The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 156: Exhausted

On the morning of the 25th, the league announced the regular season standings.

The top eight teams in the Eastern Conference are: Bulls, Hawks, Heat, Knicks, Cavaliers, Magic, Pacers, and Nets.

The top eight teams in the Western Conference are: SuperSonics, Rockets, Suns, Spurs, Jazz, Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets.

The first round series will begin on the 28th, with the Heat starting on the 29th. The Heat have home-court advantage over the Magic. The first round is a best-of-five series, with a 2-2-1 home-and-away format.

Of all the teams, the SuperSonics have won 63 games and the Bulls have won 62 games; only these two teams have won 60 games.

The Mavericks, currently at the bottom of the standings with only 13 wins, are racing towards the number one draft pick.

The Hornets failed to make the playoffs and finished eleventh in the Eastern Conference.

The Timberwolves also failed to make the playoffs and began tanking after the All-Star break, ultimately finishing as the tenth seed in the Western Conference.

"The Timberwolves aren't an aggressive team, and I'm fed up with it here." Alonzo Mourning said in an interview at his home stadium around noon.

His words put the Timberwolves' management in a passive position and also embroiled them in trade rumors.

After Tang Bei received the regular season rankings, he discovered that he would face the Magic in the first round, and after advancing to the second round, his opponent would be the winner between the Hawks and the Pacers.

If both the Bulls and the Knicks advance to the next round, they will meet in the second round.

In other words, if the Heat make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, their most likely opponents will be the Bulls or the Knicks.

In the afternoon, the league announced some individual honors.

The Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) is Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rookie of the Year is Chris Webber, the Sixth Man of the Year is Dell Curry, and the Most Improved Player is Don McClane.

The Coach of the Year award was not given to George Karl, the head coach of the SuperSonics with the best record in the league, but to Lenny Wilkens, the head coach of the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks.

The league also provided an explanation, stating that the selection of the best coach is based on a comprehensive consideration of the head coach's coaching performance in the regular season and playoffs, including playoff consistency, tactical innovation, media narrative, and other factors.

Wilkens was chosen as Coach of the Year because of his innovative defensive system, the team's compelling narrative of progress, and his Hall of Fame-worthy reputation.

"Damn it, can't you guys speak like human beings? What do you mean by media narrative? What do you mean by a story about the team's progress?"

It would have been better if he hadn't explained; the explanation nearly gave George Carr a heart attack.

On the morning of the 26th, Jiabao ran to the small villa in Tangbei.

Catholics strictly oppose premarital and extramarital sex, so after his family returned to China, Tang Bei moved back into his own house.

This detached villa is still a bit small. He plans to buy a larger villa so that his family can stay more comfortably when they come over. Staying at Jiabao's place is not suitable.

She waved her sword excitedly, shouting, "Wet Tiger, Tangjia Electronics has received many domestic orders, more than a million units, enough for more than a year's production."

"Which country?" Tang Bei asked.

“Of course it’s China. I’m French, not American,” Garbo said.

Tang Bei said, "Jiabao, if we want to expand our scale, we still need to export and earn US dollars without increasing capital, right?"

“Yes, selling directly to the US sales channels yields higher profits, so we didn’t accept those orders,” Garbo laughed.

"We have a price advantage, right?"

"Of course, labor costs in the United States are rising year by year. Now, labor costs in China are less than one-tenth of those in the United States."

After chatting for a while, Jia Bao said again, "Wet Tiger, a few days ago, on April 20th, China became the 77th country to connect to the international Internet."

"What do you mean?" Tang Bei asked.

Jia Bao added, "Universities are very enthusiastic about the internet industry now. Some search engines and portals are very useful and developing very rapidly."

This year has seen the emergence of commercial websites such as Yahoo! and Amazon, marking the beginning of commercialization and widespread adoption of the internet in the United States.

"You want to invest in the internet?" Tang Bei asked in surprise.

Jia Bao said with a smile, "Pay attention, we need to liquidate a lot of our family's assets and separate them from the family assets, otherwise we will be at the mercy of the family. So we need to find new investment directions."

Tang Bei nodded. "Eating off the children of the deceased is all too common."

He cautioned, "Then you have to be careful. That thing is virtual; if you put money in, it might not even make a ripple."

Jia Bao nodded thoughtfully and said, "The internet in China is still in its infancy, so it's worth paying close attention to."

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket," Tang Bei reminded him again.

"I understand, Wet Tiger. Come on, Wet Tiger, let's commit a sin."

"Garbo, I feel so guilty!"

"Hehe, me too."

On the 27th, the Heat held a tactical meeting in the morning and had a two-hour practice session in the afternoon.

Head coach Kevin Longley summarized the regular season and particularly praised Tang Bei's performance.

Before explaining the tactics, he talked about the current injury situation in the team.

With the exception of Willie Burton, who is out for the season, the injuries of the other players in the main rotation have been brought under control, and they have made it into the 12-man roster.

"Our first-round series opponent is the Magic, who have Shaquille O'Neal in the paint and Anfernee Hardaway and Nick Anderson on the perimeter."

"They have strong low-post offense, can shoot and drive from the outside, and are very good at three-pointers. This season they average 13.9 three-point attempts per game, which is more than us."

"Of course, their three-point shooting percentage is average, 34%, which is not as good as ours."

"In the first round, we will play a 3-2 zone defense."

"Kevin Edwards will start at shooting guard. Avery is not tall enough, so you will be responsible for guarding Anfernee Hardaway."

On April 28, 1994, the Magic arrived in Miami.

"Shaq, do you think the nickname 'Great White Shark' or 'Sardine' suits you better?" a local reporter asked at the airport, risking a beating.

Upon hearing this, O'Neal roared angrily, "The Great White Shark, of course it's the Great White Shark, he's the sardine, he is!"

The reporter wiped the spittle off his face and asked with a smile, "Who do you think is the best among the rookies born in 92?"

"Me!"

O'Neal continued angrily.

Do you like Miami?

"DO NOT!"

Do you like the feeling of being knocked over by a tornado?

"NO!"

Do you love your mother?

"NO!"

Do you think the magic trick will advance?

"NO!"

"What do you think..."

"NONONO, I misspoke just now..." "Sorry, my interview is over."

"NONONO, you should listen to me finish. It's the previous question, and the one before that. Damn it, why are you running away?"

That night, the SuperSonics, with the best record in the league, defeated the eighth-ranked Nuggets in the Western Conference by a large margin of 24 points at home.

The Nuggets were completely stunned, with their five key players scoring a high of only 12 points, highlighting the significant difference in strength and poor form.

The Spurs also won at home, defeating the Jazz.

Although the Mailman scored 36 points with a shooting percentage of 61.5%, his teammates were not up to par, and he was the only one on the team to score in double digits.

老基友约翰·斯托克顿更是4投1中只得3分，助攻也就8次，还有高达6次失误。

In the two Eastern Conference games, the Bulls defeated the Nets at home, and the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers at home, with no upsets.

The first round of the series continues on the 29th.

In the evening, the Miami Arena was packed to capacity.

Jia Bao appeared next to the Heat's bench. Although she didn't come often, she would occasionally assert her dominance over Tang Bei.

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 series was broadcast live across the United States by ESPN, with Michael Brin, Tom Tolbert, and Magic Johnson as the guest commentator.

Magic Johnson seemed a little unhappy because the Lakers have been struggling since he retired, finishing eighth in the Western Conference for two consecutive seasons and barely making the playoffs, and this season they are even ninth in the West.

Michael Brin, deliberately bringing up topics he didn't want to discuss, said with a smile:

"Erwin, in the Lakers' long history, there have only been three seasons where they missed the playoffs. The most recent season they missed the playoffs was 75/76, breaking their record of 18 consecutive seasons making the playoffs. What do you want to say about that?"

"I'm talking nonsense!"

Magic Johnson cursed under his breath and said, "The Lakers management plans to bring me into the coaching staff as an assistant coach. I have already agreed and hope to contribute to the Lakers."

Tom Tolbert said, "Back when we were drafted, Mr. Jerry West really liked Tang. I don't know why he didn't trade up the draft pick?"

Magic Johnson's expression darkened further. He also harbored some resentment towards Jerry West about this matter, and he said carefully:
"In fact, the management made efforts, but they were unsuccessful and could not trade for a top-five draft pick."

Michael Breen steered the conversation back on track, asking, "Okay, back to this series, who do you think will advance, the Magic or the Heat?"

"Heat".

The other two spoke at the same time.

“Why?” Michael Brin asked.

Tom Tolbert said, "O'Neal is strong, but for two seasons he has been overshadowed by Tang, that's an undeniable fact. At other positions, the Magic are no better than the Heat."

Magic Johnson said, "Rookie Anfernee Hardaway's scoring ability is similar to Glen Rice's; the former averaged 16 points per game in the regular season, while the latter averaged 17."

Of course, Anfernee Hardaway is a strong ball-handling threat, while Glen Rice isn't, but Rice's three-point shooting is stronger, and his ability to create space is better, while Hardaway hasn't developed his three-point shot yet.

Tom Tolbert said, "Magic's starting shooting guard Nick Anderson averages 15.8 points per game with a mediocre 32.2% three-point shooting percentage."

But given enough shot attempts, both Kevin Edwards and Steve Smith on the Heat can reach this level.

Michael Breen nodded and said, "Tang's defense is much better than O'Neal's. He's also more committed and has a more aggressive defensive attitude."

The paint he's guarding is practically a no-fly zone now, and with the Magic lacking an advantage on the perimeter, I'm more optimistic about the Heat in this series.

Magic Johnson said, "Tang's focus is too scattered. He doesn't have a strong helper at the power forward position. John Salley has no shooting range and doesn't match him. Otherwise, he would have had a chance to win the scoring title, rebounding title, shot blocking title, and Defensive Player of the Year."

At that moment, Michael Brin suddenly pointed to the switching camera and said, "Look, the starters are meeting up. Will something interesting happen?"

"Hey sardine, congratulations on finally making it into the playoffs."

In the player tunnel, the Heat starters arrived last, followed by ESPN cameras. Upon seeing O'Neal, Tang Bei politely greeted him.

"I will enter every year from now on."

O'Neal seems to have gotten used to Tang Bei calling him Sardine and doesn't object as vehemently as before.

"So, are you ready?" Tang Bei asked.

"What are you preparing?" O'Neal asked curiously.

"We were swept aside," Tang Bei said.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! I'm not Michael Jordan, I won't be swept!" O'Neal roared.

"Fuck you, you damn kid, just wait until I wipe you out."

In front of the television, Jordan, who had just been stabbed, was instantly enraged and, disregarding his family members nearby, began to curse loudly.

Being swept by Barkley in the Finals was the worst thing that happened to him in his career. Nothing could be worse. Now that O'Neal is bringing it up, and it's being broadcast live across the United States, he feels like killing O'Neal.

"Hahaha……"

"Hopefully Michael won't see this."

"Should we call Michael and ask?"

"You go ahead and fight."

In the ESPN studio, Michael Brin and his two companions were all laughing hysterically.

"Don!"

"Bone crusher!"

"tornado!"

"Severe phobia!"

When Tang Bei appeared, the cheers were deafening, and people called him by all sorts of nicknames.

"Severe phobia! Severe phobia..."

Then slowly, the screams of "severe fear" grew louder and more unified, drowning out the other sounds.

Tom Tolbert excitedly said, "Severe fear was Tang's first nickname, which he received when he was coaching Miami in the CBA."

So it seems that this nickname is the most popular and beloved nickname among Miami fans.

“His fans were the real die-hards during his time with the team,” Michael Brin said.

Tom Tolbert said enthusiastically, "Hopefully, tonight Tang will bring real fear to O'Neal and deep fear to the Orlando Magic."

Michael Breen said, "The Magic joined the NBA in 1989, and this is their fifth season, their first time making the playoffs."

Anfernee Hardaway and Nick Anderson on the perimeter, Shaquille O'Neal in the paint, and Scott at small forward are all making their playoff debuts. Among the five starters...

Only Cobra Grant is a playoff veteran with two championships and a wealth of playoff experience; his presence is invaluable to the Magic.

Magic Johnson nodded and said, "Playoff experience is the Magic's biggest weakness. The Heat made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year and have more playoff experience than the Magic."

(End of this chapter)