Their head coach, Tom Thibodeau, furrowed his brows. After a moment, he said:
"Although our strategy of guarding Wang Yi one-on-one in the first half didn't seem to work—we let him score 18 points and dish out 16 assists—we'll still guard him one-on-one in the second half. But we need to do a better job of cutting off his connections with his teammates. We can let him score on his own, but we can't let him pass."
"While guarding him one-on-one, we also need to watch his rebounding. Before going for a rebound, we have to box him out and keep him away from the position. Arthur, you haven't done enough in that regard."
King Arthur had been called out in front of the team, and he looked a little embarrassed.
If the head coach had said that when he'd first entered the league, he might have thrown a fit. But by now, he'd grown quite a bit.
He knew that as the team's leader, he had to set an example for the players.
Now, hearing the coach say this, he replied in a low voice, "I understand, Coach. I'm sorry. In the second half, I'll stay right on Wang Yi and lock him down."
The head coach continued, "On offense in the second half, we can try having Jokic run more of the support play at the top of the arc. That'll help Arthur conserve some energy. Arthur, I know you've got enough stamina to make it through all four quarters, but we don't just need you to last the whole game. We need you to have enough left to attack them in the decisive moments of the fourth quarter."
King Arthur nodded. "I understand, Coach."
Finally, the head coach turned to Aleksandar. "When Jokic has the ball, try