Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 17 - Trouble In The Locker-room

With the end of the second quarter the team got up from the bench and made their way to the locker-room. As soon as he walked in Trell slammed his fist into one of the lockers "Shit!"

He looked at the bench players "What the fuck are you guys doing out there!? Are you even trying!?" Udonis walked over and put a hand on Trell's shoulder "Cool it Trell. We're a team and that means we have to have each others backs"

Trell rolled his eyes before taking a seat "Oh we're a team really? These assholes were complaining about the three of us getting a spot on the starting line up. But look at the shit show they put on. You guys really think you deserve to play over any of us?"

He drank some water from his sports bottle before continuing "I honestly can't believe you guys even had the nerve to complain about the starting spots. It was us who were killing ourselves at the gym day in and day out. While ya'll were probably fucking around taking it easy"

One of the bench players stood up and threw his sports bottle at the wall "Shut the fuck up Trell! You think you can wave that week of practice in our faces!? We've been on the team for years shithead!"

Udonis shouted "Enough! WE ARE A TEAM! A team is supposed to be a second family. Now you might not vibe with everyone in your family but you deal with it. The same goes for a team. Now I don't want to hear anymore arguing"

Udonis turned to the bench players "Trell has a right to be upset. He's only been on the team for a week but he's been playing with more heart than any of you! I haven't seen any hustle from anyone of you guys off the bench"

Udonis then turned to Trell "But you in the wrong too Trell. These guys been on the team for a year or two. They paid their dues. You gotta put some respect on the time that they committed to the team"

Trell went silent as did the bench player that was shouting. Udonis then turned to Coach Swendel "Sorry about that Coach. Go ahead and say what you have to say"

Coach Swendel cleared his throat 'Damn! I've been coaching these guys for a few years now and I've never seen them like that. Even when we lost eight games in a row it wasn't as intense as this. And this is just a practice game!?'

"Now listen up. In the first quarter we did a good job of containing their offense. We packed the paint and closed out on their shooters. But starting from the second quarter I started to see some slipping especially from the bench"

Coach Swendel continued "I know you guys are tired. Defense drains you and it's not as pretty as scoring a bucket. But I need you guys to pull through the fatigue. I don't want to see anyone with their hands down and dragging their feet"

Coach Swendel looked at his clipboard "Starting from the next quarter I am going to be changing the minutes distribution. Jason you play for the first two minutes then rest for four minutes on the bench before coming back in for the final minutes. We are going to do this for the last two quarters alright?"

Jason emptied out his sports bottle. After he heard what Coach Swendel had to say he nodded "Whatever you need Coach"

The ten minute halftime break went by quickly. Jason took the opportunity to get as much rest as he could.

Coach Swendel spent the whole ten minutes trying to iron out the small wrinkles in their defensive schemes and offensive plays.

The break ended and the team walked back out onto the court. Jason entered the game with the rest of the starting lineup.

Since Jason knew that he would only be on the floor for two minutes he pushed the tempo. He called for a pick from Kyle but before Kyle could set up for the pick Jason took off.

The unexpected drive towards the basket threw his defender off. Jason managed to gain separation from his defender. He analyzed the court and noticed that the opposing team's C was ready to drop to the paint and protect the rim.

He also noticed that weak-side help was coming to help defend him. This left Trell open in the corner. He was running out of time. He had to make a decision 'Should I take the shot or pass it to Trell?'

Jason tried his best to kill his momentum as he jumped into the air and took an off balance mid-range shot. As he began readying himself for the shot his body began fading to the right due to the momentum from the drive.

'Shit!' The degree of difficulty on this shot was high even for Jason. But the reason why he took the gamble on attempting it was because Trell didn't have a reliable jumper.

And in order to gain momentum for the team they needed to start off strong. They couldn't afford a miss to start off the quarter. Jason believed that he had a higher chance of making this shot than Trell had at making a three.

Jason tried his best to adjust his shooting form to compensate for his body fading to the side. Finally with the flick of his wrist he sent the ball flying.

Unfortunately Trell's defender was running towards Jason at full speed. So even though he saw that the ball had already left Jason's hand he couldn't stop his body on time. As Jason was coming back down to the ground Trell's defender crashed into him.

Jason hit the floor with the defender falling on top of him. The referee blew the whistle and gave the foul to the defender. Jason heard the whistle and looked up just in time to see the ball.

The ball's arc was extremely flat unlike Jason's usual shot. A flat arc meant that it had less chance on making it into the basket from bouncing off the backboard. It had to be perfect.

Time slowed down for Jason as his gaze locked onto the ball. Jason held his breath until the final moment before the ball fell through the net.

Udonis ran over to Jason and helped pick him up. After he was back on his feet Jason thumped his chest in silent celebration. Udonis smiled as he then slapped Jason on the back "Nice shot Jason"

Jason went walked to the free-throw line and got into position. The referee passed the ball to Jason. He took two dribbles, a deep breath, and then began his shooting motion.

Textbook. That was the only word you could use to describe the mechanics of Jason's shot. The arc was perfect. There was no excitement as the shot went in like everyone thought it would.

Jason continued to call out instructions on the defensive end. He would yell out whether to switch on the pick or fight through the screen.

He called out when players were trying to get open on the perimeter. He called out backdoor cuts. He was talking nonstop on the defensive end.

Mt. Vernon's Coach was clenching his jaw as his hands gripped his clipboard tightly 'God damn it! What kind of fucking kid is this!? How can he see so much on the court!? And the way he anchors the defense. You would think this was a seasoned college vet calling out defensive instructions'

Jason left his defensive assignment on the left wing to help double team Matt's assignment who was at the top of the three-point line.

The SG saw Jason leave his man to help double team him so he passed the ball to the open PG. Unfortunately for them Jason anticipated the pass and was able to jump out and steal it.

Jason once again ran the fast break. As he made his way down the court the SG closed in on him. The SG was an inch taller than Jason and was defending him tightly.

Jason stopped on the right wing with the SG closely guarding him. With a quick glance he spotted Trell cutting straight down the middle.

Jason bounced the ball through the SG's legs as he connected the pass to Trell. Trell caught the pass and measured his steps more carefully this time. He took off a little closer to the basket and was able to dunk the ball more cleanly.

Jason and Trell fist bumped as they made their way back on defense. Jason looked at Trell "Is it me or are you actually having fun?" Trell "I just don't like losing. Don't get it twisted"

The two minutes passed by quickly. The score was 36-27 when Coach Swendel called for a timeout and subbed Jason out with the bench player. Jason fist bumped the player going in for him "Good luck man. Play hard"

The game resumed with the bench player filling in for Jason. Mt. Vernon went for a pick and roll with their PG and C.

The bench player fought through the screen but Kyle was switching onto the PG. Not only did they leave the C open but the bench player bumped into Kyle and got in his way.

The PG passed the ball to the C who was able to get an open lay up. Kyle turned to the bench player "We're supposed to switch why did you fight through the screen?"

The bench player turned to Kyle "Coach said to read and react on defense. I thought you were in a bad position to switch so I tried to fight through the screen"

The lack of chemistry on the court showed. Trell caught his defender ball watching and had an open lane as he cut to the rim.

The bench player didn't see this and instead passed the ball to Udonis who was on the elbow. Udonis tried to pass it to Trell immediately after he got the ball but by then the opportunity to score was gone.

After a failed possession on offense Trell turned to the bench player "What the fuck! I was wide open dipshit! How could you miss that!?"

The bench player wiped the sweat off his forehead "My bad". Possession after possession Jefferson struggled to get into rhythm on the defensive and offensive side of the ball.

But even with their struggles they managed to do a better job of containing Mt. Vernon compared to when they had the whole bench unit on the floor.

On offense without Jason to lead them they had to rely on Udonis scoring from the post or Kyle getting the offensive rebounds to keep the possessions alive.

On defense the quality of their teamwork proved to be a tier lower without Jason to call out plays and to anchor them.

But they managed to do decently with Trell's quick hands and feet on the perimeter.While Udonis and Kyle formed an intimidating presence in the paint.

The game went by until it eventually reached the final two minutes of the quarter. Coach Swendel called a timeout.

Coach Swendel could feel the moisture on his hands as he held his clipboard 'Shit I hope this works. Jason has played great with the starters but I don't know how he'll do if he's surrounded by lower tier talent'

Coach Swendel waved for Jason to stand up "Jason you're going in. Matt, Trell, Udonis, and Kyle you guys hit the bench and try to rest up."

Jason subbed in alongside the other bench players. They inbounded the ball to Jason. Jason casually brought the ball up the court.

Jason analyzed the court 'Looks like they're sticking to man to man defense. There's only two minutes left. If I lower my intensity on D I can go all out on offense without draining myself too bad'

Jason signaled for an iso play for the first time this game. The defender began nervously stepping back after seeing everyone clear the floor for Jason.

Jason started with some rhythm dribbles left, right, left, right and then he hit his defender with a hesitation move. The defender fell for it as he preemptively stepped to the right.

Jason then began driving to the left with a crossover. The defender was a step late as he tried his best to catch up with Jason.

Jason then stopped with a behind the back dribble that got the defender leaning. Jason snatched his ankles as the defender hit the floor. To seal the deal for a highlight Jason nailed the mid-range shot after staring his defender down for a second.

The two minutes passed with Jason scoring eight points. He lowered the intensity of his man to man defense but he still anchored them by calling out plays and surveying the court. By the end of the quarter the score was 52-46.

The fourth quarter followed a similar tempo to the previous on at the beginning, But as the clock ticked down Mt. Vernon lost their spirit as they began making more and more mistakes. For the first time in years Jefferson middle school had beaten Mt. Vernon.

The final score was 66-52. Jefferson had blown the opposing team out of the water in the fourth quarter. Jason had a monster game with 22 Pts, 6 Ast, 4 Reb, 4 Stl, and 1 Blk.