The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 198 There is no chance of losing
In the evening, the United Center was packed to capacity.

"Defeat the Heat!"

Countless Bulls fans chanted continuously.

In the away team's locker room, Tang Bei was watching TV when he suddenly said to his teammates, "Guys, our motto tonight is to sweep the Bulls."

"Sweep the Bulls!"

The locker room erupted in cheers, their morale soaring.

Kendall Gill and Kevin Willis were the most vocal, as they only have one-year contracts and their market value would skyrocket if they won the championship.

Given the Heat's current salary structure, they certainly don't have a chance to stay, and they know that, as does the management.

With a championship, their pursuit in their careers is no longer about achievements, but about big contracts and long-term agreements.

Not only them, but also other role players and key players.

Avery Johnson and Glen Rice both regret signing such long contracts; Johnson has one year left on his contract, and Rice has four.

Avery Johnson now has only one thought: to win three consecutive championships and build a dynasty. After that, he will move to another team and sign a long-term, big contract.

Glen Rice, on the other hand, is somewhat helpless because his contract is too long and the future is uncertain.

The starting lineup was announced at 7:30.

Miami Heat: Tang Bei, Kevin Willis, Glen Rice, Kendall Gill, Avery Johnson

Chicago Bulls: Luke Longley, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, BJ Armstrong

"Sweep the Bulls!"

With two points to go, the chant that rang out at the United Center immediately enraged the more than 22,000 home fans.

"Shh!"

A deafening chorus of boos swept through the United Center, and countless raised middle fingers dazzled the crowd, instantly maximizing the home team's momentum.

"Damn, be careful not to spit out your alveoli," Tang Bei complained.

"boom!"

Thirteen seconds into the game, he slammed a powerful dunk over Luke Longley, silencing the boos for three seconds.

"I said, sweep the Bulls! They don't have the strength to let us play Game 5!" He roared at a CCTV camera behind the baseline.

"Sweep the Bulls!"

Domestically, countless fans in front of their television sets echoed this sentiment with excited shouts.

"Snapped!"

Turning around, he rushed from the paint to the right elbow area and slapped Jordan's turnaround fadeaway jumper away.

The basketball flew towards the frontcourt, and Avery Johnson, at the top of the key, rushed to the front, retrieved the ball, and drove to the basket for a successful layup.

"brush!"

Jordan dribbled the ball from the backcourt and launched a fast break, driving to the right wing three-point line before pulling up for a jump shot, which went in.

"Wow, we actually won?" Xu Jicheng exclaimed in surprise.

4:3, Heat on offense.

"Shh!"

When the Heat were on offense, the boos were so loud they made everyone's heads spin and the entire arena tremble.

Kendall Gill wasn't to be outdone. He also launched a fast break and attempted a pull-up jumper, a move he was known for, but instead of a three-pointer, he opted for a mid-range shot.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, it didn't go in; another miss.

"My performance time!"

Pippen rushed to the basket, grabbed the rebound, and jumped up to deliver a powerful one-handed dunk.

Everyone was stunned. The United Center went from being filled with boos to being completely silent, while the hundreds of away fans laughed heartily.

Pippen was stunned, Jordan's face turned green, and Phil Jackson clutched his chest, wondering if he had a heart attack.

"You country bumpkin, so you're one of our comrades." Tang Bei looked at Pippen and suddenly realized.

"Is Pippen out of his mind?"

Why smash your own basket?

"Did that ball go in?"

"Of course it counts. Pippen committed one turnover and scored 2 points for severe fear. He's the Heat's on-court captain, so it goes to him."

"This is fucking ridiculous!"

Frustrated Bulls fans were buzzing with discussion, while the score on the monitor changed to 6-3, with Tang Bei scoring 2 points.

In the NBC studio, the three commentators and guests were already laughing hysterically.

Bill Russell laughed and said, "Congratulations Pippen, you've taken a big step toward a trade."

Bill Walton laughed and said, "It's just a mistake; it shouldn't affect his trade value."

"Ha ha!"

The guest smiled while the assassin laughed.

"That damned traitor!"

Michael Jordan looked up at the score, then at Pippen's embarrassed face, and really wanted to rush over and kick him.

Phil Jackson didn't make any substitutions, Pippen couldn't be taken off, and there was no timeout called. Pippen was unlikely to make the same mistake again.

"Bang!"

Jordan then missed a shot, which affected his mood.

"Keep the pace steady."

Tang Bei grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Avery Johnson, he said.

Upon reaching the free-throw line, he paused to assess the situation before deciding whether to enter the low post, where Luke Longley was positioned below him.

His gaze met Avery Johnson's, who was still behind the center line and hadn't reached the frontcourt.

The next instant, he suddenly turned to the right, slapped away Luke Longley's hand that was gripping his jersey, and entered the penalty area.

Almost at the same moment, Avery Johnson gathered the ball, pushed it with both hands, and passed it over Armstrong's head toward the basket.

The pass was too long, which still gave Rodman the opportunity to double-team under the basket.

However, Rodman didn't dare to stand between Tang Bei and the basket, so he only stood on the right side and hugged Tang Bei's waist with his left arm.

Tang Bei positioned Luke Longley behind him, used his right hand to push Rodman away, and stood up as the basketball approached.

As Don North jumped, Luke Longley placed his left hand on Don North's shoulder and pulled him down forcefully.

But Tang Bei's explosive power was terrifying. He still broke through Luke Longley's power control, jumped a full 50 centimeters high, caught the ball with both hands, and slammed it into the basket.

"boom!"

"Di!"

The sound of the basket exploding and the referee's whistle rang out simultaneously, silencing the boos from the United Center.

"Pretty!"

Xu Jicheng exclaimed in praise and laughed, "Two plus one, Luke Longley pulls people from behind."

Han Qiaosheng said excitedly, "Tang Bei's explosiveness is truly terrifying. Luke Longley is not like those perimeter players. He weighs 130 kilograms and is also very strong."

Sun Zhenping laughed and said, "To be able to jump that high, the explosive power is indeed terrifying."

"brush!"

Tang Beijia made the free throw, making it 9-3. The Bulls went on offense.

Pippen received the ball a step inside the three-point line on the left wing. The Heat, just like in the previous two games, played a 3-2 zone defense, with Glen Rice pressing the ball to create double-team opportunities for Avery Johnson, forcing him to pass the ball quickly and make mistakes.

Jordan moved quickly from the right wing to the top of the arc, and Pippen quickly passed the ball. Just as Jordan received the ball, he was double-teamed by Tang Bei and Kendall Gill, and was immediately forced to turn around to protect the ball.

"here."

Luke Longley waved and shouted as he ran toward the basket.

But with his back to the basket, how could Jordan possibly pass the ball? He had to keep it hidden in his arms, not daring to expose it at all.

"Michael."

At that moment, Pippen ran towards the center line, waving for the ball, and Jordan immediately passed it to him.

Upon seeing this, Tang Bei immediately retreated to the free-throw line as well.

“There are only 3 seconds left on the shot clock,” Bill Russell emphasized.

After receiving the ball, Pippen drove towards the wing and then forced a jump shot over Glen Rice's defense beyond the three-point line.

"Bang!"

The basketball bounced off the rim and was caught by Tang Bei.

The Bulls quickly retreated on defense, switching to man-to-man defense.

But with only four players retreating to defense, BJ Armstrong began pressing Avery Johnson from the backcourt.

Avery Johnson calmly pushed the ball into the attacking third, the others spread out, and he turned with his back to the defender, heading towards the edge of the box. Tang Bei suddenly moved up from the low left wing, receiving the ball from Avery Johnson at the high post. At this moment, Luke Longley was behind him, and Rodman was also eyeing him closely in the right midfield position.

"Squeak..."

The sound of sneers rubbing against each other came from the left wing as Glen Rice cut inside, with Pippen chasing him down the side, only half a step behind.

Tang Bei passed the ball when Glen Rice cut into the left midfield position. Rice received the ball, took a step and jumped, and Pippen leaped to block it.

But Glen Rice didn't shoot; instead, he suddenly tossed the ball into the air in front of the right side of the basket.

After passing the ball, Tang Bei immediately turned left and entered the penalty area, taking a quick step and leaping forward.

"boom!"

The next instant, the Bulls' basket was blown up.

"Beautiful! Alley-oop dunk, Glen Rice assists Tang Bei," Xu Jicheng exclaimed excitedly.

Sun Zhenping said, "Tang Bei's pass was good. Luke Longley's attention was drawn to Glen Rice, and then he took the opportunity to turn and cut inside to the basket."

At this point, the Bulls called a timeout.

Han Qiaosheng said, "It's 11-3 now, leading by 8 points. Tang Bei made all 3 of his shots, plus a basket from Pippen, and 1 of 1 free throws, for a total of 9 points. It's a very good start."

Xu Jicheng said, "In these three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat were very bold in their perimeter defense. Instead of double-teaming Jordan, they dared to double-team Pippen on the perimeter, which affected Pippen's performance and indirectly limited the Bulls' playmaking ability, putting the Bulls in a very passive position."

Sun Zhenping analyzed, "Tang Bei and Kevin Willis completely controlled the paint, which allowed the perimeter players to confidently double-team Pippen."

Xu Jicheng nodded and said, "That's right. It doesn't matter if the Bulls make a few open shots because of the double-teaming on the perimeter, and it doesn't matter if Jordan averages 40+ points per game."

If the Bulls' playmaking ability is limited, their already weaker offense, compared to the Heat's, will be even less effective against them.

Han Qiaosheng laughed and said, "In fact, the overall score was 2-0, and this game started with an 11-3 lead, which proves that this defensive tactic has not failed."

Xu Jicheng said, "In the first two games, Pippen scored 18 and 15 points respectively, with 4 and 3 assists. It can be seen that his playmaking ability was not well utilized, which further proves that the Heat's double-teaming tactics against him are effective."

On the Bulls' bench, Phil Jackson, who had called a timeout, didn't really have a good solution to the problem.

The Heat's defense has three key areas that are causing the Bulls a lot of trouble. If these three issues aren't addressed, the Bulls won't be able to execute their offense effectively.

The first area is a restricted zone blockade led by Tang Bei.

Block the Bulls' inside offense, prevent them from penetrating from the outside, and control the defensive rebounds to deny them second-chance opportunities.

This area meant the Bulls had virtually no inside offense, couldn't grab offensive rebounds, and had almost no second-chance opportunities.

The second aspect is the double-teaming of Pippen on the outside.

Unlike last year's Eastern Conference Finals, where the Heat only double-teamed Jordan, this time they double-teamed Pippen.

Pippen's ball-handling drew double teams, which, according to the principles of the triangle offense, was actually very advantageous for the Bulls, creating numerous open mismatches and isolation opportunities for Jordan.

Jordan did indeed achieve high rankings in the first two games, with impressive individual statistics.

But the Bulls couldn't win because the Heat didn't double-team Pippen when he drove into the paint; instead, they double-teamed him from the three-point line, completely defying common sense.

Pippen was double-teamed near the three-point line, and the double-team was too far from the weak side, so when Jordan ran out of space, he couldn't pass the ball quickly.

This resulted in Jordan scoring mostly through one-on-one plays, which was generally inefficient.

Therefore, this part actually disrupted the Bulls' organizational ability. At the same time, because Tang Bei blocked the paint, the Bulls had no low-post offense and no low-post offensive pivot, so the triangle offense could not be carried out smoothly.

The third point is Tang Bei's help defense and rotation on Jordan's perimeter.

This section supplements the second section. When Jordan was playing one-on-one, Tang Bei's help defense limited Jordan's offensive efficiency.

Phil Jackson's thoughts were even somewhat confused. After the players sat down on the bench, he remained silent for seven or eight seconds before speaking:
"Their defense against Scottie was designed to force Michael into one-on-one situations, and then further limit his shooting percentage through Tang Bei's help defense and rotation against Michael."

"From now on, Dennis will play center, guarding Tang Bei, fighting for rebounds, and on offense, drawing the defense under the basket to create space for the perimeter."

"Toni Kukoc plays the power forward position, high post playmaking, ready to receive Scottie's pass to Michael, and he can take the shot when he has an opportunity."

"If Tang Bei is drawn away from the basket, the player on the weak side must cut in immediately, and the ball handler should pass the ball."

"After BJ passes the ball, he doesn't necessarily have to stand rigidly in the left corner. He can take the opportunity to cut inside along the baseline to the basket, using his cut to draw Tang Bei's defense and reduce his interference with Michael."

The timeout ended, the players stood up, and he hurriedly said one last thing: "On the defensive end, it's still man-to-man, collapse the defense."

"Sweep the Bulls!"

On the other side, under Tang Bei's leadership, fierce slogans filled with murderous intent rang out.

"Shh!"

Bulls fans immediately responded angrily.

Jordan turned his head and looked over, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Xu Jicheng laughed and said, "Tang Bei repeatedly provoked the bull. I can almost see a matador holding a sword in one hand and waving a red cloth in the other, sending the bull off on its final journey."

Armstrong pushed the ball across the center line to the left wing, passed it to Pippen, and immediately ran behind him to the left corner. Avery Johnson, who was following behind, immediately double-teamed Pippen.

At this moment, Toni Kukoc had moved up to the high post, and Pippen quickly passed the ball before the double team could finish.

When Toni Kukoc received the ball, Jordan made a back cut and got an open spot in the right elbow area to receive the ball, and reached out for it.

At this moment, Armstrong, who had reached the left corner, also began to cut along the baseline into the penalty area and made a gesture to ask for the ball.

Tang Bei moved a step below the free-throw line, immediately forming a double team against Kukoc. At that moment, he noticed Jordan and Armstrong's runs.

If he comes up from the left to double-team at this moment, he can either double-team Kukoc or quickly double-team Jordan when Kukoc passes to him.

But Kukoc could pass the ball to Armstrong instead of Jordan, and Armstrong could then pass it to Luke Longley under the basket.

Therefore, he had no choice but to suspend his defensive duties.

The next second, Kukoc passed the ball to Armstrong.

Almost simultaneously, Tang Bei turned downwards to defend the basket.

But Armstrong was already open. Seeing Tang Bei return to defend the basket, he didn't pass the ball. Instead, he received the ball in the low post on the left wing and immediately took a jump shot.

"brush!"

Water splashes, two points hit.

11-5, the Bulls are still down by 6 points.

This offensive play was well executed, completely tearing apart the Heat's defense. The play worked, and the 6-point gap wasn't large, which relieved Phil Jackson and Jordan on the court.

Bill Russell analyzed, "The Bulls used timely passing, off-ball movement on the strong and weak sides, and accurate high-post playmaking to fully mobilize the Heat's defensive strength."

“When Luke Longley was on the court, the Bulls lacked high post playmaking ability, and Tang Bei could provide timely help defense and double-teams against Michael.”

"But just now, he was forced to give up his help defense at the high post and could only choose to retreat to defend the basket, which was a tactical success."

"boom!"

"Di!"

Tang Bei easily completed a powerful dunk under the basket, drawing a foul from Rodman.

The Bulls collapsed their defense, and several players rushed into the paint, only to be knocked over by his powerful drives to the basket.

Bill Russell laughed and said, "Well, when Toni Kukoc is on the court, the Bulls' height, size, and physical strength drop a level, which makes Tang Bei's offense under the basket quite easy."

"The Smiling Assassin Isiah Thomas laughed excitedly, "Luke Longley on the court only makes Don tire out a little. Even if all five Bulls players went up there, they couldn't stop Don."

Bill Walton nodded and said, "Don't even mention Luke Longley, didn't Hakeem Olajuwon get crushed by Don in last year's Finals? That's a super center."

Bill Russell said, "In his third season, Tang has achieved what the other three veteran super centers have not. His ability is truly in a class of its own among the four super centers."

The Smiling Assassin laughed and said, "So I don't think it's necessary to include him in the four super centers. That would be an insult to him. O'Neal should be included in the four, and Tang should be in a separate category. He is a dominant super center."

"Haha, one hegemon and four superpowers?" the Bill brothers laughed.

With Kukoc on the court, he, Pippen, and Jordan formed a core trio on the court, and his high-post playmaking did indeed improve the triangle offense considerably.

However, on the defensive end, they became even more passive and were completely unable to stop Tang Bei's attacks under the basket.

After Luke Longley, the starting center, was benched, Tang Bei consistently and aggressively entered the paint to establish position and demand the ball.

Neither Rodman's one-on-one defense nor Rodman and Kukoc's early off-ball double-team could stop him from establishing position under the basket.

The Heat's offense became very simple: just get the ball to the basket and wait for Tang Bei to dunk.

Tang Bei's most powerful inside attack shattered the Bulls' hopes of winning.

After Kukoc entered the game, he made all nine of his shots until the end of the first quarter, all of which were dunks under the basket. He also completed three and-one plays, drawing multiple fouls from the Bulls and forcing them to call two more timeouts.

When he left the court, he had made 12 of 12 shots in the first quarter, plus Pippen's dunk and 4 of 6 free throws, scoring 30 points.
Facing the camera switching to him, Zhang Heli excitedly said, "Congratulations to Tang Bei for scoring 30 points in a single quarter, breaking the NBA playoff record for individual points in a single quarter."

"what?"

Xu Jicheng and the other two in the live broadcast room were stunned.

Zhang Heli said, "In 1987, Eric Floyd of the Warriors scored 29 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the second round against the Jazz, and 51 points in total. This record was only just broken by Tang Bei."

"29 points in a single quarter, the NBA really has countless amazing players!" Sun Zhenping exclaimed in surprise.

"There are too many powerful people," Han Qiaosheng also said.

Sun Zhenping said with a smile, "The score is now 20:38. The Heat are leading by as many as 18 points, which is a very obvious advantage."

Han Qiaosheng asked, "Coach Zhang, what are your thoughts on the upcoming matches?"

The camera switched again, and Zhang Heli said, "Tang Bei was on offense in the first quarter, and he will definitely hand over the offense to his teammates in the second quarter."

"At this point, we need to stay close, strengthen our defense, and not let the Bulls recover too much. We need to maintain our double-digit lead and wait for Tang Bei to make another move. Then this game will be ours."

"Actually, the team's morale collapsed after the news of the Bulls' rebuilding began. The Heat had no chance of losing this Eastern Conference Finals series; the only question was whether they could sweep the series."

(End of this chapter)