The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 121: A tank that consumes a first-round pick every minute on average.

Tang Bei partnered with John Salley, who came off the bench in the last two minutes of the first quarter, in the frontcourt. The Knicks did not field Oakley, but instead fielded Stanley Roberts.

This 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 91 Magic draft played 55 games in his rookie season. He had injuries to his lower limbs and back. After the Magic drafted Shaquille O'Neal, he was traded to the Clippers, and then the Knicks traded him for a high price to use him as a defensive anchor.

But in reality, he absolutely did not want to be a meat shield. In terms of talent, although not exceptional, he was still quite good, and he was a starting center for both the Magic and the Clippers.

So after being traded to the Knicks, he was very reluctant to be a defensive player and had a major conflict with Pat Riley.

“Stanley, you have to stop him. That’s your job,” Pat Riley said with an extremely stern expression.

Stanley Roberts, with a cold expression, went on stage without saying a word, nodding or shaking his head, and without even glancing at Pat Riley.

Pat Riley shook his head slightly, feeling that the Knicks had made a bad deal this time, and a huge one at that.

He actually disagreed with the trade; trading two first-round picks for Roberts was too much of a loss, but he wasn't the general manager and couldn't interfere with the deal.

"Hopefully it will be of some use." Looking at Roberts' back, he suddenly thought of the young man's lower limb injury.

Michael Brin said, "Pat Riley's rotation is small in key and close games, with two games in the first round series using an eight-man rotation."

Chamberlain said, "John Salley doesn't have a mid-range shot, can't create space, and is a drag on offense. He doesn't match up with Tang, which makes Tang very easy to double-team."

Tom Tolbert said, "Now that the Knicks have brought in Stanley Roberts and are using him as a defensive shield, will that produce the effect the Knicks are hoping for in defending Tang?"

On the court, the Knicks are on offense.

"Snapped!"

Charles Smith, a pseudo-small forward, has a mediocre mid-range shot and no long two-pointers. He received the ball in the left elbow area and took a shot, but Tang Bei rushed up and blocked it with a big block, swatting the ball towards the Heat's frontcourt.

Coles gets the ball, and the Heat attack.

Tang Bei moved to the low left wing and tried to defend against Stanley Roberts, who weighs nearly 130 kilograms, but the defense didn't feel very strong.

John Salley was in the low post on the right wing, not entering the paint, and Ewing gave him a pass, guarding him right under the basket.

The defensive three-second rule hasn't been introduced yet, so Ewing can stay under the basket for as long as he wants, and he's very close to Tang Bei.

However, zone defense is still illegal, so he cannot get too close to Tang Bei and must stay at least an arm's length away. Otherwise, it would be considered an illegal defensive violation to double-team the player without the ball.

But the distance is only an arm's length, less than a meter, just a small step. When the ball is passed to Tang Bei, he can complete the double-team.

The Heat coaching staff offered some tactical solutions to the lineup featuring Tang Bei and John Salley.

When the weak side chooses to double-team, passing the ball to John Salley is the best solution.

However, it will put Tang Bei's passing ability to the test, since passing the ball while being double-teamed carries a certain risk.

This is actually the same choice as when Tang Bei partnered with Grant Long: the simplest method is the best method.

The ball was passed down to Tang Bei's backhand.

Unexpectedly, Patrick Ewing did not choose to double-team, but instead stood a step to the left of the basket.

If Tang Bei turns and attacks the basket, Ewing's defensive position will be an obstacle.

This was Pat Riley's decision; he didn't want to see Tang Bei execute low-post plays anymore, so he chose to abandon the double-team.

However, Ewing's defensive positioning can limit Tang Bei's drives to the basket, forcing him to shoot from the outside, which can also limit Tang Bei's offense and reduce his offensive efficiency.

After receiving the ball, Tang Bei noticed that Ewing was not double-teaming him, and Stanley Roberts was defending the baseline, so he immediately turned around, dribbled into the paint, and took a step.

He used his left elbow to block Stanley Roberts, dribbled with his right hand, changed direction, and took another step, this time directly in front of the basket.

Having lost his defensive position, Ewing had no choice but to move immediately.

But in the next instant, Tang Bei had already gathered the ball and jumped on one foot. As his body shot up, he flipped in the air and delivered a fierce one-handed dunk.

"boom!"

An extremely loud banging sound rang out above Ewing's head, sending chills down his spine.

"awesome!"

Facing the CCTV camera that switched to him, Zhang Heli said excitedly:
"Tang Bei demonstrated excellent ball control and footwork in low-post attacks. His improvement over the course of one season was truly remarkable."

Pat Riley was disappointed with Stanley Roberts' defense; the 130-kilogram player didn't provide any significant defensive impact and couldn't stop Tang Bei from turning and attacking the basket, failing to limit Tornado at all.

"Let's cut off his receiving, limit his shots, and keep a close eye on the other Heat players."

His mind raced. He had failed to defend against Tang Bei again, and he didn't have any good ideas. It was best to stick to the original defensive tactics.

Tang Bei's scoring is unstoppable; the only options are to reduce his shot attempts and prevent other players from scoring.

After inbounding the ball, he called a timeout, emphasizing the importance of perimeter defense and ordering his players to continue strengthening their defense on the ball handler in order to limit Tang Bei's shots.

90 seconds later, the Heat went on offense.

Tang Bei acted as a screen at the top of the key, running pick-and-roll plays with Brian Shaw.

Stanley Roberts didn't follow out completely, staying inside the paint, below the free-throw line.

After the ball was separated, Brian Shaw drove to the basket, Stanley Roberts blocked him, and Tang Bei quickly cut to the basket, where Brian Shaw passed the ball.

Stanley Roberts immediately retreated to defend the basket, and Ewing also rushed to help defend the basket.

But Tang Bei was too fast. After receiving the ball, he sprang up and pounced on the basket like a tiger with wings.

"boom!"

Amidst the loud thud of the rim, Stanley Roberts, who had only been on the court for two minutes, was knocked aside and collided with Ewing. As he fell, he lost his balance, and his legs became tangled together. Suddenly, he felt a tearing pain in his right knee, which had been injured last year.

"what!"

As he collapsed to the floor, he groaned in pain, rolling around on the floor clutching his right knee.

"It's over!"

Pat Riley shook his head upon seeing this.

Stanley Roberts was quickly helped down and taken directly to the locker room.

The team doctor's initial assessment is that it is likely a torn cruciate ligament, an injury that will end the season.

"The Knicks are really unlucky, two first-round picks! They're using up a first-round pick every minute they play," Michael Breen said.

"He's a first-round pick after all. Even though he's big, it's a shame he's only good as a meat shield," Tom Tolburton commented.

The Knicks brought in Oakley, and the game continued.

The combination of Ewing and Oakley in the paint is very strong; after all, they are one of the most powerful interior duos in the league, at least on the defensive end.

With six minutes left in the second quarter, the score was 30-38. Tang Bei, who had already scored 13 points, realized he couldn't close the gap and had to exhaust himself by starting to position himself under the basket.

Despite his best efforts to defend, Ewing couldn't stop Tang Bei and even took a sneaky elbow from him. As his ribs ached, Tang Bei seized the opportunity to get under the basket.

Seeing that the ball handler was not close to the top of the key, Brian Shaw took advantage of the fact that the defender was not pressing him closely and immediately lobbed the ball towards the basket.

Tang Bei positioned Ewing on the outside, leaped up with all his might, and caught the falling basketball with both hands.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Oakley rushed up and swung his elbow forcefully, a full-on fighting-style defense, completely disregarding Tang Bei's safety.

Tang Bei saw Oakley's movements, and his core strength exploded instantly. He did a crunch in mid-air, pulling his knees up.

"boom!"

"Oh!"

With a powerful slam of his hands down, Tang Bei slammed his knees into Oakley's body, sending him sprawling.

Charles Oakley's fierce elbow strike landed on Tang Bei's right arm, nearly hitting his face.

Under current NBA rules, physical contact before a dunk can be called a foul, but physical contact after a dunk can be left uncalled and not considered a foul.

However, this is the Knicks' home court, and home-court advantage is a must; it's an unwritten rule in the NBA.

"Di!"

The referee blew his whistle when Tang Bei kneed Oakley down.

With a thud, Oakley crashed onto the floor under the basket, clutching his stomach with both hands, his body curled up in a ball, his face turning blood red, and he gritted his teeth to keep from making a sound.

"Charles?"

Yu Yin panicked and rushed over to greet him.

The referee then gestured that the two points were invalid, patted his knee, and then signaled that Tang Bei had committed an offensive foul. "What did you do? That was physical contact after the dunk, couldn't you see it? Even a blind person could see it..."

Before Tang Bei could even defend himself, head coach Kevin Longley on the sidelines flew into a rage and started yelling at the referee.

Although his ability was average, he had enough experience. At the age of 32, he began coaching the Philadelphia 76ers in 72, which was his 15th coaching season.

"Kevin, don't be impulsive!"

Fortunately, the assistant coach acted quickly, grabbing him with both hands and dragging him to the bench. Had he been any slower, he might have received a technical foul.

With Ewing's help, Oakley got up, staring at Tang Bei with dead fish eyes, his teeth almost grinding to dust.

"Feeling wronged? Angry? You weren't feeling wronged or angry when you elbowed others," Tang Bei said provocatively, completely unconcerned.

"You bastard!"

Oakley's eyes were bloodshot. In all his years in the NBA, he had only ever suffered a major loss at the hands of Tang Bei, even breaking a bone in the process.

Tang Bei leaned down and whispered in Oakley's ear, "Old man, you dare to hit me hard? Even if your bones are made of iron, I can grind them to pieces."

There's always someone stronger, and the wicked need to be dealt with by other wicked people. The bloody threat made Oakley's eyes narrow, his mind clear, and his murderous aura subside.

The broken thoracic vertebrae seemed to be throbbing again, and the cramping pain in my lower abdomen was getting stronger.

"I'm so anxious, what are these two saying?"

"Damn it, can't you speak louder?"

After the baseline, seeing the two whispering to each other, the reporters were so anxious they wished they could attach their microphones to an extension pole and stick them directly into the mouths of the two from outside the arena.

Next, Tang Bei repeatedly ventured deep into the penalty area, which increased his physical exertion but reduced the difficulty for the ball handler to pass him the ball.

As long as he gets close to the basket, the ball handler just needs to lob the ball; no matter how skilled the defender is, they can't stop such a pass.

Of course, there are bound to be times when the pass is misplaced.

Because the Heat's outside offense was ineffective, the Knicks' perimeter players also began to double-team him, further increasing the difficulty of their offense.

On the defensive end, he continued to maintain the intensity of his defense against Ewing, forcing Ewing to shoot from the outside. It was because of limiting Ewing that the Heat were able to keep the score close.

After the second quarter, the score was tied at 48-48.

徐计成道：“唐北打了20分钟，次节9投7中，上半场14投10中，8罚5中。

半场轰下了25分2助攻8篮板1抢断3盖帽3失误3犯规的数据，但后面尼克斯外线参与对他的包夹后，失误增加，次节下半节就有两次。”

Sun Zhenping said, "Three big hats, two of which were given to Ewing, and one to John Starks who broke in."

Xu Jicheng said, "The Knicks are indeed one of the best defensive teams in the league, but fortunately their perimeter defense is not as strong as the Bulls'."

The Knicks' strong defense stems largely from the defensive prowess of their interior players, Ewing and Oakley, who arguably form the league's most formidable defensive duo.

Sun Zhenping laughed and said, "Even if they join forces, they still can't stop Tang Bei from wreaking havoc in the paint."

Xu Jicheng sighed, "It's a pity that Tang Bei's physical strength is too depleted. Every time he goes in to take position, it's a hand-to-hand combat battle."

Sun Zhenping said, "In the second half of the quarter, Charles Oakley seemed to be less rough in his defensive moves."

Xu Jicheng nodded and then shook his head, saying, "He was still very rough, but he didn't aim for Tang Bei's vitals anymore."

Watching the replay, there were still many elbow strikes; Tang Bei's chest and back definitely had many elbow marks left by Ewing and Oakley.

Sun Zhenping said, "The competition felt much more intense than in the regular season."

"This is the playoffs."

Xu Jicheng nodded and said, "Tang Bei's defense was very important in making the game a tie. They held Ewing to 4 of 12 shots and 2 of 3 free throws in the first half, for a total of only 10 points."

In the home team's locker room, Oakley took off his jersey and had the team doctor apply a cream to inhibit blood clotting factors and reduce blood viscosity.

He felt a burning sensation all over his chest and back, with a dull ache that penetrated deep into his muscles and bones.

"Fake!"

Pulling down my pants, I could see two swollen areas on my lower abdomen; they were painful to the touch.

"hiss!"

When the team doctor wiped his body, he couldn't help but gasp.

Ewing, standing next to him, also quietly took off his jersey and let the team doctor apply medicine to him.

He was the main defender against Tang Bei, and he had more injuries than Oakley, especially on his back and waist, which were covered in bruises.

During the process of double-teaming Tang Bei, the two players were knocked down a total of six times, Ewing twice and Oakley four times, and it was only halfway through the game.

"It's only the first half of the game."

Pat Riley looked at the injuries on the two players, his heart clenched, and he couldn't help but worry about the difficulty of this series.

In the away team's locker room, Tang Bei applied some more medicated oil to his chest and back.

On his bronze skin were some light-colored elbow marks, all bruises left from the first half of the game.

"Rub vigorously to dissolve the blood clots."

He told the team doctor's assistant to rub his back hard, and the assistant rubbed it for a few minutes until he was covered in sweat.

After finishing, Tang Bei drank a sports drink and ate two bananas. Feeling that he hadn't replenished his energy, he gave fifteen dollars to the team doctor's assistant and asked him to buy a cup of Grasse brand hot chocolate, which is a chain store in most stadiums.

Gerber likes this luxury brand of hot chocolate, and he liked it after trying it. It cost about seven or eight dollars, and the rest was a tip.

"Tang, is your medicine really effective?" Glenn Rice remained skeptical.

"Psychological effect."

Tang Bei uttered this word.

"Lied to me."

Upon hearing Tang Bei's words, Glenn Rice sensed something was amiss.

"Whatever, believe it or not," Tang Bei said.

Glenn Rice wanted to give it a try, but then thought better of it and decided against it.

Before the start of the second half, Tang Bei received a hot chocolate.

While sipping hot chocolate that could be pulled into strands, I suddenly thought of the investment team my junior apprentice had set up for him.

"Is this girl reliable? She's not familiar with the situation in China. I hope she doesn't lose all my money."

Soon, the second half began.

In the third quarter, the Knicks' defense loosened up a bit and their intensity dropped somewhat because not all of their starters were on the court.

Another reason is the significant physical exertion; it's impossible to maintain a high-intensity defense throughout the entire game. Even tigers have their moments of weakness.

The Heat seized the opportunity on the perimeter, with Tang Bei drawing the defense in the low post, allowing Glen Rice and Steve Smith to have a mini-breakout from beyond the arc, scoring 8 and 6 points respectively, with Smith even hitting two three-pointers.

Pat Riley realized something was wrong in the third minute and began to make substitutions, but the Heat's outside players had already found their shooting touch and couldn't be stopped for a while.

With Tang Bei hitting consecutive shots from beyond the arc, the defensive pressure on him in the low post was greatly reduced, and the Knicks' perimeter players dared not double-team him anymore.

He dominated Ewing and Oakley, scoring 13 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in the quarter, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, and blocking both Ewing and Oakley once each.

After the third quarter, the Heat scored a high of 36 points, leading the Knicks by as many as ten points, 84-74.

迈克尔·布林说道：“唐21投15中，命中率71.4%，12罚8中，命中率66.7%，已经轰下38分3助攻13篮板1抢断5盖帽。”

汤姆·托尔伯特接着道：“尤因18投6中，命中率只有33.3%，5罚3中，15分7篮板3助攻1盖帽。”

Chamberlain looked surprised and said, "The data difference is quite large, especially the shooting percentage. Tang dominated Ewing at home."

Michael Brin said, "You guys noticed that starting in the third quarter, when Ewing received the ball on offense, some home fans booed him."

Chamberlain said, "The main reason for such a big difference in performance is the difference in physical strength. Ewing can't get into the paint and relies entirely on mid-range two-point shots, but his shooting isn't that accurate."

Michael Breen nodded and said, "More than 84% of Tang's shots are in the paint, 50% are under the basket, and only 16% are outside the paint, which means only 3 of his shots are outside the paint."

Tom Tolbert said, "There's still a gap. Tang is guarding Ewing one-on-one, while the Knicks are double-teaming, or even triple-teaming."

Michael Breen reviewed the data and said, "Of Tang's 21 shot attempts, 13 were double-teamed, 3 were triple-teamed, and only 5 were undouble-teamed. Of those 5 possessions, 2 were fast breaks and 3 were alley-oop dunks."

(End of this chapter)