Chapter 79: The Holy Infant’s Visit
The season continues, and the Grizzlies’ goal remains very clear: to secure a playoffs spot in the fiercely competitive Western Conference.
This sounds like a pipe dream, but their winning percentage has steadily stayed above 50%. As long as they keep pushing forward, hope is not out of reach.
With Rudy Gay sidelined, the Grizzlies had to temporarily push Xu Ling to the small forward position. With his 1.98-meter barefoot height and 2.12-meter wingspan, he’s still qualified at small forward, but it has thrust him into a more direct, more brutal muscle jungle.
Xu Ling has had other wonderful nights: dropping 30 points against the Raptors, scoring 32 against the Jazz, and grabbing 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists for a near triple-double against the Timberwolves.
But he has also endured agonizing moments.
Especially in the second matchup against the Spurs. The silver-and-black army at home no longer let Xu Ling lead them by the nose like in the opener. They laid a dragnet targeting his shooting hot zones, passing habits, and his driving style that relies more on rhythm than pure explosiveness.
Bruce Bowen’s shadowing bite and Tim Duncan’s sky-blocking net inside left Xu Ling in a thoroughly black game. He bricked shots all night, and the team swallowed a 22-point defeat.
And this was merely the beginning of yet another losing streak.
Then came the away game in Houston, where Yao Ming showed no mercy against his compatriot. Facing the now tanking Paul Gasol, who was content with 15 points and 7 rebounds per game, Yao Ming delivered a crushing performance he would never show against him on the FIBA court.
36 points, 18 rebounds, 7 blocks—the little giant was tonight a yellow-skinned Shaquille O’Neal.
After the game, before the sweat was even wiped off, Yao Ming walked up to Xu Ling. His massive frame carried immense pressure, but his face bore a kind smile.
“Good game,” Yao Ming extended his big hand. “Just don’t keep trying to challenge me inside next time—you’re still too green.”
Xu Ling was at a loss for words; his shooting rhythm had been disrupted by Battier all night, so he tried more drives, only to run into the league’s best rim protector.
Xu Ling could only say helplessly: “Next time you come to our home court, I’ll make sure to ‘entertain’ you properly.”
“That won’t do—you’ll still miss shots like tonight.” Yao Ming laughed, then lowered his voice. “You’ve been in a lot of news lately—don’t take it to heart. Playing your own game well is more important than anything.”
Xu Ling nodded. That one phrase “playing your own game well” said it all.
Though he’s been consecutively targeted by teams with strong outside and inside players, this is also the path every star must tread.
Moreover, the treatment Xu Ling is currently receiving is that of an established star, because opponents believe that if he gets going from the start, the Grizzlies become a very tough team to beat.
Therefore, he faces heavy attention almost every game. However, this targeting doesn’t always succeed.
Days later, Xu Ling visited Washington to challenge the Wizards, ushering in a full rebound in form.
Despite the Wizards having a tough guy like Caron Butler guarding him all game, Xu Ling’s crisp pull-up jump shots off pick and rolls that night were stunningly efficient. Washington’s defense was helpless against it. Butler could score on individual ability, but he was clearly a step behind in organization and elevating the team.
In the end, Xu Ling put up 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists away from home, leading the Grizzlies to successfully end their losing streak.
After the game, 《Washington Post》 reporter Michael Smith asked: “You’ve faced very targeted defense in the past few games—how did you adjust and rebound tonight?”
Xu Ling answered straightforwardly: “That’s how games are—you’ve got to find ways to score and help the team win.”
The reporter followed up: “November is about to end, and the mid-season trade window opens on December 5th. Are you expecting a trade to happen?”
“Why not?” Xu Ling instantly turned into the straight-talking boy. “Let it happen.”
Days later, the Grizzlies returned home for their final November game.
The opponent was the Trail Blazers, their second matchup, but the home Grizzlies seemed to flip a switch—everyone fought hard. Xu Ling barely had to force it; he wasn’t exactly slacking off, but at least he perfectly blended into the team’s smooth operation like impersonating Kuroko Tetsuya, with a low-key yet efficient presence. In a game they led by double digits throughout, he lightly scored 14 points before sitting out early to rest.
In the end, the Grizzlies capped November with a team victory, advancing into December with a 12-8 record.
Looking back at the first 20 games of the season, Xu Ling averaged 37 minutes, delivering comprehensive stats of 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Even more astonishing, he lifted a team infinitely doubted before the season all the way to Western Conference Eighth. This is quietly changing the outside world’s evaluation of him.
Many basketball experts point out that Xu Ling’s performance may be the most influential rookie showing since Tim Duncan.
As the Grizzlies ended November as Western Conference Eighth, national sports media’s perception of Xu Ling quietly saw a rational correction. After the initial shock and opposition, undeniable records and stats began to speak, forcing many commentators to readjust their narratives.
ESPN senior columnist Marc Stein, in his weekly “Power Rankings” column, typically represented this complex, subtle shift: “Let’s set aside Eli Xu’s post-game ‘inappropriate remarks,’ his well-known unpleasantness with a certain ex-teammate, and those post-game comments that would give any PR team a heart attack—for now—simply because his on-court performance leaves us little choice but to include him in the ‘Rookie of the Month’（and quite possibly ‘Rookie of the Year’） discussion.”
Also from ESPN, and a well-known top Xu Ling skeptic Chris Sheridan, had no choice but to write in a Memphis fans’ hate mail: “A harsh reality is that the Memphis Grizzlies’ current record is built on completely isolating and sacrificing Rudy Gay—a young genius they once promised to build around. Eli’s excellence highlights management’s mistakes and the locker room’s past chaos. He has proven himself an extraordinary player, but does that equate to a qualified leader? Time will tell. Victories can cover many issues, but they don’t answer all questions.”
Soon after, more experts joined this early public trial surrounding the controversial team.
The outcome: aside from Rudy Gay, no one needed to be hanged.
The Grizzlies’ record seemed to prove that Gay was indeed their biggest problem.
Thus, another question arose: “How will Jerry West handle Paul Gasol and Rudy Gay, and how will trades around these two impact the Grizzlies’ Eli era?”
However, there has been no insider disclosure on progress for trades involving these two.
Some suspect West isn’t pushing trades at all.
But that makes no sense—the Grizzlies have no reason to keep someone who’s decided to leave and someone who must leave.
West is waiting.
He is indeed waiting—not to mention the trade window hasn’t opened yet, the hottest trade rumor right now is still focused on Kobe.
Since Kobe expressed his desire to be traded after last season, this soap opera has dragged on for over five months without an end in sight.
The team actively negotiating now—the Chicago Bulls—has repeatedly claimed progress, but these have been unilaterally rejected by the trade initiator, Kobe（you read that right）.
The situation is this: Kobe wants out, but not to a team that bankrupts itself for him. Leaving the Lakers is to avoid jail; if leaving California’s big stage means entering another prison, what’s the point of all this?
So, after Kobe rejected multiple Bulls proposals tempting to the Lakers, things got awkward.
The Bulls couldn’t help but wonder: Is Mr. Bryant playing us? Are we just pawns in the tug-of-war between him and the Lakers? Do you really want to marry Chicago or not?
This has not only made the whole league a laughingstock, even Xu Ling far away in Memphis wants to know how this drama ends.
He knows about the 2008 Lakers’ heist for big Gasol—though later adding little Gasol who grew into an All-Star made it look less lopsided, at the time, if you were a contending team’s head coach seeing the Lakers swap some nobodies for a healthy All-Star big man, you’d curse out Chris Wallace’s mom and maliciously wonder if there was some shady deal between the teams.
But Xu Ling knows that trade won’t happen.
Because this butterfly landed in Memphis.
No matter who pushed that trade in his previous life, no one can make the same decision now.
So now there’s the biggest suspense for Xu Ling: if the Lakers really can’t bolster their roster, if they truly can’t get an All-Star to placate Kobe while keeping their core, will Kobe Bryant—the lifelong Laker who “true Lakers don’t need recruiting”—really get traded?
One day later
Another visitor lands in Memphis.
They are the Seattle SuperSonics.
This is a team already set to relocate and rebrand next season.
The SuperSonics’ decades-long history is about to end, but their superstar rookie Kevin Durant has other troubles.
There’s a bunch of reporters outside, but he must grab his backpack and stand before them pure as the Holy Infant from legend—to smile, show friendliness, then listen to their bullshit questions.
“KD, what do you think of your Rookie of the Year battle with Eli?”
All such bullshit questions!
Durant forced a dry smile: “Oh, that’s great. Eli has put up incredible performances—I have a lot of respect for him. We’re both working hard to help our teams—that’s what matters most. As for Rookie of the Year, that’s more for the media and fans; I just focus on improving every day and becoming a better player.”
