With the Lakers down by twenty, the two commentators in the Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room began offering them advice.
Wang Meng spoke first:
"Teacher Su, the Lakers are already down by twenty. Meina looks like she's about to cry. For the sake of making the game more exciting—and keeping Meina from crying—could you give the Lakers some advice?"
Meina smiled. "I'm not crying! I just got some sand in my eye."
"Where would sand come from in the broadcast room?"
Wang Meng joked.
Though it was all in good fun, it was clear that Meina really was getting a little anxious.
Su Qun said with a smile:
"The Lakers' problem right now is that their threes aren't falling. Everyone knows you shoot threes against a zone defense, and of course the Lakers know that too. We've all seen the shots: Caruso has taken two in the last few minutes, Kuzma one, Tucker one, Thick Eyebrows and James one each. Between the five of them, they've made just one of six."
"With a percentage like that, any other team would have been blown out by now. The only reason the Lakers are down by just twenty is their solid defensive efficiency."
"So their problem is still finding a solution from three. In this era of small-ball basketball, if you can't shoot threes, it's hard to beat anyone."
Wang Meng nodded. "Teacher Su makes a good point. Do you think Coach Vogel might have better luck if he took a chance and put Wang Yi in?"
"That's up to Vogel," Su Qun said. "Let's hope he doesn't wait until garbage time to put Wang Yi in like he did last game. He's tried everyone else, and none of them have worked. You saw Wang Yi's explosive performance last game. Why not give him a try while the game is still within reach?"
Fans in the comments were chiming in too:
"Put Brother Yi in!"
"Put Brother Yi in!"
Of course, there were haters as well:
"The starters and the second unit can't solve the problem, and you think some fringe player can? You're way too naive."
"I told you to send him back already. Stop embarrassing me."
"He's going to sit on the bench until he's part of the furniture. Impressive."
Meanwhile, at the arena.
The Lakers called another timeout.
With their threes still not falling, Caruso and James both thought of the strangely confident smile Wang Yi had worn during practice yesterday.
And what he'd said: "You can absolutely count on me."
In the end, James went over to head coach Vogel and said, "Coach, why don't we..."
Vogel nodded. "Let's give him a try."
Vogel was actually a coach who wasn't afraid to take chances with his lineups.
He'd already thought of putting Wang Yi in.
But when he saw James talking with Wang Yi, he hadn't brought it up himself.
Instead, he'd waited for James to suggest it.
James was the team's leader. If he made the suggestion, the players would be more inclined to follow him.
That would help James unite the team.
Vogel also knew that James would think more highly of him for it.
When dealing with a superstar like James, whether he accepted the coach's decisions could make all the difference to the team's success.
Clearly, Vogel had excellent people skills.
He beckoned and called out:
"Wang!"
Wang Yi had been ready to get in. He sprang up like a coil, jogged over to the coach, and stopped beside him.
Vogel said, "LeBron suggested putting you in. Don't let us down."
Wang Yi's heart immediately burned with excitement.
He nodded firmly. "You can count on me."
At the same time, a system notification sounded in his mind:
[You have been given a chance to play. You may sign in once.]
He could only sign in if he got a chance to play in a game.
Wang Yi silently thought:
"Sign in."
[Sign-in successful!]
[Sign-in reward: Beginner Death Coil Experience Card]
Wang Yi was overjoyed.
With a three-point percentage of 45 percent, and now the Death Coil Experience Card, wouldn't that make him an elite 3D Player for this game?
That was exactly what the Lakers needed most.
With that thought, he spoke up:
"Coach, once I'm in, let me guard Leonard."
Leonard had just been driving past defenders again and again, forcing the Lakers to collapse their defense.
That had created plenty of opportunities for the Clippers to shoot threes.
If someone could stop Leonard from driving, the Clippers would get far fewer chances from beyond the arc.
Head coach Vogel looked a little surprised.
As far as he knew, Wang Yi wasn't particularly quick laterally, since he didn't have exceptional physical gifts.
So his defense was only average.
And yet he was volunteering to guard the Robot, Leonard?
Wang Yi's gaze was resolute as he said, "Coach, give me two possessions. If I can't stop him, put someone else on him."
What he really meant was that nearly everyone on the team had already taken a turn guarding Leonard, and none of them had worked.
If that was the case, they might as well let him try.
Naturally, he couldn't say something so likely to cause bad blood on the team.
He'd let the coach figure it out for himself.
Vogel thought it over briefly and understood what Wang Yi meant.
He nodded. "All right. I'll give you three possessions."
"Got it!"
Wang Yi clenched his fists tightly.
His eyes turned toward Leonard on the Clippers' side.
Like a wolf spotting a mechanical sheep.
When play resumed after the timeout, Wang Yi stepped onto the court with the Lakers.
The arena commentators couldn't help saying:
"Oh, the player from the East who hit nine threes in five minutes last game is back on the court. Let's see if he can work his magic again tonight!"
The Lakers were playing at home tonight.
The fans at Staples cheered too.
There weren't all that many of them, of course.
For one thing, the team was down by so much. For another, Wang Yi was a fringe player who'd only been there for a little over ten days, and plenty of people didn't know who he was yet.
In the Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room,
the haters saw Wang Yi take the court and immediately started piling on.
"Oh, he really is playing."
"Back to embarrass himself again?"
"Let's hope he doesn't get faked out of his shoes again. That was so damn embarrassing."
The Lakers were on offense.
After the ball crossed half court, James held it at the top of the key.
The Clippers players stuck with their zone defense.
They were daring the Lakers to shoot threes.
James looked around at the Lakers players, then settled his gaze on Wang Yi.
"Wang!"
He called out and passed him the ball.
Wang Yi caught it without the slightest hesitation.
He bent his knees;
raised the ball;
jumped;
flicked his left wrist.
He released the shot!
The ball traced an arc through the air, like a rainbow.
Nothing but net!
Swish!
The crisp sound of the basketball brushing against the net carried through the arena speakers.
The Lakers' DJ immediately announced in a booming voice:
"Three-pointer, courtesy of Wang—Yi—"
Hearing the drawn-out, slightly off pronunciation, Wang Yi closed his eyes for a moment.
He savored the moment.
James came over and slapped hands with Wang Yi.
"Enjoy it, brother."
Caruso came over too. "What you said yesterday was true."
But when Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue saw Wang Yi's three, he wasn't concerned.
It was just one three-pointer.
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