Two Sides Of Speed

On an unidentified day of the summer camp, Shun and Carlos were both benched on the same stretch.

Shun, as usual, had his eyes trained on the court, taking in all the movements that the other players could give him.

Carlos had a water bottle in his hands as he sipped water from it.

He glanced at Shun and spoke.

Carlos: "It seems that you're on my style now, and I have to say, you've gotten quite good at it.

You have already gotten the hang of the slow speed. And, your ball handling is also working together with the slow speed."

Carlos chuckled and said.

Carlos: "I will be honest when I first saw you copy me, I thought you wouldn't last five minutes before giving up, but it seems I was wrong.

Now, it is hard to tell the difference between your and mine."

Shun took his eyes off the court and looked at Carlos.

Shun: "On a scale of imitation difficulty, I will rate your style on the easier side.

I have the required tools to play with the same M.O. as you."

Shun smiled and spoke.

Shun: "I might rate your style on the easier side, but at the same time, I enjoyed copying your style the most.

It was a refreshing and new experience for me to play like you."

Carlos laughed out loud when he heard that.

Carlos: "Is that so. Tell me, what did you find different about my style?"

Shun didn't need to think and immediately replied.

Shun: "Your style of play doesn't require speed to play. I can briskly jog my way across the court, and still, I would be able to score.

When I use your style, I feel like I am mocking the other players. It is like saying, why can't you stop me even when I am this slow."

Carlos chuckled when he heard Shun's opinion.

Carlos: "Ah, yes, that is a good feeling, though I didn't develop my form for that reason."

Shun was intrigued. He wanted to know the reason, so he asked.

Shun: "Well, then why did you develop this style?"

Carlos took a sip of water and began.

Carlos: "You see, most of the small forwards and almost all of the guards are slaves to the speed.

Speed has become an integral part of basketball, and as I see it, the fast pace of the game will become more prominent in the future.

In the old days, the offense would move the ball around to choke the defense slowly."

Shun turned his face to Carlos and asked.

Shun: "So, you are saying that speed is a negative thing?"

Carlos chuckled and shook his head.

Carlos: "Not at all, if you know how to use it correctly, then speed is an important asset to a basketball player, but that is the problem, not all use it correctly and get caught up in what I call the Curse Of Speed.

Look at Antony, he uses speed properly, and it serves him well. Some players don't use it well, and end up ruining their play."

Shun thought for a while and said.

Shun: "And, you use the fast pace of the game to your advantage and disrupt the flow that everybody is used to."

Carlos smiled and spoke.

Carlos: "Exactly, I play at a completely different tempo than others, so it makes my work really easy.

I don't see why more players play like me."

Shun stretched his legs and answered.

Shun: "Players look for the safety that the speed provides. Not having a defender on you is much better than having a confused defender.

In your playstyle, defender catching up to you is a high possibility most of the time.

It requires skill to be able to play with a defender always on your back, whereas speed provides an assurance that you might be able to escape your defender by outrunning them.

Speed also makes it difficult for the defender to steal the ball.

And, if the pace of the game remains fast, then the offense would always have an advantage.

Safety Of Speed is immense."

Carlos turned to Shun and asked.

Carlos: "Then why are you copying my style of play?"

Shun smiled and gave his reasoning.

Shun: "I see a style that is unique in nature. I see potential in it. And, as long it has potential, I will use it.

The wider your arsenal, the more problems you would cause on the court.

And, my way of thinking is that nothing is truly useless. It is the user that decides the worth.

I deem your style to be an asset, and because I can learn it, that is all the reason for me to use it.

That is all there is to it."

-*-*-*-*-*-

For the next stretch, Carlos and Shun were on the same team, and Shun decided to showcase how much an unusual tempo could change the game.

Shun dribbled the ball while running slowly, the other team knew that Shun was playing using Carlos's playstyle.

So, they slowed down their speed to match Shun's speed, but Shun was anticipating that, and he decided to make a play that would once again mess up the tempo of the game.

Shun suddenly passed the ball to the player that knew how to use speed and loved it.

The ball went straight to Antony, and he as his usual, played fast, and quick.

The opposite team, which was just getting used to the slow pace brought in by Shun and Carlos, were caught off guard when the ball was suddenly passed to Antony, who charged to the basket at full speed.

Antony jumped at the basket and scored with ease.

Shun ran back to defense with Carlos and spoke.

Shun: "If the opponent gets used to my pace, I can just speed the pace back up and keep up the disruption of the pace.

This is how a point guard plays your style.

See, I saw the potential in your playstyle, and that is why I am going to use it.

Nothing is useless, all of it depends on how you use it."

And, this was just the start as Shun was going to take himself to the next level when he returned home.