Improvement.

Baltimore

Maryland

USA

“Ladies and gentlemen. Houston has not been in the playoffs for twelve years! But this time, they have a real, legitimate chance to make the postseason! The team that stands in between them and a playoffs spot is none other than the number one team in the Eastern Conference, and the entire NBA. The Baltimore Barrage!”

The commentator was right. Houston had just one game to win in order to make the playoffs, and that was against their nemesis Baltimore. Baltimore had clinched both the top seed of the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA spots.

“Maybe they’ll go easy on us,” said Chad Brown.

“No,” said Coach Steven Walker simply. “They’ll be bringing their A-Game. Be prepared!”

*

“AND NOW, PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR YOUR BALTIMORE BARRAGE!” yelled the announcer. “GET LOUD FOR YOUR STARTING FIVE!”

The Baltimore crowd roared in delight.

“GUARD! 6’3! NUMBER 2! STANLEY SMITH!”

Stan waved to the crowd as he ran out.

“GUARD! 6’5! NUMBER 11! PETAR VARGA!”

Petar Varga was one of those guys who had used free agency as a means of leaving his old team, the New York Skyscrapers, and join Baltimore in order to win a championship. Rumors had it he was manipulated into coming there just like Josh Okongo.

“CENTER! 7’2! NUMBER 72! DEANDRE WASHINGTON!”

The tall, powerful center ran onto the court.

“FORWARD, 6’10! NUMBER 71! JARED MCROD!”

“I hate that guy,” grumped Keon Jordan Jr.

And finally…

“FORWARD! 6’8! NUMBER 46! JOSH OKONGO!”

The crowd’s roar was now deafening. It felt like a very, very large thunderstorm. A thunderstorm they would have to weather.

This game, in no way, was going to be easy.

*

As usual, Lokesh Kumar and Kobayashi Ichikawa were subbed into the game in the second quarter. Kobayashi caught a pass from Odai Beckham Jr and stared down his defender, Stanley Smith. Stan got closer, trying to steal the ball. Kobayashi, sensing he was outmatched on the position, passed the ball to Lokesh. Stan then shifted onto Lokesh, trying to steal it.

Lokesh pump faked at jab-stepped, and then jumped backwards and shot a fadeaway jumper with such elegance that the commentator yelled into his microphone.

“KUMAR WITH THE ELEGANT FADEAWAY…BANG! BANG! HE MAKES IT! OH, WHAT A MOVE BY LOKESH KUMAR!”

Stan stood there, stunned.

“What was that?”

Stan was now burning with humiliation. He quickly ran the next play and threw a lob for Jaren McRod, who dodged Keon and jumped for an easy catch and dunk.

Keon screamed in frustration as the commentator screamed: “OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PASS BY STANLEY SMITH!”

But…

“OH MY GOODNESS! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE REJECTION BY LOKESH KUMAR! DENIES JARED MCROD AT THE RIM! EXCELLENT OFFENSE ON ONE SIDE AND SIMPLY BRILLIANT DEFENCE ON THE OTHER! WOW!”

Lokesh panted, satisfied with the effort, as Keon scored at the other end.

“How in the world did he get up that high?” thought Jared furiously.

On another offensive possession, Lokesh found himself being guarded by Petar Varga. He faked a shot to get Petar in the air. As Petar descended, he shot a three-pointer. Everyone was surprised. Lokesh wasn’t a shooter. He relied more on dunks, layups, and mid-rangers to get points.

But he’d been practicing.

The ball sailed towards the rim…

*

A week ago

Lokesh was tired.

He’d tried and tried to make threes. He’d even taken advice from one of the best shooters on the team, Kobayashi Ichikawa. He’d only slightly improved, however. He was nowhere close to becoming a shooter.

He shot the ball again. The shot was so arrant it actually missed the rim and even the backboard and hit the wall above the board.

“NO! NO! NO!”

Lokesh jumped. It was Danny Reynolds. He was storming towards Lokesh, and he wasn’t happy.

“That won’t do! You’ve got it all wrong!”

Suddenly, Danny was hit with a feeling of Deja vu. An unpleasant, traumatic feeling. This was the exact way he’d been thrown off multiple teams in the past, by reprimanding players.

This was why he’d earned the nickname “Cancer Reynolds.”

“Oh no,” he thought regretfully. “I yelled at a player! A young player! A franchise-caliber player!”

“My time with this team is over!”

He looked at young Lokesh, expecting to see him feeling insulted and angry. Lokesh was the team’s future franchise cornerstone. One word with the team management, and Danny was done.

But, Lokesh’s eyes were shining.

Excitedly.

“What am I doing wrong?” he asked.

Danny didn’t answer. He was still scared how Lokesh would respond.

“What am I doing wrong, sir?” Lokesh asked again.

Dan calmed down. He put his hand on Lokesh’s shoulder.

“You’re using you’re shooting hand to push the ball into a shot,” he said. “Don’t push the ball with your palms. That makes the trajectory too high. Use a combination of fingers and wrists to get the perfect shooting motion and a trajectory that is neither too high nor too low!”

Instead of yelling, Dan had finally learnt how to guide young players.

He was improving as a leader.

Lokesh smiled. “I’ll try that, then.”

He was improving as a player.

*

SWISH.

The ball went into the net without even touching the rim.

The disappointed crowd booed Lokesh.

Danny Reynolds was now beyond impressed with this young man. He had never seen a player of that caliber who was humble and devoid of false pride. It was Lokesh’s humility that had allowed him to grow as a player.

He’d followed Dan’s advice without letting his pride get in the way.

But.

“Two points,” said the referee.

“WHAT?” exclaimed Lokesh and Dan.

“Your foot was on the three point line, which means you crossed the three point range,” explained the ref. “You get two points.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Dan to Lokesh.

“I’m not worried,” replied Lokesh. “We just scored!”

At halftime, Houston and Baltimore were tied.

68-68.

Josh Okongo then cracked the widest grin ever. “That number 64. I’ve figured out his plan! It was so simple, how did I not realize earlier?”

“What plan?”

Josh smiled to himself, marveling Lokesh’s analytical ability.

*

“What plan do you have to beat Baltimore, Lokesh?” asked Steven Walker.

The team was flying from Houston to Baltimore. They were strategizing in the aircraft.

Lokesh smiled. “Josh Okongo. Can you handle him, Keon?”

“What?”

“Yes,” said Lokesh. “As much as I’ve been playing well, Josh Okongo is on a different level. With my current skillset, my current level, I’m no match for him!”

“I’m not ready to take on Josh Okongo yet, so I’ll avoid him the whole game!”