The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 49 The Unstoppable Rookie in the Low Position

Almost three minutes later, Tang Bei got another chance to attack.

He got into a deep post on the left wing, and Muggsy Bogues drove into the paint from the right wing, drawing the attention of the two big men in the paint before passing the ball to him.

"boom!"

He paid no attention to the defender behind him, received the ball and did another Tai Chi spin, dribbled once, and then smashed the opponent's rim with a powerful two-handed dunk.

"Oh!"

Gugliotta, who was covering the weak side, tried to block the shot, but he was knocked away by Tang Bei as soon as he jumped up. He slipped on the ground and his back hit the floor. As he slid backward, he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Xu Jicheng exclaimed, "Oh dear, this sixth pick named Gugliotta was knocked down by Tang Bei three times in the first quarter. Will he still have the courage to help defend and double-team Tang under the basket?"

Sun Zhenping exclaimed excitedly, "Tang Bei's three shots in the first quarter were all aimed at the basket. His ability to attack the basket in the low post near the rim is outstanding; he's simply unstoppable!"

"Oh no, I'm injured. I shouldn't have helped defend against this giant beast."

On the field, Gugliotta slid back two meters, lying there dizzy and panting, his chest and back aching terribly, and he was filled with regret.

Michael Breen said, "Tang's tornado-like spin move to the basket is too fast. It's not the speed a 135-kilogram center should have. His explosiveness is too strong."

Ellison failed to defend against Don's spin move once; he remained unharmed, with Gugliotta bearing all the damage. Don demonstrated his lethality in his debut.

Tom Tolbert laughed loudly: "Yes, Ellison is like a stool in front of Tang. All the damage Tang causes is taken by his teammates who are helping to defend."

Gugliotta is now likely injured, and his professional career has only just begun, which is very bad for him. Hopefully, he's not injured.

"stool?"

Michael Breen laughed and then said, "O'Neal is facing Ronnie Sekkali and John Salley tonight. He might run into trouble. Both of them are veterans, and their defense is much better than Ellison and Gugliotta."

Tom Tolbert nodded and said, "Yes, especially John Salley, a former member of the Bad Boys. His spider-like defense was impressive, his help defense was very strong, and his defensive style was very tough and ruthless, making him very intimidating."

Michael Brin said, "In comparison, both Ellison and rookie Gugliotta played too gently on defense and did not pose any threat to Tang."

At this point, the Bullets substituted the injured Gugliotta with backup center Greg Foster, a 90 second-round pick and a fringe player.

It's not that there aren't other backup centers; the reason we chose him is because of his 120-kilogram weight, which no other backup center can match.

Head coach Unseld doesn't want the season to start with a series of injuries to his frontcourt players in just one regular season game. The injury to sixth overall pick Gugliotta has already greatly annoyed him.

However, Tang Bei was also substituted, and Mike Gominsky took his place.

At this point, O'Neal was in trouble at the Magic's home court.

Ronnie Seccari was the primary defender, with John Salley providing help defense. Their defensive intensity far exceeded that of the NCAA, forcing him to commit three turnovers in the first quarter. He only scored 3 points, making 1 of 2 field goals and 1 of 2 free throws, but he did grab 3 rebounds.

Furthermore, he hasn't yet adapted to the pace and tactical system of the NBA. In addition, the Magic's tactical core consists of forward Scott and guard Nick Anderson.

These two were the Magic's first and second leading scorers last season. As a rookie, O'Neal was not the Magic's tactical core and did not receive enough tactical support.

In addition, he didn't control his fouls well, committing two fouls early in the first quarter and being substituted after only 7 minutes of playing time.

In contrast, although Tang Bei did not receive much tactical support, was not a tactical core, and had not adapted to the NBA's tactical system and rhythm, the opponent's defense was not as strong, so he performed better and did not make any mistakes in the first six minutes of the first quarter.

With two minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Hornets led by 4 points, and both sides made extensive substitutions.

With Tang Bei on the court, along with Reed, Kenny Gattuso, Curry, and Tony Bennett, the bench strength is not weak.

The Bullets' bench strength is inferior to the Hornets'; their guards are slightly better, but their interior strength is relatively weaker. However, the Bullets' interior defensive strategy is very clear: regardless of power forward Reed, they focus solely on Tang Bei, double-teaming him whenever possible.

JR Reed was the Hornets' fifth overall pick in the 89 draft. He was of average ability and suffered a serious injury last season, so he was past his prime.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei got the ball in the low post and then in the deep post, but was fouled as soon as he received it and was sent to the free throw line.

"The Bullets play a fouling strategy, and I heard Tang's free throws are terrible, even worse than Shaq's," Michael Breen said.

Tom Tolbert said, "The Bullets' interior strength is far inferior, and they certainly can't just watch Tang keep attacking their basket, so they have to resort to this method."

Tang Bei made one of two free throws, but missed the second one. The Bullets grabbed the rebound, and shooting guard Smith quickly advanced to the frontcourt, heading straight for the basket.

Tang Bei returned to defense from under the basket with explosive power and great speed, no slower than a guard, but his defensive positioning was deeper, leaving him behind several guards from both sides.

At this moment, Bullets shooting guard Smith dribbled into the paint from the right wing, avoided Dell Curry who was retreating to the basket, stopped abruptly, turned around, and made a layup on the left side of the basket.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei rushed down from above, and in a leap, he clasped his hands together and caught the ball.

"what?"

A gust of wind whistled past his ears, and Smith, who was attempting a layup, was startled by Tang Bei who swept past him.

"Clap clap clap..."

A round of applause erupted in the stadium.

"Great! Tang's defensive speed was incredibly fast, delivering a timely block," Michael Brin exclaimed excitedly.

"brush!"

Upon reaching the frontcourt, Dell Curry took a mid-range jumper and made the shot.

With a stronger bench, the Hornets led by 8 points after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Tang Bei continued to play for four minutes before being replaced by Larry Johnson.

It is clear that head coach Allan Bristol is intentionally staggering the playing time of the two players to prevent their conflict from escalating.

However, no matter how they are separated, both are indispensable players for the Hornets, and they still spend most of their time on the court together.

The Bullets continued to double-team Tang Bei relentlessly under the basket or near the rim, employing fouling tactics.

The Bullets' several substitute big men took turns attacking, which not only made it more difficult for Tang Bei to attack and get into the paint, but also caused him to make mistakes.

This enraged Tang Bei, whose aggressive low-post offense caused the Bullets' interior players to suffer greatly, with one of their substitute centers getting injured and leaving the game.

In fact, by the second half, the Bullets' interior players were already fearful and dared not engage in strong confrontations with him, and their morale had been shattered by him.

However, Larry Johnson was in excellent form today, and Kendall Gill and John Newman were also playing well.

Ultimately, the Hornets secured a home-court victory, defeating the Bullets 115-129.

(End of this chapter)