The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 167 The opponent's helpless boos are the best reward
Avery Johnson breathed with his mouth slightly open, observing the movement of both sides as he dribbled the ball closer to the top of the arc.

Ahead of him was BJ Aronstrong, slowly retreating on defense, while Jordan on the right wing was also moving towards the top of the key, waiting for an opportunity to launch a double team attack.

The opportunity for a double-team arises whenever Avery Johnson gets one step closer to the top of the key, which is when Armstrong will close in and Jordan will double-team.

On the left wing, in the low post, Tang Bei, with his back to Luke Longley, sought position and the ball.

Just then, he saw Avery Johnson, two steps away from the top of the arc, suddenly change direction and accelerate, breaking through towards the left top of the arc.

The next moment, he immediately made a Tai Chi right turn, bypassing the defender Luke Longley behind him, and quickly cut into the penalty area.

Luke Longley's turning speed couldn't keep up with the pace at all, and he ended up falling behind.

"Whoosh!"

Avery Johnson and Tang Bei played together for a season and were already quite familiar with each other. After reaching the left arc, he saw Tang Bei's cut in and immediately passed the ball.

This wasn't a lob pass, but a straight pass, a straight pass from low to high, the ball was moving very fast, and it instantly reached the high air to the left of the basket.

The next moment, a giant shadow soared into the air and grabbed the basket with both hands.

"boom!"

With a loud thud, Tang Bei was caught on the rim.

"..."

The boos in the Chicago stadium suddenly stopped, turning into a deathly silence.

"Shh!"

But the next moment, the boos rose again, louder and louder, and there were even countless curses and countless middle fingers raised.

"Pretty!"

Zhang Heli said happily, "Tang Bei's inside cut and Avery Johnson's pass were very well coordinated, and they were not affected by the home fans."

"This passing and cutting tactic was really well executed; Rodman didn't even have time to get back to defend the basket," Sun Zhenping said with a smile.

"Now let's see how the Heat defend against the Bulls. They should use a 3-2 zone defense, focusing on double-teaming Michael Jordan," Zhang Heli said.

On the court, Phil Jackson was a little angry and shouted at Armstrong, "BJ, play defensively!"

"Yes."

Armstrong nodded quickly.

The plan was to press the half-court line, but he didn't press. Instead, he defended and retreated, preparing to press again after taking another step back. Unexpectedly, Avery Johnson changed direction and broke through.

2-0, the Bulls attack, and the boos from the Chicago arena have stopped.

"Coach Zhang, it is indeed a 3-2 zone defense, mainly defending the perimeter." Sun Zhenping said quickly upon seeing the Heat's defensive formation.

Armstrong passed to Pippen on the left wing, then ran towards the left corner.

Avery Johnson followed, while Glen Rice continued to guard Pippen one-on-one.

Seeing that he wasn't double-teamed, Pippen immediately started using his back-to-the-basket moves.

Glen Rice is three kilograms heavier, but Pippen still has the advantage in terms of core strength.

Pippen made a few quick movements, adding a change in rhythm, and easily drove into the three-point line, then suddenly turned left and drove to the basket.

At this point, Pippen exploited Glen Rice's weakness: his slow lateral movement, which was one of the reasons for his poor defense.

Pippen easily broke through, drove to the left elbow area, and pulled up for a jump shot.

Glen Rice, who caught up, was even worse at defending the mid-range, and his pull-up jump shot was a blind spot for him. After Pippen jumped, he couldn't block it.

Tang Bei's defensive task was to focus on double-teaming Jordan, but Pippen had already driven to the left elbow area, right at the edge of the paint, so of course he rushed over.

"Snapped!"

As Pippen jumped, he also leaped into the air and, with a wave of his hand, swatted the ball towards the frontcourt.

He originally intended to grab the ball, but Pippen, seeing that he was about to be blocked, raised his shooting angle, but Pippen still managed to swatt it away.

"Great! Tang Bei slapped Pippen!" Zhang Heli exclaimed excitedly.

At that moment, both teams' players immediately turned around and rushed towards the Heat's frontcourt.

The Heat were at a disadvantage in terms of speed on the perimeter. With the ball in the middle, Avery Johnson and Armstrong ran side by side.

The ball flew over the center line, bounced twice on the floor, and was about to roll into the top of the arc when Avery Johnson grabbed it half a step ahead.

But Armstrong was right next to him, and he had no chance to attack. After dribbling into the penalty area, he pulled towards the left wing.

Tang Bei was no slower than Pippen, and since he was facing directly when he blocked the shot, he was ahead of Pippen. As Avery Johnson moved to the left wing, he charged down from the top of the key.

Next, Avery Johnson threw the basketball high into the air towards the paint before Jordan could close in on him.

The next moment, Tang Bei leaped up, grabbed the basketball in mid-air with both hands, and slammed it into the basket as he glided towards it.

"boom!"

With a powerful slam of both hands, the entire basketball hoop sank two feet in an instant, wobbling precariously, its support arms nearly breaking.

Tang Bei swung back and forth above the basketball hoop with both hands, pulling the hoop to a ninety-degree angle with the floor.

"Click..."

The media section was ablaze with flashes.

"Shh!"

Boos erupted again at the Chicago stadium.

"awesome!"

Bill Walton exclaimed excitedly, "Downton's fast break, another alley-oop, Avery Johnson delivers his second assist of the game."

Moses Malone said, "Don's athleticism is amazing, and his playing style is very appealing to fans."

Bill Russell said, "Tang's help defense and block in the left elbow area will hinder the Bulls' outside shooting."

Moses Malone nodded and said, "The left and right elbow areas are key areas for outside jump shots, especially for Michael Jordan. These two areas are where his pull-up jump shot is most accurate."

Bill Russell said, "Once Tang's defensive coverage extends to both areas and creates a strong defensive deterrent, the Bulls' outside jump shots in these two key areas will definitely decrease."

Bill Walton said, "In the second round, Tang rarely helped defend outside the paint, but it was different in the Eastern Conference Finals."

On the court, 4-0, the Bulls are on offense.

The Bulls hadn't scored yet, and this was their home court. Jordan was eager to get things going, so he came to the right wing three-point line and immediately called for the ball from the 45-degree angle, backing down Kevin Edwards.

Jordan's three-pointers were not his primary offensive weapon; Kevin Edwards would step back on defense and focus on guarding Jordan's drives.

His defensive positioning was off the outside, guarding Jordan's right-hand and outside drives, intentionally allowing Jordan to drive from the inside, which would facilitate a double-team with Avery Johnson in the right elbow area.

Jordan glanced at Avery Johnson, who was moving a step toward the right elbow area, and suddenly dribbled past him from the inside. But after driving a step inside the three-point line, before reaching the right elbow area, he stopped abruptly and jumped to shoot.

This time, Avery Johnson's double-team failed to get in place, and Kevin Edwards was driven past, leaving Jordan with a wide-open shot.

"brush!"

Water splashes, two points hit.

Zhang Heli warned, "Be careful of Jordan's long two-pointers; that's the area where he takes the most shots, even more than his mid-range two-pointers."

Sun Zhenping said, "The two-point range should be the weakest point on the defense."

Zhang Heli nodded and said, "Yes, the long two-pointer after a breakthrough is the hardest to defend. The defender gets driven through, and the help defense isn't in position." 4:2, Heat on offense.

Since Tang Bei's role changed this season, he has started to read the game as an organizer.

This shift gave him a deeper understanding of the game.

Generally, when he has a lot of assists, winning is very easy; otherwise, it's relatively difficult.

When he has many assists, his teammates are more open, the defensive pressure on him will decrease, and his own personal offense will be relatively easier, making it easier to score.

This is why his assists and points have increased this season.

Therefore, he was prepared to pass the ball after being double-teamed.

However, this time he didn't get a chance to receive the ball because Avery Johnson was immediately pressed by Armstrong after crossing the center line, and then Jordan double-teamed him, causing the ball to be lost.

"boom!"

Jordan entered the paint, received a pass from Pippen, and executed a powerful one-handed reverse dunk, earning a roar of cheers from the entire arena.

"Be careful of the Bulls' half-court press," Zhang Heli warned.

"Yes, we need to be careful," Han Qiao said.

Sun Zhenping said: "In Game 2 of the second round, the Suns were down by 18 points after the first three quarters, but they used full-court press in the final quarter to break down the Rockets and eventually came back to win in overtime."

Zhang Heli said, "The Suns' defense is actually quite average. The Bulls' defense is much stronger than the Suns'. Once they implement a full-court press, or the half-court press they just did, it can be very dangerous."

4:4, Heat on offense.

"Pull away."

On the sidelines, head coach Kevin Longley shouted loudly.

Avery Johnson has excellent mental fortitude; one mistake did not affect his mentality.

He advanced the ball in the backcourt, made a gesture to spread out, and suddenly changed direction sharply when crossing the center line, shaking off Armstrong and moving towards the left wing.

The Bulls' defensive formation immediately shifted to the left wing, with Pippen quickly moving from the left elbow area to the left wing.

Just as Avery Johnson moved towards the left wing, Glen Rice, who was supporting him in the backcourt, quickly passed him along the left sideline and ran towards the left wing's 40-degree three-point line.

"Whoosh!"

Before Armstrong could press him closely, Avery Johnson quickly passed the ball to Glen Rice.

Glen Rice received the ball and drove two steps to the three-point line at a 40-degree angle. At that moment, Pippen rushed over, and Rice immediately stopped and jumped to shoot.

I'll slap you!

Pippen reacted very quickly, jumping from the side and slapping him across the face.

He was just a little too slow; the basketball flew past his fingers and headed for the basket.

"Too short."

"Too short."

Under the basket, Tang Bei and Rodman made their anticipation almost simultaneously, and then moved to the left front side of the basket almost simultaneously.

Luke Longley moved half a step upwards, blocking Tang Bei while simultaneously striking him with his elbow.

Tang Bei raised his elbow and forcefully pushed Luke Longley away from him; the difference in strength was simply not in the same league.

Rodman seized the opportunity to step up to Tang Bei from behind, his right elbow pressing against Tang Bei's ribs, his legs bent, ready to jump and grab the rebound.

"Bang!"

The basketball bounced off the rim.

Tang Bei and Rodman jumped at the same time, and their bodies made contact in mid-air. Rodman, whose fighting ability was not as good as Tang Bei's, was bounced away.

After landing with the ball, Tang Bei immediately executed a Tai Chi turn before the double team could close in.

With a fierce turn, Rodman and Luke Longley, who were about to close in for defense, were both knocked down.

"boom!"

In the next instant, Tang Bei slammed the Bulls' basket to the ground with a powerful two-handed dunk.

However, they didn't get a chance for a three-point play. Luke Longley clearly committed a foul just now, so this can be considered a home-court advantage.

"Shh!"

Seeing the players sprawled on the floor, the Bulls fans fell silent for a moment before erupting in deafening boos.

"The opponent's helpless boos are the best reward," Zhang Heli said excitedly.

"Tang Bei is truly invincible under the basket!" Sun Zhenping laughed.

"No matter how many defenders there are, it doesn't matter. As long as you get the ball under the basket, it's a dunk," Han Qiaosheng said happily.

Zhang Heli said, "But this attack was still a bit risky. We need to be careful with the Bulls' half-court press, and their help defense is also very fast."

6:4, Bulls attack.

"Bang!"

Armstrong got a small open shot in the left corner and took the shot before Avery Johnson could get up, but unfortunately it missed and Grant Long grabbed the rebound.

Zhang Heli said, "Armstrong's three-point shooting percentage in the regular season is 44.4%, which is terrifyingly high. However, he doesn't take many shots, averaging 1.6 per game. Most of them are open three-pointers, so we have to be careful and not give him open shots."

Tang Bei arrived at the frontcourt but didn't go to the low post. Instead, he stayed at the high post so he could support his teammates if the Bulls started a half-court press.

Sure enough, Armstrong began pressing Avery Johnson as soon as he crossed the center line.

His individual defensive ability was only average, but with Pippen and Jordan working together, they often created a very good pressing effect.

This time, as he pressed him closely, Pippen launched a pincer attack from the right wing.

Avery Johnson was facing the right wing and didn't see Pippen's double-team.

"here."

Tang Bei saw it and quickly raised his left hand to ask for the ball.

Avery quickly passed the ball over, and Tang Bei received it and made a Tai Chi left turn, instantly breaking past Luke Longley who was guarding him.

Luke Longley tried to grab Tang Bei's right arm, but failed and ended up being dragged down by Tang Bei's arm.

"Di!"

The referee blew his whistle, and almost simultaneously Tang Bei threw the ball toward the basket, where it hit the rim.

“There was a shooting motion, Luke Longley committed a foul, and was awarded two free throws,” Zhang Heli said.

Sun Zhenping said, "Today the Bulls played a half-court press throughout the game, and the Heat relied entirely on Tang Bei for scoring. The other players' offenses couldn't get going, and their tactics were difficult to execute."

Han Qiaosheng asked, "Coach Zhang, do you think there might be problems if things continue like this?"

Zhang Heli said with an unsurprised expression, "When facing an opponent like the Bulls with such a strong defense, especially on the road, the performance of other players will definitely be greatly limited."

For example, a pure pitcher like Glen Rice, whose mental fortitude is average, is effectively contained when Pippen targets him, making it difficult for him to perform well.

So, in my opinion, the Heat's game against the Bulls was basically Tang Bei carrying the team single-handedly. Unless he averages 40+ points per game with a shooting percentage of 60-70%, they probably won't be able to beat the Bulls.

Sun Zhenping nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. The Heat's other players aren't as efficient at scoring as the Bulls. Tang Bei has to rely on his own high-efficiency scoring to fill the gap left by his teammates."

(End of this chapter)