Crucial Moment, Give Me The Ball

With Hachimura Rui's successful play, the nearly extinguished flame in his heart seemed to reignite.

He even glanced towards Wang Yi, a hint of provocation in his eyes.

Wang Yi shook his head slightly.

Looks like someone's itching for trouble.

But Wang Yi was currently guarding Westbrook, so he wouldn't deal with Hachimura for now.

He'd wait for the right moment to crush him with one blow.

Make sure he never dared to show off in front of him again, and would even go out of his way to avoid him.

Over the next few possessions...

Under Wang Yi's tight defense, Westbrook attempted two shots.

Perhaps his burst of energy had faded, as both shots were a bit weak.

Coupled with Wang Yi shutting down his drives, even if he managed to get inside, James and Drummond were waiting to block him.

So Westbrook could only pass the ball out.

However, Hachimura Rui was scoring repeatedly.

Two mid-range shots, one dunk, and two layups in the paint, all successful.

With his offense clicking, he became full of energy on defense.

He blocked Drummond's put-back attempt.

He contested James' layup and forced a 24-second violation on Caruso.

This made him feel completely revitalized, instantly becoming a spirited young man again.

Every time he made a good play, he'd pump his fist in the air and roar loudly.

The crowd's emotions were also ignited time and time again by his performance.

On the sidelines, the Wizards' head coach breathed a sigh of relief.

Hachimura Rui had finally come alive.

But he didn't know that by the end of this game, his Hachimura Rui would die again.

Now, when Hachimura Rui looked at Wang Yi again, the provocation in his eyes was even more pronounced.

It even bordered on arrogance.

Wang Yi checked the game clock and shook his head inwardly.

It's not time yet.

With Hachimura Rui's strong performance, the Lakers had fallen behind by thirteen points.

Fortunately, James took over the game at this point.

He hit two consecutive three-pointers, followed by a 2+1 play and a mid-range jumper.

This prevented the Lakers from falling too far behind.

By the final 5 minutes, the Lakers were only down by 4 points.

The last 5 minutes of a game with a score difference of 5 points or less is defined as crunch time.

And now, it was the crunch time of this game.

The cameras focused on James of the Lakers.

The Lakers players also looked towards James.

James was now 38 years old.

His stamina couldn't keep up anymore.

He usually took over the game in the last five minutes.

But today, because the Lakers were trailing significantly, he had to exert himself earlier.

In the last few minutes, he had scored 11 points and dished out 3 assists with a mix of drives and shots.

He was already panting.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, took the bottled water handed to him by the coach, and gulped it down.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

The coach felt a pang of sympathy.

It was too much for a 38-year-old veteran to push himself like this.

Moreover, even if he were to play again, could his current stamina support him through the last 5 minutes?

And even if he dragged his exhausted body today, made many crucial shots, and won the game, would it really be worth it?

This was just a regular season game.

The little fuel left in James' tank should be saved for the playoffs, or even the Finals.

If he were to expend so much energy on his body during the regular season, it really wouldn't be worth it.

With this thought, his lips moved slightly.

He wanted to tell James that it would be great if they could win the game, but there was no need to risk his life if they couldn't.

However, as the head coach, he also had to consider the feelings of the other players.

The other players had also been fighting for almost the entire game. What would the players think if he said that now?

They hadn't given up yet, but the coach was already giving up?

At this moment, Vogel was in a dilemma.

Among the players, some of the veterans understood Vogel's thoughts.

But the younger players like Kuzma and Caruso didn't quite understand.

In their eyes, there were still 5 minutes left in the game, and the point difference was only 4 points.

This game was still winnable.

For a moment, the veteran players all looked at the head coach.

It all depended on how the head coach weighed the situation.

But everyone knew that no matter what choice the head coach ultimately made, it would cause some harm to the Lakers.

Choosing to win the game would expend James's energy;

Choosing to strategically give up would dampen the morale of the young players.

Wang Yi was also one of the young players.

He couldn't deeply understand how much his physical abilities would decline with age.

Therefore, he didn't know the thoughts of the head coach and the veteran players.

But he could see that the head coach seemed to be facing some difficulties.

After a moment of thought, he walked up to head coach Vogel.

He said, "Coach, if you're having any trouble, give me the ball."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the Lakers players were stunned.

"Give me the ball."

These words sounded very domineering.

But there were two prerequisites: first, you had to have the ability;

Second, you had to have the right.

In the past, when Kobe Bryant was here, only he had the right to say such words.

No one dared to question his strength and his right.

Now, on the Lakers, even James had never said such a thing.

His qualifications were sufficient, and his strength was also sufficient.

But he was the type of team player who would make what he believed to be the best choice at critical moments.

Whether it was shooting or passing.

Now, Wang Yi, a player on a 10-day short contract, saying such a thing at such a critical moment seemed like a fantasy to them.

However, thinking about what Wang Yi had said before – that he was here to conquer the NBA – it was no longer surprising that Wang Yi could say such a thing now.

But anyone could brag, and it was very difficult to turn those boasts into reality.

Head coach Vogel looked at Wang Yi.

He saw Wang Yi standing tall and straight, like a spear piercing the sky.

Young!

Confident!

Full of vigor!

Especially, his eyes were filled with a desire for battle.

Vogel had seen this kind of desire for battle in a young Michael Jordan, and in a young Kobe Bryant.

Now, he saw it again in Wang Yi.

At this moment, he understood.

This young man's fighting spirit was no less than that of Jordan and Kobe.

Vogel felt a touch of emotion in his heart.

He turned to look at James.

James was looking at Wang Yi at this moment.

From Wang Yi, he seemed to see a shadow of his former big brother, Kobe Bryant.

A moment later, James nodded to Vogel:

"Let him try."

Vogel nodded:

"Wang, I'll give you two turns to try."

The plan was to let Wang Yi try for two turns first, and if it didn't work out, then James would play.

This way, James would essentially get to rest for two turns.

For James right now, every second of rest was incredibly precious.

Seeing that the head coach had agreed, Wang Yi couldn't help but clench his fists.

His chest was already boiling with excitement!