"There are two benefits to doing this. First, it'll make everyone think there's a rift within our team, which will throw our opponents off."
"The second benefit is that Wang Yi will think Bruce is acting on his own, so he'll focus his attention on Bruce. If Bruce provokes him enough, then given Wang Yi's personality and how he's acted in the past, he'll most likely target Bruce alone. That'll really free up Haliburton. He'll be able to score and run the offense without any restraint."
"The only downside is that Bruce will have to take some heat. Bruce, are you ready to endure that for the championship?"
Bruce 'The Bell' Pete slapped both hands on the table, then slicked his hair back with both hands, looking eager to get started. "Coach, for the championship, I don't mind taking some heat. I'd even take an injury if I had to."
The others lowered their heads and mulled it over.
After a moment, an assistant coach said, "There's some merit to this idea, but we'll need to plan carefully how to carry it out. We can't let Wang Yi turn his anger on the whole team."
Another assistant coach nodded. "I suggest that after The Bell makes some inappropriate remarks, Haliburton, as the team's leader, apologize to Wang Yi the next time you meet on the court. In short, aside from Haliburton, the rest of us should show Wang Yi nothing but goodwill, so he focuses all his anger on Bruce alone."
At that point, all the players felt the plan seemed workable. Even Haliburton agreed.
To be honest, with Wang Yi on the opposing team, winning was practically impossible.
The guy was so absurd that he was averaging 50 points a game this season. A monster like that was almost