Basketball miracles

Chapter 118 [Another Victory Against the Celtics]

March was the Lakers' worst month for losses, with a shocking 109-114 defeat to the Trail Blazers on the 24th.

The Trail Blazers had multiple players contributing, with seven scoring in double figures. The Lakers' outside shooters collectively struggled, and only a strong performance from Xiao Tu and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar kept the game going until the very end.

魔术师约翰逊的表现稀烂，16投4中，罚球4中2，得到10分5篮板14助攻。

Johnson has always lacked consistency in his shooting, which is a serious weakness. When opponents notice he's off his game, they'll give him some space or go around the inside to screen for his drive but not his shot.

Xiao Tu felt this weakness was easily overcome; Johnson just needed to practice shooting more to find his rhythm. If he wanted to, he should be able to improve his three-point shooting as well. His shooting talent was exceptional; he often made shots even without aiming, just turning and shooting randomly, his release motion was very casual.

During training, Johnson and Xiao Tu competed in three-point shooting, and Johnson once got hot and made 9 out of 10 attempts.

But Johnson just wouldn't train hard, and Pat Riley couldn't do anything about it.

Riley had to appease Johnson, and his appointment as head coach was directly related to him. In 1981, Johnson's relationship with head coach Paul Westhead soured. Westhead resigned in disgrace, and Riley, who had long served as an assistant coach for the Lakers, took over.

Paul, who considered himself more important than superstars, only coached the Bulls for one season, achieving a record of 28 wins and 54 losses. Now he's a flop that no NBA team wants.

In a parallel universe, Johnson's peak wasn't now, but after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired. At that time, he took on more offensive responsibilities and perhaps trained harder.

Regardless, Johnson is ahead of Larry Bird in the MVP rankings, so he's just coasting to victory.

Bird's stats are better, but the Celtics' record was already far behind the Lakers' before his injury. Now, Bird's record and attendance are both inferior to Johnson's, so there's no point in arguing anymore.

At the end of the month, the Lakers lost to the 76ers 108-117 at home, their sixth loss of the season.

Xiao Tu was surprised to find that the fat Barkley had turned into a strong man.

He lost weight and became stronger.

Barkley has been losing weight, and he looks completely different at the end of the season compared to the beginning.

壮汉巴克利爆发力惊人，肖途也防不住。他神勇的砍下20分10篮板2助攻，和24分13篮板5助攻2盖帽的肖途互爆。

Moses Malone outperformed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dr. J also scored 30 points, bringing back his peak form.

The Lakers' strength isn't just due to their star players, but also to their deep roster, boasting the best depth in the league. However, in this game, the Lakers' bench players performed poorly, with no one scoring in double figures.

Byron Scott was a key figure in the loss, scoring only 6 points on 3-of-13 shooting with no free throws. His performance was very inconsistent; sometimes he played like an All-Star, and other times he couldn't even make open shots.

Scott's role is that of a shooter, but one who doesn't shoot three-pointers, which is awkward. Unless he takes Xiao Tu's advice and improves his three-point shot, his ceiling is fixed, and he won't become an All-Star.

Despite the loss, the Lakers remained relaxed, believing they would definitely break records this season and that losing a few more games wouldn't affect the overall situation.

In an interview, Xiao Tu praised Barkley. "He's been excellent since losing weight, and I think he'll become a superstar. His post-up game is very strong; even I have a hard time defending him."

Xiao Tu occasionally praises his opponents, especially those like Barkley with whom he has no conflict of interest. The two have no chance of meeting in the playoffs unless Barkley moves to the Western Conference.

If Xiao Tu were to find a rival with whom he could praise each other, he would choose Barkley.

Barkley has a sweet tooth and is rather perfunctory in training, but he's smart and knows how to create hype, as evidenced by many things he does off the court. For example, he keeps his word, kissing a donkey's rear end after betting on Yao Ming. He's also known for his unwavering devotion, having been married to a white woman for 30 years, and their love remains as strong as ever.

You think he's a brute, but he's actually very shrewd.

Xiao Tu praised Barkley, and when Barkley became famous and gave an interview, he would definitely try to curry favor with Xiao Tu.

At the end of March, Xiao Tu accompanied Madonna on the red carpet in Los Angeles to attend the premiere of the movie "Secret Date".

This is Madonna's first film, filmed last year and released on March 29th of this year. A large group of fans came to support her, and the film relied on her for promotion.

This movie is supposed to be a comedy, but it's extremely boring, and the performances of the two female leads are indescribable.

The biggest lie and joke in the film is that Madonna stands on the scale and says, "I'm about the same size as her," while the other female lead is thin and short, probably less than 160cm tall.

In April, Madonna's tour officially began, leaving her with absolutely no time for Xiao Tu. She was very well-prepared and full of confidence; Xiao Tu had seen her rehearsals.

How should I put it? Her appearance is similar to that of the mother in "Growing Pains," full of a sense of the era.

She said a lot in the interview, and Xiao Tu felt she was a bit naive, but the audience bought it and thought she was very charming.

Actually, Madonna's fans are mainly drawn to her looks; beautiful women are always right, no matter what they do. If Professor Snape from Harry Potter were a beautiful woman, he could probably become the female lead of the entire series with his sharp tongue.

Xiao Tu was frustrated because Rosamund Kwan had also returned to Hong Kong. She had a big project there and wanted to go back to acting.

Rosamund Kwan hasn't acted in a long time. Her last film was "The Frog Prince," released last April. She played a supporting role to Maggie Cheung and Cherie Chung, only the third female lead, and earned very little.

She was happy in America, but she also wanted to find something to do. That failed marriage made her realize that women who idled away their men's money would be looked down upon.

Those who wait for others to bring them happiness are often not very happy.

Rosamund Kwan felt she had to do something to make herself appear more valuable. She didn't dare dream of becoming a star in Hollywood, but becoming a big star in Hong Kong was still a possibility.

Xiao Tu guessed that this big project was the movie that made her a star, "Lucky Stars in Summer." "Lucky Stars in Summer" was a box office hit in Hong Kong in February, making a fortune, and Sammo Hung, who starred in and directed the film, was eager to release a sequel.

The parallel world version of "My Lucky Star" was rushed to completion, yet it was still a box office success.

Xiao Tu supports Rosamund Kwan becoming a female star. She should go back and see whether to accept the role or come back to him. That's her decision.

Sammo Hung wanted to help Rosamund Kwan out of respect for Kwan Shan; otherwise, this opportunity to become famous wouldn't have fallen into her lap. If she had missed this movie, it would have been extremely difficult for her to become famous again.

The only problem is that she needs to make some sacrifices, performing a wet and seductive scene in the movie. This plot is quite daring for a Hong Kong film, but it's nothing compared to Hollywood movies, at least there aren't any explicit sex scenes.

Rosamund Kwan became famous after taking on this film, which paved the way for her to become Aunt Thirteen in the Wong Fei-hung film series.

Xiao Tu had always hoped she would continue playing the role of Aunt Thirteen; he didn't care about any other roles, this one was just perfect for her. Of course, it wouldn't matter if she didn't play the role, but Xiao Tu felt that it wouldn't be the same person anymore.

If the Ginyu Force members didn't strike silly poses, would they still be the Ginyu Force? Their appeal would be greatly diminished.

With his two girlfriends busy with their own careers and unable to touch the children, Xiao Tu had no choice but to focus all his energy on the basketball court. He trained even harder and played even more aggressively in games.

In early April, the Lakers faced the Celtics again on the road, and the atmosphere was tense from the moment the players stepped onto the court.

Xiao Tu received special treatment; the home fans hurled insults at him as if he were their father's killer.

Before the game, some media predicted that something bad would happen. The Celtics players were really dirty, and they probably didn't want Xiao Tu to leave unscathed.

The Celtics players were definitely eager to teach the Lakers a lesson.

Larry Bird, nicknamed "The Masked Man," returned from injury last month. In a pre-game interview, he said he would give it his all and was confident that he and his teammates could defend their home court and defeat the Lakers.

Lakers fans scoffed at this, saying, "Didn't Bird give it his all in the last game? It's true he didn't finish before he was exhausted."

The game started with aggressive defense from both sides, resulting in intermittent play that didn't really escalate. After overtime, the Lakers won 113-105, sweeping the Celtics in the regular season.

Xiao Tu was once again matched up against Bird, and he did not disappoint the coach and fans, successfully defending him once again.

伯德出战了45分钟，27投8中，三分球2中1，罚球6中6，得到23分10篮板5助攻，还有4次失误。他本场的命中率同样很低，仅有29.6%。

肖途也打了45分钟，24投14中，三分球4中1，罚球8中6，得到35分21篮板7助攻2抢断3盖帽。

It's clear that the Celtics were influenced by Xiao Tu's words.

Coach KC Jones did not start Bird at small forward, preferring to keep the in-form McHale on the bench, in order to have Bird play another game against Xiao Tu.

However, Bird was completely outmatched, and the Celtics were able to fight their way into overtime thanks to McHale's performance.

(End of this chapter)