Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chicago

Jordan and Tim Grover, along with six other team members, arrived at the hospital and met with Dr. John Heffernan, a sports medicine doctor who had worked with him for many years.

"Michael's knee has swollen up again," Grover explained the situation.

Even Jordan could not deny that the tendinitis had developed to a state that could not be ignored.

At this point, Jordan's assistant brought up the last suggestion he wanted to hear, "Taking a few games off might be better."

Jordan glared at him fiercely, and he quickly backed off.

"I want to keep playing; that's why I'm here, but if... if the condition has progressed that far, if Dr. Heffernan and Dr. Haas both think I should take a break, I'll consider it."

Heffernan had worked with Jordan even longer than Grover had, and he wasn't sure whether Jordan would commit to a long-term hiatus to heal before he was left with no other choice.

There was precedent for this; as early as 1985, in Jordan's second season, when he broke his navicular bone on his left foot, he entrusted his career to Heffernan and underwent treatment by this renowned Chicago orthopedic surgeon. The rehabilitation plan was to last six to eight weeks, but it actually took much longer, until Jordan couldn't bear it any longer and participated in an informal game in North Carolina during his recovery, which displeased Jerry Krause and the other members of the Bulls' staff.

After playing in that game, Jordan was convinced that he had recovered. He angrily stated that his foot had healed enough to let him get back into the games. He told Heffernan that he needed to play, he needed the competition.

At the time, Heffernan agreed to Jordan's comeback plan and vouched for it; he believed that the young Jordan had recovered. But now, Jordan was no longer young, and Heffernan knew that any advice was pointless because, in the end, Jordan would do as he pleased.

Unlike Grover, Heffernan didn't advise Jordan but followed procedure, arranging for an MRI and the second knee drainage surgery since September.

When the results of the MRI came back, Heffernan didn't see any structural damage, but there was significant tendinitis, so his advice to Jordan was, "Reduce your playing time, don't play back-to-back games, lower the intensity of your training, rest your legs as much as possible, let the swelling subside."

Jordan gave no definite response.

But that was the reality, there was no quick fix for his problem, and the merciless years on the basketball court and age had taken a heavy toll on his body. After retiring for the second time and being eager to come back, Jordan had planned a training intensity that exceeded what his body could handle, and his knees were now beyond the threshold of "wear and tear."

"Michael's knees have been through a lot of wear, and human knees are not made for wear," Heffernan observed, also noting Jordan's alarming playing time recently, "The heavy minutes early in the season could lead to more irritation and inflammation, you need to let Doug control your minutes from now on."

Like Grover, Heffernan believed that if it weren't for Jordan's hurried comeback after a three-year retirement, his knees could have been maintained very well. The doctor knew better than the flatterers: Jordan was not a god, but a man — an astonishing athlete with an extraordinary body but still a human — his muscle deterioration was nearly the same as other athletes his age, only Jordan had more talent.

During the time he left, Jordan's physical condition deteriorated, the leg muscles that provided core strength and stability around his knees atrophied due to a long period of inactivity and age, losing most of their protective force. If Jordan had never retired, he would still have faced some decline, but not to this extent.

Heffernan pointed out, "At your age, legs typically lose some strength. The muscles of a 38-year-old certainly aren't as good as those of a 25-year-old. Your thigh muscles aren't as strong. Compared to young people, you have fewer fast-twitch fibers and a lower percentage of muscle fibers... your career is nearly over."

Just as Heffernan was earnestly advising Jordan to take a comprehensive look at his physical condition, his assistant, who had just taken a call, came over and whispered something to Jordan.

Rationality vanished from Jordan's mind, replaced by fury.

"That bastard, how dare he!!!"

※※※

After meeting with Abe Pollin, Yu Fei discovered that things were complicated within the Wizards.

On the surface, Jordan ruled everything, but Pollin was clearly very dissatisfied with his various actions.

For some reason, Pollin, the major boss, the actual owner of the team, dared not confront Jordan face to face, so when Yu Fei appeared, he set his sights on the young man.

Because of the sensitivity of the matter, Yu Fei called his agent after training to inform him in detail of what had transpired in the office. Continue your saga on m|v-l'e -NovelBin.net

He wanted to know if his decision was the right one.

Even Arne Trem was shocked by Yu Fei's situation.

"The complexity of D.C. might even catch up with L.A.," Trem remarked.

"Catch up?" Yu Fei asked in surprise, "Are you saying Kobe's situation is worse than mine?"

Since Kobe's agent was also Trem, Yu Fei asked this question.

With a meaningful tone, Trem said, "I would like you to know the kind of life Kobe lives. You might think D.C. is bad, but believe me, there is always someone enduring in an even worse environment."

Yu Fei had no interest in the environment Kobe was in; he just wanted to know what his next move should be.

"What should I do?"

"You only have two paths before you, work with Pollin, or bow down to MJ."

"I've already turned down the BOSS."

"Then you have only one path."

"Bow down to that old guy? Impossible."

"Then you're out of options. What happened today will definitely reach Michael's ears. If you don't show any sign, he will assume you've sided with Pollin. But in fact, you've already rejected Pollin, which means if Michael increases his pressure on you, you won't be able to get any help from Pollin."

Yu Fei countered, "Am I where I am now, starting from just a bench player with 15 minutes of game time, to a starter, because of Pollin's help?"

"No, he didn't give me anything. Since training camp, he's been laissez-faire towards the old guy, and that's why I don't trust him. That's also why I won't work with him. He just wants to use me to cause trouble for the old guy. Once the situation changes, he will be the first to abandon me!"

Trem had no rebuttal to Yu Fei's point. With too many players under his management and superstars like Kobe and McGrady to focus on, he couldn't give all his attention to Yu Fei.

Therefore, given the Wizards' complicated circumstances, Trem thought that Yu Fei siding with one of the two powers could give him some breathing room.

But Trem didn't anticipate Yu Fei's fighting spirit to be so resolute, not even a Hall of Famer like Kobe, who superficially donned the "perfect team player" act under reality's pressure, had the same unflagging courage to charge into battle that Yu Fei did. This was the hardest path.

If Yu Fei knew Trem's thoughts, he could only laugh.

His situation was nothing like Kobe's.

Kobe was "aggrieved," so "aggrieved" that at a young age he had two championships under his belt, "aggrieved" that he had the League's number one leading the way, "aggrieved" that he could be close friends with Buss, a big boss who would trade away Shaquille O'Neal and Jackson for Kobe.

Given that the "difficult environment" Kobe faced was led by Phil Jackson, one of the creators of the Bulls Dynasty, and the "aggrieved" role of team player was due to Shaquille O'Neal, the most dominant player in the post-Jordan era.

What did the Wizards have? Are people like Pollin trustworthy? He didn't even dare openly criticize Jordan. Collins? His "value" is enough spelled out by being replaced by his own assistant coach right after leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals. Jordan? What does that old man have to compare with the current Shaquille O'Neal?

Really, if Yu Fei and Kobe were switched, he could also play the team game, he could also recognize the Shark as his big brother, he could also listen to the boss.

"If you insist on not taking sides, you must continuously put in outstanding performances, so great that neither Michael nor Pollin can find fault."

"I'll try my best," replied Yu Fei, "but actually, it doesn't need to be so complicated. I don't have to be the best, I just have to be better than most. If they're thinking of settling scores with me for one bad game, they're overthinking it. I'm not Kwame."

Speaking of Kwame... Trem wondered how he was doing. Every time he called to check on him, he sounded morose. The reason? Jordan, of course. And when Jordan bullied Brown, and Brown couldn't give a response on the court, as an agent, he felt powerless too.

"Is Kwame okay?"

"He's alive."

"That's good."

"Let me know if there's any news."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"I'm now considering a comeback. I miss the days of playing basketball. Seeing Michael struggle alone is hard for me. I think I could help him, but I need to lose about 25 more pounds first, so I can really be of help. I don't know if I can help him, but I don't want to see him fight alone, because I'm one of his true friends." — Barkley said openly on TNT's program.

"Did MJ's visit today to the Chicago hospital to see his personal doctor, John Heffernan, prove that the longstanding concerns about his knee are valid?" — The Chicago Globe

"Doug Collins refused to respond to questions about MJ." — The Washington Post

"Karl Malone is upset with an article published online by an anonymous Jazz executive, which attributed the 38-year-old Malone's performance decline to his lack of training last summer." — The Utah Star

"Frye, do you think Michael's knee has a problem?"

"How dare you!!!!! I refuse to answer such a question!"

(How dare you)

"May I ask why?"

"Michael averaged nearly 38 minutes per game last month, and you think his knee has a problem? What are your intentions? Who put you up to asking this question? Are you the one spreading rumors outside? How dare you!!!!!" — Yu Fei said in an interview with the Washington Chronicle.