Coach had been cursing up a storm in the locker room just moments ago, but now he was self-righteously criticizing anyone who thought that way.
Wang Yi really was shamelessly padding his stats.
But the speed with which Coach Spoelstra had changed his tune was every bit as impressive.
And though his words seemed to be helping Wang Yi out, he was actually stirring things up behind the scenes by saying Wang Yi was padding his stats.
That would make Wang Yi's fans, who didn't know the truth, like him even more.
And Wang Yi's haters, who had already been against him, would go even crazier. Since Spoelstra had said Wang Yi was padding his stats, then Wang Yi must be padding his stats.
Regardless of why you were padding your stats, and regardless of whether the result was good or bad, you were padding your stats all the same.
And in the eyes of haters, padding your stats was a huge sin.
You, Wang Yi, padded your stats, so you deserved to die.
The reporters were no fools, either. They had all seen through Spoelstra's little move.
And this was the perfect opportunity to stir up trouble, so one reporter said:
"Coach Spoelstra, on the surface, those remarks were defending Wang Yi, but why do I get the feeling you were subtly stirring things up?"
Spoelstra shook his head repeatedly and flatly denied it.
"You've misunderstood. Wang is the greatest player in history, and I have tremendous respect for him."
"His accomplishments are beyond what anyone can hope to match."
"How could I possibly try to stir things up against a player like that?"
"Let me say this one last time: every player wants to score on the court, but the question is whether you're good enough to do