Basketball miracles

Chapter 17 [Want to Go to Heaven?]

Xiao Tu returned home to Los Angeles late at night. Before washing up, he ate a few premium grapes. The taste was secondary; the grapes' fatigue-relieving properties were very important to him.

His beauty and radiance are undeniable; he's full of energy, and his teammates compliment him on his good complexion every day. He can even see a slight difference when he looks in the mirror—not to the point of needing beauty filters or editing, but he looks more handsome than usual, with a clear and bright mind.

He took grapes to the away game and ate them intermittently for several days, feeling like he had unlimited energy every day. He thought this reward was too powerful, better than the training aura, which lasted too short.

After washing up, Xiao Tu went back to his bedroom and opened the two brass treasure chests he had stored away.

The two rewards are the Intermediate Shooting Training Aura and the Intermediate Physical Fitness Training Aura, each lasting five hours and providing five times the experience. He can freely turn them on and off.

Xiao Tu lamented that the rewards from the previous Iron Treasure Chest were terrible, just consolation prizes. If he had had the Intermediate Training Treasure Chest before, he definitely wouldn't have just practiced a few shooting positions.

It makes sense when you think about it. He gets Iron Chests just by playing amateur games, not just in the NCAA regular season, but he even got 10 in the Drew League. If the rewards are good, success would be too easy for him.

"We'll have high-intensity training tomorrow and use up both of our halos as soon as possible."

"Eating some grapes at night will help me regain my energy and won't affect my training the day after tomorrow."

Xiao Tu muttered to himself, his enthusiasm growing even stronger.

He already benefited greatly from double experience points, so five times the experience points would be even more amazing. With his aura activated during training, he's a true basketball prodigy.

The next morning around 8 a.m., the sound of clear dunks echoed continuously from the Lakers' training facility.

boom! boom! boom!
Two Lakers staff members stood on the sidelines, dumbfounded, watching Xiao Tu train. It felt unreal, something they had never heard of before.

Xiao Tu leaps vertically under the basket for a two-handed dunk, lands, picks up the ball, and immediately leaps again for another two-handed dunk, the movements fluid and repetitive. He does this not only to train his explosive power but also to improve his ability to jump continuously.

He can jump very high even with his legs straight, requiring special techniques and training. This is a future method for training jumping ability, known as the "straight-leg box challenge." This type of jump requires powerful explosiveness and leg strength, achieved through a no-squat take-off, a complete push-off cycle, and a standard landing motion.

Xiao Tu trained like this in the 80s, jumping and dunking with straight legs repeatedly, which seemed like superhuman to outsiders.

If a short center wants to dominate in the paint, he must have exceptional strength and jumping ability, both of which Xiao Tu possesses.

Moses Malone is a prime example; at 208cm tall, he became a superstar playing center. This was thanks to his incredible ability to jump repeatedly and his physical strength. His reaction speed, leaping ability, and explosiveness were all top-notch, and he was known for his prowess in grabbing offensive rebounds.

The overweight white security guard asked the person next to him, "How many times has he done that in a row?"

The skinny black man, who was about 180cm tall, sighed, "More than ten times, and he had already practiced one set, dunking twenty times in a row before resting. This is definitely not his limit."

The chubby security guard swallowed hard: "He's already so strong, why does he still train so hard?"

"He must train incredibly hard all the time to be that strong," the skinny black man remarked.

His name is Eddie Davis, and he's the Lakers' trainer. He usually spends most of his time at the training facility. If players come in for extra practice, he reports to Coach Pat Riley and General Manager Jerry West, and then helps the players with their training.

Eddie often worked overtime because he was the management's "eyes and ears," allowing them to keep track of the players' situations. The Lakers management had already done this in the 80s, with informants in the players' locker room as well.

Backup center Kupchak does this now, frequently tattling to the coach, and he does it very well. That's why he immediately moved into management as an assistant manager after retiring, continuing to work for the Lakers.

If any unpleasant incident occurs among the players in the locker room, the management can understand the situation immediately and communicate with the players in a timely manner, and intervene to mediate, thanks to reports from informants.

This approach proved very effective and is an important part of the Lakers' team culture. The Lakers went on to win many championships, with the Shaq-Kobe duo achieving a three-peat and establishing a dynasty.

Riley went even further in the future. Not content with simply planting informants within the Heat, he also installed cameras in the locker room for surveillance, which was a blatant violation of human rights.

After watching Xiao Tu finish a set of dunks and rest on the sidelines, Eddie went to the office to make a phone call and report the situation to Riley.

The Lakers had just finished a road trip, and Riley gave the players a day off. Xiao Tu, having received a special reward, didn't want to rest, so he came to the arena alone. He was the only player who did extra practice; the others had just finished a game and weren't in the mood to train.

Riley values ​​Xiao Tu highly and fears he might go astray. Now, even Riley, who likes to arrange high-intensity training for his players, feels that Xiao Tu is training too hard and needs a proper rest.

Others often put in effort only after a loss. Xiao Tu played very well when he first entered the league, and all the media were praising him, but he continued to work hard even after the game.

Riley asked, "Has he been working on his jumping ability at an intense intensity again? And he's been doing consecutive dunks?"

Eddie said, "Yeah, he looks great, he could play another game today."

Riley asked, "Did you talk to him? Why is he practicing his jumping ability?"

"No, but I think he probably felt that his jumping ability wasn't good enough."

"..." Riley was speechless.

The coaching staff all believe Xiao Tu's jumping ability is the best in the NBA, perhaps even the best in history; Dr. J doesn't seem to be as good as him. And he's still not satisfied? Does he want to fly?
That's how he developed his jumping ability, right? How long has he been maintaining this high-intensity training regimen?

His training method results in insufficient rest, which could potentially affect his performance when the schedule becomes tighter with consecutive back-to-back matches.

Riley felt it was necessary to talk to Xiao Tu and ask him to reduce his training volume.

Riley was a member of the Lakers' 33-game winning streak in the 1971-72 season and was a teammate of Wilt Chamberlain. Their winning percentage dropped significantly in the second half of that season, ultimately finishing with a 69-13 record, mainly due to player fatigue.

Wilt Chamberlain was known for his incredible stamina in NBA history, but even he struggled with fatigue during the 70s. Although he averaged 42 minutes per game, he couldn't maintain his scoring efficiency, and his stats couldn't compare to his peak.

Riley thought for a moment and said, "Go find Shaw and tell him to stop doing high-intensity physical training. If he has nothing to do and wants to keep practicing, you can help him practice jump shots. The next game against the Bucks is crucial, and he needs to make sure he's in top form."

"Ok, I see."

Eddie immediately went to the stadium to find Xiao Tu and conveyed Riley's thoughts.

Xiao Tu said it was fine and he would no longer practice dunking. Following the coach's instructions is what a player should do.

He didn't necessarily need to work on his physical fitness; he could just put his aura on hold for a while before practicing. After resting for a bit, he started practicing long-range shooting with Eddie's help.

He activated his intermediate shooting training aura, no longer taking shots from multiple positions, but still mainly practicing the middle three-pointer and the right corner three-pointer.

With experience, he can make his aura more effective. If he shoots from multiple positions, it's harder to develop muscle memory. If he focuses on practicing only one or two spots, he might be able to improve his accuracy in the short term.

The Lakers don't need him to have an unparalleled shooting ability. His reliable three-point shooting from the two three-point ranges and his high-post mid-range jumper are sufficient. Practicing too much of that would only alienate players, as it would mean taking over their teammates' shooting zones and creating overlapping positions.

With Eddie's passing assistance, Xiao Tu kept shooting quickly, and his shots became more and more accurate.

His three-point shooting from the right corner has improved significantly, which is of great tactical importance.

Because players face less interference when shooting three-pointers from the corner, defenders are on average further away. Furthermore, most corner three-pointers are assisted, which further improves the team's offensive efficiency.

Xiao Tu chose the right side because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar likes to receive the ball in the low post on that side. Running to the corner allows him to create a triangle offense setup, giving his two teammates one-on-one opportunities.

Eddie was even more surprised to see Xiao Tu hit consecutive three-pointers from the corner. He's an inside player, yet he loves shooting threes, and he actually makes them. There's no other big man in the NBA who excels at that; he's unique.

Eddie had a feeling that Xiao Tu would get stronger and stronger. Teams didn't defend the corner much, so if he could get a reliable shot from that spot, that would be incredible.

(End of this chapter)