Chapter 132 - High-Level Game, Part 1 (2/2)
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Both Bruno and Douglas jumped, one for the attack and one for the block.
Douglas' smile faded when he saw Bruno jumping higher than him.
Douglas: ”Huh, hold on. What?!”
Bruno put the ball down in the basket with a solid dunk and pushed apart Douglas' partial block that had managed to make its way in the ball's path and put his body weight behind the dunk so that it would score without doubt.
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Shun looked at Sarah for an explanation about Bruno. She smiled and explained.
Sarah: ”Bruno Muller, a rim finisher, who rarely shoots, even if it's from the perimeter.”
Shun frowned and commented.
Shun: ”Wouldn't that restrict his offense by a lot?”
Sarah nodded and explained.
Sarah: ”If it was anyone other than Bruno, then I would've agreed with you.”
She picked up a file from beside her and opened it to a certain page, and handed it to Shun.
Sarah: ”Look at Bruno's vertical jump.”
Shun received the file and said.
Shun: ”I know his vertical jump, we took the test together...”
Shun's voice faded at the end when he took a look at Burno's standing vertical jump and running vertical jump.
Shun: ”Eh, why are Bruno's standing and running vertical jump so close?”
Sarah spoke to explain what Shun was seeing.
Sarah: ”Bruno might only score near the rim, but he has made sure that when he does, it converts into points. He has trained his body to specialize in rim-offense.
He can take high vertical jumps from a short run-up, he has excellent mid-air posture and has the power to back up his attacks.
When it comes to rim-finishing skills, Bruno Muller walks at the forefront.”
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Carlos got the inbounded ball and slowly made his way to the other half of the court. He smiled and said.
Carlos: ”Let's take it slow and score a point~.”
Rafael closed in on Carlos to defend him. Carlos looked at him and spoke.
Carlos: ”Oh, no. You aren't coming close to me. You are especially scary.”
Carlos increased his speed, but that didn't help as Rafael was still on Carlos's tail.
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Shun couldn't help but comment.
Shun: ”...He is slow.”
Sarah chuckled at Shun's comment and spoke.
Sarah: ”Yeah, he is, but wait and see what a slow player can do in a sport that gives much importance to speed.”
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As Carlos made his way to the basket with Rafael sticking close to him, Leonal also joined the part to defend Carlos.
Carlos: ”Doubling on weak old me, huh.”
Carlos and his defenders were already close to the basket. Carlos, who had been running with his eyes switching between Rafael and Leonal, shifted his gaze to the basket and raised his ball arm slightly.
Leonal immediately reacted to the glance and jumped for a block, but Carlos brought his arms down in a pump fake and then immediately jumped up for his real attack.
Rafael was still ready for blocking and jumped for the block. Carlos just smiled, and while releasing the ball, he said.
Carlos: ”Let's relax and have some fun.”
The ball was released in a floater and flew above Rafael's hand into the basket.
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Shun scratched his head and spoke.
Shun: ”How did he score being that slow. His two defenders were in a solid position to block him.”
Sarah commented as she looked at Carlos.
Sarah: ”In basketball, speed is important for both personal offense and team plays, but when you introduce a slow player like Carlos, the fast tempo that players are used to is disrupted, and Carlos takes full advantage of that.
He has excellent observation skills and mastery over fakes, he judges his defenders accurately and then pulls subtle fakes that fools his defenders completely and clears his path to score.
He is one of the most unique players I have seen in a while. [1]”
Shun stared at Carlos, who was jogging back to defense.
Shun: 'A slow player, disrupting tempo.'
Shun's perception of speed changed a little as he recalled Carlos's play and offense.
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Roger was going against Douglas in the low post with Roger trying to push Roger back towards the basket but failing to get closer to the basket.
Douglas had a grin on his face as he stood there like an immovable rock.
Douglas: ”Come on, put some back into pushing. You aren't getting anywhere like this.”
Roger didn't say anything and just smile, he did a front turn to the basket and while jumping sideways laid the ball into the basket.
Roger faced Douglas and said.
Roger: ”Post plays aren't all about strength, they require a level of finesse.”
Douglas smiled as he said.
Douglas: ”Hoh, is that so...”
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In the next play, the positions were reversed as Douglas was pushing back Roger in the post, and the bulky Douglas was having an easy time pushing Roger towards the basket.
As they reached the area under the basket, Douglas just jumped and brought the ball down in a dunk. Roger raised his hand to block the dunk, and his hand was completely basket, but Douglas grinned excitedly and with a grunt forced the ball into the basket.
Both of them got to the floor, and Douglas said.
Douglas: ”I think post plays are all about strength. Might is Right. Skills and techniques can go f**k themselves in the face of absolute power.”
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Shun turned his head to Sarah when he spoke about the two centers on the court.
Sarah: ”Douglas Pierce and Roger Mael, one a power center and other is a technical center. Both of them play their positions differently.
Douglas is better in screens, whereas Roger excels in rebounds.”
Shun looked at the two centers and thought.
Shun: 'Power without skill is inefficient, and skill without power is a building without its foundation.
But, skills take a lot of time to develop, strength can be gained comparatively faster.'
Shun looked at Douglas and thought.
Shun: 'I wonder how far he could go without amassing technique.'
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[A/N: Carlos Santos's playstyle inspiration would be in the comments. There is a video link, so do see it. It is really interesting.]