Basketball miracles

Chapter 220 [Steady as a Mountain, Fighting the 76ers!]

The Heat held a closed practice the next day, and Xiao Tu and Eddie Jones had a friendly sparring session.

How good is Jones, who once made Kobe a substitute for the Lakers for two years? The answer is he couldn't beat Kobe.

Before the 96 NBA draft, Kobe Bryant beat Eddie Jones at his peak, a key reason the Lakers traded for him. However, in his younger days, Kobe often played recklessly and impulsively, so coaches kept him on the bench. As Kobe aged, the coaches couldn't keep him in place anymore…

Jones is no longer in his prime, and Xiao Tu's one-on-one match made him consider retiring.

Xiao Tu could easily dominate Jones with his height and weight, and could dominate in the low post. Jones is 198cm tall and weighs only about 90kg, practically skinny. His 206cm wingspan isn't outstanding either; his physical attributes are average.

The two players spread out, and Xiao Tu made even more flamboyant moves facing the basket, dribbling between his legs and behind his back, bouncing and bouncy as he passed Jones, putting on a show of fancy moves.

If it weren't for Xiao Tu's playing style during the Summer League, Jones would have suspected that Xiao Tu was deliberately insulting him.

Xiao Tu, having spent all his time playing one-on-one with Wade, had become accustomed to Wade's speed and found Jones's drives slow and deliberate. Jones's skills weren't top-notch either; last season he rarely drove to the basket and was often blocked by Xiao Tu's defense, unable to score.

Jones scored two baskets, clearly because Xiao Tu was letting him off easy and not taking the defense seriously. He didn't jump when Jones took the mid-range shot, only slightly interfering.

Jones primarily scores with jump shots, while his mid-range shooting percentage is average. Last season, he attempted 5.1 three-pointers per game, making 2.1 of them, with a 40.7% three-point shooting percentage, which was quite efficient.

After the one-on-one match ended, Jones didn't know what to say.

He was known for his defense in his youth and had matched up against every star perimeter player in the league. He couldn't understand why Xiao Tu was only selected in the second round; his scoring ability was too strong.

Are all the scouts in the league blind? It's normal that there are scouts from the Heat.

No, the Heat's scouts also made a mistake; otherwise, the Heat would have used the fifth pick to select Shaw and missed out on Wade.

Xiao Tu shook hands with Jones and smiled, "Eddie, you have a lot of experience and are an important three-point shooter. You can't unleash your full potential in one-on-one situations. Let's work hard together in the new season."

Jones breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Xiao Tu really was the team leader.

Xiao Tu wasn't just pretending to be composed; it was an innate leadership quality. His every move exuded confidence and composure.

Back in the day, Kobe would challenge Jones to a one-on-one match, and if he won, he'd be incredibly smug, grinning from ear to ear. Xiao Tu won easily, but he made sure Jones had a way to save face. During the match, he even told the audience not to boo, saying it would distract him.

Xiao Tu's apparent distraction was a pretense; his real intention was to save face for Jones. And everyone knew this, but chose not to say anything.

After a week of training, Xiao Tu's core position in the team is as solid as a rock.

He has the strongest scoring ability, but his playing style is not selfish. He attracts the defensive focus and is willing to pass the ball, creating easy scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Which player wouldn't like someone who can help them pad their stats? High stats mean high salaries.

Last season, Jones couldn't lead his teammates, and only three players on the team averaged double figures in scoring. Most players felt tormented, their market value plummeted, and many were forced to leave the team.

Xiao Tu knew that playing like this would make it easier to win, and unless his teammates were really bad, he wouldn't keep shooting endlessly on his own.

In a parallel universe, Nash was an instant hit with the Suns, becoming the team's leader and the regular season MVP. Some things have nothing to do with seniority; some people's playing style is simply suited to being a leader.

Players who prioritize their own scoring and only pass to teammates when they can't shoot themselves are a liability, no matter how strong their individual skills are.

After watching Xiao Tu's performance for a week, Riley felt that he was a Magic Johnson with Jerry West's mentality, and that there was nothing he, as a coach, needed to teach him.

What's there to teach? Riley should just use Xiao Tu like Magic Johnson. Give him the ball and let him play freely. If he needs a screen, he can call on his teammates on the court.

Riley anticipates his job will be easy this season, as both counter-attacks and positional play will be largely reliant on him.

On the defensive end, Riley and Stan Van Gundy discussed and arranged a box-1 tactic, which happened to be the defensive tactic that Xiao Tu often used in the 90s.

Starting point guard Dwyane Wade guarded the opponent's outside scorers on the perimeter, while the other four players clustered around the paint to solidify the interior defense, disrupt mid-range shots, and protect the defensive rebounds. Lamar Odom and Jones positioned themselves at the left and right corners, while Xiao Tu and Brian Grant marked the left and right baselines. Grant aimed to box out one player to help Xiao Tu secure rebounds and initiate fast breaks.

The Heat need someone who's good at rebounding to stand in the baseline area. At 31, Grant isn't fast or high enough anymore; Xiao Tu is the right person for that job.

This arrangement would make Odom more comfortable playing, as his rebounding efficiency isn't high and he doesn't like playing power forward. Last season, he averaged 34.3 minutes per game and only grabbed 6.7 rebounds.

Odom plays as a small forward, and his outside positioning on defense allows him to participate more effectively in fast breaks. On offense, his and Xiao Tu's positions are not fixed and they can switch positions at any time.

Odom is too skinny, his physical strength is average, but his mobility is very strong. His low-post offense with the ball is inefficient.

Xiao Tu's one-on-one attacks against power forwards create mismatches, and his shooting percentage is extremely high in training. If the opponent doesn't come out, he takes a jump shot; if they do, he gets past them.

Riley was having Xiao Tu fill in at power forward on defense, as his wingspan could compensate for his lack of height. If opponents perceived him as a defensive weakness and tried to attack his side aggressively, unless they were significantly taller and heavier, they wouldn't get good results.

If they really encounter a strong inside player, Riley will stop the zone defense and switch to man-to-man defense, letting Odom play.

Xiao Tu originally wanted to defend the opponent's top outside scorer, but Riley wouldn't allow it. Riley was worried that he would get too tired and affect his performance, so he told Xiao Tu to save his energy for the offensive end.

It's okay if the others are a little tired. They're not very good to begin with. If they don't give it their all, they'll just be slackers on the field.

The coach spoke, and Wade had no objections. He can initiate fast breaks more quickly from the perimeter, and if he can score one-on-one against the opposing star during a fast break, it will be very noticeable.

From a tactical perspective, Xiao Tu is the leader, and Wade is the second-in-command. Odom, the two Butlers, Haslem, and others are also relatively young, and the Heat are poised to unleash a youth storm in the new season.

Riley could only implement a run-and-gun offense, which perfectly suited Xiao Tu's wishes. The Heat's half-court offense was stagnant; they lacked a strong interior player who could attack in the low post, so they could only try to create space for their guards to score.

The good news is that the Heat have been revitalized by the addition of Xiao Tu.

Although no one dared to join Xiao Tu in chanting the championship slogan, they all believed that this Heat team was very strong and would have no problem making it to the playoffs, and might even have home-court advantage in the first round.

After a brief period of adjustment with his teammates, Xiao Tu played his first preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Puerto Rico.

The Heat have been playing preseason games in Puerto Rico since 1993, and this year marks the third consecutive year that the Heat have chosen Puerto Rico as their preseason venue.

Puerto Rico is a self-governing state of the United States in the Caribbean, with a population of just over 300 million. Xiao Tu knew about this place not only because of "a mountain in Puerto Rico," but also because the Puerto Rican basketball team upset the US Dream Team at the 2004 Olympics.

The two cities are very close; a direct flight from Miami International Airport to Puerto Rico's San Juan International Airport takes only two hours. Puerto Rico boasts excellent basketball infrastructure and a large fan base, making it suitable for hosting international events.

The Heat players had most of the day to relax before training and playing the game the next day.

Caron Butler offered to be a tour guide for Shawn Yue, Dwyane Wade, and Haslem. He had already visited Puerto Rico last year and loved it.

Butler is a very sociable person who can easily become friends with anyone. Because he was born in the slums of Racine, Wisconsin, he was a drug-delinquent teenager who was arrested and imprisoned 15 times for drug trafficking before the age of 15, and came into contact with all sorts of people.

Even after turning over a new leaf, he couldn't afford high school tuition. A former gangster boss helped him out of his predicament, giving him $6000 to change his way of life.

Before Xiao Tu joined the Heat, I thought he was a dangerous person. But after a week of training, they became good friends.

Butler and Haslem hit it off immediately. Both of them were Black people from impoverished slums and had many similar upbringings.

Perhaps due to his upbringing, Butler is more articulate and adept at handling situations than most players. He deeply respects the team's leader and doesn't mind that Xiao Tu is three years younger than him. With Butler and Haslem around, Xiao Tu feels like he has two bodyguards.

They strolled through Rainbow Lane, ate ice cream, bought souvenirs, and encountered groups of kittens and pigeons. It was a very friendly and safe city, and they hardly encountered any strange people.

The next day, the Heat players had an acclimatization training session, which was not very intense.

In the evening, the Heat's preseason games officially kicked off at the largest basketball arena in San Juan...

(End of this chapter)