Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 150 Maybe One Day

The celebration at FedExCity didn't stop after the final buzzer; like a flood breaking through a dam, it quickly engulfed the entire city.

Chris Paul is about to become yet another regular season MVP to be eliminated in the first round, and he won't be alone, as last season's MVP Dirk Nowitzki is also in this category.

However, Dirk now has Kobe, and their goal is the championship.

Paul had to control his emotions and make an optimistic statement: "Our work is not over yet, and I promise we will be back next year."

Reporters wouldn't let him off the hook; they wanted to know what Paul's current opinion was of Xu Ling and the Grizzlies.

“Eli and the Grizzlies made me realize that nothing is easy in the West,” Paul said. “Just think about how the Grizzlies got here, the controversies and situations they faced, and the achievements they made. It all amazes me, and I admire them.”

Paul displayed impeccable manners.

As a potential MVP, Paul averaged 23 points and 12 assists per game in this series, which can be considered a respectable performance.

Xu Ling was bombarded with questions from reporters in the media interview room.

"Eli, how does it feel to be a hero in this city?"

"We just won the games we were supposed to win."

How do you view your growth throughout the series, especially your defensive matchup against Chris Paul?

"If you want to become a better player, you have to face the best opponents. Chris brought out the best in me."

This response was quite unexpected—Xu Ling showed Paul a rare level of respect, just as Paul had sincerely wished him well after the game.

This is quite rare in Xu Ling's resume. After all, what he does more often is provoke his opponents and then engage in constant friction with them on the court.

"Your next opponent, the defending champion Spurs, defeated the Utah Jazz 4-1 a few days ago. You hit the game-winning shot against the Spurs in the opening game. Does that give you more confidence for this series?"

Xu Ling revealed a clear smile: "Let them bring it on."

On the other side, Jason Kidd was analyzing tonight's game with his usual composure, like a tactical mastermind, discussing everything that happened during the game.

After initial examination and ice application, Josh Howard's ankle injury was deemed to be minor. The key player behind the series' success excitedly shouted in the locker room, "Damn, it was worth it! What's an injury if we can win! Tell those Texans, we're here!"

That sounds like it carries a hint of personal grudge.

Even though he was traded to the Mavericks, he seems to be taking his anger out on the Spurs.

This is understandable, though. While Howard may not be as dazzling as Xu Ling, his role on both ends of the court is equally irreplaceable. This series has completely replaced Shane Battier in the hearts of Memphis fans, making him one of the most popular players in the city.

That night, basketball ignited Memphis.

On Beale Street, the bar that had been playing melancholic blues was now filled with deafening cheers and the song "I Can't Help Falling in Love," which had recently resounded throughout FedEx Stadium. The wave of victory surged into the street, and car horns blared, creating a symphony of celebration.

Everywhere you look, you see fans wearing Grizzlies jersey number 1, hugging, high-fiving, and chanting "Grizzlies, go go go!" while repeatedly chanting the phrase "My Lord Eli," which has been widely circulated since the beginning of the season.

This was a release that had been suppressed for seven long years. Since this team came all the way from Canada, through initial confusion, and the years of hope and disappointment during the Gasol era, Memphis—a city once known as the "city of bluff"—had always been waiting for a night like this. Before, winning a series, let alone a playoff victory, seemed like an unattainable dream for them.

Tonight, all the gloom has been completely dispelled.

The following day, the Memphis Business Journal featured the Grizzlies' victory on its front page, with the subtitle: "Since the Grizzlies moved from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001, we've finally had a summer of professional basketball."

All of Xu Ling's haters fell silent, and now it was the supporters' and fans' turn to revel.

Praise, accolades, and irrational flattery—in the face of an unshakeable victory and soaring popularity, any criticism based on one-sided data seems inappropriate.

Adidas is the biggest winner.

Xu Ling's breakout performance in the playoffs led his team to a historic series victory, and these news stories, fueled by Adidas, swept across the pages of major sports media outlets worldwide.

They erected a huge billboard in Memphis overnight, featuring Xu Ling's profile and the concise and powerful caption: "You can't resist this person."

However, the Grizzlies didn't actually have much time to celebrate.

Since their semifinal opponent, the Spurs, had already advanced by the end of Game 5 of the first round, they only had two days to adjust before heading to San Antonio to challenge the Spurs.

However, the league must first award the regular season prizes before that.

Xu Ling was unsurprisingly selected as Rookie of the Year and made the All-Rookie First Team.

Subsequently, a war without gunfire came to an end—Xu Ling was successfully selected for the All-NBA Second Team.

This victory was hard-won. Before the awards ceremony, it was widely believed that he would be selected for the All-NBA Third Team. Kobe and Paul were considered undisputed for the First Team, while the competition for the Second Team was extremely fierce. Nash and Deron Williams were formidable obstacles in Xu Ling's path.

The biggest disadvantage is that this year's voting power is entirely in the hands of the media. When the candidates are neck and neck, the player's media image and the power dynamics with their sponsors become the decisive factors. This is precisely Xu Ling's biggest weakness. His unconventional style has offended many media outlets, and Nike has also mobilized a powerful media machine to try to suppress him in the third team.

On the other hand, Adidas invested unprecedented resources in promoting Xu Ling. They launched a precise counterattack, not only using his "historic rookie achievements" statistics to speak for themselves, but also successfully portraying Xu Ling as a challenger who broke the mold. Ultimately, his impressive regular season statistics and his hard-fought record of leading the team to 50 wins and reaching the second round won over enough voters.

This is perhaps the most dramatic outcome: Nike's relentless smear campaign ironically fueled Xu Ling's immense popularity and performance on the field, making his selection impossible to ignore. Their attempt to suppress him inadvertently paved the way for even greater achievements.

For Xu Ling, this is a milestone result.

Leading his team out of rebuilding and into the second round in his rookie season, winning the All-Star Game MVP, and being selected to the All-NBA Second Team—all of this is enough to make him the most accomplished rookie since Tim Duncan.

Afternoon, training time

The Grizzlies are heading to San Antonio tomorrow, and today they need to take advantage of this window of opportunity to study the Spurs.

That was a completely different team from the regular season team.

Kyle Lowry said, "It's no big deal. I believe the Spurs will remember that game-winning shot in the opening game whenever they see Eli!"

That made everyone laugh.

At the time, Jerry West happened to be passing by the video analysis room. His thought upon hearing this was: after the opening game, they had lost all three of their other games against the Spurs.

In terms of playoff experience, system maturity, and chemistry, the Spurs are far superior to the Grizzlies.

West returned to his office and began to think about the various potential problems facing the Grizzlies.

The biggest hidden danger is naturally the average playing time of the core trio.

In the six games against the Hornets in the first round, Josh Howard averaged 42 minutes per game before his injury, Xu Ling's average playing time increased to 40 minutes after the fifth game, and Kidd had an average of 38 minutes per game.

The Grizzlies' reliance on their core players to this extent means that any injury to one of their key players severely impacts their competitiveness.

Moreover, injuries have already occurred.

Josh Howard's sprain in Game 6 is a prime example.

West is a typical pessimist; he doesn't see any chance of winning the semifinals.

He dared not hope for victory.

But, so what?
Memphis was once a hell on professional basketball, a place of exile forgotten by the god of basketball, filled with failure, indifference, and incurable losses.

West remembers Laura Grankole's preseason complaints about players refusing community events and how Rudy Gay went from a humble rookie to locker room poison. He recalls the public, fiery confrontation between Xu Ling and Gay on media day, the ensuing upheavals, and the gloating pronouncements from Nike-affiliated reporters at ESPN. He also vividly remembers his own outbursts in the president's office, yelling at Xu Ling about "locker room stability" and "team interests."

All of this seems to symbolize that the Grizzlies will only be walking into the cycle of hell again.

However, they made it to the playoffs, won their first game, and advanced to the semifinals.

Last night, FedExCare was packed to capacity again—in fact, every Grizzlies home game has been sold out since March.

If we only consider data from after the All-Star Weekend, the Grizzlies' home games average 17000 attendance, far exceeding the Memphis Tigers' average attendance of 12000.

West read the following in the Memphis Business Journal's playoff economic preview: "Preliminary statistics show that the Grizzlies' two home games in the first round of the playoffs generated approximately four million dollars in direct consumer spending for downtown restaurants, retail, and parking. This figure significantly exceeds the economic boost from last month's NCAA Final Four weekend."

In Memphis, this is almost unthinkable.

For a long time, the Memphis Tigers have been the basketball faith of this city, and this year's incredible NCAA tournament run will undoubtedly deepen that legacy.

And the Grizzlies? They're just a perennial loss-making outsider that nobody cares about.

However, these circumstances changed completely starting with All-Star Weekend.

Following the Grizzlies in Memphis is no longer a laughing matter, especially after they made the playoffs. Supporting the Grizzlies has become politically correct in Memphis, and team merchandise, merchandise, and flashy souvenirs are all selling like hotcakes. Anything related to Xu Ling can become a trend in the city. West conservatively estimates that his owner, Michael Heisley, may have made millions of dollars in net profit in recent quarters.

So even if the semifinals are shrouded in gloom, so what? The Grizzlies have already achieved their best result in franchise history.

Xu Ling will surely be deeply etched in the sports history of Memphis, just like Derrick Rose.

Rose is gone, and he will be the first player selected in the 2008 NBA draft. Xu Ling, on the other hand, has many years to create more glory. Perhaps one day, he will be remembered by the people of Memphis like the Elvis Presley of the sports world.

That's enough, even if it's just a vision, it's enough.

That's all Memphis wants.

(End of this chapter)