The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 179 Two to One
"Tang, what do you think was the main reason for tonight's victory?" a reporter asked during a post-match interview.

"First and foremost, it was a tactical victory; we caught them completely off guard," Tang Bei said.

"Is it a man-to-man tactic that involves neither double-teaming nor switching?"

"Yes."

"How did the coaching staff come up with the idea of ​​using this tactic?"

"They just don't give us wide open spaces, so if we get penetrated, they can only get small open spaces."

"What if the Rockets get on fire?"

"Well, we'll talk about it later. The coaching staff will consider this."

How would you rate your own and Hakeem Olajuwon's performance?

"His jump shot is good, and my dunk is good too. We each have our strengths."

The victory in Game 1 significantly increased the Heat's chances of winning the championship, and the team, from the head coach to the players, received widespread praise from major mainstream media outlets.

As the team's core player, Tang Bei's name and the exciting moments of the game have made headlines in major media outlets.

As the opponent in the Finals, top-tier center Hakeem Olajuwon, who excelled in both offense and defense, was criticized by various media outlets.

The same applies to head coach Rudy Tomjanovich; major media outlets believe that the head coach should bear the primary responsibility for the loss.

On the 6th, in Game 2, the Heat used the same tactics.

But in this match, the Rockets, who lost the first game, played an amazing game and won the second game, making it 1-1.

Instead of man-to-man defense, the Rockets used a full-court zone and zone defense to suppress the Heat's perimeter offense, forcing the Heat to commit 23 turnovers while the Rockets only committed 11.

Then, on offense, they frequently created open and mismatch opportunities through passing and pick-and-rolls, defeating the Heat with a score of 84-90.

唐北轰下44分13篮板1抢断4盖帽，但有4次失误和5次犯规，而且只送出2次助攻，投篮命中率达到六成。

奥拉朱旺拿到28分11篮板3助攻2抢断5盖帽3失误2犯规，命中率46.4%，虽然好于G1战，但依然不如唐北。

However, the rest of the Heat were hampered by the Rockets' strong defense and strict officiating, resulting in frequent turnovers and a significant drop in shooting performance compared to Game 1. Excluding Tang Bei's shots, their shooting percentage was a paltry 30.3%.

After the tie, Houston once again became known as the "Resilient City," earning widespread praise from the media.

Major media outlets believe the Rockets have a good chance of replicating their resilience from the second-round series and ultimately defeating the Heat to win the championship.

On the 7th, both sides moved to Miami.

Kevin Longley and the coaching staff stayed up all night discussing tactics, and on the morning of the 8th, they held a tactical meeting at headquarters.

He first summarized the reasons for the defeat in G2, and then began to plan the tactics for G3.

"When the ball handler crosses the center line, he should protect the ball and use quick passes to break through their full-court zone defense."

"Once we get into positional play, facing their zone defense, and considering our lack of ball-handling and penetration energy on the perimeter, we also need to use passing to break through their defense."

"In addition, we need to strengthen our fast break tactics. Tang needs to join the fast break and create opportunities to outnumber the opponent in the frontcourt."

"If Tang grabs the defensive rebound, he has a chance to pass and assist, so he doesn't necessarily need to join the fast break."

"In addition, Tang's high-position support tactics need to be strengthened. After the pieces are separated, there should be more opportunities to use the bottom lane tactics to improve efficiency and increase lethality."

"When attacking from the outside, Tang can also use the weak-side cut-in tactic."

"But be careful when playing flank tactics. Without Tang's high support, be careful not to get intercepted when passing the ball to the strong or weak side."

"On the defensive end, we will continue to play man-to-man defense in our next three home games, without switching on defense, and we will focus on preventing their three-pointers."

Kevin Longley was determined to stick to his defensive tactics, even if it meant losing the Finals and being fired.

He believes that the Heat's perimeter defense is mediocre, and only by doing so can they focus their defensive efforts on one end of the court.

The reason for losing Game 2 was not due to incorrect tactics, but rather too many mistakes, poor shooting touch, and home-court advantage.

Of course, the Rockets also had a good shooting touch, making nine three-pointers.

However, of the nine three-pointers, only two were wide open, while the remaining seven were close-open shots, so the strategy of not switching on defense was actually correct.

He's betting that the Rockets won't have that much shooting touch in the Heat's three home games.

In the afternoon, the Heat ran the tactics they had planned in the morning for an hour.

On the evening of the 8th, Miami Arena was packed to capacity.

The Heat reached the NBA Finals in their sixth season, greatly boosting the basketball atmosphere in Miami and turning countless Miami residents into Heat fans.

Tonight marks the Heat's first time playing the NBA Finals at home, making the atmosphere even more intense.

Outside the stadium, countless fans who had not been able to buy tickets had gathered.

Inside the arena, in addition to the hundreds of visiting fans who had traveled from afar, the home team fans all wore Finals jerseys gifted by the Heat.

Greta and her parents were also present tonight, accompanied by Eric Fleischer.

Many celebrities, business tycoons, and politicians from Miami and Florida attended the event, and the Nemurs interacted with them.

However, compared to before, his relationship with these people has changed significantly. The imbalance of resources and information makes it difficult for them to enter the inner circle now.

As they relinquished their inheritance rights and liquidated their assets, their influence within the Nemoir family declined sharply, as did their social influence.

Those who only have money but don't control social and production resources are easy prey in the eyes of others, which is why Jiabao is eager to find new development directions and projects.

Garbo established a company called Tangjia Import & Export in Miami, through which Tangjia Electronics' home appliances entered the United States.

Current investment projects are primarily in the retail sector.

For example, you could buy some Walmart stock on the secondary market, then acquire long-term bonds issued by Walmart, and finally directly finance Walmart with cash.

Gerber hopes to gain some say in Walmart through these investments and become an appliance supplier for this mega-retail giant.

If successful, Tangjia Electronics will have the opportunity to expand rapidly.

Unfortunately, the Walmart family rejected her financing plan in order to avoid diluting their equity.

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

Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe, Robert Horry, Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith

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

Bill Walton said, "The Rockets' basic offensive strategy is to give the ball to Hakeem Olajuwon in the low post first, draw the defense, and then pass it out to shoot a three-pointer, or have Olajuwon do a low post isolation play."

But against the Heat, Olajuwon couldn't draw double teams, couldn't create space for the perimeter, and his one-on-one efficiency against Tang Bei was low. Therefore, the Rockets' basic tactics were incomplete and not very effective.

Barkley said, "In Game 2, we reduced Hakim's touches and had Thorpe facilitate from the high post, passing the ball around on the perimeter. We beat the Heat that way. I think it's a good strategy."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nodded and said, "Tactics cannot remain unchanged. The Rockets made some good changes to their offensive and defensive tactics in Game 2, and achieved good results."

Bill Russell said, "Now we'll see how the two sides play in Game 3, what tactical changes they make, and whoever makes the first change will have the upper hand."

In the home team's locker room, Tang Bei took a heart tonic.

He takes Qingxue Wan in the morning, Bushen Wan at noon, and Buxin Wan in the evening, alternating the times to avoid any adverse effects.

After taking three or four hundred heart-nourishing pills, he now feels that his heart is beating very strongly, and his ability to replenish mercury is far greater than before, but his heart rate continues to decline slowly, and is now 35 beats per minute.

He had done some research and found that the world's top athletes currently have a resting heart rate of around 30 beats per minute, with some exceptionally talented athletes having a heart rate below 30.

A low heart rate indicates a slower metabolism and increased cardiac efficiency. It is also a sign of physical fitness and physiological evidence of long-term optimization of the cardiovascular system, reflecting heart health.

His current physical fitness level is 96. With his massive physique, it would be almost impossible to reach such a high level of physical fitness through training alone without external factors. The heart-tonifying pill must have played a significant role.

According to current medical research, a decrease of 10 beats per minute in resting heart rate can reduce the risk of all-cause mortality by 15-20%.

He plans to get some for his family someday, like knee pads or similar items, so that the Tang family might become a long-lived family.

Hakeem Olajuwon didn't seem to be feeling very good in the away team's locker room.

He played two games against Tang Bei in three days. Although he always focused on fronting the opponent to avoid injury, this was the finals, and strong physical contact was often unavoidable. He was willing to go all out for the championship.

Unlike the Bulls, who rotated several big men on the court, the Rockets relied mainly on him, averaging 43.5 minutes per game in the first two games.

The soreness in my body was quite noticeable, partly due to the resistance I was experiencing and partly due to my physical condition.

After a season of 80 regular season games and 18 playoff games, totaling 98 games, my body is now in a state of exhaustion.

At 7:40, they started the game.

"Severe phobia!"

When Tang Bei made his final appearance, the Miami Arena erupted in thunderous cheers.

At eight o'clock, the competition begins.

Jump ball, Heat attack.

Will the Rockets still play a full-court zone defense?

In the CCTV live broadcast studio, after the match started, Zhang Heli stared at the TV screen and asked a question.

The so-called full-court zone defense is not about defending from the backcourt to the frontcourt, but rather a core defensive tactic that differs from one that only covers one's own half of the court.

Compared to half-court zone defense, full-court zone defense covers the mid-court line, while half-court zone defense extends from the three-point line to the basket, or even primarily refers to zone defense only when the offense reaches the basket.

The full-court zone defense divides the entire court into five core areas: the frontcourt/backcourt transition zone, the wings, the top of the key, and the area under the basket.

Five defenders are responsible for their respective areas, with each player responsible for 1-2 areas. Through coordinated rotations, they limit offensive progress, cut off passing routes, and force turnovers.

It emphasizes regional responsibility and teamwork, and is an important tactic for dealing with fast breaks, suppressing outside attacks, or limiting the opponent's key ball handler.

In the middle of the backcourt, Avery Johnson advanced the ball to the center line, where Kenny Smith was facing him.

Clearly, the Rockets were using the same defensive tactics as in Game 2, employing a zone defense throughout the game.

Avery Johnson dribbles with his left hand, uses his right elbow to brace against the defender in front of him, and uses his physical advantage to advance inside.

At that moment, taking advantage of Avery Johnson's blind spot, the right-wing madman Maxwell seized the opportunity to pounce quickly.

"later."

Glenn Rice on the left pointed to the right wing and shouted a reminder.

"It must be Mad Max who's teaming me up, so Steve must be wide open."

Avery Johnson suddenly accelerated, shoving Kenny Smith aside and breaking past him. His gaze swept to the right wing, and sure enough, he saw Steve Smith cutting inside. He quickly passed the ball to him.

When the madman Maxwell, who was flanking him, saw this, he hurriedly returned to defend Steve Smith, but it was too late.

After receiving the ball, Steve Smith took two steps to the right midfield position, where he was double-teamed by Thorpe. He immediately passed the ball to Grant Long in the right blocking area.

"brush!"

Grant Lang got a wide-open shot, and Thorpe couldn't get back in time. He calmly jumped and made a long two-pointer.

“Maxwell’s double-team was too impulsive and risky. It would have been better to wait until the ball handler got closer to the top of the key,” Bill Russell said.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also said: "Full-court zone defense does not mean double-teaming near the midcourt line. It is enough to defend in the midcourt transition zone and limit the speed of the offensive advance."

The purpose of full-court zone defense is to expand the area of ​​the zone defense, limit the speed of the attack, and force the opponent to pass the ball quickly or make mistakes.

Barkley said, "Risky double teams can easily create open shots. Just like full-court press, once the defense fails, the backcourt can easily be breached."

0-2, Rockets on offense.

"The Heat are still using man-to-man defense," Zhang Heli said.

Avery Johnson followed suit; although the coaching staff did not set up a half-court press tactic, he immediately initiated a close press when Kenny Smith connected through the midfield.

This disrupted Kenny Smith's rhythm, and he quickly protected the ball. At this moment, Avery Johnson took the opportunity to drive the ball handler to the right wing, with the aim of double-teaming Steve Smith on the right wing.

However, Kenny Smith was no pushover. After pulling to the right wing, he immediately passed the ball to Mad Max, then ran back to the top of the arc and took Avery Johnson away.

On the right wing, Maxwell dribbled the ball and went one-on-one against Steve Smith. He quickly broke through and then changed direction on the right wing to get past Grant Long, who was helping to defend, before entering the paint.

Hakeem Olajuwon was positioned on the left side of the basket, while Tang Bei defended directly in front of the rim, cutting off the passing lane between Maxwell and Olajuwon.

Just as Maxwell drove into the paint, Olajuwon suddenly moved toward the basket and made a gesture as if asking for the ball.

Tang Bei took a step forward to his right waist, and Maxwell suddenly stopped and jumped.

To everyone's surprise, Tang Bei immediately retreated and did not continue to block the attack.

Maxwell had originally hoped to fake out Tang Bei and then pass the ball to Olajuwon, who was cutting to the basket, but now he had to do it himself.

"Oh!"

The hasty shot lacked accuracy, and with Steve Smith and Grant Long both nearby, they simultaneously attempted to block it, causing his ball to hit the backboard instead of the rim.

Under the basket, Tang Bei jumped with all his might and, taking advantage of his height, grabbed the defensive rebound over Hakeem Olajuwon.

Bill Walton said, "The Heat's defense was really good this time. Tang guarded the basket tightly, and the others collapsed and double-teamed on the edge of the paint."

Bill Russell said, "Tang Bei supports the Heat's defensive system. Last season, the Heat's defensive system was very fragile and not perfect, but with his growth, it has matured this season."

His movement to cover Maxwell was crucial; it misled the ball handler into thinking he would cover, thus preparing to pass the ball.

Barkley chuckled and said, "Then he fell for it. Tang Bei didn't help defend; instead, he went back to defend Hakim under the basket."

Tang Bei moved to the left low post, received the ball, and began to post up against Olajuwon. Thorpe, in the right low post, had already moved along the baseline to help defend behind Olajuwon.

The next moment, Tang Bei, who had just made a post move, suddenly jumped up and passed the ball to Grant Long in the right blocking area.

"A wide-open space!" Sun Zhenping shouted.

The madman Maxwell, three meters away, lunged at Grant Long like a madman and blocked the shot as Long jumped to shoot.

"Crooked!"

Tang Bei quickly made a prediction and began to move and block the way.

He was originally behind, but with his strong physical strength, he pushed past Hakeem Olajuwon in front of him and got stuck in front of the basket.

Thorpe had moved to the right side of the basket, blocking Tang Bei behind him.

"Bang!"

Sure enough, it veered slightly off course, bounced off the basket, and landed directly above Tang Bei.

All three jumped at the same time, and Tang Beichao, who was in the best position, grabbed the offensive rebound.

In the next instant, thanks to his excellent ability to jump consecutively, he took the lead and jumped a second time.

Thorpe slapped Tang Bei on the right arm, and Olajuwon also put his arm around Tang Bei's left shoulder from behind.

But Tang Bei's explosive power was too strong. Even with the two of them working together, they still couldn't hold him down. He broke free of his cage like a raging tiger.

"Di!"

"boom!"

With the referee's whistle, a fierce thud echoed as the basket slammed open, sinking the backboard by more than a foot, and Thorpe was knocked over.

"WOW!"

Miami Arena erupted in cheers, with thousands waving their arms and cheering.

"Beautiful! Two players under the basket, fouling didn't help, Tang Bei made a three-point play." Zhang Heli said excitedly.

The referee called a foul on Thorpe for hitting his hand, and Tang Bei made the free throw, making it 0-5. The Rockets are on offense.

"brush!"

Through repeated pick-and-rolls, Kenny Smith ran into a small open space in the left elbow area, caught the ball, and made a mid-range jumper.

2:5, Heat on offense.

"brush!"

Grant Lang received Tang Bei's pass again, and this time he withstood the pressure of McGee's rotation and help defense, and made the open shot.

Barkley said, "Grant Lang has a lot of open looks because Thorpe is helping defend Tang Bei. He's 2-for-3 so far. If the Rockets continue to use Thorpe to help defend, he'll get more shots."

Bill Russell said, "2 out of 3 shots shows he has the shot today. Do you think the Rockets will still dare to use Thorpe to help defend Tang?"

"Bang!"

Mad Max went one-on-one against Steve Smith, but missed his first shot of the night, and Tang Bei grabbed the rebound.

During the Heat's offense, Tang Bei received the ball again in the low post on the left wing, but noticed that Thorpe on the weak side hadn't come over, so he didn't dare to help defend him.

He immediately started posting up, knocking Olajuwon back twice with post-ups, then scooped the ball with both hands, turned around, and launched himself into the air.

Hakeem Olajuwon gritted his teeth and jumped to block the shot, but was knocked away the moment he made contact in mid-air.

"boom!"

"Di!"

The next moment, the referee's whistle and the loud bang of the basket rang out simultaneously.

"Beautiful! Tang Bei slammed the ball over Hakeem Olajuwon with a one-handed dunk!" Sun Zhenping exclaimed.

"Another two-plus-one! Da Meng hit Tang Bei's hand, and Tang Bei dunked it while holding him down," Zhang Heli said excitedly.

The Rockets called a timeout as they prepared to shoot free throws.

"In low-post isolation plays, there shouldn't be anyone in the league who can defend Tang Bei one-on-one right now," Han Qiaosheng said with a smile.

Zhang Heli nodded and said, "That's right. Even if it's Mutombo, the center of the Nuggets who was very famous before and completed the upset, I don't think he could defend Tang Bei one-on-one. The difference in size, strength and agility is huge."

Sun Zhenping said, "The Heat have three home games coming up. If they can win two of them, they will have a match point and the initiative."

"Correct."

Zhang Heli nodded and said with emotion, "I spent many years in Chicago. Back then, it was the era of the Lakers and Celtics' rivalry between black and white teams, followed by the Bad Boys era. The East was very strong."

It was very difficult for Jordan's Bulls to break out of the East, and they only had a chance to make it to the Finals when the Celtics and the Bad Boys were getting old.

Now, Tang Bei has made it to the Finals in his second season, and even beat Jordan and the Bulls to the Finals during their prime. It's unbelievable.

"Coach Zhang, what do you think are the Heat's chances of winning the championship?"

Sun Zhenping brought up the same old topic again. This topic had actually been discussed many times in the G1 and G2 matches, but he still seemed to enjoy it.

Zhang Heli chuckled and said, "Anyway, I think we're better than the Rockets. After winning Game 1 on the road, we'll have the initiative."

The timeout ended, Tang Bei made the free throw, making it 2-8, and the Rockets went on offense.

The ball was passed between Kenny Smith, Thorpe at the high post, and Mad Max on the right wing, but the passing was highly disruptive to zone defenses but less so to man-to-man defenses.

Because zone defense double-teams the ball handler, it can move the defense around by passing the ball, while man-to-man defense only guards the player, and unless the ball handler is close to the penalty area, it will not double-team, and it is not as mobile.

However, when the Rockets made passes, they incorporated off-ball movement, and through constant back-cuts and pick-and-rolls, they were able to break down the defense more effectively.

"brush!"

Soon, Mad Max ran into a small open space, caught the ball, and jumped to shoot, making the basket.

4:8, Heat on offense.

Tang Bei once again called for the ball in the low post on the left wing, intending to test the Rockets' defensive tactics through his low-post offense.

This time, Thorpe once again began to help defend on the weak side.

Rudy Tomjanovich just asked him to help defend the weak side, and Maxwell was given the open space on Grant Long.

Tomjanovich's main concern was that Grant Long's scoring ability was far inferior to Tang Bei's. He preferred to let Grant Long score rather than give Tang Bei a chance to go one-on-one against Olajuwon.

If Da Meng gets dominated by Tang Bei in one-on-one situations, not only will they lose more points, but they will also destroy the team's morale.

Of course, he didn't voice his thoughts, as that would have affected Olajuwon's morale.

Instead of passing to Grant Long, who was in an open position, Tang Bei immediately executed a series of left and right Wing Chun horse maneuvers.

He first did a backspin, which didn't shake the big dream behind him, but it did bring Thorpe to a stop.

Thorpe, who was coming to help defend along the baseline, thought Tang Bei was going to turn and attack the basket, so he immediately stopped and prepared to move upwards laterally.

The next moment, Tang Beixia turned around.

Olajuwon was shaken and thought Tang Bei was going to turn and slide to the bottom, so he immediately turned to the right and moved his feet.

Thorpe, who was preparing to move horizontally upwards, was fooled again. He thought Tang Bei was about to turn downwards, so he quickly stopped and did not move upwards.

"boom!"

But in the next instant, Tang Bei turned around again, took a step and rushed into the penalty area. After the second step, he sprang up and delivered a fierce dunk over the basket.

“This is a beautiful ball!”

After giving a thumbs-up, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, "Hakeem Olajuwon is this year's DPOY and is skilled at using his Dream Shake to shift the defender's weight, but this time he was shaken off by Tang Bei's footwork."

Bill Walton said, "Their paces are somewhat similar."

Barkley exclaimed, "But I feel their strides are somewhat different."

“Karim, what do you say?” Bill Russell asked.

Jabbar said, "Look closely, when Tang uses his footwork, he focuses on physical contact just like when he uses his center of gravity disruption technique, maintaining constant physical confrontation."

However, Dream's Dream Steps lack this characteristic; increased confrontation affects his movement, which is the difference between them.

“Karim, is Tang’s footwork also a kind of fighting technique?” Bill Walton asked.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar smiled and said, "As you know, my teacher Bruce Lee came from Wing Chun, and there is a technique in Wing Chun called 'Turning Horse'."

I believe Tang Bei's footwork utilizes techniques similar to the turning stance, but I can't be certain because I practice Jeet Kune Do, not Wing Chun. You could have a reporter from the front lines interview him.

4-10, Rockets on offense.

Robert Horry suddenly ran up from the left corner, creating a small open space, received the pass, and then quickly launched a three-pointer.

Glen Rice lunged from below to block the shot, but missed the ball.

"Bang!"

However, the shot missed, and Tang Bei grabbed the rebound in the backcourt.

Bill Walton said, "The Heat's man-to-man defense without switching really limited the Rockets' three-point shooting tactics."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, "It's a double whammy. Hakeem Olajuwon couldn't create space for the perimeter through post-up play, which was a major reason why the three-point shot offense wasn't working."

With home-court advantage, the Heat firmly controlled the game, and the Rockets were unable to turn the tide until the end, losing Game 3 84-102.

The Heat lead by a large margin, 2-1.

唐北18投13中，命中率72.2%，21罚15中，命中率71.4%，轰下了41分15篮板4助攻1抢断4盖帽1失误2犯规。

Hakeem Olajuwon played 35 minutes, scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He frequently fouled Tang Bei, and eventually fouled out of the game in the final quarter with his sixth foul.

(End of this chapter)