The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 109 Shall we join forces?

The competition began at 8:15.

Tang Bei and David Robinson jumped for the ball. Tang Bei jumped higher and tipped the ball away first, but Isaiah Thomas failed to catch it properly. John Stockton stole the ball, and the West took the lead.

"Let's see if Don and Larry Johnson team up again," Bill Walton said with amusement.

John Stockton immediately passed the ball down when his best friend asked for it.

Tonight, he's determined to help his best friend win the All-Star MVP award.

After receiving the ball, the mailman immediately backed down the old lady, and using the momentum of the back-down, he took the opportunity to sweep his right elbow into the latter's chest, and used the opportunity to gain space to turn around.

"Get out!"

Just as the mailman turned and jumped to shoot, Tang Bei, who was under the basket, moved quickly, leaped up from two meters away, and slapped the ball away.

"Oh!"

A sigh of disappointment and regret echoed from the center of the delta.

"Pretty!"

Bill Russell praised it.

The ball was swatted out of bounds, and the Western Conference All-Stars still had possession, with the ball inbounding from the right sideline.

Chamberlain said, "They're working well together, even better than they did with the Hornets."

Bill Russell laughed and said, "The Hornets are too small to accommodate two All-Stars."

Bill Walton, however, said: "The management is still too short-sighted. With Tang's current influence, his commercial value has already caught up with Larry Johnson. And it hasn't been that long."
As long as the Hornets delay the trade until now, before the trade window closes, they can make the best decision.

Magic Johnson said, "At the time, Larry Johnson's agent put pressure on management through the media, and the management was under too much pressure to delay any longer."

At this moment, the Western Conference's glider missed a jump shot under Jordan's defense, and Tang Bei grabbed the rebound, allowing the Eastern Conference to attack.

"Isaiah, let's join forces."

As Tang Bei ran past the assassin, he suddenly spoke.

"OK."

Isaiah Thomas nodded slightly. As someone who had been ostracized by Jordan's side, he had no other choice but to join forces with Tang Bei.

When Tang Bei moved to the low post on the left wing, David Robinson surprisingly didn't guard him head-on, but instead used close defense such as fronting and side defense.

He immediately realized that David Robinson wanted to double-team him under the basket along with the Mailman.

Larry Johnson doesn't have a mid-range jumper, so he can't pull the Mailman out of the paint. Once the Mailman goes to the basket, he's walking right into a trap.

The Mailman will never hold back on the court; he'll definitely use his elbows on him. Robinson has the jumping ability and speed, and when the two work together, it will be difficult for him to catch the ball under the basket.

"ball!"

He did not choose to go to the basket.

Because he has his signature offensive technique, the Tornado, and his dribbling fundamentals have now reached level 75, his ability to integrate with the ball is even better.

His low-post back-to-the-basket offense, positioned far from the basket, is no less threatening than his offense under the basket, and even more lethal to opponents.

Isaiah Thomas immediately passed the ball down, but because David Robinson was positioned in front of him for defense, he passed it to the back of his hand.

At the same time, Karl Malone, on the right side of the basket, quickly rushed along the baseline.

David Robinson jumped with all his might, hoping to intercept the pass and create an opportunity for the Mailman to double-team.

"no!"

Before Tang Bei even got the ball, he heard the sound of shoes rubbing behind him. As soon as he received the ball, he would be caught in a double-team and would have no chance to unleash his Tornado.

The next moment, he jumped with all his might, higher than David Robinson in front of him, and as he caught the ball with his right hand, he flicked it behind his head.

He knew Larry Johnson too well; by now, that short guy must have already reached the basket, so it was a free win for him.

"It's been sent!"

Magic Johnson was taken aback; that behind-the-back pass was absolutely beautiful.

"boom!"

Larry Johnson, who had already reached the basket, jumped up, caught the ball with both hands, and slammed it down to complete an alley-oop dunk.

"Pretty!"

Bill Walton praised, "Don broke through the double-team of David Robinson and Karl Malone with a behind-the-back pass, assisting Larry Johnson."

Magic Johnson also praised him, saying, "Tang has very few assists because, under normal circumstances, it is difficult for opponents to double-team him in time on the left wing low post, which always leaves him with opportunities to receive the ball and attack."

Bill Russell nodded and said, "The Admiral and the Mailman teamed up for a full-on defensive effort, but they probably didn't expect Tang to make such a beautiful pass."

Western offensive.

The black and white duo teamed up again, and the postman got the ball once more.

The other three All-Stars in the West couldn't do anything about it; after all, it was the home court of the "Black and White Duo."

To coordinate with the Mailman's offense, David Robinson deliberately moved to the left wing, using his mid-range shooting ability to draw Tang Bei to the left side.

Although Larry Johnson is strong, he is seriously short and has a weak defensive attitude. Especially as an All-Star, he is even less willing to defend. When he was elbowed by Mailman while trying to defend, he was even less willing to fight and simply moved away.

Karl Malone turned and dribbled into the paint. Seeing Tang Beizheng returning to defend the basket, he immediately stopped and gathered the ball, feigning a jump shot.

Tang Bei had his eyes fixed on the postman, not wanting him to make a move so easily. Upon seeing this, he immediately leaped up.

However, the Mailman's low-post offense is very calm. He rarely makes hasty shots and is good at using fakes to shake off his opponents before taking a shot.

Seeing Tang Bei return to defend the basket, he faked a move, shook Tang Bei off balance, and then jumped to shoot.

"Clap clap clap..."

As the basketball swished through the net, enthusiastic applause erupted at Delta Center.

Bill Walton said, "Don has a good defensive intention, but he still lacks experience, after all, he has only played half a season."

Bill Russell said, "When facing a seasoned superstar, especially one who is good at fakes and controlling the pace of the offense, if you jump up too quickly, it means your defense is about to fail."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Larry Johnson's quick loss of position was also a major reason for this defensive failure."

If Dondo had just one more step to move, he could have blocked the mailman; he probably wouldn't have chosen to jump hastily as a defensive move.

On the Eastern Conference offensive possession, Pippen inbounded the ball to Jordan.

Isaiah Thomas reached out for the ball, but Jordan pretended not to see him.

Jordan certainly wasn't willing to be a spectator on the court. Knowing that the assassin wouldn't pass him the ball, he wanted to take control of the possession.

Just a step inside the three-point line at a 45-degree angle on the right wing of the frontcourt, Drexler, the Glide, blocked Jordan's path.

"Two high-flyers, let's see who wins!" Magic Johnson shouted.

Jordan drove hard past Drexler while dribbling, then pulled up for a jump shot just inside the three-point line, sinking a long two-pointer.

Under the basket, as Michael Jordan was attacking with the ball, Tang Bei began to position himself, spreading his arms to block David Robinson behind him.

But the postman pushed Larry Johnson aside and braced his right elbow against his chest, while the postman braced his left elbow against the postman, and David Robinson behind him wrapped his right arm around his arm.

“The competition is fierce!” Bill Russell said.

"Bang!"

Jordan missed his shot, and the basketball bounced off the rim.

The three players under the basket jumped almost simultaneously. In the intense battle under the basket, this was the best moment to demonstrate their physical strength and explosiveness.

"Nobody can take my rebounds."

Tang Bei braced himself against the two men, using his left and right elbows to hold off the Mailman and the General respectively, and with a burst of power, he overpowered them and grabbed the offensive rebound.

"Bah!"

He landed and rose again, knocking aside the two players before slamming the ball into the net, nearly knocking the mailman over.

Bill Walton said, "Don's ability to compete and his explosiveness should be the best in the entire league."

Magic Johnson said, "His Achilles tendon isn't very long, and his calves aren't slender. His excellent jumping ability should come more from his powerful lower body explosiveness."

West team on offense, Mailman hits a mid-range jumper.

On the Eastern Conference offensive, the Smiling Assassin received the ball, but ignored Jordan's requested move.

Upon arriving at the frontcourt, they did not rush to organize an attack, but waited until Tang Bei was positioned in a low position on the left wing before lobbing the ball in.

Magic Johnson commented, "Isiah Thomas's organization is pretty simple."

"puff!"

Bill Walton lowered his head and chuckled.

The last time the Mailman double-teamed Tang Bei, Tang Bei made a brilliant behind-the-back pass, which cost him dearly. This time, he hesitated. This gave Tang Bei an opportunity. Tang Bei used his left elbow to block the Admiral who was flanking him, jumped with his right hand to catch the ball, and without dribbling, he turned and attacked the basket.

With no defensive position available, the Admiral, who was positioned in front of the basket, was left alone to face Tang Bei, who was making a Tai Chi-like turn.

"tornado!"

As Tang Bei turned around, Bill Russell shouted excitedly.

He admired Tang Bei most for using his talent to overwhelm his opponents; that was a physical quality he didn't have, and an offensive style he didn't possess.

When Tang Bei turned around, he generated explosive force and turning speed like a volcano. With this extremely fierce power, he stepped forward and leaped up like a tiger.

At that moment, the postman felt a fierce, tiger-like aura and oppressive force.

But he had no way out; this was his home court, and Tang Bei's speed in turning and attacking the basket was too fast, leaving him no time to retreat.

"Go to hell!"

He had no choice but to bite the bullet, jump up, and elbow the opponent.

His jumping height was far less than Tang Bei's as he leaped into the air; his head was significantly lower than Tang Bei's, whose head was already above the basket.

"That's exactly what I'm doing!"

Tang Bei roared inwardly, grabbed the ball with both hands, and slammed it into the basket over the postman's head.

He naturally saw the postman's elbow, but the postman was too short to elbow his head or neck; the elbow only reached his chest, so he was not afraid at all.

"Oh!"

"boom!"

"Di!"

The heavy thud of bodies hitting each other, the fierce thud of the basket exploding, and the referee's whistle all sounded almost simultaneously.

The postman's deadly elbow slammed into Tang Bei's chest with a fierce mid-air impact, causing the latter to grit his teeth in frustration.

But in the next instant, under Tang Bei's terrifying impact, the postman's 120-kilogram body was thrown backward and crashed to the floor.

"Oh!"

A gasp of surprise erupted from the center of the delta.

"awesome!"

Zhang Heli and the others shouted excitedly.

The referee then ruled that the two points were valid, and that the Mailman had committed a defensive foul, awarding Tang Bei a free throw.

Although Chamberlain didn't particularly admire Tang Bei's talent, he couldn't help but praise him:

"His terrifying turning speed, terrifying impact, and superb physical strength make Tang extremely competitive in low-post offense."

Bill Russell, however, said: "Irwin's organizational work for Thomas is simple, but sometimes the simplest choice is the right one."

Magic Johnson smiled and nodded.

Before Tang Bei took the free throw, the West made their first substitution.

Bill Walton excitedly said, "Okay, Mailman might be going down, and Hakeem might be coming up. Tang will be matched up against the third super center, Hakeem. In previous regular season games, neither the Hornets nor the Heat have ever played against the Rockets."

Chamberlain said, "Hakeem Olajuwon is 213 cm tall and weighs 255 pounds..."

Bill Walton said, "116 kilograms, which is 20 kilograms lighter than Tang. The weight difference is huge. In terms of strength and confrontation, Tang definitely has the advantage."

Bill Russell said, "Among the three super centers, King Kong has the strongest physical strength. He is based on his strength and tough positioning. He is a true iron-blooded inside player and the ceiling of pure physicality."

Of course, after Don appeared, he replaced Ewing and became the ceiling in pure combat, both in terms of overwhelming power and forceful positioning.

Bill Walton continued on this topic, saying, "The Dream is a master of balance where confrontation serves skill. Hard confrontation is not the core advantage; skill is the core advantage."

Magic Johnson continued, "The Admiral is an all-rounder with sufficient strength, but his physical strength is the weakest among the three super centers. His advantage is his athleticism."

Chamberlain, annoyed at being interrupted, forced a reply: "I said Tang is the fourth greatest center, no one disagrees, right?"

"Ha ha……"

The other three laughed, but no one actually objected.

Bill Russell said, "In the competition with O'Neal and Mourning, Tang won perfectly. Apart from Hakeem Olajuwon, he has also been tested by almost all the top centers in the current league. His performance and talent are enough to make him the fourth greatest super center."

"good."

They all nodded.

With the approval of three legendary centers and Magic Johnson, Tang Bei unknowingly became the fourth greatest active center in the NBA.

Chamberlain added, "In terms of one-on-one confrontations, low-post positioning and suppression, and the ability to force a finish after a confrontation, King Kong is stronger than the Admiral and Hakeem Olajuwon, but Don is slightly stronger than King Kong."

Bill Walton, however, had a different opinion, stating:

"Currently, Tang's low-post offensive skills, such as hook shots, floaters, and jump shots, are not yet mature enough, and his finishing ability is probably not as good as Ewing's."

Chamberlain immediately emphasized: "I'm talking about finishing ability after a confrontation. After a confrontation between Ewing and Tang, his finishing ability is not as good as Tang's, and his scoring ability is also not as good as Tang's. The game between the Heat and the Knicks has already proven this point."

After that, no one else had any objections.

At this point, Mailman and John Stockton were substituted, and replaced by superstar center Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Hardaway.

The Eastern Conference All-Stars also made a substitution, with Pat Riley replacing Larry Johnson.

As a legendary head coach in the league, even though he had never coached Tang Bei and Larry Johnson, he was well aware that the two were not a good match.

So after replacing Larry Johnson, instead of bringing on O'Neal, they brought on Patrick Ewing, a super center with a mid-range shot.

"With all four super centers on the court, this is going to be interesting," Magic Johnson joked.

Tang Bei takes the free throw and makes it.

5:2, East leads, West is on the offensive.

张合理乐呵呵地对着央视镜头说道：“观众朋友们，唐北现在是1投1中，1罚1中，得到3分2篮板1助攻1盖帽，表现非常好。”

For this All-Star live broadcast, CCTV mainly used the satellite signal provided by NBC, the NBA, but also used its own satellite signal.

We switch between the two: the game footage uses NBC's signal, while the on-site interview footage uses our own satellite signal.

This also suggests that CCTV will likely abandon the satellite signals provided by the NBA after it establishes its sports channel.

On his way back to the backcourt, Tang Bei said to Ewing, who had just come on, "King Kong, the Dream is mine, the General is yours, I don't need help defense."

“OK, one-on-one,” Ewing said.

"Everyone says this guy is the strongest, I'll give him a try."

Hakeem Olajuwon moved to the low left wing and tried to enter the penalty area, but was blocked by Tang Bei. He tried to squeeze in, but couldn't move an inch.

He immediately abandoned his attempt to force his way in, and with a nimble downward turn, he tried to slip into the penalty area.

After half a season of honing his skills, Tang Bei's individual defense has improved from 90 to 92, and his help defense has improved from 80 to 85, demonstrating a continuous strengthening of his defensive capabilities.

His mobility was extremely fast; he quickly turned and moved sideways, sticking close to the top of the field, preventing the opponent from finding an opportunity and forcing him to retreat from the restricted area.

At this moment, Tim Hardaway, nicknamed "Little Bug," dribbled the ball and broke through, entering the penalty area from the right wing.

Tang Bei returned to defend the basket, and Tim Hardaway immediately passed the ball to Dream, who was open a step outside the left side of the post.

He swiftly pounced on Da Meng, with the ferocity and speed of a tiger pouncing on its prey.

Da Meng had just received the ball and was crouching down to prepare to jump and shoot when Tang Bei took two steps to his left waist and touched his body with his large hand, and the open space disappeared.

He moved upwards, trying to shake Tang Bei.

But Tang Bei didn't fall for it. Although he had never played basketball with Da Meng, he had long been familiar with Da Meng's Dream Step, which is a combination of feints and real moves.

Therefore, he preferred to let Olajuwon make a two-pointer rather than be out of position defensively and did not rashly jump to block the shot.

The spot was too far from the basket, so Dream Shake was useless. Dream Shake had to get up a second time, fake again, and then fake a third time.

"This is never going to end!"

Tang Bei cursed under his breath, seized the opportunity and slapped the basketball out of Da Meng's hands. He then quickly stepped forward, using his superior strength to push past his opponent and snatch the ball.

"Wow! Tang Bei stole the ball from Da Meng in his first match against him. He's a super center!" Zhang Heli exclaimed excitedly.

"Ha ha……"

Bill Russell laughed and said, "Although several super centers like Hakeem Olajuwon have mid-range shots, their shooting percentage is actually not high, usually below 40%."

Facing the defense of the fourth-best center, Tang, he probably wasn't confident of making that shot, so he kept making fakes.

Tang Bei ignored Jordan's request and gave it to the Smiling Assassin.

Jordan was furious, his face grim, and he cursed under his breath, "Damn country bumpkin, once the assassin is gone, let's see who passes you the ball."

(End of this chapter)