The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 99 Playing the Lakers on the Road

Jerry West looked at Tang Bei, who was coming out, with a complicated expression. He really wanted to get such a talented young man, but unfortunately, this young man was a Chinese man that he disliked very much.

After high-fiving his teammates and coaches, Tang Bei walked past Jerry West without glancing at him, and went to Eric Fleischer's side.

"Hello, Don, do you remember me? Eric's brother. It's a pleasure to see you," Mark Fleischer greeted with a smile.

"Hello, Mark," Tang Bei said, shaking hands.

“You know what? I’m going to China soon, hoping to find some good talent there,” Mark Fleischer said excitedly.

"I wish you all the best," Tang Bei said with a smile.

At this moment, the Lakers came out, and Divac walked over and greeted Mark Fleischer.

After the introductions, Tang Bei and Divac got to know each other.

“Be smart, don’t get hurt. And whatever you do, don’t provoke Don with your acting,” Mark Fleischer whispered to Divac.

Divac paused, somewhat bewildered. "I spent several years in Los Angeles honing my acting skills. If you won't let me use them, then all my training will have been for nothing?"
On the sidelines, a group of action movie stars watched Tang Bei warming up and discussed among themselves.

Tom Cruise said, "I saw him fight at Madison Square Garden last time. He broke two of Oakley's sternums with a back throw and kicked Mason several meters away. He was very aggressive. I don't think Steven Seagal is a good match."

Stallone exclaimed, "What's two thoracic vertebrae? You know, when I was filming 'Rocky III,' I thought I was pretty good at boxing, but I got four ribs broken by Ernie Savos, the heavy hitter. I thought I was going to die."

"Ha ha……"

This was no joke, and a group of action stars immediately burst into laughter.

Stallone said, "So never fight a professional. We're just action actors, not professional fighters."

Schwarzenegger asked, "Sylvester, do you think Steven has real skills?"

Stallone smiled and said, "He said he has it, but who knows?"

Schwarzenegger then asked, "So who do you think has a better chance of winning?"

"Neither Tang nor Steven are professionals, so I don't know either."

Stallone shook his head and said, "From the perspective of professional boxers and professional fighters, their challenge is, well, just a bunch of novices fighting each other."
Tang can only bully non-professional fighters like Oakley. If he encounters a professional, I think he'd be in trouble; he wouldn't last long.

Jean-Claude Van Damme, who had just made his mark in Hollywood with "Universal Soldier," said: "Steven is proficient in a variety of martial arts, and he is a 7th-dan black belt in Aikido. He is very strong, and I think he is even stronger."

The others smiled politely but didn't respond. Compared to them, Jean-Claude Van Damme's status was too low.

At eight o'clock, the competition begins.

Tang Bei and Divac jump for the ball, and the Heat go on offense.

He moved to the low post on the left wing and started to call for position and the ball.

Divac is 216 cm tall, a bit taller, but weighs only 110 kg. He is two sizes smaller than Tang Bei and knows that his physical strength is far inferior, so he did not go all out in defense.

After Tang Bei easily entered the penalty area, Divac immediately abandoned his overhead defense and adopted close marking tactics such as going around to the front and side to interfere.

Bimbo Coles has become increasingly experienced playing with Tang Bei. As soon as he entered the paint, regardless of how many defenders were around him, he immediately looked for an opportunity to lob the ball in.

Lakers power forward Sam Perkins, who is 206 cm tall and weighs 107 kg, quickly returned from the right side of the court to defend the basket.

Under the basket, Tang Bei used his right elbow to hold off the persistent Divac and his left elbow to hold off Perkins, and jumped up quickly when the ball arrived.

The other two jumped almost simultaneously, but their heights differed significantly.

"boom!"

The next instant, Tang Bei delivered an alley-oop dunk, easily slamming the ball in with both hands despite being double-teamed.

Turning back, Lakers leader James Worthy hit a mid-range jumper.

Facing the Lakers, Tang Bei had a very strong offensive desire, especially a strong desire to attack the basket.

"boom!"

"Di!"

After receiving the ball under the basket, he turned around and slammed it in with a powerful two-handed dunk, scoring a three-point play while knocking Divac and Perkins to the ground under the basket.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said with some concern, "He started with two heavy two-handed dunks. With Tang's explosiveness and size, the rim won't last long."

Bill Walton said, "Including the Bulls, I've heard they're looking everywhere for a big center, but it's hard to find one."

Bill Russell lamented, "Back in our day, nobody wanted a tank-type center. Before Tang came along, nobody wanted one either. I never thought they'd become such a rarity now."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, "The Knicks and Bulls desperately need physical defenders. Without them, their interior defense simply can't withstand Tang's heavy artillery barrage."

Russell nodded and said, "The Bulls lost two big men in one game. Even if they beat the Heat in the series, they will pay a huge price, which will be detrimental to the rest of the series."

Halfway through the quarter, the Lakers scored a basket, 15-10, and the Heat gained possession.

Tang Bei has made all three of his shots. Because Divac did not defend him with all his might, all of his shots were strong attacks after receiving the ball under the basket. He made one of three free throws, scoring 7 points.

This time, he didn't go to the basket or ask for the ball, intending to take a break and let others play.

However, the Lakers tightened their perimeter defense, and the Heat couldn't find any openings, so the ball was still passed in.

He received the ball in the low post on the left wing, suddenly spun around and slid to the baseline, breaking past Divac in one step. With the fierce power of the Tai Chi spin, he leaped up and pounced on the basket like a tiger.

Sam Perkins, who was implementing weak-side help defense, had just reached the basket when he collided head-on with Tang Bei, who was taking off.

"boom!"

With a powerful slam of both hands, Tang Bei gripped the rim tightly, his body accelerating forward as he swung, his legs spreading wide as he crashed heavily into Perkins' chest.

Sam Perkins responded to the sound and flew two meters through the air before crashing onto the floor and sliding back more than three meters.

"Oh!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

"Sam?"

"It's going to be bad!"

On the sidelines, Jerry West and head coach Randy Finder's expressions changed.

"Cough cough... Ho ho... cough cough..."

On the floor, Perkins clutched his chest, gasped for breath, and then coughed twice, feeling a sharp pain in his chest and dizziness as he coughed.

"Team doctor!"

The referee stopped the game, called the team doctor onto the court, and then signaled that two points were valid, and possession of the ball changed.

The Lakers' team doctor quickly made a judgment, shouting to the head coach and general manager on the sidelines: "He has at least a broken rib, hit the back of his head on the floor, and there is a possibility of a concussion."

"what?"

Jerry West and Randy Finder's expressions changed drastically.

Those who heard this, including the media reporters behind the scenes, all looked at Tang Bei with fear in their eyes.

The Lakers called a timeout.

In the live broadcast, Bill Russell said, "Tang's tornado spin move is so powerful that at least 80% of the players who get injured under him are injured by the tornado."

Bill Walton said, "The speed of the turn was so fast that it created a powerful explosive force in that instant. Being hit by him at that moment was really no different from being hit by a truck."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said with a shocked expression, "It's too difficult to defend against his tornadoes alone. Everyone knows that no one can defend against a superstar by themselves."

He took a sip of water and continued, "If we want to rely on coordinated defense, I think we must block Tang's breakthrough direction in advance, and even need three people to surround him to prevent him from launching the Tornado."

"Under the current rules that zone defense is illegal, it is difficult to double-team him after he receives the ball."

Bill Russell said, then added, "Actually, the double-teaming of him now is suspected of being a foul, as it is suspected of being a preemptive double-team on a player without the ball, but the referees usually ignore it."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, "Under the current rules, it's difficult to create a truly impenetrable double-team even when playing on the fringes."

"You see, just now Perkins double-teamed under the basket, and Don knocked him away. If he had a chance to double-team properly, he could have stopped Don's drive to the baseline, and he would have been safer himself."

Bill Walton said, "So, only by legalizing zone defense and allowing double-teaming off-ball players can we have a chance to stop his tornado?"

In New York, David Stern sat in the living room of his mansion, listening to the three narrators' remarks, and fell into deep thought.

Thanks to his tireless efforts, the Olympic Games finally allowed professional basketball players to participate in the Barcelona Olympics.

The Dream Team delivered a glorious performance, Jordan and other superstars achieved great success, and the NBA began to spread its influence worldwide.

Michael Jordan, whom he values ​​most, will have a golden opportunity this season to lead the Bulls to the first three-peat dynasty in modern NBA history. Jordan is already the face of the NBA; with the addition of a dynasty, his global influence will undoubtedly increase further, and the NBA will flourish even more.

However, during the game between the Heat and the Bulls, two of the Bulls' five interior players were injured by Tang Bei, one of whom was Grant, one of the "Big Three," which greatly weakened the Bulls.

Aside from the Bulls, the number of other players injured by Tang Bei was an average of one per game, which truly shocked and terrified him.

"Tornadoes are incredibly destructive!"

"There should be limits to prevent more players from getting injured by him."

David Stern's murmured words echoed in the living room of the mansion.

On the sidelines, Lakers head coach Randy Fender expressed his dissatisfaction with Divac, saying:

"Verratti, you need to step up your physical play and not be afraid of challenges, okay? You need to create opportunities for your teammates to help defend, OK?"

"You see, if you had increased the pressure, his breakthrough wouldn't have been so smooth, and Sam might not have gotten injured."

"OK."

Divac nodded, panting, and out of professional courtesy, did not refuse.

"Forget it, physical confrontations aren't my forte. It's just a regular season game, is it worth risking my career?"

He knew very well that without increased confrontation, he had been knocked down twice by Tang Bei in just half a quarter. If the confrontation were intensified, he estimated that he would not be able to hold on for long and would likely follow in Perkins' footsteps.

Next, Randy Fender brought in AC Green, a power forward known for his defense, who was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team in 89 and was a starting power forward in the Western Conference All-Star Game in 90.

Divac did not come on immediately, and was replaced by substitute center, Benoît Benjamin, who weighs 113 kg and is 213 cm tall.

This 85 third overall pick was just traded from the SuperSonics. Although his performance has declined significantly due to a serious injury, he has a wealth of experience, especially his strong shot-blocking ability.

"Bennot, hold off Don. Alonzo's help defense will be in place in just one second," Landi Fender instructed.

(Note: Alonzo Mourning Green's full name is Alonzo Mourning Green, the same name as his father.)
Benjamin was helpless. He could only defend against Don for a second. Do you know how fast Don's tornado is? In one second, Don can spin around five or six times. How was Benjamin supposed to defend against that?
However, he wasn't too afraid, because there was a saying circulating in the league that the person who defends Tang usually doesn't get injured, since the injuries are usually taken by the teammates who help defend.

"Alonzo, you need to be quick in helping out," Randifend said to AC Green.

“Yes,” AC Green nodded solemnly.

The timeout ends, and the Lakers launch an attack.

James Worthy took another shot, but missed this time, and Tang Bei grabbed the rebound.

"We're only halfway through the quarter, and the Lakers have two fewer rebounds than the Heat. We need to be careful with the rebounds," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar cautioned.

The Heat were on offense, with Tang Bei and Glen Rice running a pick-and-roll on the left wing.

Glen Rice broke into the penalty area but was stopped by AC Green, and immediately passed back to Tang Bei, who was following him into the penalty area.

Tang Bei received the ball and sprang into action, but by the time AC Green noticed him under the basket, it was too late.

"boom!"

With a powerful and aesthetically pleasing two-handed dunk, AC Green, who had just entered the game, was knocked down, sliding back several meters before crashing into the media section.

Fortunately, AC Green reacted quickly and made a protective gesture by covering his chest with his arms. Apart from the violent impact, he did not suffer any other obvious injuries.

But the impact also made him feel very uncomfortable; when he got up from the floor, he even felt like vomiting.

"This basket is a bit tricky today!"

Tang Bei looked up at the basket above his head. He couldn't get the ball in the first half, and he was too tired in the second half. They switched sides, so he had even less of a chance.

However, he also knew that this required some luck, as they were all made of steel and could not be taken down easily.

From then on, Tang Bei dominated the Lakers' paint area.

In addition to Divac and Benjamin, the Lakers later fielded rotation starting center Elden Campbell and backup center James Edwards.

The Lakers' big men took turns playing, but they couldn't stop Tang Bei. They were completely overwhelmed and couldn't even control the rebounds.

The Lakers seemed to know that Tang Bei was planning something today. After the first quarter, they actually sent someone to check the basket and found that the basket and the screws on it were deformed. They immediately replaced it with a new basket.

Although the break time was extended by a few minutes, Tang Bei's idea of ​​taking down the rim today is even more difficult to achieve.

At halftime, Tang Bei played 22 minutes, making 14 of 14 field goals and 5 of 9 free throws, scoring 33 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, dominating the Lakers' interior defense.

The Lakers didn't play badly on offense. Worthy was in excellent form, scoring 14 points in the first half with a field goal percentage of over 60%.

However, the Lakers had six fewer rebounds than the Heat in the first half, and with one rebound and one rebound, they had a full 10 fewer shot attempts. Coupled with their interior defense being overwhelmed, they trailed by 17 points at halftime.

At the start of the second half, Elden Campbell was knocked down by Tang Bei's extremely fierce low-post back-to-the-basket shot, resulting in a left ankle injury that forced him to leave the game.

AC Green also had a tough time, getting wrecked by Tang Bei and knocked down several times. If he hadn't used his elbows to protect himself, he might have been forced off the field long ago.

Even though he wasn't injured, he felt terrible. His body had been violently shaken when he was hit, and besides feeling nauseous, he was also feeling dizzy.

On the sidelines, Jerry West took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat.

He had a very clear feeling that Tang Bei had displayed terrifying offensive power tonight, and that he was targeting the Lakers.

Is it because of me?

At this moment, he felt a particular hatred for Tang Bei.

Three minutes later, Tang Bei squeezed into the basket, received the ball, and then executed a swift Tai Chi spin move, unleashing a burst of power from the spin like a volcanic eruption.

Tonight, his main offensive strategy in the low post was to use his body to overpower everything and completely crush the Lakers' interior defense.

He wanted to make Jerry West understand one thing: the Chinese will always seek revenge.

"Oh!"

With his Tai Chi turn, AC Green beside him flipped over with a thud, almost powerless to resist, like a paper doll.

"boom!"

The next instant, he delivered a brutal two-handed slam dunk, silencing the once-noisy Great Western Forum arena.

Before the Lakers players who came to double-team him were even fully in position, and before they even had a chance to foul, Tang Bei had already completed his attack under the basket.

"Fake!"

When Jerry West saw AC Green lying motionless on the floor, he knew something was wrong and immediately cursed.

"Team doctor!"

The referee began to shout loudly.

He saw that when Tang Bei turned around, he knocked AC Green over. Green seemed to have lost consciousness before falling to the ground, and did not make any self-protective movements. His head hit the floor directly.

The Lakers' team doctor came back on the court and, upon examination, found that Green had fallen into a coma.

"Why is this happening? Damn Chinese!"

Jerry West is going crazy. The Lakers have lost three players to injury in just three quarters of the game, and they're in big trouble.

AC Gabi was injured, and Tang Bei didn't call a single ordinary foul because his offensive movements were very clean and didn't constitute a foul at all.

The game continued, and the Lakers had a total of six centers, with three remaining.

With three big men injured and trailing by a large margin, the Lakers' morale was completely shattered. Facing an Eastern Conference team and a Western Conference team, there was little point in continuing to fight. Head coach Randy Finder had no choice but to give up the game.

The Lakers' starters left the court, and 15 seconds later, Tang Bei was also substituted.

"Congratulations to the Heat on their fifth consecutive win." Bill Walton said this even though the series is far from over.

"With the main force gone, the chances of a comeback are slim."

The Lakers lost the game and lost two players, so Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was in a bad mood, but he did not refute Bill Walton's words.

Bill Russell said, "Before Tang joined the Heat, the team had a record of 5 wins and 11 losses. After he joined the Heat, he went 7 wins and 2 losses in three weeks, a winning percentage of 77.7%. Now it's 12 wins and 13 losses."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took out a calculator and did some calculations, saying, "A 48% win rate, based on last season's win rate, is enough to get into the top eight in the East."

But the competition in the Eastern Conference is much fiercer this season; to make it into the top eight, a winning percentage of 50% will likely be required.

Bill Walton said, "Yes, the top eight teams in the East all have a winning percentage of over 50% right now."

Bill Russell nodded and said, "The Heat and the Bucks are now tied with a record of 12 wins and 13 losses."

The Bucks are currently playing the Magic on the road, and in the third quarter, they are down by 10 points. If they lose, the Heat will overtake the Bucks and become 11th in the Eastern Conference.

(End of this chapter)