The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 169 We'll use the triangle offense?
Back in the locker room, the players changed their clothes, and Kevin Longley reviewed the game.

"Tang played exceptionally well, Glenn, you guys need to work harder and try to play even better in Game 2..."

He wasn't a strict head coach. If it were Pat Riley, he would have given Glen Rice and other poorly performing players a good dressing down and then sent them to extra practice.

"Coach, how should we play G2?" Tang Bei asked.

Kevin Longley said, "Don, go take a shower first, we'll talk again tomorrow morning."

"I need to apply the medicine first."

Tang Bei took off his jersey, revealing at least twenty elbow marks on his chest and back. Fortunately, his muscles were thick, and most of the marks were fading away.

He called over the team doctor's assistant and asked him to help him with his own medication.

In the home team's locker room, Luke Longley took off his jersey.

On the left side of his chest, near his heart, there was a red, slightly swollen, and very noticeable elbow mark.

He felt a dull ache in his bones, which intensified with each breath as his chest rose and fell, but he believed it was nothing serious and that his bones were not broken.

Besides this elbow mark, there are quite a few others on the chest and back.

Rodman also took off his jersey; it was too dark to see any elbow marks, but several places were sore.

He studied last year's Eastern Conference Finals, where Cobra Grant was knocked away by Tang Bei several times while helping on defense, ultimately losing the game in Game 7.

He learned from the Cobra's experience and was very careful in his approach when helping defend Tang Bei, avoiding direct contact. The main contact was when he was grabbing rebounds and when he was closely guarding Tang Bei, and he took some elbows.

Fortunately, his muscles and bones are very strong, and he doesn't seem to have any major problems. A little pain is nothing to him.

The four backup big men, Will Perdo, Bill Wennington, Scott Williams, and Corey Blunt, also took some kicks from Tang Bei and were applying ointment.

Especially Perdo, who, as a defensive player, has now increased his weight to 130 kilograms. He is the player with the most playing time at the center position, second only to Luke Longley.

He was white, with large bruises on his chest that were quite noticeable even through his thick chest hair.

Those bruises were caused by Tang Bei hitting him repeatedly. He was knocked down four times during the 15-minute beating.

"Hopefully, we won't see a repeat of last year's Eastern Conference Finals."

Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Jerry Krause, and others felt a chill run down their spines upon witnessing this scene.

An hour later, the post-match press conference was held.

The first question came from a reporter from The New York Times: "Don, you scored 45 points tonight in a losing effort. How do you feel about that?"

During the All-Star voting, The New York Times raised the anti-Tang banner and even created a "Four Villains" selection. Although the anti-Tang campaign failed, Tang Bei had no goodwill towards The New York Times.

"My feeling is that I'm very unhappy."

He said something coldly and expressionlessly, then glanced at the press conference host and said, "Next question."

The host was from the Heat's public relations department, so he immediately understood what Tang Bei meant and signaled to the staff to get the microphone.

The reporter was stunned. Just then, a staff member arrived, and he had no choice but to hand over the microphone, ending his questioning session.

The second question came from a Miami reporter: "Don, what changes do you think the Heat should make to help them win on the road?"

Tang Bei said, "Let's strengthen our resolve and maintain a high level of focus on the game, and victory will naturally follow."

"Willpower and focus?"

The reporter was taken aback, but after thinking about how Glen Rice and his team were influenced by the home crowd atmosphere tonight, he understood what Tang Bei meant.

"Tang, how much do you think losing Game 1 will affect the Heat's chances of advancing?" The third question came from a reporter from the Los Angeles Times.

Tang Bei said, "We are missing a home game, which puts us at a disadvantage, so we must strive to win Game 2."

At this point, he paused for a moment and then emphasized, "We need to win at least one away game to regain the initiative."

The following day, The New York Times ran a front-page headline: "Losing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tang is very unhappy. He is likely to unleash his devastating power in the upcoming games. The Bulls should be careful!"

The New York Times also thoughtfully included several photos, which were pictures of Cartwright and Grant injured during last year's Eastern Conference Finals.

The New York Times also predicted the outcome of the Eastern Conference Finals, believing that the Bulls had a 65% chance of advancing, while the Heat only had a 35% chance.

Numerous media outlets have made various predictions for the Eastern Conference Finals, and since the Bulls won Game 1, even more people are still optimistic about their chances.

NBC's predictions for advancing are: Bulls 58%, Heat 42%.

TNT's rating is 59% for the Bulls and 41% for the Heat.

ESPN's picks are Bulls 56% and Heat 44%.

Compared to the predicted odds before the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls' odds have risen slightly, while the Heat's have fallen slightly, but not by much, because no one dares to underestimate the Heat.

At 10 a.m., the Heat held a tactical meeting in the hotel's business suite.

"On the defensive end, we still use the 3-2 zone defense, but we only focus our efforts on double-teaming Jordan."

"Tang, besides controlling the rebounds, you need to shut down the Bulls' offense in the paint and force them to shoot from outside."

"On offense, we need to run more pick-and-rolls, move around more, and not just stand still."

Kevin Longley, sporting dark circles under his eyes, talked for a while before Tang Bei asked, "Coach, how do we solve our problem of too many passing and receiving errors?"

Kevin Longley certainly can't say he should reduce passing; in fact, he should increase it to break down the Bulls' defense.

He said, "Pippen and Jordan usually use line defense, so you need to increase your off-ball movement and spread out the Bulls' defense. Only in this way can you reduce passing turnovers."

"Sir, how can we increase the accuracy of these guys?" Tang Bei glanced disdainfully at Glen Rice beside him.

Glen Rice glared at Tang Bei. "If you want to say we're going to make a big splash, just say it. Why are you doing this behind our backs?"
Kevin Lengley nodded. This was the most important reason for last night's loss. The coaching staff discussed it all night and came up with a solution.

He said, "First, boost the confidence and morale of the perimeter players. As the team leader, Tang, that's your responsibility."

Tang Bei was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "Coach, I've heard that Phil Jackson is best at adjusting players' mentality, but not as good as you..."

Kevin Longley glared at Tang Bei, "I can even do the triangle offense."

"Triangle attack?"

At this point, a sudden inspiration struck him.

"Second..." He hesitated for a moment before saying, "We can try the triangle offense to solve the problem of not getting wide-open shots on the perimeter."

Several assistant coaches looked at Longley in surprise. "Coach, why did you switch to the triangle offense? Didn't we discuss learning the Jazz's pick-and-roll offense last night?"
"Triangle attack?"

Tang Bei and the other players looked at each other in bewilderment. Wasn't this the Bulls' tactic?
"Yes, it's the triangle offense."

Kevin Longley excitedly said, "We'll use the triangle offense to break down the Bulls' man-to-man defense."

“But we haven’t practiced it. I’ve heard the triangle offense is quite complicated,” Glen Rice said, looking troubled.

Kevin Longley said, "We just used some of the wing isolation plays from the triangle offense, not the whole thing."

The players finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang Bei said, "Coach, please explain quickly."

Lengley then said, "The triangle offense's wing isolation plays are wing attacks centered around the low post center."

"We have the most dominant center in the entire league. Tang's low-post game is definitely better than Michael Jordan's. This is our biggest advantage, and we must make the most of it."

"Tang's positioning ability is the best in the league. We don't even need to use repeated passing to move the Bulls' defense around, or draw the defensive attention of Luke Longley and the others. Tang can easily get into the deep post on his own. As long as we pass in, and the two outside players maintain their shooting threat, that's enough."

"The two players on the outside must make sure to move around in time. Don't let the defenders cut off your passing lanes with Tang, and don't let them have a chance to double-team Tang."

"If there's help defense on the weak side, Grant Long, you have to seize the opportunity. Tang will pass you the ball."

"When Grant Long has an opportunity, the player on the perimeter must move to the right spot in time and not let your defender cover Grant Long's open shot."

"Luke, are you alright?"

In the afternoon, at the Bulls' training facility, Phil Jackson noticed that Luke Longley was having some problems with his training, so he went over to ask him about it.

Luke Longley touched his chest; the swelling there hadn't disappeared after applying the medicine, and was even worse than the night before, and his bones still ached.

He shook his head and said, "I have no problem."

"You should get an X-ray. You should have had it checked after the game yesterday," team doctor Shamor said.

“I just got elbowed, I don’t think it’s a problem,” Luke Longley said.

"Luke, go now."

Phil Jackson said without much thought.

"OK then."

Luke Longley nodded and followed the team doctor.

An hour and a half later, as the team's training session was nearing its end, Luke Longley and the team doctor returned.

"Thankfully, there are no fractures or cracks," Shamor said.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Jordan suddenly asked, "Luke, when did you get that elbow?"

Luke Longley remembers it very clearly and immediately said, "In the first quarter, the Heat were on offense. He cut to the basket after breaking up at the high post, and I grabbed him with both hands. The whistle didn't blow, and then I got an elbow from him. The tip of his elbow poked me."

Jordan's face twitched, and he said, "Luke, even though it's our home court, don't make any big fouls."

He's the kind of guy who doesn't take a loss lying down. If the referee doesn't call a foul, he'll definitely hit hard. But if your foul isn't serious, he won't hit you hard.

"So that's how it is, Michael, why didn't you say so sooner?"

Luke Longley suddenly realized why the elbow had hurt so much; it had triggered his severe fear.

That night, the Western Conference Finals began.

Both the Rockets and the Jazz rely heavily on jump shots. Even Hakeem Olajuwon and Kristaps Mailman are known for their long-range jump shots, resulting in fewer free throws. The Jazz had 16 free throws, while the Rockets had 18.

As a result, the Rockets, playing at home, had a better shooting touch, with a field goal percentage of 48.8%, especially from three-point range, where they made 10 of 24 attempts, for a 41.7% success rate.

The Jazz's three-point shooting was terrible; they went 0-for-5 from three-point range.

Relying solely on three-pointers, the Rockets defeated the Jazz 88-100 despite having 11 fewer rebounds and being roughly equal in all other aspects.

Tang Bei watched the whole thing and felt that the Jazz actually played quite well, with all five starters scoring in double figures and grabbing rebounds well.

Unfortunately, the Rockets' three-point shooting was too strong, and the Jazz were ultimately defeated by their three-pointers.

"We need to be careful of their three-pointers," he cautioned.

"You need to lead us to the finals first."

Glen Rice really wanted to say that, but he didn't dare, afraid of getting beaten up.

Although Tang wouldn't do something as morally reprehensible as beating up his teammates, what if he lost control of his emotions?
He felt the Rockets were easier to beat than the Bulls, as the Bulls' defense was strong on the perimeter, while the Rockets' defense, like the Knicks', was strong inside.

But strong interior defense is a problem Tang has to face, not their perimeter defense. With Tang in the paint, even if Olajuwon had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to defend them at the three-point line.

With the Jazz losing Game 1, many media outlets have significantly shifted their predictions for the Western Conference Finals towards the Rockets, far more so than the Heat, who also lost Game 1.

ESPN gave the Jazz only a mere 30% chance of advancing, while TNT gave them only 33%, NBC only 40%, FOX only 41%, and ABC only 33%.

ESPN's lowest opinion is that the Jazz severely lack resilience, while the Rockets, having been tempered in the second round, are fully prepared mentally for a run to the Finals.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be held on the 24th.

Chicago Stadium was packed with people.

At 7:55, in the away team's locker room, Kevin Longley began announcing the starting lineup. When he read out Steve Smith's name, both Smith and Edwards were taken aback.

Smith immediately got excited. He was finally going to be a starter in the Eastern Conference Finals. This was his chance, and he had to seize it.

Edwards felt a great threat. He knew the gap between himself and Smith. Smith was the fifth overall pick, while he was the 20th pick in the first round. The reason he was able to secure a starting position was because he was a better defender and had more experience.

Tang Bei was not surprised at all that Steve Smith was in the starting lineup. He was the 5th overall pick in the first round of the 91 draft and was selected by Don Nelson to the Dream Team II last year. He was a lottery pick that the Heat were focusing on developing.

Smith not only has a precise three-point shot, but this season he has also developed his ball-handling and post-up skills.

In addition, his defensive ability has been honed, and he also has off-the-ball movement, making him highly adaptable to tactics. Moreover, he is very calm and has a good mentality, which is exactly what he needs to be able to use.

(End of this chapter)