Basketball miracles

Chapter 105 [Wisdom, New Home]

The next day, after getting up, Xiao Tu first read his subscription to the Los Angeles Times, and then turned on the TV to watch the morning news.

As expected, Los Angeles media outlets launched a scathing attack on Robert Parish, accusing him of intentionally fouling Xiao Tu with malicious intent to injure him. Parish admitted in an interview that Xiao Tu wasn't the one causing the trouble.

Xiao Tu saw Parish's interview video and found it somewhat funny; it really did seem like an admission of guilt.

An apology? What's that?
I don't want to say a word, and I don't even blink.

Parrish gave off that impression during the interview. He stared intently, his eyes brimming with wisdom.

Don't ask him if his eyes are dry; that's not the point.

Los Angeles media cited McHale's "clothesline foul" in last season's Finals as an example, suggesting that Celtics players generally play dirty defense and deliberately practice like that.

After reading the news, fans will definitely agree with what Xiao Tu said in the interview: the Celtics players do have a history of resorting to dirty tricks when they can't win.

Ironically, Bill Laimbeer, the "villain" who had been making the most noise before the game, was surprisingly well-behaved during the match. He only played for a total of 13 minutes and didn't have many opportunities to make an impact.

This guy was just talking big before the match to make himself seem tough, but he just coasted through the game.

Larry Nance Jr. had two dunks when Laimbeer was on the court. His help defense wasn't aggressive; he didn't seem to want to pull the man down hard from the air.

Most media outlets tacitly avoided mentioning Larry Bird's struggles in the game, or even his matchup against Xiao Tu. Bird's performance in this All-Star game was described as "low-key."

Xiao Tu thought this was normal; if it were him, he would also keep a low profile after losing. Wouldn't it be utterly ridiculous to be high-profile after losing?

Many online fans believe that Bird was the "king of boasting" in the NBA, and the most impressive thing was that he actually fulfilled all the promises he made, so he was stronger than LeBron James.

Those who say this are people who have never seen Bird play and don't do any research.

There's a crucial prerequisite for Bird's boasts to come true: winning. He only becomes the king of trash talk after winning; when he plays poorly or loses, he remains completely silent. He's a social phobic, able to switch between these two extremes effortlessly.

In fact, Bird suffered countless defeats against physically imposing opponents, usually against those with less physical strength. His career performance was: Regular Season > Playoffs > Finals.

For example, in the 81 NBA Finals, Bird scored only 8 points in Games 3 and 4, averaging just 15.3 points per game. No one ever said that Bird "relinquished his command with eight points," but only that his rebounding ability was comparable to Moses Malone.

伯德1987-88赛季常规赛29.9分是生涯最高，结果东部决赛面对活塞打出19.8分35.1%的命中率，这事儿就没多少人知道。和他对位的196CM干鸡小前锋阿德里安-丹特利场均17分，命中率48.1%，媒体连提都不提。

In a parallel universe, while Bird was heavily promoted by the league and won three consecutive regular season MVPs, he ultimately received less praise than Magic Johnson. His post-retirement reputation is higher, largely due to armchair fans who idolize him, becoming incredibly angry when presented with actual statistics.

Those who empathize with the characters will not tolerate any disrespect towards god-like idols.

Actually, Bird's information is easy to find; there's plenty of video footage of his games from the 80s, and his playing style was really quite unwatchable. Of course, Bird also had many classic games, and his three championships prove his ability.

After the All-Star Game, many people already felt that Xiao Tu was better than Bird. Xiao Tu only needs to perform at his best in the upcoming game against the Celtics; if their stats are similar, he'll be considered the winner.

The attention surrounding their matchup was even higher than before the All-Star game, with countless people eager to see a clash between the Lakers and Celtics.

Xiao Tu's popularity has soared once again, and his "Air Jordan 1st Generation" sneakers are selling like hotcakes, with fans all over the country scrambling to buy them. They are even more popular than Jordan's "Banned" sneakers.

Young people all want a pair of these shoes. The style is secondary; they feel that as long as they wear them, they can jump higher.

Adidas released an advertisement for Xiao Tu's sneakers on Friday. The ad is simple, showing him dunking and shooting, and the tagline is a quote from a previous interview.

"Whenever I dunk and score thirty or forty points, do you really think it's all by myself? But seriously, it's a team game, believe it or not! No brothers, no basketball!"

The advertisement promotes team basketball, but no fan would believe that Xiao Tu's spectacular dunks are due to teamwork. The advertisement portrays Xiao Tu as having invincible physical abilities while remaining selfless during games.

This contrasts sharply with the advertisements of other star players during this period, who all featured individual heroism, including Magic Johnson. Xiao Tu's selfless persona didn't affect his popularity because most fans didn't want to be basketball experts; they just wanted to enjoy exciting games, and the more dunks the better.

Magic Johnson's popularity has also increased. He is Xiao Tu's golden partner, and fans believe he is the best playmaker in NBA history.

Johnson's scoring stats may be a little low, but everyone acknowledges his tactical role. He can indeed help his teammates score easily, he plays a pivotal role yet is very selfless, prioritizing passing.

Other star players aren't getting much attention, including Jordan, whose first generation of shoes saw a significant drop in sales.

Jordan, who? Oh, the guy who came in second in the dunk contest.

Fans' impression of Jordan is limited to this; they have no idea what he did in the All-Star Game. Most of the time, he was invisible on the court.

Jordan scored a lot of points, but the Bulls' winning percentage was too low. Bulls fans supported Jordan and hoped he would lead the team to a resurgence. Casual fans just saw him as a stat-padder, and only capable of padding his stats in the regular season.

Xiao Tu returned to Los Angeles for a day off, and Pat Riley allowed the three All-Star players to miss practice to recover their strength. The other players participated in practice and needed to get back into shape.

While Madonna is still busy with her career in New York, Rosamund Kwan has already found a villa she likes in Los Angeles.

She loved this duplex villa; it had 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and 3 toilets, with an interior space of 248.8 square meters and four bedrooms. While it couldn't compare to mansions in Beverly Hills, it was far superior to most luxury homes in Hong Kong.

The ground floor living room features a spacious kitchen equipped with white cabinets, light-colored flooring, and appliances including a stove, double ovens, and a refrigerator. There is also a spacious two-car garage, allowing buyers to move in with just their belongings and purchase some additional furniture.

In the courtyard, neatly trimmed orange and lemon trees add a touch of life and vibrancy. The large rectangular swimming pool provides residents with a tranquil place to relax.

The community recommended by Kupchak also boasts numerous amenities. Besides gardens for strolling, there are barbecue and shaded poolside lounges, tennis courts, basketball courts, and picnic areas.

The detached villa cost $57, which Xiao Tu bought without hesitation, using installment payments to offset taxes.

Los Angeles home prices fell in 1982-1983, only recovering and rising again in the latter half of last year. Back then, houses were incredibly cheap, even in affluent neighborhoods.

Xiao Tu felt a bit guilty for not telling Madonna about buying her a house, but he had a solution: he could buy another villa in the future and Madonna could stay there for a few days when she had time.

Problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems; otherwise, they're just saved.

Xiao Tu has made a lot of money from stock trading, and buying a house is no problem for him. The stock market is his ATM. He bought stocks after checking information in 2003, and although he doesn't pay much attention to stocks, he always makes a profit.

Rosamund Kwan fell completely in love with Xiao Tu; she had never met such a charming man. He was not only handsome, tall, strong, and promising, but he was also willing to spend money on her.

She never expected to own a villa in Los Angeles so easily. Moreover, Xiao Tu let her decorate the interior as she pleased, buy all the appliances, and allow her to purchase whatever she liked.

Rosamund Kwan knew it wasn't good to always spend a man's money, so Xiao Tu would always give her an out. "You're buying things for me, so I trust your taste. This is our home, and I'm usually too busy, so I'll have to trouble you to decorate our new home."

Rosamund Kwan often felt embarrassed but also sweet when he praised her.

Xiao Tu truly sees Rosamund Kwan this way: as long as she doesn't cause trouble, doesn't challenge Madonna, and doesn't want to marry him or demand a formal title, she's a perfect lover.

Xiao Tu didn't care how much dirt Guan Zhilin had on her in the parallel world; he was too lazy to think about it.

I am a womanizer, is it wrong for me to want to take Lau's place?

I know I can go to other worlds; I just want to live freely and do whatever I want. To me, marriage and family are all shackles that bind me.

As for children... I'd have to be crazy to have children, that's brain-dead.

I can be a young person in any other world, so how could I possibly be willing to be an old father in one world and focus my energy on the next generation?
(End of this chapter)