Almighty Coach

Raymond was alone in the utility room. In front of him was an old video recorder, and next to the video recorder was a whole box of video tapes.

VCRs and video tapes, which used to be standard equipment in American families, have long since been eliminated. Even if they haven't been thrown away, they will be thrown into the utility room like Raymond's house.

At this time, Raymond found these video tapes. He picked up one of them with a look of nostalgia, blew off the dust on it, and put it in the video recorder.

The old VCR can still be used after being plugged in, but the obsolete CRT TV in the utility room is no longer so clear, and even the colors have become very inconsistent.

Raymond appeared on the TV screen. At that time, he was only 18 years old, had just graduated from high school, and then participated in the NBA draft. As a result, he was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 9th overall pick in the first round.

It's hard to find the game video of that year, but Raymond still keeps the game video of his rookie season, but in the form of a video tape.

"I was so young back then." Raymond looked at his immature self in the picture, but there was a memorable smile on his face.

Raymond changed to a video tape. On the unclear screen on the TV, Raymond was facing the Indiana Pacers.

"I remember that game, I got 10 points and 11 rebounds, that was the first double-double in my career, and I was only 18 years and five months old, and I was the youngest double-double in the NBA at the time player."

Raymond changed another tape, this time he faced the Nets, who were still the "New Jersey Nets" at the time.

"In that game, I scored 22 points, which was also the highest scoring record for a rookie at that time."

"That rookie season is really memorable for me. I remember that I averaged 45% of my shots per game. It was the highest single-season record for a player under the age of 21 in NBA history."

Raymond picked up the videotape on the other side. The word "Magic" was marked on it. Raymond knew that this was the video after he transferred to the Magic.

He picked up a video tape, put it into the VCR, and began to think about himself back then.

"I still remember that season. I was not yet 21 years old, but I averaged 26 points per game. I was also the third player in NBA history to average 26 points per game before the age of 21."

The TV screen gradually changed to a wonderful collection of goals. It was almost in Raymond's hands. He always had various ways to put the basketball into the frame.

"In those two seasons, I won two NBA scoring titles. I still remember that I was the fifth player in NBA history to get 40+10+10."

The content of the videotape only recorded the season when Raymond won the scoring title, and the Rockets career after that was not recorded in the videotape. However, Raymond remembered the "35 seconds and 13 points". In the last 35 seconds of the game, he made three three-pointers and a three-plus-one, helping the Rockets achieve an impossible reversal, and that scene was also remembered by countless fans.

Unconsciously, Raymond suddenly felt a little itchy, and he really wanted to play. He stood up, walked out of the utility room, and came to the basketball court of the villa. He picked up the basketball and started to shoot or make a few beautiful layups.

The weather was very hot, and it didn't take long for Raymond to sweat. But he felt unsatisfactory, as if something important was missing.

Raymond stopped and looked at the basketball in his hand in some confusion.

"How long has it been since you experienced the feeling of victory?" Dai Li's question came to Lei Meng's mind again. He looked at the lonely basket in front of him, but felt that he was lonelier than the basket.

"It's because of the lack of the feeling of victory!" Raymond sighed suddenly. He had already realized that even though he had retired, deep down in his heart, he still longed for victory.

"If I want to play, I can go to the Rockets' training ground to have fun at any time, but only on the court can I taste that feeling of victory." Raymond suddenly had an impulse in his heart, and he threw down the basketball in his hand. Basketball, ran back to the room quickly, and found Dai Li's business card on the table in the living room.

Lei Meng picked up the phone and dialed Dai Li's number.

"Hello, is this Coach Li? I'm Raymond..."

...

Not long after, Dai Li and Johnson came to Raymond's house again.

"Coach Li, I want to know, if I join the Clippers, what kind of position can you give me? Can you guarantee that I will enter the rotation? I don't want to be a cold bench for a season." Raymond asked road.

"I can guarantee you to enter the team's rotation." Dai Li nodded without hesitation, and continued: "If you are in good condition, I plan to let you play the starting lineup."

"Starting?" Raymond shook his head with a bitter face: "I don't dare to think about starting. I am injured all over my body now. I can play a game for a few minutes, thank God."

"I know, back injury, waist injury, knee injury, foot injury, these are the four serious injuries on your body, in addition to the groin, wrist, elbow, hip, left big toe, you have also been injured. But these are not problems." Dai Li smiled and waved his hands: "Even your congenital scoliosis is not a problem in my opinion."

"Coach Li, are you kidding me?" Raymond said in disbelief.

Raymond has played for so many years, so he has accumulated a lot of injuries. He chose to retire because of his back injury, and he could not recover after undergoing minimally invasive surgery on his knee. In fact, he was only a player in the second and third positions. As far as he is concerned, he is not old.

The most serious injury of Raymond is his congenital scoliosis. At that time, some experts predicted that he would be able to play for three or four years at most. Because of this problem, Raymond fell to the ninth overall pick in the draft. was selected. And this congenital scoliosis is also the biggest problem affecting Raymond's career. If there is no congenital scoliosis, Lei Meng's strength will definitely rise to a higher level.

At this time, Dai Li finally took out the brochure he had prepared.

"I am best at rehabilitation training. Over the years, I have also helped many well-known athletes to carry out rehabilitation training. Many of them suffered injuries that were enough to affect their careers. These are all successful cases. "

...

Dai Li and Johnson left Raymond's villa

"Raymond seemed very excited just now," Johnson said.

"Of course, there are two biggest enemies of professional athletes, that is time and injury. Time is invincible to anyone. Faced with the aging of the body, we can only let it go. But the injury is different, it is always standing It is the opposite of athletes, and athletes can also fight. Any athlete who has an injury will be very interested in the method that can recover from his injury." Dai Li replied.

Johnson nodded, then asked, "Who is our next target?"

"Have you brought your swimming trunks?" Dai Li seemed to ask an irrelevant topic.

Johnson immediately understood: "Are you going to Miami? Are you looking for Chris Noel?"

"Yes, we need inside players. Now is the small ball era, and the requirements for inside have become different. Those inside players who are fast, can switch defenses at any time, and have the ability to shoot three-pointers are very popular. And Chris Noll, It is definitely the best 4th position in the NBA at the moment." Dai Li replied.

"But Noel is different from other players. Other athletes have to leave the field because of injury, but Chris Noel has to leave the field because of illness. The blood clot in his body can be fatal. It can cause blood clots. It may even lead to pulmonary embolism and myocardial infarction. This is a disease that needs to be treated, not something you can solve through training.” Johnson said.

"In the final analysis, there is a problem with his own anti-coagulation function. If there is no blood clot in his physical fitness, the situation you mentioned will not happen. He should be able to pass the NBA physical examination, right?" Dai Li continued: "You are responsible for negotiating the contract. As for passing the NBA physical examination, leave it to me."

...

Chris Noel, 2.11 meters tall, serves as a power forward, and occasionally tops the center position. He has been selected to the NBA All-Star team 11 times and has won two NBA championships. He is definitely a superstar player.

Noel belongs to the kind of insider who moves very flexibly. As a big player, Chris Noel has the ability to shoot from the outside. He has won the NBA Shooting Star Competition three times in a row. In his career, he once had a 40% three-point shooting percentage a season.

Many fans criticized him for not playing hard enough, always floating outside to shoot, and not daring to go inside to attack, but in fact he is very good at rebounding, although he doesn't like to cause damage inside, but considering the first small ball In the era, this kind of space-type 4 who can shoot from the outside is definitely the most popular 4 player.

Like other stars, Chris Noll has suffered many injuries, but it was illness that finally kept him off the court. Doctors found a blood clot in his lung, which could have caused him a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.

And then, the worse news is that his anticoagulant function has problems, he said that blood clots are prone to occur in his blood vessels, and the blood clots will enter the main meridians of the limbs, and the biggest impact is It is blocking the pulmonary artery, causing pulmonary embolism, or blocking the cardiovascular, causing heart disease. These are deadly diseases.

Although taking anticoagulant drugs can treat this disease, anticoagulant drugs also have a side effect, which is to increase the risk of bleeding, and it is not easy to stop bleeding after bleeding. Lifting sports such as basketball will increase the chance of blood vessel bleeding, not to mention the fierce confrontation in the NBA. If you have been taking anticoagulant drugs, you will not be able to play in the NBA.

In the end, the NBA Players Association issued a medical report that determined that Chris Noel had suffered a "career-ending injury." This report also meant that Noel would leave the NBA. Although Noel has never announced his retirement, his club, the Heat, has announced that he has been laid off and promised to retire his jersey.

...

In Miami in summer, there are piles of beauties in bikinis by the sea, and at night, nightclubs are also full of carnival crowds.

Noel's mansion is right by the sea. The mansion has a three-story swimming pool and a private yacht dock near the sea.

However, when Dai Li and Johnson came here, they found a sell sign hanging on the door.

"Is Noel going to sell the house?" Dai Li asked subconsciously.

"It seems that the Heat cut him, which really made him very sad. He doesn't plan to stay in this city any longer." Johnson said.

"This is better, we have a better chance of persuading him." Dai Li said, and rang the doorbell.

...

"Chris, we want to invite you to join the Clippers." Johnson was afraid that Chris would misunderstand what he meant, and then said: "It's not the team's management, nor the team's coaching staff, but joining as a player." Clippers, that is, we want to ask you to come back."

"Come back? Why use this word! I haven't retired yet!" Chris Noel patted his chest with a displeased expression.

"Yes, I haven't retired yet!" Johnson said with some embarrassment, but he was muttering in his heart: The Heat have already retired Noel's jersey, and he is ashamed to say that he has not retired in this situation!

Dai Li asked from the side: "Mr. Noel, so you are interested in joining the Clippers?"

"Of course! I still have a villa in Los Angeles. I wanted to sell it a few years ago but failed to sell it. Now I can just live in it." Noel replied.

Dai Li and Johnson looked at each other, neither of them expected that things would go so smoothly.

However, Noel went on to say: "I can go to the Clippers, but I want a starting position!"

"That's no problem." Dai Li readily agreed.

Dai Li promised so readily, but Noel was a little surprised. In his current situation, he couldn't pass the NBA physical examination at all. He couldn't even make the team's roster, let alone the starting position. If Dai Li hadn't been the head coach of the Clippers, Noel would have thought he had encountered a liar.

Noel asked with some doubts: "Coach Li, you should know my current physical condition, right? I mean the blood clot in my body."

"Of course I know." Dai Li nodded.

"Then you should know that with my current body, it is impossible to pass the NBA physical examination, and the NBA officials will not allow me to play." Noel continued.

"I know too." Dai Li nodded again.

"You clearly know that I won't be able to play, so you still agree to my request?" Noel asked puzzled.

"Isn't it still a good month before the start of the new season? During this time, you come to Los Angeles for training, and I'm sure I can recover you." Dai Li seemed very frank.

"Training alone? Can't solve the problem of blood clots? Are you kidding me?" Noel obviously didn't believe Dai Li's words.

"We can sign the contract first. If you really can't pass the NBA physical examination before the start of the next season, then we will lose a lot of money. I don't think anyone will joke about millions of dollars?" Dai Li said .

Nuoer thought for a while, and felt that what Dai Li said made sense, so he nodded and agreed.

"About the contract, our team manager Johnson will contact your agent." Dai Li thought for a while, then asked: "I have one more question at the end. I thought it would take a lot of talking before I could get it." Talking about moving you to join the Clippers, I didn't expect you to agree so happily, I want to know why, you will make a choice so quickly."

"You should have seen at the door that I'm listing to sell this house, right? I don't plan to continue living in Miami anymore. In fact, I planned to go to Los Angeles. I still have a big villa there." Noel Open your mouth and answer.

"Is it because the Heat fired you?" Dai Li asked.

"That's just one of the reasons. I've been in this city for many years, I love Miami, I love being in the Heat, I have a group of teammates here that I know, and we've won two championships together. I thought I was going to die in this city, but I got that damn blood clot!"

Noel took a deep breath, and continued: "I should have retired like a superstar with all my glory, enjoying flowers and applause, enjoying a perfect retirement ceremony, instead of lying in the hospital in a hospital gown, etc. As others declared, I could no longer play, like an abandoned orphan!

"I was not willing to leave the court like this! So I said to myself, if I can, I will definitely return to the court!"

"I can not be reconciled!"