Head coach Joe Mazzulla said to Tatum, Brown, Morant, and the team's few substitutes:
"When it comes to guarding Wang Yi, we'll use a rotation. You'll take turns defending him, and you need to get physical with him. Especially when he doesn't have the ball—you need to make him work even then, so he'll burn plenty of energy even without the ball."
The five of them nodded in unison. "Understood, Coach."
Coach Mazulla continued, "As you take turns guarding him, you can use a few tricks when necessary. Just make sure Wang Yi has a hard time out there and never gets comfortable."
Everyone nodded.
Joe Mazzulla might have looked like a decent, honest sort of guy, but appearances could be deceiving.
When he was young, he was an expert at everything from heavy drinking to domestic abuse.
He had even been arrested for domestic violence.
It wasn't until he was thirty-five that he finally saw the error of his ways.
But even though he had changed, that didn't mean he was a complete gentleman.
In his first few years as a coach, he had kept things fairly conventional. But later, when the team failed to make much progress, he started using a few tricks.
For example, he had players throw their weight around and use all kinds of hard fouls against opponents.
He had also brought in some of the league's enforcers.
And during the Playoffs, he would sometimes resort to underhanded tactics away from the court.
Mazulla then turned to the others. "As for guarding Pang, the Raptors' center, Embiid, I think you can handle him on your own. He's only a third-year player, after all."
A confident smile spread across Embiid's face, which looked almost barbaric. He nodded. "Of course. I'll teach him how to act."
Mazulla