Basketball miracles

Chapter 34 [Extreme Anger]

If the Lakers' bench hadn't underperformed, the Bulls would have been blown out in the first half. They were lucky to be down by less than 20 points; Jordan wasn't thinking about winning or losing anymore, he just wanted to score as many points as possible.

The "never give up" stunt by star players only works when their team is trailing by a small margin. It's more common in the NBA for stars on weaker teams to rack up points during garbage time.

During halftime, Xiao Tu and his teammates didn't take the Bulls seriously at all; they were practically ready to pop champagne at halftime.

The God of Basketball? Jordan in his rookie season was just an ordinary star who took a lot of shots.

Barring any major ripple effects, Jordan's skills will continue to improve, and he will have strong teammates to support him. However, before Pippen joined the Bulls, Jordan had never advanced past the first round of the playoffs, and in the 80s, he could only strive for the scoring title.

Before the game, Xiao Tu considered Jordan a formidable opponent, but now he feels he's not so bad after all. Basketball is not a one-man sport; no matter how strong a player's individual ability is, it's impossible for them to lead a group of mediocre players to victory.

Even if Xiao Tu were to take charge of the Bulls, he couldn't manage them; he needed to send them away as soon as possible and replace them with reliable people.

Xiao Tu plans to continue his efforts in the second half, taking advantage of the fact that the Bulls have not yet risen to prominence, and go all out to crush Jordan.

Coach Pat Riley shared the same idea, continuing to field the strongest lineup and showing no mercy to the opponent. His goal was to help Xiao Tu win the Rookie of the Year award; his thinking was simple.

On the Bulls' side, Coach Lonzo Langley gave Jordan unlimited shot attempts. Developing Jordan was a requirement of the Bulls' management; everyone on the team except Jordan could be traded.

This is the treatment of high draft picks; as long as they're not completely hopeless, they'll get plenty of ball possession.

In the second half, the Lakers maintained their advantage, with their offense coming from multiple angles.

Jordan struggled; he could score, but his shooting percentage was low.

Besides scoring, Jordan also had to defend Magic Johnson, which took a lot of energy. And he couldn't stop him; Johnson didn't score many points himself, but he always managed to dish out assists.

What makes Johnson so troublesome for his opponents is that he doesn't like to compete with others and always puts the team first. Many star players, on the other hand, feel compelled to respond immediately to every basket they score, getting carried away with individual play and neglecting the team.

Jordan wanted to try this tactic with Johnson and even trash-talked him, but Johnson completely ignored him. Since his teammates could score easily, why would he choose to go one-on-one against the Bulls' strongest defender?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's turnaround hook shot in the low post was a signature move that he used to dominate the game.

Steve went to help defend inside, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passed the ball out, and Xiao Tu once again made a high-post jump shot. He was relaxed, and his jump shot percentage was very high today.

The gap between the two sides widened, and Jordan frowned, feeling irritable, even forgetting to stick out his tongue.

This is something Jordan learned from his father; he thinks it's cool and that he can control himself. It's his way of showing off, but he can't pull it off today.

Both of the Bulls' power forwards tried to one-on-one against Xiao Tu, but couldn't get into the paint. Greenwood managed to grab an offensive rebound, but his second-chance dunk was blocked by Xiao Tu.

Greenwood knew his opponent was stronger, but he still stubbornly tried to attack the basket. Many Black players like to go toe-to-toe with Xiao Tu, believing that their darker skin justifies them being tougher—it's incredibly foolish.

With 5 minutes and 16 seconds left in the third quarter, Jordan evaded two defenders and attempted a layup, but missed and flew out of bounds. Xiao Tu grabbed the rebound and passed it to Magic Johnson to initiate a fast break, then sprinted straight ahead, leaving Greenwood behind.

At the same height of 206cm, Greenwood looks very bulky.

Magic Johnson drew Ulrich's help defense and passed to Worthy, who took a step on the right side, drawing Korsin's defense, and then passed to Xiao Tu, who was following up in the middle. Xiao Tu jumped two steps in front of the free-throw line, spun 360 degrees, and slammed the ball in with both hands!
Stockton exclaimed, "Beautiful! Shaw delivered another dunk contest-level dunk, and this one would definitely get a perfect score in a dunk contest."

Heinson said, "Shaw has already had four dunks in this game, while Jordan has never completed a dunk."

Xiao Tu scored 22 points, widening the gap to 26 points. The Bulls could only try to catch up with two-pointers and couldn't execute fast breaks, making a comeback impossible.

Jordan secretly vowed to complete a dunk in this game. He couldn't possibly watch Xiao Tu put on a show while he himself made no contribution.

If he can only score with mid-range shots, the media will definitely not have anything nice to say after the game; he has to be tough.

Jordan dribbled past Cooper on the right wing and jumped for the basket. Unfortunately, he was too slow. Xiao Tu, leaving Greenwood open on the left low post, fouled him without hesitation, pulling him down from the air.

Xiao Tu jumped forward and collided violently with Jordan. This time, the foul was quite hard; Jordan lost his balance, landed on one foot, and sat down awkwardly on the ground. Xiao Tu, on the other hand, landed steadily on both legs without even swaying. The referee blew the whistle, sending Jordan to the free-throw line.

In the 80s, the NBA only had regular fouls; the flagrant foul rule was introduced in 1990. Xiao Tu's defense focused on the player, not the ball, which no one found strange; they just thought he was very tough.

Jordan got up from the ground, extremely angry.

He glared at Xiao Tu and silently walked towards the free throw line.

Jordan going to challenge Xiao Tu to a fight? Impossible. He'll defeat his opponent fair and square with basketball.

The Bulls are down by a large margin? Oh, never mind.

Xiao Tu knew very well that Jordan would only suffer in silence, as in this parallel world, he only had two fights in his entire career.

The first time was after he was bumped by Dried Chicken guard Reggie Miller, and he angrily rushed over and... slapped the other guy in the face.

The second time was when he hit his teammate Steve Kerr during practice, which resulted in a retaliation from the rookie, and he later apologized.

Xiao Tu smiled, not thinking his defensive move was particularly significant. Opponents often defended him like this during matches, and since the rules allowed it, it was reasonable.

Jordan took a fall, which affected his mentality, and he only made one of two free throws.

Most importantly, his momentum has weakened, and he is no longer driven by passion.

Jordan had already figured it out; Xiao Tu didn't want him to complete the dunk. Xiao Tu had just committed his third personal foul, and he had three more before being ejected. Being ejected wouldn't hurt him much, but if he were seriously injured, it would be a much bigger loss.

Jordan disliked Xiao Tu intensely but had no way to retaliate. If he were to primarily guard Xiao Tu, it would only make things easier for the opponent, creating mismatch opportunities.

His teammates were a bunch of cowards; no one fouled Xiao Tu hard when he dunked.

Greenwood became impatient after being completely outplayed by Xiao Tu. He committed a foul by pushing Xiao Tu while grabbing a rebound, and fouled Xiao Tu's hand while Xiao Tu was making a layup during a fast break. With four fouls, he was substituted.

Steve Johnson returned to the court but failed to score, couldn't grab offensive rebounds, and only did a decent job protecting the defensive rebounds.

After three quarters, the Lakers led 96-65 by 31 points, completely dominating the game.

Bulls coach Lonzo Langley has called three timeouts, but the adjustments have had little effect. The Bulls' weaknesses are fatal and obvious: only three perimeter players can score, and their scoring inside the paint is pitifully low.

The Bulls' third scoring option, guard Daly, can't play for long periods; his defense is poor, and he's only suited to be a sixth man. Some call him a combo guard, but he's actually just a skinny shooting guard whose position overlaps with Jordan's.

Lengley has no trump cards left and can only hope the Lakers will go easy on them and not lose too badly. He'll also field his starters in the final quarter; the bench definitely can't hold up.

Heinsson said, "That's the difference between a championship contender and a weak team. It was a complete one-sided massacre. If the Lakers had continued to field their starters in the final quarter, they would have won by more than 40 points."

Stockton said, "I don't think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will play again. Riley values ​​protecting veterans. Shaw should play a little more; he's got plenty of energy and probably hasn't had enough."

Heinsson said, "Shaw scored 26 points in three quarters, and he was fully capable of scoring 30+ today. The fans in the arena were chanting his name, hoping he would continue to play."

Stockton laughed and said, "The game wouldn't be as exciting if he didn't play."

Riley is currently on the sidelines explaining tactics. Not only will Xiao Tu be playing, but Magic Johnson will also play a little longer, aiming to reach 20 assists.

Although the Bulls had already lost badly, and NBA teams are used to giving their opponents face, how could Riley go against the wishes of the audience?
Young players should put up impressive stats when the time is right; otherwise, they may never have another chance to achieve such incredible numbers.

Riley believes that if Xiao Tu plays a little longer, he can put up 30+20 stats in two consecutive games. He's the best performing rookie, and the Rookie of the Year award is practically guaranteed.

(End of this chapter)