603 Simple Rehabilitation Training (2/2)

...

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 20+10 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...