After a few days of rest, the Cavaliers welcomed the Seattle SuperSonics at home.
This team would be renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder after this season.
Currently, the SuperSonics were at the bottom of the Western Conference, having won only one game.
Despite having Kevin Durant, they still chose to tank, seeking other potential rookies to build a new team together!
In their second year, they drafted Russell Westbrook with the fourth pick in the first round.
In their third year, they drafted James Harden with the third pick in the first round.
Thus, the Thunder trio was formed!
Of course, that's all in the past.
Kevin Durant now was still a freshman, and although he could average twenty points per game, he also had four turnovers per game.
He was not yet capable of leading this struggling team into the playoffs.
The Cavaliers did not take this team very seriously. Tang Long and LeBron James even came off the court to rest after only playing one and a half quarters.
The remaining time was left to the rotation players for practice.
In this game, Tang Long recorded 11 points and 5 rebounds. He only played one and a half quarters, but his stats were already comparable to a rotation center.
James had 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
The Cavaliers continued their winning streak, extending it to ten games, setting a new record for consecutive wins this season.
The Rockets' 22 wins for the season had not yet begun, so the Cavaliers led the league.
Tang Long's streak of nine consecutive double-doubles was broken, but as he put it, as long as he led the team to victory, the stats didn't matter.
Victory led to championships, not stats.
Tang Long was not a stat-padder.
After the game against the SuperSonics, the Cavaliers' next game was three days later, a back-to-back.
Back-to-back games meant playing two away games on consecutive days, which was very tiring.
It was a great test of a player's physical and mental fortitude.
The Cavaliers would first fly to Detroit to face the second-ranked Pistons in the Eastern Conference.
The next day, they would fly to Milwaukee to face the Bucks.
Although the Bucks were not a very strong team, they had Yi Jianlian on their roster, which made the "Dragon Country derby" a topic of high interest.
Furthermore, due to the back-to-back format, the visiting teams on the second day were often in poor form and frequently lost unexpectedly.
However, that was all in the future. The Cavaliers' immediate concern was the gritty Pistons!
First, the center who would directly face Tang Long, Rasheed Wallace.
Nicknamed "The Rasheed Wallace," he was often called "The Rage God."
He earned this nickname because he often celebrated with roars during games.
He possessed incredible physical ability, very refined low-post skills, and even decent outside shooting.
In this era, a center with shooting ability was very rare.
Of course, "The Rage God's" temper was not good. In one season, he accumulated 41 technical fouls, a record that was unprecedented and unlikely to be broken.
Shooting guard Richard Hamilton.
Known as the "Mid-Range King," his stamina gauge was always full; he never seemed to get tired on the court.
Kobe Bryant called him the player he least wanted to defend.
Precise mid-range shots were his trademark.
Point guard Chauncey Billups.
His extremely fast drives, comprehensive court vision, and clutch-shot ability made him the leader of the "Goin' to Work" Pistons. He was always the most intelligent player on the court.
Small forward Prince, also one of the "Goin' to Work" Pistons, was an excellent defender.
His playing style was tough but clean. Like center Antonio McDyess, both were average offensively but very strong defensively.
The Pistons' style was tough, energetic, and passionate!
If not for this, they would not have been able to pull off a major upset against the Lakers' star-studded F4 lineup in the 2004 NBA Finals!
A team like this was difficult to deal with, especially as the first game of a back-to-back.
Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown had also specifically eased up the training for these two days, not letting the players get too fatigued.
Tang Long was specially invited by Turner Television for an interview.
He had originally planned to check on his villa, but Turner Television offered too much.
The hosts, "Sir Charles" Barkley and Kenny Smith, sat opposite Tang Long.
"Tang, your recent performance has been incredibly strong! We had previously predicted that you wouldn't achieve such good stats and results. First of all, congratulations, you damn guy!"
Tang Long politely expressed his gratitude.
"As far as we know, you were previously a backup for the Cavaliers and only became a starter after Big Z got injured. Why has your improvement been so significant?"
Tang Long shrugged and said, "I just trained harder in the offseason. It's possible that my Ren Du two meridians were suddenly opened."
Barkley and Kenny Smith nodded. The phrase "Ren Du two meridians" was something they, as Americans, had learned from Bruce Lee.
"In the last game, you only played one and a half quarters, breaking your consecutive double-double streak. You could have continued playing. Playing for two and a half quarters wouldn't be considered stat-padding, so why didn't you?"
Tang Long shook his head, his eyes firm: "Whether it's stat-padding or not doesn't depend on how long you play, but on whether you subjectively want to pad stats. If I were to go crazy scoring when the team was already sure to win, that would definitely be stat-padding! If the lead were to shrink, then me going out there wouldn't be considered stat-padding!"
Tang Long's words made Barkley and Kenny Smith applaud.
They were both old-school players and naturally looked down on stat-padder.
They wholeheartedly agreed with Tang Long's thinking.
"Well said, brother! That's exactly what I think! The team's victory comes first! My own stats are secondary."
"Now that you've cemented your position as the starting center for the Cavaliers, have you considered being the team's number one player, or are you content being LeBron's second option?"
This question had a lot of impact. Few people would directly ask it.
And the one asking was Barkley, who was known for his boldness.
Surprisingly, Tang Long handled it with ease.
"If a player doesn't want to be a star player, it's either because they lack the skill or the desire to win. Clearly, I'm not that kind of player. But who says a team can only have one star player?"
"In the 1999-00 Lakers, you could say Shaq was the main star. In 2000-01, it's harder to say that, let alone the 2001-02 season. Shaq always won FMVP, but Kobe was more crucial in the Western Conference Finals."
"I believe LeBron and I can also have a similar relationship. We are brothers. We will lead the team to championships, one, two, three championships."
These words made Barkley applaud again. Tang Long's words were so mature that they didn't seem to come from a twenty-something young man.
After all, many black athletes at this age only knew how to play basketball and were clueless about human interactions.
Soon, Barkley posed another question: "Regarding the center position, how far do you want to go? In other words, do you aim to be the tenth greatest center in history, or top five?"
Tang Long shook his head and said firmly, "Neither. I want to be the greatest center in history!"