The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 223 I really can't take it anymore.
Tang Bei then made the free throw, making it 12-10, and the US team attacked.

"Bang!"

Pippen dribbled the ball and went one-on-one against Sun Jun. When he got to the left elbow area, he was double-teamed by Wu Qinglong. He hurriedly took a shot but missed, and Tang Bei grabbed the rebound.

"Slow down the pace."

He shouted loudly after passing the ball to Wu Qinglong.

He received the ball in the backcourt and moved into the frontcourt, positioning himself high up. There was no double-teaming off-ball movement, and the ball was immediately passed to him.

Above the free-throw line, he was back to the left wing, with his left shoulder facing the basket, and Hakeem Olajuwon was guarding him on the lower side.

The moment after receiving the ball, I turned downwards and to the right, but not very fast, without using the power-generating technique of a Tai Chi turn.

This gave Karl Malone, who was in the low post on the right wing, the opportunity to get back to defend the basket.

"Oh no, we've been tricked! He did it on purpose!"

Karl Malone reached the basket in two steps, and when he saw Tang Bei suddenly accelerate and burst forward, a warning bell rang in his mind.

By then, it was too late for him to dodge; he could only manage to cover his chest with his arms.

"boom!"

"Oh!"

"Di!"

In the next instant, Tang Bei spread his legs and, while straddling Karl Malone, completed an extremely fierce two-handed dunk.

The basketball hoop was slammed down more than a foot, and Karl Malone was thrown off his feet, his back slamming onto the floor and sliding backward.

"Damn it, my neck!"

He felt as if he had been hit by a car at least 60 miles per hour, and his neck was in excruciating pain from the force of the impact.

The humiliation of being dunked on was tolerable, after all, it was a tough guy who had beaten him up in front of all the All-Stars, but the neck injury was a problem, which made him feel extremely bad.

Xu Jicheng praised, "Tang Bei fought too aggressively."

Sun Zhenping stared at the postman on the floor and suddenly said, "Good news, Karl Malone should be injured. He's clutching his neck."

The referee stopped the game and signaled for the US team doctor to come onto the field.

After examining the patient, the team doctor said, "It's a strain in the anterior scalene muscle group, and there's a possibility of a fracture or even a crack in the cervical vertebrae."

"damn it!"

The postman's face turned ashen.

NBC's live studio has received news from the front lines, and Bill Walton exclaimed, "It's terrible, a very bad injury."

"O'Neal has gone back to Los Angeles to get his head treated, and now the Mailman is out too. We only have Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Barkley left. We don't have enough inside players."

Bill Russell said, "The lack of interior players isn't the biggest problem. We can have small forwards play the power forward position, since the Chinese team's power forwards aren't tall enough anyway."

"The most troublesome thing is that both the great white shark and the mailman were injured in the collision. The destructive power of severe fear has been fully demonstrated, and the deterrent effect has been maximized. Who will dare to stop him now?"

The other two nodded repeatedly. Of the remaining three inside players, Barkley didn't count on them. Would the other two super centers dare to risk injury to stop Severe Fear?

Next, Wilkens substituted everyone on the field, bringing on David Robinson, Barkley, Grant Hill, Richmond, and Gary Payton.

In this lineup, David Robinson has been selected to the All-Defensive First Team and Second Team multiple times, and Gary Payton has been selected to the All-Defensive First Team for three consecutive years. With two top-notch defenders, the defense is not bad.

Hill's defense isn't top-tier, but it's still pretty good.

However, Barkley and Richmond's defense was inadequate, dragging the team down.

Although the defense is not as good as before, the offense is stronger. Even Payton, who had the worst offense, still averaged 20+ points per game in the 949/95 season.

But David Robinson and Barkley definitely can't stop Tang Bei. Since they can't stop him, they should make the most of this lineup and attack against attack. That's his current tactical idea.

Tang Bei made another free throw, making it 15-10, and the US team went on offense.

"brush!"

Barkley made his mark as soon as he entered the game, using his big butt to create space before turning and shooting a two-pointer.

David Robinson fronted Tang Bei to defend, allowing Tang Bei to easily enter the paint.

With the absence of the previous tight defense, the ball was easily passed in from the outside.

When Tang Bei jumped to catch the ball, he intentionally made physical contact with David Robinson, who was knocked away during the mid-air collision.

"boom!"

He landed and rose again, slamming his two-handed dunk into the American team's basket, which then sank the basket support.

"Ugh!"

Wilkens shook his head, feeling very disappointed.

His premonition came true. David Robinson didn't even bother to defend, letting the ball drive straight to the basket. Barkley didn't help either, and the US team's interior defense was completely gone.

I thought David Robinson could provide top-notch defense, but Robinson slapped me in the face in the face, failing to provide even second-rate interior defense.

"Are we going to lose again?"

Considering Tang Bei's scoring ability and his defense, he could easily score 60 points, if not 80, in a full game.

"Snapped!"

Barkley used the same trick again, backing down Gong Xiaobin in the low post on the right wing. After turning and shooting, Tang Bei, who was helping on defense, grabbed the ball.

"boom!"

Back in the frontcourt, Tang Bei once again completed a dunk under the basket.

With China leading by 7 points at 19-12, the United States called their first timeout.

"Defense, I need to defend the paint."

Lenny Wilkens spoke to Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson in an almost pleading voice.

Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, both top-tier defenders, exchanged a glance but then lowered their heads.

It's not that they don't defend, but Tang Bei is two sizes bigger and more than 20 kilograms heavier than them. His strength and explosiveness are two levels higher than theirs. How can they defend against a behemoth who can jump higher and move faster?
If they play tougher defense, the probability of injury will increase significantly, which is not what they want and it's not worth it.

Wilkens said disappointedly, "At least you need to wear him down through defense. The rest of the Chinese team are not a threat. Only by exhausting his energy can we still win."

"OK."

Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson nodded.

Seeing that the two agreed, Wilkens breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Barkley and said, "Charles, you need to contribute on the defensive end too."

Barkley's muscles twitched involuntarily, his face darkened, and he cursed inwardly, "Damn it, I'm only 198 centimeters tall without any armor. You want me to guard Tang Bei? Isn't that just making me look bad?"

“You have the power; you should be the one to defend against severe fear,” Wilkens said.

Barkley felt like the sky was falling. This wasn't just asking him to play defense, it was taking his life!

"Coach, I feel like there's something wrong with my lower back," he said quickly.

Wilkens' face instantly darkened. He stared at Barkley, wanting nothing more than to stab him.

After the timeout ended, the US team made no substitutions.

David Robinson pulled out, Tang Bei followed to the left waist position, and Barkley took the opportunity to post up Gong Xiaobin on the right wing.

At this moment, Wu Qinglong, who was in the high position, went down to double-team, and Barkley passed the ball to Gary Payton, who was open at the top of the arc.

"brush!"

Gary Payton receives the ball and shoots a three-pointer. 19-15, China attacks.

Tang Bei entered the basket again, and Barkley, who was responsible for guarding him, only made a token effort to push him aside before being pushed to the side by Tang Bei.

Wilkens shrugged, his face full of helplessness.

"boom!"

The next moment, Sun Jun passed the ball in, and Tang Bei scored again.

Xu Jicheng chuckled: "That's good. The US team's full-court press defense is gone, and their positional defense is gone too. David Robinson's help defense is just for show. The US team's defense has collapsed."

Sun Zhenping said, "There's no other way. The ones who suffer the most damage from Tang Bei are the defenders. The admiral certainly doesn't want to get hurt."

Han Qiaosheng laughed and said, "I was hoping they would tighten their defense. Gong Xiaobin and his team did quite well today, scoring a few baskets."

“Yes, we can’t rely on Tang Bei to score all the points, or his body can’t handle it,” Xu Jicheng said.

Next, Tang Bei first made a block, then Hu Weidong scored a three-pointer on a fast break. On the other hand, David Robinson missed a jump shot, Gong Xiaobin grabbed the rebound, and then Tang Bei drew a foul from David Robinson while attacking under the basket.

Tang Bei then made the first free throw, but missed the second, and David Robinson grabbed the rebound.

"Snapped!"

David Robinson was positioning himself low on the left wing to receive the ball, but as the ball came in, Tang Bei suddenly pushed hard against David Robinson and then intercepted the ball.

The Chinese team seized the opportunity to launch a fast break, but Sun Jun's mid-range shot missed. Fortunately, Tang Bei participated in the fast break, rushed in in time to grab the offensive rebound, and scored the ball.

A six-0 run brought the score to 25-15, giving the Chinese team a double-digit lead. With just over two minutes left in the first quarter, the Chinese team forced the American team to call another timeout.

Wilkens made some lineup changes, keeping Payton at point guard, replacing Pippen, and bringing in Reggie Miller at shooting guard.

In the paint, Barkley was replaced by Olajuwon.

After strengthening the defense, we will then implement a full-court press tactic.

The Chinese team also took the opportunity to make substitutions. Tang Bei did not leave the field, and the other four players were Bate, Liu Yudong, Li Nan, and Li Xiaoyong.

In the following period, the US team made adjustments to their lineup and tactics, causing the Chinese team to make two consecutive mistakes.

Fortunately, Tang Bei was still on the court and stabilized the situation. After the first quarter, the score was 32-26, with Tang Bei still holding a 6-point advantage.

唐北首节8投8中，5罚4中，轰下了20分。

The fact that the Dream Team III, with its strong lineup, couldn't beat the Chinese team, which relied solely on Tang Bei, has drawn considerable dissatisfaction from the American media.

A Washington Post reporter interviewed Jordan and asked, "Michael, what do you think of our performance in the first quarter?"

Jordan said, "It was terrible. Tang made us lose the courage to compete with him because of his offensive power. His scoring became very easy."

"He scored 20 points in a single quarter without even expending too much energy. If he plays like this in the second quarter, he could even score 80 points."

What changes do you think need to be made?

"With two players injured, we don't have enough inside players, but we can improve our perimeter defense. Their guards have poor ball-handling skills, which is their biggest weakness. If we exploit this weakness and keep playing, we still have a chance to win."

In the CCTV live broadcast studio, Sun Zhenping said, "Wu Qinglong played for nearly 6 minutes in the first quarter and made two mistakes. Li Xiaoyong played for 4 and a half minutes and made 3 mistakes."

Han Qiaosheng said, "The guards made too many mistakes. In the first quarter, we had as many as 9 turnovers, while the US team had 4. We had 1 fewer rebounds, but we actually had 2 more offensive rebounds."

Xu Jicheng said, "We had four fewer shots, but fortunately Tang Bei's offensive efficiency was too high, so we took a six-point lead instead."

The second quarter began quickly.

Tang Bei continued to play, along with Wang Zhizhi, Wu Naijun, Zheng Wu, and Wu Qinglong.

For the United States, the lineup includes David Robinson, Barkley, Grant Hill, Anfernee Hardaway, and Gary Payton.

"brush!"

Team USA went first on offense. Hill and Barkley ran a pick-and-roll on the right wing. After receiving the ball, Hill took a wide-open shot and made a two-pointer.

32-28, China attacks.

Xu Jicheng said, "Hill and Hardaway's defense isn't as good as Pippen and Reggie Miller's. The US team didn't play full-court press anymore, but Gary Payton was still pressing Wu Qinglong."

At this moment, Wang Zhizhi set a pick and roll at the high post, Barkley defended, Tang Bei positioned himself in the low post on the left wing, and David Robinson defended.

"David, hold him off!"

Seeing David Robinson retreating while defending, and then retreating to the basket, Wilkens became anxious and roared from the sidelines.

David Robinson was quite helpless; it wasn't that he didn't want to hold on, but that he simply couldn't hold on any longer!
With his physical condition and defensive skills, he is top-notch in defense against ordinary opponents, but how can he still deliver top-notch defensive performance against Tang Bei?
The ball was first passed to Wang Zhizhi, who saw that Tang Bei had already moved to the deep post and was only one meter away from the basket. He immediately passed the ball over Barkley's head and into the basket.

"boom!"

Tang Bei received the ball with his back to the Admiral, and in the next instant, he performed a Tai Chi right turn, like a fierce tiger, and smashed past David Robinson with a powerful two-handed dunk.

David Robinson, who was attempting to block the shot, was knocked back two large steps and lost his balance, falling hard onto the floor.

"Di!"

The referee also called a hand-hitting foul on David Robinson.

"How many fouls has Robinson committed? Twice, right?" Xu Jicheng asked.

“Once in the first quarter, this is the second time. Hakeem Olajuwon has also done it twice,” Sun Zhenping said, glancing at the stat sheet.

Han Qiaosheng said, "Tang Bei's free throws are all plus-one free throws, they are really dangerous."

Unfortunately, Tang Bei missed the free throw, and Barkley grabbed the rebound, making it 34-28, and Team USA went on offense.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei blocked David Robinson's nearly two-point jump shot with a slap.

However, Grant Hill grabbed the ball, but his jump shot missed under Wu Naiqun's interference, and Tang Bei grabbed the defensive rebound over Barkley's head.

"brush!"

This time, he received the ball under the basket, drew Barkley's double team, and then passed the ball to Wang Zhizhi, who took an open shot from the high post and made a mid-range jumper.

"Good, we've scored a lot. We missed our first shot in the first quarter," Xu Jicheng said happily.

"With Tang Bei drawing double teams under the basket using the high and low post twin towers tactic, we'll likely get a lot of open looks," Han Qiaosheng said excitedly.

“Yes.” Sun Zhenping nodded.

"brush!"

On the right wing, after spreading out, Hardaway dribbled the ball and isolated against Zheng Wu, then pulled back and took a three-pointer, which went in.

Han Qiao sighed, "Their individual abilities are truly outstanding."

Xu Jicheng sighed, "It's only because Tang Bei is so invincible that we had the chance to play against the Dream Team in the finals."

The Chinese team continued to use the high-low post twin towers tactic, which the American team found difficult to defend, and could only frantically block the outside and prevent the ball from being passed in.

However, the perimeter defense of this lineup was not as strong as that of the starting lineup, and with Wang Zhizhi receiving the ball at the high post, the ball was still passed in.

After Tang Bei drew a double team, he passed the ball to Da Zhi. Da Zhi received the ball, Grant Bull helped defend, and then passed the ball to Wu Naiqun, who had a wide-open shot.

"cast."

Tang Bei roared loudly.

"brush!"

Wu Naiqun received the ball a step inside the three-point line on the left wing. Encouraged by Tang Bei's shouts, his confidence soared, and he made a mid-range shot.

(End of this chapter)