The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 98 You've been fired

Tang Bei trash-talked O'Neal on the floor: "Idiot, your defense is worse than my seventy-year-old grandma's."

"You bastard, don't call me an idiot," O'Neal said angrily.

Tang Bei said in surprise, "I can't call you an idiot, and I can't call you a fool either. You're very picky! Should I call you a genius? You don't deserve that!"

I want to gain weight!

Knowing he couldn't out-argue Tang Bei, O'Neal ignored him, got up from the floor, and had the same thought again.

He was always the one who knocked others down, but when he encountered Tang Bei, he was the one who got knocked down. This was unacceptable to him, absolutely unacceptable.

Next, Magic head coach Guokas called a timeout and assigned O'Neal to help defend.

However, the Magic's roster is too weak. Their starting power forward, Torbert, is only 201 centimeters tall, so no one dares to expect him to be effective in helping defend Tang Bei.

Sure enough, even with O'Neal's help defense, he couldn't stop Tang Bei.

In the fifth minute of the second quarter, Tang Bei knocked Tolbert off the court with a powerful spin move during a dunk, causing him to leave the game injured.

After that, the Magic gave up the game and let O'Neal and Tang Bei have a one-on-one matchup.

O'Neal spent a month practicing Aikido and Tai Chi, but it was of no use. Instead, his mentality became chaotic, he couldn't concentrate on the game, and his performance was terrible.

Tang Bei vowed to explode every time he met O'Neal, and his form was exceptionally good.

In the end, Tang Bei won the second match against Tang Bei.

The Heat won by a margin of 25 points at home, 90-115.

奥尼尔打了35分钟，六犯下场，全场15投仅6中，命中率40%，6罚3中，只得到15分10篮板2助攻2盖帽5失误6犯规的数据。

He received two big blocks, one of which was given to Tang Bei, making it one of the few bright spots in the entire game.

On the offensive end, however, he was stripped of the ball by Tang Bei once and blocked twice.

同上同下，唐北同样打了35分钟，全场21投14中，命中率66.6%，11罚7中，轰下35分13篮板1助攻1抢断4盖帽2失误3犯规的数据。

Shaquille O'Neal suffered another crushing defeat. After leaving the court, fuming, he yelled at Elliott Freeman and Jose Johnson:

"What you've taught is useless. From this moment on, you're fired."

Elliott Freeman quickly explained, "Shaq, you're too impatient. No skill can be mastered in a month. Your basketball skills won't improve in a month either."

Jose Johnson retorted, "Shaq, Mr. Freeman is right, the time was indeed too short. You need more time to master the skills I taught you."

"Humph!"

O'Neal no longer trusted the two and turned to walk towards the players' tunnel.

"Shaq, do you think Tang was underrated by being selected second overall?" a reporter from Miami asked O'Neal.

"I don't know, don't ask me these damn questions, okay?" O'Neal replied impatiently, his head spinning.

"So do you think your abilities are inferior to Tang's?" the reporter persisted.

Shaquille O'Neal strode forward and angrily said, "One or two games don't mean anything. My talent is no less than his, and I will make it back. I swear."

So, do you consider yourself a counterfeit?

The reporter shouted as he watched O'Neal about to start running.

"NO!"

An extremely angry roar echoed in the dimly lit corridor.

O'Neal walked quickly down the corridor, his frustration and anger making him somewhat out of control.

"Shit, since there's already a me, why did you have to come out as well?"

"I'm not happy anymore, Tang. You brought all of this on me. Just you wait, I will become stronger. You just wait, I will crush you."

At the scene, several reporters surrounded Steven Siegel, interviewing him.

"Steven, do you really think Aikido can make O'Neal stronger?" a reporter from Orlando asked.

Steven Siegel said as calmly as possible, "Don and I have been practicing for many years, while O'Neal has only been practicing Aikido for a short time, only a month. He needs more time to practice."

"Are you suggesting he give up basketball?" the reporter asked irritably.

"Uh……"

Steven Siegel hesitated for a moment before replying, "No, he can practice in his spare time, and I believe those techniques can help him."

"Mr. Siegel, are you really going to have a fight with Tang Bei?" Zhang Heli also joined in the fun, but he didn't go to interview Tang Bei.

Steven Siegel said expressionlessly, "He's the one who wants to challenge us, and I have to accept it, otherwise it would be against the spirit of Bushido."

"Do you think you can beat Tang Bei?" Zhang Heli asked.

"The way of the samurai will surely be invincible. The Heavenly Heart Dojo will surely be invincible," Steven Siegel said solemnly.

"Crack, click, click..."

The influence of Hollywood's top action stars far exceeded that of O'Neal and Tang Beizhi combined, and the surrounding reporters pressed their shutters one after another.

"Screw Bushido!" Zhang Heli cursed inwardly.

On the other side, Tang Bei, the MVP of the match, is being interviewed after the game.

"Don, do you think O'Neal should continue with combat sports training?" an Orlando reporter asked quite sincerely.

Tang Bei laughed and said, "Is he trying to cross over into a different field? Does he have any fighting background? No, what makes him think he can compete in combat sports?"

The reporter asked in confusion, "Tang, isn't he going to switch to combat sports? Oh, I see, you don't support him continuing his combat training?"

Tang Bei said, "I can use some fighting techniques in the game because I am proficient in those techniques, even more so than in basketball, so I can use them."

"And Shaquille O'Neal, he knows nothing about combat sports or martial arts, he has no foundation whatsoever, so what makes him think he can compete with me?"

Another reporter then asked, "Don, why are you challenging Steven Siegel?"

Tang Bei said, "If he can't even defeat someone like me who has no real combat experience, then his dojo should be shut down. It's that simple."

"Will you open your own dojo?" the reporter pressed.

"will not."

Tang Bei shook his head.

The reporters were speechless. Tang, you don't run your own temple, but you want to destroy other people's temples. Is that really okay?

Eric Fleischer was incredibly efficient. By the end of the competition, he had already arranged for a tailor to take Tang Bei's measurements and then sent them to an armor company specializing in samurai armor to have a set of lightweight Chinese-style kendo armor made.

"Tang, the Bulls lost again, this time to the Pacers," Glen Rice told Tang Bei as he returned to the locker room.

"Lost again?"

Once the playoffs begin, the Bulls will definitely be in the upper bracket, while even if the Heat manage to make it to the playoffs, they will only be in the lower bracket.

In other words, the Heat are very likely to face the Bulls in the first round of the series.

In Indiana, Jordan was in a bad mood.

After losing to the Heat on the 21st, the Bulls' next three opponents are the Bullets and the Knicks at home, and the Pacers on the road in a back-to-back game.

Because of Grant's injury, the team's interior strength was too weak, and they only won the first game. Last night, they lost to the Knicks at home, and tonight they lost to the Pacers on the road in a back-to-back game.

The Bulls' record has now been surpassed by the Knicks and is tied with the Cavaliers.

Losing is normal, but the problem is that he lost to Reggie Miller and was just mocked by that foul-mouthed guy, which really annoyed him.

"Tang Bei, Reggie Miller, this isn't over."

He wasn't playing well tonight, didn't get a single free throw, and had a bad shooting night, making only 8 of 22 shots for just 17 points. He even got mocked by that damn Reggie Miller.

The Bulls will play the Hornets on the road on the 29th, and then the Heat on the road on the 30th. Not only are they playing back-to-back games, but Grant is still unable to return, so the chances of beating the Heat are not very high.

Thinking about this made him even angrier and more depressed.

Eric Fleischer spent half an hour communicating with the nail company's designers, and after finalizing the details, he found Tang Bei, who was preparing to attend the press conference.

"Tang, the armor is similar in style to fencing attire, which can reduce the damage from bamboo sword strikes. Apart from the mask, the rest of the body is mainly made of leather shoes and fabric."

"It can be made in just a few days?"

"The Heat are playing the Bulls at home on the 30th. They'll send it to Miami this afternoon for you to try out. There'll be time to make changes."

"That's fine."

"The designer just said that armor like this usually weighs around five kilograms, but your armor is too big, weighing around eight kilograms."

"can."

Eric Fleischer added, "I've already had people gather information on karate. You've studied judo, aikido, and kendo." "Okay."

The following day, the 27th, the NBA All-Star voting officially began.

To promote Tang Bei and garner votes, the Heat invested a lot of resources. Huge promotional photos of Tang Bei were displayed outside the Miami Arena, and various promotional photos were also hung in the streets and alleys.

In the morning, many media outlets commented on the performances of Tang Bei and O'Neal.

ESPN reports: "O'Neal is actually more versatile in low-post offense, with a nearly two-point field goal percentage that is ten percentage points higher than Tang's."

However, in physical confrontations, Tang was stronger. His lower body strength was incredibly powerful, making it difficult for O'Neal to get close to the basket. O'Neal's percentage of attacks under the basket was far lower than Tang's, which greatly affected his offensive efficiency.

Meanwhile, O'Neal couldn't stop Tang's low-post offense. Tang's low-post post-up game was incredibly fierce, and he knocked O'Neal down several times last night.

Meanwhile, Tang's tornado spin attack on the basket is even more unstoppable, allowing him to launch a powerful attack on the basket from a position far away from it.

Based on their combined performances in the two regular season games, Tang Bei completely outperformed O'Neal; O'Neal still needs to work harder.

TNT highlighted Shaquille O'Neal's performance after learning combat sports, commenting:
"It's obvious that O'Neal has wasted his energy. Neither Aikido nor Tai Chi can help him defeat Tang. He must get back on track."

Furthermore, Tang also stated that O'Neal had no prior fighting experience and it was impossible for him to acquire those skills in just one month.

However, the two rookies were not the focus of the reports; the major media outlets focused on the news of Tang Bei challenging the Tianxin Dojo.

Because of Steven Siegel's influence, the matter quickly became a hot topic and was known throughout the United States.

A group of Hollywood action stars were a bit confused, wondering why Steven Seagal accepted the challenge.

Because they knew that once Siegel lost, the aura of top action stars would be shattered, and everyone would know that these action stars didn't have real skills.

Of course, most of them didn't care, because their profession was acting, and they never told anyone that they could actually fight, nor did they open a martial arts school like Siegel.

On the other hand, someone like Lundgren, who has extensive practical experience and a remarkable track record in amateur karate, is quite interested in this challenge match.

At 9 a.m., Eric Fleischer gave Tang Bei some information about karate.

At 10 a.m., the Heat depart for Los Angeles, where they will face the Lakers tomorrow night.

Tang Bei had a conflict with Lakers general manager Jerry West. He still remembers Jerry West telling him to be more humble towards him during the rookie camp.

The Lakers are currently 14-10, while the Heat are 11-13, not a huge difference. He's going to dominate the Lakers in this game.

At noon at the University of Portland, Mai Baochan, a martial arts instructor in the Department of Physical Education, was having lunch in the school's cafeteria number one when he learned from a group of students about Tang Bei's challenge to the Tianxin Dojo.

She had known Tang Bei for a long time; many students from the University of Portland also participated in the NBA draft.

"I don't know if either of them has any real combat ability."

As an international martial arts master, she frequently appears in internationally renowned martial arts magazines such as "Internal Martial Arts" and "Black Belt," but she is still self-aware that her actual combat ability is lacking and she cannot compete in professional combat sports.

But she was certain of one thing: based on her repeated research, Tang Bei's signature move, "Tornado," incorporated Tai Chi techniques for generating power.

This year, she was invited to lecture at Harvard, where she combined martial arts with Chinese drama to create a martial arts drama, as well as Tai Chi sword dance and Tai Chi ribbon dance.

Unexpectedly, Tang Bei was also a genius, who actually applied the power generation techniques of Tai Chi to basketball.

After thinking about it, she decided to join in the fun, get to know Tang Bei, and exchange ideas about Tai Chi.

In Los Angeles, Huang Jinming Jeet Kune Do School, a direct disciple of Bruce Lee, and like Mai Baochan, the school owner also wanted to join in the fun.

Like Huang Jinming, another of Bruce Lee's disciples, Dan Inosanto from the Philippines, also decided to join in the fun.

In addition, Bruce Lee's fellow disciples, Yang Junmin, who teaches Wing Chun in California, and Liu Xiangyang, who runs a martial arts school in New York and teaches Tai Chi, all decided to make the trip.

The news quickly spread throughout Asia, causing a huge stir in the Japanese martial arts world. A large group of karate, judo, aikido, and kendo masters formed teams and headed to the United States.

In Hong Kong, the fact that the challenger was Chinese and the one who was challenged was a top Hollywood action star caused quite a stir.

Especially in the entertainment industry, martial arts stars and stuntmen such as Hung Ching-po, Chan Lung, Yuen Biao, and Donnie Yen decided to go to the United States to watch the fight, drawn by Siegel's reputation.

On the mainland, information is not readily available to the outside world, and there has been little activity.

Zhang Heli's article was quickly sent back to CCTV, but CCTV did not broadcast it, as it was an international event and they were afraid of having a bad influence.

On the evening of the 28th, the Great Western Forum arena in Los Angeles was packed to capacity.

The arena can accommodate 17500 people when hosting basketball games, and with additional seating, it can hold up to nearly 19000 people.

On the sidelines, there were Hollywood stars, models, celebrities, and tycoons.

The Lakers' general manager, Jerry West, with a gloomy expression, was talking to the Heat's general manager, Lewis Shaffer, who was in high spirits. Not far away were Eric Fleischer and his brother, Mark Fleischer.

Eric Fleischer will be staying in Los Angeles for a while to prepare for his challenge.

Mark Fleischer had just returned to the United States from South America and went straight from the airport to the Great Western Forum arena, looking hurried and somewhat helpless.

“Mark, you’ve been preparing for this for a long time. When are you going to China?” Eric Fleischer asked leisurely.

Mark Fleischer pleaded in a low voice, "Eric, this is the only prospect I have who has the potential to become an All-Star. Please, please ask Don for me to do this. Please don't hurt him."

Eric Fleischer sneered, "How can you give way on the field? That's unlikely. Your player is injured; it's just that he's not good enough."

Mark Fleischer retorted angrily, "Eric, we're brothers, we share the same parents, aren't you going to give me that much face?"

Eric Fleischer retorted irritably, "When you were trying to extort my Ferrari, did you forget that I'm your own brother?"

“Dear brother, I’m returning it to you,” Mark Fleischer said hastily.

"Do you think your brother and I are like you, driving used cars?" Eric Fleischer said with a hint of disdain.

“Then I’ll give you a new one,” Mark Fleischer said through gritted teeth.

"That won't work either."

Eric Fleischer gestured toward Jerry West and whispered in his ear, "Don has a conflict with him, he won't go easy on the Lakers."

"It's over!"

Mark Fleischer said with a mournful face.

“Why don’t you just tell your men to be smarter? It’s just playing ball, not fighting. Tell them to stay out of the way,” Eric Fleischer advised.

"Ah."

Mark Fleischer, being a smart man, nodded thoughtfully.

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

Lakers: Vlade Divac, Sam Perkins, James Worthy, Anthony Peele, Seidar Slater

Miami Heat: Tang Bei, Grant Lang, Glen Rice, Kevin Edwards, Bimbo Coles
The game was broadcast live across the United States by NBC, with commentators Bill Russell and Bill Walton, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a guest.

With three retired NBA superstars, the commentary lineup is truly impressive.

Bill Walton said, "Divac was the 26th pick in the first round of the 89 draft, and this season he has officially become the Lakers' starting center. Tonight he will be tested by the near-superstar center, Tang."

Bill Russell chuckled and said, "What's interesting is that Divac's agent is Mark Fleischer, the younger brother of Don's agent."

Bill Walton said, "The Heat are 11-13 and have won four straight games. This winning streak is of high quality, as they have defeated three strong teams: the Knicks, the Bulls, and the Jazz. It should be said that the addition of Tang has greatly strengthened the Heat's strength."

Russell nodded and said, "The Lakers are not very strong this season and don't have any good up-and-coming talents. With the Heat's ability to beat the Knicks, Bulls and Jazz, they have a chance to win five straight games."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's focus wasn't on that. He chuckled and said, "Gentlemen, look at all those celebrities here. Several action stars. Why are they all here tonight to watch the game?"

Bill Walton suddenly became interested and said, "In the movies, they're all invincible Rambos. I really want to see if they can actually fight."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar laughed, "Rambo's sitting right there, ha ha!"

Bill Russell asked expectantly, "Do you think Don will challenge Rambo and his crew in the future?"

Jabbar shook his head and said, "It's probably impossible. Tang challenged Steven Siegel because Siegel opened a dojo."

To be precise, in the martial arts world, Tang's behavior was called "challenging the dojo," which is the most serious form of provocation. Siegel had no choice but to accept it, otherwise his dojo would not be able to continue operating.

Of course, at present, no one knows Tang's motives for challenging the dojo. He has publicly stated that he will not open a dojo, and it seems that he has no conflict of interest with Siegel.

Russell said, "Could this be the reason why Steven Siegel recommended his protégé to help O'Neal?"

"It's certainly possible."

Bill Walton nodded and asked, "Karim, you're Bruce Lee's student. What do you think of Don's fighting skills? It's said that he, like Bruce Lee, has never had a real fight."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar smiled and said, "Tang knocked out Oakley with a wrestling move and Anthony Mason with a kick on the court. I heard he also knocked out someone with a punch in the CBA. This shows that he has a certain fighting ability and knows a variety of techniques."

The other two nodded in agreement, and Jabbar continued, "I've heard that Steven Siegel also has some combat ability, but he's definitely at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength. And he's almost 42 years old, so he's definitely at a disadvantage in terms of stamina as well."

"Who do you think has a better chance of winning?" Bill Walton asked with interest.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shook his head and said, "I don't know them very well, so I can't judge."

(End of this chapter)