Putting Baturu in now was far too risky.
But what else could they do besides put Baturu in?
Put Charlie Hunnam in?
His footwork was even slower than Baturu's, and he wasn't as strong, either.
If they put him in, he'd be completely outmatched by Juan.
Otherwise, their only options were A. Nikola or Little Iron.
But at a time like this, every rebound was crucial. Putting either of them in would be tantamount to handing the rebounds to the other team.
So they were caught between a rock and a hard place.
They could only gamble—if they guessed right, they'd win;
if they guessed wrong, they might lose everything.
And in reality, coaches gambled all the time on the basketball court.
After the timeout, both teams returned to the floor.
The Raptors had the ball first.
With the other team fronting Wang Yi and double-teaming him, it was hard for him to get the ball.
Wang Yi didn't go all out trying to get open, either.
He needed to save some energy for the final minute.
Although Wang Yi couldn't get the ball, he drew a lot of defensive attention, allowing Tagore to drive all the way to the free-throw line.
Once he reached the line, Tagore pulled up for a jump shot.
But he'd used too much energy on defense, and his mid-range shot missed.
Meanwhile, under the basket,
the Raptors had Baturu and Big Lock Rock, while the other team had Juan and their power forward, Kuzma.
All four players battled for the rebound.
Baturu knew he couldn't outjump either of the other two, and his arms weren't as long as theirs, either.
So he used his body to box out Juan and hooked Kuzma with his arm.
His meaning was clear.
If I can't jump, then