Basketball miracles

Chapter 16 [Serves Him Right]

When interviewed, the other Lakers players engaged in a friendly exchange of compliments. Everyone expressed confidence in the season's prospects, stating that the Lakers are the best team.

Everyone was having a great time. Jabbar and Xiao Tu drew the defense near the penalty area, giving role players easy scoring opportunities. They could receive the ball in the mid-range and shoot.

Magic Johnson has had two consecutive breakout performances, leading his team to fluid offense. His playmaking is phenomenal; he has an unparalleled eye for positioning and always finds a way to get the ball to his teammates in good positions.

Pat Riley couldn't stay low-key either. The team used the 23rd pick to select a star center who consistently contributed double-doubles. He predicted that the Lakers would break their record this season, and he would become Coach of the Year.

That evening, there was a surge of news about Xiao Tu in the United States, and with the help of CEO David Stern, he quickly rose to fame.

The NBA is primarily promoting Xiao Tu's athleticism, with experts believing his physical attributes still have room for improvement. If his physical abilities improve by another 10%, he will become incredibly strong.

Even though he's not good at dribbling and attacking, his strength shouldn't be underestimated.

The media also mentioned that Xiao Tu's foul caused Tom Chambers to injure his shoulder, emphasizing that Chambers had previously committed several vicious fouls against Xiao Tu, accumulating five fouls.

The competition was intense, with Xiao Tu displaying greater toughness. This kind of thing happens frequently in the NBA; Chambers' injury was purely due to his lack of physical strength.

Aside from SuperSonics supporters and Chambers die-hard fans, almost everyone considered it a "normal contest." After Xiao Tu's foul, even more fans joined in; they didn't think his defense was dirty, but rather praised his toughness.

Female fans, in particular, all sided with Xiao Tu; compared to him, Chambers was hardly a handsome man.

So what if Xiao Tu deliberately retaliated against the foul? Good for him, Chambers deserved it!

Does that mean rookies have to be fouled hard without being able to retaliate? What kind of bullshit logic is that?
Media outlets also released a video of Chambers commenting on Xiao Tu before the match; the more confident he was before the match, the more embarrassing he became afterward. He's the epitome of overestimating himself.

Chambers suffered a right shoulder strain and a partial rotator cuff tear, which will keep him out for 2-4 weeks. I was furious after seeing the news.

He was furious, but dared not cause Xiao Tu any more trouble. He had committed a full-force foul, yet the other party was unharmed, whereas Xiao Tu's move had almost crippled him.

Xiao Tu's body was too strong; he felt like an invincible, unbreakable man. If the two of them fought, he suspected he wouldn't last even half a minute before being knocked out.

In his memory, there was only one player with that kind of power: Moses Malone. Even Mark Eaton, the "Mammoth" of the Jazz, wasn't this fierce. Malone was a superstar center in his prime, while Xiao Tu was an 18-year-old rookie, practically inhumanly strong.

Xiao Tu has become a dark horse, the most watched rookie. The second most watched rookie is Michael Jordan.

In Game 2, the Bulls faced the Bucks. Against Moncrief, one of the league's best perimeter defenders, Jordan still delivered an outstanding performance, racking up an all-around stat line of 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

During the game, Jordan delivered an amazing dunk. He stole the ball and launched a fast break, leaping up just past the free-throw line to slam it in with one hand. This incredibly difficult move was considered to be something only "Dr. J" could pull off.

The Bulls' final possession was also handed to Jordan. He faced the defense on the left baseline and forced a fadeaway jumper, but the ball missed the rim, and the Bulls lost by two points.

The Bucks are a strong team in the East, and the Bulls' ability to hold on until the end, though ultimately losing, is still commendable.

Jordan's record of one win and one loss was not as impressive as Xiao Tu's, but he was being groomed as the core of the Bulls, with small forward Orlando Ulrich assisting him.

With two consecutive 20+20 performances, Xiao Tu surpassed Jordan in terms of popularity, which filled him with a sense of accomplishment. He didn't know if he could keep up with Jordan for the entire season, but even if he could for a while, it was still something to celebrate.

Barring any unforeseen butterfly effect, Jordan's rookie season scoring average would have been third in the league. Regardless of who won Rookie of the Year, the award would be highly prestigious.

Xiao Tu would definitely achieve the best regular season record with the Lakers. While his scoring numbers might not match Jordan's, averaging 20 points per game is possible. Combined with his exceptionally high rebounding numbers, his overall reputation would certainly not be lower than Jordan's.

At this time, both Jordan and Olajuwon knew about Sebastian Shaw and regarded him as an important rival, hoping to defeat the Lakers.

The other rookies are not included in the comparison; their performance is far inferior to these three. No one has high hopes for Barkley right now; he's too fat, and before losing weight, he could only be a substitute for the 76ers.

Another rookie making headlines is Sam Bowie, the Portland Trail Blazers' second overall pick, all in negative news and already considered a bust. Bowie's performance in Game 2 was also poor, shooting 3-for-10 from the field and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line, finishing with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. His only notable statistic was his blocks; he was relatively effective defensively in the paint thanks to his height advantage.

In the era before the three-second rule, tall centers were still very useful. Every team would sign a center over 210cm to protect the rim, so big men wouldn't have to worry about not getting playing time.

The players had a day of rest before the Lakers' third game, an away game against the Kings.

The two teams traded baskets with great intensity, resulting in a high score of 144-122 in regulation time, giving the Lakers their third consecutive victory.

肖途仅出场26分钟，10投6中，罚球4中4，得到16分11篮板2盖帽1抢断。

He had plenty of energy, but his lack of experience caused him to lose control of his fouls. He picked up two fouls just four minutes into the game and was forced to leave the court to rest. By the third quarter, he had accumulated five fouls and was playing very cautiously.

With the Lakers holding a large lead in the final quarter, Riley kept Xiao Tu on the sidelines as a spectator.

Riley thought he played very well, but the referee's calls today were biased towards the Kings, and the opponent had home-court advantage.

Riley also advised Xiao Tu to engage in more physical contact and jump less when defending, as this would make it easier to control the number of fouls.

Xiao Tu understands the principles, but while he's proactive in defending, he often can't control his legs.

Many people with good jumping ability have this problem: they feel that not jumping is a waste of their talent. Only someone like Battier, who can't jump high enough, would choose to block the opponent's vision on defense, knowing that he can't block their shot.

The Kings' starting power forward is this year's 9th overall pick, Otis Thorpe, who has good low-post skills and drew three fouls on Xiao Tu. He likes to fake out shots before shooting, which worked against Xiao Tu.

不过索普在罚球线上很不争气，全场出战33分钟，7投3中，罚球10罚4中，得到10分7篮板2助攻。

In terms of data, Xiao Tu still wins.

Watching the game, Xiao Tu's playing style was aggressive, and his scoring efficiency was even higher.

In the second quarter, Xiao Tu made a cut to the basket and received an inside pass from Jabbar, then slammed a one-handed dunk over Thorpe, which was the most spectacular goal of the game.

Thorpe also got a solid block from Xiao Tu in this quarter, the ball hit the backboard and almost bounced out of the three-point line, definitely a top-five play.

It's a pity that there are no daily top five plays or weekly top ten plays selections in this era, otherwise Xiao Tu's appearance rate would be very high.

The Lakers' best performer was shooting guard Byron Scott, whose hot shooting stole the show. He played only 25 minutes, shooting 11-for-13 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, scoring 31 points and dishing out 2 assists.

最终湖人全队有7人得分上双，其中还不包括魔术师约翰逊。他化身铁匠8投2中，加上4中3的罚球，仅得了7分14助攻。

After the game, the media generally believed that the Lakers were much stronger than last season. Even if Magic Johnson had a poor performance, they could still score a lot of points, and even with a weaker defense, they could still win.

Xiao Tu received a lot of praise. He has never suffered a loss in matchups and doesn't seem like a rookie at all.

Xiao Tu has roughly figured out his own level, and he can now be considered a star player. Among the rookies, only a few future Hall of Famers can compare to him; the others are no match for him.

Even established big men like Jack Hickoma of the SuperSonics are nothing special in Xiao Tu's eyes.

Hickoma is a white center who is 211cm tall and weighs 104kg. He has achieved double-doubles every year thanks to his height, wingspan and shooting ability, and has been selected as a Western Conference All-Star.

Xiao Tu is confident that he will play better than Hickoma in his rookie season, as he has much higher athleticism.

After the win, he earned two more bronze chests, which he didn't open on the road. This is the source of his confidence; unlike other rookies, he can improve quickly!
(End of this chapter)