The difference between playing a half-court game with winner's ball and loser's ball is plainly obvious. When playing with the Winner's ball rule, it is extremely easy to go on a run.
Sleeve walked up to the three point line once again, Leonz standing in front of him.
"I must be getting old, feeling tired already." (Sleeve)
"How long have y'all been playing?" (Leonz)
Sleeve looked over at Piercings.
"How long has it been?" (Sleeve)
"Probs an hour." (Piercings)
"Ain't even been that long." (Sleeve)
Leonz had to admit, guarding Sleeve was difficult, and he wasn't even sure if he would be able to stop him completely. Hopefully, before they were able to score 21 points, Leonz would tire him out enough to force passes.
Leonz passed the ball to Sleeve.
The moment Sleeve touched the ball, he exploded towards the rim. Leonz, caught by surprise, was barely able to keep up. He reached out when Sleeve extended his right hand for the layup, hoping to at least disrupt the shot.
Leonz was to Sleeve's left, and Sleeve was right-handed. Leonz managed to reached where the ball was, but because of Sleeve's forward momentum and leap, Leonz ended up smacking his arm instead.
Sleeve remained in the air, reaching out with his left arm to grab the ball firmly.
"Foul!" (Sleeve)
Before he landed, he brought the ball down and around in a circle. A circus shot, his layup turned into an improvised hook shot while he was still in the air and unstable.
The ball left his hand, and he landed, everyone staring at the ball.
The ball barely fell short, hitting off the rim, missing. Leonz caught the ball. Sleeve clapped once, exaggerating disappointment.
"Almost!" (Sleeve)
They returned to the starting position, Sleeve still having possession of the ball. In a half-court game, they did not take free throws when fouled, but just got the possession back. So fouling was just resetting the possession.
"Good foul though, good foul." (Sleeve)
Leonz checked the ball again, this time, prepared for any outburst of speed. Instead of dashing into the paint like he previously did, he passed the ball.
White Shirt fought it in the air, back towards the rim. White shirt was posting up against Piercings, who in all honesty, did not have the size for it. White Shirt was easily overpowering Piercings.
White shirt managed to back Piercings up all the way to the basket. Leonz waited nearby, ready for the help defence. With one final push, White Shirt turned towards the rim, ready to jump. Leonz ran up to him, ready to jump for the block.
"Pass out!" (Sleeve)
White Shirt turned around, noticing Leonz. Meanwhile, after hearing the call, Headband was rushing to cover Sleeve.
White Shirt made the decision to pass the ball out to Jersey, who Leonz was running towards. Jersey caught the ball, and with one swift stroke and a flick of the wrist, he shot the ball.
Leonz tried to jump from where he was, but he was just too far away.
Leonz landed and turned to look at the shot. The ball arched high in the air before it hit the side of the rim. The ball bounced once, twice.
"Go in!" (Jersey)
The ball eventually bounced out, but right below the rim, White Shirt managed to tap it in, pushing the ball up and back into the basket.
"Good recovery!" (Sleeve)
Leonz looked at his teammates. His team's defence was lacking, and Leonz knew that the fault in their defence was because of his Help Defence.
Leonz was leaving a man wide open when he tried to help out defensively, and even 1 on 1 against Sleeve, he was losing. The aspect he was most confident in, his defence, was not working in the half-court.
5-6
The opposing team was on a roll, and there was no sign of Leonz's team being able to get a stop unless the opponent were to miss.
Leon passed the ball back to Sleeve.
Leonz was the type to observe gameplay and adapt accordingly, so he did not move too far forward. Instead, he stood at the free throw line, ready for a drive.
Sleeve, for all his possessions, had driven hard to the rim. With a mix of speed, athleticism and quick thinking, he was able to finish or draw a foul.
Sleeve held the ball against his hip with one hand casually, looking at the way Leonz was playing defence on him. Sleeve whistled, cracking a smile.
"Get closer!" (Headband)
After hearing that, Leonz tried to get to Sleeve as quick as possible. Sleeve did not wait for Leonz to get to him, instead, going up for a shot.
Leonz saw as the ball, in one motion, went from Sleeve's hip to his eye level then in the air.
Leonz turned around to see what happened to the shot. The ball entered the hoop, hitting the left side of the rim slightly, but still going in.
Sleeve whistled before smiling.
"I'm on a roll today!" (Sleeve)
"Nice shot!" (White shirt)
5-9
Leonz stood there, disappointed in himself for assuming a stranger's abilities. Sleeve walked up to him, patting him on the back. Sleeve was friendly, at least, but it somehow made Leonz feel worse.
"Good defence, but you've gotta guard me everywhere, y'know?" (Sleeve)
Sleeve looked down at Leonz's shoes and clothing before walking back to the three-point line. Leonz was not appropriately dressed for playing basketball, so his movements were being hindered.
"By the way, what shoes do you normally wear?" (Sleeve)
Leonz looked down at his shoes, realising what Sleeve was talking about.
"Kyrie Flytrap 3s." (Leonz)
Sleeve whistled again.
Leonz felt someone tap his shoulder, so he turned around to see Headband.
"Let's change marks." (Headband)
"Oh… sure…" (Leonz)
Leonz walked over to stand in front of Jersey while Headband stood in front of Sleeve. Leonz had not given up on trying to play defence, but he wasn't going to just go against what Headband was telling him.
"I got Iverson!" (Headband)
Sleeve laughed lightly before checking with Headband.
Headband stepped close to Sleeve, bringing himself lower. Sleeve brought the ball close to his head, putting his left shoulder between him and his defender.
"I'm about to cross you over." (Sleeve)
Sleeve, with his left leg firmly on the ground as a pivot, swung his right foot forward. Headband shifted, but managed to still stay on Sleeve. Sleeve brought the ball back to him, also bringing his right foot back.
Headband stuck closer to him, trying to poke the ball away from him. Sleeve bent low and made another jab, this time, pushing his entire body into it. Headband shifted his entire body to the left, trying to counter Sleeve's drive.
Sleeve brought his body back and drove to the left instead, leaving the unbalanced Headband in the dust. Sleeve, looking solely at the rim, went up for the layup completely relaxed.
When he grabbed the ball to jump for the layup, the ball was hit out of his hands. Sleeve looked to his left, surprised.
Piercings had went into the paint to help out without Sleeve realising. Sleeve had assumed they were still playing iso, so the thought of a help defender did not cross his mind. The ball bounced on the ground, and Leonz ran to pick it up, passing to Headband as fast as he could before the defence could recover.
However, there were switches.
Jersey, who had mostly stayed at the three-point line, had switched to mark Headband, so Headband wasn't able to pull up for a quick shot.
Leonz was guarded by Sleeve.
Piercings ran out of the three-point line, running behind Headband who passed him the ball.
"Goddamn, we finally get some offence involved." (Piercings)
Headband ran to the left elbow while Leonz walked over to the right corner. Piercings stood at the top of the three point line, dribbling the ball. Jersey had switched into Piercings, White Shirt had switched onto Headband.
Sleeve stood near Leonz.
Piercings lowered his upper body and did a right to left crossover. It was a slow crossover, but Jersey did not reach in.
Piercings went behind the back, taking a step forward to his right. Jersey was able to stop him, forcing Piercings, who was a relatively skinny guy, to bump into him.
Piercings took a step away from Jersey before he bounced the ball hard with his right hand. Jersey still did not reach.
What Leonz saw next almost made everything look like it was made in one smooth motion.
Piercings, the ball in his right hand, shifted his entire body to the left. The ball was brought slightly to the left, making it seem as if he was about to drive left. Jersey, in response, stepped to his right.
Piercings shifted his entire body's momentum to the right, bouncing the ball to the right with his right hand. A simple inside out, but he executed it smoothly. Jersey, by hopping, managed to keep to Piercing's left as Piercings took a strong right step towards the basket.
White Shirt left his mark, Headband, and was starting to move towards the paint.
Piercings, with his right foot in front of him, reached out with his right arm, still dribbling the ball. Jersey was in momentum with Piercings, moving to get in front of him.
Piercings brought the ball back, performing a crossover and bringing his leg back. Jersey, while still in momentum, tried to recover for defence. By trying to shift a person's centre of gravity too quickly, they are prone to falling down.
Ankle-breaker!
Piercings, while still in that smooth motion, did a slight hop to adjust his footing before he jumped in the air. He hung in the air for a moment, the ball held above his head.
'Swish' (net)