Basketball miracles

Chapter 165 [It's as easy as an adult hitting a child]

“Savior? You?” Mitsui Hisashi laughed.

"Yes, as long as I join the team, Shohoku will definitely win the national championship." Xiao Tu had absolute confidence.

Although I have a new body and am weaker than a power forward from the 80s, I have NBA championship experience. Playing basketball with Japanese high school students is a piece of cake for me.
I probably need to put a "seal" on myself, reducing the number of shots and trying to avoid using my strength advantage in the game. Otherwise, I'm just bullying others, and it won't be effective in improving my technique at all.

Mitsui Hisashi, with his strong sense of pride, immediately perked up. "You're too arrogant! Don't look down on Japanese basketball."

"I don't look down on Japanese basketball, but since you like basketball, you should know what level American basketball is at, right?"

"..." Mitsui Hisashi immediately lost confidence. He hadn't played basketball in a long time, and his opponent was from America.

In the eyes of Japanese fans, the United States is the "basketball kingdom," and its dominant position in the basketball world is unshakeable.

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "You should warm up first, practice your layups and shooting. I'm afraid you'll get injured if we start one-on-one right away."

Mitsui Hisashi nodded and obediently went to warm up. He was still traumatized by his two previous left knee injuries, and today he even wore a newly bought knee brace.

Xiao Tu dribbled the ball to get a feel for it while watching Mitsui Hisashi warm up.

In simple terms, "ball feel" is the ability to sense the ball, including its trajectory, rebound force, and so on. A player with good ball feel has essentially mastered control of the ball.

Xiao Tu could still perform crossover dribbles and behind-the-back dribbles without watching the ball, relying solely on his instincts. This proved that the original owner of this body was already excellent at dribbling, and he didn't need to spend too much time practicing dribbling; he wasn't even using his advanced training aura at the moment.

Xiao Tu's dribbling skills weren't as good as those of two forwards, even with long-term practice of fundamentals. He discovered that different physiques have different initial talents: power forwards are good at running and jumping, small forwards are good at shooting, and point guards are good at speed and ball handling.

If it weren't for the Titan's Body boost from the golden treasure chest, Xiao Tu's physical abilities would be far inferior to Sakuragi Hanamichi's. Even now, his shooting is worse than Mitsui Hisashi's, who hasn't played basketball in a long time.

Mitsui Hisashi had exceptional shooting talent and a perfect shooting form. He quickly found his accuracy and became more and more precise with each shot.

Unfortunately, Mitsui Hisashi's athletic ability is average, and he's too thin. His physical attributes will limit his potential; unless he gains muscle and becomes stronger in the future, he won't be able to become a professional athlete.

Xiao Tu felt that Mitsui Hisashi had no chance. Even without gaining weight, he had injured his knees twice without any intense contact. If he gained weight, he would probably be fragile.

In the storyline, Mitsui Hisashi primarily plays off-ball, shooting as soon as he receives the ball. He probably doesn't dare to quickly change direction with the ball anymore, which Xiao Tu thinks is fine, as Shohoku doesn't lack players who can attack with the ball.

Considering that Mitsui Hisashi and Rukawa Kaede were evenly matched in their one-on-one battle, and Rukawa Kaede only managed to score with a difficult reverse layup... Xiao Tu estimated that Rukawa Kaede's speed wasn't much faster either.

After warming up, the two began their one-on-one game.

Xiao Tu took the initiative, dribbling between his legs twice to test the ball, then suddenly changed direction to the right with his left hand, getting past Mitsui and easily making a layup.

Mitsui Hisashi was completely dumbfounded, unable to keep up with Xiao Tu's speed at all while standing still.

Xiao Tu passed the ball to Mitsui Hisashi and said with a smile, "It's your turn."

Mitsui Hisashi took a deep breath and started to isolate and attack, but after dribbling a couple of steps inside the three-point line, he was immediately marked and immobilized by Xiao Tu. Xiao Tu didn't want to use his body to bully others, but the defensive habits he had developed with the Lakers weren't so easy to change.

Like many players who rely on shooting, Mitsui Hisashi is vulnerable to close defense. Now, in a one-on-one situation, he can't pass the ball and can only force a turn and shoot. His attempt to avoid a block is often poorly executed, causing the ball to bounce off the rim.

Xiao Tu attacked, this time Mitsui Hisashi was further away, defending against the drive but not the shot. Xiao Tu had plenty of space to make his move, using a Euro step to get past him cleanly, and easily made another layup.

Mitsui Hisashi's expression was priceless; he immediately began to question the meaning of life.

In the next possession, Xiao Tu didn't stay close, and Mitsui Hisashi couldn't break through, ultimately getting his jump shot blocked. Xiao Tu instantly sprang up, displaying amazing jumping ability.

Next, Xiao Tu executed a series of fancy breakthroughs: a crossover dribble followed by a behind-the-back dribble, a crossover dribble followed by a spin move, a behind-the-back dribble followed by a jump step, and so on...

The two fought for less than ten minutes, and Mitsui Hisashi was completely overwhelmed, unable to defend against a single attack.

Mitsui Hisashi was completely unable to shake off Xiao Tu's defense and could only shoot under severe interference, resulting in a pitifully low shooting percentage.

He could clearly sense that Xiao Tu wasn't trying to block him, but rather giving him face. Their physical abilities were clearly not on the same level; Xiao Tu once easily dunked with both hands after getting past him.

According to their one-on-one rules, Xiao Tu won 10-2.

Mitsui Hisashi was greatly shocked and remained stunned.

Xiao Tu waved his hand and said, "Alright, I'm not playing anymore. You should rest for a while."

He beat Mitsui Hisashi as easily as an adult beating a child; it seems like he wouldn't learn anything from such a one-on-one fight.

Mitsui Hisashi paused for a moment before asking, "How much of your strength did you use?" "Do you want the truth or a lie?"

"of course it's true."

Xiao Tu nimbly twirled the ball with the tip of his index finger and laughed, "I only used half my strength."

"How is this possible?" Mitsui Hisashi's eyes widened.

"Because I'm a point guard, basketball isn't a one-on-one game. I prefer to cooperate with my teammates. I can only unleash my full potential by combining drives, passes, and shots; I'm not good at one-on-one situations."

Mitsui Hisashi then asked, "Are there many point guards like you in the United States?"

“There should be many in the NBA. I haven’t seen any guards my age who can beat me. I’m here in Japan on vacation. I’ll go back to the US for another year of high school and then enter the NBA draft. My draft pick won’t be low. So there’s no need for you to be upset about losing to me. It would be really strange if anyone in Japan could beat me.”

Whoever beats Xiao Tu will have the ability to play in the NBA. How could a Japanese high school have a guard like that? Even a guard from the Japanese national team would get completely destroyed if he were matched up against him.

Xiao Tu thought for a moment, then decided it might not be that absolute. He asked, "Mitsui, do you know Tsubasa Ozora?"

Why did you suddenly bring up the Captain Tsubasa manga?

"Okay, it's alright now," Xiao Tu said with a smile.

If Japan had a real-life Tsubasa Ozora, it might be a composite world of manga and anime. In that case, Japan would be incredibly complex, full of hidden talents. While Slam Dunk leans towards realism, the elementary school students in Captain Tsubasa are so strong they can kick a soccer ball through the net, and the middle school students can smash through stone walls.

If this were the world, heaven knows how insane those guys in the NBA would be. Jordan would probably be able to swim in the sky...

Yuan Daying can swim in the sky by shouting "Handsome Eagle Soars!" while a tall, beautiful female commentator stands beside him. Not many people in the NBA can do that.

Not many, but that proves there's still some. Jordan will definitely succeed.

Mitsui exclaimed, "I really want to see just how good your passing is."

"It's simple. Aren't there people playing on the other side? We can just play a half-court 3v3 with them."

Mitsui Hisashi was in charge of communicating with them, and since they were all young people, there was no reason for them to refuse. It was perfect that all nine of them played together, five points per game, divided into three teams taking turns in 3v3.

Xiao Tu and Mitsui Hisashi were on the same team, paired with a short guy who was only 160cm tall and not very good at playing. They had never lost, while the other six players took turns resting.

Xiao Tu is invincible in one-on-one situations. Two defenders can't even see how the ball is passed out before it's in an open spot, allowing Mitsui Hisashi and the nameless guy to easily score.

The 160cm tall player plays like a center, simply standing under the basket waiting to receive the ball and shoot. Mitsui, on the other hand, moves out to receive the ball and shoot, enjoying himself immensely, a smile appearing on his face.

Mitsui Hisashi believed that if Xiao Tu joined Shohoku, the two would become a golden duo, with Xiao Tu making a sudden pass and Mitsui shooting as soon as he caught the ball.

Everyone marveled at Xiao Tu's incredible skill; his dribbling was unstoppable, his shots were unblockable, all his movements were fluid and elegant, and he could even dunk.

In Japanese streetball courts, people who can dunk are extremely rare.

Mitsui Hisashi's weaknesses were exposed; even if he didn't run much during the first half of the game, he looked very tired after playing for a long time.

Xiao Tu played for half an hour, then felt his opponent was too weak and was too lazy to continue, so he called a stop.

If he keeps going, something bad is going to happen. Mitsui Hisashi is panting like Sora, who knows he has a heart condition but still tries to transform into a Super Saiyan. He looks like he's about to die without any special medicine.

"Let's go rest for a while on the sidelines."

Mitsui Hisashi, panting heavily, said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, my stamina is too poor."

"You haven't exercised in a long time, so it's normal for your stamina to have deteriorated. If you run five kilometers every day, you'll be in better shape before school starts. Even if you can't play the whole game, 30 minutes shouldn't be a problem."

Mitsui Hisashi asked, "How do you train? Your breathing is so steady."

"The intensity of the competition is too low. I could play basketball all day like this." Xiao Tu looked Mitsui Hisashi up and down and laughed, "I suggest you get a buzz cut first, then we can just wander around and find a place to eat. You can't play basketball with this hairstyle forever, can you?"

Mitsui Hisashi thought for a moment and said with a self-deprecating laugh, "You're right, I'll get a haircut today."

Because of a certain opportunity, Mitsui Hisashi wants to completely change and become his sunny self again...

(End of this chapter)