When Danny returned, the Bucks' coach and the rest of the team were all a little uneasy.
He was coming back for the Finals, and they had no idea what kind of shape he was in. If he came back on fire, the Bucks would be in trouble.
Luckily, they still had some time. He could go over with the players how to defend Danny.
But just as he finished laying everything out, with only a few minutes left before tipoff, the Kings suddenly made an official announcement: "Little Danny sprained his ankle during warmups just now. He will not play tonight."
The announcement gave the entire Bucks coaching staff a massive headache.
One assistant coach swore outright. "Fuck! They're playing dirty."
Teams often put out all kinds of misleading reports before a game to throw their opponents off, especially during the Playoffs.
Every team put out all sorts of rumors during the Playoffs to create smokescreens. But it was very rare for a player to be listed as active and then announce, five minutes before tipoff, that he wasn't playing.
This threw off some of the Bucks' game plan.
With five minutes left before tipoff, the starting lineups for both teams appeared on the big screen.
The Kings' starting lineup had changed considerably tonight. They were missing two starters, so they moved Westbrook into the starting lineup. Danny was also playing tonight.
Shooting Guard: Wang Yi.
Point Guard: Westbrook.
Small Forward: Danny.
Power Forward: Mouth Brother Wiggins.
Center: Bond.
Apart from Bond, this lineup was seriously lacking in height.
At his age, even Mouth Brother Wiggins would find it a little difficult to fill in at power forward.
The Bucks' lineup had changed since last year as well.
Point Guard: Irving.
Shooting Guard: Chosen Grandson, Bronny.
Small Forward: Ingram.