Basketball miracles

Chapter 49 [Individual Offensive Performance]

In the second quarter, the Lakers took the initiative. Michael Cooper dribbled the ball up the court and passed it to McGee, who then ran a pick-and-roll with Xiao Tu beyond the three-point line.

As long as Xiao Tu is on the field, Riley will arrange for someone who can handle the ball and attack to cooperate with him.

Of the Lakers' interior players, only Xiao Tu can do this job. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doesn't like playing pick-and-rolls, and the other interior players' screens are either too poor in quality, lacking either shooting range or power.

Unfortunately, last season, the Lakers were guaranteed to win the Finals if they executed a few pick-and-roll plays in crucial games.

McGee dribbled the ball to the left, creating space but failing to break through; his intention was to draw the defender's attention. He then passed the ball to Xiao Tu in the middle. Xiao Tu received the ball at a high position, feinted, and quickly started his run, changing direction to the right.

He quickly created distance between himself and Ralph Sampson, then with a second step, he gathered the ball, swept past his opponent, and drove to the basket for a one-handed dunk! 33-26.

Stockton exclaimed, "Beautiful! Shaw slammed it down again! And it was a powerful dunk after he dribbled past his opponent!"

Heinsson said, "Many people say that Shaw only catches the ball and shoots, relying on his physicality to play. He can actually attack with the ball, but the Lakers have too many players who can handle the ball, so they generally don't need him to play like that."

Stockton said: "Railley matched Shaw up against Sampson, which looked like a mismatch attacking opportunity. Shaw is too fast, probably the fastest player on both sides."

Xiao Tu possessed the speed of a guard, the height and physical strength of an inside player, and his physical attributes were phenomenal in the 80s. His dribbling skills were unremarkable; he relied on his speed to get past taller opponents.

Sampson garnered immense attention during the 1983 NBA draft and was hailed as a one-of-a-kind number one pick.

Experts describe Sampson as "as agile as a guard" because he is a face-up center who prefers to use perimeter skills on offense. Defensively, his 224cm height and high center of gravity, combined with his slow lateral movement, make him completely unable to keep up with Xiao Tu.

Riley clearly saw in the first quarter that Sampson didn't have much of a mobility advantage when matched up against veteran Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. During team practice, Xiao Tu and Abdul-Jabbar had a one-on-one session; Abdul-Jabbar, who could get past him face-up, started yelling at him.

They often traded blows, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could only gain an advantage by limiting his one-on-one fights to low-post isolation.

The Rockets were on offense, and Xiao Tu tightly marked Sampson outside the paint. Sampson's only advantage was his height; when he received the ball with his back to the basket, he was knocked off his feet and couldn't even stand up properly. When facing the basket with the ball, he had no space to move and couldn't get past him.

Sampson, determined to save face, gritted his teeth and launched a powerful attack, shooting from the right 50-degree angle against Shaw, but his shot missed due to interference. Spriggs grabbed the rebound and passed it to Cooper, and the Lakers launched a three-man fast break.

As soon as Xiao Tu landed, he darted off without pausing. Sampson was stunned and hurriedly ran back after him, the distance between them growing ever wider.

Sampson felt that Xiao Tu was a sprinter and that he couldn't possibly defend him, so he wanted to yell at the coach to quickly find someone else to defend him.

Cooper passed to McGee, who then passed to McAdu, whose layup attempt missed under Peterson's interference. Xiao Tu grabbed the offensive rebound, landed, and immediately bounced up with straight legs for a powerful two-handed dunk! 35-26.

Xiao Tu had been practicing his ability to jump continuously in order to be able to launch a second attack more quickly. Sampson was a step behind him and couldn't block the shot in time.

Xiao Tu gripped the rim with both hands and did a pull-up. After landing, he punched the air and roared, boosting the morale of the Lakers.

Stockton exclaimed, "Another dunk! Shaw's first four baskets today were three dunks, for a total of 9 points and 6 rebounds. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll get another double-double today."

Heinson exclaimed, "He's incredible, even more so than Moses Malone. While Malone also had great jumping ability, he didn't dunk as much; he mostly scored with shots inside the paint."

Stockton laughed and said, "Shaw's first ten games had enough goals to make a highlight reel. 99% of players will never have that many spectacular dunks in their entire career."

This also includes center Moses Malone. Although his teammates say that his head can jump over the rim, no one has ever seen him dunk with his head level with the rim.

Xiao Tu is known for his powerful dunks, often head-on to the rim, which makes Hakeem Olajuwon watch from the sidelines with envy. Entering the league at the same time as such a monster is hardly a good thing.

He also developed the idea of ​​Xiao Tu as his "lifelong rival." If he wanted to win the championship, he would have to get past Xiao Tu in the future.

On offense, the Rockets' perimeter players continued to pass the ball to Sampson as per the coach's tactical plan. His staggered playing time with Olajuwon was intended to allow the second unit to score, ensuring both players had sufficient ball possession.

The result was similar to before: Sampson couldn't shake off Xiao Tu when facing the basket, and he couldn't back down Xiao Tu when backing down. Compared to Xiao Tu, he was too slow and extremely uncomfortable being closely guarded. Sampson forced a turn and shot from the left side towards the middle, but missed due to interference. Xiao Tu landed and immediately turned to box out, securing the defensive rebound. Sampson didn't dare to think too much about missing the offensive rebound and retreated at full speed, fearing the Lakers would launch another fast break.

The media likes to praise Sampson for his mid-range shot and all-around skills. However, his mid-range shooting percentage is inconsistent; he occasionally makes one, but he can't even guarantee a 40% success rate. If he takes a lot of mid-range shots every game, he becomes an inefficient liability, making it easier for opponents to win.

In a parallel universe, Sampson's physical abilities declined, making him a completely different player from his rookie season, with his stats plummeting. By the time he retired, he hadn't mastered his jump shot, unable to utilize his height advantage, and his shooting percentage remained below 40% for several seasons.

To put it bluntly, he's a big guy who relies on his physical advantages to play basketball. Once his physical abilities decline, he's finished; his height is useless.

The Lakers continued to use pick-and-rolls in their half-court offense. McGee's drive failed, so he passed the ball from the left to Xiao Tu on the three-point line. Sampson didn't dare to close out to defend at that distance, leaving Xiao Tu two steps open.

Xiao Tu first adopted a triple threat stance to observe his teammates' positioning, then forcefully dribbled down the right flank. This was the weak side, with only him and Cooper on the side; Cooper had even stepped back beyond the three-point line.

Young players improve very quickly when they have mentors. Xiao Tu watched Johnson play and learned a few practical techniques.

He quickly took two steps to the right corner, switched the ball from his right hand to his left hand and paused. Sampson, who was following closely, also paused and shifted his weight.

Xiao Tu dribbled the ball with his left hand and made a sharp change of direction to the right, successfully beating his opponent with his speed. Seeing someone guarding the basket, he didn't attack the rim but instead stopped and shot at a 45-degree angle.

Xiao Tu not only shook off Sampson, but Rockets' backup power forward Peterson also failed to close the gap. His open jump shot was as easy as in practice, going in off the backboard at a 45-degree angle. 37-26.

Heinson said, "Shaw scored 6 points in the second quarter, and the game turned into his personal offensive show."

Stockton said, "Fitch hasn't called a timeout yet. I guess he doesn't know how to adjust things at this point. Bringing Olajuwon in wouldn't be appropriate; he's only had a short rest, and no one else could stop Shaw."

Heinson said, "Shaughnessy is very flexible and he can play against anyone in a mismatch."

This is Xiao Tu's greatest quality; his playing style is groundbreaking.

The tall ones aren't as fast as me, and the fast ones aren't as strong as me.

The Rockets' perimeter players completed an offensive play. Lucas II dribbled past a teammate's screen and pulled up for a jump shot. Cooper chased down the screen from the inside to contest the shot, but it bounced off the rim, and Xiao Tu grabbed the rebound.

Cooper is no pushover either; he makes an impact as soon as he steps onto the court. Riley usually assigns him to guard perimeter scorers, as he doesn't consider the Rockets' perimeter players particularly formidable.

The Lakers are on offense. Xiao Tu sets a screen and positions himself beyond the three-point line, leaving the paint open. Cooper passes to McAdu, who isolates on the right side against Peterson and makes a hook shot from the baseline. 39-26.

Sampson followed Xiao Tu closely, hesitant to drop back to the basket to protect it. Even if Xiao Tu didn't score, he could still help his teammates. Sampson appeared helpless on the court, unsure of what to do on both ends of the court.

He had a premonition that his evaluation would drop after this game, because he really couldn't handle Xiao Tu, this rookie.

The Rockets were down 8-0, and Coach Fitch felt that things couldn't continue like this, so he called a timeout.

When Xiao Tu left the court, he high-fived his teammates and accepted water and a towel from fringe player Chuck Nevet.

25-year-old, 226cm tall center Nevet always tries to carry Xiao Tu's bag and tries to curry favor with him whenever he has the chance.

Nevet was selected 17th overall in the third round of the 1982 NBA draft by the Rockets, but only played six games for them. He joined the Lakers this season but hasn't had much playing time either; building good relationships with the team's stars is the only way for him to stay.

Riley's favoritism towards Xiao Tu was obvious to everyone, and they all tried their best to get along with him.

Within three years, Xiao Tu's ideas should be able to influence the fate of role players and determine their future.

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(End of this chapter)