Basketball miracles

Chapter 138 [Everyone on Earth knows this]

Xiao Tu discovered that there was absolutely no problem with him meeting Rosamund Kwan; Madonna had even arranged a scapegoat for him.

While in Los Angeles, Xiao Tu frequently invited friends to dinner. As long as Chris Ford was present, Rosamund Kwan was unharmed even when paparazzi took photos of her.

Can't Xiao Tu have female friends? Of course he can.

The woman Xiao Tu was rumored to be dating was the blonde, blue-eyed Sheryl Fen, not Rosamund Kwan. Sheryl Fen is also very beautiful, and given the serious racial discrimination in the US these days, people habitually associate Xiao Tu with white beauties.

Previously, entertainment media reported that Madonna was not angry when she found out, because she knew Sheryl Fenn.

In this way, Xiao Tu won't be bored in Hong Kong.

He began to look forward to his first long holiday after traveling through time. The food in Hong Kong suited his taste better, and there were many things to do there.

Xiao Tu wanted to see how Hong Kong film crews made movies; Hong Kong action films in the 80s were all about risking your life. He hoped that this trip to Hong Kong would allow him to meet kung fu stars like Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan through Rosamund Kwan.

In addition, he wants to learn kung fu in Hong Kong; he can't afford not to use his talent as a kung fu master.

Xiao Tu is more interested in Hong Kong stars, having grown up watching Hong Kong films. The Hollywood movies he knows are mostly science fiction, and he hasn't watched many movies from the 8s and 90s.

The Lakers then won both home and away games against the Nuggets, easily sweeping them 4-0 to advance.

The Lakers' lowest-scoring game still had 126 points. However, Xiao Tu's stats dropped significantly in the last three games. Excluding free throws, he limited his field goal attempts to around ten per game, playing very unselfishly.

Xiao Tu's field goal percentage in the series was as high as 73.2%, his three-point percentage was 50%, and his free throw percentage was 85.7%.

The Nuggets couldn't contain Xiao Tu's performance. He reduced his shot attempts to control his missed shots, and only took a few more shots in Game 4.

Xiao Tu's explanation to the public was: "I can't always play alone. The Lakers are a Big Three team. If I take too many shots, we can't have fun together."

Magic Johnson put on a stellar performance, racking up 33 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, and 2 steals. His triple-double wasn't as impressive as Xiao Tu's.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also had a game where he scored 38 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. Abdul-Jabbar is used to relying on Xiao Tu for rebounds, and even in the playoffs, he couldn't reach double figures in rebounds.

Experts have commented that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's playing style was soft and that he didn't like physical contact, a fact he acknowledged.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played a straightforward, high-energy style in his youth, prioritizing a healthier approach to the game. Without this style, he wouldn't have remained so active and energetic at 38. Players who rely on physical strength rarely have long careers; the high strain and risk of injury make them prone to injury.

The Nuggets' defense is riddled with holes, and the stats of their two All-Star players are the only saving grace. The management must acquire a strong defensive center this summer; otherwise, playing against the Lakers will be like watching their opponents put on a show.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics defeated the 76ers 4-1.

This series lacked highlights, with all games decided by close scores; the 76ers scored less than 100 points in three games.

At the small forward position, Larry Bird's performance completely outshone Dr. J.

Charles Barkley lacked experience and couldn't gain the upper hand against Kevin McHale, who was known for his floor-based style.

76ers center Moses Malone had no advantage against Robert Parish.

马龙今年季后赛的表现令人大跌眼镜。他打满了13场，场均出战38.8分钟，得到20.2分10.6篮板1.8助攻1.3抢断1.7盖帽。

At first glance, Malone's stats seem decent, but his field goal percentage is only 42.5%, far worse than his rookie teammate Barkley's 54% and even worse than Celtics center Parish's 49.3% field goal percentage.

He only gets 2.8 offensive rebounds and has no dominance in the paint.

The two teams are old rivals, having met four times in the playoffs over six years.

What was once a fierce battle turned into a one-sided affair. After the game, Bird expressed his deep feelings: "This great era has ended, and I will always miss it."

This time, Bird wasn't talking trash, but he was still mercilessly mocked by Lakers media and fans.

"Your era is indeed over. You're about to get swept 4-0 by the Lakers, and people will miss you."

"Hilarious, Bird thinks he's invincible just because he beat Moses Malone and Dr. J?"

"Bird is about to have the lowest field goal percentage of his career in the Finals."

No one is optimistic that the Celtics will successfully defend their title; basketball experts predict the game will be one-sided.

The Celtics have a strong roster, but they lack an inside player who can effectively limit Xiao Tu's performance one-on-one. Experts believe that Celtics coach KC Jones is also inferior to Pat Riley. In the playoffs, Bird, McHale, and Dennis Johnson averaged over 40 minutes per game, Robert Parish averaged 38 minutes, and Danny Ainge averaged 33 minutes.

Riley will rotate players reasonably, and the Lakers have several bench players. KC Jones will overuse his starters in the playoffs, mainly using an 8-man rotation, while the other four fringe players will hardly play.

The Celtics had no trump cards against the Lakers, relying solely on their regular season three-man rotation in the paint. Xiao Tu, on the other hand, was even more dominant in the playoffs than in the regular season, becoming a superstar scorer.

Everyone is curious about what stats Xiao Tu can put up in the finals. If he performs as well as he did in the first three rounds, he will become the youngest Finals MVP in NBA history at only 19 years old.

Reporters interviewed the star players from both sides.

There's a trash-talking segment before the finals, the most famous being the 83 finals when Moses Malone declared he would sweep the Lakers.

When interviewed, Bird, known for his trash talk, was unusually low-key and didn't say anything harsh.

The league hasn't been promoting Bird's trash talk lately, and the media hasn't mentioned it for a long time. Last season, when Bird was at his peak, the media reported that he was constantly spouting trash talk.

Bird had quite a few memorable moments in the first half of the season, the most famous being when he trash-talked the 76ers and got beaten up by Dr. J.

Xiao Tu had even seen jokes about Bird taking down Jordan.

When the fledgling Jordan provoked Bird, Bird coldly replied, "Are you sure you want to trash talk me?" Jordan didn't back down and continued to provoke him, only to suffer a crushing defeat.

Is that so great? Jordan and the Bulls were repeatedly beaten by multiple playoff teams throughout the season.

Xiao Tu frequently provoked Bird in interviews, wanting to exchange insults with him, but Bird remained silent.

This time, Xiao Tu certainly didn't intend to give his opponent any face.

A Los Angeles reporter asked Xiao Tu to predict the outcome of the finals, to which Xiao Tu laughed and said, "The outcome of the finals? Everyone on Earth knows that. Does it even need prediction?"

Xiao Tu's statement, "Everyone on Earth knows that," amused the reporter, demonstrating his confidence and humor.

The reporter asked, "So, can you predict how many games there will be in this finals?"

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Tu said in a serious tone, "I predict that there will be seven matches in this final."

The reporters were stunned; they hadn't expected him to suddenly become so low-key.

You're not playing by the rules.

Shouldn't you say "sweep"?
Xiao Tu explained, "I won't underestimate my opponent. I did some research on them before the game. The Celtics are very strong, and their players are very rough on defense. Before, Bird grabbed my neck and tried to slam me down, and maybe he'll succeed in that in the Finals."

"..." The reporter understood; Xiao Tu was about to put Bird and the Celtics on the spot again.

Xiao Tu continued, "Moreover, the Celtics staff are not simple either. They will get involved in the game and deliberately sabotage the air conditioning in the away team's locker room or something. Maybe I'll get so hot and dehydrated that I'll have an off-season like Karim did last season."

The reporter found it amusing; no young player could be more sarcastic and sarcastic than Xiao Tu.

Game 5 of the 1984 NBA Finals is very famous, known as the "Hotspot Game." Not only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but Worthy also needed oxygen that day due to the heat.

It's hard to believe that something like this could happen in such a crucial Finals game. Many fans believe it was a conspiracy by the Celtics, but there's no point in saying anything; a loss is a loss.

Xiao Tu's pre-match prediction was useful; if the Celtics' home air conditioning broke down again, they would be incredibly embarrassed.

Xiao Tu said before the game that the Celtics' rough defense was actually useful; if someone still dared to commit malicious fouls against them, it would definitely incite public outrage. If the Celtics players caused huge controversy in the first game, fans would most likely overwhelmingly support the Lakers to win the championship. Looking closely at the Celtics' defense, it will be even harder for them to win later on.

Xiao Tu would never say he would sweep away his opponents, because that would be meaningless and would only inspire his opponents' fighting spirit.

If the Lakers want to sweep, they should just do it. What's there to say?

When things happen, the media and fans will naturally praise the Lakers. Xiao Tu's claim that a sweep was impossible was proven wrong, bringing him no benefit whatsoever.

In addition, Moses Malone once said something similar: Xiao Tu has no interest in imitating other star players.

He just wants to be himself, the one and only Xiao Tu. He absolutely hates titles like "Jabbar's successor" or "Malone's successor."

Fortunately, even CEO Stern didn't like it, and the media stopped reporting it that way a long time ago.

(End of this chapter)