Basketball miracles

Chapter 76 [What man in the world is not tempted by beautiful women?]

Unfortunately, the Lakers ultimately failed to break their winning streak.

They didn't lose to their opponents, but to the flu. Magic Johnson's absence due to the flu significantly weakened the Lakers' perimeter shooting.

The coaching staff did not dare to risk letting Johnson continue playing in the regular season, so they arranged for him to take a break and stay at home to recover.

The flu in the United States can be fatal and is highly contagious. Johnson cannot participate in team training until he recovers. This is no small matter; if he infects his teammates, the Lakers' excellent situation could be completely ruined.

Pat Riley was furious. Johnson was the only one on the team with a cold, which he obviously caught outside. Most likely, it happened while Johnson was out partying and celebrating the victory with women.

The proverb "lust is a knife above one's head" perfectly describes Johnson's situation.

Johnson couldn't help it; it's just his nature.

Riley criticized Johnson, and he confidently contributed the English version of the meme "What man in the world doesn't lust after a beautiful woman?"
Upon receiving news of Johnson's absence, Xiao Tu had a premonition that things were going to go wrong, and that his first career loss was likely imminent. This was because the Lakers had a difficult schedule, facing a formidable opponent.

Without Johnson's playmaking, the Lakers' offense became less fluid. In Game 23, the Lakers narrowly lost to the Bucks 105-107 on the road.

Bucks coach Don Nelson employed a novel tactical approach in this game. He deployed three perimeter players as the primary scorers, while the interior players were responsible for spacing and setting screens, reducing their shot attempts and focusing their energy on defense to try and trade blows with the Lakers' star interior players.

肖途依旧砍下了21分15篮板2助攻2盖帽的两双数据，表现好过特里-卡明斯。贾巴尔24分7篮板3助攻，打爆了雄鹿中锋阿尔顿-李斯特。

However, the Lakers' perimeter players collectively missed their shots, and the Bucks' outside shooting exploded.

Sidney Moncrief and Paul Plessy delivered outstanding performances, excelling on both offense and defense, and were key to the Bucks' victory. The 191cm Moncrief scored 22 points, including a game-winning shot over Michael Cooper's defense.

The Lakers' biggest highlight in this game was Coach Riley's tactical arrangements in crucial moments. With 5.2 seconds left for the final possession, Riley chose to trust Xiao Tu and aggressively executed a three-point play.

In the past, the Lakers have relied on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, their most accurate shooter, for crucial shots. Today, even if Abdul-Jabbar makes the shot, it will still go into overtime, and his shooting percentage is not high when he catches the ball hastily, so he needs time to find his rhythm.

Xiao Tu first set a screen to help Byron Scott receive the ball, then ran to the right corner and successfully received a pass from his teammate, launching a buzzer-beating pull-up jumper. He avoided the block by Bucks' star center Cummings, but the ball bounced off the rim due to interference.

Xiao Tu's jump shot startled the Bucks, and no one on the Lakers blamed him for missing the shot after the game.

Riley's tactics have worked, and Xiao Tu executed them well, just lacking a bit of luck. If he makes the game-winning shot, he'll be the Lakers' hero.

After the loss, Xiao Tu felt that he was not strong enough and his weaknesses were obvious. His shooting ability was not top-notch, and his three-point shooting percentage was only guaranteed in the right corner and the middle. He was not confident in his open shots from other positions.

He doesn't shoot many corner three-pointers in games. He can only be considered a true top three-point shooter when he can shoot over 40% even when facing the defense.

Furthermore, his offensive repertoire with the ball is too limited. The Euro step isn't a regular weapon; he can only use it occasionally on fast breaks. With Johnson out today, and his teammates' passing timing not being good enough, he couldn't use it.

Of course, Xiao Tu is only in his rookie season, and he has already done a great job to achieve this level. Losing is not shameful.

He had already come to terms with it when he returned to the locker room; losing a regular season game wasn't a big deal.

The Bucks, ranked second in the Eastern Conference, were thrilled to win a regular season game against the Lakers with home-court advantage. After the game, the three star players gave a lengthy interview, sharing a wealth of thoughts.

The Lakers' strength was evident in the excitement of the three players. This was only the Lakers' first loss of the season, and a quarter of the season has already passed.

Moreover, the Lakers' winning streak was ended when their key perimeter player was absent, and their offense was much stronger when Magic Johnson was on the court.

After the match, Xiao Tu received some good news.

He still received a Black Iron Chest reward despite losing the match. This means he'll get a reward as long as he plays more than 15 minutes in an official match, although the reward will be one level lower. It's better than nothing, a reward is good enough.

On the way back to Los Angeles, Xiao Tu opened the Black Iron Treasure Chest. The reward was a pack of six lollipops, which were said to help people quit smoking. He didn't plan to take them out for now, intending to give them to someone with a smoking addiction to try later.

To Xiao Tu's surprise, his popularity actually increased after missing the game-winning shot. The media continued to praise him, believing that being assigned to shoot the game-winner demonstrated his status within the team.

The media has started comparing Xiao Tu to last season's double MVP, Larry Bird. Bird, also a power forward, set a new career high in scoring this season.

People are curious to know if, if the two were to face off, would Bird use his skills to thoroughly dominate Xiao Tu, or would he, like other power forwards, be physically overwhelmed by Xiao Tu?

Unfortunately, the two teams are still a long way off, with the Lakers and Celtics playing each other home and away games after the All-Star Weekend.

They might have a chance to face off in the All-Star Game, depending on how the coach arranges it.

Xiao Tu wasn't affected by the loss; it was Jennifer Connelly's birthday. He went to meet her with Madonna, had dinner with Jennifer, and even bought her a birthday cake as a gift.

For a minor's birthday, it's not appropriate to buy expensive gifts; a cake would be more suitable.

As they were leaving, Xiao Tu noticed Madonna's outfit and specifically asked, "Are you going to wear this?"

"What, is that not allowed?" Madonna felt that since she was having dinner with children, there was no need to dress formally.

She only cares about her appearance when attending events; otherwise, she prioritizes comfort, often opting for jeans, casual wear, and flat shoes.

Xiao Tu smiled and said, "Okay, but I suggest you wear high heels."

"I'm not going to wear it. No matter what I wear, I'll still look shorter next to you. High heels are uncomfortable."

"But……"

"Let's go, why are you being so long-winded today?"

The two arrived at the agreed location on time. They were having Chinese food today, at the same restaurant Xiao Tu had taken Jennifer to before. Americans almost universally prefer sweet and sour flavors, and Madonna had no objections.

Jennifer didn't come alone; she was accompanied by a blonde girl named Grace Adams. This girl was of average appearance, about 160cm tall, and was a new friend she had made at school.

Grace is a Lakers fan and follows the team closely. She and Jennifer talk about Xiao Tu all the time. They get along well, and Jennifer, a little vain and wanting to show off, brought Grace along.

The little girl's jaw nearly dropped when she saw Xiao Tu and Madonna. She rubbed her eyes and twisted herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, then screamed.

Madonna's smile looked a little awkward, as if she wondered if she shouldn't have come at all.

She smiled outwardly, but inwardly she was screaming: Is this really 14 years old? And she just turned 14 today?
Madonna is one of the biggest female celebrities, and most of the conversation during the meal revolved around her. However, she wasn't happy, sensing that Jennifer would become a huge threat.

A woman's intuition can be incredibly accurate. Jennifer was very happy that night, her gaze constantly fixed on Xiao Tu. This was clearly how a girl behaves during her first love, with no one else in her sight.

Jennifer is indeed very young, but Madonna's headache is that Xiao Tu is also quite young. Xiao Tu is more than 7 years younger than her and 5 years younger than Jennifer, while she is exactly ten years older than Jennifer.

Xiao Tu and she are together now and get along very well. What about in 5 years?
Madonna admitted that Jennifer is a natural beauty, looking like this at 14 years old, with a broad mind. What will she be like in the future?

Even someone as narcissistic as Madonna felt threatened in Jennifer's presence. Fortunately, Xiao Tu's gaze was mostly on her, which made her feel a little more comfortable.

Xiao Tu noticed that Madonna was distracted and even leaned close to Jennifer to sniff her, but didn't say anything.

I told you to dress nicely before going out, but you wouldn't listen. You're probably upset because your appearance can't compare to Jennifer's.
Was she trying to smell if Jennifer had the scent of special shower gel? She suspects I also gave Jennifer a nice gift.

So she gets jealous and insecure sometimes, that's rare.

Wait a minute... She cares about me so much, doesn't this seem like true love?
In Xiao Tu's memory, Madonna had always been a narcissist, but she was acting a bit strangely today.

(End of this chapter)