Basketball miracles

Chapter 83 [The Fisherman Will Never Go Home Empty-Handed]

During the day, the four of them spent their time playing together.

Xiao Tu wanted to befriend Rosamund Kwan, and now that he had met her, he couldn't just let her go. Before his time travel, he had grown up watching Hong Kong movies, and now the two of them had unexpectedly met in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Fate, amazing.

Xiao Tu found chatting with the big-eyed beauty much more interesting than chatting with Byron Scott, that fishing geek.

He was initially in a bad mood, feeling like he'd come all the way to Big Bear Lake just to watch Scott fish and show off—a complete waste of his life. Now, however, he was very grateful to Scott; if Scott hadn't invited him today, this chance encounter wouldn't have happened.

They had a quick lunch and then had a barbecue together in the evening. The skewers, steaks, hamburgers, and other groceries were prepared in advance by Xiao Tu and Byron Scott; they could be bought at the supermarket.

Rosamund Kwan and her brother were very fond of Xiao Tu. He was down-to-earth and even treated them to a meal. He bought high-quality beef and used name-brand sauces. He was skilled at grilling meat himself, and the meat tasted great in the hamburgers.

The memorable scene unfolded during the meal.

Wong Jim, one of the "Four Great Talents of Hong Kong," later said: "Rosamund Kwan's eyes are electrifying. If she glances at you, 11 out of 10 men will not be able to resist falling in love with you."

The extra one is a minor male, not yet a man.

Xiao Tu had this feeling today; Guan Zhilin's gaze towards him was very ambiguous, as if she had fallen in love at first sight.

Moreover, this shouldn't be just wishful thinking on his part, because too many women have looked at him with that kind of gaze.

It's not that great for a man to be just handsome. But if that man is a top NBA star and has a $250 million endorsement deal with Adidas, then that's truly remarkable.

Rosamund Kwan had already heard about Xiao Tu's income from her younger brother. NBA stars typically earn over a million US dollars a year, and Xiao Tu is one of the best, with a very promising future.

Compared to handsome men, Rosamund Kwan prefers money. Xiao Tu's annual income, converted into Hong Kong dollars, is an astronomical figure. She worked hard filming in Hong Kong, and her highest annual earnings were only HK$10.

Compared to actresses of her generation, Rosamund Kwan can already be considered successful. Compared to Xiao Tu, she is nowhere near as successful.

Looking at Xiao Tu's image, Rosamund Kwan found the Hong Kong tycoons completely unattractive. This was because the tycoons were generally over 40, pot-bellied, and unattractive, while the rich second-generation heirs were mostly incompetent playboys.

Xiao Tu behaved very gentlemanly today, being polite, witty, and humorous.

It's not that Rosamund Kwan is a Westernizer; most Chinese people at that time were. This is easy to understand because the income gap was so huge, completely incomparable.

At that time, incomes in mainland China were much lower, dozens of times lower than in Hong Kong, and people were still using food ration coupons. If Hong Kong businessmen or celebrities took a trip to the mainland, many beautiful women would want to throw themselves at them and follow them to Hong Kong to develop their careers.

Jackie Chan is currently trying every means to film movies in the United States, hoping to gain a foothold in Hollywood. He wants to prove himself and promote Chinese kung fu, but the key is to earn US dollars.

Jackie Chan was overlooked when he filmed "Cannonball Run 2," and now he can only pin his hopes on the success of "The Protector." Xiao Tu saw the news and knew he would fail again; that brainless American director was an amateur trying to manage professionals—there was no solution.

Xiao Tu went home with Scott after dinner. They had come to fish and hadn't planned to camp this season.

Furthermore, the Lakers have practice tomorrow morning, and players cannot be absent unless there are special circumstances.

Xiao Tu and Rosamund Kwan exchanged contact information; the phone number was the apartment's number. Even if he wasn't home, Chris could still answer. If Rosamund Kwan wanted to contact him, Chris could simply relay the message.

He couldn't possibly have Madonna's phone number; it would be too strange if a woman called him. He and Rosamund Kwan are still completely innocent, but it's hard for Madonna not to have second thoughts, after all, he's an adult.

Xiao Tu had a pleasant holiday. After meeting the beautiful Guan, he proved that a fisherman never goes home empty-handed.

Xiao Tu didn't catch a single fish, not even as well as Guan Shihua. Guan Shihua is really good at fishing; it wasn't his first time visiting Da Xiong Lake with his parents. He caught several fish, but didn't release them immediately.

Scott helped catch a three-pound brown trout, which Xiao Tu immediately gave to Guan Shihua as a gift. The young fan is probably too happy to sleep tonight; he said he's never been treated with such respect in America.

The next day, Xiao Tu participated in training feeling refreshed and performed impressively in the scrimmage, defeating Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He could recover his strength simply by going fishing without strenuous exercise, without even needing to eat premium fruits.

Xiao Tu was on fire today, hitting every three-pointer he took, leaving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speechless. When the distance closed, Xiao Tu would dribble and drive, faking out and quickly changing direction to get past his opponent. Luckily, this was an ally; if Abdul-Jabbar had performed like this against an opponent, he would have lost face completely.

Xiao Tu's face-up driving technique is getting better and better. When facing taller players, he uses his explosive power to change direction, and players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kupchak can't keep up with his speed. Even if Rambis and McAdu can keep up, it's useless; Xiao Tu forces a layup under pressure.

Unfortunately, Xiao Tu didn't find his rhythm in the official game. If he had taken more shots today, he could have scored 50+ points in a single game.

Xiao Tu's standing in Pat Riley's eyes is rising, and the coaching staff believes that as long as Xiao Tu improves his shooting, he can dominate the league in the future. Because of his speed and high release point, no one on the Lakers can block him.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's hook shot was unstoppable, but he wouldn't play for many more years, so he needed to minimize physical contact. His physique made him seem prone to injury, but fortunately, most teams' centers are soft, so the physical contact wasn't intense.

On the contrary, during team practice, when Xiao Tu was matched up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Riley often reminded Xiao Tu to be less aggressive in his defense. It would be a huge waste if a star player got injured during team practice.

This season, Xiao Tu is more important to the Lakers than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. When Abdul-Jabbar is injured, he can still play. When Xiao Tu is injured, no one on the team can rebound like him.

On February 3, the Lakers defeated the Bulls 131-96 on the road.

The game was very similar to the first game between the two sides. Xiao Tu constantly helped defend and assist Jordan's breakthroughs, forcing him to mainly score with jump shots outside the paint and to use difficult moves when he drove to the basket.

Riley also targeted Jordan when devising his plays, knowing that the Bulls couldn't win if they could limit their number one scorer. He mostly assigned Michael Cooper to guard Jordan, with Byron Scott as a backup.

乔丹全场出战34分钟，18投8中，罚球6中5，得到21分8篮板8助攻2抢断5失误。他的投篮命中率只有44.4%，又没有达到个人平均值。

肖途出战34分钟，11投8中，三分球1中0，罚球9中8，得到24分15篮板2盖帽。他没有投进三分球也没有送出助攻，但他的得分效率、篮板数据特别亮眼。

Six Lakers players scored in double figures, and the Bulls' paint was riddled with holes as they struggled to defend pick-and-rolls.

魔术师约翰逊13投10中，罚球8中7，得到27分3篮板13助攻。

As soon as the final buzzer sounded, Jordan stormed back to the locker room, this time without even shaking hands with Magic Johnson.

The Bulls were swept by the Lakers that season, suffering two crushing defeats, and Jordan saw no hope of winning. Unless the Bulls significantly improved their interior defense, Jordan would never be able to win again; their rim protection was simply too poor.

Jordan knew that individual ability alone wasn't enough, and even if they made the playoffs, they wouldn't go far. He was already on the verge of losing his temper and just wanted those drug-addicted scum on the team to get out as soon as possible.

In a post-game interview, reporters asked Xiao Tu about the Rookie of the Year competition again.

This time, Xiao Tu didn't praise Jordan, nor did he say anything like "we could both win Rookie of the Year."

Since Xiao Tu has already secured Rookie of the Year, David Stern wouldn't let the most popular player go unselected. As for whether the league should award the honor to Jordan, that's up to Stern; he has no objection.

To admire Jordan's talent and camaraderie? There's no need.

Xiao Tu didn't want to play the victim with any opponent, especially Jordan.

The two are now adversaries, both on the court and in shoe endorsements.

Adidas hopes to leverage Xiao Tu's popularity to surpass Converse and, incidentally, severely suppress the emerging Nike. Since Xiao Tu has become the brand ambassador, he must do his best to fulfill his duties.

Currently, most American fans discussing the two players believe Xiao Tu is better, arguing that Jordan scored more points because he took more shots. Even their jersey numbers are different; Xiao Tu's is a size larger than Jordan's, subtly suggesting he's superior.

Jordan is very competitive and would never say a good word about Xiao Tu, considering him his number one rival in his career.

(End of this chapter)