The stands, which had been quiet for three quarters, finally erupted in cheers.
Chen Yu applauded along with them.
It was a great play.
Beautiful, a joy to watch.
It even had shades of Jordan.
Hardaway’s playing style was fluid, clean, and efficient. The media had always called him a combination of Jordan and Magic Johnson because he really did play like Jordan.
But in the years his body was weighed down by injuries, his athleticism had faded, and there were far fewer offensive plays like this one, where he broke through with raw ability.
Just as Chen Yu was thinking it might have been a fluke, Hardaway did it again on the next possession.
He didn’t pass this time, driving straight to the low post. He leaned his upper body back against McKinney, then instantly coiled, dribbled the ball behind his back, and spun with a slight fadeaway shot.
The move was incredibly smooth, especially the behind-the-back dribble, which was the epitome of style.
The ball swished through the net.
He didn’t even watch it go in, just turned and walked away.
McKinney swung his fist in frustration. He had become part of the highlight reel again.
The next possession, Hardaway came at them again.
It was as if he’d completely forgotten about passing. He pushed the ball up the court, and as soon as everyone was in position, he saw that McKinney wasn’t guarding him tightly. He glanced down at his feet, saw the three-point line, and just pulled up and shot.
He was capable of hitting threes.
Last season, Hardaway had only played a few games before a season-ending injury, so his stats weren’t very meaningful.
But the season before that, he was still averaging 1.7 three-point attempts per game with a 30 percent success rate.
For a guard, that was only average.
But with the Magic, before his injuries, he was once taking 3.5 attempts per game, sometimes even more.
And he still maintained a shooting percentage of over thirty percent.
That was pretty good.
And now, it seemed he had found that skill pack again.
The ball zipped precisely into the basket.
Three possessions, a 7-0 run. Hardaway single-handedly forced the Fast Ship to call a timeout.
It wasn’t until he walked off the court that a smile appeared on Hardaway’s face. He grinned as he high-fived his teammates in celebration.
"He’s controlling the pace, isn’t he?" Nelson said in a low voice beside him.
Chen Yu nodded.
By this point, how could Chen Yu not see it? Hardaway was dictating the tempo of the game.
For the first three quarters, when his teammates had energy and were playing well, he focused on being a facilitator.
But in the fourth, when his teammates’ performance dipped and the opponent closed the gap, he immediately took over the game. With a strong offensive burst, he pushed the lead right back to 10 points.
’He’s a true floor general.’
"It’s just that he’s too steady, too by-the-book," Chen Yu said after a moment’s thought.
For a strong team, having such a powerful floor general was a very fortunate thing.
But if they wanted to take the next step and contend for a championship, just playing by the book wasn’t enough.
You had to be ruthless, unreasonable!
You had to be like O’Neal, who could dominate no matter who you sent at him.
And Jordan.
Jordan in his prime was so dominant. He had that aura that no one could stop him.
If Hardaway wanted to lead this Phoenix Suns team to a championship, being reasonable alone wouldn’t cut it.
But this was just Chen Yu’s personal opinion. He barely got involved in team tactics; he just had to do his own job well.
And the biggest task this year was to ensure this group of veterans could get through the entire season safely.
Chen Yu sat back down, relieved.
He no longer needed to worry about Hardaway’s condition and could just enjoy the game.
Barring any surprises, they should be able to win this one.
Sure enough, Hardaway’s powerful fourth-quarter explosion, where he racked up 16 points, prevented the Fast Ship from making any kind of comeback by the end of the game.
Skiles walked over and gave Hardaway a hug.
With J Kidd’s sudden injury, they had adjusted the lineup before the game. Skiles had been genuinely worried that Hardaway wouldn’t adapt, and that without J Kidd controlling the floor, the team would have problems.
Now, it seemed Hardaway had perfectly filled J Kidd’s role, and had even done it better.
"Time to get to work."
Chen Yu also stood up, signaling for Nelson and the others to get moving.
Before and after the games—that was the real battlefield for Chen Yu and his colleagues.
They lined up for the cryo chamber. The first ones out were scheduled for massages.
Now that he had a stable channel for gaining recovery experience, Chen Yu didn’t care about these small amounts anymore. He let Nelson, Byron Howard, and the others handle it.
It was also a way to train them.
After all, the medical staff was a team.
Only when someone had a problem, or when they were short-handed, would Chen Yu step in to help.
Hardaway sat on the massage table, letting Chen Yu work on his knee. He couldn’t help but say, "Chen, your technique is still better."
Lately, Chen Yu had been busy and wasn’t at the arena often. Most of the time, Byron and the others had filled in for him.
The difference in technique and results was quite obvious.
Chen Yu also knew he had been absent a lot recently, but it couldn’t be helped. There was just too much to do.
However, he could now shift his focus back to the team.
After finishing the massage on the right knee, just as he was about to start on the left, Chen Yu suddenly froze.
He had actually received a system notification.
It wasn’t for achieving a treatment effect, but for his massage technique leveling up.
It had gone from Basic Level to Middle Level.
Chen Yu almost wept with joy.
’This was so hard. After all this time, do you have any idea how many legs, how many bodies I’ve massaged?’
He glanced at the system.
[Congratulations. Through persistent practice, you have gained a deeper understanding of massage. Your technique has improved, and you have acquired Middle Level Massage Technique.]
[Middle Level Massage Technique: Your massages will have a 15% increase in therapeutic effect.]
Chen Yu’s eyes lit up.
He had always thought the upgrade from Basic to Middle Level would be another 5% increase, but he never expected it to be a 10% jump.
A 15% therapeutic effect was almost equivalent to a Bronze Level effect.
The key was that it was a passive skill, which made it very valuable.
So, thinking about it that way, all the time and hard work he had put in was worth it.
"Yes, yes, right there..."
With the upgraded technique and enhanced effect, Hardaway reacted instantly, a look of pure relief on his face.
Chen Yu was in a good mood too.
’And since massage has been upgraded, what about Acupuncture?’
He had used that skill almost as many times as massage.
"How about a couple of needles?" Chen Yu asked, looking at Hardaway.
Apparently, Hardaway was his lucky charm today.
"Huh?"
Hardaway, who had been looking completely relaxed, shuddered and was instantly wide awake. He said nervously, "I think my body’s fine. Maybe we should skip it."
"It’s fine. A couple of needles won’t do any harm," Chen Yu said with a grin, calling for Jon Hamm to get the silver needles.
Since he was going to do it, he couldn’t just stick them in randomly.
He would needle his foot. Today, while fighting for a rebound, Hardaway had been stepped on by Brand.
Fortunately, neither of them was hurt.
A few simple needles. As he removed the last one, Chen Yu’s body trembled slightly.
’What a strange day.’
"Anfernee, did something good happen to you today?" Chen Yu looked up and asked.
He had actually obtained the Middle Level Acupuncture technique.
"Something good?" Hardaway thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "This morning, Nike contacted me and said they’re preparing to make my next generation of signature shoes. Does that count as good news?"
’That must be it.’
It seemed he really had borrowed a bit of good luck today.
But the more likely reason was that he had finally ground enough experience. He had been at it for a whole year.
After defeating the Fast Ship, the Phoenix Suns didn’t stop their winning streak.
The media was surprised to find that without their assist king, the Phoenix Suns were actually playing with more courage.
Immediately after, they beat the Pioneer 104 to 90, a 14-point blowout victory.
Hardaway once again delivered an all-around efficient performance in that game, dropping 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists.
On Christmas Eve, facing the third-ranked team in the West, the King, the Phoenix Suns weren’t intimidated at all. When Olajuwon was bothered by Divac and his performance wavered, it was Hardaway who stepped up again, dropping another 12 points in the fourth quarter for a total of 36, helping the team beat the King by a 5-point margin.
After this game, the Phoenix Suns also successfully moved up one spot, reaching fourth in the West.
With Christmas approaching, Chen Yu was thinking about how to celebrate when he was surprised to see Tracy McGrady’s name in an injury report sent by Tatum.
The reported injury was back muscle tightness, to be treated conservatively, with an expected absence of one week.
Chen Yu directly contacted the Magic’s new team doctor, David, and asked for Tracy McGrady’s detailed medical records.
That guy had strained his latissimus dorsi at the end of last season and had even played through the injury.
Most importantly, he had a latent risk of scoliosis.
The medical records showed that this time, the problem was with the erector spinae muscles on the left side of Tracy McGrady’s body.
This led to muscle spasms, also known as cramps, which caused back pain. That was the diagnosis, and the recommended treatment was rest and painkillers.
There was nothing wrong with that. For muscle spasms, rest was definitely the main treatment, and if the pain was severe, you take painkillers.
But what Chen Yu wanted to know was why Tracy McGrady was having muscle spasms. He had specifically reminded him, and Houston, to be careful to protect his spine and back muscle groups.
When a physical problem manifests, the underlying issue is often already quite serious.
Only by finding the root cause could they prevent the problem from recurring.
Especially for someone like Tracy McGrady, who was prone to injury.
Chen Yu thought for a moment and called Houston to ask about Tracy McGrady’s situation.
Houston said that in their daily training, they were careful to protect Tracy McGrady and also intentionally trained his back muscles to improve his core strength.
However, two weeks ago, on the 16th, during the Magic’s game against the Supersonic, Tracy McGrady felt his back muscles tighten shortly after he entered the game and was taken out to rest.
After an examination, there were no major issues, and he later returned to playing normally.
From Houston’s description alone, it didn’t seem like there was any problem.
After some more thought, Chen Yu called Hill. In Orlando, Hill and Tracy McGrady were closer and often in contact privately, so he might know more.
"A back injury?" Over the phone, the faint sound of Hill’s daughter crying could be heard. Hill thought for a moment and said, "Could it be related to him shooting a lot? I know he’s been doing extra shooting practice all season. You probably knew that too, from when he was in Phoenix during the Summer."
’Shooting?’
Chen Yu hung up. Of course he knew that Tracy McGrady was practicing his shooting.
That was the advice Hardaway had given him last season.
And this season, with Hill’s healthy return, Tracy McGrady’s role on the Magic was still that of a wing defensive specialist.
At the same time, to utilize his scoring ability, Pleasance had him continue practicing his shot.
With Hill able to distribute the ball, Tracy McGrady could get plenty of good shooting opportunities. He practiced a lot during the Summer at the clinic.
But Chen Yu had been watching him back then, and there weren’t any problems.
How could things go wrong after he returned to Orlando?
’The erector spinae?’
Chen Yu looked at the medical records again and suddenly thought of a possibility.
’Could it be related to him practicing his shot too much?’
Because Chen Yu knew that to make his shot more of a threat, Tracy McGrady would use more power from his waist and abdomen to make his jump shot more explosive and to jump higher.
With his long arms and excellent explosiveness, shooting like that made him a bigger threat.
But shooting that way placed high demands on his core strength, which was why Chen Yu had reminded him to be careful to protect his waist and train his core muscles.
But now, it seemed very likely that his muscle spasms were caused by practicing his shot too much.

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