The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 9: The opponent in the final is so weak!
On April 1st, the CBA Finals Game 1 took place, with the Haida team facing off against the Cats and Birds team led by renowned CBA coach Flip Saunders.

The final is a best-of-five series, with a 2-2-1 format. The Cats and Birds team has the home advantage.

Although it was during March Madness and the CBA had little influence, Tang Bei was still not noticed by the media, and few people knew about him.

But after a few games, Tang Bei has come into the sights of many NBA teams. NBA scouts are everywhere at the games, and there are also more media reporters.

However, the media's main focus is still on the NCAA, as the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has entered the most intense quarterfinals.

In the evening, at Wilson Arena in La Crosse, Wisconsin, approximately five or six hundred fans bought tickets to enter the stadium.

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

Seaweed Team: Tang Bei, Bill Younger, David Myers, Philip Doron, Tom Morris
The Cats & Birds: Brian Lahiri, Derek Gervin, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mark Davis, David Rivers

Commentator Jalen Jerros explained, "The Sea Kelp only has Tom Morris with brief NBA experience, while the Cats and Birds have four players with NBA experience: Brian Lahiri, David Rivers, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Derek Gervin."

Mark Davis, the only shooting guard who has never played in the NBA, made the CBA All-NBA First Team this season, averaging 24.7 points per game and leading the Cats and Birds in scoring. Based on their overall strength, I favor the Cats and Birds.

Another commentator, Pavel Hanks, said: "The Cats and Birds also have home-court advantage, and Flip Saunders is a better coach. He led the Cats and Birds to a CBA championship in 89. I also favor the Cats and Birds."

Jalen Jerros said, "But that was the situation before Tang came along. With Tang's emergence, he alone could change the balance of power between the two sides because his advantage under the basket is too great, far stronger than other centers in the CBA."

Pavel Hanks nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, he will be a variable."

他接着拿起手边的数据表念道：“6英尺12英寸的身高，也就是213公分。臂展是7英尺6.55英寸，也就是230公分。吨位高达298磅，最大卧推500磅。这些数据说明，他是一头真正的巨兽。”

Jalen Gerald continued, "And his opponent, Brian Lahiri, the Cats and Birds' starting center, is only 6 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 230 pounds, and has a maximum bench press of only 300 pounds. He will be completely crushed."

Pavel Hanks then glanced at the stands and said, "Right now, the media and fans are focused on the NCAA, not on Tang, but that doesn't mean the NBA hasn't seen him."

Jalen Gerald nodded and said, "A lot of scouts came tonight, as well as the general managers of the Nuggets and the Rockets. They're all here for Tang."

In the stands, Eric Fleischer sat with Denver Nuggets general manager Bernie Bickerstaff and Houston Rockets general manager Steve Patterson.

These two general managers were not invited by him, which shows that Tang Bei has indeed come into the sights of these general managers, greatly increasing his prospects in the talent show.

Now it's time for the starting lineup, with the away team, Hai, taking the lead.

Tang Bei, as the key contributor to advancing to the finals, was the last to appear.

"Crack, click, click..."

A dozen or so reporters rushed to take pictures of him.

Inside the player tunnel, Cats and Birds' leading scorer Mark Davis asked, "Do you think this Chinese kid will be able to establish himself in the NBA?"

Jaren Jackson Jr., who played for the Spurs two years ago, said with envy, "It's hard to say, but he definitely won't be left out. His static talent is too good, and his dynamic talent is also good. He has a chance in the first round."

"First round?"

Upon hearing this, David Rivers couldn't help but smile wryly, because he was also a so-called NBA first-round pick.

In 88, he was selected 25th overall in the first round of the NBA draft by the Lakers, but was waived after his rookie season and traded to the Clippers.

He played a dozen or so games for the Clippers this season before being cut, ending his NBA career in just over a season, far shorter than the average NBA player's career.

"You guys have to help me," said Brian Lahiri, the starting center, looking worried.

He was selected by the 76ers in the fourth round of the 87 NBA draft, with the 16th overall pick, but was quickly waived and had only a brief NBA experience.

He had already planned to avoid physical confrontation with Tang Bei as much as possible, since he knew he wouldn't survive against Tang Bei with his limited fighting ability.

“Brian, the only one who can help you is Derek,” David Rivers said.

Derek Gervin's face stiffened. "I'm a 203cm tall, 91kg small forward, and you're forcing me to play power forward and making me help him carry that monster? Do you want me to die?"
He was the 20th overall pick in the fourth round of the 85 NBA draft, a rookie for the 76ers, who was traded to the Nets. After two seasons with the Nets, he was eliminated.

He had absolutely no confidence in the face of a prodigy like Tang Bei.

At eight o'clock, the competition begins.

In the center circle, Tang Bei and Brian Lahiri are preparing for the jump ball.

The two stood face to face. Rahili looked half the size of him, short and thin, as if they were players in completely different positions.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei, being a head taller than his opponent, easily deflected the ball away, allowing Hai to lead the team in the attack.

When he entered the paint, Rahili used a fronting defense strategy, avoiding physical contact with him, which allowed him to easily get to the basket.

He easily pushed Rahili aside with one hand and raised the other hand high to ask for the ball.

The CBA, being aligned with the NBA, does not allow zone defense or early double-teaming of off-ball players, so Rashili will not have any help for the time being.

Tom Morris faked a run at the edge of the box and then passed the ball past David Rivers before lobbing it into the box.

The ball was lobbed high to avoid being intercepted by Brian Lahiri, who was positioned in front of him.

"boom!"

The next moment, Tang Bei hung above the rim, completing an alley-oop.

"So weak!"

He felt that the opponent in the final was the weakest. The opponents in the first and second rounds of the series were all stronger than this one, at least in terms of size and strength, better ability to fight, and tougher style of play.

This made him a little worried that if the opponent was too weak, the scouts might think that the data he produced was too inflated.

"A behemoth beating a bean sprout is a dimensional reduction attack. Tang, this monster, coming to play in the CBA is simply bullying people."

Cats and Birds head coach Flip Saunders unbuttoned his suit jacket, put his hands on his hips, and looked both angry and helpless.

He set up a double-team strategy under the basket, but it seemed to be completely ineffective. Tang Bei's talent was too great; once he entered the low post, he was unstoppable.

Unfortunately, none of the Catbirds' centers are heavyweights; they are all lightweight centers around 100 kilograms, with a focus on technical skill. They also lack height, have much shorter wingspans, and are far less athletic, making it impossible to stop them from getting close to the basket.

The NBA lacks a large number of quality centers, not to mention the CBA. Good centers are highly sought-after. He has to admit that Hai has been very lucky with his team.

(End of this chapter)