Looking back over the entire history of the NBA, almost every championship team had one or two bad boys.
They might have been annoying in the regular season, but in the Playoffs and even the Finals, they often helped deflate the opposition and boost their own team's morale.
Especially when their team was on the back foot, these players tended to get physical and provoke the opposing stars.
That could often change the momentum of the game.
It was all about stirring up trouble so they could fish in the muddied waters.
For example, the Mad Dog Beverley of old once managed an extreme one-for-one trade with Durant.
His team could afford to lose Beverley without much trouble, but the opposition losing Durant was a much bigger problem.
On the court, Wang Yi stepped to the free-throw line.
He calmly sank the extra free throw.
Only three minutes had passed since tip-off.
Wemby had already racked up 12 points.
And Wang Yi had exploded for 15.
Back the other way, Wemby tried to ride his hot hand and keep the momentum going with another three.
But this time, he missed.
The Raptors, on the other hand, had Pang Bo grab the rebound and immediately sling the ball to Wang Yi.
Wang Yi raced downcourt. Facing Vassell's defense, he pulled off an Eurostep and a behind-the-back hand switch before finishing with a left-handed layup.
Only four minutes had passed.
Wang Yi had scored 17 points all by himself.
The Spurs had no choice but to call a timeout.
Popovich hesitated over whether to stick with his no-double-team strategy against Wang Yi.
Before the last game, he had firmly stuck to the strategy, thinking Wang Yi's stamina would eventually run out.
But...
That guy's stamina seemed endless. Even if he ran out