But this time, Jordan planted both feet firmly on the floor without moving an inch.
So Wang Yi faced Jordan and went straight up for the shot.
Jordan had planted his feet on the floor to let Wang Yi shoot the three.
He could shoot the three if he wanted, but there was no way Jordan would let him drive inside.
Jordan was betting that Wang Yi would miss.
Of course, plenty of NBA players were gamblers.
And once NBA games reached a certain level, they often came down to gambling.
When one powerhouse faced another, it became a high-stakes gamble.
One team might pack the paint while slacking off on defense beyond the three-point line. That meant betting that the other team's Three-point Touch would be off that day.
What if the other team was scorching hot from three?
Then I'd die.
Some teams facing an opponent with an exceptionally dominant ball-handler had two options. One was to guard that player one-on-one and cut off his passing lanes to everyone else.
The bet was that he couldn't beat the whole team by himself.
What if he was in great form that day and scored fifty or sixty points on his own?
Then I'd die.
The other defensive strategy was to double-team him as soon as he got the ball and let his teammates shoot threes. What if his teammates were scorching hot from three that day?
Then I'd die.
So at the highest level of basketball, it was impossible to completely shut down your opponent. You could only commit to stopping one or two parts of their game and leave another open.
If the opponent beat you with that other part, all you could do was accept it.
That was exactly the situation Jordan was in.
Wang Yi released