Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Trell looked at Jason with his mouth in the shape of a big O as he was dumbstruck. After a split second he finally regained his senses he pointed at himself "Me?"

Jason patted him on the back as he pushed him toward the court "We don't have much time to talk. The clock already buzzed so we gotta get on the court. 

Just trust me. You can do it. I believe in your muscles. You're the strongest guy on the team." Trell's expression became serious after hearing Jason say that he believes in him.

Trell nodded his head as he made his way to the court with the rest of the guys. Nashton Academy inbounded the ball to their Point Guard.

The opposing team as well as everyone watching the game was surprised when they saw Trell guarding 3D.

Jason was about to go pressure the ball handler when he quickly passed the ball over to the wing player on the right.

Matt tried his best to block the passing lanes by guarding him tight and keeping his hands active but after a few seconds the wing player was able to throw a bounce pass to 3D.

With the ball in his hands 3D smirked 'You really lookin down on me huh? Just cause I'm a little gassed don't mean you can put a Small Forward on me.'

He was anticipating the easy bucket that he would score. But to his surprise as soon as he started backing down his defender he found that he wasn't able to easily push him.

'So you're a little strong. But don't think that it will be enough. I've gone against strong guys before. And no one has been able to stop me yet!'

3D began to attack more aggressively as he started pushing harder on his back downs. He was giving it everything that he had.

Trell braced himself after feeling 3D start to put more power into his back downs. He bent his knees and got into a lower stance in order to get better leverage.

'Fuck you, you big ass tub of dolla tree knockoff lard.' The veins on his neck were visible as he began to pull all the power that he could out of his muscles.

He used his forearm and shoulder to push back against 3D's hulking frame. The sight of Trell holding his own against 3D was made even more impressive by the huge disparity in size.

After not being able to establish deep positioning despite his best attempts 3D decided to turn over his right shoulder for the hook shot.

The ball landed on the rim but ended up falling after a few bounces. Trell didn't even try to go for the ball as he instead focused on boxing out 3D and keeping him away.

With Trell holding back 3D Udonis was able to swoop in for the rebound. He then threw an outlet pass to Jason who was already running for the fast break.

There was just one defender on Jason as he ran the fast break and that was the defender that was the Point Guard the he was guarding back on defense.

Although Jason had been working on his athleticism he was still barely above average in that aspect.

So he didn't have the ability to simply blow past his defender with his speed. The defender managed to stay close by.

The defender was on Jason but not stuck to his hip as he got closer to the paint. With the ball in his right hand Jason began his attack.

Jason dribbled the ball toward the left with his right hand before quickly pulling it back to the right.

The fake to the left got the defender to change directions. And that momentary opening was enough as Jason then went around him.

After getting into the paint Jason finished the play off with a layup. The crowd cheered and clapped in excitement after seeing Jason's in and out dribble move.

As Jefferson was on defense everyone watched as Trell guarded 3D again. Everyone watched with one question in mind.

Was it a fluke or was Trell really capable of defending 3D in the paint? 3D began his attack as he started to back down Trell.

Just like last time although 3D was able to move him slightly he wasn't able to develop deep post positioning.

3D gave one final strong push before turning over his left for the turn around jump shot. The push managed to create enough separation between 3D and Trell.

Trell tried to recover as he rushed forward but he was already at a disadvantage because of his size.

As he put extended his arm forward in an attempt to contest the shot the ball already left 3D's hand.

The ball flew through the sky toward the basket in a flat arc. It rattled around the rim a few times before falling through the net.

The game continued at an even pace for the two teams. Whenever one team would score a basket with their star player the other team would respond in kind.

However it was clear that the fatigue was beginning to creep in as both 3D and Jason began to miss more and more of their shots.

It was getting harder and harder for both 3D and Jason to create their own shots as well as to make the shots that they take.

- - -

Billy and Troy were on the edge of their seats the whole time after Nashton Academy's timeout.

They watched as Jason and 3D turned the game into a one on one shoot out. The game had become a simple competition of seeing who could score the most buckets.

The defenders on Nashton Academy could not contain Jason with his advanced court vision and ball handling.

While Jefferson could not stop 3D with their own defenders. And since they didn't want to risk giving up a three point shot they could not afford to double team.

Although Trell was doing an amazing job of making things harder for 3D that didn't meant that he was able to keep him from scoring.

Billy sighed out in amazement as he stared out at toward the court "This generation of players are something else.

It's good to know that the game is going to be in good hands for a long time to come." Troy nodded his head in agreement.

"You are a hundred percent right about that. These kids are gonna be carrying the game in the future.

I can picture Jason being one of the elite guards of the league while 3D has a chance to be one of the most dominant Centers."

After watching the two teams trade baskets for two possessions Billy added "That Trell kid is doing a hell of a job guarding 3D."

Troy agreed "He is. When Jefferson first had Trell guard him I thought that they were crazy. But after seeing how well he's managed to make things hard for 3D I can't say anything else."

Billy asked "I don't understand. If Trell had the strength to defend 3D in the post why didn't they have him guard him since the beginning?"

Troy shook his head as he answered "I don't think that Trell would have been able to guard 3D since the beginning of the game.

The reason he can do such an effective job is because they had 3D running and work all the quarters leading up to now.

And take a look at Trell." Billy looked over at Trell during Jefferson's possession. He was standing in the corner and he was visibly tired.

Troy continued "He's only been guarding him for a few minutes and he's already exhausted. Imagine if he had to defend him for a whole quarter.

Trell is strong but it is clear to see that he needs to use all of his strength in order to defend 3D. He wouldn't be able to hold up if he had to do that for too long.

But in short spurts I feel like Trell could be a dangerous small ball Center. It would just depend on the system. I can't wait to polish up a diamond in the rough like him hahaha!"

- - -

The quarter was just about done as Jefferson was barely in the lead. Jefferson was up 102 to 101 with only 30 seconds left on the clock.

Jason had just scored the go ahead shot after breaking his defender's ankles with a crossover and then nailing the mid range jumper.

The entire crowd was on their feet cheering and chanting his name. As he made his way back on defense he patted Trell on the back.

"Let's get this win bro. We just need to get one stop and the county banner will be hanging in our gym." Trell nodded his head as his gaze was razor sharp.

Nashton Academy inbounded the ball to their Point Guard who then dribbled it up the court.

He then passed it over to his wing player who then waited for an open passing lane as he then passed it to 3D down in the post.

With sweat flowing down his face he began to back down Trell. He locked in on 3D as he tried to read all of his movements. 

After a few back downs 3D dropped stepped before going up for the layup. Trell saw this and jumped in an attempt to block the shot.

Unfortunately for him after his body was in the air 3D was still on the floor. He had fallen for the pump fake!

With Trell still in the air 3D jumped into him. And as his huge frame absorbed the impact he then flipped the ball up and toward the basket.

The referee blew his whistle calling the foul on Trell. The crowd watched as the ball landed on the rim. It rolled around a little bit before falling through the net.

The entire crowd collectively groaned in displeasure after seeing that the shot had gone in. Trell hung his head as he couldn't even muster up the strength to look up.

'I can't believe it. The whole squad about to take the L because of me.' Trell finally looked up after feeling a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around and saw that it was Jason "Don't worry bro. We still have 20 seconds to pull out the dub."

The crowd once again experienced disappointment as 3D made the free throw. With only 20 seconds left on the clock Jefferson was now down 102 to 104.

Trell inbounded the ball to Jason who then calmly brought the ball up the court. In order to make things easier for himself Jason tried to run a play.

However all of Nashton Academy's players were playing defense harder than they had been all game as they were fired up and motivated.

Jason had to reset the offense a few times before finally giving up. He called for the ball back and decided to do take things into his own hands.

Just as he was about to begin his attack he was surrounded with a double team. Jason scanned the court and passed the ball over to Matt who was open at the top of the perimeter.

He was going to go for the hand off so that he could also use Matt to screen for him. But just as he was about to run by him a defender managed to knock the ball out of Matt's hands.

Jason scrambled to the ball as it rolled on the floor. Jason took a quick look at the clock and noticed that there were only 5 seconds left!

Not just that. There was a defender right in his face with another one running toward him 'It's now or never!'

Jason activated his the second badge that he had chosen for his core 'Activate Ankle Breaker!'

[Ankle Breaker badge activated: For 5 second you will get a boost to your ball handling as well as a boost to your ability to score off the dribble.]

Jason drove hard toward his right before stopping with a behind the back dribble. However even though it was a good move with excellent execution the defender managed to stick with him.

'4 seconds left!' Jason dribbled to the left before pulling the ball back into his right hand. However even that wasn't enough as the defender was right in front of him with his hand in his face.

'No time left. I just got to go for it!' Jason leaned back as he shot the fade away shot. The ball flew through the air.

Jason fell on the floor. He stared at the ball as he laid on his back. 3,2,1, the clock buzzed indicating the end of the game right as the ball swished through the net.

The entire crowd jumped to their feet as they flooded the court. Jason was still laying on the floor as his mouth was in the shape of an O in disbelief.

'We won... WE WON!!!'