Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 139 - 93: An Unexpected Accident, Hill Sprains His Ankle
The data from Nelson showed that J Kidd and the others had seen a significant improvement, especially in their endurance.
It even cured several people’s insomnia.
So it was definitely something that could be rolled out more widely.
Besides, Chen Yu’s experiment with the Suns was always intended for wider use.
Of course, there was some risk, as it was a type of medicine.
However, at this stage, awareness of traditional Chinese medicine in the United States was still lacking. It was a case of "if no one files a complaint, the authorities won’t investigate," and many Chinese medicine clinics in Chinatowns across the country were constantly selling these remedies.
They were all sold as dietary supplements, which was legally compliant.
The risk for Chen Yu was actually even lower. Because he wasn’t selling it on the market or making a profit, the FDA had no jurisdiction over him.
’It’s like if I go up a mountain, pick a couple of herbs, brew a juice, and drink it, are you really going to stop me?’
The only real risk was that someone might have an adverse reaction and come looking for trouble.
Another concern was whether it could pass the NBA’s drug tests.
On that front, Chen Yu had already sent the concoction for testing. The results were back, and no banned substances had been found.
After chatting with Hill and the others for a little longer, Chen Yu left them to their warm-up and returned to his seat on the sidelines to wait for the game to begin.
Although the Suns had a much better record than the Magic, they fell behind as soon as the game began.
Marion was already showing signs of star potential, but as a mere sophomore, he was still out of his depth against a top-tier, two-way forward like Hill.
J Kidd couldn’t shoot, Robinson’s offense wasn’t explosive enough, and the Suns’ top scorer was now actually Marion, a sophomore. When he was contained, it was very difficult for the Suns to win.
At the end of the first quarter, the Suns were trailing 22-29, a full 7 points behind.
"The Magic are really strong," Nelson remarked beside him. "Especially since Hill’s return, they’ve been on an absolute tear. They’ve only lost one of their seven games since the All-Star break, and that was to the Lakers."
The Lakers, with a dominant force like O’Neal, were truly difficult to face.
Chen Yu smiled. "You should say, this is a better reflection of their true strength."
With Hill, the best small forward in the league, and Tracy McGrady, a super rookie near the top of the scoring charts, this pair—Orlando’s Gemini—was no small threat.
If it weren’t for Hill’s injury, on top of all the drama the Magic dealt with early on, their record in the East would absolutely be among the top ranks.
Nelson nodded in agreement and casually asked about Hardaway’s condition.
The Magic had their Orlando Gemini, and the Suns had their Backcourt 2000 duo. It was just that with one of them injured, they’d become Backcourt 1000.
"He’s recovering well, but don’t even think about him playing this season," Chen Yu said with a smile.
’Now that I’ve found a way to amplify the effects of the rehabilitation therapy, Hardaway and the others will only recover faster.’
’I wouldn’t dare hope for it anyway,’ Nelson thought, grimacing as he watched J Kidd clank another shot on the court.
It was bizarre. He felt that J Kidd practiced his shooting diligently enough; he just couldn’t figure out why there was no improvement.
Since they were on the topic, Nelson decided to press further. "Chen, do you think it’s a psychological issue?"
For a guard, J Kidd’s number of shot attempts was decent.
But his shots were concentrated on driving layups in the paint.
The moment he left the paint, he was genuinely reluctant to shoot, and he couldn’t make them anyway.
This created a vicious cycle: the more it happened, the more he hesitated to shoot, convinced he was a bad shooter. Ultimately, no amount of practice seemed to make a difference.
Plus, the recent domestic violence incident could also be affecting his mental state.
Since Chen Yu ran a sort of psychology clinic and talked with the players after every practice, he should have a better grasp of J Kidd’s mental state.
"His mental state is alright," Chen Yu said after thinking for a moment.
’I’ve been keeping an eye on J Kidd’s psychological state. The domestic violence incident affected him greatly, but he’s moved on with my guidance.’
Joumana had recently come back, and according to J Kidd, their relationship was great—even their sex life had improved significantly. Chen Yu didn’t believe his shooting struggles were psychologically related.
"Maybe he just has a naturally bad touch. Don’t you guys have a saying for that?" Chen Yu had seen similar reports stating that shooting accuracy was related to how soft a player’s hands were.
Nelson shook his head in frustration.
Chen Yu turned to look at the court, trying to use his Eye of All-Seeing to observe J Kidd’s shooting motion, like which muscles were involved.
But the motion was too fast; he couldn’t see it clearly.
However, a thought suddenly struck Chen Yu: perhaps he could use the Eye of All-Seeing to identify problems with shooting form.
For instance, he could find someone with a better shot to use as a baseline. By observing the muscle activation, he could create a quantitative data comparison and then make targeted adjustments.
Jon Hamm trained their shooting the same way, observing their form and making adjustments.
The only difference was that Ham didn’t have an Eye of All-Seeing, nor could he park a CT scanner on the court to see, in minute detail, every single muscle activated during a shot.
Thinking about it this way, Chen Yu realized the Eye of All-Seeing was far more useful than he had ever imagined.
Especially for research.
’Maybe I can set up a sports science lab, like Jamie, and do some theoretical research.’
’Just getting results isn’t enough; you need theory to back it up. You have to tackle both the practical and the theoretical.’
The Magic entered the second half with an 8-point lead.
Facing this situation, all Skiles could do was continue to tighten up the defense, especially on Hill and Tracy McGrady.
If they could contain those two, the Suns could win.
Chen Yu was still sitting with Nelson, chatting idly.
As for the game itself, the two of them were just spectators. They didn’t understand the nuances and couldn’t help in any case.
