NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 771 Suffering "Domination" (Daily Life Chapter)
Thursday, December 23, 2010. With Christmas approaching, many teams had already entered holiday mode.

The Lakers' farce continues. The defending runner-up is not strong this season, but when it comes to their antics, they are unmatched, making them a veritable NBA soap opera.

Compared to Kobe Bryant, who was still competing with his teammates, Tim Duncan, who had just left the Lakers, had entered a completely different state, and it looked like he was about to retire in the new season.
His personal statistics have hit a career low, and he shows no offensive desire in every game. Although Coach Popovich always says after the game that his star player is still finding his form, most commentators don't buy it.

Despite playing time hitting a career low, Li You's individual stats were still impressive, with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals being a regular occurrence.

No need to look at the statistics, it's the same every game. If the Knicks lose, it's because the role players performed poorly. If the Knicks win by a large margin, it's because someone has a breakout performance.

The Spurs are different. Duncan hasn't contributed any basic statistics. This month, he's frequently seen shooting 4-for-9, 4-for-8, and 3-for-7.

With 12 points and 8 rebounds becoming the norm, the Spurs, led by Duncan, achieved a record of 15 wins and 12 losses, completely falling out of the top half of the standings.

The San Antonio Express-News recently revealed the root cause of Duncan's slump:

After losing custody of his child, the former MVP received a huge amount of money, and the "wife-swapping scandal" caused an uproar in the locker room. Yu Yu's Duncan simply lay down and focused on recovering from his knee injury.

Parker's protectiveness of Barry's wife had a very bad influence. Not long after the "Green Light incident," no team's locker room wanted to see such outrageous things happen, and the Spurs were no exception.

As a result, the French slapped him in the face and secretly maintained the relationship for more than a year. Barry couldn't hold back anymore and was photographed going to the training facility to argue with them more than once.

The bad atmosphere led Duncan to take a break, which many fans found acceptable. They said that recovering from injury is a good thing, and they can pursue the championship again after the storm has passed!

That evening, the Spurs played their last game before Christmas, visiting the Magic.

Black Mamba Carter and Richard Jefferson both stated before the game that they would strive for victory, and the game unfolded exactly as they predicted, with the Magic maintaining the initiative throughout, leading from the first quarter to the end.

With a score of 101-123, the Magic won the game, bringing their record to 15 wins and 13 losses.

The Amway Center erupted in jubilation after the game, with many Orlando fans there just for the fun. Some even had Parker and Erin's names written on whiteboards, while others held up angry images of Eva Longoria.
In just 20 minutes of play, Duncan scored 10 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 1 assist, and committed 1 turnover on 5-of-10 shooting. Despite the loss, Duncan stood up expressionlessly with a towel draped over his shoulders, didn't greet his opponents, and strode quickly toward the player tunnel.

Upon seeing his teammate's condition, Ime Udoka, who had just returned to the Spurs this season, wanted to offer some words of comfort. However, Gary Neal, the championship-winning guard who contributed a team-high 16 points, pulled his teammate aside and said earnestly:

"Let Tim be alone for a while! It's better not to have the desire to win than to have 'Jade Syndrome'. He needs to get through his difficulties in life."

Udoka sighed upon hearing this. Popovich had treated him well, and he wanted to help the team when their performance was poor, but his boss's current state made him feel powerless to do anything about it.
"Maybe the team should hire a psychologist; I feel like if things continue like this, something bad will happen sooner or later."

After whispering to each other, the two joined their teammates in shaking hands with the Magic players, with Carter and Jefferson both maintaining smiles.

After a brief hug, the Black Mamba, who scored a game-high 29 points, praised his opponent as always during the interview:
“We can all understand Tim’s feelings. If he chooses to retire, I don’t think anyone would be surprised.”

"In this league, if you want to win, you will always encounter various difficulties. Tim almost succeeded, but he overestimated Kobe. Looking back now, the trade back then didn't make much sense."

"I still think Duncan is a top-three big man in the league, but players aren't robots, and we also have bad things in life."

Carter spoke with some empathy, as his own marriage also had some problems. However, compared to Duncan, Duncan's situation was even worse, which made the Black Mamba feel fortunate.

When Jefferson was interviewed last season while playing for the Spurs, he was naturally asked about the "friends' wives" incident:
“I never care about these things, you know. We rarely talk about life on the team. I was very happy in San Antonio.”

"The locker room is very important, and in that respect, I think the defending champions did the best. I don't want to blame Duncan, but sometimes he really should have shown more leadership!"

Milicic's performance for the Magic has been average, but he was very efficient tonight, teaming up with Bass and easily scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting.

When asked about his experience playing against Duncan at a press conference, Milicic shrugged and simply commented:

"Everyone gets old, and Duncan's dominance of the Western Conference is a thing of the past."

"Like the great players in history, he just experienced a decline in physical condition towards the end of his career, and we should not continue to demand that he maintain his competitive form."

"."

In the other two games that night, the Heat and Suns battled until the fourth quarter, with the Heat ultimately winning 100-85.

Dwyane Wade will continue to be sidelined due to a knee injury and will officially return in the upcoming game against the Lakers. The Heat will spend Christmas in Los Angeles this year.

The Bucks vs. Kings game went unnoticed, as Tyreke Evans, who put up historic rookie numbers last season, has been underperforming this season.
The Kings lost at home 84-79. Evans, who played 32 minutes, went 2-for-13 and scored 4 points. The team's record is now 5 wins and 21 losses, continuing their quest for the number one draft pick.

During TNT's post-game show, Charles Barkley, known for his outspokenness, didn't even bother criticizing the Kings' rookie, Evans, whose performance was truly disappointing.

When the topic of Duncan came up again, Barkley held back, continuing to make excuses for the past MVP:

"I believe the Spurs will bounce back. If their goal remains the championship, building talent this season is a good option."

"Duncan will get through this. He's a good guy. Don't laugh at him. In fact, he craves victory more than most players in the league."

Facing the camera, Kenny Smith immediately agreed, but when talking about the Spurs' mediocre record, he also jokingly commented on the Knicks:
"The defending champions seem to have inspired the entire Eastern Conference, with many teams showing significant improvement in their records compared to last season!"

"This is a good thing for the league; a new champion will inspire more young people."

The 76ers, Magic, Hawks, and Pacers all have a chance to maintain their momentum and secure a place in the bottom half of the bracket, while the Bulls could also easily secure a spot in the top half if they work hard.

These teams have all shown renewed vitality, and Ernie Johnson naturally recognized this trend over the past two months. However, when discussing the new champions, he couldn't help but remark:
"The East is stronger than the West, and it seems unlikely that this trend will change. Although the Nuggets' record hasn't been significantly affected since Anthony joined the Nets, they will likely face some problems in the playoffs." "The Thunder and Grizzlies are the biggest surprises, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how both teams perform."

Zach Randolph, who left the Clippers, seems to have truly turned his life around. Since joining the Grizzlies, he has been performing better and better, and currently, with a strong frontcourt duo, they have secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

Barkley wasn't interested in the Grizzlies, who lacked a superstar, and immediately changed the subject to the upcoming Christmas Day game:

In their Sports Illustrated interviews, both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade emphasized that Kobe was a lucky guy!

"I don't like this kind of rhetoric. I expect the young players to let their game speak for itself. If they can dominate this match, I'll retract some of my criticism."

Thinking about Kobe having to face two opponents, Kenny Smith felt the Mamba was in trouble and subtly reminded fans on camera:
"The Heat have already achieved success. They may face a completely different Knicks team in the next few seasons, but based on this season, the multi-ball-handler model is definitely superior."

"The Lakers are lacking in this aspect, and Kobe needs to do more if he wants to win!"

-

On Friday, December 24, 2010, the Christmas spirit continued to sweep through Manhattan. Unlike previous years, several newspapers simultaneously reported on public dissatisfaction with Wall Street.

Although the federal government intervened to rescue the market during the financial crisis, those who bought real estate at high prices did not receive much help, and within a few years, mortgage payments crushed many families.

Not long ago, the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission officially reached a settlement agreement with Goldman Sachs, and the $5.6 million settlement indirectly shows that Goldman Sachs made a lot of money at the time.

The settlement also affected Ax Capital, which also made a fortune and escaped a penalty from the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the guidance of some people, more and more people discovered the "giant crocodile" underwater.

Fortunately, Ax Capital has kept a low profile over the years, and its investors and clients have never boasted about it. Even though some financial publications have revealed related inside stories, the general public has not paid any attention.

Some protests have emerged around Christmas, but the protesters haven't found a specific target yet and are currently just making sweeping generalizations.

The Wall Street Journal issued a "warning" regarding this phenomenon, predicting that if the federal government does not provide an explanation, it could trigger large-scale boycotts and protests.

The basis for these arguments is, of course, unhealthy mortgage data, with junk bonds still "dominating" and many people's wealth continuing to shrink.

External voices have not yet affected Lee Yu, but Tang Nade made quite a fool of himself after the midterm elections.

As expected, Obama will definitely invite "anti-Obama vanguards" to this year's White House press conference, and many people in New York are already looking forward to some fun.
At 1 p.m., Inno Studios was no longer busy. Since moving to the Sports Illustrated building, Katherine Winnick and her team had been working hard.

Next year, the contract with Marvel will officially expire, and Disney has taken over completely. It won't be easy to cooperate again. With only a few movies left, they need to find a "new path" to continue developing.

Located on the 23rd floor, overlooking Midtown, Catherine, wearing glasses and staring at an Excel spreadsheet on her laptop, showed no interest in the view outside the window. Seeing the specific earnings from that year, she subconsciously asked:

“We receive a ‘success fee’ after signing the contract, and then the debt is packaged up. I can’t believe the bank agreed to these terms.”

The final Captain America movie was already in production, and the funding that Katherine was seeing at this point was the one jointly led by Ax Capital and Merrill Lynch in previous years.

After the agreement was reached, Ax Capital received $1.1 million and then passed the debt on to investors and some pension funds.

She had been looking at the relevant data for a week, but Catherine still found it hard to understand. This was completely different from the financing she had imagined. Wall Street was practically "getting something for nothing."

Li You, who was still admiring the blonde girl working diligently while lounging on the sofa, only got up and went behind the desk to massage his shoulders after hearing her whispering.

"Independent films are unlikely to encounter this situation. If you want to become a producer, you don't need to consider these things for now."

Despite the warmth inside, Catherine was still dressed in a fitted black sweater and jeans. After having her shoulders massaged, she couldn't help but hum a few times and began to complain about her acting career again.

Perhaps it's because there are too many blonde bombshells in Hollywood that the salaries of unknown actors are so meager, a stark contrast to the practices of those at the top who make money before even selling their films.

Li You glanced at the time and whispered a reminder that it was time to go home for the holiday. The kids were getting old and not so easy to fool anymore; children looked forward to Christmas even more than adults.

Scarlett, carrying hot cocoa to the office, had no intention of going home early. The succubus circled Catherine twice, glancing at the forms and emails.

She quickly squeezed onto the sofa in a coquettish voice, nestling into Li You's arms, a few buttons on her shirt popping open:
"Honey, let's go back later. Is Kim moving to Washington later? Should I come with her?"

The succubus whispered in Li You's ear and soon mounted him. She had been dressed as a "secretary" recently, and she had been planning to unlock this new location for a while.

When Catherine realized something was wrong with the sound, she looked up and saw Scarlett's fair skin. The red-haired girl seemed particularly excited, which startled Catherine, who quickly got up and adjusted the blinds behind her.

Li Youzheng grasped the succubus's slender waist, and her coquettish laughter quickly followed. Seemingly noticing the light dimming, Scarlett propped herself up and took the initiative to "invite" him:
"Katheryn, want to come along?"

Some hoarse voices become alluring at times like this. Noticing Li You's smiling eyes, the blonde ultimately bit her lip and tied her hair up, muttering a complaint:
"You guys are crazy!"

-

On Saturday, December 25th, Christmas Day, Lee Yoo made a rare update to his social media, posting a group photo of his family.

The Christmas Day games officially began at noon, and the Heat vs. Lakers game collapsed in the first quarter.
At 29:14, Kobe, who went 0-for-4 in the quarter, returned to the bench amidst boos. The Mamba kicked over his chair again, letting out a low curse without any attempt to hide it.
"What a damn match!"

(End of this chapter)