Basketball miracles

Chapter 151 [2-0, Giving Up]

Xiao Tu became an instant sensation in North America, and his news dominated headlines that very night.

David Stern applied the same level of hype he used to promote Jordan in a parallel universe to Xiao Tu, and the effect was several times stronger. The two are vastly different in appearance, and even more so in terms of their performance.

Xiao Tu's frequent appearances in entertainment news have nothing to do with Stern; he gets more coverage than other star players.

肖途砍下52分20篮板10助攻2抢断7盖帽，是史无前例的总决赛数据，攻防两端统治了禁区。

McHale is the Celtics' second-leading scorer this season, with a higher scoring efficiency than Bird, and is an All-Star caliber player. Yet, this rising star couldn't score a single point against Xiao Tu.

Some experts believe that Pat Riley recognized McHale's threat and specifically assigned Xiao Tu to limit him. This arrangement disrupted the Celtics' offensive rhythm and was a key factor in their victory.

Some experts have also stated that if the Celtics' low-post offense fails to find its footing, they will be swept by the Lakers in the Finals. The Celtics rely too heavily on mid-range shooting, resulting in an overall low shooting percentage.

Experts generally believe that Magic Johnson and Xiao Tu will dominate the NBA for a long time. As long as this "magic duo" doesn't break up, it will be difficult for other teams to defeat the Lakers.

One of them excels at orchestrating the offense, while the other is adept at scoring and rebounding—a perfect match.

The news began to spread the next day, and Xiao Tu received far more praise than others.

Many fans feel that Xiao Tu should also be the regular season MVP this season. Magic Johnson's defense is too poor; the difference in their defensive contributions is obvious.

Even the most die-hard Magic Johnson fans are embarrassed to say he's a great defender. It's common for him to get beaten, he likes to gamble on steals, and this season even his defensive effort has decreased.

Magic Johnson doesn't like to jump on the defensive end, and his number of blocks is negligible, averaging only 0.3 per game this season.

On the Celtics' side, Larry Bird received a lot of negative reviews, with many fans feeling that he was seriously overrated.

Bird scored a career-high 60 points against the struggling Hawks in the regular season this year, taking advantage of the Hawks' injury woes and poor record to rack up points.

Bird was heavily guarded in the Finals and didn't take many shots, seemingly unwilling to take on offensive responsibility.

Bird's offensive ability was indeed not strong enough; when faced with double teams, he mostly passed the ball, which was a reasonable playing style. But in the eyes of fans, he was just passing the ball around.

McHale received even lower ratings, fluctuating between being underestimated and overrated during this year's playoffs.

Parish received relatively little criticism because people had low expectations of him before the competition. For a deaf-mute Native American chief to appear on the finals stage multiple times is already quite impressive.

During the break, the Celtics coaching staff worked overtime to study tactics.

Focusing solely on low-post offense is definitely not an option. Let alone a monster like Xiao Tu, even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a clear advantage over Parish due to his height and wingspan.

McHale's performance in the low post in the first game... was like a turtle wearing a vest to cooperate with Xiao Tu, giving him a crazy number of blocks.

After discussion, the Celtics players could only focus on practicing mid-range shots and defense in preparation for Game 2. KC Jones refused to let the players practice three-pointers, still believing it to be an unorthodox approach.

Even if the Celtics players practice their three-point shooting diligently now, they still won't achieve a high shooting percentage. Players need consistent practice to shoot accurately, and even someone as exceptional as Xiao Tu is no exception. He spent the entire season practicing his three-pointers from the middle and right corner, which is why he achieved a shooting percentage of just over 40% in games; his other shots are inaccurate.

Many retired NBA stars have commented on the Finals and Xiao Tu's performance, and almost all of them have given positive reviews.

Rick Barry said, "Sebastian Shaw delivered another basketball feast for all the fans! The Celtics racked their brains to defend him, but still couldn't contain his performance."

Elgin Baylor said, "Shaw officially declared that the era of Bird and Moses Malone is over! He proved that the pick-and-roll is the most effective tactic, but it is very difficult to achieve the level of him and Magic Johnson."

Oscar Robertson said, "Ferocious! Powerful! Unparalleled dunks! Through the experience of the regular season, Shaw seems to have perfectly found the balance point on offense! His jump shot is just as threatening as his drives to the basket, and he keeps creating miracles!"

Lakers general manager Jerry West said, "Seb has injected amazing energy into the Lakers and can do even better in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if he flew away wearing red underwear over his pants someday."

There were negative reviews too, and yes, it came from Wilt Chamberlain again. The "King" firmly believes that the current NBA is a pile of crap, and if he played in this era, he could average 60 points, 30 rebounds, and 10 assists per game, completely outclassing Xiao Tu.

Wilt Chamberlain brought joy to fans, but everyone knows how poorly he performed in the playoffs.

Chamberlain's performance in the Finals... was simply awful. He played in the Finals six times in his career, and in a total of 35 games, he only scored more than 30 points in four of them.

If anyone asks him why he did so poorly in the Finals, he'll immediately transform into the most selfless player and chat with you about team basketball. It's not that he can't score; he just wants to do something else.

The player who loves racking up points in the regular season doesn't like scoring in the finals—that's Chamberlain's logic.

Game 2 was held at the Lakers' home court, and no one expected the Celtics to tie the series. The Lakers players trained as usual, and Xiao Tu participated, though he did not attend Madonna's Los Angeles concert as a guest.

There are some things Xiao Tu can't do. If he doesn't train properly and goes to the concert, it will definitely cause negative news.

As expected, the Lakers had a clear advantage from the start, dominating the Celtics' offense.

The Celtics struggled to penetrate the paint in half-court sets, with Xiao Tu's tight defense completely shutting McHale out of the paint. Even if McHale moved out to the perimeter, he could only keep Xiao Tu away from the basket, making it difficult for McHale to score. Furthermore, Xiao Tu would allow him to shoot while readily available to help defend against drives.

Xiao Tu doesn't need to focus on defending Bird; he can concentrate more on rebounding and shot blocking.

Worthy and Michael Cooper were both effective at defending Bird, using close marking and disrupting his shots. Cooper, in particular, was in superb form today, forcing Bird to miss several jump shots.

Cooper isn't very heavy, making him difficult to defend against strong players, and Bird isn't a player who relies on strength. Furthermore, Cooper's height is clearly not the reported 196cm; he's around two meters tall, so he wouldn't be at a significant disadvantage when defending Bird.

Defense is the foundation of Cooper's success in the NBA. His exaggeration of his height is probably because he doesn't want to play forward; guard is a better fit for him.

In a parallel universe, Cooper played 12 years in the NBA, making the All-Defensive Team eight times, including five First Team selections. His selection count is impressive, and he won the Defensive Player of the Year award in the 1986-87 season.

Because of his outstanding defensive performance against Bird, Cooper also had a nickname, "The Bird Interceptor." Bird himself also praised Cooper, saying, "Cooper is the best defensive player I've ever faced."

Judging from Xiao Tu's current performance with the Lakers, if anyone on the team were to be selected as the Defensive Player of the Year, it certainly wouldn't be Cooper. His playing time and defensive stats are both inferior to Xiao Tu's, and he's only been selected to the All-Defensive Second Team this season.

Bird struggles to penetrate when facing the basket, and he often faces double teams in the low post, resulting in a low shooting percentage.

The two white stars underperformed, and the other three starters couldn't make a significant impact on the offense. Ainge, who had a strong performance last game, only scored 10 points this time, revealing his true level.

最终湖人129比103获胜，全队6人得分上双，总比分2比0领先。

Xiao Tu was constantly double-teamed, and his stats dropped significantly compared to the previous game. However, he still managed to score 28 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks by relying on fast breaks and second-chance points from offensive rebounds.

He grabbed 7 offensive rebounds, and the Celtics couldn't find a way to limit his rebounding. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar missed 5 shots in one-on-one situations, and Xiao Tu secured 3 rebounds.

The Celtics players gave it their all, but it was no use. In the last series, they scored just over 100 points in all five games, and they rarely score over 110 points in the playoffs. That's their offensive output.

McHale scored 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist with a 40% field goal percentage, but was once again outplayed by Xiao Tu. His only highlight was scoring two baskets in the low post against Xiao Tu using his footwork, while also drawing two fouls, but his shooting percentage was negligible.

伯德18投7中，三分球3中1，罚球4中4，得到19分7篮板6助攻1抢断2盖帽。他的表现比上场好一些，在进攻端依旧挣扎。

It's worth mentioning that before this game started, Xiao Tu and Magic Johnson had agreed that Xiao Tu would help him rack up a win.

结果约翰逊得分还不如肖途多。他出战38分钟22投10中，三分球1中0，罚球6中5，仅得到25分5篮板12助攻2抢断。

In the final quarter, Johnson completely gave up on competing with Xiao Tu for the Finals MVP. He knew his abilities weren't enough to score high points, and his most comfortable playing style was passing.

In terms of scoring, he's not as reliable as the 38-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

(End of this chapter)