Basketball miracles

Chapter 238 [He's now stronger than the magician]

Xiao Tu felt that Nash's shooting accuracy was better than his own, and that his lower scoring was due to his poor physical attributes. Nash had a much harder time getting open shots than Xiao Tu, and rarely forced shots over defenders.

The Heat were on offense. Xiao Tu dribbled the ball to the right wing and had his teammates spread out. Grant tried to set a screen but was refused.

Stop your damn pick and roll, I want to go one-on-one with Michael!

He dribbled between his legs repeatedly, giving the impression that he had taken a step back with his right foot. Michael Finley rushed forward, but Xiao Tu faked the move and didn't actually collect the ball. He dribbled behind his back with his right hand, collected the ball with his left hand, and then took a step back with his left foot to shoot a three-pointer.

Finley was faked out and lost his balance, unable to jump from the side. The Mavericks had no one to help defend; they were all sticking to their own players. Xiao Zhong's jump shot down the middle was fluid and perfectly timed, the ball swishing through the net! 8-5.

Barkley exclaimed, "Shawn scored 8 points right at the start, and sure enough, he started shooting threes again!"

Smith said, "Shaw is the kind of player you can't defend without double-teaming him, but no team double-teams him on the perimeter from the start, because that would create a lot of open shots."

Barkley said, "I think he's better than Magic right now. Magic can't score like that."

Barkley had seen Magic Johnson at his peak play and knew that scoring wasn't Magic's forte. Magic was primarily a driver, not a jump shot; he only made around 300 three-pointers throughout his career.

Xiao Tu is used to taking the lead and scoring first, forcing opponents to change their defensive strategy and double-team him, before passing the ball to lead the whole team to score. This is something Magic Johnson could never do, let alone at the same level as his contemporaries.

Don Nelson didn't prioritize defense that much. If it were another coach, he would definitely have told the players to "double-team" at this point. Before the game, Nelson's tactics only instructed the players to double-team Xiao Tu when defending pick-and-rolls.

Nash controlled the ball on the left side of the three-point line. Finley first backed down Xiao Tu in the low post on the left and then ran around the baseline without the ball, coming out from the right side.

Xiao Tu didn't follow Finley closely; instead, he moved to the right at a 60-degree angle. Finley indeed positioned himself there, received the ball, and attempted a fadeaway jump shot, but missed under pressure.

Xiao Tu can predict Nash's passing routes, so when he organizes the offense, he has to pass at a 60-degree angle; otherwise, a wide lateral movement might be intercepted.

Odom grabbed the rebound and passed it to Wade. Wade dribbled across half-court and saw Xiao Tu running to the left low post, backing down to receive the ball. He then lobbed the ball over to Xiao Tu.

This was exactly where Finley had positioned himself. If the Mavericks wanted to double-team on the weak side, Nash would have to be there. Xiao Tu dribbled with his back to the basket at a 45-degree angle, bumping into Finley, then turned and faded to the baseline for a jump shot. His smooth motion avoided the block and he made the shot over the defense. 10-5.

Xiao Tu scored consecutive points, making Finley dizzy and disoriented right from the start.

The Mavericks were on offense. Nowitzki received the ball on the left side of the three-point line, dribbled to the corner, and pulled up for a jump shot over Grant, which he made. 10-7.

The fans thoroughly enjoyed the game; both teams displayed weak defenses and focused heavily on offense.

Then Xiao Tu and Nash each missed a shot. Xiao Tu drove to the basket, drawing a double team, and passed the ball to Jones in the right corner, whose open three-pointer missed...

Both teams' shooting percentages began to drop, and Nash launched a fast break, but his attempt to break through failed, and he passed the ball to Delk on the perimeter. Jones seized the opportunity and stole the ball.

The Heat launched a fast break with three players, and Jones made a bounce pass from midfield to Xiao Tu at the free-throw line.

Xiao Tu received the ball, took a small step and half-turned, then passed it to the left side with his back to goal and no looking. Odom got rid of Walker off the ball, took a step and jumped up for a left-handed dunk! 12-7.

Barkley exclaimed, "What's going on? Shaw and Odom pulled off a highlight-reel dunk!"

Smith said, "Whenever I see a shot like that, I feel that the media's description of Shaw as a white magician is well-deserved. He's now getting double-digit assists every game, and he's not just a super scorer."

Mavericks fans also gave Xiao Tu some applause, saying his pass was fantastic.

Nash ran a pick-and-roll, dribbled to the right baseline, drew a double team, and bounced a pass to Walker cutting inside. Walker turned on the right and made a one-handed floater, banking it in over Odom's defense. 12-9.

The Heat were on offense. Xiao Tu started with a pick-and-roll, drawing the defense's attention before passing the ball to Odom on the right. His pass was perfectly timed, and Odom received it comfortably, turning and getting past Walker. He took three steps, then did a 180-degree turn under the basket, attempting a fancy dunk. His form was quite impressive, but the dunk went wide.

Odom immediately grabbed the rebound, flicking the ball out with one hand. Xiao Tu picked up the rebound and immediately passed it to the right corner. 185cm Delk came to grab the ball, leaving Jones wide open, and Jones hit an open three-pointer. 15-9.

Smith said, "Shaw got another assist. The Heat's offense, with only one star player, is even stronger than the Mavericks' five-star offense!"

Barkley said, "Finley can't contain Shaw one-on-one, the Mavericks have to change their defensive strategy."

The Mavericks were on offense, and Delk's three-point attempt from the left side missed under pressure. Don Nelson started him primarily because of his strong performance with the Celtics last season, averaging 1.7 three-pointers per game with a 39.5% success rate.

Walker grabbed the offensive rebound, turned around in the middle, and hit a fadeaway jumper. 15-11. Walker's shooting form was incredibly ugly, but it went in; if Odom had jumped a little slower on defense, he wouldn't have been able to block it.

Xiao Tu received the ball outside the left three-point line, dribbled between his legs and behind his back, then passed the ball to his left hand and changed direction to break through Finley, attracting Walker's help defense before passing the ball to Odom on the left baseline.

Odom attempted a layup, facing Nowitzki's help defense, and opted for a difficult reverse layup. The move was beautiful, avoiding the block, but the ball didn't go in.

Talented people like to experiment, and Odom's shooting percentage wasn't high.

Fortunately, Xiao Tu passed the ball and cut inside, grabbing the offensive rebound and scoring with a two-handed putback. 17-11.

The Mavericks were on offense. Nowitzki received the ball at the right 60-degree angle and attempted a three-pointer, but missed. Odom grabbed the rebound.

Both sides continued to attack, and neither called a timeout.

Wade quickly got going, dribbling past Nash for a two-handed dunk on a fast break. He also contributed in half-court sets, getting past Nowitzki with a pick-and-roll mismatch and scoring a layup.

Xiao Tu backed down on the left, and Jones cut inside from the perimeter to receive a pass from Xiao Tu and dunked with one hand.

Delker missed his man, and Nowitzki was a fraction too slow to help. The Mavericks' defense was riddled with holes, and Xiao Tu consistently drew double teams, leaving open spaces for the Heat to exploit. The Heat's offense spread out, allowing multiple players to score.

Xiao Tu also drew fouls twice on drives to the basket, making all four free throws.

Mavericks fans are very disappointed that Xiao Tu isn't with the Mavericks; his playing style is just too cool. He takes fewer shots, but his playmaking is more stylish than others. He catches the ball with one hand, raises it high to observe, and then drives and passes or passes from a stationary position, delivering one brilliant pass after another.

The Mavericks' offense was quite good, and the score remained close. It wasn't until near the end of the first quarter, when Xiao Tu hit a three-pointer on a fast break, that the gap widened.

Xiao Tu could also beat Jamison in a one-on-one match. Jamison is only 203cm tall and weighs 100kg, and defense is not his strong point.

The Heat led 38-29 after the first quarter, a 9-point advantage.

肖途打满整节，9投6中，三分球5中3，罚球4中4，砍下19分3篮板6助攻。

All of the Heat's starters scored, and Haslem, who came off the bench, also scored 4 points, including a mid-range jumper and a layup.

Mavericks captain Finley, who was determined to go head-to-head with Xiao Tu before the game, was utterly humiliated, going 0-for-2 from the field, with no free throws, and finishing with 0 points and 2 rebounds.

In the second half, Nelson simply substituted Finley and put Jamison in to defend Xiao Tu.

Finley returned to the court in the second quarter, leading the Mavericks' bench offense alongside Jamison. Jamison looked extremely unhappy; he clearly didn't want to stay with the Mavericks from the start of the game. He needed to have the ball in his hands to attack and perform at his best, which meant overlapping positions with several of his teammates.

The Mavericks have a typical "one basketball isn't enough" roster, and the newcomers Jamison and Walker don't have high shooting percentages. It would be better to concentrate the ball possession on Nowitzki and Nash than to share the ball.

In the second quarter, Xiao Tu rested as usual, and as always, the opponent immediately began to catch up.

Jamison is a true low-key star. In a parallel universe, he scored over 20,000 points in his career, making him the least famous player among those who have reached that milestone. He once scored 50+ points in two consecutive games and possesses a diverse offensive arsenal, capable of scoring both inside and outside.

Finley took advantage of not being matched up against Xiao Tu and scored repeatedly, going on an 11-2 run to tie the game.

The Heat's bench lacks offensive options, leaving Jones with only inefficient isolation plays or switching players for isolation opportunities. Alston can't penetrate, his shooting is inaccurate, and the bench big men aren't adept at dribbling and attacking.

The Mavericks have a 229cm tall "tall bamboo pole" Bradley on the bench who protects the rim, so the Heat players can't get to the basket and can only shoot from the outside.

Heat fans watching the game on TV are getting frustrated and are eagerly awaiting Caron Butler's return from injury. The Heat's bench is terrible; apart from Haslem, they're all dragging the team down.

Xiao Tu, watching the game from the sidelines, was also somewhat speechless.

He thought the roster was pretty good during training camp because it was all familiar faces. But none of these familiar faces were in their prime, including Caron Butler, who still needed to develop and was a long way from becoming an All-Star.

To win, Xiao Tu has to play more games; there's no other way. Luckily, he has good stamina and can play more than 40 minutes per game on average.

(End of this chapter)