Basketball miracles

Chapter 113 [Garbage Sorting]

After hearing Xiao Tu's words, everyone believed that Bird must have cursed someone, whether it was intentional or accidental, it no longer mattered.

This is big news, perhaps even the biggest news since the start of the season.

Xiao Tu was really angry today, and he completed the "garbage sorting" of Bird in just a few words.

You birdbrain, you think you can defend your regular season MVP title? Dream on!
Xiao Tu's boastful words were carefully considered in the locker room. He knew that when it was time to be high-profile, he had to be high-profile and deliver a heavy blow to his competitors. He had to stand out; otherwise, no matter how many championships the Lakers won or what their regular season record was, all the glory would belong to Magic Johnson.

He is still relatively new to the Lakers, and if he wants to surpass Magic Johnson and gain a higher reputation, he needs to severely undermine his rivals.

Bird and Johnson are considered equals, and the most attention-grabbing thing is Xiao Tu's verbal sparring with him. Last season, Johnson lost to Bird, but this season Xiao Tu has dominated Bird, helping his team to a resounding victory. Many people will surely think he is also better than Johnson.

Xiao Tu had planned it all out in advance, knowing exactly what to say to his advantage, and he wasn't just saying things out of anger without thinking.

Both Bird and Johnson had one weakness—they were strong offensively but weak defensively!
If Xiao Tu demonstrates dominance on both offense and defense, he will definitely be able to surpass them.

This season, Xiao Tu wasn't aiming for the regular season MVP, but rather to leave a lasting impression. He has achieved that; countless fans consider him the Lakers' "true star player," and even the league's strongest interior player.

Xiao Tu remains the most outspoken player in the league, because he knows he won't be proven wrong. The Celtics' lack of backup centers this season will benefit him in showcasing his abilities.

The Celtics' frontcourt primarily consists of Parish, McHale, and Bird in rotation. Last season, this strategy worked well for the Celtics because the Lakers lacked depth in the paint, preventing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from resting for extended periods.

This season, the Celtics' interior defense has lost its advantage, forcing the coach to rely on two floor generals and Xiao Tu to rely on physicality. Center Parish is struggling to keep up, and there isn't even a qualified backup; McHale has occasionally had to fill in at center.

The Celtics' backup white center, Greg Cate, is a 211cm tall, 113kg floor-bound player with no particular strengths—a pure role player. Surprisingly, he's currently the Celtics' only true backup center, and his playing time is extremely limited.

There weren't many mid-season trades in the NBA at that time, and the mid-season trade deadline had passed, so the Celtics couldn't make any further improvements.

Xiao Tu has absolute confidence in leading the Lakers to defeat the Celtics in the Finals, so there's no need for him to be modest.

He believes there's only one way the Celtics could defend their title: their backup shooting guard Rick Carlisle found a green mask in the river one night, put it on, and became "The Mask."

That's right, it's Rick Carlisle, the future famous NBA coach.

When the players came on the field, Xiao Tu really thought he was seeing Jim Carrey.

Other Lakers stars also spoke at the press conference, venting their frustrations.

Magic Johnson previously spoke highly of Bird, showing mutual respect, because they were both Converse brand ambassadors and he didn't want things to get too ugly.

The Lakers won big today, and Xiao Tu noticed that Johnson had stopped playing the sympathy card and started kicking them when they were down.

In a parallel universe, what did the retired magician say?

Johnson and Celtics legend Pierce co-hosted a podcast discussing the level of competition in the league.

He said, "I used to really hate Larry Bird and every Celtics player. I really didn't like you (Pierce) either, but you were like a little brother to me. Now I love you so much because you left the Celtics and are no longer wearing that green and white jersey."

Johnson raved about Xiao Tu's defense today, completely disregarding any potential impact on his own future. He's faced Bird before, and one-on-one, Bird simply couldn't stop him.

Johnson is content with winning games and championships, and doesn't mind his teammates overshadowing him. He's a truly selfless point guard who believes the stronger his teammates are, the better, as it's always better than losing.

Johnson's mindset during his prime was mainly due to the super-long contract he signed. After all, his career earnings were only $2500 million; no matter how well he performed, it would still be that amount.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also very happy and praised Xiao Tu and Johnson.

The Lakers' two superstars wouldn't blame their younger teammate for being too arrogant, boosting the enemy's morale while diminishing their own. They also felt the Celtics weren't anything special this season; it was just that Xiao Tu spoke first. What to do? Make Xiao Tu take back his words and let me speak first?
Since it can't be taken back, we have no choice but to agree with Xiao Tu's statement.

Xiao Tu knocked Bird out with one punch, and both of them felt incredibly satisfied; they thought it was a great fight. Bird was too arrogant last season, practically spewing nonsense. They'd disliked him for a long time, but hadn't stood up to beat him up.

Coach Pat Riley was in a good mood and was more willing to praise Xiao Tu.

When asked about today's incident, Riley said, "Bird's foul was dirty, very dangerous, and unethical."

"During the Finals, McHale committed a foul by grabbing Rambis's neck, causing him to land on the back of his head. He was lucky not to be paralyzed. Some of the Celtics players' dirty fouls weren't meant to stop the opponent from scoring; they were just designed to injure people. This kind of thing shouldn't happen again and again."

“I can understand why Seb lost his temper and hit Bird. He was only 19 years old and shouldn’t have had to go through something like this. If he had suffered a serious injury in his rookie season and his career hadn’t reached its full potential, it would have been a huge loss for basketball.”

Anyone who tries to harm Xiao Tu is Riley's enemy.

Riley knew he would win the Coach of the Year award this season, and it would be an injustice if the league didn't give it to him. His success today is largely due to Xiao Tu.

If the Lakers don't draft Xiao Tu, the power forward position will remain a weakness this season, forcing them to start Rambis. Riley can't even imagine how difficult the offense would be then; the power forward's pick-and-roll, jump shot, and cuts would all be gone.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

At the Celtics' press conference, a group of people were listless.

Bird has been taken to the hospital for examination, and reporters won't have a chance to interview him today. Even if reporters did go to the hospital, Bird might not be able to speak.

Reporters have no shortage of news to write about; Bird being knocked out by Xiao Tu with a single punch is the biggest news.

Moreover, everyone felt that Bird's regular season MVP award was snatched away by Xiao Tu today.

Award selection certainly considers many factors, with a player's performance against direct competitors being particularly important. Bird was guarded like a bricklayer by Magic Johnson's teammate, yet still beat Magic to win his second consecutive MVP? Are you kidding me?
Anyone who sees this result will find it unreasonable; the selection cannot be based solely on player statistics without considering the team's performance.

Bird's performance on the defensive end was also unsatisfactory. His primary defense against Xiao Tu allowed the opponent to score a lot of points. When Bird went to guard Worthy, Worthy also found his rhythm. Worthy hadn't received much praise since entering the league; experts generally considered him a draft bust averaging less than 15 points per game.

In this game of life, the Celtics suffered a crushing defeat today, and whatever the players and coaches say is wrong. If Bird wants to retaliate, he must lead his team to victory against the Lakers this season.

If the Celtics don't win a single game and get swept by the Lakers for the season, that would be a disaster. No one on the Celtics team wants that to happen, but they don't know how to limit Xiao Tu's performance.

Bird, a three-time All-Defensive Second Team selection, couldn't be defended, and McHale had no idea how to defend him either; they were strong on offense but weak on defense.

When asked by reporters about his thoughts on facing off against Xiao Tu, McHale remained silent.

McHale was frustrated. Xiao Tu seemed to look down on him and didn't seem to have any intention of guarding him. If Xiao Tu were to target him, he figured he'd only be able to do some footwork outside the paint and take a jump shot under heavy pressure.

No reporters interviewed Robert Parish, not because he played poorly today, but because reporters knew he was a man of few words.

Coach Jones had some thoughts, believing that the crushing defeat was not a problem with the tactical arrangements, but rather that the Lakers' overall strength was far superior to that of last season.

"This Lakers team is likely to be the strongest team in NBA history. They selected a superstar center with the 23rd pick in the first round, which is the envy of all teams. I think Shaw is a rookie who seriously disrupts the balance and competition of the league. He should have gone to a weak team to be the core player, instead of joining a championship contender."

Regarding Shaw's attack on Bird, Jones said helplessly, "No matter the reason, I think it's wrong for Shaw to hit someone, and he should apologize to Bird. He plays very well on the court, but he must learn to respect his seniors."

Some media outlets will definitely publish Jones's support for Bird, but I wonder how many fans agree with it.

Basketball fans across America were thrilled tonight; the game was exciting, the conflicts were even more so, and there's plenty to talk about tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)