Basketball miracles

Chapter 207 [The Handsome Guy and the Gorilla]

LeBron James dribbled the ball across half-court, basking in the cheers of the crowd, and felt a surge of accomplishment.

From this day forward, I am a superior being.

Xiao Tu positioned himself near the free-throw line in the middle, giving his opponent two steps of space, maintaining distance to defend against drives but not shots. In this parallel world, before LeBron James perfected his shooting, all teams defended him this way, and it remained highly effective until 2011.

Faced with this kind of defense, James will choose to pass the ball or force his way through, rarely taking a pull-up jumper. This is because if someone even extends a hand towards him, his jump shot accuracy will drop significantly.

Sure enough, James displayed his unselfish style of play in the first possession, passing the ball to Kapono on the left side of the three-point line. Kapono plays off-ball and isn't good at attacking with the ball, so he lobbed the ball to Darius Miles, who was calling for the ball in the low post.

During his high school years, Miles was already famous throughout the United States, possessing amazing speed, incredible jumping ability, and a tall and slender build, earning him the nickname "Little Garnett".

However, after only two seasons, he was released by the struggling Clippers. He had Garnett's weakness in physical strength, but he lacked Garnett's signature tough, high-flying jump shot.

Last season, his field goal percentage was only 41% and his free throw percentage was 59.4%. His stats were decent, but his scoring efficiency was very low.

Miles saw that Haslem was shorter than him and felt he had an advantage in a one-on-one fight, so he used a back-to-the-basket move that he wasn't good at.

Use your weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths!

Someone with Miles's brains would have had a hard time graduating high school without teaming up with Captain America and Black Widow to steal exam papers. And he actually did it; the movie will be released next January.

At 203cm, Haslem isn't particularly tall for the power forward position, but his lower body is very solid. Miles couldn't move him at all, and his forced turnaround jump shot towards the baseline missed under heavy interference.

Xiao Tu defended James's cut and secured the defensive rebound in the middle of the paint.

He's incredibly good at securing rebounds in the paint and knows exactly how to defend against high-impact players. The key is that physical contact isn't just about jumping; if James can't get going, his threat is greatly reduced.

Xiao Tu's physical strength is also considerable. At 104 kilograms, he's certainly not as heavy as James, but he won't be easily pushed aside. His training in Hung Kuen, Judo, and Karate is truly impressive; he's a formidable opponent.

Xiao Tu shielded the ball and passed it to Wade, who was there to receive it, and the Heat settled into a half-court offense.

Wade is a 193cm tall combo guard who can also orchestrate the offense. James had already decided to primarily guard Wade, assigning Xiao Tu to Kapono.

Xiao Tu calmly ran to the left low post to receive the ball. Haslem moved to the middle high post, and Woods went to the right side, with his teammates spread out. Wade made a bounce pass to the low post, and Xiao Tu, with his back to Kapono at a 45-degree angle, dribbled the ball, turned, and took a fadeaway jump shot towards the baseline.

His movements were incredibly fluid, his release rhythm was perfect, and the ball swished through the net! 2-0.

After returning to 2003, Xiao Tu practiced his fadeaway jump shot every day and quickly found his rhythm, achieving a high shooting percentage from the low post.

Here, he's like a martial arts master who has lost his inner strength. Although his body isn't as strong as it used to be, he knows how to become stronger and can quickly regain some of his martial arts skills.

Furthermore, Xiao Tu now possesses even greater shooting talent than he did in the 80s; it's a hidden attribute inherent in his body. While playing in the NCAA at Harvard, he lacked experience and couldn't fully utilize his strengths, but now he can create shooting space using his height and 221cm wingspan.

Facing Kapono, Xiao Tu couldn't find a reason not to shoot. Kapono was a white, floor-bound small forward who wasn't fast, had poor jumping ability, no rebounds, no blocks, no steals, and relied mainly on teamwork on defense.

In the Cavaliers' half-court offense, James chose to dribble and force his way through, but was immediately blocked by Xiao Tu after just one dribble.

Death grip! With his wingspan and decent lateral speed, Xiao Tu's defense was not to be underestimated.

His goal was to prevent James from driving to the basket. Once the ball was stopped, James was unable to break through the defensive formation to draw double teams or help defense and pass the ball, so he could only dribble the ball and go it alone.

Once James has his back to the basket, his threat level drops to the bottom of the league. He's completely lost his ability to post up now, even though he left behind that iconic "Puerto Rican Mountain" moment in the 2011 Finals!
James was clearly uncomfortable being guarded, feeling that this unknown player was incredibly strong on defense. Knowing he was too far from the basket and that a turnaround jump shot from that position was unreliable, he passed the ball back to his teammate.

The rest of the Cavaliers aren't good at ball-handling offense; their second scoring option is shooting guard Dajuan Wagner. He's physically gifted but not very bright; he just makes reckless plays.

His physical attributes couldn't match Wade's; he had the height of a point guard but the flair of a shooting guard. His forced jump shot against the defense missed. The ball bounced quite far, and Xiao Tu grabbed another defensive rebound. After landing, Xiao Tu noticed James wasn't pressing him closely, so he comfortably turned and took a few steps forward, then made a long pass with both hands to the right side of the basket. Wade used his speed to get past Wagner off the ball, leaped up, and scored with an alley-oop layup. 4-0.

When Xiao Tu was training in Japan, his favorite thing to do was to play alley-oops with Sakuragi Hanamichi. He unknowingly mastered long passes, enabling his teammates to comfortably receive the ball in the air.

The fans in the arena applauded enthusiastically; the Heat's fast break was a spectacular play.

Pat Riley was also applauding from the sidelines. He had tried to overestimate Xiao Tu, but after watching the game, he realized he had still underestimated him. Xiao Tu was simply unbelievably strong. This teamwork didn't seem like something a rookie could produce; he and Wade had only known each other for a short time and already had such great chemistry.

Xiao Tu's style of play and timing of passing are very similar to Magic Johnson's. Riley is the coach who knows Magic Johnson best and has seen similar situations many times.

James dribbled the ball across half-court and began to express his dissatisfaction with his Summer League teammates.

At first glance, these players all seem to have NBA experience and considerable skill, but in reality, the Cavaliers' roster is flawed, their offense is stagnant, and their defense isn't much better.

James waved for a screen, but Diop's screen, despite his size, was poorly executed, easily bypassed by Xiao Tu who circled around him from the inside. He focused on defending drives, not shots. James dribbled to the left, paused briefly to protect the ball, and noticed Diop was positioned at the high post, showing no intention of cutting inside.

James was a little helpless.

You can't even shoot and you're just standing on the perimeter, you big oaf, what are you trying to do?
Diop: I don't know what I'm supposed to do!
James's drive to the basket failed, so he passed the ball again to small forward Kapono. The 203cm Kapono was matched up against the 196cm New Zealand player Kirk Penney, which looked like a good opportunity.

However, Kapono lacked physical advantages and dared not attempt one-on-one plays. He received the ball but didn't get a direct shot opportunity; the basketball, as if it were too hot to handle, was immediately passed to Miles in the low post.

Miles was closely marked by Haslem, and his shooting percentage dropped significantly unless he entered the paint, with his shots finding numerous blind spots. Unable to break free from Haslem to find a teammate, his pass attempt was too obvious and was easily intercepted by Wade.

Wade launched a fast break alone, drawing the attention of both James and Wagner. His speed was too great; Wagner couldn't keep up, leaving James to chase and defend him.

Wade passed the ball from the right side to the middle, and Xiao Tu caught it, took three steps, and completed a one-handed dunk. 6-0.

Capono completely missed him, and even followed Peni when he returned to defend.

Xiao Tu's dunks aren't as explosive as they were in the 80s, but they're still quite effortless. He still occasionally wants to perform, and it's become a habit.

The Cavaliers attacked, and this time James chose to go up himself. He couldn't shake off Xiao Tu and pulled up for a jump shot on the left side of the horn. He jumped very high, but the movement was incredibly ugly, with his legs slightly apart and his calves sticking out backward.

James dodged the block, but even with an open shot, his shooting percentage wouldn't be high. Sure enough, his jump shot missed under Xiao Tu's interference, and Haslem grabbed the defensive rebound.

Diop is an oddball; he has obvious physical advantages but isn't good at rebounding, doesn't jump, and doesn't box out. As a high draft pick, his salary this season is a whopping $212 million, four times that of the team's starting power forward, Carlos Boozer—a real rip-off.

In a half-court offense, Xiao Tu received the ball on the left low post, backed down Kapono, took a step, turned, and pulled up for a fadeaway jumper. His form was beautiful, and the ball swished through the net! 8-0.

Kapono jumped up to interfere, but it was useless.

The applause from the fans in the stadium was even more enthusiastic. Xiao Tu scored 6 points and 1 assist at the start of the game, which was extremely eye-catching.

A blonde girl sitting in the front row clapped and asked her boyfriend, "Is that handsome guy in the black jersey, number 24, LeBron James? He's really amazing."

The boyfriend said awkwardly, "No... it's the black guy number 23 over there."

The girl was stunned: "That gorilla? It's so ugly! Why is the news always hyping up people like that?"

Fans nearby overheard their conversation and agreed that the girl was right. James was indeed disappointing today; his playing style was terrible, and it was hard to see anything special about him.

Orlando fans usually support the Magic and are used to watching Tracy McGrady play. When they see LeBron James dribbling and shooting, they feel like he's just there to make a joke.

Everyone had the same question: Didn't the news say that James was incredibly strong? How come he was being dominated?
(End of this chapter)