ABL Game 3

The game I’ll always call the one with the reverse shot.

It’s the third game of the season and thanks to a lengthy three week rest, I was able to regain most control of my legs (I got hurt bad in game 1 and played like a turtle in game 2). I was actually moving fine in this game and in fact, I had the first fast break attempt of the season. Our opponent took a shot and instead of running for a rebound, I ran the other way towards our basket. The shot missed, JV brought the ball down and passed it in front of me who was already passed half court. The pass went wide, I couldn't even touch it, it rolled out of bounds and I just focused on not hitting the floor again.

I don’t know. It’s not an ABL game without my sprawled across the floor. True enough, a few seconds later, I got knocked down by their center while I was trying to do a full court press on their point guard (by full court press, I meant I was SO slow going back to defense that I decided to just pester their point guard).

Then came the reverse shot. It was our ball and I was on the extreme right side of the court. Erwin shot a high jumper from the other side that came up way short. I ran down the baseline and got my first offensive rebound (actually, my first stat). Ok freeze it there. I had the ball exactly underneath the basket with the closest defenders both 3 feet away. If I had the chance to finally score a basket this year, this would be it and it’s not a meaningless jump shot during garbage time where they toss you the ball in every possession just begging you to score. It was actually a crucial part of the game since we were clinging on a two point lead in the second half. After catching the ball, I went straight up again and shot a reverse shot. The bench stood up and screamed as the ball went around the rim, around once more until it rimmed out onto a defender. This was followed by a loud groan and with me with my hands on my head and with a sarcastic grin on my face.

To others, yeah it’s just another missed shot. On paper it’s a FGA (field goal attempted). Others get a lot of that every game. For me, I play with an extremely small window of opportunity. For every 40 minutes of game time, I only play 5 minutes at most. I’m also the last guy you want to swing the ball to which means I’m the last option on offense. 94% of the time, I’m standing way beyond the three point line. I spend 5% of my time with my butt on the floor and there’s this 1% chance that I would sneak behind the defense. Add it all up and you get me hitting that shot as likely as someone getting hit by lightning. For me it’s not just a missed shot in a game, it’s a missed opportunity in a season. Oh well.

With my legs getting more tired and our opponents getting tougher (and taller), I’m guessing that’s it. I predict that in the next game, I’ll still have fun on the bench watching my teammates play but I almost know I’ll only register 5 minutes, a foul and a short meeting with Mr Floor.

Or maybe lightning will strike twice?