The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 136 A Grand Dream: The Bull's Dilemma

2:2, Bulls attack.

"Shh!"

When BJ Armstrong dribbled the ball up the court, there was a considerable amount of booing in the Miami Arena, and then the boos grew louder and louder.

“That’s right, boo the Bulls whenever they get the ball, especially Michael Jordan, haha!” Bill Walton laughed.

Bill Russell laughed and said, "The Bulls' home court is known as a 'devil's home court,' and Miami fans have learned that lesson, haven't they?"

BJ was lurking in the left corner, Carter White pulled up a step outside the left midfield, and Pippen had the ball outside the three-point line on the left wing and was one-on-one against Glen Rice.

Unlike when Leonardo was there, Cartwright, although old, still has some mid-range shooting ability, so Tang Bei can't leave him too much space and can't directly sit under the basket.

He was defending in the left midfield position, which reduced his defensive focus on the weak side significantly, compared to Game 4.

In Game 4, he even guarded the weak side of the paint, focusing on helping defend Jordan, which reduced Jordan's shot attempts to only 18.

Jordan roamed the right wing, and Steve Smith, lacking defensive experience and skill, couldn't keep up with his pace and was repeatedly beaten.

Just as he used Grant's screen to get rid of his defender for the third time and cut into the paint from the right elbow area, Pippen finally passed the ball to him.

This time, it wasn't a pass through Grant, the "cobra" in the high position, but a direct pass; the ball flew over Tang Bei's upper side.

Tang Bei tried to block the ball but missed. He quickly turned around, just as Jordan caught the ball and leaped up. Tang Bei arrived from the side and blocked the shot.

His left hand reached over Jordan's body and slapped the basketball that Jordan was holding in his right hand.

The two men made contact in mid-air. Jordan's aerial combat ability was inferior to Tang Bei's, and he was knocked aside. His right hand managed to avoid Tang Bei's block, and then the two fell to the floor.

Tang Bei was too heavy and landed first, while Jordan made a layup just before landing.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei, who landed first, quickly slapped Jordan's wrist, sending the ball out of bounds.

"Thugs."

Jordan gestured to the referee that he had committed a foul by hitting the hand.

He doesn't usually do this, but today's game was too important, so he had to put pressure on the referee.

Unfortunately, the referee pointed to the Bulls' baseline, giving them possession of the ball, but did not call a foul on Tang Bei.

Jordan shrugged, making an expression of disbelief.

"Enough already, Mr. Jordan, are you putting on an act? This isn't Hollywood," Tang Bei couldn't help but retort.

"Get lost!" Jordan said irritably.

He tested the referee's bottom line: this is still the Heat's home court, and he doesn't have any star referee calls here yet.

The Bulls attacked again, but time was running out. BJ Armstrong took a three-pointer from the corner, but missed, and Tang Bei grabbed the rebound.

The Bulls launched another full-court press, with Tang Bei positioned at the free-throw line to receive the shot.

Amid the cheers of the home fans, Coles made a short pass to Glen Rice, who then passed back to Coles. Coles then suddenly launched a long pass, sending the ball flying from the backfield to the frontfield.

The Bulls' defense failed to press the ball back three times, indicating that their defense would also fail this time.

As the long pass occurred, Cobra Grant on the right wing immediately rushed to the free-throw line to double-team Tang Bei.

"ball."

At that moment, Grant Long immediately cut inside to the basket and shouted.

When Tang Bei received the ball, Cobra Grant was right next to him. Hearing his teammate Grant Long's shout, he immediately turned to the right, avoiding Cobra Grant's attempt to steal the ball, and then threw the ball to the floor of the penalty area with his left hand.

"Bounce pass".

"In the CCTV live broadcast studio," Sun Zhenping shouted.

Under the basket, Grant Long received the ball and made a layup, easily scoring a basket.

Bill Russell smiled and said, "Tang's high-level support was indeed very well done."

Bill Walton said, "He has a high mid-range shooting ability, and his ability to turn and attack the basket from there is also very strong."

He knocked Cartwright down on the last offensive possession, so this time Grant double-teamed him, creating an open shot for Grant Long under the basket.

Hakeem Olajuwon said, "Simply put, he is a very dangerous ball-handler in the high post, so much so that even if Grant Lang chooses to leave Grant Lang open, he will still double-team him."

But I don't think that's the right choice. I'd rather have Tang Bei shoot from the free-throw line than have Grant Lang open under the basket.

At this point, Cobra Grant also regretted that he had made the wrong choice.

But when something happens, it's impossible to stay completely calm, and he immediately put his regrets aside.

The Bulls missed one shot on offense, and the Heat attacked, resulting in the same situation happening again.

This time, instead of double-teaming Tang Bei at the free-throw line, Grant Lang followed him into the paint.

Instead of passing the ball to the basket, Tang Bei suddenly did a Tai Chi spin, drove into the paint, took a step, and leaped into the air, flying towards the basket.

At this moment, Grant Lang, who had just reached the basket, saw Cobra following him in. He did not stop under the basket, but accelerated and continued to run forward, trying to pull Cobra out from under the basket and create space for Tang Bei to attack the basket.

"It's going to be bad!"

Seeing this, both Phil Jackson on the sidelines and Michael Jordan on the court felt a jolt in their hearts.

Horace Grant saw Tang Bei flying over and tried to dodge, but he had just run to the basket and there was no way to dodge.

The next instant, Tang Beifei arrived.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, Cobra Grant was thrown into the air by Tang Bei's terrifying impact.

“You can’t hurt a cobra,” Hakeem Olajuwon said.

Bill Walton said, "Tang averages more points and is more efficient than Michael, and the Heat also have an advantage in rebounding."

Without a low-post anchor and high-post playmaker, even with a good perimeter defense, the Bulls' interior defense probably won't be able to overcome the Heat.

Bill Russell stared at the screen and said, "He's up. He should be fine."

"That's good."

The other two then breathed a sigh of relief.

Bill Walton said, "In the Eastern Conference Finals games, Grant avoided strong confrontations with Tang, but he was still knocked down several times."

As a superstar center, Hakeem Olajuwon has played for many years without winning a championship, and he absolutely does not want to see Tang Bei make it to the finals this time.

Bill Walton also had a good relationship with Jordan and was also a commentator, so he was more willing to see Jordan make it to the Finals and then complete a three-peat.

Of the three, Bill Russell was the only one who didn't care. He was happy to see Jordan succeed, and he was also happy to see Tang Bei, whom he admired, reach the Finals in his rookie season.

On the field, Cobra Grant was panting heavily, feeling as if he had been hit by a truck, with broken bones and tendons.

Anyway, his body had just experienced a huge impact, and now he felt uncomfortable all over, wanted to vomit, and his head was a little dizzy.

My left wrist is also a bit sore; I braced myself when I landed.

Xu Jicheng said, "With Tang Bei's impact force, being hit by him is no different from being hit by a car traveling at a few dozen miles per hour."

Han Qiaosheng said, "If you don't get hurt by such an impact the first time, that's considered lucky. If you don't get hurt by it the second time, that's truly incredible luck."

Xu Jicheng said, "Leaving aside the external impact, if you don't protect yourself properly when you fall, you may get injured."

At 2:6, Phil Jackson called a timeout, giving Grant a chance to rest.

"Michael, stop the full-court press for now, we're at a disadvantage in the frontcourt," he told Jordan.

"OK." Jordan nodded.

After the timeout, the Bulls attacked, and Jordan scored a basket, making it 4-6. The Heat then attacked.

Tang Bei moved into position under the basket to receive the ball, but BJ Armstrong at the top of the arc did his best to block Coles' passing angle towards the basket.

Glen Rice immediately moved out to receive the pass from Coles and, before Pippen could close in on the defense, threw the ball directly towards the basket.

“A passing distance of more than ten meters,” Sun Zhenping said quickly.

When the pass occurred, the Bulls double-teamed the area under the basket.

Three players joined the attack; Grant and Pippen rushed in, leaving only Jordan and BJ outside.

Even with three people surrounding him, it wasn't as much of a hindrance as Leonardo alone posed to Tang Bei. Tang Bei jumped the highest, received the pass in the middle of the crowd, and upon landing, he suddenly turned to face the basket, knocking the three men off balance before leaping into the air.

"boom!"

Even with Grant and the others' six arms, they couldn't hold him down. With a powerful slam, he smashed the ball into the basket, knocking Cartwright over in the process.

"Di!"

The referee blew his whistle and awarded Cartwright a foul for hitting his hand.

"That's fierce! Haha..." Xu Jicheng laughed loudly.

“Cartwright has collapsed twice tonight.” Sun Zhenping had a thought, but it was a live broadcast, so he couldn’t say it out loud.

“Yes, twice.” Han Qiaosheng nodded in agreement.

The two looked at each other and laughed.

When Phil Jackson saw Cartwright get knocked down again, he made a decisive substitution, sending in backup center Stacey King.

Tang Bei then made the free throw, making it 4-9, and the Bulls went on offense.

Then the tide turned dramatically as the Bulls went on a 6-0 run, making the score 10-9 and forcing the Heat to call a timeout.

First, Jordan made a shot, and then immediately launched a half-court defensive press. He and BJ teamed up to steal the ball from Coles again and scored a fast break. Pippen then stole the ball from Glen Rice, and BJ scored a layup on the fast break.

Bill Walton said, "The Bulls' perimeter defense intensified, and the Heat were very passive. Tang couldn't get the ball inside."

Bill Russell said, "Tang has been back in the low post for the past few possessions. He should move up to the high post to facilitate and get his perimeter teammates moving more open."

Hakeem Olajuwon said, "Yes, when Tang is facilitating from the high post, it is indeed difficult for the Bulls to cut off the Heat's inside-outside connection because Tang himself is on the perimeter."

During the timeout, Tang Bei indeed moved up to the high post to set a screen for Bimbo Coles.

After the ball was separated, Coles, who was dribbling and breaking through, was blocked by Stasser King below, and BJ Armstrong took the opportunity to chase after him.

At this moment, Coles passed the ball to Tang Bei, who turned and cut to the basket. Tang Bei took a step and flew up to face the retreating Cobra Grant under the basket.

"Fuck you!"

Seeing Tang Bei's unrestrained dunk, Cobra Grant was furious, but having been badly injured by a collision not long ago, he dared not block it and could only leave the space under the basket open.

"boom!"

"WOW!"

As the loud thud of the ball hitting the rim erupted, cheers erupted from the Miami Arena.

Phil Jackson knew this wouldn't work. If they continued playing like this, as long as Tang Bei received the ball at the high post and no one blocked him, he would definitely rush in and dunk every time.

He immediately made a substitution, replacing Stasser King, who had just been brought on.

Stacey King was the Bulls' sixth overall pick in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft, but he failed to live up to expectations and became a fringe player.

He is 211 cm tall but weighs only 104 kg, and his physical strength is not as good as that of veteran Cartwright.

Another backup center, Scott Williams, is an important rotation player in the frontcourt, but he weighs only 104 kilograms and is only 208 centimeters tall, and mainly serves as a backup at the power forward position.

The last backup center is Will Perdo, who is 213 cm tall and weighs 110 kg. He is the most marginal player in the Bulls' frontcourt, but also the one with the best physical strength.

He called out to Perdo, saying encouragingly, "Vell, it's time for you to show your worth. I need your strong resistance. Just block Tang Bei, like Leonardo did."

"Fuck you!"

Will Perdo cursed inwardly: "Even Leonardo, who is stronger than a bull, was crippled by the bone crusher. Are you trying to kill me?"
I earn a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars, but you want me to do the work of someone earning millions of dollars a year? Do you think I'm stupid?

Besides, his relationship with Jordan wasn't good. Jordan bullied him during practice. He was a fringe player who had won two championships, so this third one was really dispensable to him.

Will Perdo entered the arena with a gloomy face.

10:11, Bulls attack.

"Snapped!"

Pippen was one-on-one against Glen Rice on the left wing, and after getting to the left elbow area, he turned and jumped for a shot, only to be slapped away by Tang Bei who came out to defend.

Glen Rice gets the ball, and the Heat go on offense.

Steve Smith and Coles set a pick-and-roll at the top of the key. Coles dribbled to the right wing and began his drive.

Despite being double-teamed by Cobra Grant and BJ Armstrong, Bimbo Coles played exceptionally well, breaking through the double team, pulling down to the baseline, and then quickly breaking through along the baseline.

Cobra Grant quickly retreated to defend the basket, and Jordan, who was in the high post, also moved towards the basket.

Coles dribbled into the penalty area and suddenly jumped to shoot.

Jordan was a step too fast and had no chance to block the shot.

He turned his head and looked towards the basket, then hurriedly shouted, "Watch out!"

The basketball slid over Grant's blocking hand, then over the rim, and flew to the left side of the basket.

On the left wing, Tang Bei pushed past Will Perdo and quickly cut into the paint, leaping up and grabbing the ball with both hands.

"boom!"

The next instant, those large hands grabbed the ball and slammed it into the basket.

"Oh!"

Almost simultaneously, with a powerful impact, Tang Bei's body slammed into Grant's back, who had just landed.

With a heavy thud, Cobra Grant staggered and lunged forward. He instinctively braced himself with his hand on the floor, but his left wrist instantly felt like it was broken. He then fell headfirst onto the floor, his nose bleeding from the impact.

But he couldn't care less about his nose, because the pain in his left wrist was unbearable, so much so that he grabbed his wrist and rolled around on the floor.

"Grant is injured."

"In the CCTV live broadcast studio," Xu Jicheng said excitedly.

"This is bad...this is trouble for the Bulls."

Sun Zhenping started speaking but quickly changed his mind, unable to hide the smile on his face.

Han Qiaosheng said seriously and with a seasoned air, "Ladies and gentlemen, an accident has occurred. The Bulls' starting power forward, Grant, has injured his left wrist while falling to the ground..."

On the sidelines, Phil Jackson looked extremely serious. He first called a timeout, and then called on backup center Scott Williams.

Bill Walton said, "Although Williams is the Bulls' most important rotation player in the paint, he only averages 19 minutes, 5.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. His main role is to grab rebounds."

At this point, he shook his head and said, "The Bulls' strength lies in their trio, in Pippen and Jordan, and in Jordan himself. Their bench is really just average."

During the regular season, aside from the "Big Three" (Armstrong, Williams, and Williams), only Armstrong averaged 12.3 points per game, while Williams, who ranked fifth, saw his scoring drop to 5.9 points.

Hakeem Olajuwon said, "The Bulls win because of their starting lineup. They don't have quality players on the bench. When the starters are injured, no one can step up."

Bill Russell said, "There are seven Bulls players with annual salaries of over a million dollars, and only three or four players have the ability to get such contracts."

If Grant is unable to play, then I dare say the Heat's chance has truly arrived.

On the Bulls' bench, Phil Jackson found himself in a very difficult situation.

With six big men, Leonardo is out of the game, and if Grant can't play either, there will only be four left. Veteran Cartwright was also badly injured today. Even if we make it to the Finals, he's not confident against the powerful Suns. So we can't afford to lose any more big men.

However, if the interior players still don't engage in strong confrontations with Tang Bei, can they get past the Heat?

At least, he no longer has the confidence to win this away game.

Although they have home-court advantage in the upcoming Game 7, can they win if Grant is still unable to play?
Grant came down at this point, and in a short time, his left wrist was already swollen. Regardless of the injury, he definitely couldn't play in this game.

Grant was somewhat regretful. He had injured his left wrist when he was knocked away earlier, but he thought it wasn't a big deal and that he could finish the match. He never expected this...

In the NBA broadcast studio, Hakeem Olajuwon shook his head and said, "How can the triangle offense work without low-post support and high-post playmaking?"

Bill Walton said, "Without Grant, the interior defense has completely collapsed, and Tang will control the rebounds even more. The triangle offense can still work, but the substitutes are definitely not as good as Grant, and the offense will be greatly affected."

Bill Russell said, "Next, Tang will control the rebounds, strengthen his low-post offense, and completely destroy the Bulls' interior defense."

At the same time, they kept the Bulls' defense pinned in the low post, creating more space for their outside shooters. Once their outside offense came alive, no matter how many points Michael scored, the Bulls would still lose.

Hakeem Olajuwon nodded and said, "Williams cannot fill Grant's role. Pippen and Jordan's connection on the strong and weak sides will not be as good as before, and they may even play separately. The Bulls should start to increase their ball-handling isolation plays, and there will be fewer assists."

At this point, he shook his head and said, "Pippen doesn't have the ability to score big, and Michael can't hold off Tang alone. The Bulls are in trouble."

(End of this chapter)