The Elf on the Court

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While Terry Johnson was confused, the situation on the court remained unchanged.

After Ben Slayton missed the mid-range shot, Curry continued to play pick-and-roll with Elliott. This time, Drew was slow to come up, so Curry took a three-pointer. In front of Ben Slayton's horrified eyes, the basketball bounced off the rim.

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Drew defended, and there was only Pete Campbell under the basket. He was double-teamed by Elliott and Chris Ball and lost the rebound.

After Elliott grabbed the rebound, Pete Campbell immediately followed him, and Drew quickly retreated to the penalty area. However, Elliott remembered the coach's instructions firmly: "Look for Stephen first when you have the ball!"

He didn't try to finish it himself but hugged the basketball tightly, looked around, and when he saw Curry waving at him, he immediately threw the ball over.

Ben Slayton's eyes followed the basketball, and he was shocked. He didn't know when Curry had quietly moved to the 45-degree angle on the right, and there was no one within two meters around him.

After receiving the ball, he calmly glanced at the basket and took a three-point shot. His movements were elegant and light, and the basketball glided through the air and bounced into the basket.

Liam clapped vigorously again:

"Well done, Elliott!"

It was normal for Curry to make this three-pointer, which was no more difficult than training. What was rare was that Elliott remembered his instructions and did not shoot rashly after grabbing the rebound but passed it to Curry.

This is his second-chance strategy: "Curry and his rebounders."

In the following rounds, Ben Slayton didn't dare to mess around anymore. The Bulldogs have always pursued teamwork, and no one can be above the team. Even if he is a point guard, the ball cannot always be in his hands.

After he played pick-and-roll honestly, the starting team scored more points, but the score difference was not widened because Curry kept scoring.

He frequently played pick-and-roll with Elliott and Chris Ball. After a single screen, he would jump up and shoot three-pointers with a very high hit rate. Occasionally, the opponent would switch defense in time, and Curry would single out Drew or Pete Campbell and succeed repeatedly.

With his outstanding performance, even though the starting team broke the defense of the substitute team, the two sides were still closely tied in the situation.

Liam looked at his watch, clapped his hands, and shouted:

"Okay, it's almost 11:20, let's stop here for today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Curry changed direction by crossing his hips to shake off Pete Campbell and made a three-pointer.

Amid the crisp sound of the basketball hitting the net, Ben Slayton stared blankly at Curry.

This short half-hour today will be remembered by him forever.

Before meeting Curry, Ben Slayton felt that life was pretty good.

He was the starting point guard of an NCAA Division I team. Although he could only score less than 10 points per game and could not give out many assists, he could occasionally score more than ten or twenty points. Sometimes, he could even make a few buzzer-beating three-pointers and enjoy the enthusiastic cheers of the fans.

As the starting point guard of the Bulldogs, he was barely considered a celebrity at Butler University. Although he couldn't say he had many school beauties, he definitely had a lot of girlfriends around him and became the focus of attention wherever he went.

But from now on, all of this would be gone from him.

He had never seen anyone shoot a three-pointer like this, and his dribbling was so agile.

Curry refreshed his understanding of basketball. If he shot three-pointers as casually as that baby-faced guy and it seemed like he couldn't pass the ball without passing it behind his back, the coach would definitely scold him.

But the coach let him do it, and he made the shot!

Things are changing for the Bulldogs.

"Liam, Stephen is incredible. I have never seen a player who plays like him," Stevens came to Liam and marveled.

After Liam announced the end of the training match, the players were all panting and walking to the locker room in twos and threes, occasionally glancing at Curry in amazement.

Not only Ben Slayton, but their views on basketball have also been refreshed by Curry.

"I've said it before, he is unique," Liam smiled with satisfaction.

He looked at Curry, feeling as gratified as a proud father seeing his son grow up.

"I think the team should change its playing style. Stephen is a genius on the court, and he should not be bound by any constraints. The tactics you just arranged are simple but very suitable for him. He should play freely so that he can bring out his full talents," Stevens said excitedly.

That was the joy that came from his heart as a coach after seeing a super genius.

"Of course, since he has come to the Bulldogs, the Bulldogs should change their tactics," Liam nodded in agreement. "Coach Lickliter said something to me that I always remember—when a team pursues teamwork, there is only one reason, and that is that there is no superstar in the team."

He and Stevens looked at each other and laughed.

In the locker room, players were changing jerseys, drinking energy drinks, and chatting and laughing in groups of three or five.

Since Curry had just joined the team and was not familiar with anyone else, he changed his clothes alone in the corner. Sweat kept running down his cheeks, even leaving a lot of water stains on the ground.  

During the more than 20-minute training match, he was holding the ball and attacking, which was very physically demanding.

"Hey...Stephen, you played well." A voice sounded in his ear, sounding a little strange.

Curry pulled off his sneakers with great effort, wiped the sweat that was about to flow into his eyes, and looked up, only to see Ben Slayton standing in front of him at a loss. When he saw him looking up, he immediately looked away and said something else:

"Well, there may be some misunderstanding between us. I didn't mean to provoke you on the court. Your three-point shooting is very accurate. I just think..."

"Ben, I won't bring what happened on the court off the court," Curry interrupted the somewhat incoherent Ben Slayton, smiled brightly, and extended his hand, "You are the first person in the team to talk to me. We are friends, right?"

Ben Slayton was stunned for a moment, then he shook Curry's hand and said with a smile:

"Yes, we are friends now!"

Starting the next day, the Bulldogs officially established Curry as the core. The team changed its previous team spirit. Curry began to hold the ball a lot, and during training, the players began to practice new tactics.

At the beginning, the players were still a little uncomfortable, especially the original starting players. Once Curry had more ball possession, their ball possession would inevitably decrease.

But in the training games, Curry led the substitute team and the starting team to a close match several times in a row and sometimes even defeated the starting team, which made his teammates have to admit defeat.

On the basketball court, strength is everything.

…

"Very good, keep going!" Liam cheered loudly from the sidelines.

On the court, the Bulldogs were playing a training game. Curry held the ball and set a pick-and-roll with Drew. He seized the slightest gap before Elliott pounced on him and shot decisively, with the three-pointer going into the net.

"Liam, Stephen seems to prefer shooting rather than breaking through," Stevens came to Liam and whispered.

"He still doesn't like physical confrontation, which is inevitable. It's too difficult for him to gain an advantage in the confrontation," said Liam.

"Luckily, he still has the ball," Stevens said with a smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, Curry came out from the inside, with the help of Pete Campbell's screen, suddenly ran back, slipped inside, received the pass from Mike Green, and made an easy layup.

"He will be an alternative point guard, one who can perfectly combine playing with and without the ball," Liam said.

"Is that still a point guard?" Stevens asked.

"I don't know, but I know that he can lead the team to win," Liam said lightly.

At this time, two months had passed since the team assembled, and Curry had fully integrated into the team.

Although he had always played as a shooting guard before, he not only did not have any difficulty adapting to the position of point guard, but he was like a fish in water and often made extremely exquisite passes. The only difference was that his turnover rate was a bit high, and he really liked to pass the ball behind his back.

Stevens reminded him several times to be more steady, and Curry agreed. However, he tended to forget this once he was on the court and was keen on making high-risk passes.

Later, Liam advised Stevens:

"This is Stephen's nature. He always wants to show off. Let him fully display his talent. Have you forgotten? It was you who said that he should not be restrained and should be allowed to play freely."

"But many times, it's obviously very easy to pass the ball, but he chooses to use fancy methods, and my blood pressure goes up," Stevens said with a wry smile.

Liam sighed:

"Then you still haven't seen enough. You haven't seen his behind-the-back pass in the finals."

"The Finals? Has Stephen ever played in the Finals? What game?" Stevens asked, puzzled.

"Ahem, that's a long story. Let me tell you in detail later..." Liam turned his gaze to the court.

After that, the Bulldogs played several preseason games with several

End of this chapter

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