Ethan Brooks really didn’t expect that Rahim, a current superstar averaging 23+10+3 per game, would actually take the time to explain these things to him. In his current body’s jumbled memories, his only understanding of top players comes from the one he partnered with the longest during preseason, Jason Terry. That guy’s temper was foul— even if he was in a rare good mood and wanted to share the ball, he’d never give you a heads-up. He’d pass if he felt like it, and wouldn’t care if his teammates could catch it or not. That’s also why Terry averaged 6 assists per game, but also racked up as many as 3 turnovers per game.

Ethan Brooks thought of Terry, and just then, Terry also looked over at Ethan Brooks.

Their team had been catching up, coming out strong and forcing the Rockets to call a timeout right away, but Terry didn’t show any sign of happiness, looking out of place compared to his other teammates.

Terry was clearly annoyed. When he was on the court, he couldn’t put any real pressure on Francis in any aspect, and instead ended up flustered himself. His forced shots weren’t falling, so even though the Hawks were overall stronger than the Rockets, they still trailed by ten points. Then this rookie came in and scored six straight points, forcing the Rockets to call a timeout—Terry felt like he’d just been slapped in the face.

Most people wouldn’t have Terry’s kind of thinking, but that’s just his personality—he’s so competitive he even wants to outdo his own teammates.

When Terry saw Ethan Brooks walking back to the bench, he got up and went over to coach Kruger. He figured Kruger would sub him in, since it was another good chance to catch up. If he played well, maybe they could close the gap quickly.

Ethan Brooks, meanwhile, didn’t know what Terry was thinking, but he was also worried about whether he’d get more playing time. From Rahim’s words, he could tell that even though he’d just hit two threes in a row, he could still be subbed out at any moment.

Ethan Brooks saw two possibilities. First, his shots just now really had nothing to do with the team’s tactics, since he had no idea what plays they were running. The overall game plan is set before the game, and the system is worked out in training camp a month before, with preseason to practice it. It’s just like practicing skills—once you’ve drilled it, the tactics become part of your play. So Ethan Brooks had just shot when he felt like it.

Even though the shots went in, in this era where coaches still have a lot of authority, and even stars like Iverson and Kobe get criticized by the media for not following tactics, Ethan Brooks knew his last two attacks were definitely “not following orders.”

The other possibility was just like Terry thought: after two “amazing” threes, the team’s morale was up, and this was a great chance for the Hawks to take the lead. Subbing in the starters wasn’t a hard choice.

So Ethan Brooks was a bit anxious. This player card— and a top-level one at that— definitely had different tiers. Who knew when he’d get another one? He had to seize this chance to show off! At the very least, he needed to give the team the “illusion” that this rookie could force up threes and hit them at a high rate, so they’d drop any plans to cut him.

As for how he’d play in the next game? That wasn’t something to worry about now. As the saying goes, enjoy life while you can… It’s not every day you get superstar skills—if you don’t go all out now, you’re letting yourself down!

Seeing Terry already walking over, looking like he was about to go in and wanted someone to hand him his warm-up shirt, Ethan Brooks felt a bit dejected. A rookie is a rookie, and a second-round rookie at that—no respect at all…

Just as Ethan Brooks was thinking this, the big-foreheaded coach Kruger said, “Ace, Emmanuel, when you get on the court, double-team Francis. Shareef, you can leave Thomas open—he can’t shoot. Nazr and Theo, you two hold down the paint, don’t let any Rockets player get inside!”

Ethan Brooks and Terry both stared at their coach in shock. This arrangement… some are happy, some are mad!

Chapter 6: Miraculous Three-Pointer!

After the timeout, it was Rockets’ ball.

Francis was about to curse— the Hawks were really pushing him to the edge! Their interior defense was like a steel wall!

Mohammed and Ratliff, two iron-blooded muscle men, and that “lucky rookie” who pissed Francis off just by looking at him, had also collapsed into the paint, guarding from the free-throw line and completely ignoring the three-point line. Next to him was a backup shooting guard from the golden ’96 draft class squatting nearby.

After realizing he was in this iron-blooded era at the turn of the century, Ethan Brooks instantly felt calm. In these days, the best three-point shooter was Reggie Miller. It’s not that Ethan Brooks looked down on Reggie Miller, but back then, the three-point shot just wasn’t valued, and not many players practiced it. At least among point guards, except for top stars like Nash and Mike Bibby, most didn’t even shoot threes.

In this era, even the best three-point shooter, Reggie Miller, in his best season, only made 2.8 threes per game, and most years averaged about 1.5. But in Ethan Brooks’s original era, if a center averaged 1.5 threes per game, that wasn’t a point guard—it was a center!

In Ethan Brooks’s era, if a point guard didn’t take seven or eight threes per game, he’d be embarrassed to call himself a point guard. By the later years, Stephen Curry was taking 12 threes per game, and in his best season, he made 5 threes per game.