Tracy McGrady sat down and let Chen Yu begin the treatment.
Hearing that Hardaway had come to Orlando specifically for Chen Yu’s treatment, Tracy McGrady said without hesitation, "Penny, you can trust Chen. He’s a really good, really amazing doctor."
After speaking, he raised his right arm to prove his point, saying he couldn’t even lift it the day before.
Hardaway glanced at Chen Yu and nodded with a smile.
Before long, Monty and the others arrived.
Aside from those who had last-minute business, basically everyone showed up.
Although Hill was out with an injury, he was still the leader of this Magic team.
Everyone was visibly excited to hear that Hill had already started training with a ball again.
"We’ve already lost too many games," Armstrong lamented.
Hill raised his glass of juice. "When I get back, we’ll win games together."
The players exchanged glances and raised their glasses. "Win games!"
Despite the rousing cheer, the Magic’s subsequent four-game road trip ended in a string of disastrous losses.
If the first loss against the Western Conference’s bottom-feeder Clippers could be forgiven since Tracy McGrady was out, then losing the next two games and only managing a single win against the near-last-place Grizzlies was inexcusable.
So, upon returning to Orlando, Pleasance immediately called a meeting with the coaching staff to discuss what to do next.
Pleasance nervously rubbed his bald head.
"Guys, our record is now 6-18. We have 58 games left. Even if we manage a fifty percent win rate from here on out, we’ll only win 29 of them and end the season with 35 wins."
"And 35 wins obviously isn’t enough to make the playoffs."
After Weisbrod took over, the goal he set for Pleasance was to make the playoffs.
Only by making the playoffs could he secure his position for next season.
Johnny Davis, the former lead assistant coach, sat opposite him and sighed. "We’re still lacking scoring options on offense. Our bench wasn’t strong to begin with, and now with Hill out, you could say we’re down 20 points per game."
Our bench was effectively down one All-Star.
In other words, he was saying it was only natural that they were losing.
’It can’t be natural!’ Pleasance thought. He slapped the table. "There’s nothing we can do about Grant’s injury, but Tracy has offensive talent. Johnny, you need to focus more on him and unlock his scoring ability."
Right now, Tracy McGrady was only averaging 20 points per game. That wasn’t enough. To win, he needed to be averaging closer to 25.
And Johnny was, after all, the coach in charge of offense.
"Next is defense." Pleasance slapped the table again.
Johnny had been Rivers’s lead assistant coach, but after Rivers was fired, Weisbrod chose Pleasance specifically, hoping to strengthen the team’s defense and win games that way.
"We increased the training intensity before. I thought the players wouldn’t be able to handle it, but it seems there’s no problem at all."
Perry had trained until he threw up.
The others were also complaining endlessly.
But Pleasance had persisted despite the pressure, and during this four-game road trip, he discovered that the high-intensity training did have some benefits.
Not only had the players endured the continuous travel for away games, but their defense had also clearly improved.
That just went to show that it wasn’t that these guys couldn’t handle it; they just weren’t training enough.
"So, from now on, we’re going to maintain this level of high-intensity training. Believe me, defense is the foundation," Pleasance said in a low voice.
’If I train them to death, there’s no way their defense won’t improve.’
Having set the direction, the coaches finally got to the main topic and started analyzing game footage.
Meanwhile, Monty and the others, who had just been dismissed, exchanged a look. Outlaw was the first to speak. "To Chen’s place?"
Monty nodded.
Armstrong had already made his way over, complaining, "Paul is insane."
Who ever heard of scheduling practice during a string of away games that even included a back-to-back? But that’s exactly what Pleasance did.
He was really working them like plough-oxen.
That four-game road trip had nearly killed them. How could they not run over to Chen Yu’s place to unwind?
"Let’s go."
Monty waved his hand. Chen Yu should be at the clinic in the afternoon.
As the group walked to the parking lot, they noticed Tracy McGrady had tagged along at some point.
Monty was a little surprised. ’It’s one thing for old guys like us not to be able to take it, but you’re a young guy, full of vim and vigor. You can’t handle it either?’
It just went to show how brutal Pleasance’s training was.
The men just nodded in acknowledgment.
Tracy McGrady had a rather introverted personality and didn’t usually say much in the locker room.
Hill was the same way. So if you had to pick a true locker room leader, it would have to be Armstrong.
Seeing them all staring at him, Tracy McGrady said, "Penny is at Chen’s place. I’m going to see him."
’So he was going to see his idol!’
The group set off and arrived shortly after.
It was very close, only a ten-minute walk.
But as soon as they turned onto the street where Chen Yu’s clinic was located, their car got stuck in traffic.
"What’s going on?" Brown, who was sharing a car with Monty and had planned to grab a couple of drinks with him after relaxing, was bewildered by the long line of people on the side of the road.
Monty hesitated for a moment, then said, "Fans?"
He saw quite a few people holding basketballs.
And Tracy McGrady had just said that Hardaway was at Chen Yu’s clinic.
Even though he had gone to the Phoenix Suns, Hardaway was still and would forever be Orlando’s number 1.
「Inside the clinic.」
Sitting behind the front desk, Hardaway looked at the blue number 1 jersey in front of him—clearly a knockoff—but didn’t seem to mind. He smiled, signed his name, and handed it to the punk-dressed young man, pointing behind him.
"Penny, thank you!" The young man clutched the jersey and excitedly ran into the treatment room behind him.
"Next."
Hardaway called out towards the entrance. A tall bodyguard standing at the door opened it to let another person in.
In the treatment room, Chen Yu was sterilizing his acupuncture needles, feeling pleased.
’My luck is good. I just got another Bronze Level treatment effect.’
His meeting with Hill had greatly improved Hardaway’s state of mind. Seeing that he was bored sitting at home, Chen Yu had a serious discussion with him about the principles of acupuncture. After explaining that he needed a large number of patients to research acupoints for Hardaway’s treatment, Hardaway readily agreed to come to the clinic and help Chen Yu attract patients.
For a small, self-funded clinic like Chen Yu’s, attracting patients was actually more important than medical skill.
According to rumors, girls with hot bodies, sweet faces, and a nursing background were the most popular hires for this purpose.
But nothing was a better advertisement than the living, breathing Penny Hardaway.
As for the autographs, it was Hardaway’s own idea. He suggested that offering a free autograph with each visit would attract more patients.
After that, the number of patients at the clinic skyrocketed, giving Chen Yu a taste of what it felt like to have more patients than he could possibly treat with his needles.
The results were naturally outstanding. In the week from the 11th to today, the 18th, Chen Yu saw an average of nearly one hundred patients a day.
For Sports Rehabilitation, because there were many cases and he gained a lot of experience, he earned 1 Silver Level and 3 Bronze Level effects.
For Sports Medicine, he also earned 2 Bronze Level effects.
In fact, Chen Yu felt that experience in medicine was easier to grind. After all, many patients didn’t need acupuncture; prescribing a plaster or some medicine was the fastest way.
The young man came in, clutching his jersey, absolutely thrilled. Noticing Chen Yu looking at him, he said casually, "My throat’s a little sore. Can you prescribe me some Vitamin C?"
This was someone who wasn’t sick and had come purely for the autograph.
Coincidentally, to grind for more experience, Chen Yu had also lowered his consultation fees.
Getting a needle, taking some medicine, and leaving would only cost one or two hundred US dollars. The out-of-pocket portion after insurance might only be a few dozen US dollars.
Calculated this way, getting a photo or jersey personally signed by Hardaway for just a few dozen US dollars was an incredible deal.
That’s why there were many people like this young man who came specifically for the autograph.
As for Vitamin C, taking a couple of pills for no reason had practically become a habit for Americans.
This time, however, Chen Yu glanced at him and frowned.
’Didn’t expect to get a big one.’
He picked up a prescription pad, quickly wrote out a prescription for Vitamin C, stamped it, and handed it to the young man with a smile. "Friend, when you have a moment, you should go to a specialist hospital and get your liver checked."
With just a single glance, Chen Yu had spotted a little abnormality—the kind that concealed disaster.

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