The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 59 That fan's name is Steven Siegel

"The director told me that a fan just called the hotline and said that this should be a center-of-gravity breaking technique in Aikido," said Maf Albert in surprise.

"My God, he used martial arts techniques?" Larry Bird was stunned.

"There's such a technique?"

Bill Russell exclaimed in surprise, "Tang's ability to apply this skill to basketball is genius, a genius idea."

"Could it be that the fan made a mistake?" Larry Bird wondered.

Mav Albert shook his head and said, "That fan's name is Steven Seagal. I just watched the action movie he starred in, The Dragon's Fury."

"Oh!"

"It's him?!"

The other two were immediately taken aback.

On the sidelines, in front of the Hornets' bench, Dave Twitchell looked refreshed.

He would occasionally glance at Pat Williams not far away, his upturned lips like an AK, impossible to suppress.

"Humph!"

Next to the Magic's bench, Pat Williams, though somewhat displeased, remained calm and collected.

He always believed in Shaquille O'Neal's talent, and even if O'Neal's performance in this game was not as good as Tang's, one game doesn't prove anything.

After the timeout, O'Neal did not return to the court; the head coach wanted him to calm down.

Without O'Neal's Magic, the Hornets were even harder to contend with. After the first quarter, the Hornets led 32-18, a 14-point advantage on the road.

唐北首节一共打了十分钟，6投5中，3罚1中，得到11分4篮板1抢断1犯规。

O'Neal came back on for another two minutes, missed a close-range hook shot, then fouled Tang Bei and was substituted out again.

首节一共只打了6分钟，2投1中，得到2分2篮板，但有3次犯规和2次失误。

In the following games, O'Neal, whose mentality had been disrupted, continued to perform poorly, making frequent mistakes on offense and even missing two dunks.

Tang Bei doesn't usually elbow people, but this time he seized the opportunity and delivered a sneaky elbow, making O'Neal feel like he was dying.

Ten minutes into the third quarter, O'Neal fouled out.

马夫阿尔伯特说道：“奥尼尔断断续续一共打了24分钟，9投4中，3罚1中，得到9分7篮板1助攻2盖帽9失误6犯规，状态非常不好。”

Larry Bird said, "He had nine turnovers, six of which were due to Don's defense. Of his six fouls, five were against Don."

Bill Russell said, "In the first matchup between the number one and number two picks, number two pick Don won."

At this point, he smiled and added, "It's strange. O'Neal was better in both technique and experience, but he lost."

Larry Bird continued, "Tang is calmer, and his center-of-gravity disruption technique gives him an advantage on both ends of the court. If O'Neal doesn't solve this problem, he will suffer in future matchups."

Shortly after, the game ended 117-102, with the Hornets securing their third consecutive win to start the season.

唐北上场35分钟，末节只打了半节，总共16投12中，命中率高达75%，10罚5中，得到29分14篮板1助攻1抢断3盖帽3失误3犯规的数据。

He was named Player of the Game for the second consecutive game, and afterwards, he gave a live interview to an NBC reporter on the sidelines.

"Tang, after you were drafted, you said in an interview with TNT that your talent was no less than Shaq's, but that you lacked his experience and skills, which is why you were drafted second, right?"

"Yes."

"After tonight's performance against O'Neal, do you think you proved that statement is correct?"

"You can think that way."

Tang Bei answered with great confidence.

Today was his first official game against O'Neal, and he had a significant advantage, which gave him a lot of confidence. Although his basketball skills were inferior to O'Neal's, he used some martial arts and combat techniques, which yielded good results and made up for his inferior skills.

However, he also knew that if he used these techniques too often, O'Neal would be better prepared and the effects would definitely not be as good as they were today.

On the way back to the locker room, Tang Bei and John Liu talked about the All-Star Game and the playoffs.

John Liu believes that with the Hornets' strength, making the playoffs is not a problem, and he also has a chance to participate in the All-Star game.

Tang Bei now understands the importance of the All-Star game for a player, and said:

"The East has a superstar center like Patrick Ewing, and also Shaquille O'Neal, so the All-Star chances are uncertain. But I think they still have a chance in the playoffs."

John Liu cautioned, "You and Larry Johnson haven't gelled yet, which puts the Hornets at a disadvantage in their interior defense and greatly affects their offense. It's fine against weak teams, but it will cause problems against strong teams."

"he?"

Tang Bei shook his head and said, "That guy is difficult to deal with. Eric said that we are incompatible unless one of us develops a mid-range shot."

At this point, he sneered and said, "But even if I develop a mid-range shot, I'm not going to give him the space under the basket."

"I'm the center, why should I give him the space under the basket? He's the power forward, he shouldn't be taking up my space."

John Liu was speechless. It's not that Larry Johnson is difficult to deal with, it's that both of you are difficult to deal with.

Larry Johnson had 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists today, but his field goal percentage was only 42.9%, which wasn't great. He was quite silent after returning to the locker room.

Kendall Gill had a slightly better performance with 22 points and 8 rebounds, but his field goal percentage was only 40.9%.

Last season, the two teams were evenly matched, but this season it's clear that the emergence of Tang Bei has created a three-way competition for the Hornets.

Moreover, Tang Bei had the best performance in the first three games, delivering the best performance for the team twice and winning the MVP award twice.

With Tang Bei's strong performance, all the Hornets players knew that the core of this team might not necessarily be Larry Johnson.

Larry Johnson is feeling increasingly threatened, but he doesn't believe he will lose.

Because he has an influence and commercial value that the other two do not have, and because he has a contract worth hundreds of millions of yuan with a term of 12 years, the team will suffer huge losses if it gives him up.

Kendall Gill became increasingly distressed, feeling that his chances were the least.

Tang Bei, after playing the first three games, became more and more confident. He was determined to fight for what he deserved, and no one could stop him from contributing to the Hornets.

Shaquille O'Neal signed a multi-million dollar signature shoe deal, and Larry Johnson reportedly has a multi-million dollar signature shoe contract with Converse. He can't afford to lose to those two.

If he continues to play second fiddle to Larry Johnson with the Hornets, he may never get a signature shoe contract in his lifetime.

In the home team's locker room, the team doctor is applying ointment to O'Neal.

O'Neal had at least ten elbow marks on his body, as well as two bruises from crashing into the stands, howling and cursing in pain.

"Oh, be gentle, be gentle, it hurts so much!"

"Damn it, he definitely elbowed me on purpose, he's a bastard!"

"I swear I won't let him get away with this, ouch, be gentle!"

An hour later, Tang Bei appeared at the post-match press conference along with Larry Johnson, Kendall Gill, and John Newman.

The first question from an NBC reporter was: "Don, some fans say you used Aikido's center-of-gravity breaking technique in your defense. Is that true?"

It was exposed so quickly, but Tang Bei didn't think anything of it. Tonight was a national live broadcast, and there were so many fans watching the game. It was normal for fans who knew Aikido to notice.

He said noncommittally, "I have practiced many martial arts and combat styles, and many techniques are based on similar principles."

You could think I used a technique to disrupt the center of gravity, or you could think I used the Tai Chi principle of using minimal force to deflect a greater force; their principles are similar.

(End of this chapter)