Wang Yi reacted the instant King Arthur rolled toward the basket, realizing he was cutting in for a dunk. He followed and jumped to block him.
But his block was a little too low and missed the ball.
Instead, he hit King Arthur on the wrist.
The result was a shooting foul, and King Arthur went to the line for two free throws.
James watched and said:
"You can tell from Wang Yi's block just now that his stamina is in serious trouble. He barely got his head level with the rim on that jump."
"Arthur's no slouch as a jumper, and he's more than ten centimeters taller than Wang Yi. On top of that, Arthur got off the ground first. At that height, it was obviously difficult for Wang Yi to block him."
"Usually, Wang Yi can get his shoulders level with the rim at the peak of his jump. From that height, he could have blocked Arthur easily. But now he fouled him instead. You can see how badly his stamina has suffered. He just can't jump that high anymore."
Magic Johnson said:
"Yeah, he's just too tired. He's already scored 58 points tonight, and with no other major scoring threat in their lineup, he has to initiate every possession. That alone takes a huge toll on his stamina. And with the league encouraging more physical play this season, Arthur has been constantly making contact whenever he guards Wang Yi. Every possession is taking more out of him than it did in previous seasons."
James nodded. "And that brings us to the rule changes this season. They've hurt every player, but Wang Yi in particular."
"After all, he's a year older than he was last season, and his stamina has declined, while the physicality has increased."
King Arthur