"Do you prefer playing under a clock or playing to a score?" (Joseph)
"We'll be playing to 21, loser's ball*." (Crox)
* The opposing team of the team that scores gains possession
Asher simply paced himself to the top of the three-point line, waiting for the game to start.
Leonz stood in the corner, hopping slightly to try and warm his legs up.
Standing some distance away from him, was Joseph.
"We're starting with the ball?" (Leonz)
"Y'all are rookies, might as well." (Joseph)
The massive Crox stood in front of Asher, his wide shoulders seemingly covering Asher's entire line of sight.
Asher, following normal half-court rules, checked the ball with Crox.
Asher stood there casually before he put his hand up. Asher took his glasses off, walking off the court to place it on a bench.
Asher walked back, checking the ball again.
"What? Ya gonna play blind?" (Crox)
Asher did not reply, in fact, he did not even look at Crox. Staring at the ground, ball in hand, he stood there.
Crox made sure to stay close, making sure Asher didn't get any threes.
"Are there free throws?" (Asher)
"Hell no." (Crox)
Asher let out a long sigh before he brought the ball up to his head, holding it to the right of his head.
He started lowering his body, stepping closer to Crox. Crox stepped back a little.
Asher swung the ball down, hard to his left, a jab step. Crox shifted, so Asher stepped to the right instead, driving without much speed.
Crox shifted his large frame, managing to body Asher on his drive, keeping Asher away from the basket.
Asher, ball in his right hand, swung his right leg back and around for a spin.
With his back to Crox, he shifted his body, making it seem as if he was spinning back. Crox was a good defender, so he did not fall for it too hard.
Asher switched the dribble, turning his body to the right, while dribbling with his left hand. He managed to slip past Crox, who managed to catch up soon after.
Before Crox could body Asher on the drive, Asher took a large step back.
Leonz noticed something odd.
Asher, after stepping back, did not instantly jump for the shot. Instead, it was as if he stood there to wait for Crox for a single moment.
Crox, seeing the opportunity, tried closing the gap.
Asher prepared his shot and went up, his left hand under the ball. Asher was left-handed.
Crox did not jump, but just extended his arm out, his large frame too immobile to jump so suddenly.
Asher simply looked at the rim as he went up, as if the defence was never there to begin with.
Crox's hand hit Asher's left arm, making Asher's shot slightly more unstable. Asher simply released the ball regardless of the contact.
'Swish' (net)
"That's a foul." (Joseph)
Asher walked back to the three-point line, not really showing much interest.
Even in a half-court game, there were strategies.
In a Winner's Ball situation, fouls reset the possession, and if the player scored even though they were fouled, nothing else happens. However, in a Loser's Ball situation, not only do fouls reset the possession, but if the player scored even though they were fouled, they still regain possession after the basket.
0-0 (warmup over)
In a perfect scenario, if every possession was an And-1*, the offensive team could very well never have to give up possession.
* Foul call plus shot made
Leonz stood in the corner, wondering what he had just seen.
Contested shots were common, but Asher was not just aiming for contested shots. Asher was aiming for fouls, shots that were guaranteed to be disrupted.
That was much too hard for anyone.
"Warmup over. We'll be playing 2s and 3s." (Joseph)
"Lucky shot." (Crox)
Asher checked the ball once again.
Asher had pretty long hair, but he let the hair drop down his head, not bothering to tie his hair up.
Asher dribbled once before he drove left, Crox following as expected. Asher drove a few steps before he took a long step with his left leg. He leaned forward before he brought the ball back with a left to right crossover.
Crox stuck with him.
With a slight hop, he brought his feet next to each other. What followed after was the jump. Crox reached out.
They had a height difference of about 4 inches, and a wingspan difference to back it up. However, Asher was simply too high in the air when he shot the ball.
Asher hung in the air for a moment before Crox's hand hit into his shooting motion. Asher's arms went off form.
But with a simple flick of his left wrist, the ball was shot.
The ball bounced on the rim several times.
Crox, expecting the miss, ran up to the basket for the rebound. The ball bounced once, twice, before it rolled out.
Crox jumped for the rebound, thinking it was an easy board*.
* Literally means Rebound
Asher jumped from the side, grabbing the ball before Crox could grab it. With Crox's arm below him, it ended up accidentally hitting Asher's arms.
Asher released the ball, the ball bouncing off the backboard before entering the basket.
"What da?" (Crox)
Asher landed and just walked back to the three-point line, not saying anything more.
2-0
"The foul was before that shot!" (Crox)
"I guess it counts as a foul though? He didn't call it the first time." (Joseph)
Leonz had send that whole thing happen, and it felt more like a 1 on 1 instead of a 2 on 2.
Joseph looked into the other basketball boys.
"Any volunteers to be the referee?" (Joseph)
They got someone to referee the game. The person had a whistle, so any fouls or violations would be called.
Meanwhile, Joseph had walked up to Crox to speak with him.
Asher stood there, waiting, glancing around and blinking occasionally. From what Leonz could tell, Asher's eyes were barely open, as if he was half-asleep.
"Alright! Continue the game." (Joseph)
Crox stood far back.
Asher stood at the three-point line, holding the ball. He checked it, but Crox still stood in the paint.
Joseph had also stepped away from Leonz.
It was a simple plan. But it was an idiotic one.
Asher brought the ball to his hip and just shot the three-pointer nonchalantly.
Right after his shot, everyone's line of sight went to the rim, where the ball would most likely be.
As their line of sight went to the rim, they failed to notice Asher running from the three-point line. The ball bounced off the front rim.
Crox was out of position. Joseph just happened to be in line, so he jumped for the rebound.
Before he could grab the rebound, he felt himself get pushed midair. Joseph glanced back, seeing someone jumping into him.
Asher had ran forward to grab the rebound with both hands, the ball still above the rim.
'BEEEP' (referee, whistle)
Asher slammed the ball into the rim. Joseph fell forward.
Asher held onto the rim with both hands before landing safely.
"Blocking Foul, #1!" (Referee)
4-0
"What the hell was that?" (Joseph)
Crox helped Joseph onto his feet. Asher was back at the three-point line, unfazed.
Leonz stood there, shell shocked.
He recalled Asher telling him 'Try not to drag me down'. Leonz realised the true meaning to those words. Asher had not been telling him to play good, or to not miss shots.
Asher told him that so that Leonz would get out of his way.
Asher had the speed and height to run for his own rebounds, and he could simply keep drawing fouls to maintain offensive possession.
"Give him the three. He probably can't shoot threes since he ain't wearing glasses." (Joseph)
Leonz had overheard Jospeh whispering to Crox.
Crox nodded in response, and the two guys stood in the paint, not moving. They stood quite far from the rim too.
Seeing their formation, Asher did not like it.
"Make it." (Asher)
Asher passed the ball with one hand directly to Leonz. Leonz, who was somewhat surprised, held the ball in his hands.
Both Joseph and Crox remained far away.
The rest was the same thing, the same mechanical movement he had beaten into his body.
Hip to eye to shot.
'Swish' (net)
7-0
Leonz felt good about the shot, but Asher seemed like he didn't care. The two rookies stepped into the three-point line.
Asher stood in front of Crox in the paint. He pointed to Joseph, who was waiting for Leonz to approach him.
"Play defence." (Asher)
"You're really serious, huh?" (Joseph)
Joseph was trying to lighten the mood, but Asher did not bother replying.
Joseph's plan had been simple. Make them take a shot that did not require fouling, that way, they would have possession again.
However, if they kept allowing Leonz to shoot threes, and by the unpredictable nature of Asher, if they kept up the pace, they could easily lose.
Joseph checked the ball with Leonz, surveying the court in front of him.