The next night, the Raptors and the Hornets played Game 4 of the series. Before the game, Ball Dad and LaMelo Ball once again made outrageous boasts.
Wang Yi was determined to win this game.
But things never went according to plan.
Just three minutes into the game, Zhang Jiacheng took an outside jump shot. When he landed, he stepped on LaMelo Ball's foot and sprained his ankle.
Zhang Jiacheng wasn't like Wang Yi, who could just retie his shoelaces and stamp his foot a couple times after spraining an ankle, then be fine.
After an initial examination in the locker room, and judging by how Zhang Jiacheng felt himself, it looked like he wouldn't be returning to the game.
George Shig, the backup point guard, took Zhang Jiacheng's place on the court.
Then, when it rains, it pours.
George Shig hadn't played many minutes that season, especially in the Playoffs, and it seemed he still hadn't found his rhythm.
During a scramble for the ball, he slipped and fell into a full split, straining his groin.
Groin Strain injuries were extremely difficult to recover from.
You could say it was serious, yet the player could still walk normally and looked no different from anyone else. You could say it wasn't serious, yet it could take a month or more to make a full recovery. And even after recovering, the injury could easily recur.
This only made the Raptors' already bad situation even worse.
Wang Yi was now the team's only player who could handle the ball.
But the opposing team was double-teaming him from every angle, making it impossible for him even to receive the ball, let alone handle it normally.
His only option was to keep moving without the ball and run around screens, looking for open space.