Since their opponents had spent almost the entire game trying to catch up, they wore themselves out. As a result, Wang Yi barely had to break a sweat to win most of these games. The only exception was the game against the Detroit Pistons, when he turned it on for three minutes and put the game away.
For Wang Yi, who was already 35, that was undoubtedly something to be happy about.
It made the coaches and owners happy, too.
For the past few years, the coaches and owners had been trying to figure out how to ease Wang Yi's burden, make things easier for him on the court, and extend his career.
But given the team's circumstances, Wang Yi had been worn out every season. Last season had been especially grueling: he had to average 60 points just to win games.
Now, though, Wang Yi could reliably win games by scoring around 40 points.
That was good news for both Wang Yi and the Raptors.
Over the past five games, Wang Yi had averaged 42.8 points, and the team had generally beaten its opponents by 10 to 20 points.
Of course, there were still some haters making noise.
Bayless was one of them.
On the Shaq Show, when Shaquille O'Neal said the Raptors had found a new way to win and would keep rolling forward, easily finishing first in the Regular Season, Bayless said:
"Look at these five games. Who have the Raptors even played? Other than the Pistons, the other four teams were all at the bottom of the league. Is there really anything impressive about beating those teams?"
"This so-called new way of winning won't last, either. They're too dependent on their five-man defensive lineup. If even one of those guys gets hurt, the Raptors' strength will