At this point, aside from those three inside players, the Lakers lineup on the court also included Wang Yi and Zhang Yu.
The first reason for keeping them in was Zhang Yu's excellent defense.
Although Wang Yi's defense had seemed to decline in the earlier games, with his condition maxed out tonight, his defense had also reached a first-rate level.
The second reason was that both of them were accurate three-point shooters, and the Lakers had no timeouts left.
If they could stop the other side's possession, the Lakers would have to push the ball into the frontcourt and get a shot up as quickly as possible. By then, there would likely be no time to attack the rim, and they would need to launch a three.
These two were the Lakers' most accurate three-point shooters.
That was why every lineup decision required careful consideration.
You could tell whether a coach was good or bad from how he deployed his players.
After the Pistons inbounded from the sideline, they set a screen and got the ball to King Arthur.
King Arthur looked at the player guarding him.
Zhang Yu was matched up against him. In theory, he could drive past Zhang Yu one-on-one, but what then?
Facing two, perhaps even three, towering inside players, he was not very confident.
So he passed the ball to Antoine and let Antoine handle it.
The Pistons wanted Antoine to isolate against the Lakers' rookie, Wang Le.
For some reason, Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson also chose to have the inexperienced Wang Le guard Antoine.
Though their interests differed, their thinking was surprisingly aligned.
As a result, there was no need for a screen. When Antoine received the ball outside the three-point line, Wang Le was already standing in front of him.
There were