The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 100 Masahiro Miyazaki
On December 29th, at 10:00 AM, the Heat's private plane departed Los Angeles and arrived in Miami five hours later at 3:00 PM.

The Bulls haven't arrived yet because they're playing the Hornets on the road tonight, and then a back-to-back game against the Heat tomorrow night.

That night, Jordan's shooting touch was still off, making only 9 of 25 shots, but his offensive prowess was impressive, making 9 of 10 free throws and racking up a triple-double of 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Larry Johnson only scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, while Ronnie Sekkali only scored 17 points.

The Hornets lost at home, and in just three weeks, they dropped from first in the league to fourth in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the entire league.

At 9 a.m. on the 30th, Tang Bei waited at home for his new armor.

The armor is all white, unlike the style of Japanese kendo uniforms, and incorporates some features of ancient Chinese armor.

After trying on the armor a few times, Tang Bei felt it was similar to ancient cloth armor, somewhat restrictive, but not too restrictive of movement.

Ancient cloth armor could defend against light arrows, but not heavy armor-piercing arrows. In his opinion, this set of custom armor, which cost $4,200, was definitely not as defensive as cloth armor. It could only defend against things like bamboo swords, and the price was outrageously expensive.

The area around my waist and thighs felt a bit constricted and needed alterations. A tailor from the nail company came over, and I immediately took it back to the hotel for the modifications.

Around noon, Eric Fleischer called from Los Angeles.

"Tang, ESPN wants to buy the television broadcasting rights for this challenge."

"This can be sold for money?"

"Of course, and the price isn't low, $150 million."

"How much can I take?" Tang Bei certainly didn't think he could keep all the money for himself, so he immediately asked.

"Tang, you won't get a single coin, because Siegel refused."

"What? This idiot, he's got plenty of money, huh?"

"Ahem, Tang, Steven Siegel owns several dojos and is an action actor, so he shouldn't be short of money."

"Damn it, if you delay my money making, I'll make sure his dojo can't stay open."

"Tang, if he doesn't agree, it means he lacks confidence, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. If he's confident, he'll definitely bring in reporters from all over the world to give it a big publicity stunt."

"good."

"Also, Tang, according to media reports, Siegel has a lot of guests coming, at least fifty people from Japan, and a large group of Hollywood stars will be there to support him. You should be prepared."

"fine."

At 2 p.m. that day, the Bulls arrived in Miami.

"Michael, what are the chances of the Bulls beating the Heat tonight?" At the airport, some reporters waited for the Bulls and went up to interview them.

Jordan's face was somewhat gloomy because Phil Jackson had decided not to go head-to-head with the Heat in the regular season, in order to avoid the remaining three big men getting injured again, which would make the playoffs much harder. He had no choice but to obey in order to win a three-peat.

He quickened his pace and replied casually, "We are eager for victory and hope to achieve consecutive wins tonight."

"Phil, how's the process of bringing in a defensive player?" A reporter was interviewing head coach Jackson from behind.

Phil Jackson adjusted his glasses and said, "The management's work is underway, but it's not ideal yet."

At that moment, Bulls general manager Jerry Krause was negotiating a trade with the Clippers.

He previously wanted to trade Oliver Miller, the short center who was only 206 cm tall and was selected by the Suns with the 22nd overall pick in the first round of this year's draft.

When Miller entered the league, he weighed 280 pounds and weighed 127 kilograms, with a very high muscle ratio. He should be able to compete with Tang Bei.

But the Suns are determined to win the championship this season. If the Heat get lucky and defeat the Bulls, and make it to the championship, how can they play without a physical defense?
If the Heat weren't still struggling to make it into the top eight in the Eastern Conference and had a very low chance of reaching the Finals, the Suns would still be looking to bring in another defensive player.

The Suns didn't agree, so he contacted the Clippers instead.

The Clippers acquired Stanley Roberts, the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 91 NBA draft, from the Magic during the offseason. He is 213 cm tall and weighed 285 pounds when he entered the league. A year later, his weight has increased to 140 kg, making him an absolute meat shield.

This season, Stanley Roberts averaged 23.6 minutes per game, scoring 11.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. He is the Clippers' starting center, fifth scoring option, and also the Clippers' defensive anchor in the paint, making him an excellent role-playing center.

The Clippers' owner only wants to make money, not win a championship, so he didn't reject trades involving Roberts. He just wants to take advantage of the rising meat prices to sell Roberts for a good price.

Now, it's not just the Bulls who are interested; the Knicks, Cavaliers, Rockets—any team that dreams of winning the championship has sent in offers.

"Sir, the Clippers want two first-round picks, and not ours. They want lottery picks from non-playoff teams."

"Just a meat shield? Has Elgin Baylor gone mad?"

Jerry Krause was utterly stunned when he received the news from his assistant.

Not only was Krause stunned, but the general managers of the other teams that made offers were also shocked by Baylor's outrageous demands.

“Stanley Roberts was already a first-round pick, and now that his market value has risen significantly, it’s only natural to ask for another first-round pick.”

“Tell them that we need two first-round lottery picks, and we’ll give it to whoever has the better chip.”

The trade fell through, and Elgin Baylor compromised, no longer insisting on a first-round pick from a non-playoff team.

In the evening, at the Miami Arena, the second regular season game between the Heat and the Bulls began.

The Heat's top priority right now is to make it to the playoffs, and since they're playing at home, they'll be giving it their all.

Tang Bei launched a full-scale attack, and the Bulls' three remaining interior players dared not engage in strong confrontations with him, allowing him to score at will in the paint. They could only use fouling tactics to limit his offense.

He played for 40 minutes, making 15 of 17 field goals (88.2%) and 13 of 21 free throws (61.9%).

全场轰下了43分21篮板1抢断2盖帽3失误5犯规的豪华数据，创下了个人单场篮板球记录。

The Bulls' roster was incomplete, they lacked a defensive anchor in the paint, they lost control of the boards, the head coach was unwilling to fight hard, and morale was low.

Jordan didn't want to lose, so he gave it his all, shooting 9-for-18 from the field and 21-for-24 from the free-throw line, racking up 39 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists, but it still wasn't enough to turn the tide.

However, his breakthroughs caused great damage to the Heat, and he got more free throws than Tang Bei on the road. Tang Bei frequently helped defend the perimeter, and Tang Bei alone committed 4 fouls against him.

In addition, the Bulls' perimeter defense caused the Heat a lot of trouble. If Pippen hadn't had a bad day, making only 4 of 16 shots, the Heat might not have been able to beat the Bulls.

The Heat have won six straight games, including home and away victories against the defending champion Bulls, as well as strong teams like the Knicks, Jazz, and Lakers, earning praise from the media.

With a record of 13 wins and 13 losses, the Heat remain in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the 10th-placed Pistons by half a game.

On December 31, 1992, at 9:30 a.m., Tang Bei and John Liu boarded the plane and arrived in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m.

Eric Fleischer had already communicated with the NBA and the Heat regarding this challenge. Although the league and the team did not support it, they did not forcibly stop him.

However, if he gets injured as a result, affecting the execution of his NBA contract, then Tang Bei will have to bear all the financial losses himself.

Eric Fleischer picked up Don Bei and took him to a hotel in West Hollywood, near Steven Siegel’s Los Angeles dojo.

After afternoon tea, Tang Bei went to the gym arranged by Eric Fleischer for kendo training.

His bamboo sword is just an ordinary bamboo sword, made of four pieces of treated bamboo spliced ​​together, wrapped with cowhide and cotton thread, and then covered with varnish. It is 2.3 centimeters thick and has a certain degree of toughness.

Because he only had a few days, he didn't have time to order a longer and heavier bamboo sword. The one in his hand, which was 120 centimeters long and weighed 550 grams, was the longest and heaviest one he could find.

He was neither used to nor liked this kind of bamboo sword; it was too light.

The swords he used at home were all iron swords, the heaviest of which weighed nine pounds and eight ounces, with the blade alone measuring 1.3 meters and the hilt 1.6 meters.

His swordsmanship, like his fist and foot techniques, emphasizes the unity of knowledge and action.

All Kendo training revolves around the goal of "effective offense and defense in real combat," without pursuing aesthetically pleasing movements or complete routines.

Even before practicing moves, one must reach a very basic standard in all fundamental skills before being qualified to practice sword moves and routines.

Swordsmanship has many fundamental skills, such as body movement, footwork, eyesight, sword power, and sword stance.

In terms of sword techniques, there are eight basic movements: thrusting, chopping, parrying, hanging, leveling, pointing, striking, and intercepting.

For example, sword-fighting is used to train eyesight, wrist strength, and accuracy. It involves splitting the tip of an incense stick without using arm strength, only wrist strength, to cut the tip of the incense stick.

Only when one can practice until they can split an incense stick in two with a single sword strike in a pitch-black room without the incense burning out, does their wrist strength and accuracy reach the most basic standard of skill.

His basic skill of sword pointing has reached a very high level thanks to his extremely high talent in spirit, strength, physique, explosiveness, and eyesight.

If he hadn't practiced so many different things and hadn't had so little time to practice swordsmanship, his swordsmanship level would probably have been even higher.

His best attempt was splitting 75 incense sticks in a row. When he was splitting the 76th incense stick, he lost focus and his eyesight deteriorated, which led to his failure.

So even though he doesn't have much practical experience, he's still very confident that he can beat someone who also has no practical experience, given his basic skills.

Of course, his confidence actually stems more from his physical talent.

Martial arts, like other sports, emphasizes talent, and his talent is one in a million. His casual sword strikes are both more powerful and faster than the full-force strike of an average swordsman. How can you fight him?
Because of Steven Seagal's influence as a top action star, the Los Angeles media gave the news of the challenge a major boost, making it known to almost everyone in Los Angeles.

"Dear viewers, I am standing in West Hollywood, next to Beverly Hills, and over there is the Hollywood Walk of Fame."

ESPN is filming on the street. Reporter Anneliese points to a building behind her and says:
"The Tenshin Dojo of A-list action star Steven Seagal is located inside this building."

"According to my sources, the challenge will take place at 10 a.m. tomorrow."

"But I just went to interview him, but I was rejected. I didn't get to see Steven Siegel, and I couldn't even get into the dojo."

"Judging from Siegel's attitude, I think he doesn't have enough confidence to face this challenge..."

At this time, several Hong Kong martial arts stars arrived at Los Angeles International Airport.

Led by Donnie Yen, they arrived at a hotel in West Hollywood where Donnie Yen's mother, Bow-Chan Markle, was staying, along with several other martial arts figures from the United States.

"Look, the Tianxin Dojo is in that building. I went there once last year. You can learn Aikido, Judo, Karate, and Kendo."

After getting out of the car, Dan pointed to a building not far away and said.

Zhou Bili joked, "If I had known that Siegel was accepting a challenge, I would have gone to challenge him too."

"Ha ha……"

Everyone laughed. Chen Huimin said, "That mainland boy who plays basketball could only force Siegel to accept in a public setting. Compared to him, you probably won't have a chance to meet him. He might even call the police to arrest you."

Hung Ching-pao nodded and said, "It's not that there's no other way. How could a top Hollywood action star possibly accept a challenge?"

If he loses tomorrow, his reputation will be ruined. Tang Bei's move is really ruthless. I wonder what grudge they have against each other?

Chen Long said, "Among all the action actors in the world, only Steven Seagal has opened a dojo, so he must have some skills."

As an action star himself, that's why he came all this way – he was curious and wanted to see if Seagal was really good at fighting. The others had the same thought.

"By the way, the challenger is from the mainland. Li Lianjie just finished filming 'The Three Lion Kings' of Wong Fei-hung, why didn't he come?" Yuan Biao asked.

Chen Long said, "I called him. Post-production for Lion King has started. He's transitioning to a new role and is involved in post-production, so he doesn't have time."

He then added, "He is probably now seeking to expand overseas and is likely in contact with Hollywood, but I don't know the specifics."

Everyone nodded and stopped talking about the topic.

Li Lianjie is in a lot of trouble this year. His situation is quite sensitive. In the first half of the year, when he was filming Wong Fei-hung II, his agent was shot and killed. The root cause is likely related to the contract with Jiahe Film Company.

"Hey, Mom."

At that moment, Dan Chan shouted loudly at Mai Baochan, who came out of the hotel lobby.

"Zidan, why aren't you going in? What are you doing standing at the door?" Mai Baochan asked.

"Hehe, everyone's just chatting!" Dan Jinzi laughed.

"Hello, Master Mai."

"Hello, Master Mai."

Everyone quickly greeted them.

When checking in at the front desk, Zhen Zidan asked, "Mom, you arrived in Los Angeles yesterday. Did you see Tang Bei?"

Mai Baochan said, "He lives at the nearby Melson Hotel. Tomorrow is the day of the challenge, so it's not appropriate for me to visit him."

"Mom, what do you think of his kung fu? Is he good in real combat?" Dan asked eagerly.

Mai Baochan shook his head and said, "I don't know, but since he dared to challenge the dojo, he must have some real combat ability. Being big and strong is never a bad thing."

Donnie Yen chuckled and said, "Mom, where in China can you find real kung fu? I spent two years in Shichahai and studied with Master Zhao for a few months, and I've never seen anyone who could fight."

"Shut up!"

Mai Baochan became angry.

This kid really gave her a headache. In 87, she specially arranged for Dan Zhen to become a disciple of Zhao Changjun to learn martial arts. Zhao Changjun was a ten-time champion in the national martial arts competition and had won dozens of gold medals. But Dan Zhen ran away after learning for a few months, which made her very embarrassed.

As for whether they can fight, in her opinion, even Hong Kong stars like Chen Long might not be able to fight, especially since Chen Long and Hung Ching-po are trained in Peking Opera. The strongest ones should be Chan Wai-man and Billy Chow.

As for whether her son, Donnie Yen, can fight, she doesn't know, since he has never participated in a combat sports competition and has no actual combat record.

The year was 1993.

When there are no matches, Tang Bei usually goes to bed at 11 pm, and four or five hours is enough. He fell asleep at 11 pm last night and woke up before 4 am.

After a short period of activity, it's time for my daily, unwavering practice of Tai Chi horse stance.

Tai Chi horse stance is a type of Tai Chi stance training. Stance training has a broader scope and is related to internal strength. He usually practices this stance training, and sometimes he also practices Xingyi mother stance, which is the three-body stance.

Bagua stance training combines movement and stillness, including walking in circles, palm techniques, and power exertion movements. It is generally not suitable to practice in a hotel because the space is too small.

At 7:30, Eric Fleischer knocked on the door.

Breakfast took forty minutes. Tang Bei has a large appetite, but he also eats quickly.

After resting for about an hour after the meal, at 9:30, the three left the room and a few minutes later got into a silver Rolls-Royce arranged by Eric Fleischer.

At this time, the Tianxin Dojo was bustling with activity both inside and out.

Both parties agreed to hire three fencing referees and three combat sports referees from the United States. The winner takes all the prize money, and the loser pays the fees. These six referees have now arrived.

As for the rules, both boxing and kendo matches follow international rules.

There are three types of fencing rules: foil, épée, and sabre. Since the first two only count points for a hit with the tip of the sword, we choose the sabre rule, which counts points for hits with the tip, blade, and edge of the sword.

The game is divided into three rounds, each lasting three minutes. A round ends when a player scores 8 points. The player who scores 15 points in all three rounds wins. If a player scores less than 15 points in all three rounds, the player with the higher score wins.

Steven Siegel did not invite any journalists, and dozens of reporters were turned away and unable to enter.

Several Hollywood stars have entered the dojo, including A-list celebrities such as Schwarzenegger and Stallone, who are action stars.

The martial arts group that came from Japan consisted of fifty or sixty people, all of whom were highly respected and famous masters in the Japanese martial arts world.

One of the young men, named Masahiro Miyazaki, delighted Steven Seagal upon seeing him.

Although this young man was not of high seniority in the martial arts world, his strength was terrifyingly high, making him a big shot that the young man could never come into contact with in Japan.

"I didn't expect to alarm His Excellency Miyazaki. It's my fault."

After greeting everyone else, he made a special trip to Masahiro Miyazaki and gave him a very formal greeting, immediately apologizing. Despite having just risen to become a top Hollywood action star, he adopted a very humble attitude.

Miyazaki Masahiro returned the greeting indifferently and said, "Lord Siegel, I hope you can perform well today and uphold the spirit of Bushido."

"Hey!"

Steven Siegel bowed.

Besides them, several other guys also came to watch the fun. These guys were none other than Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Oakley, and Mason Jr.

Outside the dojo, in addition to dozens of reporters and photographers, there were also Hong Kong celebrity martial arts masters such as Chen Long, and Mai Baochan, all of whom were refused entry.

A large crowd was packed into the outside corridor, and even the elevator was full of people, making it virtually impassable.

Chen Long and his group were furious. They had come specifically for Siegel, but they couldn't get in. It was incredibly humiliating.

"Damn it, that bastard Siegel made us come all this way for nothing." Hong Jingbao cursed angrily.

Chen Long also felt embarrassed, but he couldn't make it in Hollywood anyway, so he said angrily, "Tang Bei kicked this time, but this dojo didn't collapse. I'll kick it again next time."

"Ah Long, you have to keep your word," Yuan Biao hurriedly said.

Chen Long glared at Yuan Biao. "We're brothers, why are you setting a trap for me?"
Chen Huimin and Zhou Bili really wanted to play a game, but they knew that even if they came, they probably wouldn't even get to see Siegel.

Outside the dojo gate, reporters and camera crews from several television stations were negotiating with a few martial arts guards, hoping to gain entry for interviews.

But Siegel had already decided not to let any reporters in, especially not camera equipment, so their negotiations were useless. The samurai remained silent with cold, hard faces.

ESPN's beautiful reporter Anne-Marie is furious. She came yesterday but couldn't get in, and today she was refused entry again. She's going to curse Steven Seagal to lose his underwear.

"Ding!"

At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Tang Bei looked outside and was surprised to find that there was nowhere to go.

(End of this chapter)