Basketball miracles

Chapter 152 [Does the League not want to make money this year?]

The Celtics have three consecutive home games ahead, but their expectations are unusually low: winning Game 3 and avoiding a sweep would be considered a victory. If they lose that game, there probably won't be a Game 5.

In interviews, Lakers coaches and players have all declared their intention to sweep the championship and achieve a perfect playoff record.

In Game 3 of the Finals, the Celtics players were incredibly rough and shameless on the defensive end.

Xiao Tu has repeatedly said that the Celtics players play dirty defense, and there will be a lot of controversy if people take that personally. But if they don't play dirty, the Celtics don't even have a 10% chance of winning.

Xiao Tu's words were a calculated move, a trap he'd set for the opponent to fall into; either way, they'd be doomed. Xiao Tu and Stern had already discussed the situation during their mid-season meeting, ensuring the Celtics' home-court advantage wouldn't be too biased.

The Celtics' defense was intense, but they only had a slight advantage in the first seven minutes of the first quarter. The audience noticed the Lakers players were equally tough, going all out despite the boos; if you dared to go for a layup, I'd take you down.

The most vicious foul came in the second quarter when substitute Kurt Rambis grabbed McHale's shoulder under the basket and knocked him to the ground.

Every team has its enforcers, and that job shouldn't be done by the core players. Even if role players are sent off, it won't affect the outcome of the game. A year later, Rambis finally got his revenge.

Lambis was provoked by Xiao Tu.

After Xiao Tu knocked out Bird with one punch, fans called Rambis a coward. His skills were already set; if he didn't become tougher, he wouldn't be able to survive with the Lakers.

McHale got up and was about to punch Rambis when he was separated by players from both sides.

The Celtics players wouldn't dare engage in a brawl with the Lakers players. They're already down 0-2 in the series; if the Celtics were to fight instead of play basketball, it would be utterly disgraceful.

In basketball, the Celtics are clearly no match.

Their weakness is insurmountable; they have no backup in the paint and rely on a three-man rotation. The Celtics' rebounding advantage, which they previously had, has now become a disadvantage. Xiao Tu alone can grab rebounds equivalent to two star interior players, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar only needs to box out his opponents—a simple task.

The Celtics relied on home-court advantage to hold on for three quarters, keeping the point difference in single digits.

At the start of the final quarter, Xiao Tu hit two consecutive three-pointers from the right corner, extending the lead to 15 points, and the Celtics couldn't hold on any longer.

Pat Riley had an epiphany, becoming one of the first coaches in the NBA to recognize the value of the corner three-pointer tactic. With a player capable of shooting threes positioned in the corner, it was incredibly difficult for opponents to double-team Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he was posting up.

The Celtics players couldn't double-team Xiao Tu on the baseline, and the Lakers' formation was completely spread out. McHale dropped back to help defend near the paint twice, and Xiao Tu received the ball and shot decisively.

When guards double-team, Johnson will be free on the same side, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Shawn Johnson can then pass the ball to him, giving Johnson an easy mid-range shot opportunity at the 60-degree angle.

Johnson isn't just a catch-and-shoot player; he can fake a shot and then drive hard. Xiao Tu observes his teammates' movements and can also cut inside from the right baseline at any time.

Xiao Tu's baseline drive is equally difficult to defend, thanks to his physical advantage. Neither McHale nor Bird could stop him from cutting in. He could receive the ball and immediately take three steps to attack the basket, often using the Euro step.

The Lakers' pick-and-roll and triangle offense were two simple plays that the Celtics couldn't defend.

Led by Bird, the Celtics narrowed the gap to just 7 points with 5 minutes remaining. Xiao Tu then scored 4 points on a fast break and hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper on the right side to widen the gap again.

In crucial moments, Xiao Tu is the Lakers' most reliable scorer, possessing a significant one-on-one advantage due to his abundant energy.

The Lakers won 122-107 on the road, taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

Bird scored 30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals, his best performance yet, but still couldn't lead his team to victory.

The key to victory for both sides lies in the power forward position, with Xiao Tu dominating McHale every game.

McHale continued his poor performance, playing 40 minutes, shooting 5-for-14 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line, for only 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. Despite having home-court advantage, his one-on-one against Xiao Tu remained inefficient.

This was his highest-scoring game, along with 3 turnovers and 4 fouls.

McHale is a player who relies on his post-up game, and he'll always be in the top five when it comes to post-up superstars. But Xiao Tu really can't see the power in his post-up game with his 30cm vertical jump and 95kg weight.

Low-post footwork is irrelevant; Xiao Tu can close the gap so quickly that McHale can't even turn around. When McHale bullies Rambis, he doesn't always use complicated footwork to create space; he mainly relies on his height and wingspan advantage to attack.

肖途19投12中，三分球6中3，罚球8中8，砍下35分15篮板5助攻1抢断2盖帽。他也身背四次犯规，但主裁判不会盯着他狠吹几次将其罚下。

末节肖途8投6中，三分球2中2，罚球2中2砍下16分，是湖人队表现最好的。

Both teams played fiercely today, and all the starters were exhausted in the final quarter. At this point, Xiao Tu's physical advantage became even greater. He ate some premium lychees during halftime to relieve his fatigue, and then he was on fire.

McHale remained Xiao Tu's primary defender, and he was completely exhausted in the final minutes. Bird wasn't much better; he couldn't penetrate in crucial moments and went 0-for-2 on jump shots.

After the game, the Celtics players and fans were incredibly pessimistic. It's over, Barbie Q is gone.

No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit, and even if they had, it wouldn't be this Celtics team.

The Celtics have suffered five consecutive losses against the Lakers this season and have lost all morale.

At the start of the season, Bostonians believed the Celtics would establish a dynasty in the coming years, with discussions revolving around winning back-to-back championships. Now, forget about establishing a dynasty; even the Celtics' championship last year was highly controversial.

Lakers coaches and stars continued to chant slogans of a sweep. Xiao Tu's prediction of a Game 7 before the first game became a particularly popular meme among fans.

This is ironic. Last season, Bird said the calls in Game 6 favored the Lakers, and the league deliberately forced a Game 7 to make more money. Today, the calls favored the Celtics; they got more free throws, but still lost by 15 points.

So here's the question: doesn't the league want to make money this year?
A provocative reporter asked Bird after the game, "Do you think the calls in the Finals were biased towards the Lakers?"

Bird's expression was priceless; his head was bowed so low it looked like it was about to fall off. That very night, Los Angeles media outlets mocked Bird, calling him an ostrich, someone who wanted to bury his head in the sand when faced with trouble.

Who said Bird was the king of trash talk? He didn't dare utter a single word in this Finals, so where did he get the trash talk from?
Almost all fans now believe the Lakers will sweep the Celtics to win the championship; nobody is optimistic about the Celtics anymore.

Even the most die-hard Boston fans knew the Celtics were doomed to lose this season. The Celtics simply couldn't stop Xiao Tu, who had already secured the Finals MVP in the very first game.

Xiao Tu appeared nonchalant and composed during the interview, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

During the season, he went online for a day in 2003 and that's when he realized he had a chance to win the Finals MVP.

In a parallel universe, the Finals MVP this year is 38-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 25.7 points, 9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. Particularly noteworthy was his performance in Game 6, where he played 35 minutes, shooting 13-for-13 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, scoring 29 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists, helping the Lakers win the crucial game.

The Celtics' interior defense is so weak that even veterans can't stop it. Now, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is just an auxiliary player, and Xiao Tu is performing better as the main scorer.

Xiao Tu's physical attributes far surpass those of the two white Celtics stars; he's simply unstoppable in one-on-one defense. If Xiao Tu hadn't deliberately reduced his shot attempts in the last two games and shared the ball with the two superstars, his stats would have been even better.

Xiao Tu believes that too much of a good thing can be bad, and playing too selfishly is not suitable for this finals. His Adidas "Air Jordan 1" slogan is "No brothers, no basketball," and one explosive performance to prove himself is enough.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar still has gas in the tank; he can't drastically reduce his shot attempts and become a role player. He hasn't been playing for long, but he's efficiently averaging 20 points per game.

Xiao Tu's actions did not prevent him from winning the FMVP; instead, they earned him the friendship of his teammates and the praise of the fans.

In Game 4, the Lakers took the initiative from the start, with their Big Three scoring repeatedly and contributing from multiple positions. They led by 13 points, 38-25, after the first quarter.

The Lakers' biggest advantage is the physical condition of their players. Xiao Tu, Magic Johnson, Worthy, and Scott recovered quickly after two days of rest.

Of the Celtics' starters, only Dennis Johnson showed strong recovery ability, and all five players played exceptionally long minutes. The three white starters expended a lot of energy in Game 3, making them even less athletic in this game.

Parish had the toughest game, with no substitutes and only able to rest briefly in the second quarter. KC Jones will let Greg Kate, who is 213cm tall and weighs 113kg, play for a few minutes.

Pat Riley came up with a new trick: he didn't let Xiao Tu rest in the second quarter, having him play center and lead the bench players.

He easily defended against ground-based center Greg, and on offense, he and McAdu could create space to receive the ball and shoot, helping Scott create space to drive.

The Lakers went on a 13-4 run, dismantling the Celtics' bench in the second quarter. Xiao Tu received a pass from Cooper on the right baseline, pulled away from the block, and slammed it home with a reverse dunk – a move worthy of a dunk contest.

If the Finals tickets weren't so expensive, many Celtics fans would have been tempted to just walk out. Even with KC Jones bringing back his starters, the Celtics were still outmatched, their morale completely shattered, trailing by 27 points at halftime.

肖途打满了上半场，砍下25分14篮板3助攻1抢断2盖帽。

Xiao Tu continued playing in the second half without resting. He had discussed with Riley before the game that they wouldn't rest unless they were leading by a large margin and the game entered garbage time. Anyway, this was the last game of the season, so he didn't need to manage his energy wisely.

Xiao Tu makes his opponents uncomfortable as long as he's on the field; he doesn't necessarily have to be the main attacker.

Xiao Tu's presence outside the three-point line creates isolation opportunities for Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar without requiring much physical exertion. When Abdul-Jabbar is resting, he can increase his cuts and low-post isolation plays.

This way, both players have possession of the ball, and Xiao Tu's ability to clear the space can be maximized, making it difficult for the opponent to double-team him.

He made two three-pointers in the middle of the field in the first half, and another one in the right corner in the second half, making him unstoppable.

After the third quarter, the Lakers led 105-71 by 34 points, securing the victory.

(End of this chapter)