Arthur King saw the lineup across from him, and his brows twisted into a knot.
Everyone knew that, like James before him, he was most afraid of facing a lineup with a tall center.
Even though he was a little stronger than James and could sometimes muscle through when the other team had two tall centers, this time they had three right from the start.
Jokic also frowned slightly when he saw the lineup.
With three tall, burly big men on the other side, it would be extremely difficult for the Knicks players to cut into the paint. That meant his playmaking from the top of the arc would be at least two-thirds less effective.
He could only pass the ball to the perimeter and let the shooters take threes.
If they were cold, winning today would be very difficult.
If they were hot from three, they should be able to win... well, it would still be difficult.
Don't forget, the other side had Wang Yi, Danny, and Westbrook, three guys whose three-point percentages were over 40%. Even if the Knicks were hot today, those three could easily cancel out their offense. All things considered, the Knicks would still be at a disadvantage.
At that thought, Arthur King glanced at the Knicks coach, who could only stare back at him helplessly.
The coach was in a bind too. With the other team's size in the paint, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't exactly tell them, "Don't use your three-big lineup. Let us attack the paint."
But although Jokic thought the lineup would be difficult to deal with, he wasn't too discouraged. Running the offense from the top of the arc wasn't his only weapon.
He was known as a playmaking center and an all-around joker; he had plenty