Basketball miracles

Chapter 107 [Win and you're all smiles, lose and you're all cursing]

Xiao Tu is satisfied with his current tactical role on the Lakers, knowing that too much of a good thing can be bad. If he had the most shot attempts on the team, Magic Johnson might be okay with it, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would probably be unhappy.

Xiao Tu is a newcomer after all, and his experience is still lacking. The veterans can still put him to the test.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is maintaining excellent form and remains a top-three center in the league. It's impossible for him to drastically reduce his shot attempts and become a role player; Coach Pat Riley wouldn't implement such a strategy—it would be a waste.

The reporter asked, "You're currently ranked fourth in the MVP rankings. What are your thoughts on that?"

"I don't have any special feelings, and I don't care about this ranking. I just want to help the team win more games and eventually win the championship. The championship is the most important thing," Xiao Tu replied firmly.

What can I possibly think? It's impossible for me to win MVP in my rookie season anyway.

Stoudemire's average points per game were much higher than Nash's, yet he never surpassed Nash, who had just joined the Suns, to win the 2005 regular season MVP.

I should be able to move up one more place, at least be ranked third, surpassing Moses Malone. His stats and record are all worse than mine, so why is he ranked higher?

Xiao Tu's stats were good today, so it's best to stay low-key; otherwise, he might seem arrogant. If he becomes even stronger in the future, the MVP award will be his without a doubt.

A Los Angeles reporter asked, "The Lakers will be playing the Celtics at home in the next game. What are your thoughts?"

Xiao Tu said seriously, "I think the Lakers will definitely win, we are stronger. Also, I am very much looking forward to facing Larry Bird, I haven't had enough of him in the All-Star Game."

Once the news comes out, people will know that Xiao Tu is truly not afraid of Bird and is the one with the stronger momentum.

Xiao Tu challenged Bird again, saying that Bird would lose face if he didn't face him in the next game, which clearly showed that he was afraid.

If the Lakers win their matchup and Xiao Tu's stats are better than Bird's, his popularity will definitely rise. He's just using Bird as a stepping stone, nothing more.

The Lakers coaches and teammates didn't praise Xiao Tu much today, not because they had a problem with him, but simply because they had already praised him so much that they ran out of words.

Xiao Tu set new career highs in both shot attempts and points, and received much praise after the game.

Experts now generally believe that Xiao Tu and Moses Malone have different playing styles, and that Xiao Tu is stronger.

Ma Long often grabs rebounds after missing close-range shots and continues to shoot, while Xiao Tu focuses more on grabbing offensive rebounds from his teammates' missed shots, efficiently completing second-chance points.

Xiao Tu's shooting percentage this season is 14 percentage points higher than Ma Long's. Although he takes fewer shots and his scoring is slightly lower, his offensive ability is actually much stronger.

Because of his high number of offensive rebounds and drives to the basket, Xiao Tu's free throw attempts have steadily increased, making him not much less lethal in the paint than Ma Long.

In the games played on the same day, someone else managed to steal Xiao Tu's thunder. Michael Jordan also delivered his most spectacular performance of the season.

The next day, Xiao Tu saw the news and felt it was no surprise that Jordan could steal the spotlight; the hype was even greater.

The Bulls' home game against the Pistons was highly charged. Because media reports claimed that "Smiling Assassin" Isiah Thomas had teamed up with his teammates to isolate Jordan during the All-Star Game, this game became Jordan's revenge match.

Before the game, when questioned by reporters, Thomas categorically denied the accusation and said it could affect his potential friendship with Jordan.

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever, especially since Thomas made no attempt to conceal his actions. He actually thought that as long as he didn't admit it, people would believe him.

What's even funnier is that before the game started, Thomas conveyed to Jordan his desire to meet and communicate with him.

Jordan agreed to the meeting, but instead of inviting Jordan to dinner to discuss things, Thomas took the team's reporters to the home team's locker room before the game to apologize to Jordan, his smiling attitude being quite perfunctory.

Jordan became even angrier, thinking that Thomas was just putting on a show and was not giving him a friendly look.

Thomas's showmanship was both blatant and low-class, arrogant and malicious; his smile was seen as a sinister grin by many.

"Smiling Assassin" is used to describe someone who appears kind and friendly on the surface, but is actually cunning and harbors murderous intentions. Just like the Chinese nickname "Smiling Tiger," everyone knows this person is no good. Xiao Tu felt that Thomas had that kind of smug, petty person's face.

I bullied you, and afterwards I used you to create hype, and all the benefits are mine, so I'm all smiles.

Thomas had no friends in the future; his contemporaries didn't even want to mention him. His failure to make the Dream Team was directly related to his extremely poor interpersonal relationships, not just being ostracized by Jordan. Even Magic Johnson sided with Jordan, believing that Thomas's selection would affect locker room unity.

In short, Jordan put up a spectacular stat line of 49 points and 15 rebounds, leading the Bulls to a 139-126 victory over the Pistons in overtime.

During the game, there were constant clashes between the two sides, with Jordan and Pistons center Bill Laimbeer even having a heated verbal altercation.

During a fast break, Jordan deliberately paused, giving Thomas a chance to catch up, before powerfully dunking the ball into the basket – a clear humiliation for Thomas. In the final moments of regulation, Thomas had a chance for a game-winning shot, but Jordan's help defense deflected the ball away, sending the game into overtime.

This game became Jordan's revenge for Thomas's "freeze" behavior in the All-Star game. The feud between the two was not resolved, but deepened instead.

Thomas showed absolutely no sportsmanship in his post-game interview, ranting and raving. He's all smiles when he wins, but fuss when he loses.

Xiao Tu believes Jordan's approach is correct: don't give such bad people a friendly face. If you treat them well, they'll find a chance to betray you later.

When facing that lousy Pistons team, you have to fight them to the death. Xiao Tu had a feeling that he would eventually have to fight the Pistons. The only way to stop those two scumbags, Laimbeer and Mahorn, was to use dirty tricks.

Today, many media outlets compared Jordan and Xiao Tu, stating that both are excellent and that Jordan's individual abilities are in no way inferior.

Xiao Tu knew Stern must have been pulling strings behind the scenes, so he seized the opportunity to hype up the idea that the two were "lifelong rivals." Whether the fans would accept this was a question, given their different positions.

Furthermore, the Bulls barely made the playoffs and wouldn't even get past the first round, while the Lakers practically secured the championship. But without praising Jordan, the league can't find a star player suitable to be a long-term rival to Jordan.

In terms of position, Hakeem Olajuwon, also a center, would have been a better fit. But that guy hardly makes any headlines, acts like an idiot in interviews, and isn't as popular as Ralph Sampson.

Hakeem Olajuwon would never, like Shawn Yue, explicitly state which star player he wanted to match up against. Even though Moses Malone had mentored him in Houston, Olajuwon would never mention Malone.

Hakeem Olajuwon was so simple-minded that even established stars didn't bother to comment on him, and players like Wilt Chamberlain treated him as if he didn't exist.

Xiao Tu, on the other hand, deliberately orchestrated the Parish foul incident, which became a major controversy. The Lakers-Celtics game captivated all fans, and viewership was expected to break regular season records.

Stern now only hopes that Xiao Tu will show some leniency towards Bird and not verbally abuse him too harshly if they win. If the Lakers have no rivals this season, the playoffs will become somewhat boring.

The Celtics have a roster depth comparable to the Lakers, and the matchup between the two teams attracts a large number of fans; a closely contested game is even more exciting.

Xiao Tu only said a few words, but many American fans began to boycott the Celtics after the All-Star Game, believing that the Celtics' championship win last season was unfair and that the referees' calls were unfair.

When it comes to manipulating opponents' mentality, Xiao Tu is better than the veterans in the league. Stern felt that this wasn't experience, but rather an innate quality; he simply dared to speak his mind more than others.

Most fans believe the Lakers will win; Bird is no match for Xiao Tu. Even the president thinks so; the difference in their physical abilities is huge, and Bird can't defend them.

In the pre-internet era, people could only discuss the games in real life, and the level of interest in each match was incredibly high. In the internet age, the fans of both sides would definitely engage in heated arguments, making it even more exciting.

Unlike before, the discussion isn't about the showdown between the Black and White Duo, but rather what kind of stats Xiao Tu can put up in his first match against the Celtics. If Xiao Tu continues his explosive performance in this game, it will be incredibly impressive.

Boston fans have already identified Xiao Tu as their biggest rival this season, and the Celtics' coaching staff and players can no longer tolerate a rookie's arrogance.

Xiao Tu's reputation in Boston is much like that of a certain hero in the future online game "League of Legends," making people grit their teeth in hatred.

The game can be lost, but Sebastian Shaw must die.

(End of this chapter)