Basketball miracles

Chapter 116 [To Kill Someone, You Must First Destroy Their Spirit]

Xiao Tu immediately opened the Silver Treasure Chest and found it contained an Advanced Shooting Training Aura, granting eight hours of training and ten times the experience.

Xiao Tu plans to use this aura when practicing fadeaway jump shots, relying on it to find his shooting rhythm and accuracy, and then take some time to practice more to improve his shooting percentage.

He's very strong off-ball, and it feels like once he's mastered his fadeaway jumper, he can play however he wants.

The Lakers went on another winning streak, and Xiao Tu won the February Player of the Month award, a milestone. Xiao Tu is the first rookie to win this award since the league established it in the 1979-80 season.

The Lakers' record is outstanding, with Xiao Tu putting up several superstar stats in February and winning the All-Star Game MVP. He leads the Lakers in points, rebounds, and blocks, and his assists have also improved significantly.

This award is usually considered to be awarded to players who compete for the regular season MVP. Last season, Bird didn't even have a Player of the Month award, so his eventual selection as MVP sparked controversy.

When interviewed by reporters, Xiao Tu was cheerful and polite, but also condescending when he shared his thoughts.

Xiao Tu has more confidence than anyone else; this quality cannot be concealed. No matter how modest he speaks, he is still a top-five superstar this season.

When experts evaluate the Lakers, one thing they often say is that "Sebastian Shaw has been improving!"
Many people used to say that Xiao Tu couldn't attack with the ball, but he's been using the Euro step more and more frequently—it's a unique technique he developed. Many people said his passing was poor, but he's also achieved triple-doubles, something many players never do in their entire careers.

Coach Pat Riley, in an interview, spoke about Xiao Tu, praising his rapid progress and exceptional learning ability.

Xiao Tu doesn't seem to have many skills because his training method is different from others. He prefers to practice a certain technique until his accuracy is very high, making it a signature move, before learning other techniques.

Riley is promoting this training method with the Lakers, suggesting that players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan, who excel at one particular skill, are more likely to maintain scoring efficiency. Some players are dabblers in everything but masters of nothing, resulting in average skill levels.

Magic Johnson and Xiao Tu each won Player of the Month once, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has yet to receive one. This award not only solidifies Xiao Tu's Rookie of the Year title but also serves as proof that he has become the Lakers' new core center.

He also surpassed Moses Malone, rising to third place in the MVP rankings, behind only Johnson and Larry Bird.

Michael Jordan was devastated after seeing the news. The season wasn't even over yet, and Xiao Tu had already won two major individual honors. Moreover, Xiao Tu's purple and gold sneakers had surpassed the sales of the first generation of Air Jordan shoes.

Jordan knew there was no chance to surpass sales again, and Nike employees also regretted not having approached Xiao Tu.

Nike bet as much on Jordan as Jordan bet on Nike. They were the most affected by the butterfly effect; Nike didn't go bankrupt, but its sales were far worse than Adidas'.

Jordan's popularity isn't as high as his parallel universe counterpart; young people feel his title of "Air Jordan" is undeserved and lacks the necessary charisma. Wearing purple and gold basketball shoes has become a fashion statement on the basketball court, a symbol of ultimate coolness.

Xiao Tu, however, is not the NBA's most improved player during this period; that title belongs to Boston Celtics power forward Kevin McHale. He exploded upon entering the starting lineup, putting up star-level numbers.

Despite Bird's absence, the Celtics maintained a respectable winning percentage, firmly holding the top spot in the Eastern Conference. McHale, Parish, Dennis Johnson, and Ainge, among others, carried the team's offense.

Xiao Tu read the news and felt it was all superstition, and also that the Celtics' roster was stronger than people imagined.

With Celtics' starting small forward Maxwell fit and available, McHale has successfully taken over the starting role.

Moreover, McHale has received more shot attempts, making it difficult for him not to put up good numbers. With Bird out, the Celtics are missing a player who averages 22 shot attempts per game, and KC Jones needs McHale to attack more in the low post.

McHale's five consecutive 30+ point games have left fans stunned. Some even believe his scoring ability surpasses that of Bird, who relied heavily on jump shots and depended on his shooting touch, making his scoring inconsistent.

McHale takes fewer shots but is more efficient at scoring; coaches rarely give him more than 20 shots.

The Celtics still have players who can shoot jumpers and create space.

White small forward Scott Widman received considerable playing time and scored a significant number of points as a backup forward. He is a skilled shooter, though he previously only had occasional shots due to a lack of ball possession. He is 201cm tall, weighs 98kg, and possesses decent physical strength.

Of course, Widman can't be compared to Bird; his role is limited and he can't organize the offense.

Entering March, McHale had a breakout performance. He scored 56 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the home game against the Pistons on the 3rd, leading his team to victory in overtime.

At this point, people realized the Celtics had more than three All-Stars. McHale was stronger than expected, but had previously been relegated to the bench due to his slender physique, lacking opportunities to showcase his talent. If he had these stats before All-Star Weekend, he would definitely have been selected for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. The Celtics still won without Bird, truly highlighting the awkward situation of whoever is missing.

Some die-hard Celtics fans couldn't help but wonder if Bird's good stats were due to the team's tactics. They wondered if anyone else would have had similar stats after taking 20 or more shots.

Bird, who had already been discharged from the hospital and was recuperating at home, felt panicked after seeing the news and decided to return to the court as soon as possible, even wearing a mask. He had a premonition that if things continued like this, his popularity would plummet.

What angered him most was Xiao Tu's comment that he might transition to small forward. Coach KC Jones had discussed this with him at the beginning of the season, which was considered a Celtics secret.

Xiao Tu's taunts were timed perfectly! Bird is now completely stunned and doesn't know what to do.

Bird needs to switch to small forward because McHale has been playing too well lately and isn't suitable to continue being his backup. But what will the fans think if he makes this transition?
To kill someone and then destroy their spirit? How terrifying.

Bird completely abandoned any thought of going head-to-head with Xiao Tu, but he was now in a dilemma. He couldn't gain an advantage by continuing to match up against Xiao Tu, and playing small forward was an admission that he was inferior to his opponent.

Regardless of what Bird thinks, Xiao Tu believes that steadily improving his own strength is the only right thing to do.

Madonna was away on work, so Xiao Tu practiced whenever he had time. He took defensive practice very seriously, enjoyed one-on-one matches with his teammates, and felt a great sense of accomplishment when he defended against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

That day, Jennifer Connelly returned to Los Angeles after finishing filming her movie.

Xiao Tu invited a few friends to his new home for a weekend gathering, also to celebrate Jennifer's wrap-up filming of "Seven Minutes in Heaven." There were four actors present; Jennifer was the youngest but also the most successful.

Jennifer arrived in Sheryl Fern's car, so she didn't have to worry about being photographed by reporters, and the two of them could leave together.

Jennifer was excited to attend the private party, and even happier to find Madonna wasn't there. For a moment, she didn't notice anything amiss with Rosamund Kwan.

They chatted for a while after dinner and then parted ways. Jennifer couldn't go home too late. When she saw that Rosamund Kwan hadn't left with them and was staying at the villa acting like the lady of the house, she realized something was wrong.

Rosamund Kwan, standing close to Xiao Tu, has such a radiant smile!
The sky has fallen! Jennifer's mind screamed like a groundhog – Ah!

Jennifer looked at Xiao Tu, seemingly wanting to say something but then hesitated. In the end, she said nothing and got into Sheryl Fen's car and left.

It doesn't matter, these women are all quite old anyway, I'm the youngest, I can outlast them.

Wait, Madonna got cheated on, but this didn't make the news.

After meeting Jennifer, Rosamund Kwan felt a sense of insecurity. This young beauty was already so gorgeous before she even reached adulthood; her figure was simply unfair!
Rosamund Kwan lacks confidence in her figure, and Xiao Tu bluntly stated that she was too thin. She's recently gained a little weight, and when she wears special underwear, she's even smaller than a child – it's truly a "mask horror."

A woman's intuition is very sharp; she sensed this was a formidable rival.

Furthermore, Rosamund Kwan was certain that Xiao Tu was not only a playboy, but also a shameless scumbag. His relationship with Jennifer was so good; it definitely wasn't the typical "adopted brother" or "adopted sister" dynamic.

This isn't Hong Kong; how could Americans possibly have pure romantic feelings for each other?

He wants to play a simulation game!
After thinking for a while, Rosamund Kwan calmed down and, with an obedient demeanor, went back to the bedroom with Xiao Tu to chat. She didn't mention Jennifer at all, nor did she show any jealousy.

Jealousy and making a scene won't end well; she's not the empress anyway. She thinks keeping Xiao Tu happy and making more money is the right thing to do.

Xiao Tu was very generous and actually gave her money. Rosamund Kwan knew this kind of life was a bit decadent, but it was just too tempting.

Rosamund Kwan unconsciously came to a realization, her mindset became very high, and she only wanted to pursue simple happiness and live in the present. If she were a bird, she'd be the kind that goes to the dock to buy some fries.

Xiao Tu had seen through Rosamund Kwan's mindset long ago, which was good.

(End of this chapter)