Chapter 96: Especially Stronger Than Lebron
The Jazz are far from a weak team. In fact, they have just ushered in the peak of the post-Karl Malone era—the previous season, they not only became a nightmare for Rockets fans in the first round, but also advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals, ultimately falling to the Spurs.
Before the season started, they were widely seen as strong contenders for a top-four spot in the Western Conference. Although their record so far has not met expectations, they remain a strong team solidly locked into a playoff spot.
In the previous matchup, the Grizzlies narrowly defeated the Jazz thanks to outstanding performances from Xu Ling and Pau Gasol. But this time, Gasol has boarded a flight to Los Angeles, and his replacement is also unable to play in this game. Xu Ling has to lead the team alone against the fully intact Jazz lineup.
The game has not yet started, and Deron Williams, who is on par with Pau, walks toward Xu Ling with a provocative expression: “Do you still want to score 30 points tonight?”
Xu Ling looks up at Deron, his tone flat but sharp: “Just back from injury, I’m not setting too high a goal for myself. I’ll just casually grab 40 points to show the new teammates.”
“Suka blyat!”
Andrei Kirilenko, not far away, is immediately enraged by these words. He missed the last matchup due to injury, and now returning as the team’s defensive core, hearing the opponent’s star talk so arrogantly without putting him in his eyes at all, he can’t help but blurt out a Russian classic.
With two starters departing, and the new additions not yet activated, the Grizzlies have to use more players who rarely get playing time in this game.
Darko Milicic enters the starting lineup, appearing full of energy—although the Serbian has a laid-back personality, who wouldn’t want a free starter spot? Moreover, being close to the water gets the moon first; thanks to his friendship with Xu Ling, he has already taken the lead in the starting position battle.
Tip-off, Milicic and Okur.
“Pa!”
Milicic easily wins the tip-off.
Kyle Lowry takes the ball and pushes for a fast break, arrives at the frontcourt, and directly demonstrates the Grizzlies point guard’s way of survival—that is, after dribbling past half court, no matter what, first pass the ball to Xu Ling. What does that mean? See if he wants an isolation play; if not, he will naturally pass it back.
Xu Ling first feints calling for Milicic’s pick and roll, but in the instant Milicic rolls down after setting the screen, he suddenly jabs and does a lateral step-back. By now, every NBA team knows how deadly his step-back is, and the Jazz’s starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer immediately closes out.
But Xu Ling looks like he’s about to attack, yet his eyes stay on Milicic. Milicic understands his intent, rolls down after screening, and his straight-line speed is unmatched by few big men in the league.
Xu Ling tosses the ball into the air, Milicic drives to the basket, jumps to catch it, and slams home an alley-oop dunk.
Even though Milicic’s talent has been drained away a lot by wine and women, the talent he shows in this instant still reveals a glimpse of the unicorn big man genius who outshone Carmelo Anthony at the draft.
To this day, it’s hard to say whether it was his own lack of will and inability to endure Larry Brown’s torment, or if Larry Brown is truly a bastard who destroys people without tiring.
Milicic ultimately lives the life he wants, on a team that doesn’t suppress him, with a multi-million-dollar contract—enough money to last him the rest of his life. If he can start with Gasol gone, that would be perfect.
The Jazz, after giving up the score, do not panic. Deron Williams steadily dribbles forward, with Boozer already positioned at the top of the arc. The classic Deron-Boozer pick and roll plays out again—Deron uses the screen to move laterally, while Boozer quickly rolls to near the free throw line.
Xu Ling immediately fights through the screen, tightly sticking to Deron and nearly sealing his shooting space. However, Deron is experienced and passes the ball back to the positioned Boozer.
Boozer catches the ball and spins in one motion. Facing the help defense from Milicic, he first jabs, then hits a baseline fadeaway jumper—smooth motion, soft touch, and the basketball swishes through the net.
Seeing this guy play like this, Xu Ling knows why the Rockets always struggle against the Jazz.
The Jazz’s pick-and-roll offense is exactly Yao Ming’s headache, and the Rockets’ power forward has no answer against Boozer. Boozer can not only bully the Rockets’ four casually but also abuse Yao Ming’s pick-and-roll defense, completely tearing apart the Rockets’ interior.
Ruthless.
Xu Ling thinks Boozer is absolutely one of the two best offensive power forwards he’s seen in the Western Conference, second only to Nowitzki.
Rumor has it this guy was once a teammate of LeBron James, but to escape Cleveland, he exploited the blind owner’s kindness to get out of his Cavaliers contract and then signed a big deal with the Jazz? Xu Ling doesn’t know if it’s true—it’s just hearsay. If it is, it proves the guy’s character isn’t great. But then again, if he were on the Cavaliers, could he really reach his current level under Mr. Zhan?
It’s not that his playing style conflicts with Mr. Zhan, but Xu Ling has never seen any star big man except Anthony Davis who didn’t decline after partnering with him. It’s almost become mysticism—from Jamison to Chris Bosh to Love, no matter your prior level, you turn into trash next to Mr. Zhan. Only Davis’s raw talent is off the charts enough to withstand this bizarre LeBron virus.
Xu Ling comes to the frontcourt, just positions himself, and Lowry’s ball comes again.
Seeing this, Kidd laughs from the sidelines: “He better not expect me to do that when I get in.”
Josh Howard and others all nod—indeed, anyone with eyes can see the problem. What point guard dribbles past half court without organizing and just feeds the star?
Where is the point guard’s dignity?
Where is the point guard’s responsibility?
This is why Lowry is seen as Xu Ling’s loyal dog—every body movement flatters the team’s number one.
Xu Ling never knows what politeness is either; with the ball, he does whatever he wants. Facing Ronnie Brewer’s defense, he raises his hand for Lowry to come set a point guard screen, and Lowry runs over with unparalleled enthusiasm, successfully switching Deron onto Xu Ling.
Deron just wants to do something, but Xu Ling has already decided, directly pulling up for a jump shot!
The basketball arcs extremely high, Deron’s contest futile.
“Swish!”
Nothing but net!
“Roar!”
FedEx Forum erupts in cheers; Xu Ling’s ten-plus day absence has really frustrated the fans.
It is at this moment that Kidd and others on the sidelines truly notice how terrifying Xu Ling’s home crowd support is.
Without exaggeration, when Xu Ling has the ball, the pressure the home fans put on the visiting team rivals those devilish home courts.
But these BYD fans are also very pragmatic—they don’t give the other Grizzlies players the same level of support.
However, the Jazz’s strength lies in their system and discipline. They are completely unaffected by Xu Ling’s shot and continue executing their tactics meticulously.
Deron runs another pick and roll with Boozer, attracts the double team, and passes to Andrei Kirilenko on the outside, who drains a three.
Next offensive possession, Mehmet Okur hits a long-range shot from the top of the arc.
With the Jazz’s cohesive passing and precise shooting, they quickly build a slim lead. The Grizzlies’ defense looks disjointed against the Jazz’s ball movement.
Without Mike Miller, no spacing on the outside; without Pau Gasol, no anchor inside—the Grizzlies can only rely on Xu Ling alone.
Xu Ling answers the call. He first uses speed for a power drive on Brewer, pulls up in the air after driving inside to avoid Okur’s block, and hits the board. Then on defense, he forces a Jazz passing turnover and assists Lowry for a fast-break layup.
“Get your heads in the game!” After this fast break, Xu Ling claps and shouts, “Don’t let the new friends on the bench think this team only has me who can play!”
This is most of the Grizzlies’ truth, but not all of it.
Xu Ling has a power that supports his teammates; he’s not the type who thinks only he can open up the game and fully trusts only himself.
If he had that mindset, he couldn’t have led Texas Tech University to the greatest modern NCAA Cinderella story.
He believes every teammate has a role; if not performing, it’s because his impact hasn’t radiated far enough.
Immediately, Xu Ling actively guards Deron. When the opponent calls for a screen, he decisively switches onto Boozer.
Deron passes, Boozer tries to power drive with his body, but Xu Ling pokes the ball away.
“!￥#@￥”
The crowd roars like thunder, Xu Ling grabs the loose ball and flings it to the trailing veteran Eddie Jones.
Jones catches, sprints full speed, fast-break layup, putting the Grizzlies ahead.
“Great play, E.J.!” Lowry shouts excitedly.
Jones smirks on the way back, gives Xu Ling a good defense gesture, then plays the veteran role boosting team morale: “Time to let these Mormon bastards know old dogs bite hard too!”
Clearly the lineup is old where old and young where young, lacking a second strong point besides Xu Ling, but
Kidd soon discovers that while this lineup lacks offensive talent, it is unexpectedly resilient on defense.
Since college under Bob Knight’s strict coaching, Xu Ling has grown into NCAA’s most dominant perimeter defender. In the NBA, he continues this trait as a reliable and smart defender. Veteran Eddie Jones was already a renowned defensive tough guy; now older, his physical talent eroded by time, but his valuable defensive experience remains sharp. The bigs Milicic and Warrick have limited offensive tools but are blue-collar players with good defensive attitude and positioning.
All this lays the groundwork for the Grizzlies’ comeback in this game.
Offense relies on Xu Ling’s single-point explosion, defense is all-in with everyone doing their job.
This style is certainly lopsided, but for the current Grizzlies, who can’t even field a full second unit, once new additions arrive, the situation will vastly improve.
Thinking of this, Kidd suddenly realizes the cocky rookie number one on the court is not just confident to the point of narcissism but also exudes intelligence beyond his years.
And not the “fake smart” kind of self-indulgent cleverness.
This point is crucial.
As Kidd zones out slightly, a sharp “pa” rings out on court, followed by gasps from the crowd—Xu Ling suddenly help defends and clamps Deron, aggressive pressure causes a turnover! He grabs the ball and pushes immediately. Amid Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan’s frustrated stomping, he dribbles past half court and pulls up from two steps behind the three-point line for a super deep pull-up three that swishes!
“Eli Xu is simply unstoppable!” ESPN ace commentator Mike Breen says at rapid speed.
“Exactly! It’s like he’s unleashing all the energy pent up over the past ten-plus days onto the Jazz!” Analyst Jeff Van Gundy chimes in loudly, “Jazz trail by 6, Sloan calls timeout!”
Van Gundy gets more excited, nearly standing from the broadcast table: “Let’s face reality! Eli Xu is the best rookie since Tim Duncan! Considering his age, I think he’s even more mature than TD at the same stage. As a player under 20, he shows technical completion and game control we’ve never seen!”
Nearby analyst Mark Jackson can’t help asking: “Jeff, are you sure he’s better than 2003 LeBron?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mark!” Van Gundy says firmly, “His rookie season performance has surpassed every rookie since the new century—especially better than LeBron!”
If you think that sentence is already bold enough to deceive the emperor, his next unspoken thought is truly audacious.
In his mind, LeBron doesn’t even count as the best rookie of 2003.
