Basketball miracles

Chapter 4 [Too Beautiful]

The Trail Blazers were on offense. Vandeweghe's turnaround step-back jumper missed under Worthy's interference, and Xiao Tu stumbled as he grabbed the rebound. The referee blew his whistle, calling a foul on Bowie while he was grabbing the rebound.

Bowie made a clear pushing motion; he was already agitated. Xiao Tu wasn't angry; if the referee hadn't blown the whistle, he would have thought it was just normal physical contact.

If Xiao Tu hadn't jumped, Bao Wei wouldn't have been able to push him. Bao Wei's arms were long and thin, with a decent arm span, but there wasn't much muscle definition. With a physique like his, he had no upper body strength to speak of.

Coach Ramsey called a timeout early, believing that adjustments needed to be made.

The Trail Blazers' offensive and defensive rhythm became chaotic because of Xiao Tu, the unexpected hero. Before the game, no one expected the low-drafted rookie to be so good.

Xiao Tu's matchup against Bo Wei was a mismatch, and if the Trail Blazers don't adjust, he will definitely score again.

As Xiao Tu left the court, his fringe player teammate Ronnie Lester immediately handed him a towel. Everyone could see he was about to become a star, and the fringe players believed that currying favor with him would be beneficial in the future.

Normally, none of the Lakers' veteran players would ask Xiao Tu to buy things, carry bags, carry shoes, or tie shoelaces.

It's said that veterans bullying rookies is a tradition in the NBA, a way to quickly integrate newcomers into the team, not an intentional act of bullying anyone. In reality, only Black players from impoverished backgrounds like to do this; you've never heard of a white star ordering a rookie around.

The Lakers never do that kind of thing; Xiao Tu really likes the atmosphere in the locker room.

Unless they have masochistic tendencies, newcomers are unlikely to want to integrate into the team in this way. It's well known that "zero-dollar purchases" are also part of Black traditional culture; who would willingly want to be someone they steal from?

Riley exclaimed, "Seb, well done! Keep playing like this, cut to the basket whenever you have the chance on offense, and try to grab every rebound on defense."

The Lakers' weakness in controlling the backcourt rebounds is no longer a problem. Riley believes that as long as Xiao Tu is given more than 30 minutes of playing time, his rebounding stats will be in double digits every game.

His rebounding ability alone makes him irreplaceable for the Lakers. Last season, if the Lakers had done a slightly better job protecting the defensive rebounds, they could have beaten the Celtics to win the championship.

Magic Johnson asked curiously, "Why do I feel like your jumping ability has become even stronger? Weren't you using your full strength during the preseason?"

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "I'm in a great mood today, I'm so excited."

Actually, this is the result of his combined training in two worlds, and he has visibly become stronger. Power forwards have good physiques but rough skills, so they mainly practice jump shots. Small forwards have poor physiques, so they mainly focus on improving their physical fitness. They start from a lower point and progress quickly, maximizing their benefits.

Looking solely at jumping ability, his power forward physique is stronger than LeBron James' at the same age, allowing him to execute a variety of fancy dunks. While James often dunked with his head above the rim during his prime, he never participated in a dunk contest due to ankle injuries, so the true extent of his dunking prowess remains a mystery.

In short, Xiao Tu had an unparalleled explosive playing style in the 80s, and his popularity was definitely very high.

After the timeout, Sam Bowie returned to the court and was assigned by coach Ramsey to match up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Seeing this, Xiao Tu's confidence soared, and his smile became even more arrogant.

The opponent switched defenses for a few minutes, and the Trail Blazers' coach was clearly afraid of him. He easily defeated the second overall pick of the same year; it's time to suppress the first overall pick of 1978.

If Xiao Tu were the coach, he wouldn't let Bao Wei continue playing power forward; the guy's mobility is too poor and he's simply not suitable.

Bowie's physique only allowed him to play center, similar to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar today—both were slow, tall, and thin centers. However, Ramsey initially hesitated to play him this way due to Kareem's reputation.

If Bowie performs well against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, it proves that he's just not suited to playing power forward, but can still play center.

The Trail Blazers coaching staff can't just give up on Bowie; even knowing he's a bust, they have to develop him for two years and give him a try. Usually, the top three draft picks are developed as the core of the team; if they don't become stars, it's considered a failure.

The Trail Blazers shifted their offensive focus to the perimeter, with players using isolation plays or pick-and-roll combinations to create mismatch opportunities for penetration.

At this point, a bizarre scene unfolded on the court. It's highly unlikely that Bowie, who was shooting from the perimeter, would stand outside the three-point line and pull Jabbar out of the paint.

Xiao Tu believes that there's no need to worry about Powell going out, but the NBA rules in the 80s required the opposing player to maintain a certain distance from him, otherwise it would be considered "illegal defense." There are many rules for illegal defense, and some provisions are particularly lenient towards players without shooting ability, allowing them to perform tactical roles that they wouldn't normally be able to.

While guarding Thompson, Xiao Tu sighed inwardly: This is so unfair. This is probably why players generally don't practice shooting.

Under the current rules, even if a rookie who can't shoot is standing outside the three-point line, the opponent can't just leave him a few meters away and watch him hit nothing; they have to follow him out.

When the offensive player is above the free-throw line, the defensive player must stay near the dotted arc line inside the penalty area to match up against him.

If an offensive player stands outside the free-throw line arc, the defensive player must stand outside the free-throw line.

Defenders must follow up on cuts, switch, or double-team. If a player does nothing, such as being inattentive, leaving their man open, or directing traffic with their hands, they may be called for a violation.

In this way, even a novice player with no offensive capabilities can create excellent weak-side isolation opportunities for star players simply by standing further away.

What would the stars of the 80s and 90s who liked to dribble and play one-on-one think of this rule?
Chicken, you're too beautiful!

Of course, illegal defense is not the same as extremely close marking in the absolute sense. The idea of ​​marking someone at arm's length in future Chinese street literature is pure nonsense.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was pulled out of the paint, but the Trail Blazers' offense remained ineffective. Xiao Tu's one-on-one defense against Thompson was also excellent; although he wasn't as tall as Abdul-Jabbar, he was much tougher.

Thompson was also unable to penetrate the paint due to Xiao Tu's physical presence, and his jump shots were severely disrupted. Xiao Tu's limited experience didn't affect his performance. He didn't rely on risky steals and wasn't easily fouled.

Thompson's two jump shots both missed due to Xiao Tu's interference.

Xiao Tu's rebounding ability far surpasses that of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He is particularly reliable in protecting the defensive rebounds, even managing to grab rebounds that bounce off his own. He even cut inside to grab an offensive rebound when Abdul-Jabbar was playing one-on-one, drawing a foul on Thompson on the second-chance opportunity and making both free throws.

湖人首节32比17领先，肖途打满整节得到6分8篮板1盖帽，投篮命中率100%。

Magic Johnson had the most outstanding performance, scoring 8 points and dishing out 6 assists. He repeatedly drove to the basket, scoring himself and drawing defenders to pass to teammates in better positions.

Johnson is a natural mismatch at point guard. Trail Blazers point guard Valentine is only 185cm tall and weighs 83kg. When Johnson drives forward with the ball, Valentine simply can't handle it and can only gamble on a steal.

In positional warfare, Xiao Tu would provide cover, and Valentine being blocked made it even more impossible to stop Johnson from charging forward.

The Trail Blazers' overall shooting percentage was low, resulting in a lot of rebounds, and Xiao Tu was having a blast grabbing them.

He played small forward at Harvard University, where he developed an exceptional awareness of rebounding. Now, with his superior physique, he has become a top rebounder.

He has no weaknesses in his physical attributes; he's fast, strong, and can jump high. Opponents of similar height will have no chance against him unless they disrupt his balance and prevent him from jumping.

Thompson only drew one foul against Xiao Tu's defense, making one of two free throws for one point. Bowie played for seven minutes before being substituted, scoring no points but grabbing two rebounds.

Commentator Heinson said, "All five Lakers starters scored, and Shaw was a dark horse. He was equally impressive on the defensive end, dominating the paint alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."

Stockton said, "Shaw doesn't hog the ball on offense; he just drives to the basket as soon as he gets the ball. It's very difficult for opponents to defend him because he's so physically strong."

Heinson said, "Judging from his performance in the first quarter, Shaw is a rookie of the caliber of a number one draft pick. His jumping ability and speed surpass this year's number one draft pick, Hakeem Olajuwon, but he is shorter."

Stockton said, "He's definitely the best-looking white player. I've never heard of any white player dunking like him. That alley-oop of his was even better than Larry Nance's best dunk in the dunk contest."

"I don't know how good his shooting is. If he can shoot, he'll be even better."

(End of this chapter)