The reporters tried to bait Morant into saying something stupid. But now, all he felt toward Wang Yi was respect. There was no way he would say anything foolish.
So the two teams got off to a peaceful start.
Before the game, NBA President Adam Silver presented Wang Yi with the MVP trophy. It was his second Regular Season MVP award.
James was the first to come over. "Wow, look at you!" He posed for a photo with Wang Yi, who was holding the MVP trophy. Paul was a little envious, but this wasn't something he could get just by wishing for it, so he joined Wang Yi for a photo too. In their interviews, both men said Wang Yi was the undisputed MVP, the one and only MVP of the season.
After the ceremony, the game began.
Now that the Grizzlies had added Mitchell and Gobert, the strength of their Starting Lineup had improved by more than one level.
Morant and Mitchell at guard;
Bane and Clark at forward;
and Gobert at center.
This was the Grizzlies, upgraded.
With Mitchell joining the team, their backcourt had become much stronger.
At center, they had gone from Adams to Gobert, the two-hundred-million-dollar big man.
It was an upgrade across the board.
Many people thought this Grizzlies team could give the Kings a real fight.
The Kings kept four of their usual starters.
Wang Yi, Paul, James, and Danny.
Danny's catch-and-shoot Three-point Percentage was now almost 45%, making him a huge threat beyond the arc.
If he had any other weakness on offense, it was that his three-point shot could be inconsistent.
He also couldn't create his own shot.
If he was forced to dribble and shoot a three-pointer on his own, his Three-point Percentage would drop to 33%.
But with three