Chapter 131: The Concrete Has Dried
After Xu Ling left, he recalled his time at TTU. Although brief, those were absolutely cherished memories.
Time truly has a unique power that can beautify most bad memories and preserve the most beautiful moments.
Moreover, Xu Ling indeed left an indelible mark at Texas Tech University.
Xu Ling’s reminiscence lasted for a while, but ultimately, he needed to return to reality, just as Knight said, to do what needed to be done.
Moreover, he really did have things to do, right there in Texas.
Xu Ling took the private jet arranged by Adidas to fly to Space City—this was interesting too. When Xu Ling said he wanted to skip a training session to attend Bob Knight’s retirement press conference, the team had no objections; the only issue was how to get there.
Then, Roderick Craig mentioned it to Adidas, and they reacted quickly, immediately arranging it.
Coincidentally, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, who had only met Xu Ling once, also wanted to send his cash cow to Lubbock on his own private jet.
Although this boss’s proactive flattery surprised Xu Ling, he still chose Adidas.
That night, the Grizzlies played an away game against the Rockets.
With their previous 22-game winning streak, the Rockets, like those teachers who shoot a ton of videos to cash in before retiring, had firmly locked in fourth place in the Western Conference. Unless they suffered a five-game losing streak at the end, their playoff spot was secure.
But that didn’t mean the Rockets were truly a top-four Western Conference team.
After all, they had lost Yao Ming. Even when Yao Ming was playing, it was hard to say they were a top-four Western Conference team. That’s the legend of that winning streak—a team whose ceiling was obvious suddenly surpassed its limits.
That night, Toyota Center was packed.
Xu Ling was warming up, but he didn’t seem very focused.
Trevor Ariza walked over with two bottles of water and handed him one.
“Still thinking about Coach Knight?” Ariza asked.
Xu Ling took the water, drank a sip, and shook his head: “Not entirely. Just thinking, sometimes does the end of one era mean another must begin even more difficultly?”
Ariza wasn’t Xu Ling; he had never had his own era.
“Don’t think too much, Eli. Play the game in front of us well. We all need you like Texas Tech needed you in last year’s NCAA Championship.”
“You’re right, T.A.” Xu Ling nodded. “We need to play the game in front of us well.”
At that moment, the Rockets players also began entering the court one after another to warm up.
Leading them was Tracy McGrady, still with that sleepy-eyed look, but when he picked up the basketball, his innate elegance and talent were on full display.
After Yao Ming’s injury, the Rockets were essentially a one-star team, yet they were still ranked fourth in the West. This was absolutely an unexpected performance.
As fellow Adidas star, McGrady had neither fondness nor dislike for Xu Ling. Like many, he was tired of Xu Ling living in the headlines, but not to the point of harboring malice over it.
McGrady warmed up casually, looking extremely relaxed.
Xu Ling, on the other hand, was on high alert. The Grizzlies were currently only eighth in the West, with teams behind them chasing closely. They had no margin for error; losing a game they shouldn’t could doom the entire season’s efforts.
At the start of the game, McGrady was on fire, hitting consecutive high-difficulty jump shots.
Shane Battier used his bubblegum defense to hound Xu Ling, determined to lock down this superstar rookie stealing all the spotlight.
However, the Grizzlies were prepared for this. Kidd perfectly controlled the rhythm. He didn’t force plays to Xu Ling to break it open but kept using pick and rolls to cleverly move the Rockets’ bigs, giving Milicic and Warrick frequent chances at the basket.
Xu Ling strictly executed the game plan, reducing forced shots and focusing more on off-ball movement to create space, while putting heavy effort into help defense and rotations on defense.
After the first quarter, the score was tight, with the Rockets leading the Grizzlies 25-24 by 1 point.
In the second quarter, both teams subbed in bench lineups. Ariza and Lowry became the duo to break the game open—one with tough defense, the other with ferocious driving—effectively stifling the Rockets’ offense and defense, overtaking the lead before the starters returned, and extending it to 6 points.
Then, Xu Ling found his scoring rhythm, dropping 7 straight points to solidify the halftime advantage.
At halftime, the Grizzlies led the Rockets 54-41 by 13 points.
This was the Grizzlies’ favorite rhythm. When they didn’t have to rely entirely on Xu Ling’s scoring but ignited the whole team’s firepower under Kidd’s drive, Xu Ling could play very easily.
The Rockets mistakenly put their key wing defender（ Battier） on Xu Ling.
While this limited Xu Ling early, once the Grizzlies’ other spots got hot, the restrictions on him would instantly weaken, and Battier couldn’t lock him down all game.
He could attack at any time.
In the second half, the Rockets showed no top-four Western Conference level on either end; they were still reeling from post-epic-win-streak withdrawal.
Facing the aggressive Grizzlies, they trailed by 20 before the third quarter ended and barely hung on in the fourth before surrendering.
The Grizzlies secured a key road positioning victory.
The next day, the Grizzlies faced the defending champion Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back. The defending champions’ stability and maturity were incomparable to the Rockets.
The Grizzlies hung tough until the final minutes, then a few turnovers caused a late collapse.
The Grizzlies returned home satisfied. Though the top-eight spot wasn’t secure, in the West, no one outside the top few teams could claim they were safe.
Still, the Grizzlies had reasons for optimism.
For example, after the tough Texas back-to-back road trip, there were no more seemingly tough opponents left on the schedule.
A day later, they beat the Los Angeles Clippers at home.
At the same time, the Warriors lost to the Western Conference 11th-seeded Lakers, falling a game back.
Don’t think one game doesn’t matter; at season’s end, one game can be a world of difference.
Then, the Grizzlies crushed the Minnesota Timberwolves at home.
Even just a regular season game, this derby drew attention from countless Chinese fans across the ocean. Despite the Timberwolves’ lack of strength, Tai Kong Yi found his touch that night for a team-high 24 points, while Xu Ling dropped 30 for the win.
After the game, Xu Ling greeted Yi in Cantonese: “Ah Ling, long time no see. You shot well tonight, almost blew us out.”
Yi smiled a bit shyly and replied: “Don’t tease me lah, congrats on the win.”
Xu Ling knew this guy was the type who didn’t talk much. Though some Taiwanese blacks said he was fun off-court, better not dig into private stuff, so he said: “Keep the form, see you on the national team.”
Hearing this, Yi looked at Xu Ling in surprise: “Really can meet?”
Though Xu Ling had repeatedly stated willingness to represent the mainland, the basketball association was still processing it, unsure if it would go through.
Still, Xu Ling believed under the grand vision of the men’s big three ball teams medaling at the Capital Olympic Games, the association would pull out all stops to make it happen.
“Really will.” Xu Ling said finally.
The streaking Grizzlies not only widened their game lead over ninth and tenth but further threatened the Utah Jazz’s sixth-place spot in the West.
The Jazz currently led the Grizzlies by just one game, and in their prior two meetings, the Grizzlies swept. If records tied, the Grizzlies would jump to sixth.
From a playoff strategy view, Western sixth and seventh weren’t much different in pros or cons.
The Mavericks, gunning for 60 wins, were locked for first in the conference—whoever drew them would be unlucky. In a West with so many twists and fierce competition, returning to the playoffs after a year could count as a rebuild success, but who wouldn’t want to climb higher?
Two days later, they hosted the Western Conference seventh Golden State Warriors at home; this game’s winner would swap rankings.
Who was tonight’s key man?
Josh Howard!
This veteran forward was feeling it down the stretch, locking the wing on defense tonight while dropping 24 on isolation plays. With help at the three, Xu Ling easily got 26, Kidd notched a triple-double—this might be the Grizzlies’ most classic win formula post-four-way trade.
Xu Ling and Howard combined for the scoring, Kidd with the triple-double, other teammates sipping the soup—winning can be that easy sometimes.
Beating the Warriors in that key positioning game seemed to open the Grizzlies’ meridians. After that, they rode the momentum, taking down the Pacers and Clippers—neither powerhouses—extending the streak to five. Meanwhile, the Warriors sank into losses, and the Nuggets reclaimed the top eight.
The Grizzlies solidly held Western seventh, with playoff tickets firmly in hand.
Of course, theoretical risks remained—like going winless from now on. Not impossible, but odds about equal to Kim Kardashian’s hymen regenerating.
The Grizzlies ultimately gave the chasers no chance.
And the season’s end was approaching.
April 15
The 50-31 Grizzlies headed to their final road game—New York.
This was the last regular season game, against the desperate Knicks, who at 22-59 ranked second-to-last in the East.
This would be their seventh straight disastrous outcome, like the world-ending prophecy《 in the Bible》—clearly avoidable, yet unavoidable. Their owner, the playboy with the cable TV empire, rarely showed up anymore, not wanting to see his $9 million salaried slimming center, $13 million nightclub grave-jumping power forward bickering on court, or the $20 million prodigal guard in endless feud with the $6 million head coach once as close as his father.
This was the NBA’s biggest market, most likely to forge legends, but suddenly everyone wanted to flee.
Except Isiah Thomas.
Last year at this time, for coaching “capable”—turning 23 wins into 33—James Dolan happily saw Isiah as New York’s revival hope, giving him a 4-year $24 million extension. Ink barely dry, Thomas faced a sexual harassment lawsuit, hacking another $10 million settlement from Dolan.
A year later, the Knicks were back to square one.
No, a step back from pre-Thomas—they now had only 22 wins, and little hope of winning tonight.
When Thomas saw Xu Ling go off in the season finale, he couldn’t help resenting Grizzlies president Jerry West. Why? Why wouldn’t that old bastard approve the trade? A guy like Eli Xu was born for a big market like New York!
What could Memphis give him?
With the guys he got for Eli, could they win a championship?
Thomas fumed; he was the first to recognize Xu Ling’s value, but a mistake years ago cost New York any shot at him.
That night, no miracle; the Knicks lost the season finale in a blowout.
Xu Ling closed the regular season with 30 points on 60% shooting, ending his rookie year at 25 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5 assists per game.
The Grizzlies entered the playoffs with 51 wins, reversing the Grizzlies’ fate.
And Thomas watched it happen, pretending his New York era wasn’t over, strolling courtside to tell an ESPN reporter about the future: “We need to build a culture here, a foundation. The guy who pours the concrete might never live in that pretty house.”
This was classic Isiah Thomas arrogance.
He said the nonsense earnestly, voice soft, but core empty.
But that had nothing to do with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies were entering the next chapter.
The playoffs.
This was their first playoff trip in the post-Pau Gasol era.
If Pau Gasol’s years could be called an era.
