On the Spurs, Popovich was the heart and soul of the team. Even when their star, Wemby, was at a loss, everyone still looked to Popovich.
On the Raptors, Wang Yi was the heart and soul of the team.
When everyone was at a loss—even when the coach had no answer—everyone looked to Wang Yi.
At that moment, Wang Yi said to them:
"Don't panic. Just use their approach against me on Damian."
"The Spurs have always used man-to-man defense against me. We'll use man-to-man defense against Damian, too."
"Just guard him one-on-one. Let him take threes and see how many he can make. If he's got what it takes, let him shoot us to death all by himself."
Everyone nodded at that.
Exactly. The Spurs defended Wang Yi that way, so why couldn't the Raptors defend Lillard the same way?
Wang Yi really could take out an entire team by himself.
But could Lillard shoot the entire Raptors team to death by himself?
All right, even if he'd had that ability when he was younger, he was now nearing the end of his career. Did he still have it?
And even if he did, did he have the stamina?
After all,
even at the peak of his career, Lillard couldn't make it to the fourth quarter if they gave him every single possession.
Now, near the end of his career, how long could he last if he took every shot?
As his stamina drained, his three-point percentage was bound to drop.
Once they thought it through, everyone nodded.
Wang Yi said to Locke:
"While Damian's bringing the ball up, stay physical with him the whole way and wear him down as much as you can."
"I'm sure he can't keep playing like this for long."
With their plan settled,