The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 203 Finals 50+
Soon, the second half began.

Tang Bei continued to be the main offensive force, but no longer directly entered the paint to establish position. The Rockets consistently played a collapsing defense, attacking under double teams, which greatly depleted his stamina.

His teammates weren't shooting well today, so his scoring task was very heavy.

In the third quarter, he moved to the high post to facilitate passes, or make mid-range shots and dunks from the high post. His efficiency was not as high as in the first half, but it was still very high.

In this quarter, the Rockets' shooting touch remained intact, and they made many shots that they usually couldn't make. Just as Barkley said, they could make even random shots.

The Heat's shooting touch still hasn't returned, but Dell Curry stepped up, coming off the bench for 9 minutes and scoring 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Tang Bei scored 15 points in a single quarter and racked up 48 points in three quarters, but the Heat trailed by 7 points, 82-89, widening the gap even further.

The player returned to the bench. Tang Bei, being a traditional Chinese man who respected his teachers, did not intend to publicly fall out with Kevin Longley.

He plans to take over everything on the court in the final quarter. Once the players are on the court, the head coach's role becomes minimal, and everything will depend on the players to execute.

At this point, the role of the team leader and the core player on the court will become apparent. Given his status in the Heat, he should be able to change the defensive tactics set by the head coach on the court, even though he has never done so before.

At this moment, Billy Cunningham and Lewis Shaffer arrived at the bench. Shaffer said seriously to Kevin Longley:

"Kevin, we should finish the sweep and keep playing like this. We can't come back tonight, so we need to make some adjustments to our defensive tactics in the final quarter. What do you think?"

Kevin Longley felt his dignity had been disregarded; the management was clearly supporting Tang Bei. Enraged, he coldly retorted:

“Mr. Shafir, whether we sweep or not doesn’t affect our chances of winning the championship. Winning the championship is the most important thing. We already have match point, so sweeping doesn’t mean much. Winning Game 5 or Game 6 makes no difference.”

Billy Cunningham and Lewis Shaffer frowned, exchanged a glance, and then Cunningham said:

"Mr. Longley, we still hope to adjust our defensive tactics in the final quarter."

Kevin Lengley angrily questioned, "I don't understand why the management is interfering with my duties at this crucial moment in the championship race? Who will take responsibility if we fail to win?"

Cunningham and Shafir were dumbfounded. If they lost after leading 3-0, it only proved that the head coach was useless. Who should take responsibility?
"President, there's been a conflict between the Heat's management and the head coach."

"is it?"

Not far away, David Stern received some information.

He does hope for more suspense in the finals, ideally going to a Game 7, but he won't interfere with the game.

Meanwhile, the media reporters at the scene noticed something amiss at the Heat's booth; it seemed an argument had broken out, and all their cameras were pointed at them.

With limited rest time between rounds and already a minute wasted, Billy Cunningham had no choice but to cut to the chase, saying seriously:
“Mr. Lengly, the management’s decision must be carried out, or we will suspend your authority.”

"You? You've gone too far!"

Kevin Longley was so angry that his face turned blood red.

The break was about to end, and no tactics had been decided yet. All the Heat players were looking at Kevin Longley.

Enraged by the public revocation of his coaching authority, Kevin Longley slammed his tactical board to the ground and exclaimed:
"In that case, your management team should personally direct this match, and you will bear all the responsibility."

After saying that, he turned around and headed towards the players' tunnel.

"Oh!"

Upon witnessing this scene, the audience at the Peak Arena gasped in astonishment.

"WOW!"

The gasps immediately turned into cheers, and all the home team fans realized one thing: the Heat were in turmoil, the head coach had left, and the game was practically won.

Billy Cunningham glared coldly at Kevin Longley’s back, then turned to assistant coach Alvin Gentry and said, “Alvin, you will temporarily take over as head coach.”

Gentry was stunned. My strength lies in offensive tactics, while Mr. Longley is the one who trains defense. Now it's time to change the defensive tactics. What can I do?
Billy Cunningham immediately realized something was wrong. Gentry was good at offense, and another assistant coach, Tony Fiorentino, was good at basic training. Now that Lengley was gone, there was no defensive coach available.

He hadn't considered the possibility that Langley might back out, but Langley, overconfident, actually did.

With the final quarter over, the referee blew his whistle, signaling the players to enter the game.

"The head coach is unreliable, and the management is unreliable too."

Tang Bei was somewhat annoyed and helpless. If the management wanted to take action, they should have resolved the issue during halftime. Making the conflict public now would only do more harm than good.

"We're going to play, all the starters are going to play."

Tang Bei stepped forward, first calling out his teammates, and then, after all the starting teammates gathered around, said, "On the offensive end, I'll take the lead. If you have an opportunity, take it decisively, OK?"

"OK."

He whispered again, "On defense, guys, we'll play a 3-2 zone defense, but we'll switch and double-team the ball handler to see if we can catch them off guard."

"OK."

Bill Russell has received some information from frontline reporters and said:

"The Heat are experiencing internal strife at the most crucial moment, specifically between the management and the head coach. Could losing the head coach affect the Heat's chances of winning the championship?"

"This game is probably going to be lost, we'll see how things go from here on out," Bill Walton said.

Barkley gloated, "Hakeem and the Rockets' luck has come. I believe they have the ability to win four straight games and make NBA history."

Bill Russell asked, "No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in the Finals. Now that the Heat are in turmoil, do the Rockets have a chance to turn things around? Let's see what happens."

In the CCTV live broadcast studio, the three commentators were also dumbfounded. They asked Zhang Heli for advice, and Zhang Heli provided some information.

Sun Zhenping said with a bewildered look, "Are they all crazy at this point? What kind of conflict could the management and the head coach have?"

Han Qiaosheng said, "I hope it won't affect our chances of winning the championship."

Xu Jicheng said, "Anyway, the conflict has nothing to do with Tang Bei, but we need to resolve the issues between the management and the head coach. If we lose the series after leading 3-0, the Heat might collapse. Everyone's just watching the show."

At this time, many NBA team owners and management were indeed watching the show, each with their own ideas.

"It's a pity, why wasn't it a conflict between management and Tang Bei?" Knicks president Dave Checkerts thought with great regret.

Celtics vice chairman and president Auerbach also expressed some regret, saying that he would be willing to trade ten future first-round draft picks for Tang Bei if he were willing to leave the Heat.

When Lakers owner Jerry Buss saw the infighting within the Heat, he immediately realized his opportunity had arrived and made a phone call to Jerry West.

Jerry West believes this internal conflict may involve Tang Bei, because it's unlikely that management and the head coach would suddenly have a conflict during the third quarter break; there must have been a reason beforehand.

This is definitely related to the team falling behind. The conflict may have occurred during halftime and broke out in the locker room, but it did not resolve the issue.

Tang Bei is the leader of the Heat's locker room, so logically speaking, the locker room problems are most likely related to him.

"Boss, I'll ask around and see if there's an opportunity to trade Tang Bei."

“Jerry, I’m willing to pay any price, even if it’s a stake in the team, like Magic Johnson, 5%, and sell it to him after he retires.”

"5% of the shares?"

Jerry West was extremely envious and jealous. From players to management, he dedicated his entire life to the Lakers but never received a single share of the team.

At the Peak Arena, the final quarter begins.

The Rockets were on offense, and backup point guard Sam Cassell performed well, continuing to play in the final quarter, advancing the ball from the left wing to the frontcourt.

The Heat deployed a 3-2 zone defense, with Kendall Gill guarding the high post, Glen Rice guarding the right wing and Avery Johnson guarding the left wing.

Sam Cassell slowly approached the left wing three-point line with the ball, Drexler on the right wing made a run to the side, and small forward Mario Elie stopped at the top of the arc.

Robert Horry, playing power forward, was positioned at the left corner, defended by Kevin Willis.

Hakeem Olajuwon positioned himself in the low post on the right wing, using his position to keep Tang Bei firmly in the low post, preventing him from coming out to help defend.

Avery Johnson began pressing closely, creating opportunities for his teammates to double-team.

Kendall Gill, positioned at the high post, didn't immediately double-team him because Sam Cassell's passing was excellent, and Mario Elie was very accurate from three-point range today, making 3 of 4 shots, all of which were wide open.

Just then, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"Don?" He didn't think it was Hakeem Olajuwon who came up, because today Hakeem had stayed in a low position to keep Don in a low position.

Realizing that Tang was coming up and could cover Mario Elie at the top of the key, he immediately lunged at Sam Cassell.

Sam Cassell saw Kendall Gill double-teaming him, and he also saw Tang Bei moving from the low post towards the free-throw line, while his teammate Hakeem Olajuwon was cutting towards the basket.

He must pass the ball immediately, otherwise he will be double-teamed.

It looks like there are two open shots, one under the basket and one at the top of the key, but in reality there's only one. Kendall Gill has cut off the passing lane between him and the top of the key, leaving only the area under the basket open.

The area under the basket and the top of the arc form two passing lines with him, and in the middle of these two lines lies a deep sense of fear.

Severe fear can threaten or even cut off two passing lines at the same time, so no matter who he passes to, the passing action must be sudden, and he must never reveal his true intention to pass before passing.

As for who to pass the ball to, it's obviously the leader under the basket. If Mario Elie doesn't pass the ball to the leader, he'll be fine if he makes the shot, but if he misses, the leader will yell at him.

The next instant, he suddenly brought the ball together and pushed it towards the top of the arc with both hands.

The next moment, Tang Bei stepped forward, crossing the free throw line, and made a move to help defend Mario Elie at the top of the key.

However, he doesn't think Sam Cassell will actually pass the ball to the top of the key, because if he comes up, Hakeem Olajuwon in the low post on the right wing will definitely cut to the basket.

As for Hakeem Olajuwon under the basket and Mario Elie at the top of the key, the rookie should be able to make the right choice about who to pass to.

He didn't even need to gamble, because between Kassel and Mario Elie, there was Kendall Gill, who had been double-teaming him in the past. To pass to the top of the box, he could only make a lob pass, which was very risky.

He braked immediately after his right foot landed, and then immediately spun around like a tornado.

Just as Tang Bei took a step forward, Sam Cassell suddenly pulled back his outstretched hands, then blocked Avery Johnson's press with his left elbow, and with his right hand, he hurled the ball towards the basket.

"not good!"

Just as he threw the ball, he saw that Severe Fear had already turned around, which instantly made his scalp tingle.

"really!"

Tang Bei excitedly turned around and took a step down. The moment he landed, he slashed forward with his right hand.

"Snapped!"

A large hand cut right into the passing line and intercepted the ball.

"Interception! Interception!"

Zhang Heli, sitting in the media section behind the baseline, shouted excitedly.

"Squeak..."

As the offense and defense switched, both sides immediately turned around and ran towards the Heat's frontcourt.

"Whoosh!"

Tang Bei passed the ball to Kendall Gill, and then launched a fast break himself.

Kendall Gill dribbled down the court at full speed, Mario Elie at the top of the arc veered off course, and Sam Cassell was hot on his heels.

He charged down from the right arc, but suddenly stopped and slowed down in the right midfield position, then pulled to the right wing. At this moment, Tang Bei rushed over the arc and he immediately passed the ball.

Tang Bei didn't even glance at Mario Elie under the basket. He leaped into the air, caught the ball with both hands in mid-air, and glided towards the basket.

Mario Elie wouldn't dare stop Tang Bei's flying attack on the basket; those who dared to stop him had been injured by the impact of severe trauma in the previous two seasons.

"boom!"

The next instant, a loud thud echoed through the Houston Summit.

"WOW!"

A cheer erupted from the Heat's side, with white towels waving on the bench as owner Arison, management, and coaches cheered.

"50 points, viewers! Tang Bei has scored on a fast break, bringing his total to 50 points!" Zhang Heli shouted excitedly as the camera switched to him.

Kevin Longley, who had just returned to the locker room, happened to see this scene on TV, snorted, and turned off the TV.

He knew his coaching career with the Heat was over, but he wasn't worried at all. With his current qualifications, many teams would be willing to offer him big contracts, far exceeding those offered by the Heat.

"A double team?"

On the scene, Rockets head coach Tomjanovich frowned.

From last year's Finals until just now, the Heat's perimeter players have never double-teamed. The sudden appearance of a double-team raises the question: has the defensive strategy changed, or was it Kendall Gill's impulsive decision?

He thought about Kevin Longley's behavior just now, and combined it with this double-team, he felt that the Heat were more likely to change their defensive tactics.

Although it's very possible, he's not sure and will definitely wait and see how the Heat play before making a decision.

84-89, Rockets on offense.

This time, the Rockets' offensive formation also changed somewhat, mainly with Hakeem Olajuwon holding the low post on the left wing, so Robert Horry went to the right corner.

Sam Cassell brought the ball to the left wing, spread out, and went one-on-one against Avery Johnson while keeping an eye on the weak side.

His previous mispass made him more vigilant and cautious.

Being a rookie, he was overly cautious and wary, and to avoid being double-teamed, he positioned himself closer to the left flank.

Soon, Sam Cassell found that passing had become more difficult because the passing distance had increased, making it easier for the ball to be intercepted.

Because the Heat didn't have the opportunity to double-team the ball handler, the other Rockets players couldn't get open either. As the shot clock ticked away, Cassell had no choice but to pass the ball to his leader, Olajuwon.

As soon as Olajuwon received the ball, before he could even execute his Dream Shake, Tang Bei abandoned his defensive duties and stepped back.

Hakeem Olajuwon, who was sticking out his rear end in preparation for his Dream Shake, felt a little embarrassed and quickly turned around to face the basket.

"Go ahead and shoot! With a 30% success rate, do you dare to take the shot?"

Tang Bei provoked Olajuwon with trash talk, which angered him so much that he immediately took a jump shot.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei, who was prepared, reacted instantly, took a step and jumped to block the shot, and with his superhuman jumping ability, he grabbed the ball directly.

In the CCTV live broadcast studio, Xu Jicheng laughed loudly: "Catch the hat! Haha, you defended so well..."

The Heat launched a counterattack, another fast break, which ended with Glen Rice scoring a layup.

86-89, the Rockets are on offense, still leading by three points.

The Rockets failed to score on two consecutive possessions, one by being intercepted and the other by being blocked, prompting the head coach to call a timeout.

Bill Russell analyzed, "The Heat, without their head coach, managed two consecutive defensive successes and launched fast breaks, which shows..."

Barkley interjected, "It shows that their head coach is completely unnecessary, and they play better without him."

"Ha ha……"

The other two laughed.

After laughing, Bill Walton said, "Tang Bei completed both the steals and blocks, but these two defensive plays were not entirely a reflection of individual defensive ability. Rather, they were the result of everyone's participation in the defense and a success of the defensive system."

Therefore, from this perspective, head coach Kevin Longley deserves immense credit for developing this defensive system.

Bill Russell nodded and said, "I guess the conflict between management and the head coach is that the team is behind and the defensive tactics haven't changed, which is the most likely reason."

Barkley nodded in agreement, saying, "Kevin Longley's defensive tactics were a great success in last year's Finals, and they were equally successful in the first three games of this Finals, effectively limiting the Rockets' outside shooting."

Bill Walton said, "So, was it that Coach Lengley stuck to the original defensive tactics when they were behind, and the management wanted to change them?"

"The Heat's management is ready for a championship celebration, and they hope to sweep the title tonight," Bill Russell said.

(End of this chapter)