Basketball miracles

Chapter 227 [Keep grinding!]

Pat Riley forced everyone to stay at the hotel and rest before starting practice in the afternoon. Even so, the Heat players were still not in good form.

The only exception was Xiao Tu. He no longer needed to eat premium fruits; his lotus body allowed him to quickly recover his physical strength and energy. His complexion even looked different from others, extraordinary and spotless.

Riley felt reassured the moment he saw Xiao Tu. It didn't matter if the others weren't playing well; as long as Xiao Tu performed well, the Heat had a chance to win this game!
Netizens discussed the game, believing that the highlight of the match was Xiao Tu, as the home team Celtics did not have any big-name stars.

Paul Pierce isn't very popular. He was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve in his first two seasons, but his total votes in the guard voting were negligible. No one even questioned why a small forward like him was being considered for a guard position.

Since entering the league, the only thing people remember about Pierce is that he was stabbed 11 times in a Boston nightclub on September 25, 2000.

Back then, three guys stabbed Pierce in the nightclub. Even the young, rich, and tough guy Granite Bro wasn't stabbed this badly.

Pierce suffered psychological trauma from the stabbing and developed paranoid delusions! Miraculously, he returned to the court a month later, and the stab wound hadn't hit any vital organs; he was destined to survive.

After the incident, Pierce said he felt scared even at home, and was still afraid when he went out and saw crowds. He had to wear a bulletproof vest every time he went out, and he had to have bodyguards with him when he ate out. The NBA arena was the only place that could calm him down and make him feel better.

That evening, the Heat players waited in the locker room for the game to begin.

Riley chatted with Xiao Tu and asked, "Seb, do you want to match up against Pierce? If you do, I can arrange for you to defend him on the perimeter."

Xiao Tu shook his head and refused outright: "I don't want to. Let's just play by the tactics. Our interior defense is already weak. If I, the guy with the longest arms, go out there, it'll be a loss if we lose the defensive rebounds."

"Alright then." Riley didn't insist, although he felt that Xiao Tu was suitable to defend Pierce.

Key players can conserve their energy for the offensive end, making them more effective.

Xiao Tu had absolutely no interest in going up against Pierce; competing with someone was nothing compared to the thrill of rebounding. He didn't care if Pierce scored more points; after all, Pierce only averaged around 25 points per game at his peak, and his scoring explosiveness was average.

Xiao Tu believes that the best proof of a player's ability is not their skills, but their statistics. As long as their statistics are the best, they will definitely have a large number of fans supporting them, even those who have never watched their games.

Pierce isn't fast, but he's very strong. If he's the primary defender, I can easily take him down one-on-one, and using screens is also a good strategy.

The Celtics' interior players aren't good at defending pick-and-rolls. Who can Vin Baker guard now?
If I put up amazing numbers in two games in a row, it will shock the entire league. I have to rack up as many stats as possible against weak teams!
In Xiao Tu's view, the Celtics are a weak team. This is no longer the championship team of the 80s; they only have Pierce as their star player, leading the team single-handedly.

Both teams' players entered the game on time, and the Celtics fans gave Xiao Tu the loudest boos, leaving him speechless.

So what if we won one preseason game? Why are you so hostile towards me?
Boston fans are less about disliking Xiao Tu and more about being jealous of the Heat.

The Celtics, holding the 16th and 20th picks, selected 185cm guard Troy Bell and 198cm shooting guard Dahntay Jones, then traded them to the Grizzlies for Marcus Banks and Kendrick Perkins, missing out on a group of strong players.

Pierce was in a bad mood today and didn't want to talk to Xiao Tu. The reason for his bad mood was exactly the same as Iverson's: dissatisfaction with the team's summer trades.

Without any big-name stars joining the team, and with his good partner Antoine Walker gone, this year's Celtics roster looks like they won't even get past the first round of the playoffs, or even make the playoffs at all.

Pierce felt he was wasting his precious youth, only able to pad his stats in the regular season. Embarrassingly, even with all his stats, he couldn't win the scoring title; he was just a freeloader.

Xiao Tu had no interest in proactively greeting or showing goodwill to the opposing star player; he wasn't a fan of Pierce. He just felt he'd been misled by many Chinese online novels—where were all those touching stories of mutual appreciation?
He didn't get to meet his mentor LeBron James, his teammate Allen Iverson, or his approachable Michael Jordan, among others.

After warming up, the starting players from both sides took to the field.

The Heat's starting lineup was: Wade, Eddie Jones, Xiao Tu, Odom, and Brian Grant.

Celtics starting lineup: Mike James, Paul Pierce, Kadrick Brown, Vin Baker, Mark Blunt.

Mike James, who is 188cm tall, entered the NBA without being drafted. He started his professional career with the Heat and played two seasons. Last season, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.2 assists per game with a field goal percentage of 37.3%.

Xiao Tu knew he could play decently in the future, capable of scoring but lacking in defense and playmaking ability. The fact that a guard discarded by the Heat could be a starter for the Celtics showed just how weak the Celtics' roster truly was.

Xiao Tu and Brown faced off in the Summer League, and Xiao Tu felt Brown was weak. Brown is a 201cm tall, 100kg small forward who can also play shooting guard. He's a fringe player who'll likely leave the NBA after his rookie contract expires. The Celtics assigned him to guard Xiao Tu today because they lack a defensive specialist on the perimeter.

Odom won the jump ball easily.

Blunt is 213cm tall and is a big man who relies on mid-range shots. He has poor explosiveness and is soft, so he can't jump high at all.

Xiao Tu received the ball, dribbled once, and passed it to Wade, weaving between the two. It was a simple and effective play right from the start. Wade received the ball, took three steps, ignored James beside him, and completed a one-handed dunk! 2-0.

Wade's stamina was also fine. His defensive duties yesterday weren't actually that heavy; he just let Iverson shoot and then casually reached out to contest the shot.

Celtics power forward Vin Baker strolled around leisurely, failing to get back on defense.

In the Celtics' offense, Riley assigned Jones to primarily defend Pierce on the perimeter, while Wade positioned himself at the corners for zone defense. Pierce is 201cm tall, and although his 208cm wingspan is average, he still has an advantage against Wade one-on-one.

Pierce is not particularly mobile and relies on technique to score. He couldn't break through with the ball and lobbed it to Vinbeck on the left low post.

With a height of 211cm and long limbs, Wenbeike's advantage over Xiao Tu in a singles match seems too obvious.

Indeed, Wenbeck now weighs around 120 kilograms. He squeezed Xiao Tu so much that he couldn't jump, and then turned and shot off the backboard for a score. 2-2.

Xiao Tu isn't omnipotent either; he can't really defend against this kind of mismatch. He can only try his best to guard the ball and disrupt the shot.

This is after a significant decline in Vin Baker's career; his peak was early in his career, where he was selected to the All-Star team four times. His basketball talent was astonishing; he only started playing basketball in his senior year of high school but quickly became a star, averaging 20+10 in the NBA.

After the NBA lockout in 1998, Vin Baker's secret alcoholism was exposed. He would secretly drink spirits during halftime, his weight spiraled out of control, he drove drunk, got into fights, and his performance plummeted, turning him into a journeyman in the league.

During his worst period, Wenbeike worked as a Starbucks employee to support his four children, getting up at 4 a.m. to work...

He can still fight now, but he's a bit lazy.

Xiao Tu called for Odom to screen for him, blocking Brown. As expected, Vinbeck on the right side stood there dumbfounded near the paint, showing no intention of switching to defend the screen.

Xiao Tu dared to claim championship contention mainly because during this period, there were countless stationary big men in the NBA who didn't defend pick-and-rolls. Including Shaquille O'Neal, big men were unwilling to go out and switch on defense, leaving it to their perimeter teammates to go around the screen and chase down the defender.

This approach works against teams with poor shooting, and the Heat aren't one of those teams. Xiao Tu takes a step to the side, pulls up for a jump shot at a 60-degree angle on the right, and Brown, avoiding Odom, doesn't have time to jump and block.

In the last game, Xiao Tu made five three-pointers from this position, and the Celtics were completely unprepared. Whether it was due to the coaching staff's negligence or the player's underestimation of the opponent, Xiao Tu was playing very comfortably.

His shot was as effortless as in training, with perfect rhythm, and the ball swished through the net! 5-2.

The Celtics' offense also revolved around pick-and-rolls, while the Heat's four players positioned themselves without marking their man, leaving open spaces on the perimeter.

James attempted a three-pointer from the middle, but Wade was too slow to jump, and the Celtics responded with a three-pointer of their own! 5-5.

The Heat executed the same screen-and-roll play again in their half-court offense. Xiao Tu used the screen to shake off Brown's defense and dribbled to the right side for a 60-degree jump shot for a three-pointer.

Vin Baker didn't switch to defend the pick-and-roll; he just stood there two meters away watching. This guy's nickname is "The Drunkard," and his behavior is very much like an alcoholic's. His efforts to quit drinking this season have clearly not been very effective.

Xiao Tu took a nearly open shot and made another three-pointer. 8-5.

Celtics coach Jim O'Brien is starting to have a headache. He knew all along that Vin Baker was a defensive liability, only good for guarding the paint. Blunt's defense isn't much better, otherwise he wouldn't have been a regular substitute for so long.

Sebastian Shaw is a great shooter, is he just going to keep shooting like this forever?

(End of this chapter)