gap once again.

Both teams had their substitutes on the court. When compared, the substitutes from the Warriors were still better. The Warriors were the champions after all. It was easy for them to recruit strong players. Some players wanted to join them just so they could be part of the winning team.

The Warriors were better tactically as well. Their experience in several championships had matured the Warriors tactical system. On the Clippers' side, Dai Li was a clueless newbie who kept insisting on the "all-star tactic." They had no real strategy to speak of.

When the game entered the last five minutes, the Warriors maintained a 20-point lead. There was no suspense in the conclusion of the game.

However, on the Warriors' bench, Nicholas was not happy at all.

Gray has got 28 points and 17 rebounds. Nicholas looked at the latest statistical data. If he continued to play, Gray could get an extremely high 3020 double-double.

More importantly, Nicholas felt that Gray was getting more confident as he played. He looked at Gray, who was running on the court, and felt that a future superstar center was being born.

Nicholas couldn't help but think of the scouting report on Gray when he played before the draft. Everyone thought that he would be the strongest center in NBA history, even better than the four great centers in history.

A superstar center! Fear flashed in Nicholas' eyes.

He used to be an NBA player. He had experienced the era where basketball was dominated by the four great centers. He knew the horror of the four great centers. He got a shiver down his spine whenever he thought about it.

The era of the great centers had already passed. There had not been a great center in the NBA for a long time. When small ball playstyles were introduced, there were no longer any great centers left in the NBA. Nicholas did not know whether or not the Warriors' "death lineup" could deal with a very good center, but the lack of height on the "death lineup" was indisputable. Whenever the Warriors encountered players who had big physiques and were fast, they got pushed around.

Gray, who was right in front of him, obviously had a big physique and speed. He also had excellent strength and excellent offensive skills. When faced with such an opponent, the only thing Nicholas could think of to counter him was surrounding him with multiple players.

The game entered its last two minutes. The Clippers had closed the gap to within 20 points and Gray had successfully achieved an extremely high 3020 double-double.

However, this had not affected the outcome of the game. The Warriors could celebrate their victory before the game ended.

Nicholas could not feel any joy in achieving victory.

We have won the game, but the opponent has gained a great center. It doesn't matter how you put it, we are the ones who got the short end of the stick! Nicholas was worried.

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Chapter 607: Fulfilling Potential

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A 3020 double-double, even if achieved by accident, was still notable enough to make the headlines.

There weren't many players inside the three-point line who could get a 3020. Of the players that were currently active, one could count how many of them could get it on one hand. Players inside the three-point line who could achieve a 3020 were all-star players.

It wasn't hard for a player who was part of the rotation of his team to get 20 points in a game. As long as they had some offensive ability and they were given enough chances to shoot, they could get 20 points. It was much more difficult to get 30 points per game. If they were given enough opportunities to shoot but didn't possess the offensive skill that was required, they wouldn't be able to get 30 points. After all, the defenders on the opposite team weren't weak. If the attacker's offensive ability wasn't strong enough, even if they were given unlimited opportunities to shoot, it would still be difficult for them to get 30 points.

It wasn't difficult for most players inside the three-point line to get 10 rebounds in a single game, but getting 20 rebounds per game was something else entirely. Even good players might not be able to do that in their entire lifetime. Getting rebounds not only required physical strength and mental awareness, but it also required the attacker on the opposing team to miss their shots. Even if one was good at getting rebounds, it was difficult for them to get many rebounds if they played against players with a high field goal percentage. Getting a lot of rebounds didn't just depend on one own's ability, but it also depended on how good or bad one's opponents' field goal percentages were.

30 points or 20 rebounds in a single game wasn't something achieved by accident. In addition to luck, the most important thing was one's own ability.

Getting both 30 points and 20 rebounds together in a single game was at least ten times harder than getting only either 30 points or 20 rebounds per game. Anyone who could achieve that should be considered a top-level player.

Gray was not some nameless veteran. He was the second high school student in the history of the United States to win the title of "Mr. Basketball." He had accumulated a large number of fans as a high school student. Later, he made a big splash in the NCAA. He was considered the best center in the United States in the last 30 years and was even hailed as the combination of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and David Robinson. Everyone knew that these two predecessors were legendary centers. The two of them needed to be added together to reach the level of Gray, that was how terrifyingly good Gray was.

When Gray achieved a 3020, he was an instant sensation. Gray's fans from the past came back overnight. Almost all of the media was talking about Gray.

…

"3020, 'The Great' returns!"

Miles looked disdainfully at the headline. He threw the newspaper aside and looked at the next one. In the NBA section, the headline read "The Strongest Center in History Has Been Resurrected!"

"It's about Gray again!" Miles curled his lips, his unhappiness showing on his face.

Miles was the Pacers' center. He was only 22 years old, but he had already made it onto the Pacers' starting lineup. He averaged 148. This was particular dazzling for a young player inside the three-point line.

Achieving such results at such a young age, Miles had the right to be proud. He also had the potential to improve. Of course, he would be full of disdain when all of the media touted Gray as the next big thing.

He gets injured so easily. He is only good once in a while by accident. There is no need to blow this out of proportion! I will let you taste my power next game! Miles thought.

…

Miles was six feet and 11 inches tall and he weighed 245 pounds. He had height and a wide wingspan. He was not slow. He did not lack strength. He also had an outstanding jump. His attacking ability, however, was poor. He did not know how to attack from the low post area. He depended on his teammates' assists and rebounds to get points.

These kinds of centers, who could run and jump but lacked the ability to attack, were representative of the current state American centers. After the rise of the small ball playstyles, the centers with big physiques were not able to keep up with the fast attacks and defenses. They got completely destroyed during the switch between the attack and defense. Players with good adaptability and good physiques became highly valued inside the three-point line.

…

The Pacers were playing against the Clippers as the away team. For both sides, this was a hard battle.

The Pacers were a powerhouse team in the Eastern Conference. They were tough and tenacious. Even top teams, like the Warriors and the Rockets, got a headache when playing against the Pacers.

The Clippers had shown signs of being a dark horse. Wood's recovery had given the Clippers an MVP-level player. The other ex-star players were also getting better game by game. This was especially true for Gray, who had just attracted the attention of the whole United States with his 3020.

The Staples Center was packed. Many of the people there were not fans of the Clippers. They were there to see Gray.

Dai Li and the entire Clippers team understood this so, when they were on offense, they would pass the ball to Gray as much as possible.

Gray was not the kind of player who needed assists to score. He could attack from the low post area. His offensive method had defeated many experienced veterans when Gray was still a rookie. The confidence he gained from getting a 3020 spurred him on to bravely lead the team's attack.

Miles was responsible for defending Gray. He received two fouls in less than five minutes. He sat down on the substitutes bench looking depressed.

…

"Swoosh!" Gray scored a free-throw.

His scoring rate for his free throws had reached 78%. This was good for a center. At least with this field goal percentage, no team would employ the "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic against him.

"20 points! There are still three and a half minutes left in the third quarter and Gray has already gotten 20 points!"

The commentator at the Staples Center was clearly on the Clippers' side. He was speaking very excitedly. The DJ used this opportunity to liven up the atmosphere.

Miles, who had four fouls, could only sit on the bench. The unyielding expression on his face had given way to astonishment.

What the hell? How could someone like this exist! He has such good innate physical talent. Is this guy Superman?

He is stronger than me because he is taller than me and weighs more than me. I can admit that, but he is so much stronger than me. I have no way to guard against him, but he can guard against me easily.

He is able to jump much higher than me although he is 40 pounds heavier than me. This guy may even be able to touch the board when he jumps.

He can jump higher than me. Fine, whatever, but he is faster than me as well. He is also able to change to play as a point guard!

The key is his offensive method. There's no way I can guard against him underneath the basket. I'm completely swept away in the low post area!

He's taller than me, more robust than me, stronger than me, jump higher than me, faster than me, and has better technique than me. How can I guard against him?

Miles looked at the statistics on the big screen. Gray had already scored 20 points. Miles suddenly felt sorrow and grief. From a young age, Miles had always felt that he had very good physical talent and was a natural born basketball player. When he looked at Gray now, he saw that his physical talent was only at a very low level. Gray was the real natural born basketball player.

For the first time, Miles met an opponent that possessed far superior physical talent. He could not help but whisper, "This is not fair!"

"I also feel that this is unfair!" Another person said. It was the Blazers' head coach.

Miles turned his head and looked at the head coach. The coach said, "His physical talent is top-notch. He can run fast and jump high. He is very fast and, most importantly, he has amazing offensive abilities. He has all the advantages of every different type of center put together. How can God have created such a player? This is really unfair."

Miles screamed at God. He knew that the head coach was talking about Gray.

The Blazers coach sighed and said, "This is talent, the kind of talent that only appears once every 30 years! He is a genius that can only appear once every 30 years!"

…

On the Clippers' bench, Dai Li took a deep breath.

From the looks of Gray's performance this game, the 3020 he achieved was not a flash in the pan. His offense that game was as good as it was in the last game. He scored 20 points in the first three quarters.

Gray has finally gotten it together! Dai Li's expression was very calm. One couldn't tell if he was happy or sad.

There were always some lackluster players in the NBA who were substitutes or not part of the rotation who would suddenly have some sort of epiphany and become an all-star level player.

As for Gray's sudden outburst of performance, Dai Li felt that it was a matter of course. The detector had rated him as an S level talent long ago. It was obviously a matter of course for such a player to display the talent of an all-star.

Next to him was Cassel. He was very excited. Every time Gray scored, every rebound he got, Cassel could not help but stand up and cheer.

"You look like one of the fans in the stands," Dai Li couldn't help but say.

"Hahaha, yes. I am a fan of Gray!" Cassel said, "You have to know that anyone who paid attention to the NCAA was a fan of Gray! I still remember that finals game between Ohio State University and the University of Florida. Gray's right hand was injured. He used his left hand to outplay two of his opponents inside the three-point line. Those two centers are now all-star centers! This guy is simply a monster. Even with two defenders hovering around him, he can still slam dunk."

"I know everything that you just said." Dai Li interrupted Cassel and then said, "I know that Gray is very talented. That is why I chose him to come to the Clippers."

"Yeah, he is very talented. More importantly, after so many years, he has finally begun to fulfill his potential!" Cassel said with great enthusiasm.

…

Gray achieved a terrifyingly good average result of 2515 in three consecutive games.

After playing in more than 130 games in the NBA regular seasons, Gray had finally begun to fulfill his potential once he had the opportunity to appear in games on a regular basis with the opportunity to shoot.

At the highest level of competition, athletes were competitive when it came to talent. All athletes at this stage worked hard and all of them would have their fair share of luck and opportunity. The only thing that separated them was talent. They may only differ a little but, in a competition, the one who was less talented was suppressed by the one who was more talented.

Gray was hailed as the most talented player inside the three-point line within the last 30 years. This was not an exaggeration. Before he entered the NBA, he had already been suspected to become a legendary superstar. His injury had gotten in the way.

Now that Gray was no longer plagued by injuries, he finally began to fulfill his amazing potential.

Although it took a few years longer than expected, it was better to be late than never.

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Chapter 608: Resurrection of the Yellow Mamba

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

TD Banknorth Garden.

The Celtics center, Fred, wiped the sweat from his head. He looked at Gray and there was a hint of fear and helplessness in his expression.

Fred couldn't help but think of a night from a few years ago. It was the NCAA final and the University of Florida team, led by Fred, played against the University of Kansas team, led by Gray. The University of Florida won that game, but Fred was defeated by Gray.

Fred still remembered how invincible Gray was on that day. Gray could handle two opponents single-handedly. He easily defeated Fred and another player inside the three-point line.

This had left a scar on Fred's memory.

Fred was currently an all-star center. His partner, who had also been beaten by Gray, had also become an all-star. Both of them had been named "Best Defensive Player" by the NBA. Meanwhile, the talented center who defeated them in the NCAA finals had fallen prey to injuries.

After many years, Fred had forgotten about the opponent that embarrassed him that day. Now, Fred saw him again. It was a version of Gray in extremely good condition.

It was as if he was the Gray from years ago, the Gray that defeated him with just one hand.

Being both an all-star defender and a center was rare. He was one of the most talented players even when he was younger. He could take on two opponents at the same time. The only word that could describe him was "terrifying."

On the court, the Celtics used a pick-and-roll tactic. After the pick-and-roll, Gray changed his position to guard against the Celtics' point guard.

The Celtics' point guard sped up, rushed to the free-throw lane, and stuck to Gray. He then maneuvered and attacked from the rim. Right as the ball left his hands, Gray smacked the ball with one big slap. He knocked the ball right out of the air.

It was a beautiful block!

Unfortunately, this was the Celtics' home court. The fans wouldn't cheer when their own players' shots were blocked.

On the bench, Arnold, the Celtics' coach, frowned. He had not expected Gray to block that shot.

Arnold's coaching record in the NBA was quite good, but his basketball coaching career started in the NCAA. He had been the head coach at Butler University for more than a decade. Coaching the Celtics was his first coaching job in the NBA, so he had not experienced the era when the centers had dominated the NBA.

It was because of this that Arnold could not come up with any good counters when facing Gray.

"Is another super center going to emerge?" Arnold licked his lips.

In the NBA, there had been no incredible centers for over a decade. People had forgotten how terrifyingly good the centers had been. A young coach like him didn't know how to deal with these centers because he did not have any experience playing against them.

"So what if he is another great center? The NBA is no longer the same as it was a decade ago! The small ball playstyles are popular in the NBA right now. The era where a center can defeat an entire team is over!" Arnold said in disdain.

A player from the Clippers picked up the ball outside the three-point line. He was facing off against a defensive player. He suddenly sprinted forward and broke through his opponents' defensive line.

The Celtics' defensive player immediately moved back. He tried to stop him from moving forward. Another defender on the other side was preparing to move in to give some assistance.

The Clippers' player suddenly stopped, jumped, and his body began to lean back.

A sudden stop and a step-back jump shot. It was beautiful. It was like it came out of a textbook.

After the ball left his hands, it moved in a perfect arc in the air. It then went straight into the basket.

A perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot. It was picture perfect!

"Nathan Hall!" The live commentary said the name of the player who scored in a low voice.

Arnold, the Celtic head coach, subconsciously looked at that player's stats. It was at this point he realized he had forgotten about this person.

The terrifying "Yellow Mamba" Hall from the past!

The mamba was a poisonous snake. An African-American shooting guard who had ruled the NBA in the past had been given the nickname "Black Mamba." Hall had the nickname "Yellow Mamba" because his skin color was slightly lighter than the legendary "Black Mamba." In terms of skill, he was similar to the "Black Mamba." His height, weight, basic fundamental skills, shooting skills, and physical condition were all ideal. He was well-balanced in every aspect. He had almost no weaknesses. The picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot was similar to the "Black Mamba."

In the past three decades, the sudden stop and step-back jump shot was the most commonly used scoring method for guards and small forwards.

When a guard or small forward broke through the defense, the defender would be slightly away from them. This created space for the jump shot. If a fadeaway was added, the defender would only be able to stop and stare; they wouldn't be able to interfere with the shot. It depended entirely on whether or not the person who threw the ball was able to get it into the basket.

Shooting three-pointers had become the mainstream tactic in the NBA. The number of players who used the sudden stop and step-back jump shot was lessening. Many players chose to shoot outside the three-point line even if they knew how to perform the sudden stop and step-back jump shot.

Hall once again used the technique that he was best at, the sudden stop and step-back jump shot. Many old fans felt a sense of nostalgia. It was like they had been transported to the past.

The Celtics' coach, Arnold, seemed to be rejoicing. He realized that the Clippers had brought back a terrible thing.

Wood, Gray, plus Hall, super centers and super guards. The Clippers' lineup should not be underestimated! Fortunately, the Clippers are in the Western Conference. Unless in the playoffs' finals, we won't play against one another again. Let the teams in the Western Conference worry about them!

On the other bench, Dai Li was looking at Hall's statistics.

"Hall has scored more than 15 points in recent games. Although he did not have many chances to shoot, he has been able to score consistently," Cassel said, standing beside Dai Li.

"He has a lot of offensive methods. He is especially consistent with the sudden stop and step-back jump shot. I think we can give him more chances to shoot. Although he has a good field goal percentage, I don't want him to only focus on shooting the ball," Dai Li said.

"Would you like Wood to reduce the number of shots he takes?" Cassel asked.

After a few seconds, Dai Li nodded, "Wood doesn't have a high number of assists, but he is good at them. I remember that his highest number was 17 assists in a single game, right? As a point guard, he has the ability to act as the glue that holds the team together"

The gist of what Dai Li was saying was that he wanted Wood to score less and pass more. This would give Hall more opportunities to shoot.

…

On the court, Hall received the ball, did a pump fake, and then broke through the defender's defenses. His opponents immediately rushed forward to meet him, but they did not expect Hall to suddenly change direction. He rushed past the three-point line.

The defender was shaken by Hall and felt embarrassed. He quickly rushed forward and wanted to stop Hall.

Hall stopped and then jumped. The defender was sprinting too quickly. When he was finally able to stop, he was already five feet away from Hall. Even if he jumped now, he wouldn't be able to block Hall.

This was a middle-distance shot that no one was able to block. Hall's steady hands got the ball into the basket and received two points.

The pump fake, single-handedly breaking through the defenses, the change of direction, the rush, the sudden stop and step-back jump shot, all of Hall's technical movements were extremely smooth. If one were to slow down everything to one frame at a time, his performance could be used in a textbook to demonstrate how to perform the sudden stop and step-back jump shot.

After he scored, Hall did not celebrate but instead looked down at his knees subconsciously.

His knees felt good and there weren't any problems with them at all.

Hall felt much more at ease.

The pump fake, the continuous change of direction, the sudden stop, the sudden rushes, and the sudden stop and step back jump shot were all techniques that were called "knee killers." The menisci in Hall's knees were already gone and they were gone because of his use of these techniques.

After retiring and making a comeback, Hall had become weaker. He did not dare to do the moves that were very damaging to the knees. He played relatively conservatively. This was the NBA, however. Their opponents were strong and all of them were going all out. Trying to stay healthy while playing would mean that he would neither be able to attack or defend well. He would get completely destroyed while attacking or defending.

Hall was a top-level athlete, he had his ego. If he were completely destroyed in every game, he would be embarrassed. He became more and more daring one game after another. He slowly started to attempting the knee killing moves again.

If Hall was willing to use those technically difficult moves, the terrifying "Yellow Mamba" had been reborn!

…

In the next game, the Clippers played against the Lakers at their home court.

Although it was their home court, in actuality, the Staples Center was also the Lakers' home court.

The Lakers were one of the most important teams in the NBA. They had the well-deserved spot of top dog in the L.A. sporting scene. The Lakers had more fans than the Clippers, so even when the Clippers played against the Lakers as the home team, the number of Lakers' fans were much higher than the Clippers'.

This was actually quite unfair. Both teams had to play against each other four times a year. They each got two games as the home team. The Clippers' home court was also the Lakers home court. This basically meant that the Clippers had two fewer games as the home team.

The Lakers had been rebuilding their team in the recent seasons. Their performance had degraded greatly. They were getting less and less attention from their fans. On the other hand, the Clippers had been signing megastars. This created a lot of interest from the fans. The Clippers' recent performances had been quite good. They were currently ranked second in the Pacific Division. They were in the top eight of the Western Conference. They had a chance to make the playoffs. Under these circumstances, the Clippers were in a much better situation. There were just as many fans at the stadium for the Clippers as there were for the Lakers.

Before the start of the game, the Clippers decided to increase the opportunities for Hall to shoot. Wood, as the point guard, would strictly stick with the decision by the coaching staff. In fact, for a point guard, it was more important to aid in the team's offense than to score. If his teammates could contribute to the attack, it was easier for Wood to not attack by holding the ball and rushing to the basket to meet the strong defenders inside the three-point line all on his own.

Hall did not disappoint his coach or teammates. He broke through the defense by continuously changing directions. Together with the sudden stop and step-back jump shot, he was able to completely decimate the Lakers' defense.

"Swoosh!"

It was another sudden stop and step-back jump shot. As the basketball went inside the basket, the fans screamed deafening cheers.

It wasn't just the Clippers' fans who cheered, but the Lakers' fans began to cheer as well. They cheered because they saw a picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot. It was something that was absent from basketball games for a long time.

The top NBA player, the "Black Mamba," had used this picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot to bring the Lakers to the playoffs and, ultimately, to win the championship multiple times. Since his retirement, many Lakers' fans thought that they would never see this picture-perfect shot again.

Now that the "Yellow Mamba" had been resurrected and he was using the same shot, it triggered a sense of nostalgia for the fans. It also ignited the fans' fervor.

The city of Los Angeles had a long history of sports. There were many people who grew up and grew old with the Lakers. There were many longtime fans at the current game. It was easy to trigger these longtime fans' fervor.

At a time where small ball playstyles were popular, the fast switch between offensive and defensive was very enjoyable. The three-pointers that were impossible to make marveled people again and again. However, in Los Angeles, in the hearts of this generation of fans, it was not as good as seeing that picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot. It represented the youth of a generation. It was the memory of an entire generation!

Even if the actual shot itself wasn't good for the Lakers, the memory was still beautiful.

Those beautiful memories were like a person's first love. It would always remain beautiful in a person's mind. It was something that was hard to give up. In fact, if one were the look at the picture of the girl they liked, they would realize that the girl was actually not as beautiful one remembered her to be.

…

In this game, Hall felt that he had a good handle on the ball. He scored 35 points. The Clippers beat the Lakers.

The next day, the headlines of sports papers were dominated by one headline: "Resurrection of the Yellow Mamba!"

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Davis Institute of Joint Trauma Research, Seattle.

Professor Davis had obtained Wood's latest MRI results through his contacts.

Looking at the results, Wood's knees are still in bad shape. He didn't recover at all! It doesn't affect him at all during games. He's still able to pull off incredible moves. What is going on here? He should not be able to play as he does. Professor Davis frowned. He couldn't believe it.

He thought for a long time and couldn't think of an explanation. He massaged his temples and went on the internet. He wanted to see Wood's recent game.

An article titled "Resurrection of the Yellow Mamba!" popped up. He clicked on it immediately and he saw a news report on Wood.

"This is impossible!" Professor Davis exclaimed loudly.

He clicked on the video attached to the page. It showed the highlights of Wood scoring in recent games.

In the video, Hall's various change of directions, as well as the picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot were shown. He constantly toyed with his opponents. It was very entertaining. Anyone who saw it could not help but cheer for Hall's spectacular performance.

Davis was getting more and more somber. In his opinion, this was simply impossible.

"I have worked with Hall before. The menisci in his knees have been removed. How can he make such rapid shifts in direction and speed, especially that jump shot? Doesn't he feel any pain?"

Although Professor Davis was not an athlete, he was an authority on knee trauma. Medically, he knew what happened to athletes who had lost both menisci. He also knew that it was impossible for Hall to perform those moves dubbed as "knee killers."

The sudden stop and step-back jump shot, in particular, created massive pressure on the knees. Even if the knees were intact, the continuous use of that move would still cause joint pain. For a person whose menisci on both knees were removed, performing it caused friction in the knees and caused even greater pain.

Compared to Wood's recovery, Hall's recovery was less believable. Although Wood's injuries were very serious and they happened frequently, every part of his body was still there. In theory, there was the possibility of rehabilitation. In Hall's case, both his menisci had been removed.

This was comparable to when someone damaged the nerves in their hands. It caused functional disorders of the limbs. Under normal circumstances, it was difficult to get it back to its original state, but a miracle might happen and it might get better. If the hands were amputated, even if a miracle were to occur, there was no way for the hands to grow back.

…

The fans were not as professional as Professor Davis. They could only see that Hall had scored 35 points in a game. They only saw the beautiful change of direction and the perfect jump shot. The fans were not concerned about how his knees had gotten better.

The regular season had only started a month ago. When the Clippers introduced a large number of retired players and traded Ronny away, no one had been optimistic. People had called the Clippers a "Shelter for the Old and Weak."

Now, Wood and Hall had recovered and Gray had lived up to his potential. The Clippers suddenly had three all-star players. They formed the most popular "Big Three" in NBA's recent history. Coupled with veteran Karaby and rookie Kumar, the Clippers' lineup was strong.

This change for the Clippers was not good news for other teams in the Western Conference. The competition in the Western Conference was already fierce. With another team having a "Big Three," it was even more difficult to enter the playoffs.

There were six regular season MVPs in the Western Conference. Besides the one on the Mavericks, who was getting old, they were all in their prime.

In addition, there were several "quasi MVPs" in the Western Conference. These "quasi-MVPs" had ranked in the top five among the MVP candidates in the past few years. Their personal stats were nothing to shout about, but they had helped their teams achieve really good results.

A regular season MVP could change the flow of the entire NBA. If the five MVPs got together, it would be extremely difficult for the other teams.

Getting into the playoffs for the teams in the Western Conference was already very difficult. Now there was the Clippers' "Big Three" to contend with. The situation in the Western Conference had become more chaotic and the competition between the teams had become more intense.

The Clippers had someone to organize the whole team, someone to score points, and someone to defend and attack inside the three-point line. This combination had someone both inside and outside the three-point line, and for both offense and defense. Of course, everyone took it for granted that the Clippers' "Big Three" would make a massive difference to the competition.

However, the Clippers unexpectedly had a five-game losing streak. They fell to the ninth place in the Western Conference and were very far off from being able to make the playoffs.

…

In the conference room, the Clippers' coaching staff were discussing the reasons for the frequent losses in the recent games.

"We lost tactically," Cassel said carefully as he looked at Dai Li. He was worried that Dai Li would be unhappy. If they lost tactically, it must be because of the head coach.

Cassel was telling the truth. The Clippers had not established their own tactical system. With Dai Li's lack of tactical literacy, there was no way he could develop such a system. Dai Li was not a professional basketball player. Even if he started to learn now, he wouldn't be able to acquire enough knowledge on the subject.

The current Clippers relied on their star power. There wasn't any precedent for this in the NBA. After all, NBA games were about personal ability. A superstar with outstanding ability could perform miracles with the ball in his hands.

At the beginning of the season, the Clippers' playstyle achieved good results. The other teams did not understand the Clippers' playstyle. Add to that Wood's sudden recovery and Gray living up to his talent, and the other teams were caught off guard. The Clippers won and got a good record by surprising their opponents.

Each team was testing out their tactics at the beginning of the regular season as well. The players were still trying to adapt to the coach's system. There were also some players who hadn't fully adjusted. This inevitably affected the team's overall strength.

Now that the regular season had been going on for a month, the Clippers' tactic was known by all the teams. Their opponents naturally worked out a tactic to counter them.

More importantly, after a month of competition, each team had finished testing out different strategies and the players had gotten adjusted. The whole team gradually changed from the beginning of the season. They were slowly warming up and they started to show their strength.

There were always some "anticlimactic" teams in the NBA every season. They played very well at the beginning of the season. It was smooth sailing. They started falling apart in the middle of the season, and the other teams would catch up with them. By the end of the season, the other teams dominated them. There were two possible reasons for this. Either the other teams got stronger or the other teams found a way to counter the team's tactics.

…

In the conference room, everyone concentrated on Dai Li. Decisions involving tactics required input from the head coach.

Dai Li tapped his index finger on the table a few times, trying to think of a solution.

Dai Li had no foundational knowledge about basketball tactics. He could not develop a complete tactical system.

Last season, the Clippers had relied on the "Evenly Matched" title to deliberately do badly. This gave them a slightly better record but made them play worse. There was no way he could continue to use the "Evenly Matched" title again this season.

I am not a basketball coach after all! Dai Li thought.

In terms of personal fame, Dai Li had more than the other coaches in the NBA. Tactically, however, even the assistant coaches were better than Dai Li.

Many NBA assistant coaches had been players themselves. They played for decades before becoming assistant/deputy coaches for seven to eight years. Their entire lives revolved around basketball and such accumulation was not something Dai Li could catch up to in a mere year or two. Even if Dai Li produced a tactical system, it would only be to show off in front of a true expert. If he did not shame himself, the product would still be far inferior compared to the others.

My advantage is in training. I have an advantage in that spending the same amount of time and intensity as other coaches amounts to better results. I can make athletes run faster, jump higher, and stronger. They won't get injured either.

I have the athlete patches to make injured players recover. I have the age-reduction card that will allow those older players to return to their prime.

Understanding my own strengths and weaknesses, and then cultivating my strengths and avoiding shortcomings is the correct decision. That's why I chose to use star players at the beginning. If I competed tactically, any random NBA coach would be better than me. I shouldn't compete with others on things that I'm not good at.

As long as I am the head coach, we shouldn't devise any tactical system. We can only rely on star power! Dai Li took a breath silently and accepted the helplessness of the situation.

Now, sending out star players has somewhat failed. We are on a five-game losing streak… Hmm…I know why!"

Dai Li grinned and finally looked up.

The rest of the coaching staff were all ears

Dai Li coughed and cleared his throat. He said, "The strategy we chose this season was to fully utilize the abilities of the star players. We are now on a five-game losing streak. This shows…"

Dai Li deliberately dragged out his words. The others immediately tried guessing what Dai Li would say.

"Is he going to admit that his strategy failed?"

"That it is necessary to use a new tactical system?"

"We need to learn from the Warriors? Or learn from the Rockets? Or learn from the Celtics in the Eastern Conference?"

They looked at Dai Li with anticipation.

Dai Li said, "We are now on a five-game losing streak. This shows that we don't have enough star players!"

"What?" Cassel's eyes widened and he looked as if he had just seen a ghost. He never expected Dai Li to give this answer.

The entire coaching staff suddenly went silent. Everyone looked at Dai Li with all sort of expressions. If Dai Li weren't the head coach, some of them probably would've slapped Dai Li in the face a few times.

They weren't winning because they didn't have enough star players. What kind of logic was this?

The answer given by Dai Li was too illogical!

It was as if you were playing poker and you lost. Instead of blaming yourself for not playing your hand well, you instead choose to laugh and brazenly say, "If I had gotten a few more Queen of Hearts, I would've won!"

Wouldn't this be nonsense?

If winning was only a matter of choosing the best lineup and sending out five superstars, then there would be no need for coaches!

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Chapter 610: The Big Four

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li ended the meeting awkwardly.

If he had a strong understanding of basketball, he might be able to convince the staff of his logic and, at the same time, make them think that their head coach was amazing!

His understanding of basketball, however, was worse than his assistant coach's. The only thing he could do was remain thick-skinned and insist his decision was right.

He was the head coach. Everyone had to do as he said in order to make a living. Dai Li had decided to make unreasonable demands. The others couldn't do anything to stop him.

Dai Li chose to speak with Raymond after the meeting. The two-time scoring leader had not yet returned to his prime. He had an average score of 12 points per game, barely enough to qualify him as a starting lineup. There was still a huge gap between the Raymond now and the superstar Raymond of the past.

Dai Li hoped Raymond recovered as soon as possible. The Clippers were using the tactic of sending out stars. Since the Big Three was not enough, he wanted a Big Four!

…

"How have you been you feeling recently? Your back isn't hurting again, is it?" Dai Li walked towards Raymond with a smile on his face.

"No. My back feels great. There hasn't been any pain since I came to Los Angeles!" Raymond replied.

"What about your waist? Any pain there?"

Raymond shook his head, "There are no problems with my waist. I played four games last week and I don't have any backaches."

"What about your knees?" Dai Li asked.

Raymond patted his knees, "The knees are also good. The last time they felt this good was my rookie season!"

"Wrists? Ankles? Ligaments? No problem with those?" Dai Li asked again.

"All doing great," Raymond answer honestly.

"That's good," Dai Li said. It seemed that the athlete patch was working well. It had patched up all of Raymond's old injuries.

Raymond, who was sitting opposite Dai Li, asked, "Coach Li, I am disappointing you, aren't I?"

"Why would you say that?" Dai Li answered, surprised.

"Wood was badly hurt, both of the menisci in Hall's knees were removed, but both of them have regained their prime. I haven't. My body feels great, but I can't play like I did when I was young. I guessed you're disappointed," Raymond said in a very low voice.

"Why would I think that? It is great that you are able to play on the court again," Dai Li smiled comfortably.

Dai Li, however, did feel a bit disappointed with Raymond. Among the stars recruited by the Clippers this season, Raymond had been the most famous, the strongest, and the oldest superstar but, so far, he provided a satisfactory result.

Raymond knew that Dai Li was comforting him. He sighed. "It seems that I am still old! If I were a young man, I would be in such a good physical condition. I'd be able to score 50 or 60 points per game."

Dai Li realized that he had completely overlooked the problem with Raymond's age.

Raymond was at the "old" age of 30. He was in the second half of his career. Because he had been plagued by injuries and had been constantly absent from the court, it had been hard for him to maintain his standard.

Players who struggled on the frontline, even those who were not in the starting lineup, normally had enough playtime to maintain their standards. Their body was always ready to play. Even if the player was 35 years old, he was still able to perform well.

Some players were good at maintaining their bodies. They spent a lot of money on their bodies every year. They also had a strict self-disciplined lifestyle. Sometimes, it wasn't a problem for someone to keep playing into their forties.

I should use another age-reduction card on Raymond. There are five months left in the regular season and two months of the playoffs. In total, there are seven months left in this season. With the age-reducing card, Raymond's age would be reduced by six and he'd become 28 years old, Dai Li thought to himself.

For a basketball player, the body of a 28-year-old was not as good as the body of a 24 or 25-year-old, but it was definitely still physically fit. Although at that age one wasn't able to move around like someone in his early twenties, the body still served in physical confrontations. It didn't affect the players' ability to make difficult technical moves.

…

After the five-game losing streak, the Clippers flew to Houston to challenge the Rockets as the away team.

The Rockets were currently ranked first in the Western Conference. This showed the Rockets' extraordinary strength. The Rockets had already won eight consecutive victories at home.

Any team facing the Rockets was expected to lose. With the Clippers' current strength, it was very likely that they would lose as well.

The Clippers' strategy was to send out star players. Such a team did not fear going one-on-one with their opponents, but they did fear facing a team that had very thought-out tactics, especially one that also had superstars. It was hard to defend against a superstar in a one-on-one situation. A superstar playing with a decent strategy was impossible to defend.

Dai Li felt that it would be difficult for the Clippers, in their current state, to defeat the Rockets. They might have a chance if the Clippers were doing exceptionally well and the Rockets were doing poorly, but they needed to get lucky.

Dai Li used the Prophecy Request Box before the game started. He only drew an average lot. It didn't help much since the difference between the Clippers and the Rockets was huge.

Dai Li used the "Evenly Matched" title before the game started. His idea was simple. This was a difficult game to win anyway. It was better to rely on the effect of "Evenly Matched" title. If they could play a few overtimes, they might have a chance to steal away the victory.

In terms of defense, both teams made sure to have someone to defend against pick-and-roll attacks. The Rockets' center was fast and the Clippers' center, Gray, was faster than the Rockets' center. Neither of them was at a disadvantage guarding against pick-and-rolls. With the development of basketball, a defense-oriented strategy was less effective. Unlike ten years ago, the best way to win was to adopt an offense-oriented tactic.

The Clippers' offense relied mainly on the individual abilities of the star players. The star players had enough offensive means and a way to put the ball into the basket.

The Rockets' offense was concentrated in the free-throw lane and outside the three-point line. They didn't attempt many mid-range shots. They either threw from outside the three-point line or they would move inside the free-throw lane to score.

"The Rockets' style is indicative of the current trend in the development of basketball!" Dai Li said. "The Rockets' players inside the three-point line are not strong. The Rockets' center is weak when it comes to going one-on-one with another player. He also can't attack from the low post area. He also isn't very muscular. He scores by getting the rebound. Most of his points come from cutting through the court and getting an assist. Yet, a decent number of points the Rocket get from the free-throw lane."

Dai Li pointed to the three-point line as he was speaking, and said, "The three-pointers allow the attackers in the free-throw lane to have more space. The essence of basketball is a kind of movement that exchanges time difference and space difference between the offensive and defensive ends. If there aren't any players who can score three-pointers to scare the opponent, the opponent's defense will close in on an even smaller area. The space in the free-throw lane will become smaller. If the player shooting the three-pointers is good, the opponent needs to expand the scope of their defense. The space in the free-throw area subsequently becomes larger. This way, regardless of whether players outside the three-point line are running outwards, or if the cutters are moving into the free-throw lane, they both create chances for the attackers to score."

"What you said makes sense." Cassel glanced over at Dai Li. Dai Li was a layman, but his increasing knowledge of basketball impressed Cassel.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't come up that analysis. I heard it from someone else. There is this 70-year-old man in my country. He was a basketball player when he was young. He worked as a basketball coach after he stopped playing. He now mainly works as a basketball commentator. He always said that one needs to be logical when playing basketball. According to him, the three-point tactic is a logical way to play," Dai Li explained.

Cassel nodded and then pointed to the scoreboard. "I am even more impressed by your cheerfulness in this situation."

The game had entered the fourth quarter. The scores between the two teams were very close. The gap in score stayed within three or five points.

Naturally, it was a fiercely fought game. The atmosphere was filled with passion. The stadium was like a barrel full of explosives. Whenever the home team scored, the explosives ignited and the whole place filled with cheers.

On the Rockets' bench, the coaching staff and the substitute players were unable to sit still. They stood up to watch. The head coach even began to personally direct the game. On the Clippers' side, the players were very excited. Dai Li, on the other hand, was as calm as a cat.

Since he had used the "Evenly Matched" title, the result was in the hands of God!

…

At the end of the 48-minute of normal game time, the two sides were both at 105 points. Tieing at their home court what the Rockets wanted.

This was, however, exactly what Dai Li had hoped to see. After the Clippers' five-game losing streak, they needed some good news to revitalize themselves. Reaching overtime against the best team in the Western Conference was what they needed.

The teams relied on their star players during overtime. If a star player could take on the responsibility of scoring in those five minutes, the team had a much better chance. During overtime, star players were extremely important. Overtime was basically was a stage for star players to perform.

The Rockets were not lacking in star players. James Harden, "The Beard," was the current best shooting guard in the NBA. He was also a regular season MVP. If the NBA picked five of its strongest players, among the active players, he would definitely be one of them.

Although the Clippers also had stars, they were a bit weaker than James Harden, a regular season MVP.

Dai Li had another idea. He turned to Raymond.

This may be an opportunity for him. Dai Li called Raymond to him.

"You will be attacking during overtime," Dai Li said.

Raymond gave him a blank stare. He did not expect such a decision.

In the Clippers' lineup, Wood and Hall had the ability to bring the game to an end. Wood used to be a regular season MVP. He lacked no experience in buzzer beaters. Hall was famous for being a stable player. He was able to keep calm even during the tensest times. He once made a buzzer-beater with only 0.8 seconds left on the clock in the playoffs. They were the ones who should act as the key players during overtime, not Raymond. He wasn't even able to play as he had at his prime yet.

"Why me?" Raymond asked subconsciously.

"Because they have the best shooting guard." Dai Li patted Raymond's shoulder and said, "Only the best shooting guard can deal with the best shooting guard!"

Raymond was stunned. Being called the best shooting guard felt familiar, but it also felt a bit distant.

In his prime, Raymond was the best shooting guard in the NBA!

Dai Li used the age-reduction card to make Raymond's body six years younger.

"Go. You probably don't want to lose to your own junior!" Dai Li pushed Raymond onto the court and then took a look at the "The Beard" from the Rockets.

"The best shooting guard from ten years ago against the current best shooting guard? Who is stronger? I am looking forward to finding out!"

…

As Raymond stood on the court, his mind was blank.

The Rockets were not strangers to him. Raymond had played with them for many seasons. After retiring, he had even settled in Houston. On weekdays, he went to the Toyota Center to watch the Rockets' home games. He even went to the Rockets' training base and practiced with them once.

As a player who contributed greatly to the Rockets, he was able to enjoy such privileges. Raymond was therefore familiar with the Rockets coaching staff and players.

Raymond knew that the person opposite him, "The Beard," was really good. Raymond acknowledged his title as the current best shooting guard. In Raymond's mind, "The Beard" was most likely no weaker than he had been in his prime. Perhaps, when they met each other on the court, he would learn that "The Beard" was much better than him.

After the ball in play, it arrived in Raymond's hand. The Clippers' players were firmly implementing Dai Li's plan and they kept passing the ball to Raymond.

James Harden immediately pushed up against him. He was very close to Raymond. He didn't want Raymond to make a three-pointer.

Let's try to break through their defense. Raymond made a judgment instinctively. He started to move and began to break through the defense.

Raymond felt his body become lighter. His footsteps had become more agile.

Raymond was shocked. Just by taking a few steps, he reached the free-throw lane.

James Harden's defense outside the free-throw lane was not good. People said that he only used his eyes to defend.

When the two of them were in the free-throw lane, James Harden's defense improved significantly. His strong body and excellent lower limb strength allowed him to completely dominate his opponents.

The other defenders from the Rockets came to assist.

Although the Rockets' center and power forward were not tall, they were fast. They could switch to defense easily. The Rockets could keep using the defensive switching tactic continuously. They had some of the fastest fills in the NBA.

Both attacking and defending were difficult. Although Raymond made it into the free-throw lane, the Rockets had shrunk the amount of space he could maneuver in.

Raymond chose to rush forward and head towards the basket.

With the Rockets' defenders in front of him, Raymond flew into the air. He did a double pump to trick his opponents. With the inertia of his jump, his body flew to the other side of the basket. He immediately turned his body. His back was facing the basket. He lifted up his arms and threw the ball. The ball went straight into the basket.

"Woah!" The audience exclaimed in a loud voice. That was a beautiful layup. Every step was perfect. It was definitely one of the best five baskets this game.

"Raymond can still pull that off at his age!" The commentator couldn't help but exclaim.

If he had been a young man in his twenties, it wouldn't have been much of a surprise. It was amazing that Raymond could still make such a basket at his age. It definitely gave people a shock.

Even Raymond himself did not expect to pull off such a difficult move.

Such difficult moves were how Raymond used to get most of his points when he was young. He was not the kind of player who liked to rush to the basket and make the opponents commit a foul in order to get a free-throw. On the contrary, he preferred to use difficult maneuvers to get through the opponent's defense and get into high-intensity confrontations in order to score.

Perhaps this was why his body was full of injuries. After all, battling it out with the players inside the three-point line was damaging to one's body.

What I did just now felt the same as what I did when I was younger, Raymond thought.

After the Clippers scored, the Rockets were not going to be outdone. Straight away, James Harden threw a three-pointer two steps outside the three-point line. Then, it was the Clippers turn to attack. The ball was passed to Raymond.

The opponents were worried that Raymond would break through again this time. That was why they chose to move their defensive line backward. It was to block Raymond's attacking route.

My body still feels quite relaxed, as if I were younger! Raymond moved around for a while and found that no way to break through the defense easily. He had already found a familiar rhythm for shooting, however. He stopped immediately and made a jump shot outside the three-point line.

Raymond's jump shot was his signature move. His jump shots were graceful and beautiful. They made people calm. Anyone who saw his jump shot would enjoy it. A sense of appreciation would be generated in their hearts.

His jump shots were not achieved through technique alone, they also required great physical support. This jump shot required a combination of strong legs, good knee support, and the correct arm movements. Moreover, when shooting, he needed a high point of release, long airtime, and occasionally, he might also need to lean his body backward and have a long hang time. If he was in the state he had been just moments ago, he would still have been able to pull off a jump shot, but it wouldn't have been perfect. His body's condition had not been good enough. With the help of the age-reduction card, his body had become six years younger. He was able to pull off the perfect jump shots he used to when he was young.

"Swoosh!"

The ball was flying through the air. It traveled in an arc and the ball entered the basket.

"A beautiful jump shot!"

"What a nice display!"

"Raymond's signature jump shot. This is pure art!"

This time, even Dai Li couldn't help but stand up and applaud Raymond.

Raymond looked at his hands subconsciously. He recalled the jump shot. He was completely surprised, My body has really gotten better!

…

How is this old fart so good! James Harden stared at Raymond with extreme confusion.

Raymond made four consecutive shots, all of which were jump shots outside the three-point line. If one looked at it through pure data alone, this wasn't out of the ordinary. After all, three-pointers were commonplace in this period of the NBA. There were countless players who had high field goal percentages. Getting consecutive three-pointers had become the norm. Still, Raymond's jump shot was something that James Harden had never seen before. No one in the NBA could use this method to get points.

These kinds of jump shots happened very suddenly. The suddenness, combined with the control the shooter had in the air and how high up he was in the air, made it almost impossible to be blocked. Interfering with this kind of shot would be difficult.

The high point of release made it so that if the defenders were too close to the shooter, they were at risk of committing a foul and giving the attacker a free-throw. If the shot went in the basket, the attacker would still get the three points, as well as an additional free-throw.

It was no exaggeration to say that this kind of jump shot three-pointers was one of the most difficult things for defenders to deal with. If they were too aggressive, they risked getting a foul. If they were not aggressive enough, they could not interfere with the attackers throw.

The three-pointers were thrown a few meters away from the three-point line. Although they looked cool, in the end, they were still just three points. After all, there was no four-point line in the NBA. In comparison, Raymond's three-pointers were much riskier to defend against. If the defender didn't perform well, he might risk fouling. Worst case scenario, the attackers might get four points in total. For the defenders, this was worse than making two mistakes.

More importantly, this kind of jump shot just looked extremely cool! When James Harden was defending, he couldn't help but stop and admire Raymond's jump shot. He was so shocked that he let out an audible gasp.

The audience did the same. When Raymond made the jump shot, there was a strange exclamation from the audience. It was as if they were on a roller coaster and it had just started its descent. When the ball went into the basket, there was a sound of reassurance. Some of the audience even cheered.

This was the Toyota Center, the home of the Rockets. Someone cheering for the away team was quite out of the ordinary!

It made sense, however, that there would be cheers for Raymond in the Toyota Center. Raymond used to be the Rockets' number one star. If he hadn't made a comeback, he would get his own retired jersey on the Rockets. He still had a fan base here. It was not difficult to get cheers and the support of the old fans when he made his signature jump shot.

…

On the Clippers' bench, Dai Li looked at the court and the reaction of the audience. He smiled.

"Coach, Raymond changed into a different person. That jump shot was perfect!" Cassel was also amazed.

"Do you remember what I said before in the meeting? We don't have enough stars." Dai Li pointed to Raymond on the court and said, "We now have the Big Four!"

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Chapter 611: Enjoy the Show, It's No Big Deal

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After making consecutive offensive plays, Raymond felt tired but, at the same time, he also felt happy. Five minutes into overtime, Raymond had regained the feeling he had when he was younger.

Under the defense of the reigning MVP, "The Beard," Raymond made another pull-up shot. After scoring the basket, the crowd gave Raymond another round of applause, which undoubtedly inflicted 10,000 damage to the mentality of"The Beard." This was far worse than receiving boos from the entire crowd. It was then that "The Beard" initiated his next attack. He switched up his technical movement a bit, but the result of the play was another rebound for the Clippers.

Shuuuu!

The ball flew to the other side of the court.

Raymond had already started moving. He received the ball on the other side of the court and immediately made a tomahawk-style slam dunk.

Raymond used to be a slam dunk competition participant. Back in the day, his 360-dunk was considered a classic moment in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. With his natural fitness and personal ability, his tomahawk-style slam dunk was undoubtedly a combination of violence and art.

The reporters on the side of the court quickly snapped many pictures as they did their best to record every movement in Raymond's dunk. As for the automated camera fixed behind the basket, it also made continuous clicking sounds. It took a dozen or so shots per second, so there was no way of missing any exciting moments.

"Kuang!" Raymond slammed the ball into the basket. The entire basket shook at the impact.

"Ohhhhhhh!" The crowd went wild. It lit up the entire stadium.

The moment caused sadness to fill the heart of "The Beard." Everyone knew that home games for the Rockets did not have an energetic atmosphere. The fans in the Toyota Center were always very selfish when it came to cheering for their home team. Even when it came to critical games during the playoffs, visiting fans generally would not feel too much pressure from the home fans.

It was fine that the fans did not want to put pressure on the visitors; however, cheering for the opponents was a bit much.

"Just who is playing at home right now!" The Beard grumbled, irritated.

…

Raymond returned to his prime in that overtime without any warning and helped the Clippers defeat the Rockets.

For the Clippers, who had just been on a five-game losing streak, defeating the Rockets, who were first place in the Western Conference, was a confidence booster. Both the players and the coaching team regained their confidence overnight. The fans also became more hopeful.

In the next four games, the Clippers had three home matches and one away. They achieved victory in all four. Including the match they won against the Rockets, the Clippers managed to go on a five-game winning streak.

The previous five-match losing streak had dropped the Clippers to the ninth place in the Western Conference, which had dropped them out of the playoff zone. Now, after a five-match winning streak, the Clippers quickly moved up to sixth place in the Western Conference. They were only one win away from being the fifth-placed team in the Western Conference.

Sixth place was not a safe rank to be in in the Western Conference. In this current season, only the bottom two teams in the conference were trying to tank. The other weaker teams of previous seasons were starting to benefit from playing their talent and were achieving decent results. Under such circumstances, not even the top-ranked team in the Western Conference, let alone the sixth-placed team, could say that their qualification for the playoffs was guaranteed.

Raymond's addition to the Clippers clearly strengthened the team. Any team that obtained an additional superstar would improve significantly overall. Importantly, the Clippers did not have any tactical system, they depended on their superstars, so an additional star really meant additional strength.

Raymond had been the scoring king of the NBA for two seasons. There was no need to doubt his ability to play one-on-one which, coincidentally, suited the Clippers' superstar strategy. They just needed to pass the ball to him, and any cooperation or tactics no longer mattered; he had a myriad of methods to score points.

There were two attributes one needed to become the scoring king of the NBA. The first was to excel at all kinds of scoring methods. Only after mastering all methods of scoring could one score anywhere on the offensive side of the court. If one, for example, failed to master the turn-around jumper or the pull-up jumper, it would be difficult for the person to become the scoring king of the NBA. As such, if a person lacked mastery of a method, the person had one less position to shoot from and missed out on opportunities.

It was because of this that, in the 21st century, no center had ever become the scoring king of the NBA. The continuous development of basketball significantly increased the importance of three-point shots, and centers were generally bad at three-point shots. Without the mastery of such an important scoring method, it was naturally very difficult for centers to become the scoring king.

In truth, since the implementation of the three-pointer system in 1979, only two centers had ever obtained the glory of being the scoring king. Even then, their points-per-game average did not even exceed 30 points. When guards obtained the scoring king title, their average points generally exceeded 32 points.

The other prerequisite for becoming the scoring king was being so good at one scoring method that no one could solve or defend against it. Looking at the scoring kings of previous seasons, it was a given that each of them had at least one ultimate move, a move that opponents could not defend against even if they tried. If a player did not have an ultimate move, it was easy to be targeted by defenders. A player that could be defended by players did not deserve the title of scoring king.

Raymond's ultimate move was the pull-up shot. In truth, the essence of his pull-up shot was understood by everyone; even a lot of amateurs and non-professionals understood it thoroughly. The important thing was that no one could imitate his move.

Although previously the Clippers had had the so-called "Three giants," they did not have any clear advantage when playing against a sophisticated tactical system.

After all, basketball was a sport that consisted of five players. It required cooperation between all of them. A mature tactical system could synergize five players and make them even more formidable than they are when they are not cooperating.

Although the Clippers had "Giants," they did not have a tactical system. They relied on the individual abilities of star players. When put against a sophisticated tactical system, this playstyle was naturally a disadvantage. History had proven countless times that a well thought-out system could beat a team of fantastic star players.

It was like a war in ancient times. No matter how amazing a martial artist was when it came to fighting, it was impossible for him or her to defeat the entire army of the government. These martial artists did not know how to cooperate. It was a given that a martial artist could defeat a solder. If there were ten martial artists, they might be able to reach a draw against ten soldiers. When 100 martial artists went up against 100 soldiers, eight or nine times out of ten the soldiers would win. The soldiers did not fight alone, they knew how to work together and to form battle formations.

Teamwork, however, had its limits. If the individual strength of the opponent was too much, even the best teamwork would be ineffective. For example, 100 soldiers could defeat 100 powerful martial artists with their battle formations. If, however, they were going up against 100 Zhang Feis, then, even if all 100 of these Zhang Feis did not work together and fought alone, it would still be easy for them to cut down the soldiers.

The Clippers were currently like 100 Zhang Feis. The previous three giants would still be at a disadvantage when facing sophisticated tactical systems but, with the addition of a scoring king of the NBA, their strength had clearly surpassed the level that the tactical systems of the other teams could handle. As such, the Clippers became considered a very strong team.

…

The next opponent of the Clippers was the Sacramento Kings. The two teams were both in the Pacific region. As such, they played against each other four times per season. The two teams had already played each other this season, so this was the second time the two teams met.

The Kings had had terrible results in the past few years. Due to this, they had obtained better draft picks. The team was filled with a bunch of young and talented players. The only problem was that these players wouldn't reach their full potential for another couple of seasons.

Apart from the young players, the Kings had veterans that had been playing for several years. Among them were players who used to be superstars, but they were all old now, and could only manage to play as rotational bench players.

Good players in their prime would definitely join a team trying to make the playoffs, but who would want to join a tanking team? Therefore, the Kings tried to win.

The game had no suspense at all, the talented Kings still could not stop the stars of the Clippers.

In this match, another player on the Clippers had recovered. This player was Osef.

The Clippers" fans did not put too much hope on Osef. The other teams did not bother themselves too much with Osef's return. This was due to Osef's self-destructive past and that he used to be a drug addict.

As long as an athlete was associated with drugs, he or she was considered obsolete. This was especially true in the NBA, where physical battles were fierce. A body damaged by drugs could never withstand the intensity of an NBA match.

Dai Li, however, believed in Osef. More accurately, he was confident in his training.

In this game, Osef played eight minutes and contributed three points, two rebounds, one assist, and got another turnover. For a substitute, these stats were alright. They were not terrible, but also not exceptional.

Osef also needed time to adapt to the game. Although he had successfully detoxified, his body was still not ready to withstand playing for a long time.

Over the next few games, Osef's game time gradually increased. He went from playing eight to nine minutes to playing more than ten minutes. He then played around 15 minutes, and then finally played 17 to 18 minutes.

Playing 17 to 18 minutes per game was already enough to be considered a main rotational player.

Osef's game statistics also continued to grow. Unfortunately, he still did not manage to produce any breathtaking performances. His points per game stayed around seven to eight, averaging around four to five rebounds and two to three assists per game. Overall, he was considered a 742 player.

Rotation players with 17 to 18 minutes game time getting stats of 742 were considered fine.

Osef's contribution to the team was not limited to game stats. He was a player who could play all positions in a game. When such a versatile player acted as a team's substitute, he could fill in the gap for any position of the team.

There are 82 games in an NBA season. With the addition of the playoffs, this was an intense schedule. It forced teams to create a rotational rhythm. For example, in the first quarter, after a certain number of minutes, the first team players would be subbed out and rotation players would substitute for the first team players.

Each game was different, however, so there was absolutely no way for things to go as planned all the time. Unplanned foul accumulations or sudden injuries were variables that always messed with the rhythm of the plans set by coaches.

When a team that had a versatile substitute who could play any position in, a coach would save tens of thousands of brain cells in such situations. Being able to substitute players without thinking was a major advantage.

…

Game schedules in December were very congested. Every team would begin to feel tense and this would continue until All-Star Weekend, only then could players relax a little bit.

In early January, the Clippers played four consecutive away games. Playing so many away games in a row was very tiring for the players but, when looking at it from the overall scheduling perspective, it was a good thing. Playing several away games in one go was better than going back and forth between home and away matches.

Try and imagine going to Los Angeles for a game one day and flying to New York the following day, then heading back to Los Angeles only to fly to Boston the next day before going back to Los Angeles again. There could be a lot of suffering from going back and forth between the East and West coast. Even if one were to enjoy the private jets and the spacious business class seats, the constant noise of the plane's engine alone could increase a player's fatigue.

Compared with that, staying in Los Angeles and being able to head back home every day, eating at home and relaxing at home, seemed nice. The luxuries of travel did not matter as much when one had to play game after game. It was much more comfortable staying at home than flying everywhere to play.

That was why most teams preferred playing several away matches in a row to avoid running around everywhere. Consecutive away games were not really that scary. Some teams utilized consecutive away games as a way to rest their key players. Since there were 82 games in a season, it did not matter if they lost a couple of away games. The health of their key players was more important.

The first opponent of the Clippers' consecutive away matches was the Cavaliers.

The Clippers and the Cavaliers did not have a grudge against each other, but it was a different story for the players. The recently recovered Osef had a grudge with the center of the Cavaliers.

Back in the day, Osef was cheated on by his wife. The male in that story was the center of the Cavaliers. Back when Osef had not yet divorced his now ex-wife, his ex-wife had already had the other guy's child. After Osef's divorce, his ex-wife also married this guy.

More importantly, in an interview, she told the media that when it came to doing embarrassing things, Osef was far worse than the center of the Cavaliers.

It was one thing to be cheated on, but he was also said to be impotent. What man could endure such a thing?

It was because of this that, when Osef was being self-destructive, he had promiscuous sexual behavior. It could have been said that he wanted to prove that he could function without a problem. He ended up using many drugs, but not the tiny blue pill.

If Osef did not return to the court, perhaps things would have ended right there. Osef would have continued to deteriorate and, perhaps one day, he would have died in the hands of a woman. Perhaps he would have died from a drug overdose. His ex-wife would have continued to live a happy life filled with shameless acts with the center of the Cavaliers.

Today, however, Osef had returned to the court. He was going to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had to face his ex-wife, who had not only cheated on him but had also said that he was impotent. He had to get on the court and compete against this guy.

Perhaps, on the court, the two of them would not only compete in terms of basketball techniques but also start fist-fighting.

As the saying goes, when enemies face off against each other, their eyes turn red. The hate and animosity that comes from killing one's father and taking one's wife also applied to Americans. These were two huge men who were both at least six and a half feet tall. No matter how one interpreted it, they did not seem like people who settled things with their words instead of their fists.

…

On the bus heading towards the home stadium of the Cavaliers, Cassel moved to Dai Li's side.

"Do you think they will start a fight?" Cassel whispered softly.

"I don't know." Dai Li shook his head.

"How about we don't put Osef on the court this match?" Cassel suggested.

"Do you think that's possible? He is a professional. The team pays his salary, so he has to play," Dai Li answered.

"I'm worried that they won't hit the basketball." Cassel knew that his suggestion was not a very good one. He hesitated briefly and asked, "If they really start to fight, what should we do?"

Dai Li was silent for a few seconds. "Let's see who wins!"

"Umm…" Cassel did not expect such an answer.

"What if Osef wins the fight?" Cassel asked patiently.

"Our player won the fight. Of course, that's the best outcome!" Dai Li answered.

"What if Osef loses?" Cassel asked.

"Then we'll ask him if he needs help!" Dai Li looked like he was there to enjoy a show and did not think it was a big deal.

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Chapter 612: Fight

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Osef sat on the bench, but his attention was not on the court. His gaze was on the fans that were on the other side of the court.

He was looking at the VIP section for the Cleveland home fans. One of the women seated over there had a sumptuous body. She had a big belly, so it was clear that she was several months into a pregnancy.

This woman was Osef's ex-wife.

Osef initially thought that he would hate her but, upon seeing her again, he realized that he could not bring himself to hate her at all.

She was the woman who used to drive him mad, the woman who had deeply hurt him. She still held an important position in his heart.

Osef gazed at his ex-wife dumbly, reminiscing about the good old days.

His ex-wife noticed that Osef was looking at her, so she then sent a smile Osef's way.

She is smiling at me! Does she miss me? Osef felt as if his heart had melted. His heart started thumping faster.

This smile was also seen by someone else. The center for the Cavaliers, Terry, who was Osef's ex-wife's current husband, also saw Osef and his wife looking at each other.

He then saw his wife winked at this other man, her ex-husband. Terry was infuriated.

Is it possible that they reconciled? Terry guessed at what this exchange of looks meant in his heart.

If Osef was still as self-destructive as he had been, Terry would not even bother with worrying. A drug addict was trash. Who knew? An addict could overdose any day.

The current Osef, however, was back playing basketball; moreover, he seemed to be doing well. It even seemed like he was returning to his peak condition. Obviously, Terry had to be more vigilant in observing their interactions.

When the ex-husband of his wife had been a loser and trash, it made Terry feel powerful and successful as a male. If his wife's ex-husband was stronger than him, then Terry would feel defeated and emasculated.

These external factors affected Terry's concentration. Over the next few minutes, Terry made consecutive defensive errors, letting his man slip past him. The Clippers also capitalized on the chances this gave them and went on a 15-3 offensive streak.

The physicality and the execution of difficult movements in a basketball game made the sport one of toughest to play. Players had to concentrate intensely. Once a player was on the court and immersed in the game, he had to focus every second. Once a player lost his concentration, even if he was a superstar, his performance would slip.

The head coach of the Cavaliers noticed that Terry's attention was not completely on the game. He decisively subbed Terry off. It was an unusual substitution. Everyone could see that the head coach wasn't satisfied with Terry's performance over the past few plays, which was why he was subbed off the court.

To be subbed out of a game like this was humiliating. Terry felt that humiliation and he could feel the unfriendly gaze from surrounding fans. It was as if they were trying to say that the team was losing because of him!

On the other hand, on the Clippers, Osef was subbed into the game.

Osef was not the kind of player who excelled at scoring points, but he was an all-around warrior on the court. The way he played, if he performed well, one could feel his presence everywhere on the court. He appeared under the net when it came to getting rebounds; he appeared to throw a block; he appeared during a cut-in; he also appeared in space when his teammates needed to pass to someone. Occasionally, he would even make a couple of beautiful passes, assisting his teammates in scoring.

When it came time for the substitute players to make their appearance, Osef's performance was even more eye-catching.

In the current Clippers' lineup, Osef was the core of the substitutes. A versatile miracle player like him could do anything on the court was very suitable in the role.

Sometimes, when one knew how to do everything, it meant they weren't a master of anything. Osef, however, was skilled enough to bully the substitutes of the other teams.

After all, the substitutes of a team were not as strong as the first team players. Even on a top-class team, the bench would only have one or two strong points. The other players were not strong enough to get on the starting lineup.

Faced with the bench players of the Cavaliers, Osef performed amazingly in the few minutes that he played. He scored, rebounded, and assisted. He displayed for all to see his ability as an all-around great player.

Of course, this was because the bench players of the Cavaliers were weaker. The Cavaliers had three superstar players in their team. They had gotten three giants, and these three people took up most of the salary the team was allowed to pay. This meant that the Cavaliers could not pay the other players high wages. Without sufficient funds, it was natural they could not attract players of a higher caliber to join them in lesser roles.

This was a common problem for a lot of teams. The stars of the team took up so much salary space that the other players had to have lower wages. Typically, the strength of the player was in proportion with their wages. That being true, the strength and ability of the players on the bench, who had lower salaries, were concerning.

It was normal for the bench to be weaker. Any team with 20 to 30 million dollars lying around would try to get a star player before spending the money on benchwarmers. When it came to substitutes on NBA teams, everyone was in the same boat. If a team had an amazing substitute, it basically meant that they were aiming for the title of best sixth man.

Coincidentally, Osef was once the best sixth man!

…

In the battle between the bench players, Osef's presence was strong. He also attracted the attention of the cameras.

The director of the broadcast was a troublemaker. Every time Osef did something worthy of a highlight, the camera would pan and aim towards Osef's ex-wife and zoom in on her.

Occasionally, the camera would also zoom in on Terry to record his sad expression.

Terry was currently very depressed. He felt as if there was a huge boulder pressed against his heart. The weight of the huge boulder was increasing the more the game went on. He could not wait to get back on the court and to get rid of Osef.

Finally, the bench players had played there time, and the starters were subbed on the court.

Finally, there was a free throw. Terry was called by the coach and subbed on to the court. As he started gearing up to get on the court to show Osef up, Dai Li subbed Osef off the court.

Terry felt a sudden sense of defeat, as if he had been punched in the face.

After that, he witnessed his wife trading glances with Osef again while he was on the court.

Terry's attention was shifted off the court once again, so he lost his man again. The Clippers immediately scored two points.

…

Terry looked like he was daydreaming the entire game. He kept losing his focus, losing his man, or making unnecessary fouls. As a center, fouls inadvertently affected his game time. Throughout the entire game, his play time was fragmented and totaled to only around 20 minutes. He didn't play any longer than a substitute normally does.

Moreover, Terry's performance directly affected the offense of the Cavaliers. One needed to understand that when a team had big centers like Gray, the other players were able to break through and score in the paint. Without Terry's defense in the paint, it was all too easy for the Clippers to break into the Cavaliers' paint. Just from winning a few offensive rebounds, the Clippers led the Cavaliers by a dozen or so points.

When there were only five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers subbed off all their starters and sent the "waterboy" players on. This basically meant that they had surrendered. The Clippers immediately made adjustments accordingly. They subbed off their starters and accepted the victory.

The broadcast did not let Terry move on. The camera continued to pan towards the bench, giving both Osef and Terry several close-ups that focused on their expressions. Then, the close-ups were broadcasted on to the big screen in the stadium.

Obviously, the director was looking for trouble. Those who worked in the media industry were delighted to escalate the tension of a moment as much as possible. The more interesting the scene, the more it would attract the attention of the audience. The reporters and journalists at the stadium wanted to see a fight break out between Osef and Terry.

Osef sat on the bench and gazed at his ex-wife joyously. His gaze was filled with care and concern.

His ex-wife occasionally sent Osef a gentle smile. To Osef, the smile was the warmest ray of light in the world. It made him feel unlimited warmth. Osef no longer cared, at this moment, that she had cheated on him. He also didn't care about her spreading rumors of him being impotent. His mind was filled with happy memories they shared together.

Terry sat on the bench and stared furiously at this adulterous pair. His wife and her ex-husband. It was difficult for him to endure it.

Finally, the buzzer that signaled the end of the game rang.

The Cavaliers and Clippers began hugging each other in a show of sportsmanship.

Terry, on the other hand, stood up violently and walked towards Osef.

"Get away from my woman!" Terry said in a low voice. His gaze looked like it was filled with the intent to kill.

It had not been easy for Terry to endure that game. He did not perform well that game Whether in terms of stats or the way he played on the court, he lost to Osef. More importantly, it seemed like the relationship between Osef and his wife was not over. How could a man endure such a humiliating night?

Hate filled Osef's face as well. He noticed that he simply could not hate his ex-wife. That being the case, he placed all his hate on Terry. He even decided that it was Terry who took his wife from him. The origin of everything that went wrong was Terry.

Words were useless. Fists were more direct!

The photographers and the videographers immediately aimed their cameras at the two men. The director of the live broadcast immediately focused in on the two of them.

The fans who were leaving the stadium instantly stopped moving. Some looked towards the big screen while others gazed directly at the two people on the court.

"Are they gonna start a fight?"

"I bought tickets for this game just for this!"

Clearly, Dai Li was not the only person who wanted to enjoy the show. Tens of thousands of fans did as well.

…

"What are you looking at?"

"What's wrong with looking at you?"

"Try looking at me again!"

"I just did. What? Does it bother you?"

"Keep looking. Believe it or not, I'll cut you!"

Dai Li created these dialogues in his mind.

Dai Li was located relatively far away from the two of them. He did not know what Terry and Osef were talking about, so he had to make up their dialogue in his mind. Dai Li felt that their words were probably leading to a fight.

Dai Li did not know if a fight would have really broken out from someone saying "What are you looking at," but it looked like Osef and Terry were really going to fight. This dialogue mysteriously appeared in Dai Li's mind.

Chaos stormed the court in an instant. The game was finished, everyone normally would have left work. The referees were already headed into the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. Of course, some players and coaching staff had also already left the court. At that moment, Osef and Terry actually started to fight.

In the history of NBA, there had been many fights occurring during the course of a game. It was extremely rare, however, for a fight to occur after the game had finished.

When a fight occurred in a game, the referee immediately rushed over to interfere. The other players rushed over in an attempt to pull the fighters away. At that moment, the game had already finished and the referees had left, so no one blew the whistle to interfere. The other players had also left or, at the very least, were preparing to leave the court, so no one immediately there to try and stop the fight.

In terms of height, Osef was six-foot-ten and Terry was six-foot-nine. Considering, however, that the record of a player's height was never that accurate, the height difference between the two men was negligible.

When it came to weight, the official data on the two men were similar. Terry, who played as a center, was heavier. Due to taking drugs in the past, Osef was lighter.

A fight, however, was not determined by the size of a person. A huge person was not guaranteed to win a fight. For example, in the fight today, Osef clearly had the advantage. He caught Terry and gave him a good beating.

The outcome of a fight was related to where a person came from.

Osef was born in Queens, New York. It was the most complicated region in New York It had the world's busiest airport, the most historical museum, a famous park, and a chaotic slum.

Strictly speaking, the Bronx was the most impoverished borough of New York. It was also the place with the worst neighborhoods. When it came to the degree of chaos in the neighborhoods, however, Queens was worse than the Bronx.

In New York, Manhattan was where the rich gathered and the Bronx was where the poor gathered. Queens had both rich and poor people.

Where the rich lived together, security was, without a doubt, the best. Anywhere in the world, wealthy areas were great. These places had good environments, incredible security, and excellent educational facilities.

Where the poor gathered together, the living standards were certain to be terrible. This did not mean that it was chaotic. If everyone was poor, there was nothing to steal or rob from each other. Everyone simply survived and there was no need for the poor to make life harder for the poor. Instances like this created a "poor man's order."

For example, the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was like this in the 20th century. To outsiders, it was a place where strangers should be avoided at all cost. It was filled with all kinds of sins. Still, tens of thousands of citizens lived in the Kowloon Walled City. To them, as long as they followed the rules, they were able to survive.

Where the rich lived together with the poor, chaos was common. The poor, who had no money, had to see the rich walk past them every day. It was hard not to have evil thoughts. Hating the rich was common. In some areas of China, if a person sent his child to kindergarten in a luxury car, he would be attacked by the teachers as well as other parents. Then, he would be kicked out of the parent group. The U.S. was considered the "Gun Capital of the World." Guns outnumbered people in this country. This put the rich in danger of being shot.

Queens was such a place. It was the most multicultural area in New York. It had luxurious villas, as well as chaotic slums. Both appeared in the same region, so it was natural that there was a lot of chaos.

Osef grew up in Queens. He was raised by his maternal grandmother and aunt. He was considered a good kid who grew up from a poor family. In Queens, there was simply no way a poor kid could grow up there and not know how to fight!

Osef, who grew up in that kind of environment, was an expert fighter.

Terry was born in Canada, both his parents had emigrated from Jamaica. He hadn't been poor, which is why his family had been able to emigrate to Canada. At the very least, he was part of the middle class. When you were poor, it was impossible to emigrate to Canada.

Terry's parents had also paid a lot of attention to the education of their kids. Terry was an ice hockey player in middle school. It was a sport that cost a lot of money. Later, as Terry grew taller and taller, his parents ultimately sent him to a prestigious basketball school in the U.S. Canada had 12 years of compulsory education, so if a Canadian sent his child to a high school in the U.S., he needed to pay extra. Since Terry's family managed to pay extra, it could be assumed that Terry's family was well-off.

One could say that Terry grew up in a relatively affluent family. He received a better education at a young age. A child who grew up in such a family, even if there were conflicts between him and his peers, would not be in any serious fights. It was unlikely for a person like that to be a good fighter.

Although Terry was over six feet, had a muscular body, and looked very intimidating, he did not know how to fight.

One grew up fighting and the other did not know the first thing about a fight. When the two fought, the result was predictable.

Although Terry was bigger, he was beaten up by Osef.

…

"They've started fighting!" Dai Li looked at the two men with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

Then, Dai Li opened his mouth and started making comments. "It looks like Osef has gained the upper hand! Not bad, he's won!"

"Coach, it doesn't really matter who wins, right? We should pull them apart!" Cassel said nervously.

Still, he did not immediately go over to stop the fight. Two muscular men who were over six feet tall were fighting each other. If Cassel did not get a few people to help him, he did not dare to just walk up to them. The two men had thick arms and fists as large as pots, it would be quite possible for Cassel to get injured by mistake.

"Yes, hurry up and go pull them apart!" Dai Li showed an excited look. "Osef has won, let's hurry up and stop those who are trying to stop the fight!"

Cassel didn't know how to respond.

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Chapter 613: They are Committing Murder

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

New York. NBA headquarters.

A TV hung on the wall of the meeting room. It was playing the fight scene between Osef and Terry.

"They were really fighting. We need to punish them even though the game was already over."

"As per the standard operating procedure, we need to treat them like players who fought in-game and dole out match bans then!"

"There's definitely going to be a match ban. The question here is just how many matches should we ban them from? After all, this brawl took place after the game. The punishment cannot be too heavy, but it can't be too light either. If this punishment is worse that the punishment for fighting during games, it will upset the public."

"We've had similar situations before, right? I remember we punished players for a brawl inside the locker room last season. We can refer to the punishment during that incident."

The people inside the meeting room discussed the punishment that awaited Osef and Terry.

Although the brawl did not take place during a game, the league still had to hand out match bans to the players who took part in the fight.

Similar incidents had happened before. For example, sometimes after games ended, players would have physical conflicts after returning to the locker room. Some players even got into fights inside the tunnel and physical conflicts that happened after players got on to the bus. Playes got bloodied during fights wasn't uncommon. Once, there was even an all-star player who pulled out a gun in one spat. Concerning these incidents, the NBA handed out match bans as punishment.

Situations like this, where players fought on the court after the match had ended, should be more serious than fights that occurred inside the locker rooms; however, they were less serious than a fights that happened during a game. When it came to punishment, it would also be less severe than a brawl during the game.

On the screen of the TV, Osef clearly had the advantage. The few punches that Terry threw out were either dodged or blocked by Osef while Osef's fists hit Terry's face firmly.

"Osef! This fella sure can fight! Terry is bigger than him, but he can't beat him," someone exclaimed in surprise.

"He's from Queens, New York. Of course, he knows how to fight," another person replied.

"It's a good thing some of the players hadn't returned to the locker room. They went to stop them!" A third person said.

On the TV screen, the journalists surrounded them and recorded everything in a frenzy. They hoped more than anything that the fight between the two would escalate. As for the players and coaches of both teams who had not yet left the court, they quickly moved towards them with the intention of stopping the fight.

The conflict was different from those normally seen on the court.

Players would trash talk on the court and have all kinds of sneaky and dirty moves. There might even be bad calls. These were all reasons that fights happened. Sometimes, when players with a temper became the victim of a trick move and felt humiliated, they would directly start a fight. Faced with this type of situation, teammates might not move to help disperse the fight. On the contrary, they might even go up and help out to express the kinship between teammates and the cohesiveness of the team.

But Osef and Terry fought because of a woman. No teammate would help for such a reason. Apart from the two of them, the other people had zero interest in that woman. Perhaps if they were interested, it would only be biologically. So no one went to help their teammate, they only went to try to stop the fight.

The thing was that the people who went to stop the fight moved cautiously. The two fighters were big guys, both very tall. If the thick arms and massive fists accidentally hit them, it would be disastrous. Just imagining it hurt.

"Stop fighting! You guys, stop fighting!" A woman screamed from the side anxiously. She was Osef's ex-wife, Terry's current wife.

It was bad when she had not screamed. Once she screamed, the fight between the two worsened. Terry knew that he was losing; moreover, his woman saw the entire thing. So he was even more inclined not to give up, he wrestled free from the person who tried to stop him without any hesitation and rushed towards Osef.

Osef was also not from about to stop. He won, so he needed to show the dignity of a winner. He posed in front of his ex-wife.

So, the two men tangled together again. The others could not stop them if they tried.

In the meeting room, the video played until that point, and someone could not keep it in anymore. "I thought they stopped the fight. It started again! This should warrant for more severe punishment, right?"

"Look, the coach of the Clippers is headed over. You still have to depend on the head coach for stopping fights after all!"

On the TV screen, Dai Li rushed towards them excitedly. He looked as if he was going to stop the fight. His hand, however, moved and pushed away the two players who were trying to stop the fight.

Then, Osef and Terry tangled together and fought again. Terry's eye took another blow.

In the meeting room, someone said, "That doesn't seem right. Why do I feel like the head coach of the Clippers isn't trying to stop the fight? He's just there to side with his player!"

…

"The league has decided the punishment. Osef is banned for three matches," Cassel passed a fax to Dai Li. It was the league's decision on Osef's punishment.

"Then what about Terry from the Cavaliers?" Dai Li asked.

"Same. Also a three-match ban." Cassel paused and continued, "The league basically just divided the punishment into two."

"Oh, then we're on the winning side. After all, Osef won the fight. He gave Terry several blows," Dai Li said, smiling.

Cassel hesitated for a few seconds. "It looks like you aren't going to hand out any internal punishment to Osef?"

"Yes, I don't intend to punish him. You should have already guessed that. You saw the way I tried to 'stop' the fight." The smile on Dai Li's face became even brighter.

"You still have the guts to actually say that that was a move to stop the fight? You were clearly helping one side! If you did not do that, Terry could have at least avoided two punches," Cassel complained.

"Osef needed to vent." Dai Li waved his fingers and said, "Men. It is better to fight and vent out the emotion stuck in the chest than to keep it all bottled up inside."

"You make it seem logical." Cassel nodded and then said mockingly, "Looks like you are very experienced."

"Get lost, I've never been cheated on before!" Dai Li exclaimed.

Cassel changed his tone. "For the next three games, we won't have Osef. Our bench will be affected."

"We're playing consecutive away games, it is acceptable to lose a few. In the upcoming three games, if we can win just one we'll have two wins and two losses. It is an acceptable result." Dai Li looked calm. He continued, "Moreover, Noel already received his sixth medical report from the hospital. Everything is normal. Based on the agreement with the league, he only needs to submit six months of the medical report to prove that he is healthy enough to return to the court. So, I plan to let him make his return in the next home game!"

…

The sixth medical report was placed on the table of the president of the NBA, Adams. It was the medical report of Noel in the most recent six months.

Although Adams was not a professional doctor, he could still understand the contents of the medical report.

"This means that he has recovered from his disease?" Adams pointed at the medical reports on his table.

"To be precise, the problem of the blood clot has been solved. At the moment, it seems like there are no symptoms for a relapse," a man wearing spectacles cross from him said. He was a famous medical professor in the U.S. He was also one of the medical consultants for the NBA.

"This means that he can play now?" Adams continued asking.

"Based on the data in the medical reports, he is much healthier than your average Joe. He can definitely play," the medical professor said.

Hearing this, Adams frowned. He seemed hesitant.

From a medical perspective, as long as a blood clot disappeared an athlete's life was no longer in danger. Taking anticoagulation drugs could achieve this. The only thing was that anticoagulation drugs had side effects, like constant bleeding from a wound or increased vulnerability to get internal bleeding from intensive sports.

If it were not a sport with intense physical contact, taking the anticoagulation drug would solve an athlete's problem without any adverse effects. Basketball was different. It required intense physical contact, so they had to prove that players had no problem after taking anticoagulation drugs. If a player faced the problem with anticoagulation drugs and still played, it was no different from committing suicide.

Naturally, the NBA could not allow players to commit suicide. It was this reason that, after it was discovered that Chris Noel had a blood clot, he was banned from all NBA fixtures.

Blood clots formed because of a lack of anticoagulation hormone. This meant that the body had a disability. Based on the athlete's patch fixing anything that was missing, it was natural that he recovered.

To the NBA president, Adams, it was a headache. If the blood clot in Noel was not completely solved and he allowed him to play, then if something happened the NBA would have to bear all responsibility.

In the past few years, the NBA had been successful in promoting the brand worldwide. The NBA had also been paying more attention to their image. If a scandal occurred now, years of hard work would have been wasted.

Adams also understood blood clots. It was a common disease among players. It was a functional disorder. Fundamentally, it could not be cured. It was even listed as one of the incurable diseases.

As such, Adams did not believe that Noel would recover. When he requested for six months of medical reports, it was just to delay him. Adams did not really think that Noel could stay healthy for six months.

Noel really brought six months of medical reports, though. The reports showed that his coagulation functioned normally. He had long stopped taking the prescribed anticoagulation drugs and his body did not show any symptoms of a relapse. Although it did not mean that Noel had recovered, it did satisfy the requirements set by Adams before.

"If I knew that this was going to happen, I would have asked for a year's worth of medical reports!" Adams sighed. Words were said, however, and he could not go back on his words.

Adams signed his name on the document in resignation. He knew that it was a risky move. If Noel had a relapse, he would be accused by the entire country.

…

Chris Noel also used to be a superstar. His return immediately caught the attention of the media in the U.S. Everyone focused on Los Angeles.

The Clippers released several photographs of Noel taking part in team training and announced to the media that Chris Noel would be featured in the next home game as a starting power forward.

Most people were not interested in the personnel arrangement of the Clippers. Most people wanted to know about Noel's health situation.

After all, blood clots were lethal to athletes. They flowed through the blood. If they moved to the blood vessels of the lung or the heart, it could cause a pulmonary embolism or Myocardial infarction.

If one took anticoagulation drugs to dissolve the blood clots, it would affect the body's ability to stop bleeding. In the NBA, intense physical contact was inevitable. If internal bleeding occurred due to a collision, it could be lethal.

So to preserve the life of an athlete, players with impaired blood function, like Noel, should stay as far away from NBA games as possible. The best situation for them was to be a good audience, they should not even try becoming a coach.

Noel, however, was going to make a comeback. In the eyes of most people, he was playing with his life on the line.

…

The following day, an article with the following title appeared in a newspaper:

"The Los Angeles Clippers are basically committing murder!"

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Chapter 614: Another Perfect Recovery

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li held a tablet in his hand and read the title of the news article. An odd expression appeared on his face.

"'The Los Angeles Clipper are basically committing murder! Murder? What does that even mean?" Dai Li furrowed his brow. He did not furrow it because of the article title, but because his picture was attached to the title. His image had been photoshopped to make him look like a murderer.

The first half of the news article mostly just praised Noel. It basically stated that he was diagnosed with blood clots but was still determined to recover. The superstar, who loved basketball and was immensely professional, was a model for every athlete to look up to.

The latter half of the article described the Clippers as heartless. They knew that blood clots were life-threatening, yet they still allowed Noel to play. The article portrayed them as capitalists without consciences. Even if Noel's blood clots had been removed, the anticoagulation drugs still made it impossible for him to participate in intense physical contact sports. Allowing him to play in the NBA was simply handing him a death sentence.

The accusation of murder was aimed at Dai Li. At the end of the article, it even pointed out that if something were to happen to Noel, then the one who would undeniably be responsible was Dai Li.

"I helped Noel return to the court and let him continue playing basketball. This should be viewed as an act of kindness. Shouldn't they praise me? Why are they accusing me of murder? I really don't understand how you Americans think," Dai Li said, a little bit confused.

"I found someone to investigate the article. This story came out of Miami," said the team general manager, Johnson.

Dai Li thought for a moment and said, "I haven't done anything to anger Miami!"

"It was something conjured up by the Heat," Johnson said. "Miami Heat feel wronged, but they can't do anything. They had to resort to a low-handed tactic to mess with our season. If they succeed in stirring up public opinion and manage to put pressure on us, then they will be a bit better off. If Noel plays, and something happens, then this article will be brought up and be used against us."

Dai Li nodded to indicate that he understood.

Chris Noel used to be a player for the Miami Heat. He helped the Heat win multiple championships, and had been a star of the NBA. Before discovering the blood clot, the Heat paid Noel as much as they could and he was the pillar of the team. Even after Noel was diagnosed with the disease and forced to stop playing the game, the Heat also said that they were willing to retire Noel's jersey number.

When he was a player, they paid him as well as they could and, when he stopped playing, they were going to retire his jersey number. Such treatment was only offered to accomplished stars of the NBA.

The Heat originally thought that, by treating Noel that way, they had done their part. They didn't think that Noel would actually return, much less that he would join another team. This meant that the Heat had taken a huge loss!

Noel had left the game due to the disease so, even though he had been fired by the Heat, his salary had been paid by the insurance company. That meant that the Heat did not lose anything. Now, however, it felt as though they had simply handed over a superstar to the Clippers, which was unacceptable to the Heat.

In the NBA, superstars were a scarce resource. Superstars were able to pick which team they played for, not the other way around. Every superstar was wanted by every team. If a particular superstar implied that he was willing to join a particular team, then that team would do anything it could to try to clear up the salary space they needed to sign the superstar. Otherwise, they would bargain as much as they could to make the deal happen. Salary space was less important than having a superstar.

A superstar of the highest level could even make the management of teams kneel down and lick their shoes. The NBA ruled that teams could not negotiate contracts with free agents before the first of July. Therefore, on the evening of June 30th, a large number of cars belonging to team managers were parked outside the mansions of superstars. At 11:59, the managers would get out of their car, walk to the front of the gate, place their fingers on the doorbell, and wait until it was twelve before pressing it. After that, they did their best to persuade the star to join them.

The team managers were willing to wait outside someone else's house in the middle of the night instead of getting a good night's sleep. This was for the chance to be the first to invite whichever player they were going to join whichever team they managed. That was the way superstars were handled in the NBA.

Because superstars were such a scarce resource in the NBA, the management of the Heat, felt that Noel should have chosen to return to his old team. Instead, Noel went to the Clippers, so the Heat viewed his return as a loss.

There was a myriad of methods that NBA teams could be used to annoy one another. Teams were not as kind to each other as they seemed to be. If one were to look at the NBA as a business, then a deal involving a superstar was worth around 20 to 30 million dollars per year. In the current era, business deals worth several million dollars were important enough to have business firms go to war. One definitely had to do anything necessary to secure a 20 to 30 million dollar deal.

On top of that, the Miami Heat were never a team that was considered kind. The management always adhered to a "Commercial Alliance" spirit. This meant that they definitely did not mind using sneaky methods in order to stir up trouble for other teams in the league.

As for the other teams in the league, they did not want to see the Clippers become stronger either. After all, everyone was in the same league so, on some level, competition existed between every team.

Johnson said, "Noel's return has been approved by the league. Six months of medical reports were enough to prove Noel's health. I don't think the league will restrict Noel's participation due to a news article. I am, however, worried about public opinion."

Dai Li waved his hand and said, "I'm the exact opposite. I'm worried that the league will do something. As for public opinion, as long as Noel performs, everything will settle down by itself. For the fans, as long as their favorite stars have great stats, then they won't care about potential injuries and what not."

…

Inside the locker room, Chris Noel changed into his jersey.

According to NBA rules, players who were not listed as an active player could only wear a suit when they were at the stadium. Noel had received this sort of treatment before; he had only been able to watch games wearing a suit on the bench. To him, it had been torturous.

For normal people playing a random game that didn't mean anything, it was already fairly anxiety-producing to sit on the sidelines. A superstar, who played in the NBA, felt much more anxiety about being sidelined.

Due to his blood clots, Noel had been forced to warm the bench for multiple games. He could only watch his teammates play. His hands had itched. His heart had felt even worse. It had been tough to endure.

Now, it seemed like his days of suffering had come to an end and that a sweet future awaited him. He could finally return to the court.

The new jersey he wore felt both strange and familiar. At that very moment, his hands started shaking. He was overwhelmed and could hardly contain himself.

A random disease had forced him off the court. It had even made him bid farewell to basketball. Now, he was back!

…

Staples Center, Los Angeles

The Clippers were facing the Spurs at home. It was Noel's first game since his return.

Without the cover of his teammates, Noel dribbled quickly to an advantageous position. He received the ball quickly and completed a jump shot. All the while, the player defending against him could not keep up. He could only stare helplessly as Noel shot under no pressure.

The ball went in. The stadium instantly erupted into applause.

"His score is now in the double digits. He's scoring 50% of his field goals, which is pretty good too. Looks like we don't have to worry about his form anymore!" Dai Li said, smiling.

Noel was different from the other Clippers players. The other players had been forced out due to injuries. Their forms had gotten worse prior to their leaving the game because they had been afraid of injuries. This had caused their play to deteriorate. In the end, they were not on par with the players warming the bench.

Noel, however, had been forced into early retirement due to blood clots. Before he had retired, he had still maintained his all-star level. Getting a 2010 had been very simple for him. It could be said that he had left the game in top form.

Noel had also still been in his prime when he returned. In the months before the current season, he had still continued training. Therefore, when he returned to the court, he found it easy to return to his previous form.

The Clippers also did not have a tactical system. They relied on their superstars. On the Clippers, once he received the ball and had a good opportunity, he would play solo. If he did not have a good opportunity, then he would pass the ball to his teammate and his teammate would play solo. This sort of simple strategy, which relied on the individual capabilities of the players, did not demand any adaptability. Any star player could play this way once they got on the court. The ball could be thrown anywhere once it was in their hands. For an experienced offensive player like Noel, it was a very handy strategy.

Noel performed with great efficiency in the game. He played 25 minutes and scored 16 points, obtained four rebounds, and got one assist.

Things unfolded as Dai Li predicted. The fans only cared about the stats of their favorite stars. As for potential injuries, they were unimportant in the face of good stats. The following day, the media mainly reported on Noel's perfect recovery. As for the problem of his blood clots, it seemed as if it had been completely forgotten by the people.

This was what happened in sports. A player's results were the most important things. Excellent results were enough to make the public forget about all the negative news.

…

In his first game since his recovery, Noel had tested the waters and easily gotten 16 points.

In the following game, Noel got more game time and contributed more to the team. With Noel, the Clippers were fearless in the power forward position.

For a big man, Noel was quick, agile, and had a great leap. He excelled in two scoring methods. He was good at scoring with a post-up followed by the turnaround jumper. He was also good at using the opponent as a cover or for a pick-and-roll and following it with a high-jump shot. His field goal percentage for these two methods were exceptionally high. Moreover, he also had considerable ability to breakthrough into the paint and he could make three-pointers. He try to make three-pointers that often, however.

In the league, Noel was regarded as a top-scoring paint protector.

As basketball developed, human started to realize the different functions of space. One needed space to breakthrough and to shoot. As such, in the current NBA, a good paint protector was a scoring paint protector who also efficiently protected space. As a paint player, if he could not help the team create space, then he would only be a second-tier player.

At one time, centers who could make three-pointers had been very popular. It had been because centers who made threes created more space. During that time, a lot of centers who were awful at free throws began to practice their three-pointers.

Then, the expert tacticians in the NBA quickly realized that when centers were shooting three-pointers outside, the paint was empty. This meant that they surrendered their chance of getting an offensive rebound. Without offensive rebounds, the team would have zero chance of initiating a second offense. Considering that three-point field goal percentages averaged around 30 to 50 percent, one had to go for the offensive rebound most of the time. Giving up the chance to initiate a second offense for the benefit of getting a little room was not worth it.

With that tactical understanding, centers were more likely to sit below the basket and protect the paint. The coach would rarely ever design a tactic that needed centers to shoot three-pointers. Because centers had to protect the paint, the power forward became the first choice for creating space for the team.

Power forwards who were good at shooting were originally more popular in the league. Many centers who were able to make shots also played as power forwards so that they could create more space.

A power forward who created space was regarded as a tactical weapon for a team. Entire tactical systems would change if a team obtained a power forward that was able to create space.

Chris Noel had, coincidentally, been the best power forward in the league when it came to creating space. He could break through for a layup as well as he could shoot. As soon as he stepped towards the three-point line on either side of the court, the defenders would have to be prepared to swarm him. A superstar player like him also had multiple offensive methods. On top of that, he was a big man, so he was hard to defend against. After all, it was harder to defend against a big guy than a small guy.

Noel's addition to the Clippers did not just strengthen the team a little bit. It was not merely a matter of getting an extra player. It was also a matter of a lot more space being created for the entire team.

Everyone on the Clippers was a top-class scorer in the league. They had MVPs and the scoring king of two consecutive seasons. Not only did every player in every position master their scoring methods, but they also had their own offensive skills that were impossible to defend against. Once players like them were allowed space, scoring was easy as pie.

…

Professor Thomas was an expert in hemophilia research.

Hemophilia was a coagulation disorder. Blood clots were an anticoagulation disorder. Although one was the opposite of the other, in medical research, they belonged in the same studies. Therefore, Professor Thomas was also an expert in blood clots.

A good illustration of opposites being more similar than one would think in the medical field was hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. The former is the excess of the thyroid hormone while the other is a lack of it. The symptoms were the exact opposites of each other but, when visiting the doctor, one had to go to the endocrinology department for both. Doctors who were adept at treating hyperthyroidism were also good at treating hypothyroidism. It was the same the other way round.

A while ago, Professor Thomas had been out in Europe for a business trip. He first went to Switzerland in order to participate in an academic seminar. Then, he had gone to Sweden for a conference with a couple of academics. After that, he went to Germany to visit a few medical cases before finally going to England to diagnose several wealthy individuals. In total, he spent around half a month traveling around Europe.

In this half a month, Thomas was kept busy. He had not had time to pay attention to other things. It was like this for doctors, they got so busy that they couldn't take care of anything else. Even a doctor in the U.S.worked more hours than those with other professions.

Upon returning to New York and getting off the plane, Professor Thomas bought a newspaper and quickly scanned through the headlines.

Finally, he reached the sports section and he saw an article about Noel's return.

"What? Noel is back? He played? He played for 25 minutes!? Does he want to die!?" Professor Thomas exclaimed.

Professor Thomas had provided a diagnosis for and had treated Noel, he completely understood Noel's situation. In his opinion, it was impossible for Noel to return to the game. His disease did not allow him to continue playing in the NBA.

"Which bastard doctor allowed him to play. This is plain murder! The doctor who let him play should lose his license. He should be charged!" Thomas said in anger. Later, he took out his phone and called Noel.

Thomas was considered a doctor with a conscience. He planned to persuade Noel to stop playing basketball.

The call was quickly picked up and Noel's voice came from the other side. "Hello Professor Thomas, it's been a while."

"Mr. Noel, I just read the news. I heard that you've returned to the NBA!" Thomas sounded somber. "You've made a grave mistake. You cannot play at an NBA level with your disease. Your life is in danger!"

"Professor Thomas, if you're talking about the blood clot, then you don't have to worry. The blood clots in my body have completely dissolved. There won't be any pulmonary embolism or cardiac infarction. My life is not in danger," Noel answered.

"It's not hard to dissolve blood clots, but the anticoagulation drugs will affect your body's ability to coagulate. If you overuse them, they might even induce hemophilia. With the intensity of the NBA, if you get internal bleeding and it isn't discovered in time…it's hard to imagine the consequences," Thomas continued.

"There's also no problem with my body's ability to coagulate," Noel continued, "How do I put this… I'm completely cured!"

"Cured?" Thomas asked, rhetorically, as if to say, You're kidding me, right?

"I'm really cured. I have six months of medical reports from Dell Medical Center. The NBA also officially approved it," Noel said.

After hearing that, Thomas remembered that if Noel could play, it meant that the NBA had officially allowed him to play. The NBA was a huge league, so they must have a bunch of world-class medical experts as consultants. These medical experts were certainly not there for show. Since they allowed Noel to play, then it did mean that there was nothing wrong with Noel's body.

"Your body is really alright?" Thomas asked.

"Of course. Look. I can already play," Noel answered.

Thomas was still dumbfounded, so he asked, "How did you treat it?"

"Training!" Noel said. "My coach created a training plan for me."

How was Noel's answer so casual? It was so casual that it made Thomas smile.

Thomas usually had a solemn face, as if he had stepped on the tail of a dog and the dog was chasing him.

"Training can cure blood clots? Hehe…"

Then, the conversation ended.

…

In the blink of an eye, Noel had already played seven games and the Clippers had a seven-match winning streak. The seven-match winning streak allowed the Clippers sit firmly in fourth-place in the Western Conference.

During this period, Noel submitted another medical examination report to the league to prove that his body was alright.

His stats were great and his body had recovered. The league had no reason to prevent Noel from playing, and those who wanted to see Noel make a mess of things also shut up. No one was stupid, everyone could see Noel's return-to-form.

Noel had felt anxious after being gone from the court for a long time. He finally made it back to the court, so he naturally wanted to prove himself. As such, he exerted extra effort in every game. A superstar player like him, who was already better than everybody else, was going to be phenomenal if he was in the right headspace.

After seven games, Noel was playing 30 minutes per game and his averaged 176.

It was a case of another perfect recovery.

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Chapter 615: Championship puzzle

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Halfway through the NBA season, the competition in the Western Conference had gotten fiercer. Based on the current standing, all of the teams, other than the team in last place, still had a chance to make it into the playoffs. This meant that 14 team were trying to make it into the top eight of the league. It seemed more intense than usual.

The Clippers, who had a seven-match winning streak, went to Oakland to challenge the the Golden States Warriors, who were currently first in the conference.

It was going to be a tough battle for both sides because both sides had strong lineups. Almost every position had a head-to-head showdown between superstars. The audience loved watching a showdown between superstars like this match was going to be.

Neither of the teams let the audience down. The game really went back and forth. There were all kinds of highly technical moves which made the match absolutely entertaining.

The game entered the fourth quarter. The score between both teams was still close. The Warriors only had a four-point lead. Coach Nicholas, however, who sat on the Warriors' bench, frowned. He did not seem at all relaxed.

It was not the game that Nicholas had wanted!

In the first three quarters, both sides changed so quickly into an offense that they did not put much effort into defense. To Nicholas, it did not seem like much of a problem at the time. The Warriors' offensive efficiency was among the league's best. When it came to attacking, the Warriors feared no one.

The scoring efficiency of both teams was very high. With three quarters, both teams had already exceeded 100 points. To Nicholas, this was also not a problem. 100 points in three quarters meant an average of only 33 points per quarter. Based on the offensive efficiency of the Warriors, it just meant that they had to make a couple more three-pointers, that was it.

What worried Nicholas was that the game seemed to have become a game between superstars.

It was fine for the Clippers to play solely with superstars. After all, they were a team that initially only played with this strategy. The Warriors, however, had become like the Clippers. They were also solely relying on their superstars. This was not acceptable for Nicholas.

The Warriors had amassed a large number of star players. The real reason behind the strength of the Warriors, however, was not their star players, it was that they were able to perfectly integrate the star players into their tactical system. In the Warriors' system, star players could exert their maximum potential and this magnified their personal characteristics. This led to the victory of the team.

In the NBA, some teams played only with their superstars and some teams played overall basketball. The Warriors merged both styles together. It could be said that the Warriors played "Superstar-Overall Basketball."

In this match, however, the star players of the Warriors seemed to have completely given up on the integrity of their tactic. Their style of play was similar to the Clippers, so it became a superstar style of play. As the game progressed, the teamwork between players had gradually disappeared. The individual ability of each player guided the play instead.

It was common for something like this to happen. There were too many star players in both teams' lineup. They were also the stars of two different generations. When the stars of these two generations clashed together, sparks were going to fly. The new generation of stars wanted to defeat the previous generation and the older generation wanted to teach the younglings a lesson. When players on both sides wanted to prove themselves, there was going to be more individual play. The game would naturally turn into a competition between individual strength.

When outstanding players clashed, single play was more likely. Tens of thousands of fans watched in the stadium. Millions of fans watched in front of their TV. The coaches and players of both teams also watched them. When the opponent made a field goal right in front of you, if you did not immediately answer with a basket of your own, then wouldn't you be the loser?

That was NBA culture. As a star, you could miss a basket, but you couldn't back down. If a player forced a one-on-one battle 100 times, the fans might not remember it. If the player were to back down once, he would forever be labeled a "sissy" by the fans.

The Warriors did not lack stars. They had an MVP and they also had a scoring king. They also had many players who had made it in "the season's best-lineup" previously, and the number of players who had been all-star players was even higher. They won had multiple championships in recent years and attracted several big stars. Even if they had discarded their strategy, the Warriors still had enough capital to play superstar styled basketball against their opponents.

If they were going against another opponent and they used the superstar-style, the head coach would have felt fine because all the other teams were inferior to the Warriors. Nicholas did not mind his players being stubborn every once in a while.

The Clippers, however, were different. The Clippers were not inferior to the Warriors when it came to the quantity or the quality of their star players. If they played superstar basketball, the Warriors would not have the advantage in every position. This was a situation that Coach Nicholas had never encountered before.

In the point guard position, both players were good enough to be NBA MVPs. One excelled at three-point shots while the other excelled at breakthroughs. Both had their unique skills, so it was hard to say who was stronger or weaker.

In the shooting guard position, both players were fantastic scorers. One of them was the best three-point shooter in the league while the other was also accurate when it came to three-pointers. One of them had a pull-up jumper that could not be defended. At least in terms of mobility, the shooting guard of the Clippers was stronger.

In the small forward position, both players were top-class superstars. Both superstars excelled at the pull-up shooter. One jumped high enough while the other had a longer hang-time. Neither could defend against the other, so it was impossible to tell who was stronger. One thing was certain, however, they were among the best when it came to getting points.

In the power forward position, both teams had players who could create space. They also both had an excellent natural physique. They had uncommon scoring and rebounding abilities and they were both adaptable On top of that, the power forward of the Clippers was slightly taller.

As for the center position, the center of the Warriors used to be the number one center in the NBA. As for the Clippers, the center was very talented with a skill that appeared once every three decades. The lineup of both teams did not depend on points from the paint. After all, they had the best scorers in the league in every other position, so the two centers mainly focused on getting rebounds and passing to others. They did not have many opportunities for one-on-one battles.

Nicholas thought carefully for a moment and suddenly realized the starting five players of the Warriors were actually slightly weaker than the starting five players of the Clippers. The current lead of four points for the Warriors was the contribution of the bench players. Compared to the starters, the substitutes of the Warriors were more willing to follow the tactics. It was an undeniable truth that the Warriors possessed an amazing tactical system. Just from the efforts of the substitutes alone, the Warriors had managed to get a lead on the Clippers.

A gap of four points was nothing to the stars on the court. By the fourth quarter, the starters had to be substituted back in. Among the starters on both teams, there were more than a few players who could score over a dozen points in less than a minute. A mere four points could be regained through a simple offense and defense transition.

Nicholas did not want to play superstar basketball against the Clippers. It was the same as discarding the system of the Warriors, throwing away their strongest weapon. When the star players of the opponents were not weaker than theirs, it would come down to luck. When it came down to luck, it meant that the head coach had lost control of the game.

For a coach who had won the NBA championship, losing control of a game was, without a doubt, a disaster.

…

The lights surrounding the basket lit up and the number displayed on the timer turned to zero, but the basketball was still flying in the air.

Everyone was focused on the ball.

Swish.

The basketball flew inside the basket.

"It's in! A comeback! The Warriors won!" The commentator shouted.

The score on display was 128 against 127. The Warriors had won by a one-point margin. Nicholas let out a sigh of relief.

Although he had won the game, Nicholas could not make himself smile. The reason the Warriors had won the game was not their tactic, they had been luckier. If the last shot had missed, then they would have lost.

Some people said that luck was also part of one's strength but, to the head coach of an NBA team that was fighting for the championship, it was unsettling to rely on their luck to win games!

On the opposite bench, Dai Li was not frustrated. He encouraged the players with a gentle smile and consoled them. He said, "Don't mind it. We were only a little unlucky tonight."

Dai Li said this out loud but, in truth, he was reflecting.

The last few plays were too chaotic, Dai Li concluded.

In the last two minutes of the game, both sides had been closely matched and the game had entered its climax. They fouled each other, made free throws, called timeouts, the referees checked replays, and the last two minutes turned into half an hour.

In this stage, the play of both teams had been too chaotic.

There were too many stars on both teams. Every player on the court had the ability to end the game and every player also felt that they were the one who could end the game. It ended up making a mess of the game.

In NBA basketball culture, star players were the ones who stood up and took on responsibility in crucial moments. There was only one ball, however. If everyone stood out, it would be a miracle if things didn't turn chaotic.

Sometimes, it was vexing to have too many stars.

If something like this happens in the future, we can't play like this. If everyone wants to be the one to end the game, the game will become chaotic. We should define our offensive core, Dai Li thought.

…

The game between the Warriors and the Clippers was a game that caught the attention of a lot of people. To the fans, it was an excellent battle between superstars. A high scoring game that neared the 130-point mark meant that both teams had a smooth offense. With star players, smooth offense meant great entertainment.

The game influenced the ongoing all-star voting process. At the moment, there was less than a month left before All-Star Weekend. The all-star voting process had entered into its climactic stage. Many stars intentionally showed off in the hopes of getting into the lineup.

All-star voting was always beneficial to big shots. Many famous stars, even if they had below par stats, could still make it into the all-star lineup, or even the starting lineup, just from the support of their large fanbase.

Because of this, the players of the Clippers had an advantage. After all, the team had several veteran star players. They had a lot of fans. When these veteran stars recovered, they had naturally brought along a sense of nostalgia. As long as they had passable stats, the fans would vote for them based on their emotions.

The Clippers had returned several veteran superstars to the game. It increased the competition for the all-star lineup in the Western Conference. Some of the emerging young stars were unlucky. Some young stars managed 20 stats, but their support did not compare to the veteran superstars, who had slightly worse stats.

Before the weekend, it was a peak period for teams to make trades.

Under normal circumstances, the transfer deadline in the NBA was the first Thursday after All-Star Weekend. A lot of teams that performed worse than expected would make trades during this period to make a final attempt at the playoffs.

This year, the competition in both the Eastern and Western Conference was a lot fiercer. The number of teams that tried to make the playoffs had increased. The number of tanking teams had decreased. This also made it so that more teams hoped to adjust their lineups through good trades. So, as the weekend drew near all kinds of transfer rumors popped up. The truth behind those rumors gradually came to light.

…

At a particular luxury condominium in Sacramento, a man in his late 30s packed his luggage while talking to his daughter on the phone.

"My dear, I'll visit you over All-Star Weekend in a few days… Yeah. I will be able to rest for a week. Do you want to go on a vacation in Miami…"

After he ended the call with his daughter, he threw the phone on the sofa before continuing to pack his luggage.

"Three consecutive away games. This is tough!" The man sighed.

At that moment, his ringtone sounded. The man picked up the phone and saw that it was his agent calling. He chose to answer the call.

"Hey, Lamar, I finally got through. I kept getting a busy signal," his agent said.

"Sorry, I was talking to my daughter just now. I was also packing," the man answered.

"In preparation for the away games?" His agent paused and continued, "I don't think there's a need to do that anymore. I just received a notice from the Kings, they decided to trade you!"

"What!? I'm being traded?" The man exclaimed in surprise.

"I did not expect this. You shouldn't be traded, but this trade requires an equal salary and your salary for this season is three million, so you were used as a bonus," his agent explained.

"Damn it! I shouldn't have chosen the Kings! I'm the bonus of a trade deal? This is simply a humiliation!" The man scolded. His face looked terrible.

"Calm down. The NBA has always been a business. You've been playing for over a decade, you should understand," his agent advised.

The man took several deep breaths in resignation. After he calmed down, he asked, "Then where's my next stop?"

"The Boston Celtics." His agent let out a long sigh and continued, "The Celtics have tons of players in the shooting guard and small forward positions. In my opinion, even if you were to go to Boston, you won't have an opportunity to play."

The man nodded. The Celtics not only had an abundance of talent in the shooting guard and small forward positions, but they also had too many that it was a problem! Among them were star players, potential stars, and players in their prime. An old veteran like him had no standing at the Celtics.

On the other side of the phone, his agent continued, "I already started talking to the management of the Celtics. If they don't plan on using you, I will try to negotiate with them and buy out your clause. That way, at least you can still look for your next team before the trade deadline."

"Alright, that's all we can do." The man let out a long sigh. He hung up the phone and sat on the sofa, depressed. His face was filled with sorrow.

"A bonus to a trade deal? I never would have imagined that me, Lamar Vincent, would sink to this level!"

…

The training ground of the Clippers

Players and coaches were sweating like crazy. Only Dai Li sat on the side and staring at the tablet in his hands.

Assistant Coach Cassel snuck up behind Dai Li and glanced down. He noticed that Dai Li was looking at the trade rumors from the day before.

"Why are you looking at this? Nine out of ten of these rumors are fake. Most of them are fake news intentionally leaked," Cassel asked.

"I want to see if any potential trades are happening," Dai Li said.

"It's rare for you to care about the transfer of players from other teams," Cassel said, complaining.

"No, I want to see if I can pick up some good scraps," Dai Li said, smiling.

As Dai Li finished speaking, a new notification appeared on Dai Li's tablet. Dai Li opened the notification without hesitation.

"Hehe, another trade. It's the Kings and the Celtics," Dai Li said, pointing at the tablet.

"I heard about that. The Kings and the Celtics began negotiation a few days ago. They finally came to an agreement!" Cassel lowered his head and looked at the tablet. "Let me see. Yup, four for two, and also a draft pick."

"This is the key, Lamar Vincent. I never would have thought that the Kings would use him as a trade bonus. They sure are disrespectful. He used to be called 'Half man, half God.' He has actually become just a trade bonus due to the equal salary clause! How cold," Dai Li said, shaking his head.

"The NBA has always been a business. The Celtics, however, have more than enough shooting guards and small forwards. It is even a problem for them. Giving game time to players is difficult. If the old man, Vincent, goes to the Celtics, he definitely won't have a chance to play. Do you think he's going to retire? After all, he's 38 years old," Cassel asked.

Ding! Another notification appeared.

"The Celtics announced that after the trade was completed, they would buyout Vincent!" Dai Li said.

Cassel frowned and thought for a moment. He said, "The Celtics have been kind enough. Since they will not use Vincent, they might as well buy him out. This way, Vincent has a chance to find a new home over the weekend. Perhaps a lot of teams need his experience. His age will make a lot of teams hesitate though."

Dai Li did not reply. Instead, he stood up and prepared to leave.

"Coach, where are you going?" Cassel asked.

"To Johnson's office," Dai Li turned around and answered. "I want to sign Vincent! He's going to become a piece of the puzzle to win the championship!"

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Chapter 616: Half God

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li had already tasted the sweetness of owning several stars.

Gathering a group of stars together eased the burden of a coach greatly. The skills of superstars were obviously top-class and they possessed a wealth of experience. Even without the guidance of a coach, they still knew how to play.

It did not matter if a player attacked by himself and the other four just watched. Dai Li did not think of that as a problem. That was how superstar basketball was played. It relied on the individual skills of the star players; it relied on the star players to create opportunities.

Since the "three giants" model emerged, there had been an ideology that became popular: As long as one of the three giants performed well, they could defeat a normal team; if two performed well, they could defeat a playoff team; if all three performed well, then they would be a championship team.

The NBA was currently more competitive, but the era was still led by stars. Every team was still fervently trying to build get their "three giants,""four giants" or even "five giants."

When Dai Li learned that Lamar Vincent was bought out, his heart fluttered. To Dai Li, when it came to stars, the more he had, the better off the team was.

Vincent had been, without a doubt, a star when he was younger. He was six feet and six inches tall and played as both a shooting guard as well as a small forward. Most of the time, however, he played as a shooting guard. He had been selected to be included in the NBA All-Star Lineup eight times. During his peak, he contributed 27.6 points per game and he was regarded as one of the "Four Great Shooting Guards."

Vincent might have been the shooting guard with the best physique. Back then, he was even touted as the "flying basketball player." His nickname, "half man, half God," proved his strength.

Now, Vincent was 38 years old. For a basketball player, he was definitely old. Players at this age could not "fly" anymore. Not only was he unable to fly, but his speed and agility had also become less impressive. His physical strength deteriorated as well. Some players even lost their accuracy when they got older.

When a player was 38 years old, one could say that the only thing that he had left was his experience.

Dai Li did not mind Vincent's age. For him, it was simply a matter of using the age reduction card.

Now, there were only two months left in the regular season. Adding to that the two months of the playoff season, there were four months left of play. Dai Li only needed to provide Vincent with four months time. Based on the formula of the age reduction card, he could deduct nine years, That meant that he could return Vincent to his 29-year-old body.

29 years old. For a basketball player, it was his peak condition. Back then, Vincent had still been a superstar player touted as the "flying basketball player."

…

Lamar Vincent did not even plan to go to Boston. He stayed quietly at the luxurious condo that he rented and waited for his agent to contact him about his next team.

Although he waited quietly, Vincent was tremendously anxious internally. He was already 38 years old. It was a miracle that he could still play. Compared to when he was younger, his ability and body had deteriorated drastically. He could no longer leap into the air like before. There was no way for him to continue fighting intense physical battles like back in the day. He could also hardly keep up with fast feet when playing defense.

He was a 38-year-old veteran who had been bought out in the middle of the season. It would not be easy to find a new home.

Based on NBA rules, after a player had been bought out in the regular season, there would be a 48 hours clarification period. During this time, other teams could directly claim his contract. If, after 48 hours, no one was willing to claim the contract, then the player had cleared the clarification period. The player would become a free agent, and he could sign with any team.

Vincent did not expect any team to claim his contract because his salary for the current season was three million dollars. The number was much higher than the minimum wage. Teams that wanted to claim him would have to have at least three million dollars worth of salary space. Otherwise, they would need to possess trade exceptions worth three million dollars.

Half the season had already passed. Teams that had salary space were mostly weak teams that could not make it into the playoffs. They needed to tank, so they would have no need for players like Vincent. Why would they waste three million dollars!?

Strong teams might need Vincent's experience, but they did not have the needed salary space. In modern basketball, teams that did not spend a lot of money could not be that strong.

For Vincent, his best chance was to wait out the 48-hour clarification period before signing on a team for the minimum salary. After all, the minimum salary was not restrained by the salary cap.

Vincent did not know his market value. After all, he was a 38-year-old veteran. It was not exaggerating to say that no one coveted him.

I wonder if I can play any more basketball this season. Vincent sighed. His dream would be to join a team that had a chance to win the championship. If he were lucky, he could get himself a championship medal to make up for the regrets in his career. Even if he were to retire the following season, Vincent would have no regrets.

Of course, Vincent knew that it was highly unlikely for that to happen. Once half a season has passed, teams that had a chance of winning the championship were already synergized. They would not change their formation half-way through the season unless a player in a particular position was injured. That was the only way they would sign a new player.

A young team like the 76ers wouldn't be bad. The team has the ability to make it to the playoffs; they could even go far into the playoffs. They might need my experience.

As Vincent mulled this over, his agent called.

"Do you have any good news? It hasn't been 48 hours. Someone can't have claimed my contract, right?" Vincent asked.

"Don't joke around, why would any team willingly spend three million dollars now?" His agent's tone changed and he continued, "However, a team is willing to provide you with a minimum salary after the clarification period."

"Who?" Vincent asked immediately.

"The Los Angeles Clippers! Their general manager contacted me today," his agent answered.

Vincent did not reply, thinking about this team.

If a team were to claim him, Vincent would have no choice. He could not decline. He would have to join any team that claimed him. If a team offered him a new contract, however, then Vincent could, of course, choose to reject the contract. Vincent thought about stalling.

There were things Vincent could not understand. Why would the Clippers choose him? The current lineup of the Clippers was complete. They had exceptional players in every position. No one was injured. The key was that the Clippers had several players who were from the same era that he was from. They were veterans who had a wealth of experience, so it was not something they lacked.

Experience was the only thing Vincent, a 38-year-old veteran, had left. As a team that did not lack experience, they had no reason to sign Vincent.

Finally, Vincent asked, "What kind of conditions did the Clippers ask for?"

"The manager of the Clippers told me that their head coach personally promised that he would give you a position on the bench," his agent said.

"The bench, huh? That's not bad." Vincent was a little interested. As a player, although he was old, he did not want to become a mascot that cheered from the bench. He still wanted to play.

His agent then continued, "The head coach of the Clippers also said that, if you are willing, he will provide you with at least 20 minutes of game time every match."

"At least 20 minutes?" Vincent was surprised. That was something he could not have expected. After all, he was 38 years old. He didn't even get that much playing time on his previous team. It would also be difficult for his body to handle playing that long. Honestly, asking a 38-year-old man to play for over 20 minutes was quite cruel.

Vincent was a little hesitant and could not decide. He asked his agent, "What do you think?"

"I suggest you give it a try. The head coach of the Clippers, although he doesn't have a basketball background, has a way with older players. He has already returned quite a number of older players to their prime. If you head to the Clippers, perhaps you might also return to your former condition," his agent stated.

At that moment, Vincent suddenly thought about Karaby from the Clippers whom he had met a few months ago. Back then, he had congratulated Karaby for getting a second prime in his career. (See Chapter 604)

Now, Vincent was genuinely interested.

…

News of Vincent signing with the Clippers for the minimum salary spread. It did not cause any waves. After all, he was a 38-year-old veteran. Although he was famous, he was nearing his twilight. He could no longer create any waves.

Moreover, just before deadline day, several huge deals emerged from the league. They involved star players from several teams. They were deals that could change the playoff landscape, so it was natural that it attracted eyeballs. It also made Vincent's arrival at the Clippers seem irrelevant.

Dai Li thought that he had obtained the last piece of the puzzle for the season. After deadline day, there would no longer be any trade deals. If teams wanted to strengthen themselves or to adjust their lineup, they could only search the market for free agents. The free agent market was always open. If there were any big fish left there, Dai Li would have taken them a long time ago.

Dai Li did not arrange for Vincent to be in the starting lineup. He did not plan to adjust the current starting lineup. This was not because Vincent lacked the ability to be a starter. Vincent, with a 29-year-old body, would be able to compete for the best shooting guard in the league. Naturally, he had more than enough strength to be a starter.

In Dai Li's plan, however, Vincent was his best weapon on the bench. The game against the Warriors had exposed the weakness in the bench lineup. They lacked a strong point-getter.

On the bench lineup of the Clippers, although Osef was an well-rounded warrior, he was not a top-class offensive player. Karaby could shoot, rebound, and block, but he was also not a player that attacked the paint. As for the rookie, Kumar, he had great talent, but he was still too young. After another one or two years, he could be used as a key player.

As such, Dai Li needed a super scorer to become the final part of the bench. It would increase the firepower of the bench lineup for the Clippers.

Vincent was clearly the best choice.

The shooting guard position was created to score points. No team in the league would allow a player who couldn't score points to become the shooting guard. The player would be a 3-D type player at worst. Vincent, who used to be a superstar, did not lack the ability to score. He was a player who excelled at all kinds of scoring methods.

More importantly, Vincent was a leader among the players. With him at the helm of the Clippers bench, he could definitely stabilize them. He was what the Clippers' bench lacked.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that, with Vincent, the current Clippers' bench might be stronger than the starting lineup of most teams.

…

After All-Star Weekend, Vincent reported to the Clippers. Although most of them were old friends, he still needed to find the quickest way to assimilate into the team.

On the second day that Vincent was on the team, he was given a training plan. This training plan was just a bit more specific, it was not as strange as he imagined.

The training felt the same. After a few days of training, Vincent did not feel his body improving significantly. His body remained the body of a 38-year-old. He did not return to his prime. Vincent began to doubt Dai Li.

Dai Li maintained his immovable disposition. He also acted very confidently. He had not yet used the age reduction card on Vincent, which was why Vincent's body did not regain its youth.

It was now March. The first game of the month for the Clippers was a home game against a strong team from the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics. This would be the first game Vincent played in a Clippers jersey.

Before the game began, Dai Li used the age reduction card on Vincent and allowed him to return to his 29-year-old body.

The Celtics was a tactical team. The lineup of the Celtics was not weak either. Although they were not as scary as the Warriors, they still had a lot of all-star level players.

Teams like this, that had a lot of stars as well as a tactical system, were the teams that the Clippers wanted to avoid the most.

If they played superstar basketball, the current Clippers were absolutely the best in the NBA. If they played against teams with tactical systems, the Clippers could also defeat their opponents with the individual skills of their stars alone.

Teams that perfectly integrated their superstars with their tactical systems, however, gave the Clippers a headache.

Moreover, the Celtics had a vast talent pool. For the past two years, the Celtics could be regarded as the most successful run team in the NBA. Three years ago, they were still a team in the lottery area but, in the short span of three years, they signed big shot superstars and obtained several good players who were still in their prime. Their rookies also realized their potential. Now, the Celtics were an experienced and strong team that also had the energy of the younger generation. The makeup of the lineup could be regarded as perfect.

The game began. Both sides tested the waters until around the eighth minute, when they subbed on their bench players.

When there was only around a minute and a half left in the first quarter. Vincent was finally subbed on the court.

This was the first time Vincent represented the Clippers and he was against his "former team."

Previously, Vincent had been traded to the Celtics as the bonus to a trade deal. The Celtics, however, had a lot of talent in the shooting guard and small forward positions, so they bought out Vincent. From this view, the Celtics could be regarded as Vincent's former team.

The Celtics were at full capacity in the shooting guard and small forward positions. One could even say that the team was oozing shooting talent. The competition between players was fierce. Every player put in a lot of effort in every match in the hopes of gaining the trust of the head coach and becoming his favorite on the team.

Under such circumstances, t Vincent became viewed as a weakling among the Celtics player. H was regarded as the weak link on the court. Even if the coach did not say it, they would focus on attacking Vincent.

The head coach of the Celtics, Arnold, was not an idiot. He was one of the best master tacticians in the league. As such, the moment Vincent got on the court, Arnold made corresponding tactical arrangements. Whoever it was that faced Vincent would attack him without hesitation.

The Celtics were certain that Vincent's old age would make him slower in defense and he would not be able to keep up in terms of footwork. That was the reason why they chose him as the point of breakthrough.

…

A young fellow stood in front of Vincent. He had been the third pick the previous year. He was only 20 years old. He was almost half the age of Vincent.

Vincent knew he could not underestimate the young man in front of him. In his rookie season, he performed like a mature player. He almost won the Rookie of the Season Award. In truth, his performance was definitely worthy of winning the award, his competitor had been too outstanding so he missed the opportunity to win that honor.

In the future, this young guy will definitely become a star in the league, Vincent thought.

At that moment, the young man received the ball. He faced Vincent and made a sudden quick move as he moved forward. He planned to get past Vincent with pure brute force.

Vincent immediately put all of his attention into defense. He knew his 38-year-old body. Whether it was speed, agility or footwork, he could not compare with 20-year-old. If the opponent wanted to force his way in with his body, he was out of ideas.

What Vincent did not expect was that he could follow the kid in front of him!

Vincent's movements actually seemed more agile than the 20-year old kid.

Eh? I can catch up to him? No, I'm faster than him! Is it because he's slow? Vincent thought.

The young man also thought it was odd. Although he was an explosive player, he was still quite confident in his physical ability, at least he should not be slower than a 38-year-old man.

Continuous changes of direction did not shake off Vincent. This frustrated the kid, so he chose to directly breakthrough and attack the basket. This sort of breakthrough layup was one of his best scoring methods.

He was six feet and three inches tall with a six-foot wingspan. A body like that could be said to be perfect for basketball. Added to this were an excellent physique and exceptional techniques. His breakthrough usually ended with points gained through slam dunks.

That day, however, Vincent's defense was ridiculous. He did not get any space to make a slam dunk, so he could only do a layup.

The ball was thrown towards the basket and floated to the highest point. As the ball reached the highest point, a large palm appeared and slammed into the basketball.

Blocked! He reached it at that height! The youth thought. After he landed on the ground, he belatedly found out that the player who had blocked him was Vincent.

Can he jump that high?! The young fellow sucked in a breath of cold air.

At the same time, the big screen in the stadium replayed the scene. It showed Vincent jumping high in the air and slamming the ball with his palm. He almost reached the top of the basket.

"Oh…" The audience in the stadium made a noise in anticipation, which was followed by a loud cheer.

"Oh my God. That's Vincent. He can jump so high!"

"Jumping so high that and he's 38 years old. Vincent is giving us his all today!"

"I think Vincent shouldn't play like this. He's already very old now. When he jumps that high, he could easily get injured."

Fans started giving their opinions and discussing. As for Vincent, he had a very strange feeling.

He had jumped so high just now. He did not feel strained. That was why Vincent thought it was weird. Ten years ago, that height just now had been a piece of cake to him. He could easily make it. Currently, Vincent could never reach that height even if he tried with his life on the line.

Vincent thought back in detail. He had jumped up instinctively to complete the block. He did not even try his hardest. From the moment he leaped, to the block, to his feet landing on the ground, the entire movement gave Vincent an oddly comfortable feeling.

It was the same he had gotten when he was younger.

Could it be that the training these past few days have already returned me to the condition I was in when I was younger? Vincent looked at his palms, puzzled. The confidence had already taken bud in his heart.

…

Vincent received the ball, broke through, leaped, and dunked.

He dunked the ball with a man in between him and the basket!

As Vincent reached the highest point in his leap, he felt that his eyesight was parallel to the basket.

Vincent was no stranger to that perspective. In the first ten years of his career, Vincent often enjoyed his eyesight being parallel to the basket.

That day, the 38-year old Vincent once again enjoyed this perspective.

Kuang Tang!

The ball slammed hard into the basket. The entire basketball post shook non-stop.

"Ohhhhhhhh!" The crowd erupted into a roar again. The audience behind the basket was especially loud. They were the ones who directly felt the spectacular visual effect brought about by that powerful slam dunk. They could not help but stand up and make beast-like cheers and roars.

"Oh my God. That was not a slam dunk. He is flying! That slam dunk was worth the ticket price for today!" The commentator rambled on in excitement.

He continued to highlight the magnificent dunk on the big screen in the stadium as well as on the broadcast. A 38-year-old player could still fly up into the air and complete a slam dunk. It was definitely the best highlight of the day.

After only two rounds, however, Vincent made a cut under the basket and immediately completed an alley-oop dunk with both his hands.

A flashy move like that was entirely suitable for a performance move in the slam dunk contest. In a normal game, it might even be meant to provoke the opponent.

At the moment that Vincent completed that move, no one felt that he was provoking his opponent. Everyone ust saw a 38-year-old veteran telling the world that he was still there and he could still play like he did when he was younger. He would still try to fly.

Vincent was still a little unsatisfied. He wanted to fly a few more times!

Just like people described him, he was a player who "played while flying."

He used to be called "half man, half God." That night, however, there was no "half man," there was only "half God!"

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Chapter 617: First in the Western Conference

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Green lost!

There were 82 games in the regular season. Losing one game was not the end of the world; it was acceptable. Still, the head coach of the Celtics, Arnold, felt that the loss today was very embarrassing.

Vincent had started playing like the superstar he had been a decade ago. He destroyed everyone in the game. The Celtics rotated shooting guards into the game and whoever went on the court was utterly destroyed by Vincent.

No matter how good the Celtics' players were, how could they stand up to a "Half God!"

The thing that annoyed Arnold the most was that the Celtics had discarded Vincent.

In the deal before All-Star Weekend, Vincent had been a bonus meant to balance the deal and had been sent to Boston. After the deal, the Celtics had immediately bought out Vincent. They had basically told Vincent that they did not want some as old as him playing for them!

The Celtics had a lot of talent, especially in the shooting guard and small forward positions. On the surface, it seemed like they didn't need a veteran like Vincent.

In the game today, however, the player they had discarded, Vincent, had utterly destroyed them. None of the shooting guards and small forwards that the team was so proud of could stop Vincent.

A person who was discarded by a team had turned around and crushed that team. Things turned around way too quickly. This had been a textbook situation of buying the case and returning the pearl. The entire management team of the Celtics would probably feel fairly embarrassed about the entire debacle.

…

Vincent's existence increased the strength of the Clippers' bench. The current Clippers' bench was even stronger than the starting lineups of some of the weaker teams.

As the team continued to synthesize, victory became a rather simple thing for the Clippers. As long as two players performed well in each game, they were able to obtain victory. With the number of star players in the Clippers, it was extremely reasonable to assume that at least two players would be in top-form.

Maintaining a good form was a prerequisite for being a star player. There were no star players who's form fluctuated or was inconsistent for too long. Stars typically had stronger self-regulation. Even if they were out of form for a game, the player would get better fairly quickly. The form of NBA stars was generally stable. An inconsistent player who played great in a match while playing badly in the next one would never deserve to be called a star.

Ending games after the third quarter had become a normal occurrence for the Clippers. With his streak of winning, Dai Li's job also became much easier.

The coaching staff on NBA teams generally had assistant coaches who specialized in offense and defense, so the head coach naturally did not need to handle such things personally. Dai Li's current main task had turned into regulating the relationships between players so that players could get along with each other in harmony.

The team would still be fine if they were weaker and lost a little bit more. The worst thing that could happen would be internal conflict between the players. Even on a championship-level team, if players did not get along with each other or, worse yet, tried to undermine each other, the team would collapse instantly.

Dai Li did not want something like that to happen to him.

The current Clippers was full of superstars, so it was a given that there would be problems. The problem was the possession of the ball. Every star player hoped to handle and hold the ball. If the ball possession was uneven, players might make a fuss over it. That could cause internal conflict.

Incidents like that had happened in the NBA before. For example, during an important play, a particular star refused to pass the ball and did everything by himself to the end, but it didn't end up working out for him. His teammates started to complain and ask him to pass the ball to him. In the end, both players started a big argument and someone received an internal match ban as a punishment.

Even if both players had been calm, their hearts and actions would not have been in sync. It was hard to guarantee that no issue would appear during a game.

After all, in the NBA, selfless players were rare.

Perhaps, during the offensive planning phase, one star would say that they should play one way while another would say that it was better to play a different way. Then, a third star might voice another opinion. In the end, everyone believes that their view is correct, and everyone wants to play according to their plan. That would be chaos.

Sometimes, the star players on teams are such big shots that even the coaches failed to contain them. Similar incidents had occurred before in the NBA. Once, during a critical play, the superstar of a team had had a disagreement with the coach. While the coach was explaining his play, the superstar walked to the side and made a gesture that implied he did not want to listen.

The media companies were also a problem because they were always trying to stoke conflict. Sometimes, rumors became truths. Trivial arguments between players would be picked up by the media and they would fan the flames. There was no limit to their ability to create issues.

Of course, Dai Li had to prevent situations like that from arising.

It was a good thing that the stars of the Clippers had all been recruited by Dai Li personally. They had only been able to return to the court with the help of Dai Li. With that alone, Dai Li already took up an authoritative spot in their hearts. They were willing to listen to Dai Li's instructions, so Dai Li's control of the team was respectable.

Dai Li, however, still needed to cautiously regulate the relationships between players. Ball possession was certainly a serious issue and Dai Li's arrangement was to pass the ball to whoever was in good form. Since they played superstar-style basketball anyway, no one could question their plays as long as the ball made its way into the basket.

The Clippers' players were no longer young kids. They were not as hot-blooded as the younger players who became enraged at the slightest provocation. After playing basketball for so many years, they were old veterans, so they knew what to do and what not to do. They knew how to control their emotion and they were not impulsive.

Many of the Clippers players had already experienced the lowest point of their careers. Players who grew up experiencing failures and setbacks were mentally different from other players.

Superstars that constantly stayed at their peak would always maintain their superiority complex wherever they went. On the bench, if these players were not used as the tactical core of the team, they would make a fuss. There were lots of instances where star players were at odds with their teams.

The stars of the Clippers were different. All of them used to be among the best, but they also each experienced a fall from grace, either through injury or age. They went from being superstars who everyone looked up to to nobodies that no one cared about. The consequence of this fall from grace was that it forced people to grow. For them, it was fine even if they were not the boss or the tactical core of the team. At least they could stay on the court and enjoy basketball.

It was possible that older players had lost the sharpness they once possessed, but they had gained the willingness and understanding of cooperation. Not only did they learn to share the basketball, but also share the joy that basketball brings.

As the games progressed, the synergy and chemistry between the players deepened. A tactical system also gradually formed. The cooperation and understanding between the players also grew day by day.

The Clippers, however, played superstar-style basketball. For them, cooperation was merely trying to come up with different ways to create one-on-one situations for their teammates. Even high school basketball players understand this tactic, so this strategy was a piece of cake for NBA players.

…

For teams going for the playoff, March was an exceptionally important month.

For the entire month, the Clippers were quite decent. Because of this, the Clippers managed to win all their games in March. It was rare in the NBA.

Many teams were able to win all their games in February. For one, there were fewer days in February. Secondly, All-Star Weekend usually fell in February, which made it so that there was an entire week less of matches. One week less of matches meant fewer games, so it was naturally easier to win all of them.

As for March, it was the golden phase for teams going for a final push to enter the playoff. Many teams would exert extra effort throughout March. To win every game of the month meant that the team really showed their strength.

As such, the Clippers also caught up with the top-ranked team in the Western Conference, the Warriors. By the end of March, the difference between the two teams was only a 0.5 win margin.

They had the second place in the Western Conference and they were also only one step away from first place. It should no longer be a problem for them to make it into the playoffs. Dai Li was dissatisfied with being only the second-placed team in the Western Conference. He initially set the season objective as number one in the Western Conference. It was not only to be crowned the champion of the regular season, but he wanted to gain a home advantage during the playoff season.

In April, the first opponent of the Clippers was the Golden State Warriors.

The two teams only had a slight margin of 0.5 wins between them. If the Clippers won this game, it would be the equivalent of winning two. They would get first place.

…

The Warriors were challenging the Clippers away.

There were only eight minutes left in the game. The Warriors were, however, behind by 20 points. The head coach of the Warriors subbed their key players out. It was an indication of the Warriors giving up on the game. They had raised the white flag and surrendered.

With the firepower of the Warriors, it was not normally difficult for the Warriors to catch up 20 points in eight minutes. In tonight's game, however, the head coach of the Warriors, Nicholas did not see even a single ray of hope.

"A game has once again been dissected and turned into a one-on-one solo match," Nicholas mumbled to himself.

The players did not carry out the team's tactic and ended up playing superstar-solo-play. It was the thing that Nicholas had wanted to avoid. Nicholas could not help but remember the final of the Western Conference the previous year when the Warriors had faced the Rockets. The game constantly broke off into individual solo plays. Sometimes, it even turned into a shooting contest between the two teams. The game was completely up to the shooting form of the players.

For a master tactician like Nicholas, a game that relied on shooting form was the same as gambling. It was way too untechnical!

The only thing that the Clippers excelled at was creating opportunities for solo play. For example, on offense, everyone would stop and attempt to create space for the one with the ball, forcing a one-on-one situation. The ball handler would attempt to attack and, upon noticing there was no chance, he would pass the ball to another person. Then, there was another attempt at a solo play. A 24-second offensive phase was enough for this to happen three to four times.

Try to imagine how Nicholas must have felt. Basketball is a game that involves five people at most. If one of the four attempts at individual play in every attack worked, an opportunity to score will most certainly appear. Worse comes to worst, many of the Clippers players had exceptional endgame abilities, so forcing a buzz-beater shot often worked too.

This superstar-style play was determined by two things. The first was the individual ability of the star and the second was the number of stars in a team. The Clippers had advantages in both aspects, so when the game became individual-solo plays, no one could beat them.

"This Clippers team has already matured!" Nicholas complained.

Looking at the result, both teams were the first and second-ranked teams in the Western Conference. Once the playoff season started, as long as both teams did not get eliminated prematurely, they would face each other in the final. By that time, the Warriors and the Clippers would face off against each other after having four wins in seven games.

"How are we supposed to play by then?" Nicholas was filled with anxiety and worries.

…

It was the last month of the regular season. Dai Li had already started his preparations for the playoffs.

Dai Li began to emphasize defense for the team.

The playoff season was much more intense than the regular season. When it came to defense, they were going to have to play on a whole different level. Many stars' stats would drop during the playoff season. Of course, during the playoff season, the stats of the entire team would drop.

Throughout history, there had been many teams that were average on offense that ended up winning the championship because of their incredible defense. There had never been a team that was awful at defense that went far in the playoffs. Generally, by the third round of the playoff, which is the final of the Eastern and Western Conferences, the remaining four teams were most definitely among the top ten in defense in the NBA.

If the Clippers wanted to go far in the playoffs, they couldn't just rely on their superstars. They needed a better defense.

Defense in the NBA was mainly man-to-man marking, which relied on the individual abilities of the individual athlete. Once upon a time, the NBA did not allow players to double team. Back then, the double team was deemed an infringement and was considered a foul. Later, as the NBA started to connect to international basketball, rules on double teaming gradually shifted. Teams were allowed to use the double team. The NBA, however, still maintained the three-second-defense rule, so the double team defense effect under NBA rules was far less effective than under international rules.

The question of how to overcome a double team used to be a difficult problem in international basketball. As basketball gradually evolved, however, the method for overcoming the double team was no longer a secret. European basketball coaches took action to show the entire world how easy it was to overcome the double team. They needed either a top-notch breakthrough player or an accurate three-point shooter. If a team had either one of those players, it would easily overcome a double team tactic.

American athletes were one level above European players in terms of both physique and technique. As such, that method was very effective in the NBA. Due to that, the double team was limited in the NBA. Only when there were clearly no sharpshooters on the opposing team and the team could control the defensive paint would a team employ a double team. As soon as an accurate three-point shooter got off the bench, the double team tactic would stop.

The defense tactic of the Clippers was to switch their defensive target whenever there was a mismatch. This was one of the most popular defense tactics in the NBA. There was a demanding requirement: the center had to be quick enough. If the center was too slow when dealing with a defensive mismatch due to a cover, he would not be able to switch in time.

The center of the Clippers, whether it was the starter or the bench player, was fast enough. As such, they were one of the few teams in the league that could perform an unlimited defensive switch.

All the Clippers players used to be All-Stars or even superstars. Players at this level would never be that bad defensively.

People would often say that a particular All-Star player was bad at defense, describing these players as defending with their gaze, mouth or intention. These derogatory descriptions were even used for star players. In truth, it was not because stars did not know how to defend, it was because the players did not pay much attention to defense. In blunter terms, they had a bad defensive attitude.

When it comes to defense, the two most important elements are the body and the attitude. Defensive techniques and awareness come second.

If a player was not strong enough, even if the player had an Oscar-winning acting ability that could easily earn an offensive foul, he would never be able to become a superb defensive player. Similarly, if a player's attitude towards defense was not serious, he would still be the weakness on the court, no matter how good his body, technique or awareness.

Players who became All-Stars were naturally top-notch when it came to their physique. As long as they were serious and put in the effort to defend, they would not be too bad. At the very least, it would be above the average level of the league.

On defense, the most important factor was the players' attitude. At the same time, a good defensive attitude was exactly the hardest thing to possess.

…

The regular NBA season ended in the middle of April, so April did not have that many games. The Clippers only had five matches in April. To improve the defensive capabilities of the team in just five games was clearly impossible.

Dai Li put more hope in the first round of the playoffs. The first in the Western Conference was going against the eighth in the Western Conference. The probability of an upset happening was very low. Dai Li hoped that through the first round of the playoffs, he could get the team to adapt earlier to the intensity and rhythm of the playoff season.

At the same time, the awards for the NBA regular season were also out. Dai Li was once again nominated for the Best Coach Award. Unlike the previous year, this time Dai Li was the one most likely to win the award.

Last year, the Clippers did not even make it into the playoffs. The nomination Dai Li obtained last year was more like a consolation prize for Dai Li entering the NBA.

The situation was different this year. The Clippers were ranked first in the Western Conference. That alone was a sufficient enough reason to make Dai Li a strong contender for the award.

Dai Li did not care about this honor, he put all his focus on the playoffs.

On April 12, the Clippers played their last game of the regular season and secured the first place in the Western Conference.

At the same time the team won, Dai Li's system received two huge chunks of experience. The first was the reward for leading the team into the playoffs while the second was for becoming the champion of the Western Conference in the regular season.

"System level up!" Dai Li was overjoyed. He had finally leveled up and moved into the senior phase. He was now a celebrated coach.

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Chapter 618: Fraudulent Tool

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li had waited so long for this level-up. He had almost forgotten about it.

Dai Li's physical fitness training center was still in operation and continuously provided him with an endless supply of experience. While he coached the Clippers, the daily training of the players also gave him experience. A total of 82 games in the regular season also gave him experience.

Despite all that, Dai Li still had to wait a while for the level-up. It had taken him years.

The distance to the next level-up was still far away. Dai Li estimated that it would probably be difficult for him to accumulate enough experience for the next rank before he reached the age of 40.

Since it was already certain that it would be a long wait. Dai Li no longer paid any attention to it. Now, he was more expectant of the rewards he would receive for leveling up.

Two items appeared in front of him, as always. On the left was a shiny gold horseshoe, spinning slowly while floating in the air. On the right was a silver gray top, suspended in the air.

"What are these?" Dai Li asked.

"On the left is the Lucky Horseshoe. You should know the meaning behind a horseshoe. It represents luck. It can bless you and your athletes with good luck in a match," the System answered.

"That sounds very general," Dai Li said with a frown.

There was a saying: "Luck is also part of a person's strength." Although there was no lack of real-life examples of people relying on luck, it was too much like gambling. When the "Lucky Horseshoe" appeared, Dai Li still could not wrap his head around the idea.

The System then began to explain. "What is luck? I don't think I need to give you an explanation. You should already know. So, why don't I talk about this Lucky Horseshoe? After you obtain this item, you and your athlete's luck will slightly increase."

"Increase by how much? Is there any hard standard? Or perhaps a quantifiable display?" Dai Li asked directly.

"The increase is marginal. That is why I said slightly increased. Most of the time, it won't be enough to change the outcome of a match. You can disregard it," the System answered.

"Which means that this Lucky Horseshoe isn't really useful." Dai Li looked disgusted.

"Also, the Lucky Horseshoe has a limited passive stat increase and is accompanied by an active skill. After possessing the Lucky Horseshoe, you will obtain the skill called Good Luck Prayer. Using Good Luck Prayer will allow you and your athletes to obtain extremely good luck. The effect's duration is three minutes," the System said.

"What does it mean when you say 'extremely good luck?'" Dai Li continued to ask.

"It is what it sounds like. For example, you leave your house and pick up a dollar, you win the lottery, you get a good weapon in a video game. These are all luck," the System answered.

"The examples you used have got nothing to do with sports," Dai Li replied coldly.

"Of course it works in a match. For example, during a key play, if your luck is a little off, the ball won't go in. If your luck is just slightly better, it will go in," the System answered in an irritated manner. It then continued in the same tone. "Apart from that, let me repeat again. After using the Prayer skill, you and your athletes will obtain very good luck. The effect's duration is three minutes."

"Hold on a minute. You said 'My athletes and Me?' Does this mean that this skill can be used on me?" Dai Li suddenly asked.

"Yes. This Prayer skill can not only be used on the players, but it can also be used on you," the System answered firmly.

Dai Li's heart leaped in joy. Ever since he obtained the System, he had gained several skills. Those skills, however, could only be used on the athletes. The only thing that could be used on himself was the Copy Card. Now, he finally gained another skill that could be used on himself. The only thing was that Dai Li still did not know how the effect of the skill was.

Giving myself a little luck, huh? Maybe I can really try buying a lottery ticket! Dai Li thought.

Suddenly, Dai Li's thoughts took a turn. Perhaps this Lucky Horseshoe's Prayer skill could be used with other items.

My Request Box. When it comes to the results, it's completely randomized. One can say that it all depends on luck. If I fail to get a good draw or a very good draw, it will be useless to me. If I use the Prayer skill first, then I will have good luck for the next three minutes. Then if I use the Request Box, will I be lucky and obtain an extremely good draw?

The thought flashed through Dai Li's mind. If the Request Box could be combined and used in conjunction with the Lucky Horseshoe, then every time he used the Request Box, he would make a good draw.

As he thought about that, Dai Li could not wait to play a game to test and see if his ideas could be put into practice.

On the other side, the System began introducing another item, the silver top.

"This is called the Dream Creator Top. The Dream Creator Top can help you construct a dream space. After your athlete enters a dreaming state, you can pull your athlete into the dream space," the System said.

Dai Li thought about the movie, "Inception." He then asked, "What's the use of the dream space?"

"This depends on what you construct in the dream space. If you construct a training ground, the dream space can allow the athletes to train. If you construct a match, then your athletes will be able to play a game in the dream space. It is worth noting that the time ratio to the real world is ten to one. That is to say that if you spend ten hours in the dream space, only one hour will pass in the real world," the System said slowly.

"Which means that you can even train when you are dreaming! Moreover, training for ten hours in the dream only equals one hour in real life! Oh my God, this thing is a little too fraudulent!"

As Dai Li lamented, he could not help but start counting in his mind. If a person slept for eight hours a day, that meant that the total training time in the dream space was 80 hours. One year has 365 days. That meant a total training duration of 29,200 hours. In reality, an athlete could only accumulate around 30,000 hours of training volume in ten years. This Dream Creator Top could create almost 30,000 hours of dream space in one single year. If it were used for training, it was the equivalent of ten years.

For athletes, the saying 'One minute of performance on stage requires ten years of practice off the stage' applies. A 100m sprint athlete trained monotonously every day for decades just for those ten seconds in the arena. From this point of view, the core of the career of an athlete was daily training. As for the result of competitions or matches, they are actually the effects of their daily training. That is why training is the most important thing for athletes.

Based on this calculation, the Dream Creator Top might just be the most imbalanced and fraudulent item I have. As the saying goes, 'Diligence makes up for want of ability.' Even for the players with average talent, if they had ten times the amount of training time, they could still become exceptional athletes.

In the next second, Dai Li suddenly realized a problem. He quickly asked, "That's not right, sports require activities that strengthen the body. Regardless of the sports in question, at the end of the day, the body is needed to support the activity. How can training in a dream improve the status of the body?"

"Have you heard that dreaming can strengthen the body?" The System asked.

"I know that sleeping more will help with muscle gain, but I never heard that sleeping more would strengthen the body," Dai Li answered honestly.

"Then isn't that your answer? Training in dreams can't be applied to the body," the System answered.

Dai Li's expression turned gloomy instantly. "Sports activities always involves the body. If the dream space training isn't effective on the athlete's body, then athletes also won't be able to become taller, faster, and stronger through training in their dreams. Then isn't this dream training completely useless! I initially thought that I've obtained a fraudulent God item. In the end, it's just a piece of useless junk."

"Dream space training certainly cannot directly affect the body, but it can be used to help athletes accumulate experience. If an athlete, for example, completed 10,000 basketball shots, the technical experience and conclusion he obtained from these 10,000 shots belong to him and only him," the System answered.

"So it's like that." Dai Li suddenly understood how to use the Dream Creator Top.

This item was fairly limited when it came to sports that relied more on the physical body like track and field, swimming, and weightlifting because dream space training could not increase the capability of the physical body.

For sports that required more technical skills or experience, the Dream Creator Top was very useful.

Skills and technique in sports are the accumulation of training experience and sporting talent. Sporting talent is based on genetics, no one can change that. Training experience, however, is gained later in life. Through daily training, athletes slowly accumulate experience and the accumulated experience transforms into proficiency in a particular skill. As proficiency increases, the skill or technique also gets better.

Take for example shooting a basketball. A beginner does not even know why he was missing his shots when he starts practicing shooting. After more practice and as his experience accumulates, he gradually learns the reason for each of his missed shots. It was either a lack of control in terms of power or shooting at a wrong angle.

Continued practice leads to knowing how to adjust the power and angle so that the ball will go inside the basket. With enough practice, one will generally be able to tell if the ball is going in or not as soon as the ball leaves the hands. One can even adjust the power and angle of the shot at the last moment. These were all the accumulation of experience.

After all, practice makes perfect!

This was the use of the Dream Creator Top. Although training within a dream cannot bring about any improvements to the body, it provided an accumulation of experience. Experience would only increase and never decrease. These types of experience accumulation would transform into skills and, as a result, increase the overall level of the athlete.

Then, the System continued. "I also mentioned just now that the dream space that you construct can be a training ground or a game."

"I understand. You mean to say that if I were to construct a game and let players participate, he would be able to gain practical game experience for an entire game." Dai Li's ability to deduce things was still pretty good.

To construct a game and allow athletes to gain practical match experience within a dream was meaningful, especially for the younger athletes.

There were 82 games in the regular season of the NBA. A rookie who was ranked highly might be able to play all 82 games, but rookies whose rankings were lower might find it tough to get off the bench. They would be satisfied if they could even get some time on the court. If they could not get on the court during when coaches pulled good players from the game, then they had no hope of gaining any match experience. Similarly, the NBA also had players whose talents weren't that high but managed to earn their place in the NBA through a wealth of match experience.

As long as it was a sport that involved intense physical competition, practical match experience was important. No matter how physically splendid a player was or how exceptional his techniques were, if he did not have any match experience, he would still not be a very useful newbie. On the contrary, some older veteran athletes whose physical traits had deteriorated could no longer run fast or jump high but, due to their wealth of experience, they were still the ones the coaches relied on.

The Dream Creator Top could create a match. This could help athletes supplement their weakness of lacking practical match experience.

Dai Li calculated in his mind. Based on an eight-hour sleep schedule, the athlete would be in his dream for 800 hours. A basketball match lasted 48 minutes. 800 hours equaled 16.7 basketball games. A football match was 90 minutes, so 800 hours equaled 8.9 football matches.

Take the Spanish La Liga as an example. There are 38 matches in a season. Based on this, an eight-hour sleep would equal nine games. That would be enough for a player to accumulate enough experience for one-quarter of an entire season.

Then, in the NBA, even if a player was the absolute best on the team, he would play, at most, 40 minutes per game. 800 minutes meant 20 games, it was also around a quarter of the entire season.

Based on this calculation, if a player were to sleep eight hours a day. In just four days, the dream space would be able to create an entire Spanish La Liga season or a regular NBA season. The players would be able to accumulate an entire season's worth of match experience.

Based on this calculation, I only need 40 days to turn a newbie into a veteran with a decade of match experience! No one's mom had to worry about them not playing in a match anymore. Come to me for a year and I'll make you play until you want to puke!

…

The playoff season began. The first opponents of the Clippers were the Denver Nuggets.

At the beginning of the season, the Nuggets' performance stole the spotlight. They were once ranked first. As the season progressed, however, the traditionally strong teams gradually regained their form and the results of the Nuggets gradually deteriorated. In the end, the Nuggets managed to make it into the playoffs in the highly competitive Western Conference, merely relying on their win-loss advantage.

It was the first place in the Western Conference versus the eighth place of the Western Conference. There would be no suspense. After all, miracles did not happen for them every day.

Moreover, the Nuggets were a relatively young team. This was the first time in six years that they had made it into the playoffs. Their main objective was to allow their starters to accumulate playoff match experience. They did not dream about winning through some miracle

Faced with an opponent like this, the path for the Clippers became that much easier. They swept the floor with their opponents as they won four to nothing without any suspense. The players also did not expend that much energy. They quickly made it through and waited for the next round of the playoffs at their home turf.

In the second round of the playoffs, the Clippers faced the New Orleans Pelicans.

In the past two years, the Pelicans had performed decently in the regular season. The team also constantly strengthened itself in the hope of achieving something. When it came to the playoff, the Pelicans still failed to obtain any exceptional results.

Players exhaust their patience easily when a team fails to achieve a breakthrough for a long time and the Pelicans faced this problem. At the beginning of the season, they lost two star players. It was a good thing the head coach of the Pelicans was excellent and coached the team successfully, leading the Pelicans team into the playoff season. They even made it to the second round.

This Pelican team did not have the strength to challenge the championship title. Their head coach and players also knew this. With their lineup, making the second round of the playoffs was already considered an achievement. If they wanted to go further in the playoffs, the team needed to strengthen itself through reinforcements in the next season.

Because they had already completed their task, the Pelicans team lost their ambition. They treated the matches less seriously and did not pay a lot of attention in winning or losing. Since they did not have "Fight till death" determination, they also did not have any intention of causing an upset.

Often, an objective determined the achievement.

Take a random company for example. The annual sales revenue is 100 million dollars. If the company reached the target in the first ten months, then in the following two months, a worker would have less motivation. There would definitely be people who would approach things with a "Three days of fishing and two days of net-drying," mentality. They would take it easy until the end of the year.

In contrast, if, by the last month, the annual sales task were almost complete, everyone in the company would put in the extra effort and think up various ways to complete the sales target.

The Pelicans were like this. During the last month of the regular season, they put in everything they had and made it to the playoffs. Now, since their season target had already been achieved, the players let out a sigh of relief and were no longer persistent about victory.

The Pelicans lost their motivational target, which made things easier for the Clippers. Faced with an opponent that did not desire the championship, victory became easy. They repeated a sweep of four to zero and the Clippers made it into the Western Conference final.

The other team that made it into the Western Conference final was the Golden State Warriors. Their advancement, however, had been far tougher.

The Warriors had faced the Pistons in the first round.

The Pistons were a team that set their sights on winning the championship. To achieve their target, the management team of the Pistons did a lot of things: trades, scouting, and high-income contract renewals. They would do something big during practically every off-season. Almost every season, the lineup of the Pistons would change.

In terms of strength, the Pistons were considered a strong team, but they were definitely not amongst the best. Still, everyone knew that the Pistons was a tough opponent. In a round of games against the Pistons, even if they won, they would exhaust a lot of strength.

The Pistons' target was to become the grand champion!

A team that set their target on winning the championship like the Pistons would always be very persistent during the playoffs. Even though they were the seventh-ranked team in the Western Conference, they would go all out and create a difficult encounter for their opponents.

After the Warriors got past the Pistons, they met with the Rockets.

The Rockets were yet another team with their sights on winning the championship. The difference with the Pistons was that they really did have the pedigree to challenge for the championship.

The two teams clashed and the Warriors narrowly broke through after seven hard-fought battles. The Warriors had completely exhausted themselves and had key players injured.

The Rockets finally lost in terms of stamina. The Rockets were stubborn and maintained they're eight-man rotation system, resulting in the Rockets collapsing suddenly in the seventh match. It was similar to sudden death.

After all, it was the playoffs. The intensity of the games was that much greater. An eight-man rotation system was insufficient in dealing with a round that consisted of seven games.

The Western Conference final would be a clash between the Clippers and the Warriors. The first and second place of the Western Conference. A clash between the old and the young superstars. It was a clash that fans loved.

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Chapter 619: For the Championship

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was the first game of the Western Conference finals. The Clippers were facing the Warriors at home.

In the Western Conference semifinals that had ended just a few days ago, the Clippers had defeated their opponents with a sweeping score of four to nothing. Due to the seven games between the Warriors and the Rockets, the Warriors had definitely expended more energy. More importantly, the Warriors had lost a few key players to injury. According to estimations, these players would not be able to play the first two games, at the very least.

The Clippers awaited their exhausted enemies at home and the result was within the expectations of most people. Although the Warriors fought persistently, in the end they still could not overcome the Clippers.

In a series where a team needed to win four out of seven games, the first game was more like a probing match. Both teams probed and tested their opponents. The team that lost the game would make adjustments for the next game. They would create particular tactical arrangements. As such, it was normal for teams to win a game and then lose the next.

After the Warriors that lost the first game, however, they did not make any tactical arrangements. This was not because the coaching staff of the Warriors lacked the ability to do so. It was because, when playing against the Clippers, there was really nothing to specifically target.

The Clippers played superstar-style basketball. It was not a complicated tactic. Under normal circumstances, when playing against superstar basketball teams, the key was to target particular superstars when your team was on defense. For example, surround and disturb him when receiving the ball, restrict a particular method of scoring, or use a tactic that utilized multiple players taking turns defending against the superstar in order to sap his stamina.

Sometimes, when faced against a superstar, simply disturbing his catches and restraining his scoring methods wat not very effective. The rotating defense tactic, however, was an effective weapon that was always effective. It was fine if the player was fouled out after six fouls, as long as they could sap the superstar's strength. Any human being would be exhausted eventually, even superstars. It was difficult to play 48 minutes a game, especially if that game was in the middle of a series.

Defensive tactics like this, however, could not be applied to the Clippers because the Clippers had too many stars. A strong defender could defend against a star, and a defense tactic could defend against two to three superstars. Still, even the best defensive lineup would be hard-pressed to defend against five superstars.

Basketball is the kind of sports where the initiative always lies with the offensive team. With the best five defenders against the best five attackers, the game would become a very slow-paced and have a low score. The ultimate winner of the game, however, would always be the attackers.

Faced against the Clippers, the tactical adjustments the Warriors could make was not centered around defense, it was focused on their attack.

There are two ways to win a game. The first is to ensure that the opponent scores less and the second is to ensure that your team scores more. As such, in the second round, the most obvious change of the Warriors was that the rhythm and pace of the game increased. The ball moved faster and they needed to score more than the Clippers.

The coaching staff of the Clippers did not make any drastic adjustments to their tactics. For a team that played superstar-style basketball, complicated tactics would not guarantee good results. As long as they continued to create one-on-one situations, it was enough. Unlimited one-on-one plays was the only viable tactic in a superstar-styled basketball game.

Moreover, the Warriors' tactical system was also transparent in front of the Clippers.

The tactical system of a successful team would always be transparent. The tactical system of a team like the Warriors who had been successful in recent years would not only be researched by the NBA, it would be the topic of research for the entire world. European basketball, Asian basketball,and the basketball of every country had studied the tactics of the Warriors. If every basketball professional and expert in the world focused on you and continuously studied your every game, nothing could be hidden, no matter how complicated it was.

So, in the NBA, it was difficult to create a dynasty. A dynasty means winning the championship three years in a row. Under normal circumstances, after a team won the championship, its tactical system would be completely dissected and analyzed by the other 29 teams. By the time the team won the championship twice in a row, the other teams would probably have already found a countermeasure. By then, it would become harder to win games.

By the third year, every team would intentionally target the tactic and some teams might even get players with specific ability to target the tactic. So, it got harder to win championships the more times you won them.

Due to that, the only teams that succeeded in winning the championship three years in a row and created a dynasty were the Celtics, the Lakers, and the Bulls. The Warriors wanted to become the fourth, but it seemed too difficult.

…

It was the second round of the Western Conference final. The Clippers were still the hosts.

The Warriors played faster; they became more like warriors.

The entire world knew the Warriors hoped to play while they ran and the entire world also knew the best way to counter the Warriors was to slow down the play. Playing to the Warriors' rhythm was like suicide.

A team that played superstar-style basketball like the Clippers needed to slow down the rhythm even more. Five players steadily began their positional battles, turning the five-on-five game into five one-on-one games. After that, they showed off the individual ability of the superstars.

The Warriors still did not manage to grab a win from Los Angeles. The score of the series became two to zero.

The result was also within the expectations of various experts and pundits. After all, the Warriors lacked a key player. Faced against a team of amazing players, it was way too difficult for the Warriors to win away. The Clippers had too many star players, any one of whom could go on a roll and give the Warriors a big headache.

The good news was that the injured player would return to the bench in the next game.

The third match between the teams was at the home stadium of the Warriors. For the Warriors, it was a game they had to win at all cost. As soon as they lost, it would mean that they trailed zero to three. In the NBA, there had never been a case where a team came back to win after trailing zero to three.

To lose the first two games was very disadvantageous for the Warriors, but the Warriors did not just sit around to wait for death. After all, they were a champion level team. This year, they had overcame a bunch of hurdles before making it to the finals. How could they easily surrender?

…

Oracle Arena.

The Warriors still attacked in waves at their home stadium.

This time, the injured player on the Warriors had recovered. The Clippers faced the full force of the Warriors.

Quick ball movements continued to create offensive space. The Warriors' players also maintained movement of their footsteps. By cutting through space, they tore through the defense of the Clippers. Once a defensive gap appeared, the Warriors players' did not hesitate to take aim and shoot towards the basket, scoring points.

The Warriors executed their tactic!

The coaching staff of both teams realized this.

In the face-off between the two teams during the regular season, the superstar-style basketball of the Clippers easily turned the game into multiple one-on-one games. These one-on-one plays made it so that the Warriors could not fully execute and display the full strength of their tactical system.

The game today was different. The Warriors did not fall into the solo trap of the Clippers. They were not stubborn in trying to play solo against the Clippers players. Instead, they displayed the strength of their tactic. Quick rotation, offensive and defensive transitions, constant movement, and cutting made it so that it was difficult for their opponent to create a comprehensive zonal defensive line.

If they were an average team, when faced against a Warriors team that exerted the full strength of their tactical system, the team could collapse instantly. They would be utterly destroyed by the Warriors by the third quarter. Perhaps, by the second half of the fourth quarter, they would be behind the Warriors by 20 points. It was normal in the NBA.

The Warriors, however, were playing against the Clippers, a team that had enough superstars to maximize the efficiency of the superstar style.

As long as superstars paid attention and put in the effort, their defense would not be bad. The Clippers had also gathered a bunch of veterans. These veterans were all very experienced, so they were even more mature when defending. Making predictions of what would happen next was a must. They also had an abundance of dirty defensive tricks in their arsenal.

The longer professional basketball players played for, the dirtier they played. For the veterans, who had played over a decade of basketball, it was assumed they would have a bunch of tricks on defense. These tricks usually had no practical meaning, but they would disrupt the rhythm of the opponent and induce their opponents to commit fouls.

With a group of veterans who had a wealth of game experience, the Clippers made it through the third quarter and did not get swept away by the gameplay of the Warriors in the third quarter.

As for the Warriors, their offense slowed down slightly. They began to save strength for their next wave of attacks. They wanted to deal the deadly blow in the fourth quarter.

…

Dai Li felt unprecedented pressure for the first time.

This type of pressure did not only come from the cheers of the surrounding Warriors fans, but it came from the almost perfectly executed offensive tactic from the Warriors.

A team that won three championships in four years had already accumulated a huge amount of fanatic followers. It was natural for them to possess a devilish home atmosphere. The Oracle Arena was exactly that. Tens of thousands of fans in the stadium had turned it into a yellow ocean. Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs. The insanity sent a chill down the visiting Dai Li's spine.

When the Warriors defended. The stadium chanted the word "defense" in unison, as if it were hypnotic, making the defenders excited, and making the attackers hesitate. The booing sounds also brought an unending sense of pressure and sadness. This type of home atmosphere was torturous for the visitors.

By the Western Conference final, the Oracle Arena could certainly be regarded as a devilish home stadium. Even a top team with a wealth of experience would still feel an increased sense of pressure when playing in an atmosphere like this.

As for the tactical system of the Warriors, it had long struck fear into the heart of every coach of the NBA. The Warriors used their results in recent years to prove the might of their tactical system. For an amateur basketball coach like Dai Li, who had just entered the industry, tactics were his main weakness. They were also the source of his pressure.

Tactical target? The word had long been ignored by Dai Li. He did not know tactics at all!

So, the only situation that was possible was for others to use their tactics while Dai Li focused on his superstar-style basketball. This move was typically very effective, but now Dai Li faced a Warriors team that performed perfectly.

"The players of the Warriors' hands are getting hot!" Dai Li checked the score and, before he knew it, the Clippers was already behind.

In terms of field goals alone, both teams were great, but the Warriors scored more three-pointers, including several "Fairy balls" that were unexpected. Due to this, the Warriors were in the lead.

The Warriors, who trailed by zero to two overall were already at their wit's end. They increased the number of three-point shots, which could be seen as a gamble. For the Warriors, as soon as they were on form, it was a rain of three-pointers. The Warriors would be in an advantageous position.

A timeout. The players returned to the bench.

The coaching staff of both teams knew that they would send out their starters soon. The game reached its critical moment.

Even though he held a two to zero lead, Dai Li did not want to lose this game. He hoped to achieve victory and use a crushing score of three to zero to completely destroy the Warriors' hope of advancement.

Biiiii! The buzzer sounded and the timeouts were over. The players started walking towards the court. At the same time, Dai Li took a deep breath and used the Prayer skill of the Lucky Horseshoe.

Over the next three minutes, Dai Li would possess good luck and the Clippers players would as well.

Dai Li, however, was not finished. He immediately used the Prophecy Request Box, and he hoped that the Request Box would give him an answer that brought victory.

"A super good draw!" Although Dai Li knew that under the effects of good luck, he was almost guaranteed to get the best draw, his breathing still quickened when the best draw came out.

After looking at the results of the draw, Dai Li was shocked. After that, he immediately hollered at the referee and said, "Substitution!"

Although the players had already gone on to the court, the ball was still in the referee's hands. He had not yet given it to the player starting the game. So, the game had not yet started and substitutions were allowed before the game resumed.

Dai Li then subbed the power forward, Noel, and subbed Vincent in.

At the same time, the coaching staff of the Warriors all had an odd expression on their face. The substitution before the game resumed was rather abrupt. It was clear that it was a last-minute decision by Dai Li.

The head coach of the Warriors, Nicholas, could not help but gaze at Dai Li, seemingly trying to figure out what Dai Li was thinking. Nicholas knew that these abrupt and sudden changes were dangerous, it could disrupt the tactical arrangement of the team. Thinking about it in detail, a team that played superstar-style basketball did not really have to worry about tactics.a

"It's a one big four small lineup? Why is he using this kind of lineup?" Nicholas mumbled to himself. To him, to sub off a power forward that created space at this moment and switching systems seemed like a mistake.

It was not only Nicholas. The broadcast commentators questioned it as well.

A power forward that created space could be enough to intimidate the defensive players on the opposing team even if he just lurked outside the three-point line. In the last deciding moments of the game, a space-creating power forward was clearly more of a threat than a one big four small lineup.

Vincent, who had been subbed in, clearly seemed a little overwhelmed. Normally, he only played as a substitute. He was seen as the offensive weapon of the bench. According to regular rotation order, he should be resting off-court, but, now, he was suddenly subbed in to play on the court and to participate in the final battle against the Warriors.

The substitution was certainly very sudden. The game had almost been underway before Dai Li indicated that he wanted to make a substitution. There were no premonitions. At the time, he had already put on his long pants and jacket. Then, he had been called up by Dai Li from the bench. He quickly took off the jacket and got on the court. His behavior seemed a little discomposed.

More importantly, Dai Li did not tell him anything before letting him on the court.

In such a crucial moment, a sudden substitution like would certainly entail tactical adjustments! The head coach should at least give the player an instruction or two!

This was not the case. Dai Li did not say anything.

When Vincent got on the court, therefore, he still felt a sense of disillusion.

Suddenly, Raymond moved forward and patted Vincent on the shoulder.

"Dude, focus. The game is about to begin! If we win this game, the grand championship trophy will be in our pockets," Raymond said.

Vincent froze for a moment and instantly understood what Raymond meant.

If the Clippers won the game, they would lead the series with a score of three to nothing. Throughout history, there had not been a team that had successfully turned the result around after trailing with a score of zero to three. As such, the Clippers winning the Championship would be certain if they won this game.

The West being stronger than the East was a phenomenon that had persisted for many years. There was a genuine gap between the strength of the East and the West. To say that the champion of the Western Conference was the grand champion would not be an exaggeration.

For the Clippers, the game was not only a simple struggle in the playoff season; it was a crucial battle for the grand championship.

"Grand champion!" Vincent could not help but think about the championship trophy that shone in gold.

His professional career was successful. He had won countless honors and it was almost certain that he would enter the NBA Hall of Fame after he retired. After several years, he was also guaranteed to be called a "legendary star," but he had never won the championship before.

An NBA would have regrets in their professional career, no matter how many personal accolades they obtained, if they did not win a championship. It was due to this that many star players would make sacrifices just to obtain a championship ring in the latter part of their career.

Vincent was one of those who had made sacrifices for the championship. He lowered his pay, joined together with a bunch of other stars, and even went specifically to teams with higher chances of winning the championship. In the end, his fate did not intertwine with the championship trophy..

Cruel reality forced him to give up in his dream of winning the championship. He stopped intentionally pursuing the championship. Instead, he found a team that afforded him sufficient game time so that he could continue his professional career, to continue playing the sport he loved, basketball.

Now, Vincent suddenly discovered that the grand championship that he dreamed about was close to him. He felt a sense of excitement that was hard to be put in words.

"For the championship!" Vincent suddenly screamed, as if to encourage himself.

"Yes, for the championship!" Raymond, who stood beside him, responded loudly.

He was like Vincent, having obtained countless honors and entering the Hall of Fame, even being called a legendary superstar, but he never won the championship. One could say that the only thing lacking on his wall of honors was a championship ring!

"For the championship!" Another voice shouted. This time, it was Hall.

He did not have as many honors as the previous two and his professional career was not that long as well. Still, this did not affect his desire for the championship. For a person who lost the menisci on both his knees to still be playing, one could imagine his desire for victory. How could a person like this tolerate the championship slipping away from his hands?

"For the championship!" Wood made the same remark.

Once the first pick of the draft, he had already made arrogant remarks in the rookie season of his professional career, saying that he would bring home a championship to the team. Now, many years had passed and there was finally a chance for him to realize his promise.

Gray looked at his four teammates. He had been practically fighting against injury his entire professional career. He did not have such complicated experiences nor did he have that many honors. He was not that persistent in terms of getting the grand championship.

By now, however, he was already under the influence of his teammates. He could sense the heartfelt desire for the championship emanating from the hearts of his teammates.

"You're right, for the championship!" Gray's expression also seemed to have focused.

…

The morale has completely changed from just now! Cassel widened his eyes. To him, Dai Li's decision for playing Vincent was not entirely correct. After two minutes, however, it had achieved some amazing effect.

Cassel could feel that the Clippers players were working hard. Every player emanated an imposing aura that seemed to imply that this was the last battle. It seemed as if they had been forced to a dead end and they had decided to burn their boats and face their enemies head-on with the river behind their backs. In short, they were fighting to the death.

It is clear that we have the advantage! Why are they making it seem like we are trailing? Cassel thought it was an odd situation. The Clippers had a considerable lead of two to zero; they also had another home game. One could easily say that everything was in their favor. They had no reason whatsoever to put out such a heartfelt and moving display. The Warriors were the team that should be fighting to the death.

Cassel had underestimated the desire of the bunch of veterans towards the championship trophy. That championship ring was what these veterans had been pursuing half their life. To them, it was not the simple honor of winning the championship. It was like sustenance for their professional career.

To put it simply, they lived most of their lives just so they could win this championship!

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Chapter 620: Good Luck

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were many consecutive pick-and-rolls and alternating runs. The ball shifted between the Warriors players seamlessly.

The Clippers players also kept switching their defensive targets. Switching the defensive target immediately when screening fully compressed the Warriors players' space to release the shot. As long as they did not allow the Warriors players any space, they would not have suitable opportunities to shoot.

After a screen and a corresponding defensive switch, Vincent was faced with a young man named Dale.

Vincent was no stranger to this young man. He was a two-time MVP of the regular season. He had made it into the starting lineup of the Western Conference All-Stars five times and was one of the three best NBA three-point shooters in the current era. He could be considered the best point guard at the moment.

Vincent knew that when facing this young man, he had to concentrate. Even if paying full attention, he still might not be able to prevent Dale from scoring.

The 24 seconds the Warriors had for the attack was almost up. Just as he thought that it was a successful defense, Dale, who was in front of him, suddenly released the shot.

He was still two and a half yards away from the three-point line. This was an extremely impressive three-point shot.

Vincent's reaction was also quick. He immediately rushed forward. It was impossible to try and block the shot now, but he could try and disturb it.

Swoosh! The basketball went directly into the basket. The crowd, which was already full of passion, erupted into roars. It sounded like mountains were collapsing and seas were roaring. The entire Staples Center trembled.

From a defensive point of view, this defense was faultless. They had held them for 24 seconds. It had come down to the last possible moment. Their opponents were forced to shoot far away from the three-point line.

Looking at the result, however, they had failed since the opponent scored a three-pointer.

Vincent knew that there was nothing wrong with his defense. No one could have stopped this fairy ball.

He did not except that, however. He thought that it was just an excuse.

I can do better! I can definitely do better! I have to do better! Vincent's heart repeated. He knew that if he failed to restrain Dale and allowed him to continue making three-point shots like that without any pressure, it would be difficult for them to win this game.

…

Dale dribbled the ball quickly, but he noticed that he could not get away from the defender in front of him. He instinctively passed the ball to his teammate, hoping to use that to break apart the opponent's defensive line.

His teammate, however, also faced strong defensive pressure.

Damned unlimited defensive switch! Dale complained internally.

This sort of unlimited defensive switching was the kind that he hated the most. The opponent's unlimited switch would make it hard for the Warriors to find any space to shoot. Every player was tangled with a defensive player and every shot faced an opponent who might disturb it.

Naturally, a three-point shooter would want to have the opportunity of shooting in an empty space. They did not want to face a defensive player every time they took a shot.

After a run, a pick-and-roll, a screen, and a pass, the ball returned to Dale's hands. As a point guard, he was responsible for organizing the attack.

This, however, was the third time Dale touched the ball in this attack. This meant that the previous two attacks had failed because the ball kept coming back into his hands.

The previous pick-and-roll had generated another defensive switch. He was once again faced with Vincent or, perhaps, he should call him "Uncle Vincent."

Dale's father had also been an NBA player. He had been a shooting guard and had won the Best Sixth Man Award. He was a master sharpshooter. He had scored 1,245 three-pointers in his entire professional career. He was also the New Orleans Nets' lead scorer. Dale's accurate three-point shots were certainly, at least to some degree, inherited his father.

The last three years of Dale's father's professional career had been spent with the Raptors. Back then, Vincent had only just started playing in the NBA and he had also been on the Raptors. Dale's father had been Vincent's teammate for three years.

When he had been just a boy, Dale would often train at the Raptors training ground and would watch the Raptors' games. His deepest impression of the Raptors was the man who played basketball flying! Every time that man flew, Dale would open his mouth in awe.

Now, this man still played basketball. In fact, he was standing in front of him!

The most impressive thing was that he still played basketball like he was flying!

After two attempted attacks, there was not much time left for their attack. The Clippers' defense still followed them closely. The five players on the Warriors did not have any good opportunities to shoot.

In the end, I'll still have to shoot by myself! Dale's eyes shined as he snuck a glance at the basket. Although he was still some distance from the three-point line, this was within his shooting range.

In the next moment, Dale raised his hands. His movements were very sudden.

Vincent's reaction, however, was even faster. At the moment that Dale moved his hands to make the shot, Vincent rushed forward to disturb it.

Dale leaped and took a jump shot.

Vincent leaped to block it.

The moment the ball was released, Dale suddenly saw Vincent as he seemed to fly in the air.

Subconsciously, Dale wanted to open his mouth like when he was young. Still, he had to deal with Vincent's block. Dale adjusted the angle of his shot. He did not have any deep thought process; it was an instinctive reaction to a defender.

The ball was not blocked and flew towards the basket. The shot angle had been adjusted, however, and the ball hit the rim of the basket.

Kwang! The basketball bounced off the rim. Three Clippers players rushed towards the point where the ball would fall to at the same time and won this defensive rebound.

It had been an extremely successful defense.

Fairy balls. Humans would never be able to defend against them, so they had to leave them to the "half-human and half-God" to defend.

This old man, he's almost 40 years old now. He can actually still fly. Just how does he maintain himself? I'm still far from the last year of my contract with the team, should I start playing basketball like he does. Crazy thoughts started appearing in Dale's mind.

…

The game was still very close. A satisfied smile, however, appeared on Dai Li's face. The game had proceeded as he expected.

Taking off the space-creating power forward, Noel, and playing the guard, Vincent, instead had been an excellent choice. That was what the excellent draw had told him to do. After thinking about it carefully, Dai Li knew why the Prophecy Request Box had given him this answer.

Noel owned a championship ring. He actually had two of them.

Vincent was different. He did not have a championship ring. He had also made a lot of sacrifices in pursuit of one.

The other four players in for the Clippers were the same as Vincent. They had never won the championship before.

People always worked harder for something they had yet to attain. The championship ring was the item that they all desired most in their hearts.

The game had progressed to the stage where that passion mattered. Both sides had done their best to defeat the other side; they had played all their cards. Both sides knew just how strong their opponent was. The game was now more like a mental battle. The fight was to see which side would be the last one standing.

At that time, the desire for the championship was the best stimulant, it was the motivation needed to help the players persevere.

Draw, comeback, and then another draw again. Then, the game finally reached its climax.

The last two minutes of the game. Both sides had already played 20 minutes. The battles on the court had become ridiculously intense. There was a lot of physical contact and the referees had no choice but to keep reviewing the match recordings to determine the possession of the ball.

It was the Western Conference final. Each team had many stars. One whistle and the bunch of star players from both sides would surround the referee, putting pressure on him. Faced with this kind of situation, even the most experienced referee would be as cautious as possible and try to avoid making an error.

The NBA was like that. Star players could, from time to time, complain a little to the referee. Sometimes, they could even request that the referees review the video. If a newbie tried complaining, just a few words would get them a technical foul.

…

The score was 102-102. There were 28 seconds left in the game. Theoretically, each side had one opportunity to attack left.

The Warriors had the ball, and they had multiple styles of attack to choose from. They could choose a two-point or three-point attack. The most important thing to them was time management.

28 seconds. No matter what offensive method the Warriors used, the ball would return to the hands of the Clippers. Even if they exhausted all 24 seconds, the Clippers would still have four seconds of offense. With a timeout, they would be able to restart the game in the other half court. Two passes after that and they would be able to shoot.

"Don't wait until the last second before you shoot. Our opponent has the ability to kill the game at the last second. Whether you give them four seconds or 14 seconds, the effect is the same. There is a possibility for us to lose to a buzzer beater." The head coach of the Warriors paused before saying, "Our next attack will be the same as always. Whoever has the opportunity will shoot. We need a three-pointer. With a three-point advantage, we'll be in a position where we can't lose. The worst that could happen is to play overtime!"

The Warriors players returned to the court. They did not show any panic and moved between screens and covers like always, playing entirely according to their tactics.

Swoosh! A three-point shot was released. It was a gap created by a pick-and-roll. The shot was released instantly. Strictly speaking, it could not be considered a good opportunity to shoot a three-pointer but, under the intense defensive pressure of the Clippers, it was considered a great opportunity to shoot.

There was no shortage of amazing shooters in the stadium. The moment they saw the path of the ball, they knew that it was going in.

As they expected, the basketball entered the basket without touching the rim. The basket fully displayed the Warriors exceptional three-point ability.

The Warriors led by 105-102 and only 12 seconds were left in the game. The Clippers immediately called for a timeout.

There was a 3-point gap. The Clippers had to make at least a three-point shot in their next attack. The best situation was to score a buzzer beating three-point shot without giving the Warriors a chance to get the ball back. With the ability of the Warriors being what it was, a few tenths of a second for them was enough for them to kill the game.

The Clippers played superstar-style basketball. In situations like this, the only script they could use was for everyone to spread out outside the three-point line and attempt to make a three-point shot regardless of who held the ball after the game restarted.

As for whether or not they could make the basket, they also needed to rely on luck.

We have to make a buzzer-beating three-point shot in order to push the game to overtime. We need some good luck right now! Dai Li immediately looked at his watch.

There's still five minutes of cooldown left before I can activate the Lucky Horseshoe! A sense of dread flashed past Dai Li's face.

The skill cooldown time was 30 minutes. When using the Prophecy Request Box, Dai Li used the prayer skill once, 25 minutes ago.

After the NBA removed the rule about long and short timeouts, all timeouts were standardized to be 75 seconds. Although games would not strictly adhere to it and most timeouts lasted longer than 75 seconds, the referees would definitely not allow a five-minute timeout.

Biiiii! A lengthy buzz sounded, signaling everyone that the timeouts were over. The players had to return to the court.

The Warriors players moved swiftly. They quickly walked on to the court with the clear intention of trying to set up their defense perimeter in advance.

The cooldown of the prayer skill isn't over yet. I need to delay! I need an actor right now! Dai Li looked to his bench and finally rested his gaze on Karaby.

"Karaby, I need you right now!" Dai Li said.

Karaby stood up in excitement. He did not know the coach would have so much faith in him during such a critical period.

Dai Li lowered his voice to a whisper and said, "You get on the court and act as if you've slipped and injured yourself. Lie on the ground for at least three minutes!"

"What? Slip? Injured? Injured what?" Karaby asked dumbly.

"Decide yourself. Regardless, make it as real as possible! I don't believe that the best defensive player like you doesn't know how to act!" Dai Li grunted coldly.

In the NBA, an excellent defender not only needed a strong physique, great determination, a positive attitude, and incredible defensive awareness, he also needed acting skills. Many defensive experts in the NBA were actually first-class "actors." If their acting skills were not good enough, they would not be able to get fouls from the referees.

As the saying went, "One touch to the shirt causes a giant fall." One would fall down after a simple touch of the shirt. For players with a frail-looking body, this trick was very effective.

Karaby was exactly that kind of frail-looking player. He once received the Best Defensive Player Award and was in the best defensive lineup of the NBA. Apart from his height and a wide wingspan, his ability to create fouls naturally came from his individual talent. His "acting" skills were, of course, first-class.

This was the reason Dai Li chose Karaby.

Karaby was a boorish looking fellow, but he had played in the NBA for more than a decade. He had become a scheming bastard, so he naturally knew that Dai Li wanted him to waste some time. Although he did not know why Dai Li wanted to waste time, the coach had a request, so he naturally had to oblige.

He walked on to the court and walked straight towards the defensive players of the Warriors. He then intentionally looked for physical contact.

On the sideline, the referee was about to pass the ball to the Clippers players responsible for restarting the game. Suddenly, Karaby staggered and fell straight to the ground. At the same time, he screamed loudly, intentionally attracting the attention of the referee.

The referee looked towards Karaby and saw Karaby had an anguished expression, hugging his legs rolling on the ground.

Beside him, a Warriors player had an innocent expression on his face.

I didn't touch him at all, why did he fall!?

In crucial moments like this, the physical battles between players were very intense. To get to a decent position, it was normal to begin pushing around before the ball came back into play. These occurrences were common to the referees. When a player was injured before play resumed, that meant that the game could not continue. The referee immediately blew his whistle and walked over to check it out.

After the whistle was blown, everyone, both Clippers and Warriors, gathered around.

Karaby's acting skills were indeed decent. He was biting down hard on his lip. He looked to be in extreme pain. It was really convincing.

"Karaby is 38 years old. He's a veteran, why are they messing with him? Look at him now, he's injured. Someone's gonna blame you after the game!" Dale said to the innocent Warriors player.

"I didn't touch him! I really did not touch him! We simply walked and faced against each other. He walked past me and fell!" The person argued. From the expressions on the faces of those around him, no one believed him.

The Clippers' doctor had already moved beside Karaby. They had already received Dai Li's instructions to waste as much time as possible, so they had prepared all kinds of medical checks and procedures.

As for the Warriors, head coach Nicholas looked at the big screen in the stadium, waiting to look at the video replay.

Finally, the broadcaster replayed the scene. It showed that Karaby and the Warriors player walked towards each other and faced each other. Karaby turned around and the shoulders of both players seemed to have vaguely touched. Karaby then fell instantly to the ground.

"There isn't any physical contact at all. Karaby fell himself. Yup. It's more like he slipped when he turned around. Was the ground very slippery?" Nicholas could not help to look towards the ground. Later, he shook his head.

The staff members had already wiped the floor during the timeout. They had already wiped off the sweat on the ground. The shoes of the players were also not just decorative, they were basically slip-proof. He was also not running or involved in intense physical battles, so his fall was very weird.

It can't be that he fell intentionally? Why? Could it be that he wants to waste some time so that they can plan for a new tactic? As Nicholas thought that, he looked at Dai Li. Dai Li did not even speak to anyone, he only continued looking at his watch.

They are not making any new plans, is it just to purely waste time? What the heck is Dai Li doing? Could it be that he feels that wasting some time will help him score a buzzer-beating three-pointer? Nicholas shook his head. After that, his gaze rested on Dai Li's wrist.

That's a good watch! A new model! That's expensive! I'm so envious! Nicholas' eyes glimmered as he lamented.

On the other side of the bench, Dai Li did not even worry about Karaby's condition, he kept staring at his watch.

Finally, Dai Li let out a breath.

"It has been 30 minutes. The cooldown of the prayer skill has ended!" Dai Li raised his head and looked at Karaby who was still doing his best to act in pain on the ground. Then, he began repeating in his heart.

"Heavenly Karaby is the best. Heavenly Karaby is the best…"

Karaby had faked his fall but, when he acted, he had to go all out. He had to be supported until he returned to the bench.

The game resumed. The Clippers had 12 seconds left. It was enough to organize a full attack.

All five Clippers players spread outside the three-point line. The Warriors, on the other hand, defended one-on-one. They did not dare to double team, in fear of leaving any gaps for a three-point shot.

After several passes, there were still no opportunities for a three-point shot. The ball finally fell into the hands of Raymond.

Raymond dribbled and before time ran out, he straightened his body and made a pull-up shot!

The Warriors player immediately leaped to block but did not dare to leap forward as he was worried about committing a foul.

The modern-day NBA was stricter when it came to calling for fouls on shots. Many intentional attempts at cheating their way into getting a "two-and-one" or a "three-and-one" would be treated as fouls before the shot by the referees. The referees did not regard those actions that tried to intentionally get fouls as genuine attempts at shooting.

As for Raymond's pull-up shot, even if he were to lean forward when he leaped off the ground, his body would remain straight. This sort of jump shot technique required a strong waist. As such, Raymond was always plagued with back injuries.

This type of pull-up jumper, however, was not the type of jump shot that could not be "touched" entirely. It was because the body was always straightened, so as long as the defender touched Raymond's body, even if it were a simply a light tap, it could be regarded as a foul on the cylinder of the shooter. The NBA has always been very strict in calling for fouls on actions that violated the cylinder of the shooter.

Raymond's hang time in the air was impressive. His point of release was also very high. When the defender committed a foul, the ball in his hands might not have even left his hands. This meant that he had the chance to adjust the power and angle of his shot in midair, making "two-and-one" and "three-and-one" situations possible.

In the past, countless defenders had been beaten by Raymond's pull-up shot. It was not because they were dumb and intentionally gave fouls away, it was because they could not help it. NBA rules on cylinder violation were made that way.

On that, the defender of the Warriors was smart. He knew that defending against this sort of pull-up jumper involved huge movements, so he might even need to intentionally avoid them while defending.

The defender had to avoid the attacker. This might sound a bit funny, but it was an undeniable truth.

This sort of "avoidance" defense could rarely effectively disrupt the opponent. So the moment Raymond released the shot, the Warriors could only pray for Raymond to miss the shot.

While the ball was still in midair, the red buzzer surrounding the basket had already sounded. The number on the timer had become zero, which meant that the game had already ended.

Immediately after that, the basketball flew and hit the rim of the basket.

Oh no, I used too much strength! Raymond's face tightened. As the shooter, he was the first to perceive a problem.

Poom! The basketball hit the top of the small square on the board.

It did not go in! The Warriors players looked delighted and were about to celebrate.

The basketball bounced, however, and entered the basket.

A buzzer-beating three-pointer! It was even a shot that bounced off the board!

The entire Clippers team breathed a sigh of relief. As for the Warriors, whether it was the players or the fans, they looked sad.

"A three-pointer off the board, our luck is rotten!" The head coach of the Warriors lamented with a sigh.

…

"A three-pointer off the board, our luck is good!" Cassel raised both his hands joyously. He wanted to hug Dai Li, but he was pushed away by Dai Li with both hands.

The current Dai Li just sweat out a bunch of cold sweat. If it were not for the good luck provided by the prayer skill, the ball was definitely not going in.

A three-pointer off the board was more difficul than a normal shot off the board. Many players trained to score off the board for normal shots, but if they were to practice shooting three-pointers off the board, it would be torture.

The distance and angle of three-pointers made it so that it was difficult to score off the board. Even a top NBA shooter needed luck to score a three-pointer off the board.

Based on this lucky ball, both sides played to a draw. Now that the game went into overtime, it was like the match was starting all over again.

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Chapter 621: Every Dog Has His Day

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The only thing that could have been worse for the Warriors than a buzzer-beating three-pointer was a buzzer-beating three-pointer off the board. It was demoralizing.

Losing away twice in a row and then being forced into overtime at home was also very demoralizing.

Even though the Warriors had experienced many big moments, when faced with this sort of situation, it was impossible for them not to be a bit sad.

In the surrounding stands, all the fans had already stood up to view the match, but their cheers were not as loud. There had been 48 minutes of intense battle with both teams tieing with each other multiple times and overtaking the other team. It had exhausted the stamina of most fans. The fans were already hoarse from all the cheering. The hawker wandering in between the stands selling beverages had become the busiest person in the stadium.

After a short break, overtime began.

Overtimes lasted only five minutes. If one were to divide it up, each team would get around seven to eight chances to attack, so every offense was extremely important.

Dai Li did not make any tactical arrangements. Now, he could only believe in the judgment of the veterans.

The veterans chose to drive inside with the ball. Even if they were unable to score, they could get a foul and obtain free throws. For superstars who had world-class skills, it was the most stable scoring method.

The Warriors continued implementing their previous tactic. They still emphasized shooting outside the three-point line, which relied heavily on the form of the players. It was the most dangerous scoring method since three-pointers gained one more point that normal shots.

Both sides played against each other for around four rallies, each scoring six points. The Warriors made two three-pointers while the Clippers managed to get four free throws and one layup.

Seeing the veterans driving below the Warriors' basket like a cannonball before twisting and turning their bodies as if they were made of dough while performing their layup, one could become a little teary-eyed.

These old fellows really wanted that championship ring.

Not only Dai Li was touched; the commentators and the fans in front of their televisions were as well.

"Wood collided directly with a paint player. The guard looked for contact with the center, it looks like suicide!"

"Howard still dares to make a layup like that? Is he not afraid of destroying his knees again?"

"This drive, look at how Raymond twisted his body!"

"Vincent, oh, wow, he is flying. Oh my God. Although he forced a foul with this, his fall looks devastating! He's already 39 years old…"

Everyone could feel that these veterans were all putting their lives on the line when they played. Each of their drives and breakthroughs looked as if they had gambled their entire professional careers on them! No matter how much they had to sacrifice, they were going to win.

Crazy. This group is crazy! It's just a game, do they have to do it to this extent? Do they think that they are supermen? If everyone played like this, the insurance company would definitely go bankrupt! Dale thought.

Dale had already won three championships so, for him, the fourth championship would just be a bonus.

It was not only Dale; the other players on the Warriors team also had similar thoughts, especially the starters. They all had championship rings, so they did not think it was necessary for them to put their life on the line to obtain something they already owned.

"These old guys are hot in their head, it's better not to compete with them!"

"They're not afraid of injuries, but I'm still afraid of injuries! The season has almost ended, I have no intention of spending my entire summer in the hospital."

"With the age of these old veterans, they'll retire in a year or two, but my professional career still has a long way to go! They're the barefooted who aren't afraid of me, a person wearing shoes. Forget it, it's better for me to back down a little and show some cowardice!"

"It's the last year of my contract, and I'm still hoping to sign a 100 million dollar contract next year. If I get injured now, my large contract won't happen. No, I have to endure. For the large contract, I have to take care of my health! I'll just be a good boy and shoot three-pointers, that is the safest!"

The thoughts in each of the Warriors' players minds were different, but the prevailing idea was that they were reluctant to battle against the Clippers.

There is a saying: the brave when win two sides meet on a narrow road. In the last two minutes of overtime, it was a really "narrow road." The Warriors, however, could not make themselves "brave."

Evaporation of will!

It was what happened to the Warriors. One minute, they were on fire and the gap in the score was still tight. The next minute, they failed to score in three times in a row.

This the most critical moment in overtime.

For teams that focused on three-pointers, missing three in a row was not an accident, it was common.

In the last two minutes of overtime, missing three times in a row was lethal!

It was due to these three rallies that the Clippers pulled five points in the lead. Two layups and a "two-and-one" from a foul.

The fourth three-point attempt of the Warriors finally went in but the Clippers did not give the Warriors any chance to take a breather. They drove straight into the paint, drawing yet another foul. Immediately after, they made both free throws, pulling their lead to four.

A gap of four points, it was an awkward number. They needed two rounds to either tie it up or to overtake them.

The Warriors pushed forward quickly after the game resumed. They used ten seconds to score a quick two points. After that, they implemented their fouling tactic.

The time of testing the Clippers' free throws had arrived.

The fans continued to be noisy and produced all kinds of noises in order to disrupt the Clippers' free throws.

The Clippers made both their free throws, however, shutting the crowd up.

Like before, the score gap was still four points. The Warriors still needed two attacks to tie the game up, but ten seconds had been wasted.

Now, time did not allow them to quickly gain two points, they had to try for a three-pointer.

Three-pointers in times like these relied not only on ability but on luck as well.

The head coach of the Warriors did not have the Lucky Horseshoe, he did not have the prayer skill or the ability to increase his luck.

The Warriors did not make it one of the most important three-pointers and the Clippers quickly grabbed the rebound and, immediately after that, the Warriors had to foul.

The Clippers were put on the free throw line once again. They scored one out of two. The gap was now five points.

The Warriors called for a timeout. They restarted in the middle of the court. A player grabbed the ball before instantly releasing a three-point shot. This time, the basket counted. The gap was now two points.

The Clippers quickly restarted the game and the Warriors committed another foul. The Clippers were on the free throw line again and made both free throws. The point gap returned to four, but this time there were only 5.5 seconds left.

The Warriors used their last timeout and resumed the game from the middle, trying their best to shoot a three-point shot.

It did not go in and the Clippers grabbed the rebound. The Warriors fouled again, but it no longer had any meaning.

There were only 2.2 seconds left with a four-point gap. There were no timeouts, so they needed to start their attack from the other side of the court. Even if they made the basket, the 2.2 seconds would be used up. Even if they made a three-pointer, the Warriors would still be one point behind.

The Warriors' chances of winning this game were slim.

…

The buzzer signaling the end of the game sounded. The fans had already started to leave.

The series score was now three-zero. The Clippers had only one game left to win. For the Warriors, they might as well say goodbye to playing in the Championship.

In the NBA, there has never been a team that was able to overturn a series where they trailed zero-three. If a team trailed zero-three, they may as well just give up.

In the fourth game, two days later, Dai Li only played his starters for over a dozen minutes, warming them up enough to maintain their form before putting on non-rotational players. It was the equivalent of resting his main players and intentionally throwing the fourth game.

The Warriors played against the waterboys of the Clippers and easily obtained a victory, turning the score of the series to one-three.

Although the Warriors had won, the players were not happy at all. They had been trailing zero-three. Their intention had been to give it their all and overturn things in one go to regain some face, but their great punch would land on soft cotton.

This game did not help the Warriors regain their confidence. They beat the waterboy team. They felt like a six-foot muscular man who had beaten up a child. It would have been humiliating if they had lost, but winning brought them no sense of achievement.

All in all, it was a one-sided battle.

The coaching staff of the Warriors felt depressed. Initially, they had wanted to use the victory to boost the morale of the players. They never would have thought that their opponent did not even plan to face them head-on. Instead, they just put in a dummy team and avoided a fight.

Dai Li treated this strategy as if it were the most natural option. When faced with questions, he answered, "Our players are older, they can't maintain their body in high-intensity physical battles during the playoffs. They needed a rest. You can't expect a bunch of almost 40-year-old veterans to push like young players, can you!?"

Dai Li's reasoning left the journalists speechless. For players of such an age, playing was called "professionalism." Almost everyone who witnessed it would commend it, but if they were to play a few games taking care of their health first, no one could reprimand them for anything.

Respecting your elders and loving the young is a virtue. In the NBA, there was only the respecting of the elders, there was no loving of the young. Young newbies were commonly bullied, but respecting the older veteran players was the politically correct thing to do.

…

It was the fifth game. Both teams had returned to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles was a city with a tradition of winning the championship. This year, however, the team that was going to be in the championship was not the Lakers but the Clippers. The fans were just as passionate. Nearly all of the 20,000 seats in the stadium were filled. There were many Hollywood movie stars who came to witness the moment the Clippers won the Western Conference championship.

The game had not yet started. Dai Li chatted happily with Dingtian Xiao in the VIP seats.

"I never would have thought that U.S. sports made so much money. I played football in China and lost millions in a single year. U.S. basketball nets me over 20 million dollars in profit in a single game!" Dingtian Xiao exclaimed.

Dingtian Football Club losing over 10 billion annually was standard. For Dingtian Group, 10 billion was simply the cost of the development of a few more buildings. It was considered as small as the cost putting up advertisements.

Back when Dingtian Group bought the Clippers, they did not intend to make huge profits. As long as they did not lose too much money they would be fine. Contrary, however, to Dingtian Xiao's expectations, doing business in the sports industry of the U.S. made a lot of money.

The average price of a ticket for this game had already surpassed a thousand dollars. It was a new record price for the Western Conference final. Based on the number of seats in the Staples Center, which was 20,000, the revenue from tickets alone would reach 20 million dollars.

One game had already produced the salary of a star player for a year.

Ticket prices in Los Angeles were already high. For the grand final, the ticket price in Los Angeles could exceed 2,500 dollars.

Dai Li smiled and said, "The commercialization of sports in the U.S. is certainly something that other countries cannot compare with."

"It's regrettable that this stadium does not belong to us." Dingtian Xiao let out a long sigh and looked towards the surrounding stands.

Dingtian Xiao was a developer himself and Dingtian Group was ranked in the top 200 of the Global Fortune 500 Companies. The stadium was not his, so it made Dingtian Xiao feel bad.

After a lifetime of developing properties, he had to rent someone else's stadium. How could he bare it!

Dingtian Xiao then lowered his voice and said, "I plan to build a new stadium and make it ours. If you win the NBA championship this year, there will definitely be no problem getting a new stadium aprroved by the board."

There were 30 teams in the NBA and 29 stadiums in total. The Lakers and the Clippers shared the Staples Center.

Among these 29 stadiums, only seven and a half teams really owned their own home stadium. The Palace of Auburn Hillswas owned by Pistons, the Verizon Center by the Wizards, the Air Canada Centre by the Raptors, the Barclays Center by the Nets, the Moda Center by the Trailblazers, the Pepsi Center by the Nuggets, and the Vivint Smart Home Arena by the Jazz. Apart from that, the owner of the Bulls owned 50% shares of the United Center, so the Bulls were considered to own half a stadium.

The rest of the teams rented their stadiums. For example, the Toyota Center, of the Houston team that Chinese fans were more familiar with, belonged to the Houston Sports Bureau.

"It would cost quite a bit to build a stadium, no?" Dai Li asked subconsciously.

"I plan to pay this much." Dingtian Xiao raised one finger.

Did he mean 100 million dollars? He couldn't build an NBA basketball stadium in Los Angeles with that little money.

10 billion dollars? Dingtian Group couldn't furnish that much money and one did not need that much money to build a stadium.

That hand gesture surely meant one billion dollars!

One billion dollars to build a stadium. It was definitely going to be a high-quality stadium.

Current NBA stadiums had been built in the previous century. Earlier stadiums like the Bradley Center and the Palace of Auburn Hills had been built in 1988. The building cost back then had lost its value of being a reliable reference.

After 2010, a total of three stadiums were built and used in the NBA: the Amway Center, which started operations in 2010, cost a total of 480 million dollars; the Brooklyn Barclays Center, which opened in 2012, cost a total of one billion dollars; the Sacramento Golden One Center, which was completed in 2016, cost 558 million dollars.

Apart from that, the new stadium of the Warriors, which was built in California, was also said to have cost one billion in investment.

Barclays Center was located in New York, so the rent was higher, resulting in a total development cost of one billion dollars. The rent in California was also very high, so the cost of the Warriors' new stadium was also extremely high.

Land in Los Angeles also cost a lot. To build a new stadium in Los Angeles, one had to at least spend seven to eight hundred million dollars. If one were to spend more than one billion dollars, it would be a fantastic stadium.

As for whether one could recoup his or her investment, Dai Li did not really worry much. When it came to being a coach, Dai Li believed himself to be world-class. When it came to real estate developments, Dingtian Xiao was world-class. Since Dingtian Xiao was willing to spend one billion dollars to build a stadium, it must mean that there were ways to benefit from it.

…

Amidst the audience, many were not fans of the Clippers. They were there purely to witness the birth of a new Western Conference champion. Of course, there were also people there to witness the Warriors getting eliminated.

The Warriors had made it to the championship four years in a row and had won three of them. This was the first time the Warriors failed to enter the grand final in five years, so it was definitely worth witnessing.

Many fans also realized that it was perhaps the last game for the current Warriors team lineup.

Among the Warriors players, some of them were in the last year of their contract. Some hoped for a new, huge contract. There were also those who lowered their salary in order to win the championship. There were even people who were heading towards the last year of their contracts If they won the championship, it would not be a problem for players to lower their salary and renew their contracts. If they did not win, or even make it to the final, then it was highly likely the Warriors lineup would dissolve in the next year.

So, after the Warriors lost this game, it was highly likely their players would each go their separate ways next season.

If the fans had realized, how could professional coaches and players not?

Some of the starters of the Warriors came into this game thinking that their futures were in doubt. Their minds were not on whether they won or lost in the game, they were thinking things like "I must look for a top salary next season" or "I should go to that team next season."

The minds of the players were already scattered and it became even more difficult for them to win the game.

…

During the game, the Clippers and the Warriors played competitively. Both sides executed brilliant plays and scored amazing shots. To basketball experts, however, the game did not reach the expected intensity level of a Western Conference final.

Even during the last moment, when the Warriors lost the game, nobody could detect the sadness of being eliminated on the face of the Warriors players. They just seemed a little disappointed. Some players even looked as if a huge burden had just been lifted off their shoulders.

Perhaps, for the Warriors players, the championship was also a kind of pressure. As the saying goes, it is always lonely at the top! Now that they did not make it to the championship, it seemed like the heavy burden on their shoulders was gone.

The Clippers defeated the Warriors with a final score of four-one. They were now one step away from the winning the championship.

On the other side of the league, the Eastern Conference final was still underway.

Unlike Dai Li had expected, the final Eastern Conference champions were the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks were a team with a long history. They were the NBA champions in 1971 but, since 2000, the overall strength of the Bucks had been going downhill. It was only in the past two years that they returned to being a strong team in the Eastern Conference.

Even if this were the case before the playoffs began, not many people favored the Bucks. Regardless, under the leadership of the Bucks' core player, "Mr. Alphabet," they overcame all kinds of obstacles and made it into the championship.

One could say with a fair amount of confidence that no one expected the Clippers to face the Bucks in the championship.

The second day after the Eastern Conference final, the Clippers flew on a plane that headed towards Milwaukee.

The first two games of the grand final were at the home of the Bucks because the Bucks had done better than the Clippers during the regular season.

This did not mean that the Bucks were stronger than the Clippers. The main reason was that the competition in the Western Conference this season was fiercer.

The Western Conference this season had been pure chaos, especially in the first half of the regular season. Around seven or eight teams took turns occupying the first place of the Western Conference. A team that was placed first one day would drop out of the playoff positions the next if they lost just a game. The chaotic situation made it so that the average results of a Western Conference team to be poorer than usual.

The competition in the Eastern Conference had not been as fierce. Like in previous years, the first five to six teams going to the playoffs were confirmed very early. The other teams with a win rate of below 50% fought for the remaining spots. The teams that were worse began tanking in the beginning of the season and became teams that handed out wins for free

As such, the top three teams in the Eastern Conference actually had a better result than the Western Conference teams.

…

It was the first game in the Championship. Unwittingly, the Clippers had a double-digit lead.

The Bucks did not make any mistakes. They executed their tactics well and their field goal percentage was not bad either, but they were just behind when it came to points.

It was a difference in strength!

Their lineup was slightly weaker and they had a little bit less experience. When put on the stage of the Championship, this sort of difference turned into a difference in points. It was a kind point-gap that they had no way of reducing.

In truth, they had already done quite well, but they still had to lose. The Bucks had no way of dealing with this.

On the bench beside the court, Dai Li looked casual and relaxed while he chatted away casually with the assistant coach, Cassel.

"That kid is pretty good!" Dai Li pointed at the core player of the Bucks. The guy, who had a very long name, was called "Mr. Alphabet." Dai Li could not pronounce his name.

Dai Li's detector showed that this young man, who was only 24 years old, had an S talent potential. It was very likely he would be the next conqueror of the league. His season average was 26 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, so his stats were unquestionable.

Dai Li said, "Such a talented kid should not stay in Milwaukee, he should head to a bigger city to grow."

"Are you planning on bringing him over?" Cassel asked cautiously.

Dai Li did not answer, so Cassel continued, "He still has two years on his contract, but I'm afraid it will be hard for us to get him to Los Angeles. In his interview, he said that he is willing to stay in Milwaukee his entire career."

"He said that because he hasn't experienced enough defeats! He's still young right now and feels that he has a long road ahead of him. The Championship doesn't feel as urgent to him yet. Wait until he has experienced repeated failures and many despairs. When he realizes that he will never ever win the Championship if he stays in Milwaukee, he will change his mind," Dai Li said.

"That's true. Milwaukee is a small market. It's hard for them to attract big stars to join them. With how things are in the NBA now, if you don't have enough stars, you won't become a champion," Cassel answered honestly.

Milwaukee was not exactly a small city, it had around two million poeople and it was ranked in the upper rankings among the many cities in the U.S.

In terms of basketball, however, Milwaukee was a tiny market.

The people of the city loved baseball more than basketball. The Milwaukee Brewers were a team that lost more than they won for many years in a row, staying at the bottom of the ranking. In Milwaukee, however, the Brewers was more popular than the Bucks.

Then, Dai Li said, "After the season ends, I am going to resign from my post of head coach."

"What?" Cassel swayed his body to the side and looked at Dai Li in disbelief.

"It's the Olympics next year, so it's impossible for me to continue focusing on the team." Dai Li spread his hands and continued, "I plan to make a suggestion to the management team and ask for you to take up the post of the head coach. After all, you've been in charge of the tactics of the team for the past two years. Next season, I will only be responsible for physical fitness training."

"You're letting me be the head coach!" Cassel opened his mouth wide. He never would have imagined that he would receive such a piece of surprisingly good news in a place like this.

Every assistant coach dreamed of becoming a head coach, and Cassel was no different.

Dai Li was leaving Cassel a team that had won a championship.

Cassel realized that, after many years of suffering as an underling, his day had finally come. He was going to have his chance to shine.

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Chapter 622: The Man God Has Forsaken

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Los Angeles Staples Center.

It was the fourth game of the Championship. The Clippers had won the previous three matches and led the Bucks by a dominating score of three-zero. The fourth game was at home for the Clippers so the win was all but guaranteed.

As the buzzer signaled the end of the game, all of the Clippers players rushed onto the court and hugged each other. The few veterans on the team had started bawling their eyes out a long time ago.

To these veterans, returning to the court had been a miracle. This had filled the void of regret that had haunted each of them for so long.

The camera shot straight at these veterans. Their expressions touched the heart of every fan, not only in the stadium, but also those watching on television.

These fans had been rooting for these old stars since they had been children. Every year, these fans hoped that these people that they supported would win a championship. Still, many retired without ever winning one.

That day not only fulfilled these veteran players' dreams, but it also fulfilled the childhood dreams of many fans.

Dai Li, who was on the sideline, was also touched. He felt more reluctant to leave basketball behind.

After this game ended, he would resign and leave his post as the head coach of the Clippers. He would return to his physical fitness training centers.

There would be another Olympics next year, so the physical fitness training centers would be busy.

…

As news of Dai Li's resignation head coach got out, it attracted a considerable amount of attention instantaneously.

After all, the Clippers had just won the championship. A head coach in the NBA had never left a team after winning a championship.

If they had been any other team, it would certainly cause a lot of speculation. There might even be conspiracy theories that developed.

The Clippers were different. Everyone knew that Dai Li was the son-in-law of the team's boss so he was likely to be the future boss. Of course, there were no conspiracy theories. It was their family business, why shouldn't they come and go as they pleased?

Many people felt that Dai Li had achieved his objective of conquering the NBA after winning the Championship, so he simply quit.

Cassel was promoted to the head coach role and fully inherited the work of handling the Clippers. Everything proceeded smoothly.

That was the benefit of internal promotions. Everyone was originally from the same team, so everyone was familiar with each other. The work was easier. If they had hired a new coach from external sources, it would take at least a month for the new coach to integrate with the team. Cassel had always been the deputy and the second-in-command of the coaching staff, so he was already very familiar with the job of coaching.

Initially, Dai Li thought that after handing over his work to Cassel he would have nothing left to do. He never would have thought that by late June, Cassel would once again invite Dai Li to New York.

Madison Square Garden.

A new season of the NBA draft had started.

"Coach, your instincts are great when it comes to drafting new players. Without you here I could not feel confident," Cassel said charmingly.

Dai Li was speechless. He used the detector on the rookies participating in the draft for the team.

"This batch of rookies are quite decent. The players with a lot of potential are all concentrated in the lottery area, so the Clippers will not be able to get them."

Dai Li sighed in disappointment. Players with exceptional talent had long been targeted by other people. These players would be taken during the lottery phase. The Clippers had the 28th pick, so they had no chance of getting a rookie with exceptional talent.

"The 28th pick. It would be good to get a passable rotational player. Getting a star player with the 28th pick was like winning the lottery."

Dai Li had no hope in the first round. As for the rookies in the second round, they did not have any exceptional talent.

Of course, many players who were on the roster would not turn up to the event, so Dai Li had no way of using the detector on them to measure their talent.

This is what scouts were for. Every team had a fair evaluation of the rookies. The exceptionally talented rookies had long since been booked. They were taken during the lottery phase.

The CEO of the NBA announced the 14th picked player. Dai Li shook his head in resignation. As expected, the players that Dai Li fancied did not make it out of the lottery phase. It looked like there was no hope for the Clippers to pick up leftover gems.

On the stage, the CEO produced a piece of paper from his pocket.

"What's going on? Did the 15th team already finish choosing? That fast? That's not right, even if the team has chosen, the CEO wouldn't have the results in his pocket!"

Dai Li was still deliberating when he heard the CEO announce, "The 14th pick of the NBA is Saya Austin!"

What? Another 14th pick? The NBA chose? What's going on here? Dai Li became even more confused.

The big screen showed a picture of a player. At the same time, a big man wearing a suit walked on stage. This person was the player shown on the big screen; however, this person looked a little weird. His facial features seemed a little distorted. His left eye was bigger than the other. His right eye looked as if it could not be opened.

"Who is this guy? What's going on here?" Dai Li asked Cassel.

"Coach, you really don't pay attention to high school or college basketball, do you?!" Cassel smiled gently. He then began to explain what was happening. "His name is Saya Austin. He's from Baylor University. He's seven feet and one inch, a center. Do you feel that there's something off about him?"

Dai Li nodded. Cassel said, "He has a disease, Marfan syndrome!"

Dai Li nodded in realization.

Marfan syndrome, also called Spider Fingers, was a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. The disorder made it so that the one inflicted with the disorder experiences congenital mesoderm dysplasia. Symptoms of the disorder include having uneven length and width of the limbs, fingers, and toes, and an unordinary height. These were accompanied by vascular system abnormality, particularly a combination of heart valve abnormality and aortic aneurysm.

Throughout history, many basketball and volleyball players were found to have been inflicted with this syndrome. Most of them died from an aortic aneurysm, pericardial tamponade, the incomplete closing of the aortic valve, an mitral valve prolapse, which occurs when in the heart to weaken myocardium.

Cassel continued, "When Austin was 12 years old, his right eye became blind after being hit by a baseball. He currently has a fake eyeball in his right eye socket."

"No wonder one of his eyes is bigger than the other one. He lost an eye, surely it will affect his shooting! His turning from the right will also be greatly limited," Dai Li commented.

"That is the case; however, it never stopped him from chasing his basketball dream. He was hard-working. In high school, Austin was one of the top three high school students in the U.S. At Baylor University, he managed to average 13-8 in his first season. Back then, there were even draft pick websites that predicted him as the second pick," Cassel said.

Dai Li nodded in silence. For a center to get a 13-8 in his freshman year was indeed amazing. Exceptionally huge centers always had higher draft positions. This could be seen from the drafts of previous years.

Teams with the first pick always prioritized choosing a top center. The strongest basketball players might only be the third pick in the diamond generation because the first pick of those years was naturally a center. From 2001 to 2010, seven of the first picks had been centers.

A huge center who could get a 13-8 on the NCAA stage certainly had the pedigree to be a top three pick in the draft.

Cassel said, "Last year, Austin did not take part in the draft and, this year, he chose to participate. During the medical checkup, he was found to be inflicted with Marfan syndrome. This meant the end of his professional basketball career. To be an eye down as well as have Marfan syndrome, he has definitely been forsaken by God!

"He did not give up. He still wants to play. Although the doctors have already provided reports that allows him to play, I don't think any team will choose him. No team would select a player with the Marfan syndrome. Perhaps his inspirational story will help him get a job in a lower-tier league overseas."

"What a waste, what a waste." Dai Li could not help but lament.

The reason Dai Li sighed was that he detected that Austin had a grade A basketball talent potential. This meant that it was possible for him to grow into a star player. He was a seven-foot one-inch star center. His value was much higher than forwards and guards at the same level. His disease made all of this meaningless.

It's unfortunate that my athlete's patch can't treat diseases. It's not like he's missing an arm or a leg…

Dai Li lowered his head and deliberated for a while before opening his mouth to ask, "Do you think that his body can adapt to the physicality of the NBA?"

Cassel thought for a moment before answering. "He is a little bit light, so when it comes to physical battles, he is definitely at a disadvantage. He's 225 pounds, which is considered passable in the NBA. His leaping ability and wingspan are top-tier. His rebounding ability and awareness are also amazing. What is most important is the way he shoots, he has the ability to make three-point shots."

"Sounds like he is suitable in a high post and pivot position." Dai Li furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. He then said, "With his talent, it's too much of a waste to not let him play basketball. I will let him train with me at my physical fitness training center for a few months. I want to observe him. If he can satisfy my requirements, give him a two-way contract! This is a young man with a dream. If possible, I would like to help him realize his dream!"

…

Austin knew what receiving a training invitation from Dai Li meant.

Although it was not a training trial with the Clippers, Austin knew that this was his way of getting into the NBA. If he could get the recognition of Dai Li, he would have a chance to play in the NBA.

For Austin, even if he did not play in the NBA but played in the NBA development league, he would be fine. The development league took in many rookies who did not make the cut or those who had lower draft positions. If Austin played in the development league, he would at least have the same starting position as the other rookies who did not make the cut and the lower draft positioned rookies.

For a person inflicted with Marfan syndrome, it was a very rare opportunity just to be able to compete against normal people.

When Austin read through the training plan that Dai Li drafted, however, he could not help being slightly confused.

"Coach Li, this training plan has an hour for a nap every day? What does this mean?" Austin asked.

"It means to go to sleep after lunch," Dai Li explained.

Americans did not normally nap in the afternoon. In the afternoon, if there were time to rest, they would definitely rather get a coffee than find a place to rest. So Austin did not understand the meaning of napping in the afternoon.

Dai Li explained, "An afternoon nap is beneficial for the body. German scientists have relevant research findings. They believe that naps are part of the natural sleeping cycle. In my opinion, naps can not only reduce fatigue, but also protect the heart. I believe that it would be beneficial in your current situation."

The most lethal characteristic of Marfan syndrome was the pathological changes of the aortic valve, especially aortic aneurysms. Aortic aneurysms were the most common cause of death of Marfan syndromes. As such, Dai Li stating that naps could protect the heart really did correspond with Austin's situation.

Although Austin did not think that Dai Li's reasoning was reliable, he needed to ensure his coach was satisfied, so he nodded in agreement.

If an hour of napping was required to get into the NBA, would nap for an hour!

…

Patients with Marfan syndrome had no problems participating in sports as long as there were no pathological changes to their hearts. Austin had received approval from the doctors allowing him to play basketball.

As such, Austin's training plans were designed based on the standards of normal humans.

After lunch, Austin followed Dai Li's plan and lied down in the lounge. He then started his nap.

To make Austin fall asleep faster, Dai Li intentionally added rice into his lunch menu; he also prohibited Austin from drinking coffee.

Ingesting carbohydrates increased the blood glucose level, making it easier for a person to feel sleepy. Westerners rarely ingested a large number of carbohydrates during their lunch, so they did not feel sleepy in the afternoon.

He prohibited coffee to stop it from stimulating his nervous system. Countries in Europe where people get off work around three or four in the afternoon start work immediately after lunch to ensure their work efficiency in the afternoon. After lunch, they must drink a cup of coffee. They liked to enjoy a cup of strong coffee in the afternoon so that they remained energetic the entire afternoon.

After eating rice without any coffee in his system, Austin definitely felt sleepy. The training in the morning had also exhausted him. Before long, he fell asleep.

At the same time, Dai Li used the Dream Creator Top and initiated dream training.

Although Austin had grade A basketball talent, he was not a healthy person. As such, it was impossible for him to have an explosive and powerful body like the other NBA players.

At 7'1″, 225 pounds, he was certainly a little thin. His body was definitely at a disadvantage in the paint; however, Dai Li did not plan to increase Austin's weight because Austin had Marfan syndrome. The most lethal aspect of Marfan syndrome was pathological changes in the heart. If he increased his weight, the pressure on his heart would also increase. It might induce heart-related complications. For Austin's safety, Dai Li wanted him to maintain his current weight.

Since basketball could not strengthen his body, the only focus left were technical skills and match experience.

Training technical skills took time while as did accumulating match experience. As such, Dai Li chose to use the Dream Creator Top. This would allow Austin to gain skills and experience in his dream.

…

Austin had a dream. He dreamed that he had become part of the Clippers and he appeared in an NBA match.

Austin had really wanted to play in the NBA. Now, he was really dreaming about it.

He was thoroughly beaten. He was blocked, his ball was stolen, he was tricked into fouling, lost his man in defense…

In just a few minutes, Austin committed six fouls and was forced to leave the court.

Although it was just a dream, Austin was still very frustrated.

The scene in front of Austin changed. He stood on the court again. He was once again in the NBA, the league he dreamed about. A new match was about to begin.

Once again he was blocked, had his ball stolen, was tricked into fouling, lost his man in defense, and was forced to leave after six fouls. Austin experienced it all over again.

In the next second, the scene in front of Austin changed yet again and another game started. The same happened again.

A newbie had appeared on the court of the NBA. This sort of performance was normal.

After numerous attempts, Austin started to score and there were times he defended successfully. He was not as easily tricked into fouling and he was not forced off the court due to six fouls in the first quarter.

Austin himself did not know just how many games he had played or how many times he was forced off the court after six fouls. A bell rang and he instantly opened his eyes and found that he was resting in the lounge. He remembered that he was following Dai Li's instructions and was taking a nap.

I had a very weird dream. I dreamed that I went and played in the NBA. I was thoroughly beaten. After returning to reality, Austin shook his head and stood up to prepare for training in the afternoon.

That night, Austin had another dream. He dreamed he was standing on the training ground practicing his footwork under the basket.

That night, he slept for seven hours. In his dream, he practiced his footwork under the basket for an entire 70 hours.

The second night, Austin practiced his hook shot for 70 hours.

The third night, Austin played in NBA games for 70 hours.

In the NBA, a common bench player had less than 30 minutes of game time. Based on a calculation of 82 games per season, a player could play around 40 hours per season.

With Austin's nap and nightly sleep, he could play 80 hours in his dream. It was the equivalent of two seasons for a normal bench player of the NBA.

One day was equal to two seasons. Five days equaled ten seasons. To continuously play ten days of games, Austin's cumulated match experience was comparable to a veteran whose professional career spanned for two decades.

Even if one were to look throughout NBA history, there weren't many whose basketball career spanned for 20 years.

…

Austin suddenly felt tired. It was not fatigue of the flesh, but fatigue of the mind.

Every time he slept, he would have weird dreams. For example, he would be doing all kinds of training or playing in the NBA, suffering from the punishment dished out by the NBA superstars.

Austin did indeed want to play basketball in his dreams, but he actually did it every time he dreamed. It was certainly quite frustrating as well.

He even complained to his doctor during his medical re-examination. The doctor said that he was feeling too stressed or that he wanted to play basketball too much, which was why he had those dreams.

Austin had no solution. One had to sleep after all. To be able to face off against those NBA superstars in his dream was still quite an exhilarating experience.

…

New York. NBA headquarters.

"Mr. President, we've just received a notice from the Clippers. They want to give Saya Austin a two-way contract," the secretary said, handing over a document to the NBA president, Adams.

"Austin. That's the kid who lost an eye and has Marfan syndrome!" Adams nodded. He remembered the draft a few months ago. He chose Austin using the NBA as a charitable move.

"This kid's story is inspirational. Although God has forsaken him, he did not give up on himself and continued to work hard. If a team is willing to give him a two-way contract, it's a good thing." Adams put down the documents in his hand and continued, "I really hope the other teams can imitate the Clippers and are not always so cautious in spending a few hundred million dollars. They should be more charitable so that the NBA has a better reputation, it's also helpful for promoting the NBA!"

Just as Adams said, everyone thought that the Clippers signing on Austin was simply charity.

A Marfan syndrome patient couldn't play in the NBA. He might not even make it in the development league. Spending money on signing him must be charity.

…

Before Marcus was injured, he was the number one center in the NBA. He had the standard body of a center. He had a strong physique, nimble footwork, exceptional leaping ability, as well as amazing technical skills. He was chosen as an All-Star multiple times and joined the U.S. national team. He won the gold medal in the Olympics.

At the end of the season two years ago, Marcus tore his left Achilles tendon. He missed the remaining games of the season and the entire season after that to rehabilitate.

Now, Marcus had finally recovered from his injury and the new season approached.

Marcus felt that after not playing for more than a year, his form and touch would be out of place. As such, he decided to play a few low-intensity games first to recover his form and touch.

Marcus requested to be put in the development league. He wanted to find his form and touch by dishing out punishment to the newbies in the development league.

The first opponent Marcus faced in the development league was the Ontario Clippers, the sub-team of the Los Angeles Clippers in the development league.

Marcus was unfamiliar with his opponent. He did not even know their names.

Of course, before Marcus came to the development league, he did not even know the name of his own teammates.

The number one center of the NBA and a starter of the All-Star lineup, why would he follow the happenings of the development league?!

Marcus knew that he was in the development league to crush weaklings, that was all he thought he needed to know.

Before the game, the coach specifically called Marcus to the side.

"Marcus, our opponent in your contraposition is Saya Austin. You have to pay special attention to him," the coach said.

"Pay special attention? Is he really good? Relax, I'll destroy him," Marcus said with a smirk. To him, no matter how great a development league player was, he was a weakling.

"No no no, you misunderstand, this Austin is a rookie who failed to get signed during the draft. He has Marfan syndrome," the coach explained.

"Now that you mention it, I remember. He's the cripple who is blind in one eye and has a disease! I saw his story on the news. A poor fellow forsaken by God. Alright, seeing that he's so pitiful, I'll take it easy on him. I won't bully a cripple," Marcus said.

"That's what I mean." The coach paused and continued, "Also, if it is possible, let him score two points. It's difficult enough for this kid to get on the court, we have to be sympathetic to him."

"Understood. I will give him opportunities to score. It'll be charity!" Marcus smiled and said, "I will get him a jersey which I signed, he'll definitely love it."

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Chapter 623: A Disabled Person Has to be Strong

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Marcus stood on the court. He was determined to do charity work.

He looked at the big guy wearing sports goggles standing beside him and guessed that he was the disabled person, Austin.

One of Austin's eyes was fake so, when he participated in sports activities, he would wear sports goggles as protection.

For Austin, playing on the court, even if it were just in the development league, was an extremely precious opportunity.

Austin really appreciated this moment. He seemed solemn. In truth, as someone with Marfan syndrome, he had to treat every game as the last of his professional career.

A shot was missed. Austin put his life on the line to get the offensive rebound. It was the first time he received the ball.

The one defending him, Marcus, hesitated for a moment and raised both his hands. He did not try to block him and allowed Austin to complete his layup and score.

The audience in the stadium immediately erupted into a roaring cheer for Austin. A disabled person had scored a basket! It was inspirational and deserved to be cheered on by the people.

Yup, I'm here to do charity, Marcus thought. He did not mind this basket. On the contrary, he felt good, as if he had just given some money to a beggar.

In the next attack, Austin received the ball in a high post position. Marcus did not immediately follow up on defense, so Austin shot directly and scored another two points.

A disabled person's life must not be easy. I'll let you score another two points, Marcus thought.

…

After a minute, Austin received an alley-oop assist from his teammate and scored with a slam dunk. He had already scored six points.

I've already given him six points. That's enough charity work for now. I better start defending seriously on the next attack, Marcus told himself.

In truth, these three baskets had been the result of Marcus' negligence on defense. The once number one center in the NBA did not take Austin seriously at all. Marcus thought that there was no way a disabled person like him could actually beat him!

What Marcus did not know was that these three baskets had given Austin confidence!

I'm actually that great! I can score against the number one center in the NBA! I've scored six points, it's like I'm dreaming!

That's not right. In my dream, I really did play against Marcus. It feels like dream Marcus and the real Marcus are the same.

Austin was more confident now. He felt that he had the ability to compete against Marcus.

Austin received the next ball low post and played one-on-one against Marcus.

After a feint, a turnaround, another feint, and then a turn, Austin used dreamlike footwork to lose Marcus. He then made a slam dunk with one hand.

The stands suddenly erupted. A seven-foot one-inch tall man had taken such deft and nimble footsteps. He had shaken off the number one center in the NBA!

This was incredible because he was a disabled person!

Austin stared blankly after scoring the basket. He suddenly felt that the number one center in the NBA was not that hard to deal with.

In truth, Austin had trained in that set of footwork for 500 hours in his dream. After that, through over a thousand hours of game time, it had synergized. Austin had already mastered the set of footwork.

Marcus' face turned grim. He had been beaten by a disabled person in a one-on-one faceoff. He felt like he was being ridiculed.

Scoring three baskets should be good enough. I never would have thought that you would become bolder as a result. A chilling light flashed in Marcus' eyes. He decided to put Austin back into his place

The ball fell into Marcus' hands. He chose to play against him with his back to the basket, he wanted to force a dunk over the head of Austin.

In terms of physique, Marcus was definitely much stronger than Austin. He would not have become the number one center of the NBA if he wasn't. Austin also had Marfan syndrome, so he could not pursue a higher bodyweight.

Marcus held the ball in place and forced his way inside the paint with Austin having absolutely no way to defend against Marcus' strength. He could only continuously retreat.

Then, Marcus leaned into Austin before turning around.

It was at that moment that Austin suddenly loosened up, making Marcus suddenly lose balance.

Marcus was, of course, not an amateur. He instantly balanced his body and adjusted to a suitable offensive rhythm. Then, he directly went towards the basket.

Austin's hands, however, had also extended towards him at that moment. The hands scooped upwards and sliced the ball directly into the air. The timing of the steal was perfect and the movements were extremely precise.

Austin had pulled off a successful defense. From the point of view of an expert, it was a textbook low-post defense method for the weak against the strong.

Marcus became angry.

To be beaten by a disabled person on both offense and defense was totally humiliating!

Marcus, angry after being humiliated, decided to give his all. He no longer cared if his opponent was a disabled person or not. He didn't even care if his opponent had functioning limbs, he would no longer take it easy on him!

After a few to-and-fros on offense and defense, however, Marcus discovered that he simply could not gain any advantage.

Although Austin was inferior to him in terms of physique, his skills and techniques were solid. More importantly, his performance was definitely not that of a newbie. His play felt more like that of a veteran with decades of experience in the NBA.

Marcus even vaguely felt that the disabled guy had more game experience than he did.

Over the past few months, the length of time Austin played games in his dream was the equivalent to 30 seasons for a normal NBA player. He had gained 30 seasons of experience.

Was there anyone in the NBA who had played 30 seasons?

Certainly not.

The newbie Austin, however, actually had 30 seasons of match experience. Any rookie who was suddenly given 30 seasons of experience in the span of a few months would have been able to perform similarly to how Austin was performing.

In this match, Austin played for 20 minutes. He scored 15 points and got eight rebounds. He was headed towards a double-double. More importantly, was playing against the once best center in the NBA, Marcus.

In comparison, Marcus managed 28 points and 15 rebounds, a wonderful double-double performance. This was much more outstanding than Austin's performance; however, Marcus had played the whole 39 minutes of the game.

Marcus definitely could not be happy about that.

…

During the press conference after the game, Marcus faced the reporters and journalists with a sad face.

A 28-15 performance was considered very good, but Marcus thought it was not enough. Before his injury, he had been the best center of the NBA, so Marcus thought that, upon moving down to the development league, he should at least achieve a 30-20.

More importantly, the disabled person who played against him managed a 15-8. Although it was only half his own statistic, the guy had played a lot less! If they had both played 40 minutes, Austin's stats would not be worse than Marcus'.

It wouldn't be as bad if he didn't have to compare himself to Austin!

As such, Marcus felt that he had just received 10,000 points of damage.

I am the number one center in the NBA! I got the same stats as a disabled person. This is too humiliating! If news about this game gets out, everyone will think that I can't even handle a disabled person!

For Marcus, even to have been slightly better than Austin would have been a loss. If Marcus had utterly destroyed Austin the entire match, it wouldn't even be worth being happy about. The number one center in the NBA beating a disabled person would have been nothing to be proud of!

…

A 15-8. This statistic was not considered special in the development league. Many players who were not good enough to play in the NBA could easily get a double-double in the development league.

To obtain this statistic while faced against Marcus, however, was definitely worth noting. Even in the NBA, the number of centers who could manage this statistic while faced against Marcus was small.

Due to his excellent performance in this game, Austin obtained more game time. As a result, Austin's stats also greatly improved.

In the next five development league games, Austin managed to get double-doubles of 25-15.

Austin's skills were more than enough to handle games in the development league. The experience he had accumulated in the 30 seasons in his dream was something that the other players did not possess.

The NBA development league players had very low salaries. A player who was determined to remain in the development league had to work part-time elsewhere to get by.

Upon finding out that they did not have the chance to play in the NBA after playing in the development league for one or two years, young athletes would choose to play overseas, in the basketball leagues of countries like China, Turkey, or Israel. The salaries of foreign players were decent. Worse comes to worst, they could go to the Philippines, the pay would still be higher than in the development league.

The development league was mostly filled with newbies who lacked experience, any player with experience would have long been gone.

In an environment like this, Austin, who had over 30 seasons of match experience, stood out instantly.

After two months, Austin finally got the chance to play in the NBA.

Austin signed a two-way contract, which meant that he could play for 45 days with the Los Angeles Clippers every season.

…

The training ground of the Clippers.

Austin had already started to train with the other players on the Clippers.

On the side of the court, the Clippers general manager, Johnson, stood beside Dai Li while talking about Austin.

"Coach Li, your foresight into players is really great. After looking at him train, I can confirm that this kid can play in the NBA. He is really hard-working!" Johnson's eyes followed Austin tightly, as if he was looking at a money tree.

"He lost an eye when he was young and he also has Marfan syndrome. He was already behind before he even began the race of life. He had to put in more effort than normal people just to keep playing. The NBA, however, is never in short supply for players who work hard."

"He is also greatly talented. It's so unfortunate. If he were not inflicted with Marfan syndrome, perhaps he could grow to become a great player," Johnson lamented.

"As long as he stands on an NBA court, he is a great player." Dai Li changed his tone and asked, "Do you really plan to play him in the great Christmas battle?"

"Yes! That's live across America!" Johnson implied with a look that he had just found a cave of treasure. He then said, "A disabled youth who makes it to the NBA stage after years of hard work, reaching his dream. It's an inspirational story, could be made into a movie. I've already ordered 100,000 jerseys of his, as well as various souvenirs…"

Johnson kept talking about his multitude of strategies for making money. Dai Li just shook his head in resignation.

For Johnson, the inspirational Austin was definitely a money tree.

…

It was Christmas. The Lakers were playing the Clippers. It was a derby and, what's more, it was a national broadcast throughout the U.S.!

Austin sat on the bench with a confused expression, looking as if he had not yet understood his situation.

It was not his first time in the Staples Center and it was not his first time live at an NBA game. This time, however, it was different. He walked in through the players' tunnel! This time, he sat on the bench and he wore a jersey with his name printed on it!

"NBA. I'm finally here!"

Austin could hardly contain the glint of tears that appeared in his eyes.

He had lost his right eye and gotten Marfan syndrome. Austin, the man who was forsaken by God, kept getting up again and continuing to challenge his fate.

Today, he finally got his wish and was there. For the Christmas season, he received the best Christmas present.

Austin still remembered when he was just 12. He had lost his right eye and his coach had advised him to give up basketball.

Austin, however, did not give in to his fate. He loved basketball and he challenged fate.

To remain on the basketball court, he worked harder than any normal person.

He did not have his right eye so, when he shot, as long as his opponents blocked his left vision, he would not be able to see the basket.

He did not have his right eye so, when defending in the paint, his opponents only needed to defend against his attacks from the left.

Therefore, on the court, Austin was always targeted.

To continue playing, Austin worked hard to train his right-sided attacks. He could not see with his right eye, so he could only attack based on his instincts and feeling. It was the same as making a layup with his eyes closed.

He sacrificed a lot, more than people could imagine and he finally achieved success. He became one of the top three high school players in the U.S. and attracted the attention of various NBA scouts. Draft prediction websites predicted that he would be in the top three of the draft.

Fate, however, played another joke on him. He was found to be inflicted with Marfan syndrome!

It was like a death sentence on an athletic career.

Once again, he chose to challenge fate!

Now, he had succeeded again.

…

Finally, in the second half of the second quarter, Austin was sent on to the court.

At that moment, the entire stadium stood up and began applauding and cheering for him. It was just as Dai Li had said, as long as Austin could stand on the court, he was a great player.

On the court, his teammates gave Austin encouraging gazes. As for Austin's opponents, their eyes were filled with complicated emotions.

A player who had been forsaken by fate stood before their eyes. An opponent like that had to rock one's heart!

He received the ball, turned around, shot a hook shot, and scored. Austin succeeded in scoring his first NBA basket.

It was also at that moment that the camera captured the tears in Austin's eyes, albeit only his left eye!

His right eye was blind, so the tear glands of his right eye had lost their function. As a result, he could not produce tears in his right eye.

This scene was a reminder to everyone that he was a disabled person, a man forsaken by God!

Clap, clap, clap… Roaring and unending applause rang.

"Wooooooh…" Screams and cheers rang throughout the entire stadium.

Even the referee did not pass the ball to the players to start the game, he wanted Austin to enjoy the applause and cheers a while more.

It was Austin's moment, even if he had only made one basket.

…

A disabled person who had the will to be strong! Dai Li let out a long sigh.

Dai Li had given Austin 30 seasons worth of cumulative game experience. From this alone, he could stand on his own in the NBA. At the very least, he would have no problem playing as a rotational player.

Austin's professional career was destined to be a short one. If he were to be diagnosed with heart complications one day or have an aortic aneurysm, that would spell the end of his professional career. For a man with Marfan syndrome, it was an inevitable situation.

…

The American Track and Field Association.

"Mr. President, Dai Li rejected our invitation. He stated that he no longer wished to be the head coach of the National U.S. Track and Field Team."

"Why? We've given him authority!" The association president looked puzzled. "Is it because the Track and Field Association of other countries are a step ahead of us? Or is he going back to China to become their head coach?"

"No, he did not take on any head coach post. He decided to start an Olympic training camp."

The president's expression tightened, "What great ambition!"

…

Franz Muller was on vacation.

In the IAAF year-end Grand Prix, Muller won the men's pole vault gold medal. He had completed all his competition responsibilities this year so he could enjoy his two months vacation.

A new email appeared on the screen of his phone. Muller opened his inbox and saw that it was an invitation letter.

Coach Li wants to start an Olympic training camp! Muller shot up and sat up straight quickly in his lounge chair.

After a while, Muller got connected with his agent over the phone. "I'm afraid my vacation has been cut short, I want to go to Los Angeles. Coach Li started an Olympic training camp! Of course, I'm taking part! I want to defend my title in the upcoming Olympics next year!"

…

It was summer in South Africa.

Early one morning, when Nick Zouma woke up, he found an unfamiliar beauty with lying on his bed.

To say that she was unfamiliar was not exactly true. Just the night before, Zouma had been in an intense struggle with her that lasted for quite a while. In terms of their flesh, they were very well-acquainted.

What's her name again? Zouma shook his head. He had a hangover, making his mind foggy, so he only remembered that the beauty was a young model.

For a young model like her, it was natural for her to want to get close to a world champion like Zouma. She might go viral and become famous from just stirring up some gossip.

Four years ago, during the Olympics, Zouma lost against Irwin and only managed to get the silver medal in the 400m sprint. When Irwin chose to retire, the 400m sprint event became Zouma's domain. Over the past two years, Zouma had swept and won all the 400m sprint events in all major track and field competitions.

The new king of the 400m sprint was born!

A tinge of regret remained in Zouma's heart. It was that he once lost to Irwin.

Zouma felt that before he broke Irwin's world record, he could not be considered the true king of the 400m event.

Zouma gulped down a large cup of water and felt his head clear up. Then, he went in front of his computer.

"An Olympic training camp invitation letter? What is this? Coach Li? It's that Chinese coach of the U.S. track and field team? He is inviting me to participate in his Olympic training camp!"

Zouma's heart trembled. The desire for the Olympic gold medal once again boiled in his heart.

Four years ago, Irwin trained under this Coach Li and returned to peak condition. Perhaps he has a way to help me surpass Irwin!

…

Justin Alexander stopped the car and looked towards the large signboard of Coach Li's Physical Fitness Training Center not far away.

He took a deep breath and got out of the car.

After a few minutes, Alexander saw Dai Li.

"Coach Li, I want to take part in the upcoming Olympics!" Alexander said.

"Have you thought about it thoroughly? After all, you're already 35 years old. You will be competing with a bunch of 20-year olds who are at their peak," Dai Li said with a smile.

"Yes, I still don't want to retire. I want to work hard one more time!" Alexander paused. He then said, "I saw the advertisement and know that you started an Olympic training camp, which brings me here. I remember four years ago when you helped Irwin return to his peak. Back then, we trained together. I know that you will definitely be able to help me!"

…

Dai Li sent out over 50 invitation letters. They were to American athletes as well as athletes from other countries. They were athletes that Dai Li fancied, and most of them had at least A grade or S grade talent potential.

At the same time, Dai Li created a wave of advertisements and accepted special interviews from the media and magazines to tell the world that he started an Olympic training camp and that he welcomed athletes of every country.

Four years ago, during the Olympics, the miracle of the U.S. track and field team filled with the weak and old was still fresh in the minds of the people. Dai Li's reputation was also there, so it quickly got the attention of multiple athletes.

…

China. Track and Field Management Center.

It was twelve in the afternoon. Director Liu walked out of the meeting room.

Director Liu had just attended a meeting that lasted the entire morning and he still had more meetings in the afternoon.

The start of every year was always one of the busiest times of the year. They needed to conclude and summarize their performance of the past year, deliberate over the new year's plan, and set all kinds of budgets. There were way too many minute and detailed tasks.

Director Liu stretched his back and looked at his watch. He was ready to head towards the canteen. At that moment, the deputy director in charge of training rushed towards him in excitement.

Director Liu thought there must be unfinished business related to the previous meeting, so he said, "Old Sun, let's head to the canteen, we can talk while we walk."

"Director, this is pretty urgent," Deputy Director Sun said. "I only found out after the meeting. I just received several invitation letters on my side. They came from the U.S. The one sending these invitations is the training center of Dai Li. He invited our athletes to take part in an Olympic training camp. I've checked it, and it's genuine. We have a total of ten athletes in the invitation list.

Deputy Director Sun passed the list to Director Liu.

Director Liu quickly glanced over it and said, "All of our athletes on the track and field team with a chance of gaining a medal are on that list, right?"

"Yes, all ten of these athletes made it past the Olympic A standard, so they don't have to take part in the Olympic qualifiers," Sun said.

"What about the cost? What did Dai Li say?" Director Liu asked.

"Waived. Training fee is waived. As for food and lodgings, if needed, he can also settle it. Director, do we let our athletes go?" Sun asked.

"What is your opinion?" Director Liu asked.

"I think this is a great opportunity. The track and field training in the U.S. is better. In the last Olympics, Dai Li's result as the head coach of the U.S. team was remarkable," Sun answered.

Director Liu became silent for a few seconds and said, "He's already waived the training fees, we'll take care of food and lodging ourselves. we can still afford that much at least. Also, try and contact Dai Li and see if he can give us a few more spots. This is a rare chance if we can get one more to go, we should."

…

Luggage sat on the bed of Yingjie Zhao.

He looked at his family photo stored on his phone and sighed. He then dialed his mother's phone number.

"Mom, how are you doing…I'm doing good…I know, wear more clothes…Mom, I have something to tell you. I won't be going back this year during the new year…

"I want to go to the U.S. to train…I don't know exactly how long, maybe a few months…"

As Yingjie Zhao hung up his phone, tears rolled down his cheeks.

As an athlete, it was not the first time he had to continue to persevere and train during the lunar year.

Yingjie Zhao did not go home during the lunar new year last year. Instead, he trained on base and his parents flew directly to where he was. They even brought along with them warm dumplings placed within a thermos container.

This time, he was going to train in the U.S. It was impossible for his parents to follow along.

Mom, I really miss the dumplings you make!

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Chapter 624: A Mother

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was March. Battle was brewing in many different sports.

At Dai Li's training camp, March was considered a small test. The effects of the training camp would be identified and checked in the competitions coming up this month. It would be easy to see if an athlete had improved or not based on their results.

The competition results were announced one by one and the athletes who had taken part in Dai Li's training camp all got outstanding results. Everyone's results had improved. Even athletes who had already been the best in their respective sports, like Muller and Zouma, could feel that they were improving.

The results did not lie. When other athletes saw the amazing effects of Dai Li's training camp, they came to register as well. Dai Li's training camp accepted another batch of athletes.

By the time May came around, the Olympic qualifiers for various sporting events had begun.

Athletes who were part of the training camp continued to excel, winning and qualifying for various Olympic events.

In June, another batch of athletes from Europe and South America arrived in Los Angeles to take part in Dai Li's training camp.

These were athletes who had already qualified Olympics. All of them were impressed by the reputation of the training camp, and they took part in it as a last ditch of effort to prepare for the Olympics. There were only two months left before the opening ceremony, and there were those who were doing whatever they could before the Games began, like drowning men clutching at straws.

In a short amount of time, Dai Li's training camp had become too packed.

…

A middle-aged Caucasian woman walked back and forth in front of the door to the training center. It seemed like she wanted to go inside but was very hesitant.

The woman was not tall, barely even 5 feet, and she was not fat, she seemed a little thin. She was definitely petite. It was rare to see caucasian women with petite bodies like that in the U.S.

After walking back and forth for a while, the middle-aged women finally built up enough courage to walk through the main door.

The moment she reached the door, it opened, and Dai Li walked outside. He was face-to-face with this middle-aged woman.

"Coach Li!" The middle-aged woman suddenly looked overwhelmed.

Dai Li, on the other hand, thought that the woman looked familiar. After a few seconds, he remembered her identity.

"You are Kpanova?" Dai Li asked cautiously.

"Hello, Coach Li. I am Kpanova," the woman said, a little hesitantly.

A sense of respect appeared on Dai Li's face. He asked, "Miss Kpanova, are you here to look for someone or are you planning to register for a training course?"

"I…" Kpanova hesitated for a dozen or so seconds before saying, "I want to register, I know that you started a training camp here, but…"

Kpanova seemed to have a hard time putting into words what she wanted to say.

"Why don't we talk inside?" Dai Li extended his hand towards the door and led Kpanova into the reception room.

…

In the reception room, they sat at a table for two.

A cup of coffee was put in front of Kpanova. Then, Dai Li asked, "Miss Kpanova, since you plan on registering for the Olympic training camp, that means that you plan to take part in the Olympic Games this year?"

Kpanova nodded and said, "Yes."

"You've already been in five Olympics, haven't you?" Dai Li asked instinctively.

"It's actually been six. If you include this year, it will be seven," Kpanova answered.

"I'm sorry, do forgive me for asking this. You should be around 40 years old by now, shouldn't you? Please do not misunderstand, I do not mean to offend. I just want to remind you that taking part in the Olympics at this age will be difficult," Dai Li said.

"I'm 41 this year." Kpanova did not dodge the question about her age. "I know that I will be facing athletes who are 20 years younger than me. Some of them are even younger than my son! I have to take part, however. I have already qualified."

"Are you doing this for your son?" Dai Li asked.

"Yes. His disease is currently being managed, but he still needs to take drugs. As soon as the drugs stop coming in, his situation will take a turn for the worse. The drugs are expensive," Kpanova answered honestly.

Dai Li sighed. He was touched by how much parents all over the world loved their children!

Kpanova said, "Coach Li, I know that you have the best physical fitness training center in the world. Many older athletes have returned to their prime after training with you, so I wish to take part in your training camp. I cannot afford your training fees, though. Is it possible to let me pay the training fees in installments?"

…

Dai Li had a lot of respect for Kpanova.

Kpanova was a legendary gymnast. She was one of the athletes who had participated the most times in the Olympics. If she chose to take part in the Olympics again this year, then she would be the athlete who had participated the most.

A female gymnast who might participate in the Olympics seven times? It was an incredible feat no matter how one looked at it!

Kpanova was an athlete from the Soviet era. Before the Soviet Union dissolved, she represented the Soviet Union and took part in the World Gymnastic Competition.

During the Olympics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the individual countries that were part of the union formed a team. Kpanova participated in the Olympics that year as an athlete of that team, winning the Olympic gold medal as well. Four years later, she represented her motherland, Uzbekistan, and took part in the Olympics for the third time. After that, she chose to retire.

An unfortunate thing happened to Kpanova, however. Her son was diagnosed with leukemia. Anyone who watched "Dying to Survive" would know the disease could be combated as long as one took medication.

Patented medicines were expensive, so much so that Kpanova could not afford them at all. There were also other costs for medical treatments. As such, Kpanova chose to return to the gymnastic arena and took part in the Olympics for the fourth time.

After that, Kpanova obtained German citizenship, as the medical facilities of Germany were far better than those of Uzbekistan. She represented Germany in two Olympics, and by then, she was already 37 years old.

Germany was also a power in the sports world and talent was abundant in the country. Clearly, they did not need a 37-year old female gymnast. So, to continue her son's treatment, Kpanova returned to Uzbekistan and represented Uzbekistan in the upcoming Olympics.

This was her seventh Olympic!

This year, she was 41 years old!

An athlete at her age, returning to compete in tournaments to treat her son's illness, was rare, but she might not be the only one.

She was going to compete as a female gymnast, though!

The peak age for gymnasts was 16-20. Many female gymnasts start considering retirement after 20 years old. It was rare for anyone to persevere past the age of 30.

The 41-year-old Kpanova was still in the game! During the competition, she competed against a bunch of opponents who were at least 20 years younger than her.

Was this a miracle?

No! It was the greatness of a mother!

…

Dai Li agreed to Kpanova's request and allowed her to pay by installments.

At the same time, Dai Li also gave her a remarkably lowered price to avoid creating extra burdens to Kpanova.

Dai Li sympathized with Kpanova's situation. He helped her less out of sympathy and more from the immense respect he felt for her as a wonderful mother.

Dai Li also knew that if a 41-year old female gymnast were to compete in the Olympic stage, it would be difficult for her to obtain excellent results.

Female gymnastics was a sport that required the power of youth!

In shooting events, a 60-year old athlete could still win the gold medal as long as his eyes functioned properly.

In archery, a 40 or 50-year old veteran could still become the champion as long as he could still shoot accurately.

In table tennis or badminton, athletes who were in their 30s or 40s had become world champions.

In basketball and football, athletes reached their peak at around 30.

For track and field and swimming events, sports that heavily relied on the physical condition of the human body, athletes were at their strongest at around 25.

It was only in gymnastics, especially female gymnastics, that 20-year-olds were considered old. For the gymnastics team of China, it was normal for athletes to retire at 21 or 22 and become coaches.

What could the 41-year-old Kpanova do to compete against young ladies who were only 18 or 19?

Age being as much of an issue as it was, Dai Li decided to use an age-reduction card on Kpanova.

The age-reduction card's limit was a reduction of 12 years and it could only last for a month.

The gymnastic events did not last for more than one month, so the age-reduction card's length was sufficient. After reducing her 12 years, however, Kpanova was still 29 years old, which far exceeded the peak age for female gymnasts.

A 29-year-old female gymnast was still too old.

A 29-year-old will still be much better than a 41-year-old! Dai Li told himself.

In truth, Dai Li had another idea, which was to give Kpanova a few tens of thousands of dollars as funds for her son's medicine. For Dai Li, that much money was expendable.

Dai Li, however, rejected his own idea.

It was because Kpanova was a great mother. She was worth Dai Li using an age-reduction card on. She deserved respect, not tens of thousands of dollars of charity.

Dai Li even decided that if Kpanova did not obtain good results in the Olympics, he would give her a job and hire her as a coach at the training center. That way she would be able to afford the medical cost of her son's treatment.

Working as a coach in the U.S. was definitely more profitable than working as a coach in Uzbekistan.

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

…

The quadrennial Olympics began once again.

This time, Dai Li did not take part in the Olympics as a head coach, but he was more than a spectator. Among all the Olympians, over 200 of them were clients of Dai Li's training center.

The gymnastic events were some of the most competitive events that began early in the Games. The vault event was one of the most important events in gymnastics.

The vault event was a competitive event in the first modern Olympic games in 1896. It was considered one of the more historical competitions in modern sports history. Over the past few years, female vaulters have started to use more and more male actions, which made the female vault events increasingly exciting.

The vault competition in the Olympics was clearly the highest level vault competition in the world. It was also one of the most watchable vault competition around. Notably, in the finals of the female vault event, the abilities of the athletes were exceptional. It was rare for anyone to try a move with a difficulty rating of below six. Highly difficult moves, with a difficulty rating of 6.4, were common occurrences.

The final was also a gathering of stars and talents. The defending champion from Russia, Natalia, and the seven-time Olympic veteran, a "mother" contestant, the 41-year-old Kpanova, were both there.

The one who garnered the most attention, however, was Simmons, an athlete from the U.S.

Simmons was a black athlete. The 19-year-old Simmons appeared for the first time in the adult group competition three years ago. In three short years, she had already won ten gold medals in the World Gymnastic Competition, surpassing Russia's "Queen of Gymnastics" and America's "Gymnastic Princess." She became the female gymnast with the most world championship gold medals in history.

Considering that Simmons was only 19 years old, she could still compete for at least another three years. It was natural for her to win more gold medals.

Simmons was an almighty competitor whose best event was the vault!

Most ordinary people believed that the balance beam was the most difficult event in female gymnastics. It was extremely difficult for a normal person to try and balance him or herself on it, but athletes were able to perform highly difficult moves on top of it. It was more like an acrobatic performance.

In truth, for professional athletes, the vault was the most difficult event. This was because the event needed athletes to finish an entire set of continuous actions the moment they leaped into the air. It was unlike the balance beam or the uneven bars, where athletes had sufficient buffer time before they executed a set of actions.

Regardless of the sport, consecutive combination moves were always difficult.

The higher the level of the competition, the higher the difficulty rating of the techniques. The difference between a difficulty rating of 5.8 and 6.0 was the difference between heaven and earth even though the gap between them was only 0.2.

In the U.S., was one of the world's best countries in terms of gymnastics standards, no athlete had ever won the female vault gold medal.

That day, Simmons was expected to become the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the female vault event.

…

The first athlete up was a young 16-year-old Canadian athlete. She had never participated in a world championship or the Olympics before, so it was her first time appearing in a competition on the global stage. For her, getting to the final was already incredible.

The Canadian youngster's strength was also not to be trifled with. She chose a technique with a difficulty rating of 6.0 for her first attempt and obtained a score of 8.766. On her second attempt, she chose a move with a difficulty rating of 6.3 and obtained a score of 8.666.

In the vault event, athletes were required to complete two jumps consecutively. The techniques used could not be the same for both. Before athletes jumped, they had to tell the referee the difficulty rating of their jump before proceeding to the execution of the jump.

The difficulty rating points added to the completion score. Subtracting points for errors to that score would produce the final score for the athlete's jump. Adding the final score of the two jumps together and dividing it by two would produce the average score, which would become the final outcome of the athlete.

Take, for example, the Canadian youth's score. Her first jump had a difficulty rating of 6.0 and a completion score of 8.766, so her total score for the jump was 14.766. The difficulty rating of her second jump increased by 0.3 points, but her completion score decreased by 0.1 points. The final score of her second attempt was 14.966 points.

If she were to make any errors during her jump, then, when calculating the score, points would be deducted. For example, if she had stepped out of bounds when she landed the jump, a 0.1 point deduction would be recorded.

For an athlete taking part in the finals of the Olympic games for the first time, this Canadian youngster's performance could be regarded as perfect. The only thing was that, in a world-class competition like this, even a perfect performance on jumps with 6.0 and 6.3 difficulty ratings was not enough to be crowned champion. One could even say that it was not enough to challenge for a medal.

As expected, the contestants that came later all chose techniques with much higher difficulty ratings. They also executed them excellently. The final score of the contestants all exceeded 15 points, some even exceeded the score of 15.5 points.

As experts showed their skills, the competition reached its climax.

The defending champion, the Russian contestant Natalia, took her first jump. She chose a back handspring round-off, back straight body somersault, and 900-degree spin, which had a difficulty rating of 6.3.

The defending champion's strength was not to be underestimated. She obtained a high score of 9.250 for her completion score, with a final score of 15.550.

In her second attempt, Natalia increased the difficulty. She chose a back handspring round-off with a 180-degree spin and a front straight body somersault with a 540-degree spin. It had a difficulty rating of 6.5. This was a set of very difficult moves. Normal professional athletes did not even have the ability to attempt it and, with a difficulty rating of 6.5, it was also the highest difficulty rating in the finals so far.

Natalia obtained a final score of 15.750 with that jump. She moved up to first place. Her final score, 15.650, was really hard to surpass.

Many people who were there felt that Natalia had successfully defended her title.

…

Then, it was Simmons' turn.

Natalia's 15.650 points high score made Simmons feel a lot of pressure.

Her first set of techniques had the same difficulty rating of 6.3. She did a back handspring round-off and a back straight body somersault with a 900-degree spin.. It was the same as Natalia's first jump.

Then, Simmons showed Natalia who was the better gymnast.

It had been the same jump, but Natalia had earned a 9.250 completion score while Simmons had managed a stunning 9.6 points!

That was 0.35 points more!

It was the difference in their abilities.

Her first attempt was already a frightening 15.9 points. This result made her worthy of being called "The World's Strongest!"

With a lead of 0.35 points, in a competition of this level, it was practically impossible to overcome.

Everyone thought that the gold medal had fallen into the hands of Simmons.

With a 0.35 points lead, Simmons had every right to choose a technique with a slightly lower difficulty rating for her second attempt.

Natalia had chosen a technique with a difficulty rating of 6.5 for her second attempt. As long as Simmons selected a technique with a difficulty rating of above 6.2, she would safely hold first place.

Under the gaze of the entire stadium, Simmons indicated to the referee her next move.

The referee looked shocked and, after discussing for a while, it was decided.

She would do a 180-degree round-off with a front straight body somersault with a 720 degrees spin. It had a difficulty rating of 6.4. It was also a new move, created by Simmons herself.

If Simmons completed this jump, then this set of techniques would be named after Simmons!

Simmons took a deep breath and started her run. She jumped and flew in the air. Her height was perfect and her posture was comparable to art!

Both her feet hit the ground, Simmons stood firmly on the ground and puffed her chest up, while raising both her hands in the air. She had finished the set.

It was an execution that was near-perfect!

The judges gave a super high score of 9.633. With the 6.4 points of difficulty rating, Simmons' score for her second attempt was 16.033 points!

This was a crazily high score!

In the vault event, scores surpassing the 16-point mark only existed in the men's vault competitions.

Simmons, who was a female athlete, had succeeded in producing a score that was only seen in male competitions!

Even the TV commentator could not help but say, "The competition is over, we can congratulate Simmons now for winning the gold medal of this event!"

At that moment, however, one contestant still had yet to make her appearance.

It was the 41-year-old veteran, Kpanova, taking part in the Olympics for the seventh time!

…

Kpanova knew what kind of opposition she faced.

She had appeared on the international stage when she was only 14 years old. In the 27 years of her professional career, she had seen way too many top-class athletes.

When the "Queen of Gymnastics" of Russia had first appeared, Kpanova had been the world champion. By the time the "Queen of Gymnastics" retired, Kpanova was still fighting the fight. Then, it was the "Gymnastics Princess," who had taken the place of Russia's "Queen of Gymnastics." Kpanova still managed to remain until after the "Gymnastics Princess" had retired.

One could say that Kpanova was a first-hand witness to the rises and falls in the gymnastics world over the past three decades. She had witnessed the rise of multiple almighty individuals and then saw them move out of her way.

Now, another individual had appeared in the world of women's gymnastics. It was Simmons, who was even stronger than the "Queen of Gymnastics" and the "Gymnastics Princess."

Kpanova could not help but admit that the girl named Simmons was definitely the most gifted female gymnast she had ever seen.

Kpanova knew that, even if she were still at her peak, she might not be able to defeat her opponent. She was also 41 years old, it was practically like trying to beat a rock with an egg.

Kpanova still went into the arena. She needed to fight for her son one more time.

Kpanova indicated to the referee the moves and techniques she was going to do. She was doing a handspring and 360-degree body somersault with no hands. It had a difficulty rating of 6.4.

It was a set of techniques used in male vault competitions. Due to the high difficulty, no female gymnast had ever succeeded in this set of techniques before.

The first to use this set of technique was Kpanova. This set was also the first to be named after Kpanova herself.

20 years ago, Kpanova once relied on this set to win the world championship. This was her signature move. For her, this set was familiar.

There was a run and then a leap into the air. While floating in the air, Kpanova smoothly completed the set of familiar moves without any error!

She managed a completion score of 9.30 points. It was a really high completion score, that surpassed the score of the Russian competitor, Natalia.

Perhaps from the standpoint of execution and completion, Kpanova was not perfect. With the image of being "a 41-year-old mother who was determined to participate so that she can treat her son's illness," however, the judges gave her a few tenths of points in sympathy.

A difficulty rating of 6.4 added with a completion score of 9.3. Kpanova's final score was 15.7 points. It was a fantastic score!

It was still far from getting the gold medal. This was because the first jump of the American contestant, Simmons, had gotten 15.9 points. Compared to that, Kpanova was still behind by 0.2 points.

More importantly, Simmons' second jump had a score of 16.033. It was incredulous, there was simply no way of surpassing that!

Kpanova took a deep breath. Of course, she knew that it was practically impossible to close the 0.2 points gap. If she wanted to win the gold medal, her second attempt needed to surpass 16.233 points. Only then would she be able to beat Simmons in her final score.

Even among male contestants, 16.233 points was a high score. It was all but impossible for female athletes.

Kpanova had no way out. Getting the gold medal meant that she would receive a bigger reward from her country. It was the medical fee for her son, it was her son's life!

Initially, Kpanova had planned to do a handspring and a straight body somersault with a 540-degree spin, which had a difficulty rating of 6.4. It was also a set that Kpanova had used first.

Kpanova had trained with this set for over a decade and she was immensely familiar with it. She was confident that she could execute it flawlessly.

This set, however, could not get her 16.233 points!

One needed a completion score of 9.833 to get 16.233 points with 6.4 difficulty rating.

Nobody could do that! Even if she was better than ever before, there was still no way to get a 9.833 completion score.

Kpanova was forced into a dead end.

In an instant, a determined look appeared on her face.

Then, she indicated to the referee the techniques she would use in her second attempt.

"A Handspring – forward somersault with body tucked in for two circles!"

The referee was stunned for a good ten seconds. He was sure he had heard her wrong.

"Can you repeat that?" The referee asked.

"A handspring – forward somersault with body tucked in for two circles!" Kpanova answered.

"Are you sure? A handspring – forward somersault with body tucked in for two circles!" The referee couldn't believe it.

"Yes!" Kpanova nodded seriously.

If she were a rookie, the referee would think she had messed up the name for a different technique, but the woman was a few years older than him. She had spent more time training as a gymnast than the referee had been a referee and an athlete combined. There was no way she would make a mistake like that.

The referee opened his mouth and tried to advise Kpanova. As the words reached the tip of his mouth, he remembered his responsibilities. After that, he sighed in resignation and informed the group of judges of Kpanova's selection.

…

The big screen in the stadium showed the difficulty rating of Kpanova's next jump.

7.0!

A set of moves with a difficulty rating of 7.0 in the women's vault competition!

In front of the TV, Dai Li widened his eyes.

He did not come from the gymnastics world, but he knew what a 7.0 meant!

At that moment, a set appeared in Dai Li's mind. It was widely accepted as the world's most difficult and most dangerous gymnastic move of all time, for men or women.

This set had a nickname, the "Leap of death!"

…

A handspring – forward somersault with body tucked in for two circles. A set with the highest difficulty rating in the history of the women's vault event.

The handspring move was hard enough. Before the 90s, the handspring onto the vault was a specialty distinctly in the men's vault competitions. The key to this technique was the after-flight. If the effects of the after-flight were terrible, then it would be difficult to complete the rest of the techniques.

After the handspring, came the forward somersault, which was also a challenge. More importantly, it needed a tucked body forward somersault in which she spun twice.

As the human body flew into the air, it was hard to control when it was tucked in. Somersaulting with the body tucked in made it so that the entire body moved like a cannon. It moved fast, had terrible balance, and was hard to control. If one were careless, the entire body would hit the ground like a ball.

That was why the set of technique was very dangerous. Ever since the day it appeared, someone in the gymnastic world had advocated for the abolishment of the move. Many world-class athletes had wanted to try this move, but they were all denied by their coaches.

As for this set, only five persons had ever completed it. Kpanova was one of them.

When she completed this move, she had been 28. Now, she was 41!

…

The live audience saw a difficulty rating of 7.0.

People who were familiar with the sport immediately understood that Kpanova had chosen to try the "Leap of Death."

"Has she gone crazy? She actually chose the leap of death!"

"Oh my God, did she forget that she is 41?"

"She's going all in. Kpanova's putting her life on the line!"

This seemed to start a riot. No one would have ever thought that Kpanova actually would actually choose this move.

Why? Why did she choose this set? Is it just for that gold medal? Simmons widened her eyes. She knew that it was practically impossible for Kpanova to surpass her current score unless she chose some crazy top-class difficulty moves.

Simmons did not understand why Kpanova put in so much effort!

It was just a competition and she was putting her life on the line!

Even for an Olympic gold medal, one did not need to wager one's life!

Simmons had grown up with her maternal grandmother. She had never felt the love of a mother when she was a child so she could not empathize with Kpanova.

For her son to live, Kpanova was willing to throw her life away!

Everyone's gaze focused on Kpanova. Everyone who knew of Kpanova's experience could feel the greatness of the petite woman in front of their eyes.

Standing on the stage, Kpanova was no longer just an athlete, she was a mother!

…

The live camera closed in on Kpanova's face. At that moment, her determined gaze was focused on a faraway place.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

From the crowd, someone started clapping in a rhythm. Following that, like a contagious disease, the rhythmic claps spread all over the entire stadium.

On the other side, the pommel horse competition stopped. Their gaze turned towards Kpanova.

On the judges stand, a female judge could not help but stand up and look at Kpanova with teary eyes. She was also a mother and she knew Kpanova's situation, so she could understand Kpanova's choice.

Some people made praying hand gestures. They prayed for Kpanova and wished her success.

On the other hand, Kpanova seemed to have not perceived anything that was happening around her.

She was thinking about her son. In her memories, he always smiled at her, gently. Even as he lay on the bed while receiving chemotherapy, enduring great pains, he always smiled gently at her!

Kpanova knew that that smile was something that she would gladly trade her life to protect.

She ran. She did a handspring on the vault and, immediately after that, she tucked her body and made two rounds of a forward somersault. As she landed, Kpanova fully regained control and took a slight step forward.

Kpanova used up all her strength in this jump and completed the entire set of moves. Although it was not perfect, there were no mistakes!

She had completed the 7.0 difficulty rated leap of death!

The moment Kpanova landed on the ground, she did not feel even the slightest tinge of joy. She was mostly filled with anxiety.

She needed 16.233 points. Including the 7.0 difficulty score, she needed a completion score of 9.233.

So, Kpanova looked toward the screen immediately. Anxiety, unease, nervousness, were written on her face.

The camera also focused in on Simmons. She seemed calm, she would be amazed if Kpanova's moves could get her a 9.0 completion score.

In the next second, the big screen displayed Kpanova's results.

Difficulty Rating: 7.0.

Completion Score: 9.333.

Total Score: 16.333.

Kpanova won!

…

Why? How is it possible that she got such a high completion score! Simmons stared in disbelief at the big screen. To her, Kpanova's jump did not deserve such a high completion score.

The American coach patted Simmons on the shoulder and consoled her. "Child, you did not actually lose in this competition!"

Simmons stared at her coach, puzzled. She did not understand what her coach meant.

The coach looked at the crying Kpanova and said, "You did not lose because you were worse, but you lost because she is a mother!"

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Chapter 625: World's Best

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Men's 400m Sprint Final

Although the competition had not yet started, there was no doubt who would win. Everyone knew that the gold medal of the Men's 400m Sprint belonged to the new sprinting king, Nick Zouma.

In terms of strength, Zouma was certainly ahead of the others by a significant margin.

None of the other seven contestants could finish the race within 44 seconds. Their historical best results were longer than 44 seconds. Zouma did not even need to exert his full strength to run it within 44 seconds.

If Zouma ran without restraining himself, he would obtain a lead of more than one second. This sort of gap in this event signified that he was at a much higher level than the other athletes.

This was the finals in the Olympics, the highest level of competition in the world. The fact he was significantly better than his competition was proof of Zouma's might.

The focus of the match was not on who would win, it was on how fast Zouma could run. Could he surpass the previous king, Irwin? That was the question of the match.

The moment Zouma walked onto the track, he could not help but get excited. He could feel his heart beating faster and his head feeling clearer. It was like he had just taken stimulants.

Of course, Zouma did not ingest any stimulants. He had always been the type of player who relished competitions. As long as he stood at the starting line, his blood would boil.

In truth, all sprinters became crazy when competitions began. As long as there was a race, sprinters would be extremely excited.

Athletes didn't have time to find their form in short-distance sprints. A 100m sprint was only a total of ten seconds. How could an athlete take any of that time to find their form? Everyone needed to get their body and mind excited before the match started. Only athletes who felt a rush before the race even started could win!

When the gunshot rang out, Zouma transformed into a cheetah and shot straight forward.

Did he have a professional 400m sprinting method? He didn't need one.

Did he have a tactic to disrupt the rhythm of the opponents? That also was not needed.

Did he use a special technique to distribute stamina? That was needed even less.

Zouma was stronger than the rest of the contestants. His ability alone was enough to crush his opponents, so there was no need to consider tactics or techniques.

Zouma only needed to run freely, as fast as he possibly could!

To his opponents, Zouma was fast enough. They would never be able to run that fast in their life.

To Zouma, he was not yet fast enough. Based on his current speed, he could not surpass the current world record!

Perhaps this is my only chance, I have to go faster! Resolve appeared in Zouma's gaze.

Zouma was definitely at the peak age for sprinters. He would soon start to deteriorate. Perhaps he would still be able to remain the best, but his speed would slowly decrease.

No one could win the battle against time, especially sprinters. Their peaks lasted three to four years. As soon as they were out of their prime, all their bodily functions started to weaken. The distance between them and the world record only increased.

Zouma could not help but reminisce about the past six months of training.

In January, Zouma had arrived at Dai Li's training center. He had given up on his vacation, a huge amount of commercial activities, and focused solely on training.

He was a South African athlete, so he did not need to participate in Olympic qualifiers like American athletes. As the current best 400m sprinter in the world, South Africa would give him a spot in the Olympics.

Due to this, he did not participate in any competition before the Olympic, including the Grand Prix organized by the International Track and Field Association. Just two days before the Olympic opening ceremony, he was still in Dai Li's training center.

For an athlete at Zouma's level, competitions could no longer improve his overall strength. He no longer had any opponents; the other athletes were far weaker than him.

A high-level chess player would rather study chess scripts than play against lower-level chess players. If the player continued to play against weaker players, his own skills would also gradually deteriorate.

If one looked at digital games, when a high-level professional player played a few days' worths of casual games, he always won, but his skills and awareness of the game would also gradually deteriorate.

On the contrary, if one were to continuously compete against opponents who were stronger, even if one lost, one would learn a lot of things in the process. One would slowly improve.

It was the same in sports. Athletes need to continuously challenge stronger opponents, only then were they able to move forward. If a player failed to find a stronger opponent, then competing against athletes of similar levels also helped to maintain one's form. The scariest thing was to destroy weaklings. As the saying went, "Study is like sailing against the current; either you keep forging ahead, or you keep falling behind."

Zouma was in this sort of situation. He was already the best. In a competition, no matter who his opponent was, Zouma would achieve victory easily. For Zouma, competitions no longer improved his game. That was why he put all his time and focus on training.

Perhaps it was more appropriate to say that Zouma bet on Dai Li's training.

He has the world's best physical fitness training center. He's the world's greatest physical fitness coach. Maybe he will be able to help me get better!

Zouma spent six months in Los Angeles. He trained a lot every day and even added extra training himself.

He showed absolute discipline. He slept and woke early, he avoided nightclubs, and completely cut himself off from the entertainment districts. Even if a world-class beauty voluntarily jumped into his arms, Zouma would not hesitate to reject her.

After a few months, he genuinely felt that he had increased his strength. He was not certain, however, that he had improved enough to break the 400m sprint world record.

Only by breaking the 400m sprinting world record would Zouma truly feel that he had overcome the huge mountain that stood before him and become the true 400m sprint king!

Zouma got closer and closer to the finish line, and Zouma was also counting down in his mind.

He had started counting down from 43. It was because the current world record was 43.18 seconds. He had to ignore the 0.18 seconds.

If he were to get past the finish line before he reached zero, it would mean that there was a chance that he had broken the 400m sprinting world record. On the contrary, if he were to reach zero before he reached the finish line, then the world record would have nothing to do with him.

19, 18, 17, 16… As Zouma counted down in his mind, his opponents gradually disappeared from his field of vision.

They were in the second bend and sprinters placed in the outer tracts would be comparably behind in terms of their position.

Nine, eight, seven, six… Zouma started the last of the countdown. He already reached the last stretch of straight track. He had also obtained a lead that completely sent his opponents into despair.

Zouma was the furthest in front. He could not see his opponents and it was exactly because he could not see the positions of his opponents that Zouma did not know just how fast he was running. He also did not know just what kind of lead he had. The only thing he could do was run as fast as possible.

Going into the last 50 meters, Zouma's speed did not decrease. At that moment, the cheers and shouts of the crowd reached their peak.

For people who were familiar with the 400m sprint, Zouma's performance was simply incredible!

By the time athletes reached the last 50 meters, their bodies were in an anaerobic state and their speed gradually decreased. It was biological.

Zouma was different that day. As he entered the last 50 meters, his speed did not decrease in the slightest, he still maintained his quick movements. He was in the process of breaking through the human biological limit!

Three, two, one…

The moment Zouma counted down to zero, he rushed past the finish line.

Did I break the world record? Zouma immediately looked up to the timer.

43.03 seconds!

He was 0.15 seconds faster than the world record of 43.18 seconds!

"Yes! I've succeeded in breaking the world record!" Zouma raised both his arms into the air in excitement. Before he could celebrate, however, he felt a sense of breathlessness rise from his chest. Then, he collapsed on the ground.

To surpass the human biological limit, one had to pay the price!

After the human body experiences extreme amounts of anaerobic exercise, symptoms that arise include shortness of breath, tachycardia and other symptoms, which cause alkali and electrolytes to go into disarray. Some might even experience myocardial deficiency. Zouma was currently faced with exactly that situation.

It was a good thing paramedics were placed on the scene of every Olympic event. After some basic first aid, Zouma returned to normal.

…

Los Angeles.

In the parking lot of Dai Li's training center, there was a huge row of posters. They created a large curve facing the road.

On every poster was the photograph of an athlete and on the upper-left corner of the posters were numbers.

These were the athletes who won gold medals during the Olympic, and they were all Dai Li's clients.

The newest poster was just put up, and on it was a photograph of Zouma holding his gold medal. On the top-left corner, the number was 50.

A car drove past the training center and the driver saw Zouma's giant poster as well as the very obvious number 50 on the upper-left corner.

"I remember it was 43 yesterday, now they've won 50 Olympic gold medals! I never would have thought that a training center would be able to produce so many Olympic champions. It's already more than the U.S. team!" The driver lamented.

American athletes were still the majority of Dai Li's clients, so many among the 50 gold medals were obtained by Americans. If one did not consider the repeats and just compared the number of gold medals, the U.S. Olympic representatives definitely could not defeat Dai Li's training center in terms of how many medals they won.

After the 21st century, only the U.S. and China had the ability to obtain more than 50 gold medals during an Olympic. Although Russia was also a gold medal hauler the sporting level of Russia had gone downhill substantially in recent years. On the summer Olympic stage, compared to China and the U.S., Russia was more of "niche." The events they were capable of winning gold medals in were fixed, and they could not get 50.

The Olympics had not yet ended. There were still more than a hundred gold medals yet to be won. That meant it was possible for Dai Li to win much more than 50 gold medals!

…

When the Olympics ended, a total of 85 large posters stood outside Dai Li's training center.

He had won 85 gold medals. That was the achievement of Dai Li for this Olympic. These 85 gold medals were the result of Dai Li's training camp.

In truth, during the last Olympics, when Dai Li led the track and field team to victory, every sportsman and woman knew that Dai Li's physical fitness training center was world-class. It was also due to this that when Dai Li started the Olympic training camp, so many athletes came from so far away.

When the number 85 appeared, entire sporting world was still shocked!

He had earned 85 gold medals in one Olympics. What did that mean? A lot of people probably did not understand it because, throughout history, no single country won 85 gold medals in one single Olympic outing.

Only four countries had ever succeeded in winning 50 gold medals. Among them were the U.S. had done it twice, the Soviet Union thrice, and the U.K. and China once each.

As for a country winning 80 gold medals in one Olympic, only the U.S. and the Soviet Union had done it, but only when the other had not taken part.

During the 1980 Moscow Olympics, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the U.S. decided to protest. During that time, the International Olympic Committee recognized 147 countries and regions, and only 80 participated. It decreased the value of the gold medals of that Olympics and under, such circumstances, the Soviet Union managed to win 80 gold medals.

After that, during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic, the Soviet Union wanted to take revenge and decided to protest against that particular Olympic games. In the end, 19 countries did not take part. During this Olympics, the U.S. won 83 gold medals.

These superpowers had had huge advantages when they had won their 80 gold medals. When they both competed in the same Olympics, it was impossible for them to get 80 gold medals. One could say that this number was over the limit of what a global superpower could achieve in the Olympics.

Dai Li's training center, however, managed to win 85 gold medals. He had reached beyond the limits of a global superpower!

A physical fitness training center's Olympic training camp had reached the maximum limits of a global superpower. Dai Li was finally considered world-famous.

The world's best physical fitness training center. This was without question!

The world's number one best. This was also undeniable!

No one could be unconvinced.

In truth, during every Olympic games, the international world-class training centers would get some gold medals into their account. Among all the world's greatest coaches, which one of them had never coached an Olympic gold medalist before?

Under normal circumstances, to train one or two Olympic gold medalists would be considered world-class. If one were to produce five to six Olympic gold medalists, then one was definitely worthy of being called a legendary coach.

Compared to Dai Li, this was nothing. Other coaches could produce five or six gold medalists in their entire lifetime while Dai Li created 85 gold medalists by organizing one training camp for a single Olympic outing. Dai Li's Olympic training camp could use the signature slogan, "Olympic Gold Medal Supplier!"

The saddest people should be the silver and bronze medalists of the Olympic. If they had only gone to Dai Li's training camp, they might have won.

…

The Olympics ended, but Dai Li's busy life had just begun. Due to the shocking result of this Olympics, Dai Li's training center received a huge amount of visitors. There were groups as well as individuals.

Among them were specialized sports researchers, professional coaches from world-class universities, and superstars. As long as a person with some weight came to visit, Dai Li had to personally receive them. The large amount of reception work made Dai Li feel annoyed.

As the saying went, "fame portends trouble for men just as fattening does for pigs." Whether it was local or international, as soon as one became famous, there would be annoyances waiting for you. If a particular corporation were to be featured on CCTV news, what came after would be unending site visits and learning. If someone were to be posted as the national model laborer then, in the next few years, he no longer needed to do anything else because he'd be too busy touring the country.

Dai Li was exactly in this situation right now. A training camp with 85 gold medalists had indeed attracted the attention of sportspersons from all over the world. There were even many professional sports research center that came in the hopes of working with Dai Li.

Of course, there were many visitors who came with impure intentions. Some arrived specifically to ride on coattails, such as some unknown and obscure training centers that hoped to be associated with Dai Li and increase their reputation.

Some were there just so they could be involved. For example, big Hollywood stars arrived specifically to take pictures with Dai Li in front of sporting equipment while wearing sports attire. Then, they would post it online on social media, gaining some likes from their fans.

There were also those that were there to gather information. To achieve such outstanding results, one definitely had to have some unique training methods. Many people came as visitors but, in truth, were actually "spies."

To deal with the ever-increasing amount of visitors, Dai Li could not help but set up a public relations department and hire a public relations manager to specifically deal with visitors. It was a good thing they were in Los Angeles, the center of entertainment in the U.S. Hollywood was located there and it was natural for there to be loads of gossips going around with so many big stars around. The place did not lack professional public relations talent.

After solving the problem of dealing with visitors, Dai Li went straight to New York.

While the training center's reputation was sky high, Dai Li planned to expand the training center's business to the east coast of the U.S., that meant that he would open a new branch.

One would naturally select a big city when opening a new branch. The largest city of the U.S. was New York, so Dai Li decided to open the branch in New York.

In truth, before this, Dai Li also considered Boston, since when talking about sports atmosphere, Boston was much better than New York and Los Angeles.

Boston had teams in all four of the major sports leagues in North America. They were all strong teams.

In MLB, the Boston Red Socks had won the world series seven times. In the NFL, the New England Patriots won the Superbowl five times and, in the NBA, the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship 17 times. In the NHL, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup six times.

A good sports atmosphere did not mean a huge number of athletes. Dai Li's clients were still mainly professional athletes and the number of professional athletes in New York was higher than Boston, so Dai Li still decided to lock the address of his new branch in New York.

Manhattan was the highlight of New York, but to Dai Li, it was too expensive. Land prices made earth as valuable as gold so Dai Li avoided it. If he were to open his training center in Manhattan, the cost would be too high.

Dai Li could only go back a step and choose the second best option. He set the address of his training center in Queens.

Queens was separated from Manhattan by just a river, but the property prices were like heaven and earth. In areas of Queens, where security was good, a fully furnished condominium only cost around 10,000 dollars. Of course, compared to agrarian states where one could buy a huge mansion with just 200,000 or 300,000 dollars, the property price of Queens was also sky high.

Before going to New York, the real estate middleman had already found several locations suitable for setting up a training center and waited for Dai Li to choose.

If one were to correctly address the real estate middleman, one could call him a real estate agent. He was the best among the other real estate agents. He graduated from a reputable university, had a Master's degree, and even passed the New York Bar exam, obtaining his law license. He was the kind of real estate agent with multiple personal assistants.

A real estate agent like this naturally cost more. He only dealt with huge deals, but when it came to professionalism and service levels, he was top-class. He definitely put his clients first in everything he did. Dai Li did not worry that this agent would trick him. After all, a real estate agent of this level relied on his reputation accumulated throughout the years, he would not risk his entire brand just for one simple deal.

…

In the end, Dai Li chose a three-story old factory. The factory was built during the 70s of the previous century.

Similar buildings were abundant in New York. Large cities like New York completed all their basic infrastructure several decades ago. Using Manhattan as an example, there were many century-old buildings around. Queens and Brooklyn welcomed their peak of infrastructure construction after the second world war.

The old factory initially had several warehouses behind it, but they were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. At the same time, it also destroyed the electric supply of the factory. The owner of the factory thought that it was too expensive to purchase a new industrial electric supply system, so he just went and shut down the factory and put the land on sale.

After Dai Li bought the land and factory, he spent another sum renovating it. The renovation took around half a year. It was only in the summer of the following year that the New York branch began operation.

It was also during the summer that Dai Li started a new business deal, to provide fitness training to two NFL teams.

…

There were four major sports leagues in the U.S. The one that ranked first was naturally the NFL. American football was the most popular sport in the U.S.

Los Angeles had two NFL teams. Both of them had moved there three years ago. That meant that three years ago, the second largest city of the U.S. did not have its own NFL team. For a top-class city like Los Angeles, it was an incredible thing.

Of course, Los Angeles had once had their own NFL team. The Rams, the Chargers, and the Raiders, had been there but they had all moved away.

The Rams and the Chargers, however, had now returned.

A large city like Los Angeles was a temptation for teams. Every team hoped to go to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles was definitely able to accommodate two NFL teams.

NFL team owners, however, did not want other teams to move to Los Angeles. Everyone knew that Los Angeles was a big piece of meat. If one could not eat it himself, it was best if others could not eat it as well.

To return to Los Angeles, the owner of the Rams spent a huge amount of money investing a stadium that could accommodate 20,000 people in Los Angeles. That shut the mouth of the other owners. At the same time, the Rams found an ally, the Chargers.

The Chargers were initially in San Diego. They were only 100 miles away from Los Angeles. The Chargers had been drooling over Los Angeles for a long time. They applied multiple times to return to Los Angeles, but they were denied by the NFL every time.

The Rams and Chargers allied with each other. To do that, they signed a 20-year lease for the use of the stadium. The new stadium built by the Rams would also be used as the home stadium of the Chargers.

Although Los Angeles was a big city, to conquer the fans of Los Angeles was a difficult task. The sports fans in Los Angeles still belonged to the Lakers. The Clippers arrived at Los Angeles in 1984 and had their roots in Los Angeles for over 30 years, but fans in Los Angeles still treated the Clippers as outsiders.

In the eye of the fans, only the Lakers could represent Los Angeles!

As such, the market was awful for a year after the Rams and Chargers moved back to Los Angeles.

Back then, the new stadium had not been completed. The Rams had used the Los Angeles Memorial Stadium as their home stadium. It was the main stadium of the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984. It was also the only stadium in the world that hosted two Olympics. The stadium could accommodate over 90,000 people. The field of an American football game was different from a track and field venue. As a result, when an American football match was going on, the stadium could only accommodate around 80,000 people.

When the Rams played their first game in the stadium, the occupancy rate did not even reach 30%. When the University of South California hlad played there, the stadium was full! That meant that in the eyes of sports fans in Los Angeles, the NFL Rams were not comparable to the NCAA University of South California.

The Chargers were in an even worse situation. As the Los Angeles Memorial stadium needed to host the games for both the Rams and USC, the venue was fully booked. The Chargers could only use the Los Angeles StubHub Center. This was the home stadium of the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy. The stadium had around 30,000 seats, and when it was changed for an American football game, it could only hold 27,000 people. Even then, around one-third of the seats remained empty.

One had to remember that this was Los Angeles. This was football. It was the most popular sport in the U.S., but they could not even fill a stadium that accommodated 30,000 people. It was very sad.

It was a good thing both the teams were good.

The Rams managed 13 wins and three losses in the previous season while the Chargers managed 12 wins and four losses. Their win percentage was at 75%.

In any professional sports league, a team with a 75% win rate was good. It didn't matter if you were talking about the NBA or the English Premier League, it was a good record.

Victories always attracted the attention of fans. Wins helped fill the seats of both stadiums quickly. By the end of the season, the two teams no longer had to worry about the occupancy rate of their games. With their results, they could move to a new stadium that accommodated 120,000 people and still fill the seats.

This only meant that they could stand their ground in Los Angeles. It was still a far cry away from conquering the fans in Los Angeles!

Fans in big cities were pickier compared to small cities.

In small cities, there were less professional teams and fans did not have that many choices. The loyalty of the fan was relatively higher. For example, the Green Bay Packers had the most loyal fanbase in the U.S. Since 1960, all the home games of the Packers had been sold out. Even if the Packers played badly, the fans still supported them like crazy.

In average cities, if the results of a team were still passable, the fans would be satisfied. For example, Denver had several professional teams: the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, the Denver Broncos in the NFL, the Colorado Rockies in the MLB. In recent years, their results were always mediocre, not the best and not the worst. The fans still supported them.

The fans of some cities were more pragmatic. They favored whoever had the better results. In Houston, during the years when the Rockets did not play that well, the occupancy rate was average. In recent years, after they improved, the occupancy rate increased. Apart from the Rockets, there was also the Houston Astros in the MLB and the Houston Texans in the NFL. When the Astros had bad results, the stadiums could not be filled, but when they won the championship, the stadium was filled. The Texans were in the same boat.

Then there were some cities where fans supported their city's teams unconditionally. The most classic examples were Boston and Philadelphia. No matter how good the teams were, fans would still support them like crazy. For example, the Boston Red Socks had never once won the World Series, yet the fans in Boston never once discarded the Red Socks. Bostonians had been fans of the Red Socks for generations.

As for cities like New York or Los Angeles, it was impossible to conquer the fans just through good results alone. The fans were too picky, one could only conquer them by winning the championship!

That was why the Lakers were the overlords of Los Angeles. They were able to win championships. Even when the Lakers weren't doing great, the fans still supported them like crazy. The Clippers, who had been in Los Angeles for almost 40 years were still treated as outsiders until they won the NBA championship.

In New York, the Nets were treated like the son of the concubine, because they had never won the championship before.

In the same city of New York, the 1969 miracle of the New York Mets was still discussed by New Yorkers. The top team in MLB, the New York Yankees, had countless die-hard fans.

New York and Los Angeles only recognized champions. To conquer them one needed to win a championship!

If the Rams and the Chargers really wanted to put down their roots in Los Angeles, good results were not enough. Even if they had a 75% win rate every year, it was still not enough. They needed to win a Superbowl for Los Angeles. Only then would they truly be regarded by Los Angeles as one of their own.

To win the Superbowl, the management team of the Rams found Dai Li. They hoped Dai Li could provide fitness training to the Rams players.

As a professional team, they had their own fitness coaches. It was like in soccer. The head coach had his own team and, within it, there was a special team that focused on fitness training.

To abandon their own fitness coached and go with Dai Li was a gamble. It was the equivalent of rejecting their own fitness coaches. If met with a narrow-minded head coach, he might just quit his job since the management did not have faith in him.

But, for the Superbowl, the management of the Rams really went all in. After all, Dai Li had earned 85gold medals in one Olympics.

It was the NFL after all, there were many strong opponents and many miracles. Perhap. there were weaklings in the NFL, but there would never be an absolutely dominant team. In the NFL, there were many teams one could know would lose, but there were no teams that would definitely win.

To the management of the Rams, the competition for the Superbowl was too fierce. How could one win it without making a gamble?

The Chargers were currently allied with the Rams, so they could only move with the Rams and place everything they had on Dai Li.

It is worth mentioning tha,t although the Rams and Chargers were both in Los Angeles, they could not be considered rivals.

The NFL was not the same as the NBA. The NBA was split into the East and the West. Two teams being in the same city, even the same state, were rivals. For example, every year the three teams in Texas spilled blood as they fought for a place in the playoffs. When other teams came to Texas to play, it was a given that they would lose some skin. It was normal for defending champions to lose to the Spurs, Mavericks, and Rockets.

The NFL was divided by the American League and the National League, not East and the West. The American League and National League each divided into East, West, South, and North. Each of those regions had four teams.

The Houston Texans belonged to the southern part of the American League. The Dallas Cowboys, also in Texas, were in the Eastern Conference of the National League.

The regular NFL season only had 16 matches. According to conventional fixture arrangements, in the regular season, teams in the American League and the National League only faced off once every three or four years. During the playoffs, teams from the different leagues only played against each other in the Superbowl.

The Rams belonged to the National League and the Chargers belonged to the American League. The two teams only faced each other every few years and the result did not really affect the other team's rank, so they were not rivals. There was no direct competition between the teams, so they could sit down and work together honestly.

Dai Li took on this job not because of the money, but because he thought it was an interesting challenge.

After all, American football was without a doubt one of the most physical sports. It was due to the physicality of the sport that athletes had to wear helmets and protective gear in the game.

One needed a strong body to play football. Even a quarterback was constantly the target of the defensive linebackers. Try and imagine a big guy rushing towards you. If you did not have a strong body, you would not survive very long.

The physical demands of the sport was high.

It was different from when he joined the Clippers. This time, Dai Li was not the head coach. He did not have full authority of the team and his fitness training had to cater to the tactics of the head coach.

Any training could not deviate from the tactical system, this included fitness training. Back when Dai Li was the fitness coach of Dingtian Football Club, he experienced this. All of the fitness coaching staff were there to help the head coach meet his tactical needs. Whatever tactic the head coach decided to use in the next match, the fitness coach had to create specific training plans for the players to match it.

Even in the Chinese Super League, fitness training had to cater to the tactical arrangements of the head coach. In higher-level leagues like the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, and other world-class football leagues, every time the team faced a different opponent, they would need to change their training methods. It was a common phenomena.

As for the physical demands of the NFL, it was clearly higher than the other professional leagues. The team was a single unit and the coaching staff was also a single unit. Dai Li was not part of the coaching staff, however. Not only did he have to provide the world's greatest fitness training, but he also had to adhere perfectly to the tactical system of the head coach. It was a difficulty Dai Li had never been exposed to before. One could even say that no other coach in the world had experienced it before.

It was like ordering the world's highest-spec extreme ultraviolet lithography machine from Holland's ASML Holdings and then sending the machine over to another factory to upgrade one of its parts and asking for the upgraded ultraviolet lithography machine to be better than the original. It was an impossible task.

The Rams and Chargers were among the best teams in the NFL. Among NFL teams, they were comparable to the ultraviolet lithography machines by ASML. Dai Li was the "other factory" tasked with upgrading the machine.

The task was too challenging! It was practically impossible!

Dai Li had created too many miracles, though. For Dai Li, this type of impossible task was the kind of work he hoped to get. It was the only way to stir up his passion and enthusiasm!

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Chapter 626: Legendary Coach (Finale)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li stayed with the Rams for three days. He used the System's detector to observe the daily training of the players. He obtained a preliminary basic understanding of the physical aspects of the NFL players.

Dai Li had worked in the NBA before, so he unintentionally compared the NFL and NBA players. After comparing them, he found that NFL players were much stronger.

For example, the quarterback of the NFL and the point guard of the NBA were both the players that organized an offense. In the NBA, however, the strongest point guard's physical stats were only the stats of an average NFL quarterback. The bodies of point guards could even be said to be slightly inferior. Among NFL quarterbacks, the average 6-foot-tall athlete was 220 pounds. For point guards, the average 6-foot-tall athlete weighed 198 pounds.

Of course, in the NFL, the white quarterbacks' physical stats were slightly worse than black quarterbacks'. Based on Dai Li's calculations, black quarterbacks were stronger than most NBA small forwards.

The forwards with the best physical traits in the NBA had bodies similar to the wide receivers or cornerbacks of the NFL. They were a little weaker than the tight ends and the defensive linemen.

As for centers in the NBA, their physical strength was inferior to the guards and nose tackles and they were way weaker than the 330 pound centers in the NFL.

Lebron James was a wide receiver when he played American football and he once played as a tight end. He did not have any physical advantage as a tight end, so he might as well played as a wide receiver. He was without a doubt a nightmare for short cornerbacks.

To prove his judgment, Dai Li found the test scores of the NFL rookies that year and compared them with the scores of NBA rookies.

In terms of basic physical stats, NFL rookies were not taller than six-foot two-inches; NBA rookies had an average height of six-foot seven-inches.

In terms of weight, NFL rookies weighed, on average, 242 pounds, and NBA rookies weighed 215 pounds.

To compare them, NFL rookies were slightly shorter but significantly heavier. Clearly, NFL rookies were stronger.

The comparison in strength had the widest gap. NFL rookies benched an average of 225 pounds 20.8 times, while NBA rookies benched 185 pounds 8.4 times.

Then, he looked at their jumps. The average maximum vertical leap of NFL rookies was 33.6 inches while for the NBA rookies, it was 35.3 inches.

In terms of sprinting speed, in the 40-yard dash, NFL rookies averaged 4.8 seconds. NBA rookies sprinted three-fourths of the basketball court, which was smaller, and their average time was 3.3 seconds.

Dai Li calculated it and found that NFL players must run a little less than 10 yards in a second.

Only high-level professional track and field athletes could do this. With Dai Li's knowledge of the NBA, practically none of the NBA players could reach this level.

This series of stats showed that NFL athletes really did have much stronger bodies compared to the NBA players.

Of course, NBA players had something NFL players lacked, technique. Basketball was more based on skills and techniques. Professional basketball players mainly focused their attention on improving their skills and not on improving their bodies.

…

The fitness training for football was much more complicated than basketball or soccer.

Football players were divided into offensive teams, defensive teams, and special teams, and each had their own responsibilities. The offensive team played on offense, the defensive on defense, and at kick off or when the team wanted to punt, the special team came in.

The offensive team and the defensive team each had 11 players. That made 22 players. Added to that were the kicker, punter, holder, long snapper, gunner, and others from the special team. Apart from that, there were the substitutes for each position. For a team to play one game, they needed at least than 30 players. Moreover, all 30 of these players had the opportunity to play in the game.

Based on NFL rules, a the most players a team could have on their roster was 53. Even if that was so, in an NFL season, there were still times where teams lacked players.

It was too easy to get injured playing football. Although they only played one game every week, there were still many injured players. Many of those injuries were season-long. For example, the running back, who dashed towards a huge bunch of players, could very easily get hurt. They were basically expendable. Among the running backs of the 32 teams, less than one-third could play all 16 games without getting injured.

It was due to the high expenditure of players that the NFL draft had seven rounds. 32 teams could produce 224 rookies. Moreover, even rookies drafted in the fifth or sixth round had opportunities to play. It was different than the NBA because NBA rookies drafted in the earlier stages of the second round were considered lucky to play at all.

The high probability of injury made football players heavily rely on physical and fitness training.

At the same time, because the offensive, defensive, and punting team each had their own responsibilities and players of every position had their own tasks, the training of each individual player was very specific.

For the quarterback, the most important focus of training was arm strength. A top quarterback could pass the ball rooted on the spot without any momentum for a distance of 50 yards. If he did not possess a powerful arm, it was impossible.

The kick returner needed speed. The faster they were, the better. It was like Forrest in the movie Forrest Gump. He was selected by the University of Alabama because he ran fast, and he became the returner of the team.

Then there were the running backs. There were the strong running backs that rushed to break through the last line of defense and gain the last one or two yards. Even if people were in front of them, they still had to rush forward. This required strength and explosiveness. There were also shorter and more flexible running backs who were good at finding gaps in the defense and quickly going through those gaps. Just focusing on running backs, different players required different types of physical fitness training.

Of course, this training could not defeat Dai Li. The best coach in the world would not be daunted by such a task.

…

It was the first weekend in January. The finals of the American and National Leagues had become the focus of the NFL playoff season.

The NFL playoffs were more brutal than the NBA playoffs. Both the American League and the National League had 16 teams. Only the top six made it to the playoffs. The NBA Eastern and Western Conferences each had 15 teams and the top eight made it to

In comparison, advancing in the NFL was much more difficult. The competition was naturally fiercer.

The six teams that made it through were scheduled to play according to their ranks in the regular season. Third place would play against the sixth place, fourth against five. It was called the wild card race. The first two ranked teams did not play this first round. They waited until the second round and played against the teams that won the previous rounds. After that, the winners duked it out in their respective league finals.

This meant that the first and second ranked team played one game less than the other four teams. They could await their exhausted enemies at ease. Do not underestimate the positive effects of being able to play one game less. Football was an intense and extremely physical sport. Every game was like a war. If one was able to rest for a week and play one less game, it was an amazing advantage!

None of the wild card teams since 2003 ever made it to the Superbowl. The Superbowl competitors were all teams that rested an extra week and played one game less. This was enough to prove the importance of that one week of rest.

Games in the NFL playoffs were decided in one game. In the NBA, teams played in a seven game series. This left the games more to chance. Teams with good results during the regular season lost during the playoffs all the time.

The finals of the American and National Leagues were already the highest level battles in football. The two highest level battles in one day made the fans incredibly excited.

For people from Los Angeles, today was another day to party.

The home stadium of the Rams was located in Inglewood, Los Angeles. At the moment, although the game had not yet started, the 120,000 seats inside the stadium had been filled.

Suddenly, cheers erupted from one side of the stadium and, soon, the cheers spread throughout the entire stadium.

The fans had already gotten word that the American League final had just ended. The other Los Angeles team, the Chargers, had defeated their opponents and become the champion of the American League. By doing so, they earned themselves a spot in the Superbowl.

If the Rams also defeated their opponent, that meant that two Los Angeles teams would play against each other in the Superbowl. The Superbowl this year would be won by Los Angeles in advance!

The Superbowl could be the Rams versus the Chargers, a inner-city competition! This was something that was worth celebrating for the fans of Los Angeles!

NFL teams were not divided according to whether they were in the East or the West, so same city competitions were possible. Only two cities, however, had two teams. One was New York and the other was Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Chargers and the Rams were in the American League and the National league. The New York Jets and Giants were also split between the two leagues. Strictly speaking, the Giants and the Jets could not be considered from New York because the Giants' and the Jets' home stadium was not in New York, but in New Jersey. Based on the geography, the Giants and the Jets were both teams from New Jersey. They just used the name New York.

By the time the players of the Rams got on the field, they already knew that the Chargers, who were from the same city had already achieved victory. The other team from the same city had already got their ticket to the Superbowl, it was motivating as well as it was pressuring.

If the Rams were to win this game, then the Superbowl was guaranteed to stay in Los Angeles. By then, they would definitely be hailed as the heroes of Los Angeles and perhaps, in future Superbowls, citizens of Los Angeles would reminisce about this year. They would remember the Los Angeles Rams and the Rams would firmly place their roots here in Los Angeles and become a true Los Angeles team.

…

There were two minutes left in the game and it was an official timeout.

The score was 41 to 32. The Rams had a nine-point lead and they had possession of the ball.

This meant that the game had already ended.

In football, one attack could gain, at most, eight points. A lead of nine points could only be beaten by two attacks. In the remaining time, there was not enough time to complete two attacks.

The fans had already started to celebrate. The Rams had won the National League championship, which meant that the Superbowl was won by Los Angeles. The Superbowl, which was in two weeks, belonged to the city.

At the same time, in Manhattan, Professor Luck sat in front of his TV. He went into deep thought as he looked at the scoreline that was broadcasted.

Professor Luck worked at Columbia University. He was a faculty member of the Department of Sports Management. Among the universities in the U.S., not many schools had that major. Columbia University was among the best with the major.

Of course, as one of the top schools in the U.S., Columbia University had multiple world-class programs.

In truth, both sides in the game had made some errors, but they were not fatal errors. At most, if they would be penalized for a few yards, there was not even any error that led to a change in possession.

As for tactical execution, both sides were top-class. Football demanded tactical execution among its players. Players that did not adhere to tactical plans would never make it in the NFL.

The cooperation between the players was also very good on both sides. These were teams that made it to the finals of their individual leagues. At the very least, they had more than ten wins during the regular season. The players had already built up chemistry as they won games during the regular season.

In terms of tactics, both sides were very transparent. After all, everyone was a top-class team, so they knew everything about each other. It was like in the NBA, the better their results, the fewer secrets they had. Everyone would know how they played.

Football was the same. NFL teams had an entire week between each of their games, so it was more than sufficient for the coaching staff to research and understand the tactics of their opponents. They produced a set of tactics to restrain their opponents. They even considered how their opponents would try to restrain them, then think up another strategy or tactic to counter that.

In all aspects of the game, both sides did great, but the Rams ultimately led by nine points.

"The difference is in the linemen!" Luck mumbled to himself.

From Luck's professional perspective, the Rams won because of their linemen. Whether it was the offensive or defensive linemen, the Rams were at a higher level.

The Rams defensive linemen were stronger. They had the league's best defensive lineman, who produced 20 blitzes in a season. It was definitely a nightmare for quarterbacks.

In that game, their performance had surpassed their average level throughout the season. Three blitzes totally destroyed and delayed the opponent's rhythm.

The Rams' defensive end also performed nicely, not allowing even a yard when the opponent tried to rush through.In the end, they could only retreat.

As for the offensive linemen, the Rams' offensive end and offensive tackle always held their line and kept the opponent's defensive linemen tangled, giving their quarterback enough time to observe the positions of the wide receivers before completing his pass.

The defensive linemen could defend an extra one or two yards while the offensive linemen gave the offensive team an extra one or two yards. The end result might just be one extra first down or perhaps one extra kick. The nine point lead came from them.

The linemen of football had the most direct physical battles. The wide receivers, the running backs of the offensive team, and the cornerbacks would be involved in direct and intense physical battles when they had the ball. It was the linemen who were involved in intense physical battles during every attack.

As Luck thought of that, he went to his computer and searched for half a day. Finally, he found a news article from last year.

I remembered right after all. The Rams handed over their physical fitness training to that Olympic coach! The Rams' linemen becoming so strong was probably the coach's achievement!

In the next second, Luck seemed to have suddenly noticed something.

The Rams outsourced their physical fitness training to a professional physical fitness training center and the effect was excellent. It looks like they will be headed to the Superbowl. Apart from that, the Chargers already made it through. The Chargers' physical fitness training was also conducted by Coach Li. The reason these two Los Angeles teams will face off against each other in the Superbowl is Dai Li!

The fitness training standard of a professional team is without a doubt inferior to those of a world-class physical fitness training center, so the Rams and Chargers received better physical training. Looks like outsourcing their physical fitness training to a professional center was a success for them.

Since this worked football, it should be fine in other types of sports, right? Basketball, hockey, and baseball. These sports are not as physically demanding as football. If it worked in American football, it should also work in other sports!

Not only physical fitness training but other types of training could also refer to this type of method. Rehabilitation and technical training could all be outsourced to more professional coaches. The coaches of the team would only be responsible for creating the structure of the tactical system.

Perhaps I can conduct research on this new type of training model, and after that, write a dissertation on this…

…

In Holland, Holland's National Men's Soccer Team's head coach, Roman, held a sports magazine from the U.S. in his hands.

Americans were not as passionate about soccer as Europeans or South Americans, but the U.S. was one of the strongest countries in the world when it came to sports. Even if the four major sports league of the U.S. did not include soccer, Roman still hoped to learn something from the four major sports leagues of the U.S. Perhaps it could be used in soccer.

Roman was a famous soccer legend from Holland. When he was young, he played for powerhouses like Barcelona. After he became a coach, he coached in Eindhoven, Valencia, Everton, and various top-class professional soccer teams in Europe. He could be considered a world-class coach and, at his level, was certainly capable of drawing inferences about other cases from one instance. He could absorb ideas from other sports and, after modifying them slightly, use it in football.

Finally, Roman saw Professor Luck's article.

"It's Professor Luck from Columbia University. I know this guy, he's an expert in sports management. He is pretty famous in the U.S.," Roman mumbled to himself. He proceeded to read the article seriously.

A new training method for professional teams? Head coach would only be responsible for formulating the tactical structure and system? Will this work? The Rams outsourced their physical fitness training to a professional fitness training team? Is this a joke?

At first glance, Roman thought the things mentioned in the article was ludicrous. After all, he used to work as the head coach for several first-rate soccer clubs in Europe. Every time, he formed his team. Of course, the other first-rate soccer coaches also did the same, they all had their own teams. No matter which club they went to, the coaching staff could handle all kinds of training and not look to others for help.

After a while, Roman fell into deep thought.

The Rams outsourced their physical fitness training to a professional physical fitness training center, I remember last month the Rams won the Superbowl…

Roman then reread the article seriously. After that, he felt that the article made a lot of sense.

Disregarding physical fitness training, if one were to look at Europe as a whole, top-class physical fitness coaches were limited. Most of them had already been obtained by Real Madrid, Barcelona, and various other powerhouses. Average teams or normal coaching teams would not be able to recruit the best fitness coaches, so handing over physical fitness training to third-parties with more expertise was not something that would not work for average teams.

In terms of technique or skills training, third-party involvement was not something new. For example, shooting, free kicks, and dribbling techniques were trained through technical coaches.

It was not only soccer, but other types of sports had similar situations. Some NBA Hall of Famer would organize training camps to teach players techniques of a center. As long as one was willing to pay the tuition fee, one could even learn the "dream footwork." Of course, while many had paid the fees to learn the "dream footwork," none had come to master it.

In truth, as the head coach of a team, one could not usually choose their players. It was difficult for head coaches to get the players they liked. The makeup of the team was decided by the club owner. Many times, from a commercial point of view, teams would even get players that did not fit the system of the team at all.

In times like these, the head coach would have to show his ability. He used tactics to adjust and mediate, to make sure that players could integrate into the tactical system. High-level coaches were able to transform useless people into magical beings. Weak or bad coaches, would lose even if they were given the lineup of Real Madrid or Barcelona.

It was like the game Dou Dizhu. A player had no say in the card he was getting, but the player got to decide how to play the hand he was dealt. A good player would not lose badly even if he were given the worst hand, but a bad player would still lose even if he were dealt the best possible hand.

From this perspective, the main work of the coaching team was really to focus on structuring tactical systems. As for the makeup of the team, the coaching team had the authority to make suggestions, but they did not have the final say.

Perhaps the success of the Rams was a special case… Roman continued thinking. American football has a higher demand on the body than soccer. From another perspective, if it worked in American football, then it should work for soccer as well!"

Roman could not help but think about his team. These young fellows were excellent, what they lacked right now was fitness training.

Dutch soccer was filled with contradiction because they were the "Uncrowned King."

It sounded like a compliment, but it speaks more to the mistakes made in Dutch soccer than the greatness of it..

Currently, soccer in Holland was in short supply. They did not make it into the last World Cup and the previous Dutch head coach resigned. Roman was the new head coach of the Dutch team.

The Dutch team that Roman took over was not really a bad bunch. Although the players of the golden era of the Dutch team had grown old, the current Dutch national team had many players playing in the five major football leagues in Europe. The Dutch team was still a top-rated team in Europe. The only problem was that the current Dutch team did not have a world-class superstar.

The team was in the midst of lowering the average age of the players. The team had many players who were not even 25 yet. Although they came from the five major soccer leagues in Europe, many of them were not the key players on their teams. A team like this, when compared to the previous Dutch team filled with shining stars, was bound to lose.

This team defeated the French and German teams not that long ago. It was as if they were declaring to the world that Dutch soccer had revived.

Roman knew that the Dutch team was still far away from glory! These young players still had a long way to go.

In terms of match experience, Roman was not worried. Most players who came from the European football powerhouses grew up in a soccer environment. They would have started playing soccer before they entered primary school. In that kind of environment in Europe, games were abundant in every age group. Those who were on the Dutch national team did not lack experience.

In terms of skills and techniques, Roman had even less to worry about. The Dutch team had always played technical football. Exquisite footwork was the special characteristic of Dutch soccer, no soccer players originating from Holland had crude skills.

Roman was worried about tactics. Roman's current tactical system relied on the athleticism of the players.

The previous World Cup redefined the role of big target forwards and, at the same time, it redefined another keyword in modern soccer, "high intensity."

Soccer was not a trick show, a circus, nor was it a drama. It was a high-intensity competitive sport.

If one's skills were lacking, then one could use big players with high endurance that relied on defense to defeat strong teams.

Those with good skills would require exceptional athleticism. They would be able to freely use all kinds of tactics to destroy their opponents.

The big and athletic players who were also skilled shone brightly during the World Cup.

As for the players who were skilled but were not big or those who were skilled but were not athletic, they were targeted and restrained.

Roman thought that this was a trend in soccer. A bunch of big athletic players, whose skill with the ball was good but not great They had a physical advantage on the field,and they could limit their opponents in both attacks and defense.

Roman created his team's tactical system based on these standards.

What the current Dutch team lacked most was truly exceptional athleticism, so they needed the best fitness training.

Perhaps I should head to the U.S. and personally see just how good this Coach Li is!

…

Dai Li had been very happy lately. When the Los Angeles Rams won the Superbowl, his System leveled up once again. He went from being a celebrated coach to a legendary coach.

After becoming a legendary coach, a store appeared in the System. Within the store, he could exchange for various skill books. He could also exchange for more expendable items like the age reduction cards and athlete's patch.

At the same time, the reward for the legendary coach was that all athletes under him would have a five percent increase in their ability.

For normal athletes, a five percent increase was not a lot. For world-class athletes, a one percent increase was already immensely difficult. A five percent ability increase was almost beyond the limits of human biology.

On the world stage, a five percent increase was enough to affect who the winner would be.

If, during the final of a world-class competition, the ability of the athletes were all similar, and suddenly, one of the contestants' strengths improved by five percent, the balance for victory would be broken.

Dai Li wanted to find a huge competition to test just how strong this five percent increase was. It was regrettable that the Olympics were far away and Dai Li could not find any suitable opportunity.

At that moment, Roman came to visit.

As such, Dai Li took over the fitness training of the Dutch Men's National Soccer Team.

…

The World Cup Qualifiers

The competition in the European region had always been the fiercest.

Based on the rules of qualifying for the World Cup, the 54 European countries were divided into nine groups. Every group had six teams and, after the grouping, teams played group matches at home and away. The first-ranked team of each group would directly qualify for the World Cup. The remaining best eight teams would play extra games and fight for the remaining spots.

In the qualifier grouping, Holland was seeded second. In the end, they successfully qualified for the World Cup by being the best in their group.

This result did not exceed people's expectations. There were no weak teams in Europe. At least in the European qualifiers, teams that were placed in the top three levels of seeding did not really have a huge gap in terms of strength. One was not definitively stronger than the other.

Dutch soccer was always among the best in Europe. Holland had beaten the powerhouses of Europe, like France, Spain or Germany.

In the World Cup grouping, Holland also got a decent group. In the same group, there was another European team, an Asian team, and an African team. For Holland, the African and Asian teams were free wins. Holland was already guaranteed six points, and there seemed to be no problems in terms of getting through the group stage.

The Asian and African teams were lacking skill. When faced against Western European teams that were more skillful with their feet, they were completely dominated. The Dutch team easily advanced to the knockout stage.

In the first round of the knockout stage, they faced the runner-up of the previous World Cup, Croatia.

In the previous World Cup, Croatia made it into the finals and became the runner-up. They exceeded the expectations of many. Croatia's success also stimulated discussions about the development of soccer.

Croatian players were generally bigger and they did not have fancy footwork like the South American players. They were not as exquisite as Western Europeans, but they were solid in their fundamentals. These sort of players did not seem to be special when put in the five major European soccer leagues, but it was exactly this group of people that hurt the Argentinians with a three-nil scoreline in the previous World Cup.

There was no need to doubt the skills of the Argentinian players. Fans loved Argentinian soccer. Eight or nine out of ten liked the fancy and flamboyant style of Argentinian soccer players. In Argentina, soccer was not just a sport, it had become beautiful art that people admired. In contrast, Croatian soccer was so simple that it seemed like a big black pot.

The exquisite and beautiful art piece was broken into tiny pieces by the big pot!

Success and failure in sports was determined by the results. The crushing defeat of flamboyant skills by strong physical bodies and, furthermore, the excellent display of strength by big players during that World Cup made many soccer specialists think that perhaps having big and strong players was the newest trend in soccer.

In the knockout stage that came after, Croatia defeated Denmark, eliminated Russia, and pulled England off their high horse. They went into extra time in all three games, and the Croatians fully displayed their endurance.

Because their skills were sufficient, having a big and strong bodies and exceptional endurance put them over the top!

…

Holland versus Croatia

For both sides, this game was a test.

Nobody expected that the Croatian team, which was famous for their athleticism, would be completely dominated by the Dutch team.

When two players went to head for the ball, the Croatian player failed to jump as high as the Dutch player.

When two players pursued the ball at the same time, the Croatian players were slower than the Dutch players.

When forming walls during free kicks, the Croatians lost the physical battles against the Dutch.

Western European players were stronger than the Eastern European players. It sounded ludicrous, but the truth was there for all to see.

More importantly, the Dutch players showed shocking endurance. Throughout the game, they kept running as if they did not know what fatigue was.

A Dutch team like that reminded people of the "Total Soccer" strategy the Dutch team used back in the day.

This strategy led the way in soccer during that time. The technical and physical demands of the tactic, however, was now too high.

Soccer back then was not as intense and physical as modern day soccer. Players with great stamina could support the entire tactic but, as soccer became more physical and intense, it became impossible. In high-level battles, players did not have as much stamina to run that long.

Although the Dutch team today was not using this strategy, the players still ran with positivity. They were not that inferior to the players back then.

They had strong bodies and sufficient stamina, which were recognized as the future of soccer. When these elements were supplemented with exquisite footwork, a frightening team was instantly created.

It was three to zero. Holland beat Croatia. The previous World Cup runner-up did not have any physical advantage and lost without any suspense.

After that, in the quarterfinals, Holland played against a similarly young English team.

Many ons the Dutch team played in England. England was perhaps the most familiar opponent for the Dutch team.

The English Premier League had always been well-known for its physical nature and English players were great at physical battles. Under the guidance of Dai Li, the Dutch team's physical ability outmatched Croatia. When faced with the English players, they were on a higher level. In the end, the Dutch team defeated England, two goals to one.

In the semifinals, Holland played against the defending champions, the French.

Four years ago, the French team was ridiculed as an "African team." This time, the French team went even further, three-fourths of the team were black. One of the key characteristics of this French team was that they had great stamina and these black players were great at running. When paired with their amazing technical skills, the style of play for the French team was certainly amazing.

In truth, the current play of the Dutch team was similar to the French's. They relied on skills and athleticism and used a penetrative playstyle to destroy their opponents. When comparing the athleticism of black and white players, black athletes generally had an advantage. The French team also had multiple top European stars. As for the stars of the Dutch team, they were clearly a lot darker than the French team.

In the pre-match predictions, everyone favored the French team. Most people thought the score would be two to zero or two to one.

No one expected that by the time the regular game time was over, the final score would be two against two. Then, they went to extra time.

The French team's attack was amazing, the entire world knew it. The Dutch team displayed similarly amazing attacks and both teams failed to restrain their opposition.

Truth be told, once a technical team gained athleticism, attacking became easier.

The Dutch team was slightly weaker than the French. The French team had so many world-class superstars, their individual abilities were certainly better than the Dutch players'.

Dai Li, however, brought a five percent increase in ability to the Dutch team. Every player experienced an increase in their skills. When put on a team, this sort of increase was exponential. It closed the power gap between the two teams.

…

How is it that the Dutch are so good at running? The French head coach had a solemn look on his face. He wanted to rush on to the field and scream at the French players to make them run more. He also knew that the French team already ran quite decently. The players had been running for over 100 minutes and they were constantly sprinting. The coach could not be as strict as he was in the beginning.

Their black players were great at running. The French team relied on their exceptional stamina to outmatch their opponents one after another. The head coach of the French team had thought extra time was advantageous for the French team, and that the Dutch would never be able to hold on.

The reality was exactly the opposite. During extra time, the Dutch players ran with even more motivation, they displayed even better stamina and endurance than the French. If this were to continue, the ones that would be dragged down would not be the Dutch but the French!

The head coach of the French team had an ominous feeling, which turned into reality during stoppage time of extra time!

A long ball from the Dutch team flew past half the field. The Dutch forwards quickly rushed forward. Although the French players put in everything to run back to defend, the drop in their stamina was too obvious. Their defense was completely overwhelmed by the Dutch's speed.

It was a three versus four attack. The Dutch team broke through the French defense and put the ball into the French net at the last moment!

The Dutch team had succeeded in getting to the World Cup finals.

…

Teams that achieved success in the World Cup attracted more attention. The entire world researched and looked into the reasons for their success.

The Dutch team was no different. When they made it to the World Cup final, the Dutch team became the target of research for soccer professionals all over the globe.

Holland getting to the World Cup final should not have been news. After all, Holland was considered a European powerhouse. For a young Dutch team with barely any player who took part in a World Cup before to make it to the finals was something worth researching.

In truth, the research mentioned was simply a process of looking for something different. Anything the team changed would probably be the reason for the team's success.

They looked for changes in the players, the position of the players, changes in the team formation or tactical selection changes.

The change in the Dutch team was obvious, the change in their athleticism and stamina. They dared to compete against Eastern European countries in physical battles, the previous Dutch team could not do that.

Dai Li had once again come into the people's view. Professionals in the soccer world knew Dai Li's fitness training brought about the changes in the Dutch team. If the Dutch team were to win the World Cup, then Dai Li would be the biggest contributor to the Dutch team's success!

…

Ultimately, the Dutch team won the World Cup and finally lost the title of "uncrowned champions." At the same time, the entire world witnessed Dai Li's greatness.

The world's two most influential sporting events were the Olympics and the World Cup. In the Olympics, Dai Li's training camp produced 85 gold medals. In the World Cup, Dai Li helped a young Dutch team become the champions.

In the living room of a hotel suite, a reputable European media company was currently interviewing Dai Li.

The World Cup was placed on the table in front of Dai Li. The cameraman adjusted the angle and put Dai Li as well as the cup in the frame.

Facing the camera, Dai Li said teasingly, "In terms of competitive sports, there are only three needs. The first is to have a suitable body. A basketball player needs height, being too short makes it impossible for the person to turn professional.

"Second, skill. No matter what sport, experts always have good skills and techniques. The higher level the competition, the better the skills of the contestants. It is an undeniable truth.

"Third, physical fitness, a human body's basic athleticism. This includes strength, speed, endurance, coordination, flexibility, and agility. Every skill and technique in sports needs to be supported by physical fitness.

"The body comes from the parent. Whether you can grow tall depends on your genes. Although training can influence the growth of a body, genes are the main determinant. Which genes we get is not something that we can choose.

"Skills and techniques are acquired and improved after birth. Talent, however, determines the upper-limit of skills. Some people train very hard but, due to the limitations of their talent, they can never become the best. This is not just in sports, it exists in every industry. Talent is something that one cannot improve with training, it depends on luck.

"Physical fitness is the only thing athletes can improve upon with training. Of course, physical fitness training also has a limit. From the point of view of sports, compared to genes and talent, physical fitness is controllable, it is something that can be changed by training.

"High-level physical fitness training is actually the strengthening of physical fitness, which is what I am doing. I help athletes become better, faster, and stronger!"

After the interview ended, as Dai Li sent the reporters away, the assistant came rushing towards him.

"Coach, someone outside wants to visit you. They are from China and they say that they are from the soccer association. This is their business card." The assistant passed a card to Dai Li.

Dai Li took the card, lowered his head, and saw two designations were written on it. One was the Deputy Director of the Joint Conference of the Soccer Reform and Development Department while the other was the Deputy Director of the Chinese Soccer Association.

Deputy Director of the Soccer Association! Dai Li was shocked. He asked his assistant to bring them over.

The one in front was named Wang. He was the Deputy Director of the Soccer Association.

After Deputy Director Wang entered the room, he immediately saw the World Cup placed on the table. Boundless admiration showed in his gaze.

After the guest and the host each sat down, they greeted each other and made small talk before Dai Li asked, "May I know the reason for your visit?"

Deputy Director Wang did not attempt to hide anything and said frankly, "Coach Li, you helped the Dutch team achieve brilliant success during the World Cup. This is apparent. We want to invite you to help with the physical fitness training of our men's national soccr team. We hope to make it into the next World Cup!"

The originally calm expression on Dai Li's face instantly changed.

Dai Li really wanted to say, "Dear leader, you are really ambitious! It was difficult just to get into the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup. You want them to play in the World Cup!"

Deputy Director Wang felt a bit awkward. He made a dry cough and said, "We received news that there was a high chance that the World Cup will expand. By then, 48 teams will be able to play in it. The maximum number of Asian teams will be increased to eight. Our country should be able to make it in.

"Moreover, with 48 countries participating, there will be 16 groups. Every group would have three teams, with only the last-placed team being eliminated. This meant that two out of three would advance, which was much easier than two out of four. Our country not only has the chance to make it into the World Cup, we could even perhaps make it through the group stage!"

The more Deputy Director Wang said, the more excited he became. Dai Li,however, only felt that he had met with a multilevel marketing agent who just built a castle in the sky. Perhaps that famous Italian soccer coach was coaxed into his job like this. After one Asian Cup, his reputation had been destroyed.

Even if the World Cup expanded and Asia had eight spots, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia already took five spots. Apart from that, there was the UAE and Qatar, both of which seemed stronger than China. There were also countries like Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Iraq, North Korea, and Vietnam. These were all teams that the Chinese team might not win against. If one counted like that, even if there were eight spots, there might still not be enough for China.

To get that team into the World Cup was the hardest task Dai Li had ever received!

If he succeeded, it would be okay. If he failed, the brand that Dai Li worked so hard to build for so many years could be destroyed.

How did a headache like this appear! Even as a legendary coach, I'm afraid this is impossible!

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