Basketball miracles

Chapter 236 [Status Reversed, Everyone Becomes Dihua]

Xiao Tu obtained two silver treasure chests in succession. Upon opening them, the rewards were an advanced shooting training aura and a dribbling training aura.

Aura-type rewards are time-limited and consumable, but they're incredibly powerful. Xiao Tu's skills improved rapidly this way—he was practically using cheat codes to get a feel for things. Unfortunately, it wasn't the physical training aura he really wanted; 10x experience was awesome.

Xiao Tu led the Heat to three consecutive wins in the first week, averaging a triple-double, and unsurprisingly won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award.

The Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets, considered to have the best rosters in the Eastern Conference before the season started 2-1, performing worse than the Heat. The 76ers, Raptors, and Magic, all boasting star perimeter players, suffered consecutive losses.

The Heat's fan base has surged, quickly making them the most popular team in the Eastern Conference.

Previously, the most popular team was the Nets, who reached the NBA Finals for two consecutive years. Jason Kidd was a star point guard who led young players Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin in numerous dunks.

Although Xiao Tu didn't dunk many times, he still managed to put up incredible numbers, something Nets stars couldn't do. Kidd had career-best season last year, averaging 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.

No media outlets compared Kidd to Xiao Tu because their scoring abilities were vastly different. Everyone knows Kidd's abilities are limited, yet few people criticize him, even though he often scores single digits in a game and his shooting percentage is pitifully low.

Kidd's strength lies in his limited shot attempts and focus on passing. His field goal percentage is consistently around 40%, and he doesn't attempt many three-pointers. The more inefficient players like him take shots, the faster the opponent wins.

The Heat's overall performance was mediocre, except for Xiao Tu, whose stats were phenomenal. His individualistic, heroic playing style is the most appealing to fans, and many Chinese fans have started paying attention to him.

Yao Ming's Rockets didn't miss out on Xiao Tu, because back in 1999, the Rockets' general manager packaged their 2003 first-round draft pick and an unknown player to send to the Grizzlies in exchange for Steve Francis.

After the start of the season, the person who stood in stark contrast to Xiao Tu was LeBron James of the Cavaliers.

Xiao Tu hasn't commented on James in a long time, but people are used to comparing him to rising stars of the same era. Both are modeled after Magic Johnson, so the comparison between the two can only be described as "fierce".

The Cavaliers started the season with three consecutive losses, showing virtually no ability to put up a fight.

The Nike executives who proposed the lucrative contract for LeBron James are on the verge of losing their jobs. This is because Nike is now debating whether to sign Sebastian Shaw, as allowing Shaw to join Adidas could have serious consequences for the company.

No one knows how long James will be suppressed by Xiao Tu. Even if no one suppresses him, his performance will only be average.

Against the Suns, James had 21 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 turnovers. The Cavaliers lost, but his stats were still respectable.

对阵开拓者，詹姆斯12投3中，罚球2中2，得到8分4篮板6助攻，骑士85比104输了19分。

James' performance in Game 3 was unbelievable, exposing all his weaknesses. Because he was playing point guard, he was matched up against Damon Stoudamire, who is 178cm tall and weighs 78kg, for a long time.

When the flying squirrel is defending, its low center of gravity makes it look like a dwarf fighting an orc bare-handed.

It turned out that the dwarf was "Tholin-Oak Shield," while the orc was just a grunt.

James was left two steps wide on the perimeter, hesitant to shoot for a long time, and his jump shots missed. If he drove hard to the basket, he could use his body to overpower James, but the Trail Blazers always had big men helping him defend the paint.

The Cavaliers' roster looks stronger than the Heat's, so James' individual ability will inevitably be questioned.

The starting frontcourt duo of Ilgauskas and Boozer performed exceptionally well. Ricky Davis, who averaged over 20 points per game last season, was now joined by another "chosen one," and the Cavaliers couldn't win.

The Heat have three rookies in their starting lineup and their bench players are all unknowns. Xiao Tu leading the team is sure to win, even against strong teams!
This year, nobody considers Eddie Jones or Brian Grant to be stars anymore. Fifth overall pick Dwyane Wade has scored less than double digits in two consecutive games, and his ability seems average; simply not dragging the team down as a starter would be considered a success.

Basketball experts acknowledge that the Heat are currently led by Xiao Tu as a single star, with him handling scoring, playmaking, and defense all on his own. He leads the Heat in all four statistical categories, and is first in the league in both scoring and assists.

After seeing the news, many fans felt that if the two players swapped teams, the Cavaliers would be carried by Xiao Tu, and the Heat would definitely finish at the bottom.

The Trail Blazers coach probably wouldn't dare let Little Flying Squirrel match up against Xiao Tu. Wouldn't that be suicide? How many three-pointers would he have to make?
Xiao Tu was browsing the news online at home and felt incredibly satisfied.

During the Summer League, the media didn't mention him at all, so he could only seize the one interview opportunity to dribble past LeBron James.

The tables have turned. If Cleveland media outlets say something like "James and Shaw are vying for Rookie of the Year," they'll be ridiculed online. What's there to compete for? Saying it like that just looks like James is trying to piggyback on Shaw's popularity, trying to gain attention through comparison. The Heat players have had time to rest and won't play the Dallas Mavericks on the road until November 3rd.

This game was broadcast live nationwide, and Xiao Tu finally got a game with high exposure, and the Mavericks were a good opponent!
Despite lacking a center this season, the Mavericks have managed to assemble a "five-star lineup" and are widely considered the favorites to win the championship. The Mavericks have had a large number of nationally televised games and started the season with a 2-1 record, only losing their first game to the Lakers.

The league started promoting the game two days in advance, and fans believed it would be very exciting. Both teams lacked a tall center and relied on offense to win.

In this era, NBA teams are all playing defensively and aggressively, and it's extremely rare to see two teams going head-to-head. Regular fans don't enjoy watching defensive battles; high-scoring, high-scoring offensive thrillers are what truly captivate viewers.

In fact, the Mavericks' performance this season has been somewhat disappointing for Dallas fans, as their offensive capabilities have not been as strong as the media had predicted.

The Heat have a stronger offense; Xiao Tu is worth two players, leading his team to score over 100 points in every game.

The Heat have fewer star players, which makes the games more interesting. A single star versus five stars – if the Heat pull off an upset and achieve a four-game winning streak, the media will definitely hype Xiao Tu to the skies.

Before the game, people still believed that the Mavericks were stronger overall, and Xiao Tu was already having a blast even before the game started.

To outsiders, the Mavericks were the favorites to win the championship. But Xiao Tu saw them as a terrible team that would be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, with an unreasonable roster, only good for the regular season.

The Heat don't have a center, but their shorter interior players aren't afraid of physical contact, and their interior defense isn't actually that bad. They also outrebounded their opponents in the first three games.

The Mavericks really don't play defense. They have no defensive specialists in the paint or on the perimeter, but they do have one defensive liability.

Point guard Steve Nash was nicknamed "Nash the Unguardable" by future generations. If Dwyane Wade performs poorly against him, he might as well quit.

The Mavericks' forwards are also not very good at defense. Xiao Tu's mind is full of thoughts about going toe-to-toe with Antoine Walker in three-pointers and setting a new personal high in single-game scoring.

Xiao Tu didn't rest during the team's holiday; he went to the gym to practice his three-point shot, determined to have a breakout performance against the Mavericks.

With the Lotus Incarnation buff, Xiao Tu's stamina recovers quickly, allowing him to engage in high-intensity training. He also put to use the advanced shooting training aura he had just acquired.

The Heat's coaching staff and management had no idea that Xiao Tu was on a roll. Even Riley, who liked to put his players through grueling training sessions, thought Xiao Tu's training methods were too extreme.

After a three-game winning streak, the team had a day off. You played the best and didn't go out to celebrate, but instead did high-intensity extra training?

Riley personally went to the stadium to chat with Xiao Tu and gave him a good lesson.

Riley cautioned him that the NBA is different from the NCAA; no matter how good a young player's stamina is, they must balance work and rest. Proper rest during the season is more effective in maintaining a player's condition than high-intensity training, etc.

Xiao Tu was completely dumbfounded. Riley didn't say that to the others; he emphasized "plantation basketball."

Riley is applying a double standard to Xiao Tu; he knows the Heat absolutely cannot do without him. Player fatigue increases the risk of injury, and if Xiao Tu is injured and sidelined, the Heat become a completely different team.

Not only could Riley not afford to gamble, but the management was also unwilling to take the risk, all hoping that Xiao Tu could stay healthy and ensure his attendance rate. To make things easier for him, Riley stopped arranging zone defense, allowing Xiao Tu to guard the opponent's easiest role players instead of man-to-man defense.

The superstar scorers can be left to Wade, Jones, and Odom to defend; they should play their hearts out. They're not that useful on offense anyway, so there's no need to conserve their energy.

What could Xiao Tu do? He could only listen to Riley and ride his bicycle home to rest.

This is also part of his training; he rides the Wind and Fire Wheel whenever he has free time.

This story made the Miami news that night, leaving fans stunned. A superstar rookie usually rides a bicycle to the gym for practice, not a car?
This isn't a matter of thrift or environmental protection; everyone thinks Xiao Tu is a training fanatic and too disciplined.

This must be the secret to his success!

Xiao Tu no longer needs to give interviews to boast about himself; Miami has been completely transformed by Di.

(End of this chapter)