Chapter 140: A Wonderful Life
April 29, 2008, at dawn
The smoke from Game 4 had not yet cleared.
Just last night, after the Hornets won the away game against the Grizzlies and regained home court advantage in the series, their head coach Byron Scott continued to talk about the officiating.
Actually, in last night’s game, the Grizzlies did not gain any advantage from the officiating.
But Scott still said: “You have to ‘praise’ them for finding the secret to winning. If I could figure out how home court advantage works here, I’d package it up and sell it to other league teams.”
This was like a hint that he hoped the Hornets, back in the Hive, could get the same advantage.
Actually, as two small-market teams, the league’s control over this series was not strong; the direction of the series depended more on the teams’ performance, while officiating issues were decided by the referees’ preferences.
But complaining is always useful.
However, Scott’s complaint this time did not cause the same uproar as the last one.
Because the forces that dominate public opinion clearly had more important things to do.
On ESPN’s famous “Page 2” writer column, an article titled 《System Destroyer: Data Reveals How Eli Xu Tears Apart a Team’s Chemistry》 was prominently featured as the homepage headline.
The author was Brian Windhorst（Brian Windhorst）.
Windhorst became a sports reporter in the 90s through the 《Akron Beacon Journal》, and even before LeBron James became the 《Sports Illustrated》 cover figure, he was already proclaiming everywhere: “There’s a kid named LeBron in Akron who’s technically proficient, exceptionally talented, and becoming an NBA player is just a matter of time.”
In 2003, the Chosen One arrived in Cleveland, and Windhorst was hired as the Cavaliers’ beat reporter in the same year. A few years later, he was signed by ESPN as a columnist. Although Windhorst has repeatedly denied being “LeBron’s man,” his voice is widely considered the voice of LeBron James’s camp.
Today, Windhorst’s long article attacking Xu Ling was both a response on behalf of LeBron to Eli Xu’s insults against the Kings and a tearing off of his own neutral label.
Windhorst went all out in the article: “When we talk about the Grizzlies’ surprising playoff run, we’re always talking about Eli Xu—his arrogance, his three-pointers, his attention-grabbing off-court comments. But data is a blunt and honest language, and it reveals a starkly different story: a dangerous one about how individual heroism overrides team victory.”
First, Windhorst threw out the “possession black hole” theory.
Windhorst listed detailed “usage rate” and “assist rate” comparison charts. With bright red arrows, he pointed out that Xu Ling’s usage rate in the first round G2, G3, and G4 skyrocketed to a staggering 35.2%, ranking second among all playoff players, while his assist rate ranked near the bottom among all starting guards.
“What does this mean?” Windhorst asked and answered in the article. “It means a large number of Memphis offensive possessions end in Eli Xu’s inefficient isolation plays. He’s like a greedy black hole, devouring possessions that originally belonged to Jason Kidd and destroying the offense system driven by the future Hall of Fame point guard that this team relied on in the mid-season. Look at G4: 31 shots, 34 points. Behind the flashy individual stats was the team’s complete offensive constipation and ultimate loss.”
Then came the “over-defense theory” that completely ignored the facts.
The article featured a dynamic GIF collection. It showed moments of Xu Ling selectively leaving his man Pau, Peterson, and others open on defense to help and steal.
The caption below the images read: “For a possible steal, he abandons his defensive assignment, giving the opponent an open shot opportunity.”
Finally, Windhorst discussed Xu Ling’s off-court controversies, suspecting that this historically rare superstar rookie might be a pathological hate-enjoyer who likes getting into trouble, likes being the unpleasant one, who is booed by fans in nearly every away game but never shows unhappiness.
He enjoys these moments.
“Eli Xu is the incarnation of angel and devil—this phrase is always used for Eli, making us overlook a fact,” Windhorst wrote at the end of the article. “He’s a devil 95% of the time.”
As a media person trusted by LeBron James, Windhorst’s article undoubtedly represented the attitude of LeBron James’s camp, and this brilliant manifesto sparked heated discussion outside on the morning of the Grizzlies-Hornets Game 5.
Moreover, Windhorst was the first to fire, followed by Nike’s massive publicity machine and media power.
Then, fans could see such analyses all over ESPN’s official website the next day.
Meanwhile, media people close to Nike followed suit.
At the same time, a large number of Twitter accounts from who-knows-where once again flooded Xu Ling.
They mass-replied under Xu Ling’s recent tweets with “clown,” “overrated,” “regular season player.” Compared to this external pressure that outright denied all of Xu Ling’s achievements so far, the New Orleans media and fans seemed mild and clear-eyed.
They simply echoed Jannero Pargo’s words.
The wildest New Orleans media only wrote in the Game 5 preview: “Clearly, the Hornets have found the way to beat the Memphis men. Game 1 was just a fluke; we will thoroughly defeat them and advance to the semifinals!”
The Grizzlies arrived in New Orleans at 11 a.m.
They knew what was happening outside.
This was the “benefit” of being teammates with Xu Ling: once they lose, Xu Ling is the reason for failure.
And Xu Ling, at the center of public opinion, calmly got on the bus with the team and checked into the hotel. He opened his computer, and his Twitter account was already completely flooded with filthy spam messages.
This gave him a bit of rebellious psychology.
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 page; the reply speed to that tweet visibly rose, and within minutes, it was flooded with hundreds of vicious comments.
“Eli, what are you looking at?”
Julius Jackson was in Xu Ling’s room; they had agreed to go to lunch together.
Xu Ling closed his computer and said contentedly: “I’m appreciating my wonderful life.”
“Wonderful life?”
Jackson was impressed by this underclassman’s big heart.
Everyone had heard about what happened in the media and online; Jackson was really angry for Xu Ling—those accusations couldn’t be called baseless, but they were fabricated.
Moreover, these fans from who-knows-where were so easily led by the rhythm.
“Stop looking; let’s go eat.” Jackson said, “I know a good steakhouse nearby.”
“Steak?” Xu Ling said. “That’s food the doctor suggested I avoid as much as possible; red meat is the source of evil.”
“So will you eat it?”
“I want to be evil today.”
Hearing this, Julius Jackson rolled the biggest white-eye of the week.
After lunch, they returned to the hotel to rest, then headed to the training hall on time.
Although there was a game tonight, the necessary training couldn’t be skipped.
The practice was held in a gym near the hotel, mainly focused on tactical off-ball movement and maintaining touch, not high intensity. But the atmosphere was noticeably subdued.
There were many reporters outside wanting to interview Xu Ling, but they were all blocked by the coaching staff. The basketball world’s judgment on the Regicide came so quickly and suddenly that those things hung like invisible dark clouds over everyone’s hearts.
If there was anything different today from usual, it was that the Grizzlies’ president Jerry West had come to New Orleans in casual clothes.
Naturally, West knew what was happening outside.
“It’s all bullshit!” Iavaroni complained in front of West. “These damn reporters are the biggest pests in sports!”
West didn’t respond; his gaze shifted to Xu Ling, who was doing shooting training.
The young man looked no different from usual.
Sometimes, West really felt out of touch with the times because he couldn’t understand many things Xu Ling did or how the media viewed Xu Ling. Whose problem was it? Who was living in the fog?
In West’s view, Xu Ling was one of the rare contemporary players who didn’t hide his true self, but the world’s biggest irony was that people mostly only see players from one angle, and they firmly believe that’s the whole picture.
A real person, an authentic person who truly shows his entirety to the world, yet becomes the most misunderstood person in today’s professional basketball.
Where exactly was the problem?
“No need to worry about Eli,” West said. “He knows how to handle these things.”
Iavaroni thought so too; although it was only one season, Xu Ling had been through many big scenes.
Moreover, a player who doesn’t respond to fans on the court at all—what could the media do even if they cursed his ancestors 18 generations with new tricks?
They should be concerned about others, like Josh Howard, who has a record of “choking” in big moments.
Like Jason Kidd; although he’s done well so far, he’s far from team expectations. Even if he’s no longer at Pau’s level, he shouldn’t be several tiers below. Can he bounce back tonight?
And others: reaching Game 5 in the first round of playoffs, on the road, with the completely abnormal attention the Grizzlies are getting now—will they be crushed by the pressure? Who can perform normally in this situation?
The Grizzlies’ coaching staff had no confidence, but they could only push forward.
Two hours later, the Grizzlies took the bus to the Hive.
The next three hours might decide the final destiny of two cities and two teams this season.
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“Eli Xu is not a player; he’s a black hole devouring the Grizzlies’ future.”
—— ESPN reporter Chris Sheridan
“Let’s stop the excessive hype of Eli Xu! Under true playoff intensity, his so-called ‘versatility’ and ‘killer instinct’ are rapidly evaporating.”
—— ESPN columnist Larry Jackson
“Data doesn’t lie: When Eli Xu’s usage rate hits 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?”
——《Associated Press》 today’s sports edition front-page question
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ESPN latest news | New Orleans
Three hours before the tip-off of the Grizzlies-Hornets Game 5, Memphis star Eli Xu, at the center of the public opinion vortex, updated his Twitter with just one sentence:
“Hate me; I don’t care about your opinions.”
