The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 60 O'Neal: I Need to Practice Kung Fu

After the press conference, the Hornets set off overnight to face the Celtics at home in a back-to-back game tomorrow night.

"Alan, what are your thoughts on the team's current situation?"

Once on the plane, General Manager Tvercz called Head Coach Alan Bristol to a spot near the cockpit.

Bristol coughed and said with a hint of smugness, "The team is currently averaging 117.7 points per game, which is much higher than the league average, even close to ten points higher."

With an average of 106.3 points allowed per game, which is roughly the same as the league average, coupled with a three-game winning streak to start the season, I think it's quite good.

Dave Tvertzke smiled, but said in a somewhat serious tone, "Alan, what do you think of Don and Larry?"

Now Bristol knew what Tvortske wanted to ask, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"It's a bit of a problem. From the first game to today, they haven't had any on-court coordination, and they've had very little off-court communication either."

At this point, he added expectantly, "If they can coordinate their plays, our offensive capabilities will be even stronger."

Tvertzke said, "What about between Kendall and Gil?"

Bristol also felt a headache. It was really great to have three players on the team who could average 20+ points per game. Their scoring ability was too explosive, but unfortunately, all three of them wanted to compete for the spot.

After reviewing the data, he said, "In terms of the team's average points per game, Tang is number one, with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game, which is All-Star level."

Tvertzke smiled and nodded. Tang's performance was better than O'Neal's, which meant that his draft decision was very correct and wise.

Alan Bristol continued, "Larry Johnson averaged 22 points, 4 assists, and nearly 12 rebounds per game, but his defensive stats were much worse than Tang's."

He then emphasized, "Tang's defense in the paint is far superior to Larry Johnson's. His height and defense are a great help to the team. Because of him, our average points allowed per game is lower than last season, which was 113.4 points."

Tvortsk smiled again, signaling for the other person to continue.

Bristol continued, "Kendall Gill had 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Because of Larry Johnson's growth and the emergence of Don, his shot attempts have been suppressed, and his stats have declined significantly. In fact, he has lost the possibility of competing for the team's core position."

Tvercz understood what Bristol meant: last season was a battle between two strong teams, and this season it is still a battle between two strong teams, with Gill not being competitive enough.

After considering it, he said, "Gill is the core of the perimeter, he controls the ball, his stats won't decline further, and his importance is still very high."

Bristol nodded and said, "We also have Curry and Newman on the bench. Actually, our roster this season is really good. We have a strong offensive capability and are very competitive. As long as we can resolve the internal conflicts, making it to the playoffs shouldn't be a problem."

Tvortsk fell silent.

He couldn't resolve the rivalry between Larry Johnson and Don because it wasn't just about who was the team's core player; it involved other significant personal interests.

The core player of a team will definitely receive the most resources from the team, thus achieving better statistics and having the opportunity to enter the All-Star game and become an influential star.

An influential star athlete possesses enormous commercial potential and has the opportunity to realize their commercial value.

These benefits are even greater than the salary from playing, and no one would give them up unless their abilities don't match. As long as their abilities match, they will all fight for them.

Tang Bei went to sleep after boarding the plane. Tomorrow will be his first time playing back-to-back games, which will be a test of his physical strength, so he needs to get plenty of rest.

Fortunately, he could easily fall into a deep sleep and fell asleep within minutes.

John Liu, who often suffers from insomnia, greatly admires Tang Bei's ability. His sleep is very light, he is easily awakened, and it is even more difficult for him to fall asleep again.

An hour and a half later, at 2 a.m., the plane arrived in Charlotte.

Tang Bei returned to his apartment at 3:00 AM, took another nap, and woke up at 6:00 AM feeling refreshed and energetic.

Around 8 a.m., John Liu had prepared a hybrid athlete's breakfast, neither entirely Chinese nor Western. It consisted of a large bowl of oatmeal and lean meat porridge, a kilogram of slightly charred steak, a large portion of boiled chicken breast, tomato salad, some nuts, some bread, a large bottle of yogurt, two apples, a serving of stir-fried broccoli, a pot of rice, and so on.

He ate only one-tenth of all the food himself; the rest was all eaten by Tang Bei.

Eat less for breakfast.

Tang Bei rubbed his stomach. He had practiced martial arts for two hours after getting up in the morning, which had taken a considerable toll.

John Liu was speechless. This food could feed two pigs, and you're still not full?
Tang Bei picked up a few newspapers and, while digesting his food, used the opportunity to improve his English reading and writing skills.

"I still don't understand, John, can you read it for me?"

He looked at it for less than a minute before throwing the newspaper to John Liu.

"Tang, you've only been studying for a few months, it's normal that you don't understand it."

John Liu picked up a local sports newspaper, the Charlotte Observer, and said happily, "Tang, you beat O'Neal last night, and the media praised you."

"Really?" Tang Bei said happily.

John Liu flipped through the other newspapers again and said with some disappointment, "Out-of-town media are criticizing O'Neal's performance, but rarely mention yours, and if they do, they just gloss over it."

Tang Bei was somewhat disappointed, but thinking about it, it was normal; he was just a foreigner in this country.

John Liu added with a smile, "But the media is very interested in your ability to deflect heavy objects with minimal effort and your center of gravity disruption technique."

"Does anyone think my techniques were fouls?" Tang Bei asked.

“Not at the moment,” John Liu said.

At that moment, Eric Fleischer called to say that his jersey sales had been soaring in the past few days, with more than 300 sold yesterday alone.

This is good news, indicating that his influence in Charlotte is continuing to increase and his commercial value is beginning to emerge, which is beneficial to his competition within the team.

On that day, footage of Tang Bei smashing the basketball hoop and sending O'Neal into the stands with one hand frequently appeared on various television programs.

The media also unearthed footage of him fighting during CBA games, such as knocking out Ingram Bass with a single punch.

Although the other party always made the first move, some media outlets engaged in malicious hype, for example, by cutting out the earlier parts and only showing the footage of Tang Bei taking action.

In Orlando, at O'Neal's home, he was discussing center-of-gravity disruption techniques with his agent.

How should I handle this?

The techniques in combat and martial arts were completely beyond O'Neal's comprehension, and he asked with a blank expression.

Leonard Amoto said, “Don’t worry, Shaq, I’ve contacted an Aikido master and a Tai Chi master. They’re on their way, and I’m sure they’ll help you.”

O'Neal nodded. He hadn't known before that Tang Bei used fighting techniques, but now that he did, he was indeed a little at a loss.

“I can’t lose to that guy. He’s been hitting me like crazy. I have to beat him! I’m going to beat him again. Leonard, you have to help me. I need to learn kung fu.”

"Don't worry, Shaq, I'll help you."

(End of this chapter)