"Oh my god! We really shouldn't underestimate the Chinese people. They say the Chinese only play small ball, but that's not entirely true. The Chinese are also very good at basketball!"
The commentator shouted hysterically, claiming that Chinese people not only played small ball but were also formidable in basketball.
In 2002, the Houston Rockets welcomed a Chinese number one draft pick.
And now, another talented center had emerged from China.
Dominating the boards without needing to box out, who else could achieve this?
Even peak Shaq wouldn't be as fierce as Tang Long on this play.
"Man, you've truly surprised me! With you here, we're definitely winning and going home tonight!"
James was desperately craving a strong teammate. With one, facing the Spurs in the finals again, he would have no fear.
Last year, he was defeated in San Antonio in the Finals. It was precisely because he lacked strong teammates that the Spurs' GDP trio swept them 4-0.
If Tang Long had been defending for the Cavaliers in last year's Finals, James believed that even if they ultimately couldn't beat the Spurs, they wouldn't have been swept 4-0 by the GDP trio.
He glanced at the scoreboard. After this small surge, the Cavaliers were comfortably leading the Wizards by six points.
The start of the first quarter was excellent, showcasing the team's dominance.
By the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers led the Wizards by nine points.
With a nine-point lead, the two teams headed into the second quarter.
The starting lineups rested briefly, with both teams fielding their reserves.
The Cavaliers' bench depth was not weak; in fact, it was stronger than the Wizards'.
The reserve players from both teams played evenly. At 6:33 in the second quarter, the main lineups were re-substituted.
Now, James realized that Tang Long was not only strong defensively but also had a strong desire to attack.
He immediately drove and dished, attempting to execute some intricate plays with Tang Long.
"Tang... catch!"
"Just give it to me, and I'll lead us home!"
Tang Long received James's pass, turned, and threw down a powerful dunk.
With a shake of the rim, Tang Long easily scored two points.
Admittedly, James's gravity was immense. His tank-like drives often drew double-teams from the Wizards.
Once he was double-teamed, Tang Long would inevitably find himself open.
With a simple layup or dunk, he contributed more points to the team.
By this point in the game, Tang Long had already scored ten points with a perfect shooting percentage, demonstrating exceptional efficiency.
"OMG! You might not believe this, but in his first starting game, China Tang's shooting percentage is a hundred percent, and his offensive efficiency is incredibly high!"
"Thinking back, the only center who achieved this was Yao from their country. I remember one game where Yao went nine for nine, with very efficient offense."
"Now, China Tang is similar to Yao; he's made all his shots so far!"
"I'm willing to believe this is the second rise of Chinese centers!"
The commentators were very eloquent, making Tang Long feel a bit embarrassed.
His baskets were usually assisted, or he scored on put-backs, which naturally led to a high shooting percentage.
Moreover, in the low post, Haywood couldn't stop him. When he took the ball himself, Tang Long had already scored on Haywood twice, completely dominating him.
By this point in the game, Haywood no longer dared to challenge Tang Long.
Offensive and defensive transition.
Tang Long anchored the paint like a divine being, unstoppable, slaying whoever stood in his way!
Murasaki Ibara, a player of that caliber, could defend from the one to the five. Everything within the three-point line was within Murasaki Ibara's defensive range.
His coverage was incredibly expansive, with quick lateral movement. Anyone entering his territory was absolutely met with a thunderous block.
This was exactly what happened here, as some, still unconvinced, insisted on challenging Tang Long's authority.
The Great General Arenas, seeing his team falling behind, refused to be outdone. He drove with the ball, passed Larry Hughes, and executed a crafty floater above the paint.
Tang Long, guarding the paint, would not tolerate Arenas's reckless play over him.
He leaped forward with explosive verticality, swatting Arenas's floater away with one hand.
"Did you get my permission to score in our paint?"
Tang Long swatted Arenas's floater away, and couldn't resist taunting his opponent.
"Bang!"
A muffled sound echoed as the ball went out of bounds. Tang Long's block was so powerful that it sent the ball flying into the stands.
"Oh! Haha... China Tang is too strong! Arenas's layup was swatted away and landed in the stands."
"Arenas looks furious! Just like Haywood, he was also served a big block by China Tang!"
Laughter erupted from the commentary booth, while Arenas's face turned ashen.
Being blocked by a rookie, anyone would feel humiliated.
"Damn it, that tall guy from China is too arrogant. Next possession, find a way to dunk on him and teach him a lesson. Let him know this is Washington, not Cleveland, and definitely not China!" Arenas growled.
Caron Butler replied, "Leave this tall Chinese guy to me. You spread the floor next possession, pass me the ball, and I'll show you how I dunk on him!"
On the Wizards, Caron Butler's scoring ability was exceptional. His jump shot and drives were top-tier for the team.
Furthermore, he played small forward, capable of driving and shooting. With a height of 201cm and a weight of 98kg, his static and dynamic physical talents were both outstanding.
His explosive dunks when driving into the paint were usually unstoppable for opposing big men.
Arenas nodded slightly, agreeing with Caron Butler's plan.
After all, in terms of static physical attributes, Arenas was not as gifted as Caron Butler.
The Wizards advanced the ball from the sideline.
Arenas passed the ball directly to Caron Butler, asking him to teach Tang Long a lesson.
Driving from the right short corner, Caron Butler disregarded everything else and leaped towards Tang Long for a dunk.
The Wizards fans cheered ecstatically. A dunk over Tang Long in this game would greatly boost the team's morale.
In basketball, especially in a high-level league like the NBA, team morale was extremely important.
"OMG! The spring man is here, Caron is flying in for a dunk on China Tang."
"How will China Tang respond? Will he offer us another spectacular block show?"
"Bang!"
Just as the commentators finished speaking, Caron Butler, like Arenas, suffered the same fate. In mid-air, he was slammed down by Tang Long.
The ball in his hands could no longer be put into the basket at all; it was firmly held by Tang Long.
Simultaneously, Tang Long recovered the ball as Caron Butler fell to the ground after the block.
Caron Butler, having fallen to the ground after being blocked, felt immensely humiliated, wishing he could disappear into a hole.
However, as NBA players, they were skilled actors.
He frantically signaled to the referee that Tang Long had committed a foul, but the referee completely ignored him.
This was a very clean block. Caron Butler had been careless and wasn't ready, and was completely dominated by Tang Long.
"Tang! Well done, give me the ball, fast break!"
James was running incredibly fast. Tang Long had good court vision and immediately connected with James.
"Bang!!"
Immediately, a muffled sound was heard. James finished the fast break with a thunderous dunk, completing another defensive counter-attack.
Based solely on defensive counter-attacks, the Cavaliers had scored eight points tonight.
Four defensive counter-attacks were almost fatal to the Wizards.
At this moment, the scoreboard clearly displayed 35:25, with the Cavaliers effortlessly leading the Wizards by a full ten points.
If this continued, the Wizards were destined to lose tonight.
With an explosive player like Tang Long, facing a mid-tier team like the Wizards was a piece of cake!