Antoine made up his mind: he wouldn't jump early.
He'd wait until Wang Yi took off and see whether he was going for a layup, trying to dunk over him, or passing to a teammate. Then he'd decide what to do.
Wait for his opponent to jump, judge the play, and then react.
For most people, that would be impossible.
But Antoine could do it.
He had the talent and the ability.
At that moment, Wang Yi had already taken off from a step in front of Antoine, soaring high into the air. He drew the ball behind his head with both hands and bent his legs, forming a C shape with his body.
Even then, Antoine didn't immediately jump to block him. He glanced around and saw that no other Lakers player was cutting to the basket.
He also judged that after making that move, Wang Yi had no chance of switching to a layup.
Only then did Antoine jump.
He meant to block Wang Yi, but to his horror, he realized it was already too late.
If he'd jumped at full strength and in time, he could have stretched his entire upper right arm above the rim.
Then Wang Yi would never have been able to dunk over him.
The problem was, when Antoine jumped, Wang Yi had already reached his apex.
And just as Antoine's hands cleared the rim, Wang Yi raised the ball high in both hands and slammed it down.
In other words, Antoine hadn't even completed his jump before Wang Yi brought the ball crashing down.
Antoine's right hand got in the way, but Wang Yi's dunk had tremendous power. The ball smashed into Antoine's hand, driving his whole arm sharply downward until it struck the rim.
The ball thundered through the hoop.
Wang