Basketball miracles

Chapter 78 [Unreplicable, Impeccable]

During Christmas, Wham!'s "Last Christmas" was playing everywhere in Los Angeles.

Released on November 29, 1984, by CBS, this single became one of the world's most popular Christmas songs. Forty years later, this iconic song remains famous and has been covered by numerous singers.

Madonna, watching on TV and listening to the song, felt a pang of envy and exclaimed, "Wham! has a song like this that will be hard to surpass in this lifetime. Why can't I write a good Christmas song?"

Xiao Tu paused for a moment, then suddenly thought of the most powerful use of his cheat ability.

Madonna may not be able to write good Christmas songs, but he can, because he can travel through time.

He only needed to go back to 2003, go online, memorize Mariah Carey's Christmas song "All I Want For Christmas Is You," write it out, and send it to Madonna to sing.

Of course, it's not that easy; he must have some musical background and be able to read sheet music.

When it comes to Christmas songs, these two are the most classic. "Sister Niu" is just a kid now; she debuted in the 90s.

Xiao Tu thought about it and temporarily shelved his plan to plagiarize the song. He felt that Madonna didn't need his help at all; following the normal path would have been very successful.

Her album sales, along with Michael Jackson's, are unparalleled; these two are practically time travelers.

Moreover, with Wham!'s new song just released, another classic Christmas song would be compared too closely.

Xiao Tu's attempts to copy songs were useless; his voice wasn't good enough to sing well. He had tried, and although he wasn't tone-deaf, he couldn't hit the chorus—he was just at the level of an average person singing for fun.

There were two NBA games on Christmas Day, and the player who stole the show was Bernard King.

In the Knicks' 114-120 loss to the Nets, Bernard King scored a whopping 60 points, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 60 points on Christmas Day.

他也成为了历史上第三位能在圣诞夜砍下50+的球员，在此之前只有威尔特-张伯伦1961年圣诞夜拿下了59分，里克-巴里1966年圣诞夜拿下了50分。

However, the first two players' efforts were in vain; only Barry led the team to victory.

Many fans expressed their disappointment that the Lakers didn't participate in the Christmas Day game. Without Xiao Tu's participation, there wouldn't be any spectacular dunks.

Whether Xiao Tu plays or not is irrelevant; he doesn't celebrate Christmas. His popularity is soaring, David Stern will definitely arrange a game for him next year.

It's worth mentioning that the next day, "Emperor" Chamberlain jumped out again, criticizing Bernard King's 60 points as nothing special and just a stat padder.

While others might call a loss on Christmas Day and label others as trash, Chamberlain's comments proclaim him as the greatest of all time.

Chamberlain also commented on the Lakers' recent performance, believing that their record was largely inflated. He argued that the other teams in the league are too weak now, not that the Lakers are particularly strong, and that they are simply incomparable to the Lakers when he was in charge.

His famously hypocritical remarks added a touch of merriment to the holiday atmosphere.

Xiao Tu noticed a strange phenomenon: everyone nicknamed "The Emperor" liked to boast. The difference was that Chamberlain would never call himself the GOAT, clearly looking down on that guy who was in prison.

Chamberlain didn't mention Xiao Tu this time, not because he liked Xiao Tu, but because the controversy surrounding him was too great.

Xiao Tu was incredibly popular, a white star heavily promoted by the league. Chamberlain criticized him once, and afterwards, he himself was bombarded with criticism from fans, which scared him.

The Lakers only lost one game in December, and have an outstanding record of 28 wins and 1 loss this season.

Despite having the best record in the league for two consecutive months, the Lakers' stars failed to win the Player of the Month award. This was because the Big Three shared the ball, resulting in less impressive stats.

The November award went to Alex English of the Denver Nuggets, and the December award went to Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics; both were selected based on impressive statistics.

In the first week of January, Xiao Tu reached a personal milestone, winning the Player of the Week award for the first time in his career.

The current selection process doesn't differentiate between East and West. Xiao Tu lost to Bird in the week he had 30+20 consecutive wins.

Xiao Tu is competing against Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons. Both players recorded double-doubles, but the Pistons lost one game and their record is worse than the Lakers'.

肖途在湖人144比123大胜勇士的比赛中爆发，20投12中，罚球11中10，砍下34分20篮板1助攻2抢断3盖帽。

Against the weak Lakers, the players deliberately played sloppy defense, pushing the game into the final quarter. Xiao Tu completely dominated Larry Smith, who stands at 203cm and weighs 98kg. Larry Smith is currently averaging 11 points and 11 rebounds per game, putting up an economical double-double. However, against Xiao Tu, he only managed 6 points and 7 rebounds, unable to score or defend, and was completely outplayed.

Magic Johnson recorded a double-double of 21 points and 20 assists in this game, bringing him one step closer to becoming the record-breaking assist leader.

Magic Johnson had won Player of the Week twice, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once, and now with Xiao Tu winning Player of the Week, all three of the Lakers' Big Three have received this award.

This award may not seem like a huge prize, but it's incredibly significant for Xiao Tu to win it. Sports media outlets have all reported on it, as Xiao Tu is the only rookie to have ever received one.

His advantage in the Rookie of the Year voting has increased, and he is certain to be selected unless his stats drop significantly in the second half of the season.

The silver treasure chest yielded a high-level shooting training aura. Xiao Tu prepared to intensify his training, hoping this aura would slightly improve his shooting ability.

Xiao Tu doesn't need to practice dunking for now; he's already mastered many dunking moves that will only be available in the future, and he's confident he'll amaze everyone. Compared to him, Michael Jordan is truly no threat and can't even be considered a rival.

While the Lakers were on vacation, Xiao Tu took the time to watch Madonna filming the music video for "Material Girl".

Madonna's look in this music video pays homage to Marilyn Monroe, and she appears alongside a group of men. Since there was no male lead, she didn't cast Xiao Tu in this video.

Chris had a lot of screen time and was practically the center of attention among the male actors. He was lying on the ground when she stepped on him...

Xiao Tu found the filming process quite interesting, because one of the male actors was an Asian who looked a lot like Sa Beining, and he almost thought that Sa Beining had traveled through time.

Xiao Tu also saw future Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn on the filming set.

Sean Penn, in his early twenties, is only about 170cm tall, with a big nose and small eyes; his image has nothing to do with cool guys or stylish men. He's the type who gets more charismatic with age, but he's not famous now, just an ordinary actor.

Sean Penn watched the filming for a while, seemingly wanting to talk to Madonna; it's unclear if he was a fan. But after exchanging glances with Xiao Tu, he retreated to the side, wanting only to be a quiet "Panzi" (a nickname implying a quiet, reserved person).

On January 15, the Lakers lost another game, falling 114-126 to the Denver Nuggets at home.

The Nuggets are the second-ranked team in the Western Conference, with eight players scoring in double figures, so their victory can hardly be considered an upset.

The Lakers also had five players scoring in double figures, dominating the paint, but their key perimeter players and several reserves performed terribly and were completely outplayed by their opponents.

Magic Johnson once again turned into a bricklayer, shooting 2-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, scoring only 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 15 assists, which was a major reason for the Lakers' loss.

Everyone knows he must have gone out partying again the night before the match; he looked weak and lacked impact.

Xiao Tu believes that Johnson's scoring ability is seriously overestimated in the future. Even if he's in top form, his main focus will be on playmaking, and he'll struggle to score over 30 points.

Among the top 20 NBA stars in history, Magic Johnson's scoring ability is among the weakest, averaging 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game in the regular season throughout his career.

He averaged 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 12.3 assists per game in the playoffs, with only a slight increase in assists.

This is a good thing for Xiao Tu; he will definitely surpass the Magician in the future.

At the post-game press conference, Johnson was still in good spirits, and Pat Riley did not criticize him.

It's impossible for a team to never lose. If the players are criticized for this, then the coach is being too harsh on them.

Riley mainly praised Xiao Tu. "He still has a lot of room for improvement. He is very confident in his catch-and-shoot shots and drives to the basket. He also practices his ball-handling offense regularly, and his progress is obvious. I am optimistic that he will become a well-rounded star in the future."

Despite the Lakers' loss, major media outlets praised the performance, believing it was merely an accident.

Because of the Lakers' incredible record—nearly halfway through the season, they've only lost two games in total. No team can maintain such a high level of offensive efficiency indefinitely; the Lakers win because of their offense, playing a more aesthetically pleasing style than other teams.

Xiao Tu received unanimous praise, with few experts offering dissenting opinions. He is the league's top double-double machine and one of the most consistent players.

这场对阵掘金，肖途是最有把握的得分点，砍下30分16篮板3助攻2抢断2盖帽。

The Nuggets' strength lies in their perimeter game; several of their interior players couldn't stop Xiao Tu from attacking the basket, and his performance was impeccable.

(End of this chapter)