The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 120 Look at me

Tang Bei was double-teamed on the left wing in the low post, losing his chance to drive into the paint. He could only shoot from the near two-point line. Ewing and Smith jumped to block the shot at the same time, and the ball clearly went wide.

"Three things to avoid."

Chamberlain shouted.

Just as Tang Bei took the shot, Oakley arrived under the basket and received the "pass," allowing the Knicks to attack.

"Wow, the Knicks defended really well; the Heat missed two possessions."

Xu Jicheng sighed and said, "Glen Rice is not good at attacking with the ball. The Knicks are forcing him to attack with the ball."

Sun Zhenping said, "If he had been half a second slower in distributing the ball with his left elbow, he would have been double-teamed and almost made a mistake in passing."

That was actually a mistake. If the pass had been better, and there hadn't been a ground pass, Tang Bei could have received the ball and driven in for a dunk without being double-teamed.

Xu Jicheng said, "The Knicks' defensive tactics are too targeted. The Heat should call a timeout now to solve their offensive problems."

On the court, the Knicks are on offense.

Doc Rivers had the ball at the top of the key, but his drives lacked explosiveness and speed, so he wasn't scheduled to attack the basket.

Charles Smith, who plays the small forward position, is actually a power forward and is even less likely to drive to the basket, so he passed the ball to John Starks.

Therefore, the Knicks' starting lineup only has John Starks, but John Starks is not a pure driving shooting guard.

His athleticism isn't top-notch, his speed isn't particularly fast, and his ball-handling skills are average, but his explosiveness and physicality are decent. His finishing ability after a breakthrough relies on the impact of the contact, so his finishing ability is average, and he has some passing ability.

Therefore, his dribbling and penetration is actually just an auxiliary to his offense. His main offensive method is the outside jump shot. After using the shot to open up the defense, he then breaks through the defender with a change of direction and the explosiveness of his first step.

Today, Pat Riley arranged for him to drive to the basket against Tang Bei, but that's not really his specialty. He was just relying on the Heat's terrible perimeter defense. If it were a team with a slightly better perimeter defense, Pat Riley wouldn't have arranged the tactics this way.

This time, after receiving the ball, he once again broke through with it.

He first faked a shot to fool the defender, then used his explosiveness to break past the tall shooting guard Steve Smith on his first step, and once again entered the paint from the right elbow area.

This time, Tang Bei learned from his previous defensive failure and changed his defensive positioning when covering John Starks.

His position was slightly in front of the basket, which prevented him from directly blocking Starks, but it cut off the passing lanes between Starks and Ewing.

John Starks, seeing Tang Bei's positioning, continued his drive towards the basket.

At this moment, Tang Bei moved laterally towards the basket, raising his hands high to continue blocking the passing angles of the opponent and Ewing.

Because Starks' breakthrough speed isn't particularly fast, his lateral movement speed is more than enough to keep up.

John Starks has some passing ability, but it's only average. When he drives to the basket, he mainly focuses on finishing, and that usually comes after contact.

At this point, he had no choice but to leap up, brace his left hand against Tang Bei's chest, and deliver a layup with his right hand.

"Snapped!"

As Tang Bei jumped, he slapped the ball onto the backboard and grabbed it.

Pat Riley frowned slightly when he saw Tang Bei's defense.

He was very clear about the characteristics of the Knicks' perimeter penetration ability. Starting point guard Rivers was not good, and backup point guard Greg Anthony was not good at penetration either. They were not fast. Their strengths were defense and shooting.

Starting shooting guard John Starks isn't primarily a penetrator, and his backup, Blackman, is too old to drive to the basket anymore.

Tang Bei stopped at a high position, ready to set a screen, with Ewing also stopping beside him.

But just as Bimbo Coles was approaching the top of the arc with the ball, Tang Bei suddenly did a Tai Chi turn and quickly lunged towards the basket.

His turn was too fast; Ewing instinctively grabbed his jersey but couldn't catch it, unable to keep up with his turn.

"Oh, we've lost Ewing!" Xu Jicheng exclaimed excitedly.

"Pass it on!" Sun Zhenping shouted.

When Coles, who had the ball, saw Tang Bei turn around, his scalp tingled. The moment the ball rose from the floor, he jumped up with both hands and threw the ball toward the basket.

Rivers on the opposite side didn't see Tang Bei turn around behind him, and couldn't react in time to jump. He only reached out to block the ball but didn't touch it.

"boom!"

Tang Bei took two steps to drive to the basket, leaped high, and completed an alley-oop dunk.

Heat head coach Kevin Longley, seeing this offensive play, excitedly shouted to the players on the court, "Yes, play it like that!"

His tactical ability is lacking, and this was one of several tactics arranged for Tang Bei after repeated discussions with the coaching staff.

"Pretty!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Heli excitedly addressed the camera that switched to him:

"Tang Bei played a very smart offensive move this time. He first pulled Ewing out of the paint, and then used his speed advantage to get rid of him. Ewing couldn't get back, and Oakley didn't have a chance to get back to the basket, leaving the Knicks' paint wide open."

Pat Riley frowned again, his smile fading slightly.

Tang Bei's style of play is rarely seen in the regular season, but it is very threatening because only David Robinson in the entire league can keep up with Tang Bei's speed, while Ewing cannot.

In other words, once Ewing defends outside the paint, he can't get back to the basket if Tang Bei cuts back to the basket.

2-2, Knicks on offense.

Doc Rivers and John Starks executed a pick-and-roll at the top of the key on the right, and after the pick-and-roll, Starks continued to move towards the top of the key.

Steve Smith was blocked by Rivers, who had the ball. Coles prepared to double-team the ball handler, but Rivers suddenly passed the ball instead.

"brush!"

At the top of the arc, John Starks found himself open, received the ball, and made a three-point jump shot.

Tang Bei didn't have a chance to make up for it because when John Starks received the ball, Ewing moved from the low post on the left wing towards the basket, and he had to guard Ewing.

2:5, Heat on offense.

"Just follow him to the free-throw line; he doesn't have any long two-pointers."

Pat Riley waved to Ewing, and as Ewing ran towards him, Riley followed, giving him defensive instructions.

Tang Bei succeeded in his last attack, and this time he used the same tactic again, stopping at a high position once more.

Following Pat Riley's instructions, Ewing didn't stop next to Tang Bei, but instead stopped one step from the free-throw line, just one step away from the basket.

This defensive positioning can both prevent Tang Bei from making two-point shots from the free-throw line and protect the rim.

Tang Bei noticed Ewing's position and simply stepped up, standing behind Rivers.

"High pick and roll," Xu Jicheng said.

At this moment, Bimbo Coles, who had the ball, began to break through, driving past Tang Bei into the paint and forcing Ewing to retreat to the basket.

Ewing had just stepped back when Coles suddenly turned and passed the ball.

Tang Bei received the ball at the free-throw line with only Doc Rivers by his side, essentially an open shot. Without hesitation, he took the shot.

"brush!"

The basketball went in cleanly.

"Pretty!"

Xu Jicheng said excitedly, "Tang Bei's free throw percentage in the first round series was 68.5%. Although it is not as good as the three super centers, it is getting close. He has a shot from the high post."

Sun Zhenping laughed and said, "The pick-and-roll tactic just now was also good. After Ewing changed his defensive position, Tang Bei made the best tactical choice."

4-5, Knicks on offense.

Charles Smith aggressively established position in the left elbow area, and Glen Rice, lacking in height and strength and being a poor defender, was unable to stop him from doing so.

"Go around!"

Tang Bei saw Glenn Rice stuck at the back and quickly spoke up.

His reason for having Rice move forward was simple: he was right below and had a perfect opportunity to help defend Charles Smith.

Glen Rice trusted Tang Bei and immediately moved in front of him to defend.

Rivers, who had the ball, saw this and didn't dare to pass it.

Because with Glen Rice in front, he has to pass a high ball, and Tang Bei is below, making it easy for Charles Smith to be double-teamed and even unable to receive the ball.

At that moment, Ewing was in a low position on the left wing, calling for the ball, and Rivers passed it down.

On his first offensive possession, Ewing used his left elbow to push against Tang Bei to create space, then quickly turned and stepped back to face the basket with his signature move, the "rabbit kick." The rabbit kick is the core move in Ewing's back-to-the-basket technique; the step-back distance when turning to face the basket can reach a meter, with a large range, and it is very effective at shaking off the defender.

After completing the step-up layup, his finishing method can be adjusted according to the defense: one is a pull-up jump shot, and the other is to attack the basket after the defender is out of position and finish with a layup or floater.

As Ewing turned and leaped towards the basket, Tang Bei quickly followed with a step, his amazing explosiveness and lower body strength making his first step very fast.

Ewing took a pull-up jump shot, and Tang Bei quickly jumped to block it. Although he didn't touch the ball, the height forced Ewing to raise his shooting angle.

Tang Bei landed and quickly turned around. The basketball bounced off the rim with a thud and he caught it.

"Well done!" Xu Jicheng shouted excitedly.

Sun Zhenping said, "Judging from Tang Bei's performance today, he should be in for a tough fight."

Glen Rice made a series of back-and-forth runs on the left wing, using his quicker and more agile speed to get past Charles Smith, and received a pass at the 40-degree angle of the three-point line.

At that moment, he instantly recalled what Tang Bei had told him before the game, and he resolutely took the jump shot.

"Three points!"

Michael Brin shouted.

"brush!"

A splash of water, and the three-pointer hits.

"ah!"

Glen Rice couldn't help but cheer after making the shot.

"Glenn, leave the inside to me. You're the sharpshooter, throw them out there and kill them!" Tang Bei shouted excitedly.

"Look at me."

Upon hearing the term "god-tier pitcher," Glen Rice's smile practically stretched to his cheeks, and he gave Tang Bei an OK sign.

Pat Riley's expression hardened, because he knew that Charles Smith was arguably the Knicks' only weakness on the perimeter defense against the Heat.

Smith was originally a power forward, but after the trade, he switched to small forward at Smith's request.

He is an perimeter defensive shield in the Knicks' tough defensive system, combining the agility of a small forward with the physical strength of a power forward.

However, he was at a speed disadvantage against Glen Rice, and in a one-on-one situation, he was indeed unable to stop his opponent.

If Glen Rice is in good form, a pure pitcher like him can be quite formidable.

As Oakley prepared to inbound the ball, he quickly signaled a substitution, then called up Anthony Mason Jr. and pushed him toward the official scorer's table.

Mason is a very strong defender and an important force in the Knicks' tough defensive system. He is highly adaptable to the system, tough, and versatile.

He can defend positions 3 through 5, excelling in both physicality and skill on the perimeter. He focuses on maintaining his defensive position rather than risking steals, making him extremely efficient at defending pure shooters like Glen Rice.

Glen Rice's heart sank when he saw Mason Jr. come up. He had suffered at Mason Jr.'s hands before and was afraid of such a defender.

7-5, Knicks on offense.

"brush!"

Charles Oakley received the ball near the right sideline, Grant Long took two steps, and Oakley hit a long two-pointer.

"Grant, stay close, you don't need to worry about what's inside," Tang Bei shouted.

During the regular season, he rarely yelled at his teammates like that on the court, because losing a game didn't matter. But now it's the playoffs, and the perimeter defense is like a sieve, so he can't afford to be so loud.

Michael Brin praised, "Don is consciously adjusting the defense on the court, which is the responsibility of a leader and the duty of the defensive anchor."

7:7, Heat on offense.

Although Mason Jr. is not as fast as Glen Rice, he can effectively slow down Rice's movement by using appropriate physical contact, and for a time Rice has no way to get rid of the defender.

With their second scoring option limited, the Heat's third scoring option, Steve Smith, began running to receive the ball on the right wing.

Steve Smith primarily plays off-ball, excelling in off-ball movement and cuts.

After using Grant Long's screen to temporarily shake off John Starks, he quickly cut to the right elbow area to get the ball, and after getting the ball, he quickly jumped and shot.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, John Starks quickly returned to defense, and his aggressive defense affected his shot, resulting in a missed shot and a +1 for a missed attempt.

Ewing blocked Tang Bei, and Oakley, who was defending the paint, seized the opportunity to grab the rebound.

“Steve Smith was the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1991 draft. He had good talent, but he wasn’t mature enough,” Tom Tolbert said.

"Bang!"

Turning back, John Starks also missed a shot, Tang Bei grabbed the rebound, and the Heat went on offense.

Tang Bei moved to the low left wing, first raising his left hand to indicate he wanted the ball, and then began to aggressively establish position.

On the perimeter, Coles, with the ball, quickly moved to the left wing and, through a combination with Glen Rice, found a passing opportunity.

At this moment, Tang Bei, bracing against Ewing's tough defense, squeezed two small steps into the paint and approached the basket.

As the ball was passed down, Oakley, in the right midfield position, quickly double-teamed Tang Bei, targeting his upper side. Ewing was mainly defending the lower baseline angle and blocked Tang Bei's right leg.

In this way, Tang Bei, whose right leg was stuck, no longer had the possibility of turning around and sliding to the bottom.

The next moment, he received the ball and turned around.

"Don't even think about it!"

Oakley took two big steps and pounced behind Tang Bei, quickly taking a defensive position with his hands raised high. If Tang Bei turned and broke through, it would definitely be an offensive foul.

But at that moment, Tang Bei planted a foot, and in a burst of speed, passed the ball over Oakley's head to the right side of the basket.

There, Grant Long was right behind Oakley, already positioned on the right side of the basket.

This is one of the low-post passing tactics that Kevin Longley devised for Tang Bei. By utilizing Tang Bei's ability to draw double teams, once Oakley double teams him, Tang Bei can pass the ball to Grant Long, who is following into the penalty area.

Grant Long received the ball and made a layup, easily scoring a basket.

"Great! Tang doesn't usually pass the ball much and doesn't get many assists, but he can occasionally make a good pass," Michael Brin said.

Tom Tolbert said, "The next question is whether Oakley will choose to continue double-teaming Tang, or give up on double-teaming him?"

Chamberlain said, "Ewing can't defend Tang alone; Tang hasn't even exerted his full strength yet."

Michael Brin said, "This is different from how Tang played in the regular season and the first-round series. He usually goes all out on offense from the start."

Chamberlain considered, "He's a rookie. Even if he hasn't hit the rookie wall, his stamina isn't that high anymore. Changing our playing style and activating our teammates first is the right thing to do."

With 10 minutes played in the first quarter, the Knicks led by two points at 18:20, prompting the Heat to call a timeout.

迈克尔·布林说道：“唐出手5次，投中3球，加上2罚1中，得到7分2助攻4篮板1盖帽的数据。”

Tom Tolbert said, "The Knicks defended the Heat's ball handlers very well and limited Tang's shot attempts."

He also failed to mount a fierce low-post offense, lacking a single dominant post-up game, and displayed a lack of dominance tonight.

Michael Brin said, "In addition, both of his assists came from low-post plays with Grant Long, and both were passes made under double-team pressure from Oakley."

Tom Tolbert said, "As the Knicks' core player, Ewing only took 3 shots and made only 1 for 2 points under Tang's one-on-one defense."

Fortunately, the Knicks' perimeter defense was excellent, limiting the Heat's outside offense and also restricting Tang's scoring, thus maintaining the Knicks' lead.

Chamberlain said, "Oakley had a good shooting touch in the first quarter, and Grant Long's defense against him was a failure, allowing him to score 6 points on 3 of 4 shots."

Michael Breen analyzed: "The Knicks' perimeter defense is very good. After Glen Rice made a three-pointer, he missed the next two shots, and the other players' shooting percentage was not high either."

Tom Tolbert said, "To beat the Heat, you have to rely on perimeter defense. The Bulls won two games against the Heat this way, even though they avoided interior contact during the regular season."

Michael Breen said thoughtfully, "However, the Knicks' perimeter defense is far inferior to that of the Bulls."

The other two were also taken aback upon hearing this.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 20-24, with the Heat trailing by 4 points.

In the second quarter, Tang Bei did not play for the first two minutes, as did Ewing. With ten minutes remaining, both of them entered the game at the same time.

The score at this point was 22-30, with the Heat trailing by 8 points.

(End of this chapter)