The Raptors swept the Pistons 4–0 in the first round of the Playoffs and advanced to the Second Round with ease.
Their opponent in the Second Round was the Celtics.
The Celtics weren't the same team they'd been last year.
The Big Three, or even the Big Four they'd once had, were gone.
All that remained were Jaylen Brown and Tatum, both original Celtics players.
So the Celtics had struggled through much of the Regular Season this year.
But over the final quarter of the Regular Season, they played very well.
They went 17–4 over their last twenty-some games.
That pushed them up to fourth in the Eastern Conference, and in the first round, they beat the Atlanta Hawks.
Advancing to the Second Round.
Many people thought the Raptors and Celtics might take their series to a seventh game.
Though the Celtics didn't have as many stars as the Raptors, they had more capable players, and their bench depth far surpassed what the Raptors' reserves could match.
But when they faced the Celtics, Wang Yi came out attacking relentlessly.
He kept crushing Tatum on both ends of the court.
Tatum managed just seven points, five rebounds, and two assists in the first game.
As the team's biggest star, that kind of performance clearly wasn't enough.
Especially since he also committed as many as seven turnovers.
With the team's leader playing like that, they had no chance of winning. The Raptors cruised to a 113–103 victory in Game 1.
In Game 2, Wang Yi came out attacking relentlessly again.
His goal was clear: make Tatum have a Wang Yi Mountain Reaction.
Tatum wasn't one of those young players. After being dominated by Wang Yi for so many years, he'd gotten used to it, so provoking a Wang Yi Mountain Reaction wouldn't