The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 170 Triangles Against Triangles

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

Chicago Bulls: Luke Longley, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, BJ Armstrong

Miami Heat: Tang Bei, Grant Lang, Glen Rice, Steve Smith, Avery Johnson

Bill Russell said, "Tang said he wants to win an away game. Do you think the Heat have a chance?"

Bill Walton said, "My view is that there is definitely hope, as long as the Heat's scorers can make a few more shots."

At this point, he looked at the guest next to him, signaling the guest to continue his story and say a few words.

Tonight's guest is Ewing. He didn't want to come because it's not his forte, but Bill Walton made at least twenty phone calls, offered him a $200,000 appearance fee, and promised to arrange a beautiful woman from Chicago for him. He simply couldn't refuse such a kind offer.

He remained silent for at least ten seconds, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before finally stammering amidst the two Bills' eager anticipation:
"Yes, that's right, my opinion is, analyzing from the lineup..."

At this point, he fell silent again, seemingly analyzing the lineups of the Bulls and the Heat in his mind.

"King Kong, are you constipated?"

Bill Russell muttered to himself, secretly wiping the sweat from his brow. "This is worth two hundred thousand dollars plus a beautiful woman?"
He quickly interjected, "Patrick, I understand what you mean. You're right. Let's move on to the next topic."

"What did I say? I don't even know what I'm going to say, and you understand?" Patrick Ewing looked completely bewildered.

“Yes, yes, let’s talk about the feud between Michael and Don,” Bill Walton quickly chimed in.

“There is only resentment between them, not gratitude,” Bill Russell corrected.

"Ha ha!"

Bill Walton laughed twice, then said to Ewing, who had fallen silent again, "Right, Patrick?"

“You…” Ewing opened his mouth.

Without waiting for Ewing's response, Bill Walton added, "Patrick said yes, he and Don only have resentment, not gratitude."

“You…” Ewing opened his mouth.

Bill Walton quickly replied, "Okay, I get it, Patrick, you're absolutely right, fucking right..."

"Bill, you stuttering bastard, are you trying to stop me from speaking?" Ewing shut his mouth and cursed inwardly.

"Defeat the Heat!"

Before the game began, inspired by Jordan, the entire Chicago stadium erupted in a frenzy of cheers once again.

"Destroy everything!"

Tang Bei and his teammates, along with hundreds of away fans, shouted at the top of their lungs, but under the pressure of 20,000 people, their voices were shattered by the deafening roar of the crowd.

Far away in Miami and China, countless Heat and Tangbei fans felt helpless and powerless to help.

After the shouts subsided, Tang Bei pointed to the Bulls fans in the stands and yelled to his teammates, "Guys, who are they?"

"A Bulls fan, huh?"

Glenn Rice and the others were a little confused. Was Tang Bei out of his mind?

“No, they are not just Bulls fans,” Tang Bei said, shaking his head.

Before anyone could respond, he continued, "As long as you make it to the finals, your value will skyrocket, you'll get big new contracts, lots of commercial endorsements, and earn even more money."

At this point, he pointed at the Bulls fans and said, "But now, they're ready to steal your little money. What are you going to do now?"

This was the brilliant idea he came up with after much thought to boost morale, and he even invited John Selye to help him with it.

"Fuck them!"

John Selye immediately clenched his fists and roared.

"You deserve the Best Supporting Actor award."

Tang Bei gave John Salley a thumbs up, silently praising him, then suddenly pointed at Jordan and his team, shouting, "John's right, let's take them down!"

"Fuck them!"

Glen Rice and others glared at the Bulls players, their eyes radiating murderous intent.

"Shh!"

When the 20,000 Bulls fans saw that the Heat still dared to pull these crazy moves, they immediately booed again.

However, the Heat players were already in high spirits and couldn't be suppressed until they suffered a severe blow.

The competition officially began at eight o'clock.

After the jump ball, the Heat went on offense.

Zhang Heli quickly said, "The Bulls are still using man-to-man defense. Given their defense, this should be the most suitable defensive tactic."

Tang Bei moved down to the left wing low post, backing down Luke Longley to start calling for position and the ball.

With his feet shoulder-width apart, Luke Longley leaned slightly forward, bracing Tang Bei's back with his left elbow and grabbing the hem of his jersey with his right hand.

His left elbow is positioned to protect his chest, providing both physical defense and chest protection.

Avery Johnson attempted to drive in from the left elbow area using Glen Rice's screen, but was blocked by Pippen, who switched onto him, a step inside the left arc.

Upon seeing this, Armstrong immediately rushed over to double-team them.

"ball!"

Tang Bei didn't hesitate and immediately ran up to cover, and Avery Johnson quickly passed the ball out from between the two teams.

Tang Bei received the ball while bending down at the left waist position, and as soon as he stood up, Luke Longley blocked him again.

Tai Chi left turn!
The next instant, he raised the ball high with his right hand, blocked Luke Longley with his left arm, darted into the penalty area, and then took a step and jumped.

"late!"

Rodman, who had been tracking back from the right midfield position, stopped.

"boom!"

With a windmill dunk, the Bulls' basket was instantly shattered.

"it is good!"

Bill Walton exclaimed, "Luke Longley's one-on-one defense against Tang is actually very ineffective. I think the Bulls should double-team Tang earlier."

Bill Russell said, "The Bulls played a good defense in Game 1, allowing Tang to score while preventing the others from scoring."

"Yes."

Ewing has learned his lesson. I'm not saying anything now, it's either yes or no. Even if you give me ten beautiful women next time, I... will still come.

Bill Walton wanted to ask Ewing a question: When you say yes, do you agree with me or him?
2:0, Bulls attack.

The previously noisy and deafening noise in the massive Chicago stadium quickly subsided within three seconds.

After Jordan got past Steve Smith with a back cut, he received the ball in the right elbow area and was met with Avery Johnson's help defense.

Smith caught up with them, and the double team was now in place.

Last year, he would have passed the ball, but this year, his turnaround fadeaway jump shot has become much more sophisticated, so he chooses to shoot when double-teamed.

The next moment, with his back to Avery Johnson, he quickly turned to the right and leaped high into the air. After Smith jumped from the right to block the shot, his body lay back in the air.

"what?"

Smith was startled when his block attempt missed. The next moment, after Smith landed, Jordan, who was half-lying in the air, calmly made his shot.

"Snapped!"

A giant shadow pounced from the restricted area to Jordan's right elbow area, leaped into the air, and swept past Jordan's left side with a whooshing sound, grabbing the basketball that Jordan had just released with his left hand.

"Tang Bei?"

When Jordan unleashed his signature turnaround fadeaway jumper from outside the paint, he was blocked by the opposing center, leaving Jordan visibly furious.

"Oh!"

An uncontrollable gasp erupted from the silent stadium.

"Catch the hat!"

Bill Russell exclaimed in surprise.

"Don block Michael Jordan!" Bill Walton shouted excitedly.

"Yes, the guy with a severe fear of the blocker is instilling fear in Michael Jordan," Ewing shouted.

"what?"

The other two turned to look at Ewing in utter surprise. "King Kong, are you possessed by someone?"
Ewing smiled smugly. "I just don't want to talk about it, not that I can't. I'll show you all what my eloquence is like."

He glared at Bill Walton, especially you, you damn stutterer, you'll be a stutterer in your next life, I'm telling you.

Tang Bei, in the low post on the left wing, backed down against Luke Longley to get position and the ball, while Glen Rice, at the 45-degree angle of the three-point line on the left wing, kept making runs to move Pippen around.

Avery Johnson dribbles the ball up the court, aiming for the top of the key, where he will form an attacking triangle with two other players who can pass the ball around.

Grant Long was positioned in the right elbow area, while Steve Smith was on the right wing, constantly moving along the three-point line to contain Jordan.

Once Tang Bei gets under the basket, the two of them will immediately form a new triangle.

However, they haven't practiced the triangle offense much, and Kevin Longley isn't sure if they can execute it. If not, they'll have to resort to endless pick-and-roll tactics.

The pick-and-roll is one of the most basic tactics. While the endless pick-and-roll is more complex, it is more sophisticated than the triangle offense.

He thought the simple triangle offense was fine, since it was basically Tang Bei playing one-on-one in the low post while the perimeter players spread out.

Armstrong has started pressing in the half-court again.

This defensive tactic is exhausting, but the team can't afford to lose at home, so he has to keep going.

Avery Johnson darted left and right, shaking off his defender and approaching the top of the key. Just as Armstrong caught up, he suddenly took a step to the left, and as he pulled the basketball up with his left hand, he shoved it hard towards Tang Bei, sending the ball flying straight down.

However, he didn't notice that Rodman, in the low right wing position, had somehow moved behind Luke Longley and suddenly lunged out from above.

"Someone made a steal!"

Just as the ball was about to arrive, Tang Bei felt a blur in the corner of his left eye. Instinctively, he quickly moved up a step and caught the ball first.

"so close!"

Seeing Rodman's actions, Zhang Heli's heart jumped into the air, but seeing Tang Bei's actions, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

In the next instant, Rodman and Luke Longley double-teamed Tang Bei.

The double-teaming position wasn't ideal; Rodman was on the left, and Luke Longley was behind him, making it difficult to reach the ball on Rodman's right hand.

At that moment, Pippen had already lunged two meters away. The next instant, Tang Bei threw the ball with one hand, sending it flying towards the three-point line.

"not good!"

Pippen braked suddenly and was about to get back on defense.

"Damn you guys, you dare steal my little bit of money! I'll kill you all!"

Glen Rice received the ball at a 45-degree angle beyond the three-point line. He glared angrily at Pippen, who was three meters away, then calmly jumped and shot the basketball like a killer.

"brush!"

Splashes of water, and a three-pointer goes in.

"Pretty!"

Zhang Heli excitedly said, "Tang Bei received the ball in the low post, attracted Pippen's double team, and then passed the ball to Glen Rice."

"The Heat's outside shooters should be in better form today," Sun Zhenping said expectantly.

"You made your first shot, and it was a three-pointer. You should be able to do even better," Han Qiao said with a smile.

5:0, Bulls attack.

The Heat continued with their 3-2 zone defense, but they didn't double-team Pippen. Pippen responded by hitting a three-pointer over Glen Rice's defense.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, another missed shot.

Tang Bei grabbed the rebound, and the Heat launched an attack.

This time, the Bulls tightened their perimeter defense, forcing Avery Johnson to pass the ball to Steve Smith on the right wing three-point line.

Seeing this, Tang Bei immediately bypassed Luke Longley, crossed the penalty area, and moved to a low position on the right wing.

He, Grant Long in the right corner, and Steve Smith on the outside immediately formed a triangle offense.

He ran the triangle tactic for two hours yesterday and for another two hours today, so he only knows some basic triangle positioning.

"Whoosh!"

Steve Smith passed the ball to the right corner before Jordan could close him down.

Rodman quickly lunged towards the right corner, Grant Long received the ball and immediately lobbed it towards the right wing low post.

The next moment, in accordance with the tactical requirement of collapsing the defense, Rodman immediately collapsed and double-teamed Tang Bei, while Jordan did not.

"Whoosh!"

Just as Rodman double-teamed him, Tang Bei suddenly passed the ball back to Grant Long.

"squeak!"

Jordan, who was already moving towards the right corner to help defend, sped up and lunged down.

"Whoosh!"

Grant Long quickly passed the ball to Steve Smith, who was open. Smith caught the ball and made a jump shot, hitting a three-pointer.

"brush!"

A splash of water, and the three-pointer hits.

"8-0, the Heat have actually gotten off to a good start with the triangle offense." Bill Walton chuckled.

Bill Russell said, "It's nothing. The triangle offense is neither a style exclusive to the Bulls nor a style created by Phil Jackson. Anyone can use it."

After each saying a sentence, they looked at Ewing and said, "Hey, King Kong, it's your turn."

"Yes."

To everyone's surprise, after a few seconds of silence, Ewing uttered only one word.

The two were heartbroken. Damn gorilla, weren't you just talking so much?
(End of this chapter)