The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 55 The Battle of Behemoths
Mark Price disagreed and stepped forward to argue, "Mr. Referee, Larry's arm made contact after the opponent completed the dunk, so it shouldn't be considered a foul."

He has a point. According to the current officiating rules, fouls can be called before the offense is completed, but physical contact after the offense is completed is not considered a foul.

The defense in the paint is incredibly brutal now, like a fight. You can attack, even go for the basket, but I have an elbow waiting for you.

The referee shook his head and said, "I saw it very clearly; his elbow hit the attacker first."

Mark Price was a little annoyed. This was the Cavaliers' home court, and actions like this, which were difficult to define as fouls, could have been left uncalled.

Larry Nance was the Cavaliers' defensive anchor in the paint. With him off the court, the Cavaliers' defense against Tang Bei became somewhat out of control, which then spurred the Hornets' outside offense, and the Hornets began to attack the paint from the perimeter.

In this situation, the Hornets scored continuously for the remainder of the second quarter, tying the score at halftime.

This situation continued in the second half.

Meanwhile, Tang Bei put up a good one-on-one defense against Doherty on the defensive end, stealing the ball from the opponent twice in the second half and effectively suppressing the Cavaliers' inside offense.

Ultimately, the Hornets defied expectations, defeating the powerful Cavaliers 109-102 on the road and securing their second consecutive win to start the season.

唐北上场35分钟，13投10中，命中率高达76.9%，加上15罚8中，砍下了28分13篮板1助攻2抢断3盖帽4失误4犯规的数据，成为本场最佳。

拉里约翰逊总共18投9中，加上4罚3中，轰下21分9篮板。

Kendall Gill was in poor form, making only 4 of 13 shots for a total of 10 points.

But John Newman was in excellent form, scoring 21 points with a 56% field goal percentage, and was one of the key forces in the victory.

A Charlotte media reporter stopped Doherty in the players' tunnel and asked, "Mr. Doherty, can you tell us about your experience playing against Don?"

Doherty was out of form today, shooting only 3-for-12 against Don Bei's defense. Coupled with his partner's injury and the home loss, he was in a bad mood.

He didn't stop, but replied as he walked: "He turned around very quickly, very quickly, extremely quickly. I knew he was going to turn around, but I just couldn't keep up with the pace."

This was what impressed him the most. Tang Bei was very strong, but with Larry Nance's timely help defense and the outside cutting off the passing angle, he was able to stop Tang Bei from getting the ball in the paint. But Tang Bei's turn really left him helpless.

When the reporter tried to ask further questions, Doherty waved his hand, indicating that he would no longer be available for interviews.

On the sidelines, Tang Bei, who was named MVP of the game for the first time, was being interviewed live and was in a very good mood.

A reporter asked, "Tang, you injured Gugliotta in your debut game and Larrynance today. In terms of the damage you inflict on opposing players, do you consider yourself the most dangerous player in the league?"

Tang Bei wiped the sweat from his forehead and, after exchanging a few words with John Liu, replied, "My agent told me that a guy called Dr. Iron Elbow wants to teach me a lesson. Which team is he on?"

A rookie publicly challenged the league's strongest superstar, much to the reporter's delight, who quickly exclaimed:
"The Jazz player, his name is Karl Malone, power forward, nicknamed The Mailman, or you can call him Dr. Iron Elbow. His maximum bench press record is the same as yours, 230 kilograms."

"That record is meaningless."

Tang Bei didn't care about bench press records at all. That was brute force. Whether it was martial arts, basketball, or even battlefield combat with cold weapons, explosive power was the most terrifying quality, and his explosive power was top-notch.

The reporter continued, "Tang, before you, he was the strongest and most powerful player in the league. Tang, is there anything you'd like to say to him?"

Tang Bei touched his cheekbone, which was red and swollen from the elbow injury, and said, "My agent said that quite a few players have been injured by his elbows. It seems that his offensive power is indeed very great."

"Yes, in terms of how dangerous he is to opposing players, the Mailman is arguably the most dangerous player currently playing," the reporter said with a smile.

Tang Bei continued, "You just asked me if I am the most lethal fighter in active duty. Now I'm telling you, I'm not, because I never use my elbow to hurt my opponents, so my lethality is naturally not as great as the Mailman's."

"Ha ha……"

Upon hearing Tang Bei's sarcastic reply, the reporter couldn't help but laugh.

On the bench, Kendall Gill looked sullen, not only because of his poor performance in the game, but also because Tang Bei took away his shot attempts.

He felt that if things continued this way, his stats would decline sharply, and he would completely lose the right to compete with Larry Johnson for the core position.

However, his lack of assertiveness prevented him from changing this passive situation.

Larry Johnson was equally unhappy, even more so.

He was very unhappy in the last game, but at least he won the MVP award and had the best performance. However, his performance in this game was not as good as Tang Bei's.

Before the new season started, he thought that as long as his performance surpassed Kendall Gill's, he could secure his position as the core player, and after playing for two more years, he could become the true leader.

But Tang Bei's sudden emergence made him realize that there was now a guy who was even more threatening than Kendall Gill.

"No, this can't go on. I have to change this situation."

On the 9th, the Charlotte Hornets arrived in Orlando. The bus arrived at the booked hotel, and Tang Bei and John Liu shared a room.

As a high draft pick, he received many benefits, such as the salary of his translator John Liu, and the team covering all his food, lodging, and travel expenses during away games. These were all agreed upon by Eric Fleischer and Tvercz and were written into the contract.

Just as the two settled in, Xu Jicheng called from China and said, "Tang Bei, your debut match went well."

"What were the ratings?" Tang Bei asked expectantly.

"According to the statistics of the past two days, it should have reached 1%, which is excellent," Zhang Heli said excitedly.

"Is this data good?" Tang Bei asked.

Zhang Heli explained, "If there are 100 million TV users in China, 1% means 1 million households watching the game. If there are 200 million, that's 2 million. That's quite a lot; at least several million people are watching the game."

"At least several million people?"

Tang Bei was immediately delighted, because the NBA regular season only has a few million viewers in the United States, and that's for popular teams. Small teams like the Hornets don't even have that many viewers.

Just as I was feeling happy, I suddenly remembered the show "Aspiration" that aired two years ago. The TV station said it had a 98% viewership rating, so I felt that a 1% viewership rating was nothing at all.

Number 10, Orlando Arena.

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

Orlando Magic: Shaquille O'Neal, Jeff Turner, Dennis Scott, Nick Anderson, Scott Skiles

Hornets: Tang Bei, Larry Johnson, David Wingate, Kendall Gill, Muggsy Bogues
The game was broadcast live across the United States by NBC, with Bill Russell and Mav Albert as commentators and Larry Bird, who had just retired, as a guest.

Larry Bird is interested in a coaching career, but there are no suitable opportunities at the moment, so he plans to work in the commentary industry for a while first.

After giving an opening speech, Maverick Albert said, "Last season, the Magic finished last in the Eastern Conference with 21 wins and won the number one pick, selecting a monster, Shaquille O'Neal."

The Hornets, third from last in the Eastern Conference with 31 wins, drew the second pick and selected another behemoth, Tang from China. Tonight will be a battle of giants.

Bill Russell chimed in, "The two teams were fairly evenly matched last season, but the Hornets are generally stronger this season. However, the Magic have home-court advantage tonight, so it's hard to predict the outcome. We'll have to see how they perform on the court."

Larry Bird continued, "There's no other gimmick in this game. Apart from the fans of both teams, other fans don't care about the outcome. For them, the only thing to watch is the contest between two rookie behemoths."

Marv Albert nodded and smiled, "O'Neal performed better overall in the rookie camp. He dunked over Tang once, but he fell to Tang's feet twice. Hopefully, he can have a good performance in this game."

比尔拉塞尔翻着数据表说道：“前两场比赛中，唐场均13投9中，命中率69.2%，12.5罚7中，命中率56%，场均得到25分11.5篮板1助攻1抢断3盖帽5失误3.5犯规的数据。”

Larry Bird, unfamiliar with Tang Bei, exclaimed in surprise, "12.5 free throws per game? That's incredibly lethal!"

"On average, one opponent is injured per game, which is truly terrifying in terms of destructive power."

Bill Russell nodded and continued, "O'Neal's first two games were back-to-back home and away games. In the second game, he played the Bullets away and performed better than in his debut."

两场比赛场均12投6中，9罚5中，17分16.5篮板1.5助攻0.5抢断3.5盖帽6失误5.5犯规，进攻端方面不如唐，篮板球强于唐，整体表现略逊色于唐。”

"We've only played two regular season games so far, it's too early to say who's better, and I think their rivalry will continue," said Mav Albert.

Larry Bird laughed and said, "I just retired and I've been busy with a lot of things, so I haven't been paying much attention to them."

Statistically, both teams are excellent, especially considering they've just entered the league and are still adjusting. Their performance at this stage is insufficient to determine who is stronger.

At this point, he chuckled and said to Marv Albert, "Marv, you once said that Tang's ability to survive in the NBA was limited, and that he might be eliminated after a few seasons. Do you still think so now?"

Mave Albert smiled and said, "I haven't changed my opinion yet, but if he's still around in a few seasons, then I'll have to change my opinion."

Larry Bird chuckled and said, "I'm curious, he's more physically strong than O'Neal, so why do you think he can't adapt to the NBA?"

Mave Albert immediately added, "Adapting to the NBA isn't just about physicality; there are many other factors involved."

Larry Bird asked, "For example?"

"As a Chinese person, language, lifestyle, communication skills, adaptability, resilience to injuries, and mental fortitude will all be important factors in whether he can survive in the NBA," said Marv Albert.

"You have a point."

Larry Bird nodded and said, "Nike also doesn't think highly of O'Neal, believing he will be quickly eliminated from the NBA."

(End of this chapter)