At Team America's resting area, Spoelstra stood there, high-fiving the players coming off the court one by one and encouraging them. "Nice! Great job!"
"Keep it up when you go back in."
An assistant coach beside him asked, "Spo, our hack-a-player strategy has turned the momentum back in our favor, and they can't think of a solution. Do you think they'll use the same strategy against us?"
Spoelstra thought for a moment, then looked toward the international team's resting area.
"I don't think so. First of all, given Dako's personality, he wouldn't use that strategy in an All-Star Game. And even if he did, Wang Yi would refuse. Wang Yi wouldn't let himself play so ugly in an All-Star Game."
The assistant coach thought it over and nodded. "You're right. So how do you think they should deal with our hack-a-player strategy?"
Spoelstra said, "Their only option is to make Wang Yi pass the ball and keep it out of his hands. That way, we won't foul them. If they want to play us four-on-five fairly, they shouldn't let Wang Yi touch the ball. As long as he does, we'll foul them."
The assistant coach nodded, impressed. "I've learned something."
Meanwhile, in the international team's resting area, every player wore a grim expression as they sat down.
For more than a minute, all they'd done on the court was run back and forth.
Some of them hadn't even touched the ball. All they'd done was watch Wang Yi shoot free throws.
Playing like this was infuriating.
Coach Dako furrowed his brow, too.
Faced with this situation, he genuinely couldn't think of another solution.
The assistant coach beside him asked quietly, "Dako, should we foul them too? Arthur isn't a great free-throw shooter. We could hack Arthur and make him compete