Chapter 62 Best of the First Week

On the 14th, the Hornets returned to their home arena to face the Heat, suffering another defeat in the second leg of a back-to-back.

In this game, Larry Johnson shot a dismal 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-3 from the free-throw line, finishing with just 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, falling far behind Tang Bei, who once again exploded for 25 points and 14 rebounds.

In their previous game against the Pacers, Johnson shot only 7-of-17 for 17 points, another lackluster performance.

Having played poorly for three consecutive games, his season scoring average dropped to 17 points per game. Plunged into a terrible mood, he wore an extremely gloomy expression upon returning to the locker room.

He had been holding it in for a while, but today he simply couldn't restrain himself any longer, openly complaining to the head coach:

"Coach, I have no space left in the paint. This is not right, this is unreasonable, completely unreasonable."

Bristow rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't possibly pull a 213-centimeter starting center out of the paint just to clear space for the barely 190-centimeter Larry Johnson, could he?

If Tang Bei were merely a blue-collar center, that might be one thing, but he was anything but. Moreover, Tang Bei was a heavy-duty center with immense dominance in the paint.

If he dared to make Tang Bei yield the paint to Larry Johnson today, he would likely be flamed to death by tomorrow.

Furthermore, ever since Tang Bei's debut, he had established Tang Bei's tactical status in the low post, clearing out the other positions to secure one-on-one opportunities for him down low.

This was both his own decision and the management's decision. No one within the team could ignore Tang Bei's dominance in low-post offense.

With a troubled expression, he said, "Larry, you have to compete for it yourself. In fact, you should know that you're currently receiving more tactical support."

"Hmph!"

Larry Johnson's face turned even darker. He felt that the team's attitude toward him was shifting, which was not the outcome he desired.

Tang Bei smiled. The tactical support he currently received was still quite minimal, which, of course, was related to his developing skill set and tactical capabilities.

To be able to put up his current numbers—leading the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocks—he was already quite satisfied.

The team's record now stood at 4 wins and 2 losses, a 66.7% winning percentage, temporarily placing them third in the Eastern Conference.

Across six games, he had recorded six consecutive 20+10 performances, making him the standout rookie of the 1992 draft class.

Moreover, the head coach had promised him that as his skills and tactical understanding improved, more plays would be designed for him.

Additionally, the head coach wanted him to invest more energy on the defensive end. Because Larry Johnson lacked height and had limited rim-protection abilities, only Tang Bei could anchor the Hornets' interior defense.

This signified that his status within the team was steadily rising and would surpass Larry Johnson's sooner or later.

In his view, his biggest disadvantage compared to Larry Johnson was not his basketball ability, but rather his commercial value and market influence.

On Sunday, the 15th, just a few minutes before 8:00 AM, Eric Fleisher arrived at Tang Bei's apartment, just in time for breakfast.

"Tang, your start to the season has been absolutely fantastic!" he exclaimed excitedly as soon as he stepped through the door.

Tang Bei, who opened the door, replied, "It's alright. The head coach said the early-season schedule is relatively favorable for the Hornets, and we haven't faced many powerhouse teams yet."

John Liu's breakfast was not quite ready yet, so the two men sat down to chat first.

"Eric, you've been very busy lately, haven't you?" Tang Bei asked.

Eric Fleisher answered, "The agency just relocated, and we're short on agents. I have to go out and scout promising prospects myself."

"Any good prospects out there?" Tang Bei asked.

"There's one named Kevin Garnett. He's currently a high school sophomore with great potential," Eric Fleisher said happily.

"A sophomore?" Tang Bei was momentarily startled.

"Tang, an American high school sophomore is roughly equivalent to a second-year student in a Chinese senior high school," John Liu explained from the kitchen.

"Then it'll be several years before he can enter the draft, won't it?" Tang Bei said.

Eric Fleisher replied, "Judging by his situation, if his body and skills don't develop rapidly, he'll definitely have to go to college before entering the draft.

"But if he grows quickly and reaches the NBA standard, he won't need to waste time in the NCAA; he can enter the draft straight out of high school, just like Shawn Kemp."

At this point, he changed the subject: "Tang, last year—or rather, the last time I said you had to wait a bit longer and get through your rookie season before competing for the team's core status—I was wrong, and I need to apologize to you."

"Haha..."

Tang Bei chuckled and said with "modesty," "I've only played six games. While I have confidence, I still need to see how I perform going forward."

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, and Zhang Heali had arrived.

After exchanging greetings, Eric Fleisher smiled and said, "Tang, the league will announce the Player of the Week today. Let's see if you have a shot."

"With Tang Bei's performance, I'd say he has a good chance. Besides, if the NBA wants to develop the Chinese market, they have to make some kind of gesture."

Zhang Heali completely agreed; he had come over today specifically to see if Tang Bei could capture this honor.

"Me?"

Tang Bei thought about it and felt a surge of anticipation.

Actually, what he was really looking forward to was that winning Player of_the_Week might prompt the Treasure Chest to reward him with an item.

Eric Fleisher added with a hint of regret, "It's a pity there's no Rookie of the Week award yet, otherwise it would definitely be you.

"Even though O'Neal put up 31 and 29 points in his last two games, he only scored 9 points against you. His record for those three games was 1 and 2, and his scoring average this week is only 25.3 points.

"The only player in the entire league averaging more points than you is the reigning best player alive, Michael Jordan. You are the premier rookie."

"If the draft were redone, Tang Bei, you might just go number one overall," Zhang Heali said happily.

Tang Bei smiled and asked, "When will it be announced?"

"Around nine o'clock, on NBC Sports," Fleisher said.

The four of them finished breakfast and waited a short while before NBC Sports broadcasted the news regarding the NBA's Player of the Week for the opening week.

The new season had started on the 6th, but this week's evaluation period ran from the 8th to the 14th—the seven days from Sunday to Saturday—while the games from the first two days were not included in this week's statistics.

Although the Player of the Week award carried far less weight than the Player of the Month award, its prestige was still quite substantial, as it honored the league's most outstanding performer of the week.

"According to official news from the NBA league office, the recipient of this week's Player of the Week award is rookie center Tang Bei from the Charlotte Hornets."

After the middle-aged male host announced the news, Tang Bei's statistics for the week were displayed on the screen.

Five games, 3 wins and 2 losses, averaging 36 minutes per game.

26.4 points, 13.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.8 blocks, 0.8 steals, 4.5 turnovers, 3.5 fouls, with a 61.5% field goal percentage.

Averaging 9.5 free-throw attempts per game, displaying an even greater destructive force than O'Neal, with a 55% free-throw percentage.

"It really is me?"

Tang Bei widened his eyes, hardly believing that he had actually won Player of the Week in his very first week.

"That's fantastic!" Zhang Heali exclaimed excitedly.

Eric Fleisher didn't immediately join in the celebration; instead, looking thoughtful, he muttered, "They actually didn't give it to Michael Jordan?"

"What were his numbers?" John Liu asked.

"The Bulls went 4-0 this week, averaging 28.25 points per game to lead the league. I don't remember his other stats," Eric Fleisher said.

Then, breaking into a broad, delighted smile, he said, "Tang, this is amazing! You were the best-performing player in the entire league during the first week, and they gave you Player of the Week right out of the gate. That means the league office wants to push you."

John Liu said excitedly, "This calls for a drink."

"Do we have champagne?" Eric Fleisher asked immediately.

"No," John Liu shook his head.

"I'll drive out and buy some. We have to celebrate this."

Eric Fleisher was overjoyed. Tang Bei's momentum was phenomenal, exceeding all expectations; becoming a superstar was just around the corner.

Tang Bei's current statistics already surpassed Patrick Ewing's, and as long as he maintained this pace, he even had a shot at making the All-Star team this season.

His only disadvantage was that Tang Bei was not an American, which gave him no natural advantage in fan voting.

Tang Bei winning Player of the Week, he believed, was related to David Stern's desire to develop the Chinese market, which was immensely advantageous for Tang Bei.

Tang Bei checked his system panel from time to time afterward, but to his disappointment, winning Player of the Week did not yield any treasure rewards.

After two days of rest, on the evening of the 17th, the Hornets hosted the Dallas Mavericks.

Jim Jackson, whom the Mavericks had selected with the fourth overall pick, had yet to sign his contract, and Dallas was currently struggling at 1-3.

In this match, six Hornets players scored in double figures, with Larry Johnson netting 21 points and Tang Bei exploding for 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks, crushing the Mavericks in a 101-136 blowout victory.

However, the team's sixth man, John Newman, suffered an injury during the game and would be sidelined for a stretch.

For the Hornets, this injury wasn't devastating because Dell Curry also possessed solid scoring ability and the talent of a sixth man. While his penetration was not as strong as John Newman's, his shooting was even more lethal.

After another two days of rest, the Hornets defeated the Warriors at home before catching a red-eye flight to Miami to prepare for a back-to-back challenge against the Heat.

The Heat's record was worse than the previous season, currently sitting at 3 wins and 4 losses.

This was also the Hornets' third back-to-back of the season, and they had lost both of the previous ones.

This game, much like the matchup against the Mavericks, turned into an offensive shootout.

The entire Hornets team was in fine form. Ten players saw the court, nine scored, and astonishingly, eight players finished in double figures.

Tang Bei failed to score 20+ points for the first time because the offense was too evenly distributed. The perimeter players were shooting the lights out, and lacking shot attempts, he finished with just 18 points.

The team's leading scorer for the night was reserve Dell Curry, who shot 12-of-20 from the field, including free throws and a three-pointer, exploding for 27 points.

Having swept all three games that week, the Hornets improved to 7-2 overall, surprisingly surging to the top of the Eastern Conference and sharing the best record in the league with the Bulls.

The Player of the Week award for the second week went to Michael Jordan.

However, during this week, Tang Bei's name and news stories appeared in the media with increasing frequency and in more prominent positions.

On the 24th, the Hornets defeated the 76ers at home to notch their 8th win of the season.

Following the game, the Hornets caught a red-eye flight to Detroit to prepare for a road back-to-back against the Pistons.

The previous season, the Bad Boys had still managed a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, but this season they had plummeted to 2-7, sitting nearly at the bottom of the East and only slightly ahead of the 1-6 Mavericks.

There were several reasons for this: Chuck Daly's departure, the disintegration and rebuilding of the Bad Boys culture, severe injuries to Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars being sidelined, Dennis Rodman getting distracted by too many off-court issues and frequently missing games, a stagnant offense, and a failed tactical system.

Ever since Tang Bei entered the NBA, Eric Fleisher had filled him in on various league lore, including the story of the Bad Boys.

Rising to prominence in the early 1980s, the Bad Boys had ushered in an era of rugged, iron-fisted basketball in the league, redefining team defense. While they attracted plenty of curses, they also commanded a massive following of hardcore fans.

It was with the Bad Boys that the NBA entered an era of grit and toughness, with a level of physical intensity far surpassing previous eras.