Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 140 A Wonderful Life

April 29, 2008, at dawn
The smoke of Game 4 has not yet cleared.

Just last night, after the Hornets won their road game against the Grizzlies and regained home-court advantage in the series, their head coach Byron Scott continued to discuss the officiating.

In fact, the Grizzlies didn't gain any advantage in the officiating last night.

But Scott still said, "You have to 'give them credit' for finding the secret to winning. If I could figure out how home-court advantage works here, I would definitely package it up and sell it to another team in the league."

This is like a hint that he hopes the Hornets, returning to the hive, can gain the same advantage.

In reality, as two small-market teams, the league did not have a strong desire to control this series. The outcome of the series depended more on the teams' performance, while the officiating was determined by the referees' preferences.

However, complaining is always useful.

However, Scott's complaint this time did not cause a stir like it did last time.

Because those forces that control public opinion clearly have more important things to do.

On ESPN’s famous “Page Two” column, an article titled “System Destroyer: Data Reveals How Eli Xu Teared Up a Team’s Chemistry” was prominently featured on the front page.

The author is Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst became a sports reporter in the 90s through the Akron Beacon. Long before LeBron James became the cover star of Sports Illustrated, he was already proclaiming: "There's a kid in Akron named LeBron. He's incredibly skilled and talented. It's only a matter of time before he becomes an NBA player."

In 2003, LeBron James arrived in Cleveland, and Windhorst was hired as a beat reporter for the Cavaliers that same year. A few years later, he was signed as a columnist for ESPN. Although Windhorst has repeatedly denied being "LeBron's man," his voice is widely considered to represent the "LeBron camp."

Today, Windhorst published a lengthy article criticizing Xu Ling, which is not only LeBron's response to all the insults Eli Xu has done to the Kings, but also a rejection of his neutral label.

In his article, Windhorst went all out: "When we talk about the Memphis Grizzlies' amazing playoff run, we always talk about Eli Xu—his arrogance, his three-pointers, his attention-grabbing off-court comments. But the data speaks for itself, revealing a completely different story: a dangerous story about how individual heroism can override team victory."

First, Windhorst put forward the "ball possession black hole" theory.

Windhorst provided a detailed chart comparing usage rate and assist rate. He pointed out with a bright red arrow that Xu Ling's usage rate soared to a staggering 35.2% in Games 2, 3, and 4 of the first round, ranking second among all playoff players, while his assist rate ranked last among all starting guards.

"What does this mean?" Windhorst asked himself in the article, "It means that a large number of Memphis' offensive possessions ended with Eli Xu's inefficient isolation plays. He was like a greedy black hole, swallowing up the ball possession that originally belonged to Jason Kidd, destroying the offensive system that this team relied on in the middle of the season, driven by the future Hall of Fame point guard. Look at Game 4, 31 shots, 34 points, behind the dazzling individual statistics, was the team's complete offensive constipation and the final defeat."

Then comes the "over-defense theory," which completely ignores the facts.

The article was accompanied by a collection of animated GIFs. These were moments when Xu Ling, on the defensive end, selectively left open players like Paul and Peterson in order to help with defense and steals.

The caption below the image reads: "In pursuit of a potential steal, the player being defended was abandoned, resulting in an open shot for the opponent."

Finally, Windhorst discussed Xu Ling's off-field controversies, suspecting that this historically rare superstar might be a morbidly hate-seeking individual who enjoys getting into trouble and being the unpleasant one. He was attacked by fans at almost every away game, but he never seemed unhappy.

He enjoys these moments.

“The phrase ‘Eli Xu is the embodiment of both angel and devil’ is often used to describe Eli, which makes us overlook a crucial fact,” Windhorst wrote at the end of the article. “He was a devil 95% of the time.”

As a media figure trusted by LeBron James, Windhorst's article undoubtedly represents the attitude of James' camp, and this brilliant manifesto sparked heated discussions on the morning of the pivotal Game 5 between the Grizzlies and the Hornets.

Moreover, Windhorst was the first to fire, followed by Nike's massive propaganda machine and media power.

Then, fans can see similar analyses all over ESPN's official website the following day.

Meanwhile, media figures closely associated with Nike followed up on the story.

At the same time, a large number of Twitter accounts, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, once again flooded Xu Ling's feed.

They flooded Xu Ling's recent tweets with comments like "clown," "overrated," and "regular season player." Compared to this external pressure that completely negated all of Xu Ling's achievements to date, the media and fans in New Orleans seemed remarkably composed.

They simply echoed Giannilo Pargo's words.

Even the most outspoken New Orleans media outlets wrote in their preview of Game 5: "Clearly, the Hornets have found a way to beat the Memphis. Game 1 was just a fluke. We will completely defeat them and advance to the semifinals!"

The Grizzlies arrived in New Orleans at 11:00 a.m.

They know what's happening in the outside world.

This is the "advantage" of being on the same team as Xu Ling; once the team loses, Xu Ling is the reason for the defeat.

Meanwhile, Xu Ling, who was at the center of the controversy, calmly boarded the bus with the team and checked into the hotel. He turned on his computer, only to find his Twitter account completely flooded with filthy, spam messages.

This made him a little rebellious.

But then he restrained his urge to lash out, suddenly thought of something, typed a line on Twitter, and sent it.

Then he started refreshing the webpage, and the number of replies to the tweet increased visibly, with hundreds of malicious comments flooding in within minutes.

"Eli, what are you looking at?"

Jarius Jackson was in Xu Ling's room; they had arranged to have lunch together. Xu Ling closed his laptop and said contentedly, "I'm enjoying my wonderful life."

"A good life?"

Jackson was truly impressed by his junior's incredible composure.

Everyone has heard about what happened in the media and online. Jackson is really angry for Xu Ling. Those accusations can't be said to be unfounded, but they can also be considered fabricated out of thin air.

Moreover, these fans, who seem to come from nowhere, are so easily swayed by the crowd.

“Stop looking, let’s go eat,” Jackson said. “I know a good steakhouse nearby.”

“Steak?” Xu Ling said. “This is a food that the doctor advised me to avoid as much as possible. Red meat is the source of evil.”

"Then will you eat?"

"I want to be a little wicked today."

Upon hearing this, Jarius Jackson rolled his eyes the most he'd done all week.

After lunch, they returned to the hotel to rest for a while, and then headed to the training hall on time.

Although the match is tonight, we still need to do our training.

The training session was held at a gym near the hotel, focusing mainly on tactical positioning and maintaining shooting touch, and wasn't very intense. However, the atmosphere was noticeably subdued.

Many reporters outside wanted to interview Xu Ling, but they were all stopped by the coaching staff. The basketball world's judgment on the king-killer came so quickly and so suddenly. Those events were like invisible dark clouds, hanging over everyone's hearts.

If there's anything different about today, it's that Grizzlies president Jerry West arrived in New Orleans dressed casually.

Naturally, West knew what was happening outside.

"It's all bullshit!" Jafaroni complained in front of West. "Those damn reporters are the biggest pests in the sports world!"

West did not respond; instead, his gaze shifted to Xu Ling, who was practicing shooting.

The young man looked no different than usual.

Sometimes, West really felt like he was out of touch with the times because he couldn't understand many of the things Xu Ling did, nor could he understand how the media viewed Xu Ling. Whose problem was it? Who was living in the fog?

In West's view, Xu Ling is a rare player in the contemporary era who does not hide his true feelings. However, the greatest irony of this world is that most people only see players from one perspective, and they firmly believe that what they see is all there is to it.

A genuine person, an honest person, a person who truly shows his whole self to the outside world, has become one of the most misunderstood figures in professional basketball today.

What went wrong?
“There’s no need to worry about Eli,” West said. “He knows how to handle these things.”

Jaffaroni thought so too. Although he had only played one season, Xu Ling had experienced many big events.

Moreover, if someone doesn't respond to fans at all on the field, the media can come up with all sorts of new ways to insult his ancestors, but what can they do?
They should be concerned about other people, such as Josh Howard, who has a documented history of being "suffocated" in big situations.

For example, Jason Kidd, while he's done well so far, is far from meeting the team's expectations. Even if he's no longer on the same level as Paul, he shouldn't be several levels below him. Can he bounce back tonight?
And what about the other teams? They're facing a pivotal Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs, and it's on the road. Plus, the Grizzlies are getting an abnormal amount of attention right now. Will they be crushed by the pressure? Who can perform normally under these circumstances?
The Grizzlies' coaching staff lacked confidence, but they had no choice but to press on.

Two hours later, the Grizzlies took a bus to the Hive.

The next three hours could determine the ultimate fate of two cities and two teams this season.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Eli Xu is not a player, he is a black hole that is devouring the Grizzlies’ future.”

— Chris Sheridan, ESPN reporter

"Let's stop overhyping Eli Xu! His so-called 'all-around' and 'killer instinct' are rapidly evaporating under the intensity of the real playoffs."

— Larry Jackson, ESPN columnist

"The data doesn't lie: when Eli Xu's usage rate is as high as 34%, the Grizzlies are 0-2. Should Eli reflect on his playing style?"

— TNT Basketball Data Analysis Report
"Is Eli Xu a genius, or a delicious poison?"

—A question posed on the front page of today's Associated Press sports section.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
ESPN Breaking News | New Orleans

Just three hours before the pivotal Game 5 between the Grizzlies and Hornets, Memphis rising star Eli Xu, at the center of a media storm, updated his Twitter with a single sentence:

Hate me if you want, I don't care what you think.

(End of this chapter)