Chapter 53: The Support Defense Bears the Brunt of the Damage

It was the Cavaliers' turn to attack. Brad Daugherty posted up on the left low block, demanding the ball, while Tang Bei stood his ground right behind him, refusing to let the opponent gain even an inch into the paint.

Daugherty possessed exceptional post-up skills, a soft touch, and a reliable mid-range jumper, but strength was his weakness.

Just as Daugherty caught the ball, Tang Bei suddenly exerted force and pushed outward. Daugherty nearly fumbled it. After securing the catch, he found himself a meter outside the left baseline of the paint, well within the mid-range two-point zone.

Though far from the paint, Daugherty did not give up the offensive play. He executed a series of head-fakes and finally turned upward for a jump shot.

Tang Bei was thrown off balance by the pump fakes, his rhythm slowed by a split second. Yet, relying on his astonishing lateral quickness and explosive vertical leap, he closed the gap at the very last moment just as Daugherty released the ball.

"Slap!"

Swiping with his left hand, he directly batted the ball high into the air.

"What?"

Startled, Daugherty hurriedly spun around to box out, attempting to trap Tang Bei behind him.

However, leveraging his sheer power, Tang Bei immediately shoved Daugherty aside and snatched the rebound out of the air.

Possession shifted. The Hornets were on the attack. Muggsy Bogues moved with blistering speed, taking a pass from Tang Bei to spark a fast break and finishing with a smooth layup.

4-0. The Cavaliers' ball.

Mark Price drove the ball from the right wing into the paint. After drawing Larry Johnson’s defensive attention, he kicked the ball out to Larry Nance on the right low block. Nance immediately went up for a floater upon receiving the pass.

Larry Johnson scrambled to spin and leap into the air for a contest, but alas, he was simply too short. Defensive height was never his forte, and blocking shots had never been his strong suit.

"Bang!"

Right at that moment, a massive shadow rose from behind Larry Johnson, eclipsing the sky before a large hand instantly pinned the ball against the backboard.

"Ooh!"

Witnessing Tang Bei deliver yet another block, this time a spectacular pin against the backboard, the arena erupted into a wave of gasps and cheers.

The lead referee pivoted, facing the Hornets' frontcourt and signaling a transition of possession, confirming the block was clean and Hornets ball.

"Ball!"

Tang Bei moved to the left low block. Having just executed back-to-back brilliant defensive and offensive plays, he loudly and righteously demanded the ball.

This time, Bogues could not ignore his call and immediately lobbed the ball in.

Tang Bei caught the ball securely. Instead of launching an immediate attack, he paused for a brief moment of calculation.

"His turning speed is inferior to mine, and his lateral movement is slower than mine. I will beat slowness with speed, and conquer with absolute velocity."

The next instant, amidst his dribble, he executed a fierce Tai Chi-style spin.

His low, athletic stance provided immense traction, allowing power to generate from the ground up. As the force surged upward and translated through the twisting of his waist and hips, it ultimately unleashed a tiger-like rotational torque right in place.

"It's a reverse spin along the baseline!"

"Faster! Even faster!"

"It's over!"

Daugherty, trailing behind, reacted instantly, but his body simply failed to keep up with the tempo. He spun frantically, but by the time he completed his rotation, he could only watch as Tang Bei had already blown past him and was now ascending into the air.

As Bogues delivered the pass, Larry Nance—positioned on the right side of the rim—rotated down to the paint, decisively moving to double-team Tang Bei.

Yet, just as Nance took a step into the key, before he could even establish a proper double-team position, he saw that Tang Bei had already completed his spin and was pouncing toward him like a fierce tiger.

"Boom!"

Amidst a violent rim-shaking dunk, the entire basket assembly dipped sharply downward.

Hanging from the rim, Tang Bei swung forward, parting his legs as his hips crashed heavily into Larry Nance’s body.

Larry Nance let out a muffled grunt, feeling as though he had been struck by a speeding heavy truck. His upper body arched violently backward, his feet were lifted clean off the floor, and his back slammed hard against the hardwood.

"Ooh!"

Seeing this unfold, the arena once again erupted in a chorus of astonished cries.

Broadcaster Phil Mottta exclaimed, "Such a ferocious slam dunk! Let's just hope Larry Nance can manage to get back up."

Rule Johnson stated with shock, "From Bill Russell and George Mikan, to Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, all the way to Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and David Robinson, the league has never seen a behemoth center of this particular style."

Phil Mottta remarked, "And there are two of them—two behemoth centers, both weighing in at 135 kilograms. This leaves the opposing centers and power forwards utterly passive when matched up against them. Without sufficient tonnage and strength, they are at a massive disadvantage in physical contact and get easily knocked over or sent flying."

Rule Johnson added, "That being said, Tang's low-post move just now was truly, as Michael Breen described it, a tornado-style spin to the rim."

"An ultra-fast spin driving to the basket generates immense impact, irresistible just like a tornado," Phil Mottta praised sincerely.

Rule Johnson continued, "Exactly. When the primary defender can't hold his ground, the collapsing teammate has to absorb the damage. And that happened yet again."

"Chuckle!"

Phil Mottta burst into laughter, then said, "Rule, that sounds suspiciously like something Michael Breen said, which was reported by the media."

Rule Johnson smiled and replied, "The spin time for an average NBA player ranges from 0.3 seconds to 1.5 seconds, depending on defensive pressure, spin technique, physical attributes, and various other factors. However, Tang's turning speed, in my opinion, is undoubtedly the fastest in the league—perhaps without exception. His spin time cannot exceed 0.2 seconds."

Phil Mottta agreed, "It's impossible to measure precisely, but even the elite perimeter players' spin speeds probably cannot match Tang's. That is truly astonishing."

Rule Johnson nodded, "The Chinese Tang's explosive power is simply too phenomenal. This tornado-style spin can easily become his signature move."

Larry Nance was substituted out. Nance, nearing 34 years of age with a career riddled with lingering injuries, simply could not handle this level of pounding. They needed to let him rest.

Without Larry Nance, the Cavaliers' interior defense immediately began to fracture.

With five minutes remaining in the opening quarter, the Cavaliers called their second timeout of the period. The score at that moment was 20-14, with the underdog Hornets holding a 6-point lead.

Tang Bei had shot 3-for-4 from the field, missed one dunk, and made 1-of-1 from the free-throw line, totaling 7 points.

Larry Johnson had taken exclusively close two-point shots, going 2-for-4 for 4 points, maintaining a decent shooting percentage.

Yet his dissatisfaction with Tang Bei was growing steadily because Tang Bei monopolized the offensive space under the basket, forcing Johnson to settle for close-range jumpers.

In the paint and near the rim, Johnson’s competitiveness paled compared to Tang Bei. He was simply too short, and his shooting percentage in double-teams would never be very high.

His 50% shooting clip just now was purely a matter of good fortune; he could not rely on luck forever. Having his low-post offensive real estate hijacked instilled in him a deep sense of crisis and fueled his fury.

If not for his remaining caution and a shred of sanity, he would have already erupted.

"There is no chemistry or passing between Larry Johnson and Tang Bei. You can boldly and aggressively double-team him and completely ignore the other."

"Remember, elevate your defensive intensity. Your defense needs to have grit and create a sufficient deterrent against them, okay?"

"Brad, you just need to hold that rookie for one single second. Larry's help defense will be there."

"On the perimeter, cut off their passing lanes. Especially when that rookie approaches the rim, make good use of the defensive three-second rule."

Cavaliers head coach Lenny Wilkens, boasting over eight hundred career coaching wins and a wealth of experience, emphasized interior defense and dialed up the defensive intensity. Being fellow Eastern Conference teams, and playing on the Cavaliers' home court, winning was the only acceptable option.

"One second?"

"Given his turning speed, one second should be enough for him to spin five times, right?"

"However, he does have a slight pause right after catching the ball—at least half a second. That is my opportunity, and it's also Larry's help-defense window."

Daugherty replayed the speed of Tang Bei's spin-and-score in his mind, mapping out a countermeasure.

As the timeout concluded, Larry Nance checked back into the game.