The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 144 New Season Opening Match
Kevin Longley said, "Don, as long as you're willing to pass the ball, they can create space for you and stretch the defense. You can easily get around 3 assists."

Tang Bei thought about it and agreed that the head coach's words made a lot of sense. He said, "Sir, do you mean I should reduce my shot attempts and scoring?"

Kevin Longley shook his head and said, "Theoretically, I just want you to be the Heat's offensive initiator. That's your new role on the team, not just an offensive finisher. That will make our offense more rational."

Tang Bei nodded thoughtfully, and Kevin Longley continued:

"This is why I want you to make changes. As for the reduction in shot attempts and points, there may be some reduction, but your ball possession will be greatly enhanced. Controlling the ball possession is the true control of a team, and that's what a team leader should do."

Furthermore, your importance to the team will be enhanced; you can make your teammates better, and winning will be easier.

"A true leader? One who controls the ball? Sir, I'll think about it carefully."

On October 25th, Tang Bei, who was still playing in the preseason, received a message from Jia Bao that the Ministry of Electronics Industry had approved his application.

Moreover, the right to operate import and export independently has also been approved.

"Why so fast?"

He was very surprised. The Tianjing side had said that the ministry's approval process would take at least six months, or even a year. It had only taken two months.
Although he and Jiabao invested in US dollars, these dollars were mainly used for importing equipment and technology transfer, and not much of it ended up in China.

Tianjing Samsung Electronics, which settled in Tianjing in the first half of the year, took half a year to complete the approval process in Tianjing City alone.

In fact, the reason why the ministry approved it so quickly is that Tangjia Electronics has a large investment, twice as much as Tianjing Samsung Electronics, and is an export-oriented enterprise. If it can start production as soon as possible, it can generate much-needed foreign exchange for the country.

Secondly, Tangjia Electronics can import the most advanced color TV and washing machine technologies and production lines from abroad, thereby improving the technological level of this industry in China.

Self-operated import and export rights are also a common consideration, as Tangjia Electronics' investment scale and the introduction of the world's most advanced production lines and technologies are also highly valued.

If you can't figure it out, then stop thinking about it. Now that the project permits have been approved, Tangjia Electronics can start operating.

The introduction and transfer of various technologies and equipment, the construction of office buildings, factories, and dormitories, as well as the recruitment of managers, engineers, skilled workers, and worker training, were all carried out simultaneously.

Generally speaking, building such a factory, from project approval to the introduction of equipment and technology, and finally to production, takes at least one and a half to two years.

Because the technology transfer and equipment import were agreed upon long ago, the approval procedures were completed in just two months, which alone can save at least a year of construction time.

If a large number of skilled workers can be recruited, a lot of time can be saved, and production is expected to begin in as little as six months.

Tang Bei made arrangements for his younger siblings. Tang Bin and Tang Yu both went to Tangjia Electronics, starting as team leaders at the grassroots level.

He also forced his second and third children to attend night school. Including himself, the three siblings only completed junior high school, which is far too low in terms of education.

He didn't think studying was that important before, but now he regrets it. When he was with Jiabao, things were fine; they had a lot to talk about. But when he was with her parents, they had very few things in common.

To attend night school, you need at least a high school diploma. You can apply for either a junior college diploma or a bachelor's degree, but the application process isn't as strict, so junior high school graduates can also apply.

However, the third brother called soon after, saying that he was too old to enroll and would have to wait until he turned 18 next year. For now, he could only study on his own.

At the end of October, the preseason ended, and the team took a break. The 2nd was the Heat's media day for the new season, and training resumed on the 3rd.

On the 1st, Tang Bei treated a group of domestic reporters to dinner.

Unlike last season, this season he was accompanied by a large group of domestic reporters. He counted 12 reporters, two photographers, and two photography assistants, a total of 16 people.

Two television stations, CCTV and ATV, sent film crews over.

The NBA established an office in Hong Kong in 92, and ATV also started broadcasting NBA games in 92, but on a smaller scale.

This season, ATV and CCTV increased the number of live broadcasts due to Tang Bei. CCTV broadcast 28 regular season games, while ATV broadcast even more, with 36 games.

Last season, CCTV didn't broadcast many Heat games, which drew a lot of criticism from fans. This season, CCTV has given half of its 28 broadcast games to the Heat.

These reporters won't stay for long, because due to funding issues, most of them will return to their home countries after the new season starts.

On the 4th, when the Magic arrived in Miami, some reporters interviewed O'Neal at the airport, and ESPN sent an interview team.

"Shaq, what are your expectations for the new season?" a reporter asked.

"We absolutely must make the playoffs this season," O'Neal said confidently.

"What's your opinion of Anfernee Hardaway?" a reporter asked.

"A really great helper, I like him, he makes our roster stronger," O'Neal said excitedly.

"Are the Magic confident of beating the Heat in tomorrow's opening game? Are you personally confident of beating Tang?" a reporter asked.

When asked about this, O'Neal hesitated for a moment before saying, "We're not the Magic from last season, so of course we're confident we can beat the Heat. As for me personally..."

As he spoke, he demonstrated a powerful bicep-flexing move and said, "I did some extra training during the offseason and I'm even stronger now. I'm confident I can beat that guy."

"Yes, Shaq, you look stronger. What's your weight?"

"140 kilograms, I'll knock him over, haha!"

“Wet Tiger, how much do you have now?” Jia Bao asked at Tang Bei’s house.

"137.5 kilograms."

Tang Bei replied, "If O'Neal wants to knock me over, 140 kilograms isn't enough. He needs at least 145 kilograms, or even 150 kilograms."

Jia Bao suddenly stood up, knelt on the sofa, hugged Tang Bei's neck and shook him, saying:
“Wet Tiger, you can’t gain any more weight. Big lumps of muscle don’t look good. You need to be as slender as a sword to look good.”

The two crossed certain boundaries while traveling in China. Tang Bei put his arm around Jia Bao's waist and kissed her lips, but sighed, "What a sin!"

"What sins have you committed?" Jia Bao asked curiously.

"Isn't it a sin to treat your own disciple like that?" Tang Bei said.

"Wet Tiger, let's continue our evil deeds."

Jia Bao giggled and was about to lean in to kiss Tang Bei when, with a bang, the living room door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

"Who?"

Startled, Jia Bao scurried away from Tang Bei like a cat. Upon seeing that it was Eric Fleischer, she snorted and grabbed the sword beside her, drawing it.

"Miss Garbo, it's me!"

Eric Fleischer was so frightened that he raised his hand and shouted.

"Next time, ring the doorbell first, or else... hmph! I'll chop you into pieces." Jia Bao twirled her sword, threatening him before sheathing it.

"Sorry sorry..."

Eric Fleischer didn't come alone this time; he brought Tang Bei a deputy agent named Seth Rodman.

Thanks to Tang Bei, he is now considered one of the top agents in the league. His agency has started to develop, and he is usually very busy, so he can't follow Tang Bei around every day. Therefore, he has arranged a deputy agent to serve Tang Bei.

Seth Rodman is of mixed race (Black and White), looks similar to a white person, has curly hair, is 34 years old, and entered the agent industry four years ago, so he has a decent amount of experience.

"Did John Liu stay in China?" Eric Fleischer asked.

“Yes, he’s working as a translator over there,” Tang Bei said.

On November 5th, in the evening, the Miami Arena, also known as the Miami Sports Center, was packed to capacity, reaching 108% occupancy.

Heat owner Ariki and a group of management staff appeared at the arena with smiles on their faces, indicating they were in very good spirits.

Season ticket sales for the new season were a great success, surging 450% compared to last season. 5280 season tickets were sold in a 15000-seat stadium.

Moreover, the average ticket price has surged by 50% compared to last season, reaching $31, ranking second in the league, only behind the Knicks and even above the Lakers.

Tang Bei put up terrifying numbers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and his jersey sales have continued to surge since then, consistently ranking second in the league, only behind Michael Jordan, and even higher than Charles Barkley, the regular season MVP and Finals MVP.

Judging from jersey sales, his popularity is second only to Jordan, making him arguably the second-best player in the league.

Michael Jordan's popularity likely declined as his jersey sales fell short of last season due to the failure to win a three-peat.

In the home team's locker room, Seth Rodman taped two cans of Red Bull together.

Tang Bei endorses Red Bull, but the NBA's only sports drink sponsor is Gatorade, and the contract is exclusive. So when drinking Red Bull at the game, he can't show the brand logo and has to cover it up.

However, you can drink in any place except the match venue and player tunnel, such as the press room.

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

Orlando Magic: Shaquille O'Neal, Horace Grant, Dennis Scott, Nick Anderson, Anfernee Hardaway
Miami Heat: Tang Bei, Grant Lang, Glen Rice, Kevin Edwards, Avery Johnson. This game was broadcast live across the United States by TNT, and was also broadcast live by dozens of overseas television stations, including CCTV.

In the CCTV live broadcast studio, the commentators are Han Qiaosheng and Sun Zhenping, and today's guest commentator is Zhang Heli.

Zhang Heli returned to China after the Eastern Conference Finals. He is a veteran national basketball player and one of the most knowledgeable basketball figures in China about the NBA. He is currently a regular commentator for CCTV.

Besides him, Xu Jicheng and Su Qun are also commentators.

"Coach Zhang, could you please introduce the situation of both sides?" Han Qiaosheng said.

"Okay, Teacher Han."

Zhang Heli didn't even need the information; he immediately said, "The Heat's roster hasn't changed much. Avery Johnson, who is in the starting lineup, joined as a free agent."

This player went undrafted, but he is a tough defender, a solid playmaker, has a low turnover rate, and a very low assist-to-turnover ratio. He connects the offense with accurate passes.

He's a better fit for Tang Bei. When Tang Bei moves from the low post to the deep post, the ball needs to be passed in promptly from the outside. He should be able to do that better than the point guards from last season.

Han Qiaosheng asked, "Today his opponent is rookie Hardaway, who is 201 centimeters tall, 23 centimeters taller than him. He is only 178 centimeters tall. Who do you think has the advantage?"

Zhang Heli said, "Anfernee Hardaway is the third overall pick, a combo guard, and can also play small forward. He has a huge height advantage at the point guard position."

He can create a clear mismatch advantage against Avery Johnson, and has a huge advantage in one-on-one matchups.

My assessment is that Hardaway is definitely better than Johnson in terms of individual offense. I just hope that Avery Johnson can play to his own style and provide more assists to Tang Bei.

He just joined the Heat on a long-term contract, so the Heat must have high hopes for him. Today was his first game with the Heat, and he's facing a rookie like Hardaway. Let's see how he performs.

Sun Zhenping nodded and said, "The Magic also brought in former Bulls starting power forward Cobra Grant, making their roster much stronger than last season."

Zhang Heli said, "The Magic should be very strong this season. O'Neal is the core inside, and Hardaway should become the core outside. If they can form a dual-core combination inside and outside, their record will not be bad."

At this point, he suddenly brought up a digression, saying: "At the end of 92, the Chinese population in downtown Miami was about 3000, and in the metropolitan area including the surrounding satellite cities, it was about 4000. By the end of 93, according to relevant statistics, these two figures had increased to 4000 and 5200 respectively."

Of the growth, 30% came from domestic immigration and 70% from other parts of the United States.

"Hmm, Coach Zhang, what do you mean?" Sun Zhenping asked.

Zhang Heli said, "After Tang Bei arrived in Miami, the Chinese population grew rapidly, which shows the changes he brought about."

"So many people are immigrating?" Han Qiaosheng asked in surprise.

Zhang Heli said, "There are many people immigrating to the United States now. I know some data, provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, that the number of people who legally immigrated to the United States in 92 reached 3.5."

"So many?" Sun Zhenping exclaimed in surprise.

Zhang Heli said, "The social status of Chinese people in the United States is actually not high, and their recognition is very low. Those who move to Miami from other parts of the United States do so because Miami now has a higher level of recognition for Chinese people than before. This can be seen from local media reports, which is also why they are willing to move to Miami."

In the players' tunnel, Tang Bei saw O'Neal again.

As the only rival at the behemoth level, and having a history of conflict, the two disliked each other whenever they met.

"Sardine, what are you looking at?"

Seeing O'Neal staring at him, Tang Bei snapped at him unhappily.

"You're the sardine."

Having not seen each other for a long time, O'Neal was much bolder and immediately started arguing with her.

"This sardine should be a bit harder to handle than the one in his rookie season, right?"

Tang Bei looked O'Neal up and down. He was indeed a little stronger, but his body fat percentage was probably higher than last season, which showed that he had gained not only muscle but also fat.

O'Neal noticed Tang Bei's gaze and proudly flexed his biceps.

He weighed 125 kg when he registered for the draft in 92, and a few months later on the day of the draft, he weighed 135 kg. Now he weighs 140 kg, and his weight continues to soar.

He felt good about himself, because due to his natural talent, his current weight only slightly affected his speed and jumping ability, but his explosive power was not weakened. On the contrary, the greater weight made his impact even stronger.

His terrifying impact and weight will give him a powerful dominance in low positions and the ability to challenge Tang Bei.

"You really weigh 140 kilograms?"

Tang Bei was a little confused. In fact, he had always been suspicious of O'Neal's weight. Was this guy exaggerating his weight?

“Of course it weighs 140 kilograms,” O’Neal said.

“I’m 137cm tall, and you’re probably a little smaller than me, around 140cm?” Tang Bei said.

“I’m taller than you,” O’Neal said smugly.

Magic shooting guard Nick Anderson then said, "Shaq did weigh 140 kilograms at the weigh-in during this training camp, but he was fully fed and weighed with his clothes and shoes on."

"I go!"

Tang Bei then realized that this bastard had indeed lied about his weight, which meant that O'Neal had always weighed less than him.

"You strip naked when you weigh in? That's so embarrassing!" O'Neal asked with a look of disdain.

Tang Bei's lips twitched. He was too lazy to say anything. Wasn't his weight always measured in the morning after he woke up, relaxed, and wore shorts?
That's how he weighs himself. Who the hell would strip naked in public?
Today's opening match featured fireworks and DJ music, making for a lively entrance ceremony that reached its climax when Tang Bei appeared.

When Tang Bei came on stage, he was surprised to find that there were Chinese characters on the sidelines advertisements. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was an advertisement for China Aviation.

This is the first domestic company to advertise in his home turf, and he's the spokesperson for it, so I made a special trip over to stand in front of the billboard and let reporters take pictures.

Jia Bao is obsessed with kendo and has little interest in basketball, so she didn't come today.

He then went to Curry's family and teased little Curry, saying, "Hey, future superstar center, long time no see."

The adorable little Curry smiled shyly and actually greeted him in Chinese, "Hello, Uncle Tang."

"Oh, your dad taught you that?" Tang Bei asked in surprise.

"Of course I taught him."

Dell Curry came over from the bench and said smugly.

Tang Bei nodded. Old Curry had indeed learned a few Chinese phrases from him before, and he was surprised that Curry still remembered them.

At eight o'clock, the competition begins.

Tang Bei and O'Neal jump for the ball, and the Magic go on offense.

Anfernee Hardaway received the ball on the right wing three-point line and began to isolate against Avery Johnson.

O'Neal ran to the right wing low post to establish position, and Tang Bei followed to defend him.

Zhang Heli said with admiration, "O'Neal should be the only person in the entire league who can compete with Tang Bei in terms of weight, speed, explosiveness, jumping ability, and strength."

Several teams have recruited retired NFL players, but they've all suffered serious injuries, and their talent has diminished.

"Oh!"

The two made their first physical contact and were evenly matched. O'Neal couldn't squeeze in, and Tang Bei's lower body wasn't moved either.

"How is this guy still so strong?" O'Neal thought in shock.

At that moment, Anfernee Hardaway overpowered Avery Johnson and drove to within two steps of the three-point line, then turned and jumped to shoot.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei leaped up from beside Avery Johnson and caught the ball with one hand.

"what?"

Hadaway's eyes widened.

"WOW!"

A deafening roar of cheers erupted from the Miami Arena.

"Catch the hat? Beautiful! Tang Bei's defensive support was incredibly fast, and the timing was perfect," Sun Zhenping exclaimed happily.

(End of this chapter)