The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 217 Match Point
Tang Bei only followed up to the left waist position, staring at Van Exel who charged in.

Van Exel could either pass the ball to Divac, who is now open, or drive in for a layup.

He gritted his teeth and accelerated, cutting down in front of Tang Bei.

Tang Bei quickly turned around and followed, while simultaneously blocking the passing lane between Van Exel and Divac from behind.

"here."

On the right wing, Jordan, who was familiar with Tang Bei's abilities, saw that Van Exel was about to be blocked, so he quickly squeezed past Chapman, calling for the ball while running towards the paint.

Van Exel, who was preparing to force a layup, had already jumped with the ball, but he felt terrifying pressure from behind and suddenly threw the ball towards Jordan at the last moment before releasing the shot.

Tang Bei had already jumped, which meant he was faked out, but as he landed, Jordan received the ball in the right waist position and launched a jump shot.

"brush!"

Water splashes, two points hit.

Bill Walton praised, "Michael Jordan is still in very good form, making both of his mid-range shots."

4:7, Heat on offense.

Both teams then missed a shot each, and it was the Heat's turn to attack again.

This time, Tang Bei paused at the high post, pretending to set a screen, but when Campbell was guarding him, he suddenly did a Tai Chi turn, instantly getting rid of his opponent and cutting into the paint.

"Oh!"

Outside the arc, Avery Johnson quickly dribbled the ball and then passed it inside.

Although Divac in the right midfield position made a move to defend the basket, he was not as fast as Tang Bei. Even if he could get to the basket, he would not dare to stand in front of him.

"boom!"

Amid cheers from the crowd, Tang Bei once again completed an alley-oop dunk.

4:9, Lakers on offense.

"Bang!"

Jordan had his second possession and drove past Rex Chapman before pulling up for a jump shot, but it was his first miss of the night.

Tang Bei grabbed the rebound in the backcourt, and the Heat launched an attack.

"brush!"

After receiving the ball on the left side, he was double-teamed by Lakers small forward George Lynch. He then passed the ball to Glen Rice, who was open and made a mid-range jumper.

Bill Russell said, "The Heat went 5-for-6, and Glen Rice had a good night, going 2-for-2."

Bill Walton said, "4:11, the Lakers made 2 of 4 shots and committed one turnover. It's all about shooting percentage. Tang Bei's offensive efficiency is extremely high. If your offense isn't efficient, you can't beat the Heat."

Barkley, equally bewildered, asked, "So, Beal, what do you think the Lakers should do to improve their offensive efficiency?"

Bill Russell laughed and said, "Bill, you probably don't know, and I don't think Phil Jackson or Michael Jordan would either."

Charles Barkley laughed and said, "If they had known, they wouldn't have gone from the Bulls to the Lakers."

The Bill brothers were taken aback, then chuckled.

"Well, I've said the wrong thing again. I hope Michael doesn't find out." Barkley realized his mistake and chuckled awkwardly.

The game continued, and after Van Exel scored a basket, Rex Chapman missed a shot under Jordan's defense.

Fortunately, Tang Bei grabbed the offensive rebound, and the Bulls quickly collapsed their defense, forming a three-on-one situation in the paint.

"Pass the ball?" Xu Jicheng asked loudly.

"boom!"

In the next instant, Tang Bei turned around like a tiger, smashing through the double-team of Campbell and George Lynch, and delivered a powerful two-handed dunk, knocking Divac down amidst the referee's whistle.

"WOW!"

The entire Miami Arena erupted in thunderous cheers, like a boiling volcano.

Han Qiaosheng shouted with great excitement: "Two and one! Tang Bei took on three defenders under the basket, and all three Lakers defenders fell to the ground. This was an extremely dominant attack under the basket, a great second-chance opportunity..."

At 6:13, the Lakers called their first timeout.

"Does Phil Jackson have a way to solve the problem of severe fear of defense?" Bill Walton asked.

“I don’t think so, Charles just said that,” Bill Russell said.

"Haha..." The two burst into laughter after they finished speaking.

Barkley chuckled and said, "No kidding, really. If you put an O'Neal in the low post, and then add a very fast and aggressive power forward, I think you should be able to limit Tang, whether it's double-teaming him off the ball or helping on the weak side."

Bill Walton said with a strange expression, "O'Neal + Olajuwon? O'Neal + Mutombo? That would only work if they both joined the Lakers on minimum contracts."

After thinking for a moment, Bill Russell said, "Michael is eligible for the non-Bird exception next season, and the Lakers can re-sign him on the cap."

"But O'Neal and Olajuwon's contracts have expired and they don't qualify for the Bird exception. If they go to the Lakers, given the current market, a multi-million dollar annual salary would be necessary."

"The Lakers could sign one of them and then re-sign Michael on the cap, but two of them are definitely not an option unless they really sign on a minimum contract."

Barkley analyzed, "According to previous information, Tang Bei reached a sign-and-trade agreement with the Heat in order to complete a three-peat with them."

“That must be true, otherwise he would have already been traded,” Bill Russell said.

Barkley continued, "The Heat have Tang Bei's full Bird rights. After the sign-and-trade, according to the current Bird exception rules, the next team will also retain full Bird rights, which is quite advantageous for the next team!"

Bill Walton said, "Actually, Michael Jordan could have signed and traded with the Bulls after this season, so the Lakers could have inherited the full Bird rights."

Bill Russell said, "They all have their own considerations; Michael Jordan and Tang Bei are in different circumstances."

Barkley chuckled and said, "Yes, Tang Bei wants to stay with the Heat for another season because he wants a three-peat and has to stay for another year."

"And Michael, he doesn't have the chance for a three-peat. Since he's already fallen out with the Bulls, there's no need for him to stay for another year."

"The Lakers just need to re-sign Michael. Michael will lose some money because he only qualifies for the non-Bird exception, which will restrict his contract extension. But since he has made this choice, he probably doesn't care about the money."

None of the three dared to reveal details about Jordan's contract extension. After Jordan went to Los Angeles, his income from commercial endorsements alone increased by tens of millions of dollars this season. Whether the Lakers were among the contractors who offered him these commercial contracts, nobody knows.

With so much commercial revenue, would Michael Jordan care if his contract renewal was smaller?

Is there something fishy about the Lakers and Jordan's contracts? David Stern would love for Michael Jordan to go to Los Angeles or New York as soon as possible, so why would he care?

After the timeout, the game resumed.

The Lakers substituted Campbell, and Magic Johnson, weighing 117 kilograms, came on to play the power forward position.

"Old man, when I'm attacking the basket, don't get in my way, or you'll be retired on the spot," Tang Bei earnestly reminded him as he entered the game.

Magic Johnson was so angry his head was throbbing. He retorted, "Kid, shut your stinking mouth. I'm not made of clay."

"I'm so grateful for your kindness, I'll run you over if you want," Tang Bei muttered in Mandarin.

"What are you talking about?" the magician asked.

Tang Bei said in English, "I'm telling you, you need to lose weight. You have more fat than a sardine, your body fat percentage must be over 20%!"

"Shut up!"

Magic Johnson said angrily.

On Lakers' offense, Magic Johnson actively sought the ball in the low post on the right wing. After receiving the ball, he faked a move and then turned and drove to the basket.

Tang Bei moved in time and blocked the way.

Magic Johnson, however, calmly delivered a brilliant pass, passing the ball under Tang Bei's armpit to Divac behind him.

"Pretty!"

Upon seeing the pass, Bill Walton couldn't help but praise it.

The next instant, Divac dunked on the left side of the basket, then Tang Bei slapped him and the ball back to the floor.

"Di!"

The ball was still in his hands when the referee called a traveling violation.

Possession changes, Heat attack.

Tang Bei aggressively entered the paint to establish position, forcing Divac and Magic Johnson to double-team him off the ball. Avery Johnson then lobbed the ball in.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei jumped the highest, grabbed the ball, and then turned and sprang into action.

"boom!"

With a loud thud, Magic Johnson was knocked to the ground, and Vlade Divac was slammed to the ground.

Magic Johnson gasped for breath on the floor, experiencing for the first time just how intense the most terrifying low-post battles of the 1990s were.

Bill Russell said, "In the 1980s with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, the competition in the paint wasn't nearly as intense, and I don't think Irwin would be able to adapt to the current level of competition."

Bill Walton said, "In Game 6 of the Finals during his rookie season in 80, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was injured, and Magic Johnson played center. At that time, he weighed 100 kilograms. He not only withstood the competition in the paint but also dominated the inside offense and defense, winning the championship with a performance of 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists."

Then he changed the subject, saying, "If the level of competition had been like this back then, with his physique, he probably wouldn't have survived in the paint and would have had to play outside."

Barkley chuckled and said, "I wonder how long Magic can keep this up. I'm really looking forward to it."

Magic Johnson didn't last long. After he entered the game, Tang Bei repeatedly entered the paint to establish position, forcing Johnson to continue double-teaming him.

Tang Bei attacked him relentlessly, knocking him down for the third time. He couldn't get up, suffering a muscle strain in his lower back, and had to leave the game. He had played for less than four minutes in total.

Even Magic Johnson couldn't help it; Phil Jackson was completely out of ideas.

Since they couldn't contain Tang Bei's efficient offense, Tang Bei, in turn, limited the Lakers' inside offense on the defensive end, making it difficult for the Lakers to even keep the score close.

Even if Jordan had a good shooting night, his efficiency was still no match for Tang Bei's.

When the bench players came on, Alonzo Mourning replaced Don Bei to continue guarding the paint, still causing the Lakers a lot of headaches. Bill Russell said helplessly, "Among the current centers, the strongest is probably one dominant player and four superstars, Mourning should be the sixth strongest."

"I really want to know what other teams think about him, a near-superstar center who debuted at his peak and is now playing as a backup for the Heat?"

"Ha ha……"

The other two burst into laughter.

After laughing, Barkley said, "Despair, what else could it be?"

Bill Walton said, "The Heat are really lucky. Kurt Thomas, whom they drafted, has established himself as the starting power forward, which allows Mourning to stay on the bench with peace of mind."

"Peace of mind? NONONO..."

Buck said sarcastically, "Everyone knows he was relegated to the bench. Pat Riley's plan was a twin towers lineup, pairing him with Tang Bei, but Tang Bei thought he didn't have a mid-range shot and could only play off the bench."

With the three commentators providing commentary, the match fell into Tang Bei's rhythm.

When he goes all out on offense, the point difference will widen immediately; when he slows down his offense to rest, the Lakers will use Jordan's offense to slowly catch up in points.

But no matter how hard the Lakers tried, the point difference kept widening.

Ultimately, the Heat maintained their composure at home and secured a comfortable victory in Game 1, winning 91-106 by 15 points.

孙真平高兴地道：“唐北27投20中，命中率74%，16罚11中，命中率68.8%，轰下了51分16篮板3助攻3抢断7盖帽1失误2犯规的数据。”

“乔丹28投15中，8罚7中，轰下37分7篮板6助攻4抢断1盖帽3失误3犯规的数据。”

Xu Jicheng continued, "The Heat's perimeter defense is really not as good as last season. Jordan's shooting percentage is as high as 53.6%. As an outside player, and on the road, that's quite good."

"But his opponent was Tang Bei, who had a 74% field goal percentage. He scored 14 more points with one less shot attempt. This huge gap is something that the other Lakers players cannot make up for."

Han Qiaosheng said, "The Lakers are having a really tough time. Their starting lineup can't get into the paint defended by Tang Beizhen, and their bench players can't break through Mourning in the low post. It's all about outside offense."

"In perimeter offense, Jordan was the most efficient. The other Lakers players were just digging holes for Jordan. Who could help Jordan fill those holes?"

"Haha, judging from this match, Tang Bei's three-peat is a sure thing," Xu Jicheng laughed.

"It should be stable now," Sun Zhenping said with a smile.

Jordan remained calm; he had known all along that the Lakers couldn't beat the Heat this season.

However, his three-peat was thwarted by Tang Bei, and now Tang Bei is going to complete his three-peat over him. So, as calm as he was, the finals process was extremely painful and cruel for him, given his fiercely competitive nature.

After the game, he returned to the locker room without saying a word, did not attend the post-game press conference, and did not care about the fine.

His agent, David Falk, accompanied him as they left the Miami Arena, saying as they drove, "Michael, come back next year. You'll have another chance."

"next year?"

Jordan felt that his physical condition had declined slightly in the past two or three years, not as good as during his peak period of winning two consecutive championships, but his competitive state was still at its peak.

With his skills and talent, he even believes that he can still dominate All-Star guards even when he's 40.

He still harbors a strong desire for a three-peat, but at 34 years old, he can't bring himself to say it.

Even he himself found it hard to believe that a 34-year-old veteran could launch an attack on a three-peat against such a terrifying opponent as Tang Bei.

However, he really wanted to achieve a three-peat and build his own dynasty.

As Jordan left the arena, the Heat's press conference was underway.

Most of the media's questions were directed at Tang Bei, but there were exceptions.

A New York Times reporter asked, "Mr. Micky Arison, if the Heat win three consecutive championships, would you still trade Tang?"

Micky Arison shrugged and said, "I'm the last person who wants Don to leave the Heat. I believe he can bring more championships to Miami, and it would be my biggest wish for him to retire here."

"So, does the Heat have any plans to trade him now?" the reporter pressed.

“You’ll have to ask Pat about that; I’ve left the team matters to him,” Mickey Arison said with a smile.

The reporter looked at Pat Riley, who smiled and said, "All I can tell you is that Don is not for sale."

"Tang, do you consider yourself an untouchable asset for the Heat?" the reporter asked.

Tang Bei said somewhat indifferently, "For me, winning this championship is the most important thing right now, so let's not ask any more questions that are unrelated to the finals, OK?"

The next reporter asked Stan Van Gundy, "Mr. Head Coach, the Heat's three-peat dynasty seems to be a done deal. As the head coach who brought about this glory, will you continue as the Heat's head coach next season? Has the management indicated that they will renew your contract?"

Stan Van Gundy is in an awkward position; he's not going to be the Heat's head coach next season—that's Pat Riley's job.

After thinking for a moment, he stammered, "This question, well, yes, is unrelated to the finals, sorry."

Tang Bei chuckled inwardly. Pat Riley was practically drooling over the head coach position, practically reaching out his claws. Van Gundy had absolutely no chance.

After Game 1, the media coverage of the championship was almost unanimously in favor of one side, with only the Los Angeles media holding firm on their position.

Game 2 begins on the 3th.

Magic Johnson's back injury has not healed, so he is unable to play.

The Heat continued their winning streak, securing their second consecutive home victory.

Glen Rice had a breakout performance, scoring 24 points and hitting 6 three-pointers.

Mourning was also in good form, playing 30 minutes and scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

With his teammates in such good form, Tang Bei played more conservatively, scoring 31 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 8 blocks in 38 minutes, focusing more on rebounding, playmaking and defense.

After the Heat won two straight home games, Los Angeles media outlets remained defiant, claiming that the Lakers would definitely come back in the next three home games.

On the 4th, both teams moved to Los Angeles.

On the evening of the 5th, at the Great Western Forum stadium.

A large number of Hollywood stars, singers, models, and celebrities appeared at the event, turning the final venue into a giant fashion show and social event.

Greta Garbo, a direct descendant of the French nobility, has renounced her family inheritance rights and rarely participates in social activities, yet she enjoys immense global fame.

Those seven rubies made her the most envied bride in the world; her appearance attracted the attention of numerous celebrities.

At 7:30, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Miami Heat: Tang Bei, Kurt Thomas, Glen Rice, Rex Chapman, Avery Johnson

Lakers: Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, George Lynch, Michael Jordan, Nick Van Exel
Barkley said, "The Lakers announced that Magic Johnson's injury has not recovered, but they have not put him off the injured list. I don't know if he will play tonight."

Bill Russell said, "Whether he plays or not, he has no crucial role in the game. He is no longer the invincible Magic Johnson he once was."

Bill Walton nodded and said, "At 117 kilograms, he's too slow to play point guard. If he can get back to 100 kilograms, he can play point guard and avoid intense inside battles. The Lakers would have a chance then."

Bill Russell said, "That's right, he plays the power forward position, and his fear is too strong. He was even stronger than Chamberlain in the Finals. He is the strongest in history, so strong that he makes all opponents despair. Magic Johnson had no way to deal with Tang Bei on both ends of the court. The Lakers had no chance at all."

At 8 o'clock, as soon as the game started, Tang Bei launched a fierce attack on the basket.

Campbell's size is only about half the size of a meat shield, so he can't hold on or keep up with Tang Bei. Tang Bei either has to force his way into the basket or conserve his energy and use his speed to get in.

Once the ball went in, no matter how many Lakers players went in to defend, it was useless; Tang Bei quickly dominated the Lakers' paint.

前四分钟，唐北4投4中，3罚2中，轰下10分1盖帽2篮板，在客场率队打出一波12：4的攻击波。

After the timeout, Alonzo Mourning replaced Kurt Thomas, and the Heat completely shut down the paint on the defensive end, preventing the Lakers from getting in from the perimeter and rendering them ineffective inside.

However, on the offensive end, Tang Bei and Mo Ning still have overlapping offensive zones.

When the Heat's two big men are both concentrated in the paint, the Lakers' defensive strength in the paint is concentrated, the space in the paint is locked down, Tang Bei is restricted in the paint, and the outside shooters can't penetrate, so the Heat's offense begins to shift outwards, and their offensive efficiency declines.

In this situation, Jordan's influence became apparent, and the team slowly began to close the gap.

"What the hell!"

Tang Bei cursed under his breath.

He understood perfectly well that Stan Van Gundy's decision not to send Mourning onto the court earlier was definitely due to instructions from Pat Riley.

The purpose should be to force him to move up to a higher position, giving Mourning more space in the lower position.

The ultimate goal is to give Mourning more opportunities in the Finals, so that after he leaves next season, Mourning, who performs well in the Finals, can more easily become the leader of the team.

He knew that Pat Riley didn't care about a three-peat, let alone a sweeping victory. As long as there were no problems on the surface, losing this game was no big deal.

How could he possibly give in? It's the head coach's prerogative to send someone onto the field, but how they play is entirely up to him.

"Get out of the paint. I don't care if you're shooting mid-range or setting screens for the perimeter, get out of the paint immediately," he told Mourning.

Mourning is in the paint with four players crowding under the basket, leaving him no room to maneuver. It would be better to let him take on two opponents under the basket.

Mourning was determined not to listen, but he was also very clear that if this led to a disadvantage in the game, Tang Bei would not let him off the hook when he returned to the locker room after halftime.

Moreover, Tang Bei is the captain, and the captain has the right to make tactical adjustments on the field. He must listen to them, otherwise he will be ostracized again in the locker room.

Next, after Mourning pulled out of the paint, the Heat's inside offense came alive again, and Tang Bei once again dominated the paint.

Pat Riley was extremely frustrated and grew to dislike players like Tang Bei who didn't execute tactics on the court.

The game began to fall into Tang Bei's rhythm again. Michael Jordan attacked and defended like crazy, but it was still to no avail.

All his efforts only hurt the Heat's outside shooting, but were useless against Tang Bei, because the Heat's offense and defense were based on Tang Bei.

Ultimately, the Heat won their first away game, sweeping the series 3-0 and taking a 3-0 lead in the Finals.

Tang Bei scored 54 points with a shooting percentage of 68.5%.

Jordan also scored 42 points, but his field goal percentage was only 46.4%.

Although the scores were similar, the difference became significant when considering shooting percentages, a difference so large that no other Lakers player could fill the gap.

After losing Game 3, the Los Angeles media fell silent.

(End of this chapter)