Basketball miracles

Chapter 22 [30+20, Euro Step]

The following day, the Lakers faced the Nuggets on the road.

The Denver Nuggets have an impressive start to the new season, ranking second in the Western Conference and second in the league in offensive power, only behind the Lakers. However, before the game, no experts predicted a Nuggets victory, arguing that their offense was strong but their defense was weak, and that their roster had fatal flaws.

Indeed, the Nuggets' interior defense was a complete mess, and they couldn't even protect the defensive rebounds.

Their interior roster depth is nowhere near that of last season's Lakers, because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 218cm tall, while the Nuggets don't even have a rim protector over 210cm tall.

The Nuggets' starting center, Wayne Cooper, is 208cm tall and weighs 100kg. He's a lean, black player. He's the Nuggets' tallest player, highly mobile with a good jumping ability, and excels at help defense and shot blocking, but he's extremely weak in physical confrontations.

A center with that style of play would definitely not be able to defend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar one-on-one.

After the game started, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had an opening every time he received the ball in the low post on either side, and he could score easily if the opponents didn't double-team him. His hook shot release point was too high, and Wayne couldn't block it.

Even if Kareem Abdul-Jabbar misses, Xiao Tu might still be able to grab the offensive rebound.

The Nuggets' leading rebounder is surprisingly Calvin Knight, who is 198cm tall and weighs 100kg, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.

The forward who matched up against Xiao Tu for a long time was Knight, who was at a disadvantage in terms of both physical attributes and athleticism. Coach Doug Moe doesn't know what he was thinking, using the 206cm veteran Dan Isel instead of the shorter player at power forward.

As a result, Xiao Tu became the Lakers' best performer today.

In the past, if Knight couldn't defend him, the center would help with the shot block. Today, Wayne is too busy guarding Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to help Knight defend Shaw.

Xiao Tu and Magic Johnson run pick-and-rolls, with Xiao Tu repeatedly cutting to the basket to receive the ball and drive to the rim. Johnson can also dribble and drive to the basket himself, or draw defenders and pass the ball.

This one tactic alone makes it difficult for the Nuggets to defend; those two are too strong. Even if Magic Johnson plays center, he has a physical advantage against the Nuggets' interior players.

Knight lacked the strength to withstand Xiao Tu's attacks and dared not foul him easily. As the team's second-leading scorer, the Nuggets needed him to attack; if he got into foul trouble, the team would undoubtedly lose.

When Doug Mo put Issel in, he instructed his players to collapse the defense. The Nuggets' paint was packed with players, but Xiao Tu still managed to score, even finding his rhythm from beyond the three-point line.

The Nuggets' offense was sharp, with multiple players contributing, and they trailed by only 4 points at halftime.

However, they couldn't defend against them and could only compete with the Lakers on offense. In the second half, their interior players got into foul trouble and were completely outplayed.

The Nuggets' frontcourt relies mainly on a three-man rotation, with Issel being a veteran nearing retirement. As players' stamina declines, their weakness in securing defensive rebounds becomes even more pronounced.

Lakers players aren't afraid of collapsing the defense; they can shoot freely from the outside, and even if they miss, Xiao Tu might still grab the offensive rebound.

Thanks to a phenomenal performance from star player Alex English, who scored 37 points, the Nuggets held on until the latter part of the fourth quarter before falling behind.

James Worthy was completely outplayed, averaging only 14 points per game this season, showing no improvement compared to the previous two seasons.

His only redeeming quality is his 58% field goal percentage, which means he takes few shots and avoids taking risky attempts. However, he doesn't shoot three-pointers, almost never attempts free throws, and his scoring efficiency isn't very high.

Many people are saying Worthy is a bust, and this performance certainly doesn't reflect his status as the number one draft pick. Unless he raises his scoring average to over 20 points per game, he won't be able to shake off the "bust" label.

Comparing Worthy to English makes Worthy seem worse. English was the 6th overall pick in the second round of the 1976 draft and became a super scorer through hard work.

肖途打出个人经典一战，出战38分钟14投10中，三分球3中2，罚球8中8，砍下30分23篮板3助攻2抢断2盖帽。

He set a new career high in scoring and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds. In the second half, he scored five second-chance points, leaving the Nuggets players frustrated.

Some Lakers fans who watched the live broadcast were still disappointed. They felt that Xiao Tu didn't take enough shots, and that if he had taken more shots today, he could have easily scored 40+20.

魔术师约翰逊状态不佳，出战40分钟14投5中，罚球5中4，得到14分5篮板18助攻2盖帽。

If Johnson had given Xiao Tu a few more shots, Xiao Tu would indeed have been more likely to score. Six Lakers players scored in double figures, defeating the Nuggets 134-121 and securing their ninth consecutive win to start the season.

After the match, many reporters interviewed Xiao Tu, asking him to share his thoughts on winning.

Xiao Tu was beaming and in high spirits: "I think I dominated the restricted area today and proved my strength."

The reporters didn't ask any more questions, and Xiao Tu continued, "The feeling of dominating the paint is just wonderful. This is the best game I've played since entering the league. I hope to play games like this more often in the future; it's very meaningful."

The reporter asked, "What's the significance?"

"I am absolutely confident that I will become a superstar. I know that I will continue to get stronger and stronger! When the playoffs come next year, my performance will definitely surprise everyone."

The reporters all felt that Xiao Tu was too outspoken, while the other rookies were very low-key, and none of them dared to say that they would become superstars.

This is big news. It's common knowledge that it's harder for players to put up good numbers in the NBA playoffs than in the regular season, so Xiao Tu's statement might be proven wrong. But if he performs exceptionally well in the playoffs and his boast comes true, then he'll be incredibly impressive.

Whether it's positive or negative, it's big news, and reporters are preparing to follow up on Xiao Tu's story.

Xiao Tu was bursting with confidence, all because he received a silver treasure chest after the competition!
He had previously only won in the Bronze Chest during the regular season, but today, with a 30+20 super stat line, his reward has been upgraded.

Don't underestimate a 30+20 stat line; very few stars in NBA history have ever achieved that. Xiao Tu's performance in his rookie season shocked the entire league.

When Xiao Tu returned to the away team's locker room to shower, he opened the silver treasure chest, genuinely curious about what reward he would receive.

As a result, he acquired a basketball skill—the Euro step!

In a parallel universe, the originator of this footwork is unverifiable, and its origins are also untraceable. It is said to have been first used by European players when making layups, hence the name "Euro step."

The NBA first used it by Lithuanian star Sarunas Maciulionis, but it wasn't named at the time. This technique was popularized by Argentine legend Manu Ginobili, becoming his signature breakthrough move.

Xiao Tu received a lot of information and learned the technology directly, but he would need to spend some time practicing to master it.

Xiao Tu believed that mastering the Euro step wouldn't take much time, because the technique rewarded by the Silver Treasure Chest came with a mid-level aura effect, granting him five times the experience when practicing.

In the future, several players in the NBA will use the Euro step as their primary scoring method, such as Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He's nicknamed "The Greek Freak" because his name has so many letters. He's 211cm tall and led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship, primarily playing power forward.

His jump shot and free throws are weaknesses, and he was often specifically targeted and shut down in the playoffs. However, he relied on his Euro step to drive to the basket, becoming the league's leading fast break scorer and winning an MVP award.

Both players primarily play power forward, and Xiao Tu plans to play like Giannis Antetokounmpo. This Euro step involves a larger stride and a greater distance from the basket at the start, slightly different from a guard's approach.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has had seasons averaging 30+ points per game, but he didn't win the scoring title because the competition was stronger. He's already outstanding; throughout NBA history, it's rare for power forwards to become scoring champions.

Xiao Tu doesn't know how many points he could score in the 8s and 90s if he mastered the Euro step. He estimates that even if he didn't win the scoring title, his jump shot ability, which would be superior to Giannis Antetokounmpo's, would still be no less than 30 points.

There must be very few people who can defend against this move now, because no one has ever seen it before.

The techniques for a layup include the middle Euro step, the side Euro steps, the baseline Euro step reverse layup, or a crossover and side-step shot towards the middle. It's not just a single move; there are a series of subsequent variations.

Xiao Tu felt he was about to undergo a complete transformation this season after receiving his first technical award. He certainly dared to make boastful statements to the media, and he was sure to be receiving silver prizes frequently in the future.

He only needs to learn three basketball skills in a season; trying to learn too much at once will only lead to failure.

Xiao Tu has basketball talent (five times the experience) and time. He believes that it won't be long before he becomes a well-known "offensive kaleidoscope" in the league!
Maybe next season, he will become the best player in the league in the 80s.

(End of this chapter)