Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 268 - The Media Initiates Their Offense

During the next three games Jefferson showed why they were the reigning county champions as they simply destroyed all of their competition.

And during these games although not at the same level as he did during the Rosewood game Jason still continued with his trash talking.

But after each game Jason would flip his switch back from game mode to his normal mindset as he congratulated the opposing players for their effort and heart during the end of game handshakes.

In these span of games Jason was able to score at least thirty points usually by the second or third quarter although his assist went down slightly compared to the previous season.

Four games into the current season Jason was averaging 31.2 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assist, 2 blocks, and a staggering 4 steals per game.

With the addition of Alex Jason no longer had to focus on running the offense and getting his teammates open looks.

This allowed him to focus more of his energy on his own offense as well as focusing more of his energy on the defensive side of the ball.

Jason didn't have the athleticism or size to swat shots out of the air like Kyle, but he knew how to read his opponents so that he could disrupt their shot at just the right moment as he would get his hand on the ball as the opposing player was loading up for the shot.

With his increased aggressiveness on defense Jason's blocks and steals went up significantly compared to last season despite the lower amount of minutes played.

And in the time where Jason and the other starters sat on the bench the other reserve players were able to get some good runs in as the playing time gave them a good opportunity to sharpen in their skills in real game situations.

One of the biggest revelations during these games wasn't the fact that Jason and the other starters were so dominant.

It was the fact that their bench packed more of a punch than what others had thought at the very beginning of the season.

And the biggest contributors to that were Vince and DJ. With Kyle sitting on the bench and with a raw rookie like Frank playing major back up minutes at the Center position it was Vince that helped to anchor their Big Man spot.

Although he wasn't as explosive or suffocating of a paint defender as Kyle nor was he as good of a post player as Udonis was last year Vince brought a stable veteran presence that helped to guide and mentor Frank.

He also brought something to the table that Kyle and Frank couldn't. Although not on the same level as Danilo Vince still showed that he was a more than capable stretch Big that helped to space the floor whenever Danilo was on the bench.

So far he was shooting close to 38 percent from the three point line with a little over 4 attempts per game.

Although a lot of that had to do with the fact that he was only shooting wide open three pointers it was undeniable that he had a decent jump shot from that range.

But the biggest story about Jefferson's bench was probably DJ. As a back up guard that played major back up minutes to Jason and Alex he showed that he was more than capable of running the team's offense as well as creating his own shot whenever a play had fallen apart.

He was crossing up opposing defenders and making his way to the rim where he would bully smaller Guards with his hefty but deceivingly quick build.

He also showed that he was able to score at all three levels as he would pull up for the three or mid range jump shot after running his defenders into a screen.

And with the amount of attention that he demanded from the opposing team's defense he was able to dish out the ball to his teammates as he created scoring opportunities for them.

So far into the season he was averaging 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 assist per game while also playing solid positional defense.

Jefferson showed that they were no longer the shallow team that they were last year depending solely on Jason for their success.

It was a normal occurrence for them to score over a hundred points during their games while they also held their opponents to around thirty to forty points.

And a majority of the points that they allowed happened during the last few quarters when they would have their reserve players to finish out the games.

Jefferson boasted the fastest pace offense in the entire state for middle school basketball teams while their defense also ranked third in the state.

Although it was only a quarter of the way through the regular season all of the people watching knew that Jefferson was a serious contender for the state title.

They no longer questioned if Jefferson would be able to hold on to their county title as instead they now asked how far Jefferson would be able to go in the National tournament.

But just as usual with all of the positive attention they were receiving there was bound to be some negative attention as well.

With each episode of Through the Hoops showcasing Jefferson's dominant performances their name began to become more and more of a talking point in the basketball community.

And although they had a large number of fans and supporters it was impossible for them to have everyone like them.

Since the haters online were no longer able to question Jefferson's talent and ability like they were last year, they turned their attention to attacking the team and its players for other things.

- - -

On ESPN a beautiful women sat in the middle of the long table dressed in a classy and elegant dark red dress. She flashed her sparkling smile at the camera.

"Hello and thank you for tuning in to today's episode of The Dribble. I am your host Kelly Johnson and with me today are two names you all know and love.

On my left is the man that is regarded as one of the top experts when it comes to numbers and analytics Logan Banks."

Logan pushed his glasses up as he waved and smiled at the camera. Kelly continued "And on my right is one of the most popular sports show hosts and radio personalities Shawn B. Stevens."

Shawn showed off his charismatic smile as he waved at the camera. He then turned to Kelly "As always it's a pleasure to work with you Kelly.

One of these days I need to get you on my podcast 'Ride Along with Sharp Shawn' which airs every Monday and Friday at 6pm California time.

Your insight and well crafted sports opinions would be a huge addition to the show." Kelly laughed "Thank you for the invite Shawn.

I will definitely have to take you up on it one of these days." Logan chuckled "What about me Shawn? We've worked on a couple different shows and episodes together now and I've never gotten an invitation like that from you."

Shawn smiled mischievously "Don't worry Logan. After a few more years you might just pick up enough basketball know how to get on my show and talk with me. I'll let you know when that happens hehe." 

Kelly smiled as she tried to play her part as the show's host and moderator "Let's talk about that later. For now our first topic is the Lakers.

It has been around six years now since Jeanie Buss and the rest of the Buss family had agreed to sell one of the leagues most beloved and historical franchise.

And for those six years they have been in no mans land as they have remained to be a middle of the pack franchise.

What are your opinions on the Lakers as a team and as a franchise? Let's start with you Shawn." He coughed to clear his throat.

"The Lakers to me have been a great team and franchise these last few years. At least to me. A lot of people complain about them being a middle of the pack team.

Not good enough to be serious contenders for the championship but not bad enough to get any decent picks in the draft.

But if you've been paying attention to the team since the ownership transfer you would see that they have actually played most of their cards right.

They might not have had any lottery picks. Hell, they haven't even had a pick higher than 18. But they have hit with every single one of their picks.

Justin Clemson. He was the 22nd pick in his draft class. He was a four year player in college so a lot of teams didn't want to pick him because they had thought that he had reached his ceiling as a player.

But because of the Laker's elite scouting department and player development staff he turned out to be a solid spark plug off the bench that could give you 15 to 20 on efficient shooting splits just about every night.

Then as his rookie contract came close to expiring they flip him for Dallas' first round pick and two second round picks.

Larry Norman Jr. 25th pick in his draft. He was a three year player that showed nothing remarkable except for his ability as a energy guy and as a high flying act.

Gets drafted to the Lakers and all of a sudden shows the ability to play solid all around defense as an undersized Big.

They gave him minutes to develop and show off his stuff. Once his rookie contract was about to expire they once again trade him for more trade assets.

This is what the Lakers have been doing for the past few years. They find hidden gems in the draft, develop them, raise their values, and then flip them for more assets.

Not to mention that they haven't been using their salary cap to sign big time free agents. Instead they chose to take on bad contracts in exchange for more picks and more young talent.

So although they haven't been able to create a truly competitive team they've managed to keep themselves around the 7th and 8th seed all while collecting and amassing valuable assets.

If that doesn't sound good to you then I don't know what would." Logan interjected "That all sounds fine and good on paper Shawn but just collecting all these low value picks and assets doesn't really mean much when you think about it.

You can't keep kicking the can down the road forever. One of these days you are going to have to actually do something with these picks and player rights otherwise they are meaningless.

Look at Danny Ainge and the Celtics all those years ago. Everyone was raving about how Ainge was the master of finessing other teams and they marveled at his large stockpile of picks.

But because of his unwillingness to truly utilize them to make meaningful moves they ended up losing a ton of value. 

I think that the Lakers need to take the 76ers approach and just fully embrace the tank instead of half heartedly putting together scrappy rosters."

Shawn threw his hand up into the air as he leaned back in his chair with an exhausted expression on his face.

He then face palmed before peaking through his fingers to look at Logan "You must be on something Logan.

I don't know what it is you got in your mug right now but I think we need to test it and you." Shawn sat up straight in his chair before staring right at Logan.

"Are you trying to say, on live television, in front of all these people, that the Lakers should purposely put together a bad roster and purposely lose games!?

You want to rob these people in broad daylight! Fans aren't paying to see a bunch of G-league scrubs go out on the court and lose games!

They're paying to see their favorite franchise go out there and try to win! You ought to be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting that blasphemy!"

Their arguments continued for over fifteen minutes. One side advocating for tanking and all the benefits it would bring while the other side argued the moral problems involved in doing so.

After a while Kelly had to take control "Well that was a great segment wouldn't you say guys? But unfortunately we do have a limited amount of time and we still have to talk about our next topic.

Through the Hoops has been gaining an increased amount of popularity and one team in particular has been the subject of many discussions. Stay tuned as we talk about them after the break."