One Goal-- Jack Walker's NBA Journey

[unitas9]

Author’s Note

I’ve never published or even written about a My Player before and I don’t even particularly like NBA basketball. That being said I’ve really enjoyed playing My Player on NBA 2K12 so after little thought or deliberation I’ve decided to put this thing together.
I had actually played a little over two seasons into the game before I really decided to pursue writing and publishing this story so those seasons won’t contain as much detail until I catch up to games which are much more fresh in my memory. Hopefully some folks will stick around until then because that should be the good stuff.

Keep in mind that I’m playing 5 minute quarters because I’m way too impatient for anything else. I’ve also set the simulated game length to 6 minute quarters so that stats are generally even. I try to play the game in a mostly simulation manner but obviously there will still be unrealistic parts to it. If you find elements of the business side (ie: trades, contracts, etc.) of the story to be totally unrealistic understand that I’m writing this based on the actual game experience, I know 2K12 has been criticized for dumb trades so I’ll try to make it seem realistic.

[unitas9]

Forward

Jack Walker loved basketball, period end of sentence. He loved the feel of the ball against his hand, he loved the sound it made pounding against the wood floor, and he loved the screech of shoes as players made their cuts, but most of all he loved the sweet sound of netting dragging against rubber as the ball sailed through the hoop. His passion as long as he could remember was singular, and it was the game of basketball; he studied it’s history, followed college ball and the NBA.

As a youth he would go to the park and shoot jumpers for hours trying to perfect his stroke. Trying to get to the point where he never had to hear the disagreeable clank of a brick off the iron. This idea of having the perfect jumper drove him, he idolized players who could shoot like no one else; Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, but most of all Steve Nash. And Nash gave Walker hope, standing at just 6’3" Steve Nash won consecutive MVP awards, a stat that some be forgot since his Suns were never able to advance past the conference finals. But Walker would stay up late to watch the west coast game and marvel as Nash ran Mike D’Antoni’s exciting fast paced offence, draining jumpers and dishing out assists by the handful.

On the court Jack was able to carve out a solid niche for himself on the high school team thanks to his extensive work on his jump shot. Lou Simmons, his coach, would send him on as the 7thth man his freshman and sophomore season basically just to hit threes. The three pointer was jack's favorite play in the game both to execute and to see. A big dunk made people ooh and ahh but three pointers really brought everyone to their feet late in a close game. Jack felt there was an assassin’s attitude to hitting a triple, he loved to slow down his dribble, let the defender think he was safe then rise up and knock down the difficult shot.

Junior year was different as Jack was handed the reigns to the offense being the most capable ball handler on the roster. Unfortunate for Jack the team never gelled to say the least and several times that season he struggled with pressing himself. Two consecutive misses and he’d make sure to try to sink a shot next time down the floor, and if he missed that time, he thought he better try again, and so on. His teammates would complain but then the very next game he’d get hot and hit 6 of 8 from long range. And so the season went with the team going .500 and totally missing any playoff opportunity.

Jack’s senior season provided much greater personal success but basically the same level of team success. Thanks to help from the coaches and some use of instructions off the Internet Jack began to learn how to properly use a pick and roll, crossover, and shot fake to create shots for himself and opportunities for his teammates. As the season drew to an end Walker began to gain interest from several division one programs of lower prestige including Central Arkansas, Quinnapac, Siena and Cleveland State. Despite their offers to basically play right away he decided to walk on at his hometown school, Xavier University to play for Sean Miller. It wasn’t until his junior year when Coach Miller accepted a job at Arizona that new head coach Chris Mack finally gave Jack some time in the rotation.

Similar to high school Jack would come off the bench to play around ten minutes a game and essentially just get open to toss up threes. By this strategy Walker averaged nearly 6 points a game and one assist, not nearly the big introduction he had been hoping for. Over the balance of the school year though, Jack worked his tail off along with back court mates Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons, and Brad Redford. Both Holloway and Lyons were straight ballers who it seemed to Jack could crossover anyone in the Atlantic Ten. Working in the gym with those guys helped him further develop his moves off the dribble and trying to keep up with them in the weight room filled out his body as he put on 20 pounds of pure muscle from the end of the season to the first practice of senior year.

Redford and Walker were shooters cast from the same mold; Brad had the quickest release Jack had ever seen. From the time he caught the ball to when it left his hand seemed like just the blink of the eye and Jack learned how to replicate this while still shooting a reasonable percentage.
With his hard work in the off season Jack played himself into 25 minutes per game. He still struggled to shake defenders but shot a solid 40% from the field and a blistering 42% from deep and averaged 15 points per game. The team won 24 games and dominated the Atlantic Ten once again but unfortunately ran into Marquette in the first round of the tournament and promptly headed home after that.

Jack thought his basketball career was over with the loss in the tournament since he knew his game just wasn’t complete enough to play in the NBA. The next week though he was contacted by an agent who told him he could have a career in Europe. He had conflicted feelings about possibly living to Spain or Greece but wanted nothing more than to continue playing the game he loved. He pondered signing with the agent until he received a letter from the NBA.

“You’ve been invited to play in the NBA Rookie Showcase on June 18th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The rookie Showcase is the Associations’ opportunity to introduce the fans to the exciting incoming rookies, as well as, for the players involved to exhibit their skills for NBA front offices. Please confirm your intent to compete in the Showcase and further details will be forthcoming.”
-David Stern

Jack wasn’t totally sure why he was invited but knew it was his best chance to play in the most elite basketball league in the world, and he had to take it.

[unitas9]

Chapter 1 Rookie Showcase

This was going poorly to say the least. Jack Walker was doing the best he could to show off his talent for the 150 or so NBA scouts in the stands but he felt himself sinking into quicksand with every brick and misplaced dribble which turned into a quick two the other way. At halftime he rationalized… “This is a mishmash of a team, we've never played together before and never will again, what do they expect of me!?”

The coach was sitting in his office chatting with the assistants he decided to bring with him while a few players talked to each other while some just listened to their music. Jack seriously doubted himself for getting on the floor with a bunch of nineteen and twenty year olds who had only taken the requisite one year in college before declaring, So far they were faster, stronger, and smarter with the ball than he was.

After about five minutes of self loathing Jack attempted to push those thoughts from his mind, he was determined in the second half to ignore what had happened up to that point and play loose.

This mindset worked almost immediately as right after he reentered the game in the 3rd quarter he received the ball at the top of the key, crossed over once, rose up and knocked down.

“F**k yes.” Jack muttered to himself as he ran back on defense. The opposing team scored an easy layup inside and Jack brought the ball back up court, he surveyed the defense before passing off to the two guard and cutting to the basket, his defender was with him until he cut back up toward the elbow and caught the ball, he faked a shot and zipped a pass inside to the swing man who converted an easy layup.

“Yes.” Jack again muttered to himself beginning to feel himself turning around. This was the mode he always found when he started to play well. Free flowing and not over thinking his next move.

At the end of the exhibition he had ten points to go with two assists. As he walked off the floor though he looked up to the stands and appreciated the arena for its grandeur, he thought about how he wouldn't likely be playing in a big NBA Arena like the Prudential Center again anytime soon.

While all of the top tier stars who had played in the showcase stuck around New York until the draft Jack went home to sort out his future. The second half of the Showcase was positive in the long run as Jack was able to say to himself that he tried his hardest. Also it gave him a big smack on the head to remind him just how much he loved the game of basketball; it was that reminder that helped him decide he wanted to test the waters in European basketball after all.

On the plane back to Cincinnati he wondered where he might land in Europe hoping it would be Spain where he could grow and eventually get another shot at NBA basketball.

[unitas9]

Chapter 2 Surprise!

“With the 34th pick in the 2011 draft, the Washington Wizards select Jack Walker out of Xavier University.” The announcement echoed from the podium at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Jack Walker was sitting at home half paying attention to the draft and half playing Angry Birds on his phone until he thought he heard his name. Next thing he knew he looked up to see highlights of himself hitting threes over a hapless Dayton Flyers defense.

“Certianly a surprise pick here for the Wizards.” Jon Barry stated over the highlight reel. “Obviously Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld thinks he may know something no one else has quite figured out. Walker has upside don’t get me wrong, he can shoot the ball from nearly anywhere on the floor but for me his struggles on the defensive end and inability to create his own shot outweigh his pure shooting abilities.”

Jack couldn’t believe he’d been selected but was snapped out of his daze by his phone vibrating in his hand, the number was unknown but it identified as a Washington DC number.
“Hello?” Jack answered.
“Hello Jack Walker?” The person answered on the other end.
“This is he.”
“Jack this is Ernie Grunfeld with the Washington Wizards.”
“Yeah?” Jack said inwardly rolling his eyes for sounding like a dope.
“I wanted to let you know we’ve selected you in the second round of the NBA draft.”
“That’s amazing, thank you sir.”
“Yeah yeah, listen we need you to report to DC as soon as possible for a workout and a physical… Also who’s your agent? Obviously we need to speak with him immediately.”
“I uhhh… I’m sorry Mr. Grunfeld I don’t officially have an agent.”
“DON’T HAVE AN AGENT!?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t expect to get picked at all, I was looking at Europe but…” Jack trailed off.
“Listen its fine for now but we need you to get some kind of representation ASAP. Do that then get on a plane tomorrow for DC.” And with that Ernie hung up.

Jack sat there stunned for a moment before pacing trying to figure out what to do. The guy he’d been talking with had only ever represented players who played overseas; would he be able to help at all with the Wizards?
He decided to shoot a text. “Coach I’ve got a bit of an emergency, call me when you can.” Not ten minutes passed when his phone rang again with a familiar number.
“Hey coach.” Jack greeted his former coach.
“Jack what’s going on, are you alright?” Coach Chris Mack responded.
“I’m fine but I am in a bind. I got drafted by the Wizards.”
“Well that’s fantastic, congratulations!”
“Yeah it’s great but I don’t have an agent yet and the front office says I need one ASAP.”
“Alright… Let me make a call. And I’ll get back to you, sit tight.”
“Will do, thanks coach.”
“Hey, again congratulations. This is huge!”
“Thanks coach, I really couldn’t have done it without you.” And Jack hung up.

Another thirty minutes passed and it was now almost 10pm. Soon though his phone rang once more but this time the number was unknown.
“Hello?” Jack answered.
“Jack Walker?”
“Yeah.”
“This is David West.” The deep baritone voice of the Xavier legend and 8 year NBA veteran came through the phone.
“Whoa, Mr. West what can I do for you?”
“Call me David, first off congratulation on being drafted, but I’m calling at the request of Coach Mack. He asked that I help you find some representation.”
“Oh my God David that would be a big help.”
“I’m going to text you the number for Jeff Austin of Octagon in LA, they represent me and I’m sure they’ll help you out.”
“Thank you so much for your help.”
“Hey kid, always remember to work hard. The NBA is a grind and you can’t take a single game or practice off. If you do your work you’ll be fine.”
“Thanks Mr. West.” Jack said and hung up the phone.

After a brief conversation with Jeff Austin, Jack was shuffled down to a lower level guy named Nick Kennedy. Even over the phone Nick seemed like an aspiring Ari Gold full of overconfidence and spouting off about how Jack would own the league within one season. Despite his attitude Jack liked Nick and was happy to sign on with a high prestige agency even if he would be one of their lowest profile clients. After the proper forms were signed and faxed back and forth Jack Walker officially had an agent.
“Listen, Jack.” Nick paused at one point to be serious. “We’re going to work for you but the rookie contracts are weak especially for second round guys. It will be a struggle to get you a million.”
“I’m just happy to get paid to play the game.” Nick scoffed at his client’s response.
“Hey that kind of stuff is great for interviews but keep it out of negotiations.”
Jack Walker went to sleep that night with dollar signs dancing through his head.

[unitas9]

Chapter 3 Signing

Jack landed the next morning at 9am in Dulles Airport being fortunate that his parents could pony up the money to get him a last second ticket. On the 30 minute cab ride to the Verizon Center Jack couldn’t help but look up what the “experts” were saying about the Wizards’ draft. ESPN’s Tim Legler didn’t pull any punches in his analysis.

“Obviously there wasn’t anything The Wizards could have done last night to guarantee a playoff run but they could have at least taken a better known commodity. If Jack Walker can develop into a dynamic scorer then Washington will have an exciting backcourt and GM Ernie Grunfeld will look like a genius. The problem is that probably wont happen for years, if at all. In the meantime we can all expect the Wizards to continue to battle the Charlotte Bobcats for worst team in the league.”

As the federal buildings passed by Jack reflected on what a long road it was he would be embarking on soon. Though he couldn’t help but dream of fame and success he knew what the score was; he was basically a no-name player drafted by a sh***y team, where no one expected them to win even 30 games. He made a mental note to remind himself of these facts from time to time.

Throughout his basketball career Jack had thrived on his desire to prove the doubters wrong. He knew deep down that he was an excellent basketball player and he knew with out a doubt that he hadn’t even come close to his reaching his ceiling. While passing by the National Mall he thought of all the hours he’d already put into studying film, lifting weights, and working on all aspects of his game. He knew there’d be so much more work to do.

Thinking about all the challenges ahead just filled Jack with more excitement about this new phase of his life; he couldn’t wait to get started. After appreciating some of the historic DC monuments he looked back to his phone for more “expert analysis.”

“Jack Walker is a one tool player with little to no upside. The idea of having a backcourt with the slashing John Wall at the two and a sharp shooting point guard is attractive but Walker has never been able to consistently create his own shot or get past even the most lethargic defenders. This is yet another botched pick by one of the worst front offices in the league.” Jack copied the paragraph and saved it in his phone, thinking to himself ‘Thank you Bill Simmons’.

The cab pulled into the Verizon center parking lot for players and someone’s assistant introduced himself and took Jack through some dark corridors before they took an elevator up four floors and got out at what Jack though must be the front offices. Soon they entered a door with the name card “Ernie Grunfeld, GM” next to it, the former Tennessee Volunteer star was on the phone but motioned Jack to sit down while he finished the call.

“Jack, Ernie Grunfeld it’s good to formally meet you.” Grunfeld stated once he hung up the phone.
“Good to meet you too Mr. Grunfeld.” Jack responded feeling out of his element.
“Ernie please. Listen, we took you at 34 because we want to try to create more offense from the guard position. The idea is to have the slashing two man in John and you to supplement him to stand back and be ready to catch and pop when he kicks out.”
“I’m ready to do anything Ernie.”
“Good, good. In the meantime though we’re going to need to work you out and get a full physical before finalizing your contract. Mark will take you down to the locker room.
After a long day of shuttle runs, shooting practice and all kinds of medical tests Jack met again with Ernie again, this time Nick Kennedy was on speaker phone and a contract lay on his desk.

“Kid everything looks good, your agent and I have worked everything out. We’re offering you a two year deal with a team option and a salary of a little more than $815,000. How’s that sound?”
“Wow that’s generous. Uhhh Nick?”
“I’m here kid.” Nick Kennedy’s voice came over the speaker phone.
“Does this sound good to you?”
“Absolutely kid. Just stick in the league for two seasons and you’ll be gettin’ paid.” At his agent’s advice Jack Walker picked up the pen in front of him and signed his rookie contract to truly become a NBA player.

[unitas9]

Chapter 4 Welcome to the Association

As it turned out David West was absolutely right, playing in the NBA is a grind. Jack Walker reflected on how dead tired he was as the Wizards boarded yet another plane this time flying from Orlando to Indianapolis. Their Tuesday night game with the Magic had gone poorly as Dwight Howard muscled in 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on the Wizards’ hapless frontcourt. Looking forward they would play the Pacers less than 24 hours from now and Roy Hibbert was yet another matchup nightmare.

No one was surprised that the Wizards were 6 and 21 but Jack was surprised to find that for the most part none of his teammates seemed to mind all that much. They had lost some by less than three but their average margin of loss was somewhere around ten points and through all the struggles John Wall, Andray Blatch, and JaVale McGee all seemed to just be going through the motions. Every now and then one of the guys, Jack included, would have a big night and the team would rally around that. These guys may have been resigned to their fate but they were still a team after all. On those nights someone would go for 10 or 12 points in the first half and the score would be close, but then everyone would all start pressing and taking bad shots or turning the ball over. In the end the six wins they had were largely due to the other team having been tired or just having an extraordinarily bad shooting night.

The Wizards’ coach, Flip Saunders, was widely viewed around the league as the wrong man for the job in Washington. He knew how to coach superstars like Kevin Garnett when he was with the T-Wolves, and established veterans like Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups when he was in Detroit. But this job was not just about the ability to create a successful game plan and execute it. With all of the young players on the roster The Wizards needed a coach with the ability to foster young talent that’s rough around the edges. Flip Saunders just didn’t have that quality.

For his part Jack didn’t help matters too much though. He broke into the starting lineup fairly quickly in Saunders’ attempt to generate quick offense and create some chemistry with Wall. Unfortunately that just resulted in the other members of the team using Jack as an escape valve when the shot clock would wind down. Basically most of the team’s offensive possessions followed the same formula; invariably someone would set a bad pick or toss a bad pass and the play would break down, then whoever had the ball would try to go one on one and with four second left on the shot clock they’d find Jack which wouldn’t be a terrible decision since he was usually the best pure shooter on the floor. However, this just resulted in way too many rushed shots and easy rebounds for the opposition.

Jack was keenly aware of his miserable .350 shooting percentage and his team high 12 points a game did little to mollify the disappointment of his abysmal efficiency. He was still hopeful the team might gel and make a late run into the playoffs but each loss was a knock on his psyche and thoughts about shifting focus were now prevalent on his mind. No one on the team would come out and say it in the locker room or during practice but most had at least insinuated they were just there for the paycheck, or marking time until they were a free agent. Jack had never played for any other reason than to win.

Perhaps by fate Andray Blache chose that moment to sit down next to Jack as the team plane soared at 30,000 feet and everyone else was up to their own devices.
“How ya doin’ rook?” The 6’11” big man asked.
“Tired.” Jack said. “I’ll survive. How’re you?”
“Same.” Blatche sighed. “Ready for Indy?”
“ I will be… Ready for Hibbert?”
“I will be.” Blatche paused. “What you think of this team so far, the league?” Jack thought it a good idea to choose his words carefully.
“I think we’re getting better, if we can string some wins together we may surprise some people.”
“Bullshit.” Blatche challenged immediately.
“We suck.” Jack said truthfully.
“Yeah we in the wilderness now… All of us, together, deep in it.” Blatche continued. “I been in the NBA wilderness for a long ass time.”
“What do you mean?” Jack asked even though he was pretty sure he knew.
“No matter what way we look don’t seem to be no way out.” Neither man spoke for a while.
“Look rookie the point is this… We all want to win; we all came up playing to win basketball games because that’s the best part about playing ball. In the NBA though, sometimes that just isn’t an option.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you had the bad luck of being drafted into this situation..”
“I thought I was lucky to get drafted at all.” Jack said back.
“We’re all lucky to play basketball for a living but we’re not all lucky enough to have an opportunity to win.”
“Thanks for the advice.” And with that Blatche got up and returned to the seat he had occupied earlier.

Jack couldn’t stop think though about what his teammate had said to him. At that moment he vowed to maximize his time in the NBA no matter what. Playing at Xavier had offered plenty of chances to win Atlantic Ten titles but in his basketball career Jack had never once won an outright championship and that would be his goal.

Jack put his beats on and thought to himself ‘What was it LeBron said? “Not 2, not 3, not 4…’”

[unitas9]

Chapter 5 Out of the Wilderness

Jack Walker had thought further over time about what Andray Blatche had said to him on the plane from Orlando and accordingly adjusted his focus. Jack took the time to learn about his teammate’s individual history and what they had done in the NBA, upon doing this it was obvious to him that Blatche was right on in his assessment. From that point on Jack focused all of his energy inward. He took tapes home and studied them to memorize the moves his opponents would use, every off day was spent in the gym or weight room, he also compiled reels of his favorite NBA guards in an attempt to imitate their moves, and finally, every single day; 200 jump shots without fail. Jack knew the time wasn’t now for winning, but he would make absolutely sure he would be ready when the time came.

Twenty seven games after Blatches’ “pep talk” and not much had changed. In that time The Wizards had gone 10-17 which was, in fact, better than their previous 21 games but still there was essentially no way they’d sniff the playoffs unless things started to change drastically.

The team’s helplessness was well encapsulated in their home game on February 1st, right after the all star break. The 76ers were in town and in the end they provided The Wizards with their 38th loss of the season. Despite focusing more on himself and improving his play Jack still couldn't help but get excited for each game. During the pregame shoot around he mentally created his own personal checklist for the game.

“No last second chucks in the 1st quarter, dish it down low often, no more than 4 three point attempts, NO turnovers!” Jack repeated the last point in his head as his warm-up jumper stretched the twine.

Despite his determination to keep the game reasonable in the first quarter, Philadelphia had other plans. The first two offensive possessions resulted in a bad miss by Wall, and a turnover by Jack respectively. On the other end of the floor the 76ers had no difficulty getting to the rim, especially Jrue Holiday who was blowing past Jack every chance he got. When Walker would sluff off to give himself some room for the inevitable drive to the hoop, Holiday would just shoot it right over Jack’s head. He scored 23 on the night and made Jack look silly. He knew, once again, the game film would be a struggle to get through.

The Wizards offense carried their early struggles with them throughout the entire game and in the end lost by 15 points. Jack scored 13 himself and led the team in scoring but that was mostly thanks to desperate 4th quarter 3s in an attempt to at least get the game close.

This was the third straight game for Jack in which he could barely stay in front of his man. Derek Rose and Derron Williams had both recently put him in a clown suit and neither was friendly about it.

As Jack had finished showering he was getting ready to leave when Coach Saunders called him into his office. Jack was surprised to see Grunfeld there as well.

“Have a seat son.” Grunfeld started and Jack sat down, he was genuinely concerned he was headed to the D league.
“Jack we’ve traded you to the Boston Celtics as of thirty minutes ago.” Jack sat stunned a little letting the words sink in. “You're to report to their facilities first thing in the morning for a workout and a physical.” Grunfeld continued. “You put up good minutes for us but we’re going to move in another direction at the point guard position.” Jack was truly stunned, he only had a two year contract and trades happen all the time but he’d only been in Washington for four months. As he processed the information there was one question that popped into his head.
“Who did you trade me for?” Jack asked.
“I beg your pardon?” Grunfeld asked as if caught off guard by the question.
“Who did you get in the trade?” Jack asked more clearly. Grunfeld gave a sideways glance to Saunders.
“A second round draft pick.” Again Jack let that sink in for a minute, and moved on.
“Alright. Is it up to me to get myself to Boston or?...”
“Our traveling secretary has set you up with a flight and a hotel in Boston for the evening, check in with him and you’ll be all set.”
“Okay, thanks for the opportunity.” Jack stood, shook both men’s hands and went back to the locker room to say good bye and good luck to Blatche, the only player he had any real connection with on the team. After that he walked out of the Washington Wizards’ franchise for good after just 48 games.

“A second round draft pick.” Grunfeld’s words echoed in Jack’s head as he packed a bag for himself. He was upset that Washington had totally given up on him after only a little over half of a season, but once again he felt the fire burning inside himself. The more people gave up on him, the more his desire to reach the top of the mountain grew.

[unitas9]

Chapter 6 The Celtics

“You’ll be outta the wilderness now rookie.” Blatche had said to Jack as they shook hands. Jack was sorry to be saying so long to the first professional teammate he had made any real connection with but his parting words caught the rookie off guard. Walker was simply so surprised by Grunfeld’s announcement that he hadn’t had the time to appreciate his turn in fortune. The Celtics were not only a proud franchise but a team that was winning, and a lot.

The Celtics’ big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce were obviously on a mission to get back to the finals or at least get a playoff rematch with the Heat to avenge their loss the previous season. The team had won 32 of 48 games and was second in the east, just about everyone around the league was confident they would get the rematch they wanted.

Jack thought about his new team and how he would fit in on his trip north to Boston. He assumed he would be logging bench minutes since Rajon Rondo was the floor captain for the team and although Jack knew he needed minutes for his game to continue improving he was glad to have the opportunity to play with and learn from veteran players who had seen it all in and around the league.

Ray Allen was a guy Jack had always idolized. Allen played college ball at UConn and was drafted by the Timberwolves but was immediately traded to the Bucks where he played 7 seasons, after that it was on to Seattle to play for the Supersonics and finally he landed in Boston. Jack looked up to Allen because he was a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc and is a true perfectionist of the jump shot. He was even labeled by some as obsessive compulsive about his shot. Jack wanted to be sure to become familiar with Allen’s training and practice regimens and maybe imitate them.

Rajon Rondo was another guy who Jack wanted to become familiar with. Rondo was drafted by the Suns out of Kentucky but then traded right away to Boston where he was playing in his 6th season. Immediately out of college Rondo developed a reputation for being a tenacious defender and had already been selected all NBA defensive team three times. He averaged about ten points a game so he wasn’t considered a scorer but he filled the stat sheet with assists and steals. On ball defending was one of the areas where Jack needed the most help in his game, Rajon Rondo was the best on the ball defender in the league and Jack couldn’t wait to learn from him.

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“Welcome to Boston Mr. Walker. Please have a seat.” Danny Ainge the former Celtic players and current general manager welcomed Jack into his office. The very first thing Jack noticed when stepping into Ainge’s office was that the window looked out into the arena but was at perfect eye level to appreciate the numerous championship banners that hung in the rafters high above the playing surface. The franchise could claim an astounding 17 NBA titles thanks to legends such as Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird, and the architect of it all; Red Auerbach.

“Yeah it’s a lot to take in.” Ainge commented as he could see Jack was daydreaming a little bit staring at the banners.
“Yes it is.”
“I’m sure you don’t need to be told but it’s an honor to play for the Boston Celtics and we expect maximum effort out of all of our players Jack.”
“Yes sir. I’m here to win.” Jack said truthfully.
“That’s good. We brought you here to add a little offensive punch and youth down the stretch and into the playoffs. We’re obviously winning a lot but this team never really pulls away, they’re not able to step on the throat. I see in you a real scoring threat; I’m letting you know so that you’re aware we are expecting a lot of added offense out of you.”
“Yes sir.”
“Please call me Dan. As you probably know the completion of this trade is pending a physical so have my assistant show you to the training room and we’ll get that taken care of, afterward you’ll meet with Coach Rivers.”
“Thank you Dan I’m glad to be here.” Jack stood and shook the former point guard’s hand before leaving.
After Jack’s physical he sat in Doc Rivers’ office going over the Celtics’ system with the head coach himself and two assistants. For three straight hours they discussed situational play calling, adjustments to what defenses were doing, and reviewing nearly every play in the 74 page playbook.
“Well I’m glad you’re well studied in the game, you’re going to be the one running this offense more often than not.” Rivers said leaning back in his chair as Jack studied a high pick and roll play.
“You mean when I’m on the court?” Jack asked.
“No I mean overall.” The coach shot back.
“Coach… No disrespect but I fully expected to play behind Rondo.”
“Orders from up top, you’re starting.”

[unitas9]

I just want to say if anybody is reading this feel free to post with any questions or suggestions.

[unitas9]

Chapter 7 Conflict

After two days of practice the Celtics were set to face the Mavericks at home. Jack had introduced himself to most of the roster and talked for a while with some of them, but as soon as it was announced that he would be the starting point guard, no one on the team was happy. Nobody actually said anything to him but it was obvious that the veterans on the team, especially the big three had Rondo’s back and were not happy about his apparent demotion.

As Jack Walker stepped onto the floor at the TD Garden on game night though the only thing on his mind was how lucky he felt to be playing for the storied Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, though the good feelings didn’t translate into any kind of special performance. Jack shot an awful 1-10 and the team turned the ball over 15 times on their way to a ten point loss. His attempts to endear himself to his teammates by feeding them the ball as often as possible didn’t seem to work and he wouldn’t see the ball again for the entire possession even when he had a wide open look.

As the regular season wound down the locker room conflict only got worse. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce lead the crusade of players who wanted Rondo to start while Rivers and the front office wanted to Jack to continue playing the bulk of the minutes. Through it all the Boston media and ESPN were there to report the mutiny shot for shot and Jack was caught in the middle.

--

“Welcome to PTI boys and girls we’ll get to Ozzie Guillen’s most recent rant but first… The Boston Celtics Jack Walker, Rajon Rondo saga continues. Wilbon what the heck is going on in Boston?”

“Tony I can’t pertain to know exactly what Doc Rivers is thinking here but its getting a bit ridiculous, I would go to the glasses and run off some stats for you but who needs any of that? All it takes is the eye test to tell you obviously Walker isn’t ready for this many minutes. He has shown flashes of being a solid shooter and maybe down the road he’ll be the kind of player who can command the type of minutes he’s getting. Today is not that time though and I’m watching these games I just want to grab Doc and shake him and ask ‘What the heck are you doing!?’

“I will go to the glasses for some stats’ Walker is averaging 12 points a game and 2 and half assists. So to your point there is something to build upon, but since getting to Boston he’s also throwing the ball away at least twice a game so yeah it doesn’t take much to see he’s not the guy for the job. Now I want to bring up what this does for the locker room which has been documented thoroughly on this program.”

“Tony its totally counter productive, you’ve got these NBA veterans Garnett, Pierce, and Allen who have the back of the teammate they’ve won a title with. Doc Rivers is not a dumb coach he must have seen this type of reaction coming and with the playoffs looming and a possible rematch with the Heat, to have a locker-room divided like this I don’t see anyway they win that series. They’ve played .500 basketball since the trade and I don’t even see them getting to the conference finals the way they’ve been playing.”

--

More often than not Jack would leave the locker room after games to avoid the inevitable questions about who he thought should be starting and how he thinks Rondo feels having to go through it all. No help came from Doc Rivers who, it seemed to everyone on the outside was coaching with the express goal to lose his job. Jack knew that wasn’t the case but for the life of him he still couldn’t figure out

Despite his attempts to avoid media, Boston was a city that loved their sports and loved to talk about their teams who, through most of the 2000s had had success unparalleled by any other city in America. The city expected winning and quickly it became clear that they couldn’t win consistently with Walker in the starting role, therefore it was Walker’s fault that they weren’t getting the job done. When the playoffs rolled around just about every outlet in the city declared the Celtics’ season already over thanks solely to their unheralded rookie point guard.

All of this turmoil certainly didn’t help Jack play any better than when he was in Washington, he was still struggling from the field at 36% despite a reasonable 35% from deep. The most infuriating aspect for him personally were the turnovers because they usually came in bunches. He would see Garnett open on the low post and try to get the ball inside quickly but before he knew it a defender had stuck his arm out and the other team was on their way to an easy dunk.

Ironically enough throughout the entire ordeal Jack’s biggest ally was Rajon Rondo who would talk with him over matchups and what tendencies he could expect against upcoming opponents. It certainly wasn’t a buddy buddy type relationship but Jack appreciated it immensely considering the rest of the roster would barely speak to him.

After their regular season ending loss to the Bulls, in which Derek Rose hung 22 points on Jack’s porous defending the rookie sat at his locker thinking about what Andray Blatche had said to him just two months ago, Jack thought to himself; ‘Still feels like the wilderness to me’

[unitas9]

Chapter 8 2012 NBA Playoffs Pt. 1

Despite their late season slide the Celtics entered the playoffs as the third seed and earned themselves a first round match up with the Atlanta Hawks. This suited Jack Walker just fine as Boston matched up very well with the Hawks who were lead by power forward Josh Smith and shooting guard Joe Johnson.

Game 1 in Boston ended with a convincing win for the home team and Jack surprised just about everyone by pouring in 15 points on 50% shooting. The player of the game though was Garnett who put up 16 but added 9 rebounds and effectively put Smith on notice that he would be having a difficult series. Jeff Teague was Jack’s match up and he wasn't much of a threat as the bulk of Atlanta’s offense was to dump the ball in to Smith and let him go to work or pass it outside to Johnson for the jumper.

Game 2 & 3 followed the same script and Jack, again, was able to show what he is capable of by scoring 12 and 13 points respectively and only committing one turnover in each, the wins put the Hawks on the brink of elimination as the teams prepaid for their second matchup at Phillips Arena.

Unfortunately for Jack and the Celtics the Hawks still had some fight in them and it showed clearly in game 4. Atlanta's game plan was simple enough, they just used picks at the top of the key and under the basket to get the match ups they wanted being which was always Walker guarding Johnson and Jeff Green guarding Smith down low. This strategy shredded the Celtics to the tune of a 15 point win.

Two nights later though Boston was able to rebound this time lead by Jack who was simply unconscious. After going 3 for 3 in the first quarter Garnett and Pierce changed their personal strategy and actually helped the rookie out by setting picks which opened him up for several three point attempts on which he finished 4 of 5. In the end Walker had 18 points in the team’s 49 to 33 victory that sent them home to await their next opponent.

--
The city of Boston was confident after beating the Hawks in five games. Jack couldn’t help but laugh over the change in attitude toward the team Dan Shaughnessy took in his piece about the first round victory in the Boston Globe.

“Thought dead just two weeks ago the Celtics managed to overcome the inferior Hawks in just five games. Perhaps even more shocking was Jack Walker’s performance in the series averaging 10.7 points per game. If the team can perform like this under the bright playoff lights maybe we, as fans, can go back to expecting the best out of them. The next opponent is still unkown but in the meantime its nice to see that this Celtics squad still has a pulse.”

As a team though, the locker room was still frosty despite Jack’s significant contributions over the series and the veteran’s brief foray into teamsmanship. Nevertheless, Jack thought while pouring in his daily jumpers, winning heals all wounds and therefore everyone seemed to be more relaxed as they waited to see who they would be playing against in the conference semi finals.

In the franchises practice facility in Weltham, a ridiculous 30 minute drive from the Garden, Jack was going through his usual shooting routine before some film study when the General Manager, Danny Ainge, walked into the gymnasium.
“Morning Jack, good to see you’re working hard to improve.” Ainge said jovially as he walked toward the rookie.
“Morning sir, how are you?” Jack said cordially before swishing an 18 footer
“Fine but please call me Danny. I was impressed by your performance in the first round.”
“Thanks, I may finally be getting my legs in the league.” Jack joked. “To be honest I haven’t been very impressed with my own performance in the pros so far.”
“It will come with time; I can see a ton of potential in you.” Ainge said. “As long as Rivers keeps getting you minutes everything will work itself out.”
“Yeah I don’t really understand why he insists on starting me even through all the backlash.” Jack pondered the question for a minute before sinking a 20 footer.
“It’s the right move for the franchise Jack. Rondo is the past and you’re the future, its as simple as that.” The point guard stopped dribbling at this comment.
“What does that mean?”
“Look Rajon Rondo is a fine player but he’s simply not right for the franchise. He just doesn’t have the Celtic Pride that so many of the players who have put on the green played with. With you here I can ship Rondo elsewhere.” Jack couldn’t believe his ears.
“So you brought me in here just so you could get rid of a player you don’t like!?”
“Jack that’s part of the NBA.”
“He’s one of the best defensive players in the league! He helped win you a championship!” The two men were standing face to face now.
“Why are you defending him!? The fact is rookie; thanks to me you’re starting in the NBA long before you’ve earned it!” The two men were nearly nose to nose at this point.
“I never asked for that and I don’t want to start at the expense of a great player. In case you hadn’t noticed this whole ordeal has caused a media shit storm.”
“Listen.” The GM took a calmer tone at this point. “The deal is; you’re under contract and your coach is asking you to play these minutes. If you don’t want this media shit storm to get any worse you’ll play ball.” With that Ainge turned and left the gym.

Jack pounded the ball into the floor and threw it up from three point range… It bricked.

[unitas9]

Chapter 10 2012 NBA Playoffs Pt 2


For the next day Jack couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Danny Ainge. For his part the GM was totally screwing with Jack’s and Rondo’s careers, not to mention that Doc Rivers had lost nearly all credibility with the city of Boston and the media. Walker had so many questions swirling around in his head; what was it about Rajon Rondo that truly bothered Ainge? Had Ainge always had it in for the former Kentucky Wildcat? And if so why did he keep him around for six seasons? How common this backhanded maneuvering was in the NBA? But mostly he wondered how the hell he was going to get out of Boston. The only thing that eventually took Jack’s mind off of all the questions he had was the news that their conference semi finals opponent would be the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers had secured the 5th seed in the east by playing a truly team first style of basketball in which they passed the ball a lot and rarely took advantage of one on one opportunities. Roy Hibbert led the unit and had quickly become a force in the NBA in just his third season out of Georgetown; his rebounding ability was a huge factor in the team’s success. Joining him down low was former UNC standout Tyler Hansbrough, on the tape his “high motor” that everyone raved about when he was drafted didn't look so imposing but he did pour in 6.3 points per game over the regular season. Paul George played the two and put up generally pedestrian numbers, he was the only player the Celtics didn’t have to be particularly concerned with on the defensive end. Darren Collison would be Jack’s matchup more often than not and he was having perhaps the best season of his three year career; he averaged 8 points a game and dished out three and a half assists, he could shoot it fairly well from outside and get to the basket. The only area Jack had an advantage was athleticism so he’d have to be sure to stay in front of the former UCLA Bruin.

The main concern for the Celtics coaching staff and players was the seven year veteran and team leader in points, Danny Granger. The 6’8” small forward was averaging ten points a game while shooting a scorching 47% from three point range. As he watched the film with the team Jack couldn’t help but think that he’d be chucking threes like a maniac if he was shooting 47%. Granger caused a significant match up problem because he was so quick; the coaches emphasized closing out on jump shots and helping on defense.

Game one at TD Gardens started well for Jack and the Celtics when they jumped out to a 12-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. The defensive game plan was working solidly and Kevin Garnett was putting Hansbrough through the ringer. Unfortunately though the Pacers adjusted and exploded for a 17 point second while the shots simply wouldn’t fall for Boston and at halftime the score was tied at 19. In the second half Granger and Hibbert took over the game each scoring 12 points as the Celtics just couldn’t keep up with the quick moving Pacers offense. At the same time nothing worked on the offensive end for the home team; Jack went two for eight in the second half alone which contributed to the team’s abysmal 32% from the field. Needless to say the Celtics lost the game.

In game two the story changed only in that the Pacers took their commanding lead early and never let go of it thanks largely to Granger being able to stretch the defense by shooting threes. The dominant small forward torched Pierce for 19 points while also dishing out 4 assists. The one bright spot for Boston would be Jack Walker putting up 12 points of his own while shooting 3-4 from three point range. This helped the Celtics draw within ten late in the game but it wouldn't be enough.

For game three the series shifted to Indianapolis as Boston faced a must win situation. Fortunately the veterans on the team stepped up in a big way; Garnett led all scorers with 14 points and was able to out work Hansbrough to 6 rebounds. Pierce poured in 10 of his own and Ray Allen got hot from deep to drop 9 points on the way to a 50-42 victory in the Pacers house.

Despite their success in game three the wheels completely fell off in games four and five. Four was marked by a disastrous string of turnovers in the second quarter, 4 of which were Jack Walker’s. The balance of the game was played timidly on the offensive end. Jack wasn’t ever able to work with any kind of flow from the point position and ended up shooting 1-8 and turning it over a ridiculous 8 times.

Game five on the other hand was a perfect example of a team playing not to lose. With their backs against the wall Jack vowed to rely on the veterans around him to carry them to another game and the strategy worked for he most part as they entered the fourth quarter tied at 37. From there though the Pacers went inside to Hibbert often and neither Garnett nor Boston’s power forward Jeff Green had any way of stopping him. Indiana cruised to a seven point victory thus ending Jack Walker’s rookie season.




Games 83
MPG 19.6
PPG 12.6
RPG 1.8
APG 2.5
Stls/gm .6
FG% .360
3p% .354
FT% .709
TO pg 1.8

[unitas9]

Chapter 9 Exit Interviews


Jack Walker was surprised to see how quickly each of his co workers switched from basketball mode to off season mode. On the plane ride home even he overheard several of them, including veterans discussing what their plans were during the off season; where they were vacationing, etc. For his part the flight home was spent going over the game in his head, specifically trying to figure out how he had missed on ten of the twelve shots he had taken and what the hell he was thinking in taking so many shots despite obviously having a bad night.

The flight was a quick one and before long the team was on the ground at Logan International. Most of the players headed back to the Garden to get stuff from their locker but Jack just wanted to get home so he cabbed it to his apartment inside the city, more accurately though he wanted to get away from his teammates as quickly as possible.

In the taxi Jack sorted through his phone to see supportive texts from his parents and sisters plus a few from some friends and former Xavier teammates and his agent, Nick Kennedy, who practically begged for a return call on a voice mail. Though Jack was happy to hear from his loved ones all he wanted to do at that moment was sleep, which he did.
--

The next day Jack returned to the Gardens to empty out his locker and take part in his exit interview with the media, something he was thoroughly dreading. About half of the players and all of the coaches were waiting in the lounge area off of the locker room awaiting their turn at the podium; Jack didn’t speak to anyone as he simply went about packing up the small amount of personal effects he had stored over the season in his locker.

After all his stuff was ready to go he sat down in his chair and stared at the image of the iconic leprechaun in the carpet and thought about the past season. He wondered what more he could have done to improve his game over the last several months and if there would be any way for him to rectify his relationship with his teammates. This thought led him to wonder who would still be on the team next season, he assumed they’d move Rondo before the draft but in the end no one knew for sure.
--

In the press conference Jack was sure not to give anything away about the turmoil inside the organization. He had thought briefly the previous night about giving up everything Ainge had told him to the media but in the end he knew that wouldn’t help his situation at all and it was likely it would deter other organizations from wanting anything to do with him. Basically he just answered questions for fifteen minutes and didn’t really say much of anything at all.

On the ride back to his apartment Jack called up Nick Kennedy.
“Jack! My man I’m glad to hear from you.” Nick answered.
“Hey Nick, look I need to meet with you.” Jack cut to the quick.
“Whats this? No how are you? No small talk.”
“How are you Nick?” Jack sighed.
“Mr. Walker I am rolling! Sorry about the end of your season man.” At least Nick tried to sound sympathetic.
“Thanks, listen I need to meet with you.”
“Alright, alright what is all this that we need to be face to face?”
“You gotta get me out of Boston man.”
“Whoa Jack, you’ve got another year on that deal plus a team option.”
“I know, when can we meet up to talk about this?”
“Alright. I’ll be in Boston tomorrow. We don’t have an office up there, mind if we meet at your place?”
“That’s fine, let me know when you land.” With that Jack hung up.
Walker knew what his contract said but he had resolved that he’d rather ride the bench in Charlotte than be stuck in the no win situation he found himself in with the Celtics.
--

“There’s my guy!” Nick shouted and shook Jack’s hand before stepping into the rookie’s modest apartment. “Holy sh*t, this place sucks! God what do you have here ‘bout 300 square feet?”
“It’s a thousand, guy.”
“Alright, alright. You just wait till I get you your second contract in the league man, you’ll be rollin!”
“Great, lets get down to it.” Jack tried to push the conversation forward and both men sat down at his makeshift dinner table.
“So you want to get out of town?”
“Right, what can we do?”
“Nothing, can’t be done.”
“You flew 3,000 miles to tell me that I’m stuck here?”
“I flew 3,000 miles to make sure you understand why. The only way out of Boston is to ask the team for a trade and the players that do that sort of thing are guys like Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Carmello Anthony.”
“I get it!” Jack interrupted.
“The point is you’re just not there yet. You need to play out next a year, maybe two if they take the option and we’ll see where we are then.”
“That’s my only option?”
“Beyond hoping for a trade there isn't much there for a second round pick. The fact that you’re getting minutes and you’re still considered a scoring point guard is promising. The NBA is shifting more towards the type of player you are becoming, before long you’ll be a commodity in this league.”
“What the type that shoots 35% from the field?” Jack asked sarcastically.
“36% and no. The type that can run the offense and shot the ball from range.” Nick could tell his client was struggling and knew exactly why. When a historic franchise struggles or is embarrassed the rest of the league celebrates, especially that team’s rivals. The LA Times was scoring the Celtic’s woes punch for punch, not only did the media scrutiny put pressure on Walker but Nick was hearing it from his higher ups questioning why the hell this terrible rookie was on their client roster.

“Listen I’ll ask around the league and see if there is any interest; why do you want out of Boston so bad anyway?” Nick finally had gotten to the question he had been most curious about. Jack told him all about his “meeting” with Danny Ainge, his personal desire to earn his minutes, and the feuding with the veterans on the team.

“Damn,” The often bombastic agent was almost speechless. “Well that's all very interesting. You may want to write all that down just like you told me in case we need it for any reason down the road. In the meantime you just stay in the gym and keep working on your game; you’re young and cheap so I’m sure someone will be interested.” The agent stood to leave.

“Thanks Nick.”
“Nothing is gonna happen for several weeks anyway in terms of trades until free agency and the draft have been completed.” With that Nick Kennedy exited the front door.

[unitas9]

Chapter 11 Summer

The summer passed and Jack spent his time home in Cincinnati working out on the Xavier campus, hanging out with old high school friends, and blowing too much of his winter paychecks on concerts. Getting back home and hanging out with people he knows helped Jack recharge after the tough grind that the NBA season is, he knew it would never be easy playing in the pros but just the fact that he was playing over twice as many games as in college and more often than not three or four games in a given week was certainly a wakeup call.

Due to the stress the schedule put on his body Jack dedicated his off season training to adding strength and stamina with the help of a personal trainer. Most days were spent waking up around nine, working out for two hours then another two hours of shooting and working on dribbling skills. He’d often spend evenings out with old friends from high school and college but he also ended up going on several dates which often had memorable endings; as it turns out playing in the NBA is a good way to get laid.

The close friends he had who were fans of professional basketball would occasionally question him about what went on in Boston and why there was such a media circus over him and the playing time he got but Jack would always just play it off and change the subject to something else.

He stayed in contact with his agent throughout the summer regarding what he was doing to get Jack on another team but every time he got basically the same answer; “I’m working on it, we’ll find you somewhere soon.” He kept close tabs on all transaction news and was surprised that throughout free agency and the draft the Celtics had never moved Rajon Rondo or even tried.

--

At the end of September all of the Celtics were required to report for training camp. Jack briefly thought about not going and trying to hold out for a trade but he knew whenever a player had done that in the past it really hurt their reputation around the league and that was something he desperately wanted to keep intact as much as possible.

Jack was basically desperate to get back on the court against professional competition and get back into the swing of the season but he couldn’t help but dread being back in the Celtic’s locker room and begin caught in the middle of the GM versus players and coaches showdown. He wondered if this season anything would be different in terms of his relationship with his team mates but didn’t particularly expect it to.

So he reported on the designated day only to find he was the only starter there. Marcel Anderson, a D- Leaguer who was trying to get a spot on the team told Jack it was not uncommon for stars to wait to show up until after everyone else had been there for a few days.

Once full scrimmages started, any thoughts about refusing to play totally evaporated for Jack. He remembered how good it felt to splash a three, the intensity that he loved of going face up against the opposing point guard, and the satisfaction of a perfectly executed play which resulted in an easy jumper. The coaches were all impressed in his physique since he had put on about ten pounds of muscle but they were more impressed with the advances he had made in shooting and ball handling.

After practices Jack would take his usual seat in the film room, only instead of focusing on opposing teams he spent the entire preseason reviewing film of himself from the season before and from practice footage. When critiquing his play from the year before he could definitely see that he had grown as a player but when looking at practice footage he knew there was still a long way to go to becoming a great point guard.

--

As October wore on Jack was happy to find that the locker room dynamic had shifted given the time between seasons. Though there certainly was never any backslapping or joking around among teammates, the veterans seemed to just accept that Rondo would be playing second fiddle to the sophomore point guard. Jack hoped that they noticed and respected the work he had put in over the summer but he was pretty sure they were more concerned about the fact that this would be their last chance of any kind for a title. Paul Pierce was the youngest of the “Big Three’ at 35 years old; Jack could tell by their demeanor when preparing for the season that they were taking a workman like approach to what would likely be their last hurrah.

On the eve of their first game of the season; at home against the Pacers, Jack relaxed at home and thought about the history of the Celtics and the NBA as a whole, he imagined John Havlicek executing his iconic theft on Hal Greer in the ’65 conference finals, he thought of Larry Bird hitting his crucial jumper in OT against the Lakers in the ’84 finals to even up the series at two. Finally he pictured himself on the floor of the Gardens as confetti & balloons fell around him, all green and white.

[unitas9]

Chapter 12 On the Move

Unfortunately the rest of the league hadn’t gotten the memo that Jack Walker had foreseen the Celtics as 2013 NBA Champions. Boston got off to a solid start by beating Indianapolis at home in a 53-51 nail bitter wherein Kevin Garnett scored 18 points and Jack was able to avoid turning the ball over. This alone was enough to convince all of New England that the Celtics were going straight to the finals, however, one game does not a season make and before long the team had slid to 8-7 and were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Jack knew he was playing his position much better and taking smarter shots but he couldn’t figure out what the team needed to do to hit their groove. The biggest problem, which was totally out of Jack’s hands, was their total inability to rebound. It seemed that Garnett and Jeff Green had actually both regressed in their rebounding ability and therefore more pressure was put on the entire offense to shoot better and the opposition was getting far more second chance opportunities. For their part the coaches were already making adjustments by actually cutting down on Garnett’s playing time to give Glen Davis a chance to make a difference on the glass but against top flight competition it didn’t make too much of a difference.

--

Boston beat Minnesota on November 29th to improve to 9-7. The game was mostly uninteresting save for Kevin Love putting up 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds while the Celtics’ big men were unable to stop him. Fortunately the balance of the Timberwolves roster was full of stiffs so Boston was able to walk away with a ten point victory. While cooling off in the locker room postgame Jack saw that Nick Kennedy had texted him; “Call me when you get home,” he simply shrugged it off and went to talk to the media. He was actually glad to field questions tonight because he had a fantastic game scoring ten points on 45% shooting, 3 assists, and his matchup; Ricky Rubio had only scored four. Though Jack was disappointed the team sat just above the .500 mark he knew things were looking up for his career and for the team as well.

After answering minimal questions and signing a few autographs for fans Jack headed back to his modest Mission Hill apartment via taxi so he could indulge in his usual post game ritual of FIFA 12 and/or College Hoops 2K8. Once at home Jack remembered his agent and dialed the number.

“You ought to worship the ground I walk on.” Nick Kennedy said immediately once the call connected.
“Hi Nick how are you?” Jack said sarcastically.
“I’m serious Jack, you owe me big time!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I got you on a new team man!” Nick said excitedly.
“What! which team!?” Jack was shocked, he had assumed he’d be a Celtic for all of this season and maybe the next as well, also if he was honest with himself he was starting to enjoy playing in Boston a little more.
“Now listen you can not say anything because it isn’t final but the Lakers are poised to make a proposal for you within 24 hours.”
“LA?” Jack was truly dumbstruck.
“That’s right; you’ll be in my town baby! Where the lights shine brighter than anywhere. Jack, seriously, this is going to be really good for your career, being in LA you’ll get more coverage and endorsement opportunities than anywhere else in the league.”
“Goddamn.”
“This is big for you man, you’re not having second thoughts?”
“No…” Jack had to snap out of the daze he was in since hearing the news. “This is great.”
“Good because I really had to bust my ass to make this happen. The Lakers are giving up a 1st round pick to get you.”
“Really!?”
“Damn right. Look my source inside the organization is saying they’ve already reached out to the Celtics so you may hear something soon but in the mean time just keep a lid on the whole thing.”
“Alright, you got it.”
“Great, if all goes well we’ll be having lunch together in LA tomorrow.”
“Thanks Nick, I appreciate it.” With that Jack hung up the phone.

Two months ago Jack would have be ecstatic about this news but now he wasn't so sure. If the trade went through he’d have no choice but to be a Laker since he was far from having any kind of a no trade clause, but since the media had calmed down and he had started playing better he wasn’t so sure that this was what he wanted. The more he thought about it though the more he got used to the idea of playing in sunny Southern California next to the great Kobe Bryant. Jack knew no one was close to Michael Jordan when it came to being the greatest of all time but in his mind Kobe was very close.

--

The next day the team had their usual film study and meetings that all NBA teams had on non game days. Jack awoke to a text message from one of the assistants asking him to come in early to meet with the coaches; he already planned on arriving early so it was no problem to him, when he got to the locker room though an assistant told him to see Doc Rivers immediately.

“You wanted to see me coach?” Jack poked his head into the room.
“Jack, have a seat.” Rivers said while studying his computer screen, after a minute he removed his glasses and faced the point guard. “You’ve been traded to the LA Lakers.”

[unitas9]

Chapter 13 Meet the LA Lakers

After Rivers made Jack Walker’s next career move official they chatted a bit about the Celtics and what their plans were moving forward. Jack felt like it was the only time he and his now former coach ever really connected in a conversation at all. Once Rivers knew he was no longer under pressure to play someone he didn’t want to he loosened up a lot. After a surprisingly pleasant thirty minutes of basketball talk Jack cleaned out his locker, said goodbye to the few players he had a relationship with, and went home to pack. Jack was glad the Lakers wanted him in LA right away because after turning it all over in his mind the night before he concluded that he really wasn’t all that sad to leave Boston behind.

--

The Lakers had lost in the conference semi finals in 2012 to the Mavericks but given their salary cap issues there was little they could do to try to bring in a big name to assuage the anxiety of their celebrity fan base. Nick Kennedy was right in that it was a perfect fit for Jack; the team’s starting point guard in the playoffs the season before was either the 40 year old Derek Fischer or the underwhelming Steve Blake.

The starting lineup consisted of Lamar Odom at small forward, Pau Gasol at power forward, Andrew Bynum at center, and of course Kobe Bryant at the two position. In the 2011-12 regular season this lineup plus Fischer ran Coach Mike Brown’s triangle offense well enough to earn themselves a three seed. Despite their success the scheme was criticized for its slow pace that many called boring, a cardinal sin in the city where Showtime was born. Along with this the team struggled all season long on the defensive end, sometimes unable to stop even the more mediocre teams they faced, this was their downfall against Dirk and the Mavericks once playoff time rolled around.

--

Jack Walker rode his taxi from LAX to the Staples Center enjoying the views of the ocean and palm trees along the highway. He had been to California once in college and of course while playing for the Celtics and Wizards but he was quickly getting used to the idea of living through 70 degree winters. The Lakers were off that night so he would have a chance to talk with the coaching staff and maybe even meet some players before having to practice with the team. In the cab Jack was simply amped, since he was playing better he truly felt like this could be a real fresh start and a chance to build a reputation in the league separate from any drama created by the front office.

“Jack its excellent to meet you.” Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers general manager, greeted Jack as he passed through the player’s entrance at the Staples Center.
“Mr. Kupchak it’s good to meet you as well.” The two men shook hands.
“We’ll head up to my office; and go over a few items before we get a physical and workout.” The 6 foot 9 inch former power forward moved with ease despite his large frame and nine year NBA career.

After his workout Jack sat in Coach Mike Brown’s office with Kupchak and an assistant, the discussion had turned to the more minute details of basketball and how they expected Jack to work in their system.
“We’re going to have you work closely with one of our player development coaches; Larry Lewis. We know what you can do with your jump shot but we really need you to become a well rounded point guard who can do more than just shoot.” Kupchak said.
“That means you need to get better at distributing the ball on offense primarily.” Brown jumped in.
“I’ll do whatever I need to to get better.” Jack said.
“Great, like coach said the primary focus will be on running the offense but once you’ve got that down we’ll have you work on improving your lock down defense and creating your own shot.”
“My number one goal is to win, so whatever you need me to do…” Jack was overwhelmed by everything they were laying out for him but excited as well, neither the Celtics nor Wizards had stated that they expected so much out of him.
“Alright I’ll leave you with Coach Brown.” With that Kupchak left.

“Jack,” Brown started in “As you may or may not know we’ve been running a hybrid offense, parts of which are taken from the same scheme that Phil Jackson ran here and parts of which are from schemes I developed in Cleveland.”
“Yeah I’ve never run the triangle but I’ve read up on it a bit.”
“Well that’s something I guess. You’ve been brought here to supplant Derek Fischer so you’ll be getting most of the minutes, which means you’ll be the trigger man more often than not. That being said I need you to become familiar with our playbook ASAP.” At this point Brown slid a binder across his desk toward Jack and dialed a number on his phone, someone answered after one ring
“Yeah coach?”
“Larry could you come into my office?”
“Sure thing.”
“Larry Lewis is on his way over; you’re going to be seeing a lot of him for the rest of the season.”
“What’s up?” A tall man poked his head into Coach Brown’s office.
“Larry I’m sure you heard we acquired Jack Walker earlier today.”
“Nice to meet you Jack.” Larry stepped into the office and offered his hand, Jack stood and took it.
“You too.”
“Larry I want you to familiarize Jack with the offense we run, I’m hoping he’ll be proficient in it within three to four weeks.” Brown informed Lewis of his task.
“You got it, you want to get started right away?”
“Absolutly!” Jack responded.
“Great we’ll start with Xs and Os.”

Jack followed Lewis to his office which was significantly smaller, it had white board on one side and a projector screen on the other plus three chairs pointed to the screen, the projection currently showed Lewis’ computer desktop but soon after he sat down a program was opened which showed a basketball key and numbers 1-5 plus five Os. Lewis manipulated the “players” until Jack recognized the most simple triangle offense set. Without any preamble or small talk Lewis launched into his lecture.

“Alright so we run some set plays which are simple enough to learn so I’m going to assume you can grasp those no problem. However, we also run some triangle concepts and that’s what we’ll work on today.”
“The triangle is basically a motion offense without set plays, it’s a read and react scheme in which you’ll have to memorize all the potential options the defense presents to you when you’re on offense and be able to execute those in a game. This can be challenging but we’ll need you to pick it up quickly since most of the time it’ll either be you or Kobe operating out of the wing.
“The principals of the scheme are penetration, spacing, purposeful ball and player movement, passing options, offensive rebounding, versatile positioning, and utilizing individual talents… That means you should be able to find opportunities to use that jumper.”

Jack listened to Lewis for a good two hours as he moved the numbers and Os around on his computer screen. He felt like he was picking it up swiftly and as Larry would quiz the point guard on passing options or movement Jack was frequently correct in his assessment, he was glad to be able to impress his new mentor. After a break they got back into it.

“What are your thoughts so far?”
“I’m looking forward to running it.” Jack said honestly.
‘That’s good, all things being equal the triangle should be able to beat any defense assuming all players are executing it properly. The more everyone on the floor is familiar with it the more smoothly everything will run, when you’re studying the playbook remember that even if you’re not handling the ball you’ll still be an integral part of the offense & need to know what you’re next move is. That being said though it can be forgiving; even if you’re lost, as they say ‘You are always in the offense.’”
Although Jack normally had no problem talking basketball for hours he felt like his head was swimming when Larry finally wrapped up his “intro” course.
“You’re grasping it well, study the binder tonight and we’ll see where we are tomorrow morning, be here at 9.”

[unitas9]

Chapter 14 Improving

Jack continued his study sessions with Larry the next day which was also an off day for the team though today he would be participating in their normally scheduled practice. As everyone filtered in Jack made sure to introduce himself to nearly all of his new teammates. To his surprise he and Pau Gasol hit it off immediately when they connected on their mutual interest in European Soccer, Jack also found a friend in Steve Blake even though Blake admittedly knew Jack’s arrival on the team would signal a decline in his own minutes; Jack just appreciated there being someone on the team he didn’t have to look up at while talking. He made a point to seek out Luke Walton because he shared the small forwards love of jam music; bands like the Grateful Dead, Phish, and String Cheese Incident. Just as much as Jack made the point to seek out Walton, he made a point to avoid the infamously unstable Metta World Peace.

In Walker’s first game with the team the Lakers faced the Phoenix Suns at home in the Staples Center. Jack couldn’t help but take a look at himself in the mirror before the game wearing the iconic Lakers’ purple and gold home uniform, while in his reverie Kobe walked in and chuckled at Jack.
“Focus up Walker, don’t want to look like sh*t in your first game.” Kobe said in his deep tone snapping Jack’s thoughts. The point guard nodded to no one in particular, put on his warm-ups and headed toward the pre game shoot around.
In the game Jack represented himself well putting up nine points and only turning the ball over once, unfortunately though it wasn’t enough to overcome the surging Thunder and LA lost by five points. Jack did learn some quick lessons just from playing one game; Lamar Odom is really only an asset on the defensive end, Andrew Bynum is a force inside, and if you’re ever not sure what to do with the ball on offense… Get it to Kobe.

--

Off the court Jack was slow in getting used to living in Los Angelis. Being from Cincinnati which is often derided for being behind the times it was a whole new world in LA wherein new trends are made every day. He couldn’t believe how many women walked around with dogs in their purses or how many people wore the ridiculous Google glasses around town like it was normal. He generally considered himself a forward thinking person but he just felt like a total country bumpkin in LA. And he wasn’t sure if he’d ever really feel like he fit in.

One of the most telling encounters that Jack was out of his element occurred his second night in LA. He decided to walk to a pizza place near his Glendale apartment for dinner then check out some of the stores in the area. The pizza place had, of course, some one word trendy name; inside a teenage girl who was way overdressed to be working in a pizza joint took his order.

“What do you want?”
“A slice of pepperoni please.”
“Do you want cheese on that?”
“What?” Jack didn’t understand the question.
“Do you want cheese on that?”
“Its pizza.”
“Yeah do you want cheese on it?” The girl was getting frustrated.
“Yeah.” Jack said still wondering why she would even ask that. “Do people get it without cheese?”
“Yeah.”
“So… Just dough and pizza sauce?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“It’s like half the calories.” Jack just shook his head.
‘Its pizza…’ He thought to himself.

Despite the challenges Jack did realize quickly that there was a lot to like about being in a cultural hotbed, there were good concerts nearly every night of the week. Also while LA had plenty of people who loved their sports, nearly just as many people didn’t even care at all and the entire population was so wrapped up in their own issues that Jack barely ever got stopped on the street or in restaurants for autographs or anything.

--

Over Jack Walker’s first ten games with the Lakers the team went 5-5 with stretches where the team was playing like a well oiled machine, and times where there seemed to be no cohesion at all. Jack picked up the concept of the triangle quickly thanks almost entirely to Larry Lewis’ instruction, but while watching film he still noticed numerous occasions where he missed an open look for a teammate or just made the totally wrong pass. Thanks to this Larry’s education had now moved to the gymnasium. He and Jack used cones, chairs, whatever they could find to simulate the movement of the offense versus the reactions of the defense. This portion of his training was more tedious. Jack had only ever played in an offensive scheme in which all plays were set and practiced ad nauseam until everyone had it engrained in the memory, because of this improvisation was one of Jack’s greatest weaknesses on the offensive end and Larry made sure Jack was fully aware of this.

“NO!” Larry shouted during a non game day while he and Jack worked at the Lakers’ practice facility. “Make the solo cut and set the pick for Kobe, comon’!”
“Why wouldn’t I just make the two pass?”
“Because the defense has adjusted for the Blind Pig so we’ve moved to the solo cut! Once you’re pick is set the post has three options here, here, and here.” Larry said indicating the elbow, the corner, and the top of the key. “Do you understand!?”
“Yeah coach.”
“Run it again.” Lewis huffed and reset the cones.

[unitas9]

To anyone who may be following along;

The next update spans the time in which Dr. Jerry Buss passed. With where the story is going in the chapter and how long the post already was I couldn't figure out a good way to shoehorn in that detail and not make it seem crass. I may address the passing in future posts but for now I'm going to leave it off.

[unitas9]

Chapter 15 The Run

By mid February the Lakers were 33-27 and in fourth place in a mediocre western conference lead by Oklahoma City, Memphis in second, and Golden State in 3rd. The team had come together a lot more and Jack felt like he was playing within the offense better and better with each passing game.

Jack had graduated from “Triangle University” as Larry Lewis put it but they were still working together just about every day in which there wasn’t a game in the evenings, Jack’s lessons now focused drills to improve his ball handling. The goal of which was to develop his ability to shake defenders and get himself open.

The biggest strength of the team as recognized by the LA Times and national media alike was their ability to attack from nearly every angle; Bynum would work under the basket, Gasol would help down low and take jumpers from twenty feet out to stretch the defense, Kobe just provided all kinds of headaches, and Jack made sure to be get himself open whenever anyone went to the basket for the kick out. This formula lead to scoring 15 points per game and a clearly defined role on a winning team, two things the young NBAer had certainly desired since he had come into the league. He was criticized for taking too many shots and for being streaky, but on the floor he was able to ignore the pundits and play the game the best way he knew how.

--
As happens on any team there are some nights where no one on is performing. Easy shots don’t fall, passes get missed, defensive assignments get lost, and the team gets rolled. When that happens more often than not it may be better to throw the game film out and move on. Conversely there are nights when everyone that touches the ball from the superstar to the ninth man on the bench play as one unit and it feels like everyone is playing at their ceiling or above. The Lakers had such a night towards the end of February at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder were 1st in the west with the combo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at the guard positions they were running all over just about everyone in the league. They were clearly the team to beat in the conference and the home LA crowd was amped for the game knowing that if the Lakers were to make a run to improve their playoff position they’d have to get results against the teams that were ahead of them.

The route was on early for the home team as they ended the 1st quarter on a 10-2 run in which every starter contributed a bucket, by halftime LA was leading by twenty and by the end of the game just about everyone on the team got minutes. In the locker room afterward everyone was upbeat and just enjoying the big win before having to go on the road and focus on Portland. Jack thought about how there wasn’t any single thing that could build team unity other than a win like this.

Against the Trailblazers it happened again, then again two nights later in Sacramento, and before they knew it they had also knocked off the Clippers and Hornets at home to get on a five game winning streak. The Grizzlies provided a much tougher test and the team didn’t play with the same fluidity they had the previous five games, but in Memphis the Lakers were able to pull out another win. Orlando and Dallas fell next followed by another key victory in the conference standings, this time over Golden State at their house.

Coming home Jack found out that a nine game winning streak is exactly what the doctor ordered to get LA thoroughly excited about their favorite basketball team. Nick Kennedy had several radio interviews lined up for him and people were actually starting to recognize him around town. Before the streak started the media wasn’t exactly lambasting the club but now it seemed like the team could do no wrong, most outlets were going so far as predicting the team would easily cruse through the playoffs and into the finals.

Despite the grandiose predictions the team was lead by veterans and it was thanks to that experience that they were able to continue their focus through all the noise. The Spurs were in town next and Tim Duncan had himself a night putting up 20 points and grabbing ten rebounds, fortunately though Jack and Kobe put up 12 and 14 points respectively and the Lakers cruised again.

After victories over the Nuggets, Jazz, Magic, Suns, and Rockets the streak total was at fifteen and the Lakers were the hottest team in the NBA having won more consecutive games than the cellar dwelling Raptors had all year.

To get to 16 in a row the New Jersey Nets stood in the way, as always that meant Jack going up against Deron Williams. With the extra hype around the team as of late and all of the media focus their matchup was deemed be the story of the night by ESPN and TNT. That being the case Jack hear all day about their history against each other and how Williams had absolutely obliterated him so many times before and apparently Williams had also been listening to the media.

“Time to add to my highlight reel.” The former Illini greeted Jack before tip off.
Thanks to their history Williams was thoroughly in Jack’s head and it affected his game simply wasn’t there all night. Andrew Bynum though was an absolute force on the inside against a rotation of Nets players who simply were not NBA ready, thanks to his dominance LA won their sixteenth consecutive game.

--

After defeating the Nets, LA easily slid past the hapless Sacramento Kings in a game where Jack was able to get a lot of his confidence back by putting up 18 points and dishing out three assists thanks to the poor opposition. However, the next night just about everyone on the roster was gassed from their run and just having to play two in a row. The result was a convincing win for the Rockets and an end to the winning streak at seventeen.

Everyone in the locker room was disappointed to see the streak end but also there was a prevailing sense of relief as well. With just 4 regular season games remaining it was clear to Jack that the veteran starters were ready to focus on the playoffs. The west was a logjam behind the dominant Thunder so they wouldn’t know who they were playing in the first round until after the final game; nevertheless, the coaches were already scouting tendencies and weaknesses for every team involved. Jack’s confidence was at an all time high.

[Kenny]

First of all, I want to give you props for keeping this going. I know it is hard to keep motivated when people aren't giving you feedback, but it looks like you're having fun with the story and you have a nice writing style.

From personal experience, people will eventually catch on and start commenting. At this point the section isn't seeing the traffic it used to (at least commenting anyway). My advice is just to keep going and sooner or later, more people might feel inclined to comment.

[unitas9]

Chapter 16 2013 NBA Playoffs

The Lakers won two of their final four games and thanks to their late season surge they entered the 2013 playoffs with the number two seed earning a first round matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.

Since their dynasty days of the early 2000s the Spurs hadn’t missed the playoffs since 1997 including 2012when they lost to the Mavericks in the conference finals. By the 2013 playoff though their big 3 of Toney Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Tim Duncan were all in the late stages of their careers and LA had little trouble dispatching them in a four game sweep. The stars of the series were easily Kobe and Pau Gasol who each took home two player of the game awards while Jack struggled, scoring only 20 points on dismal 32% shooting.

The real news of surrounding the first round of the playoffs was the shocking upset of the number 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder at the hands of the 8th seeded Golden State Warriors in just six games; The Warriors became just the fourth team to pull off such an upset since the first round was expanded to seven games. Thanks to the Warriors’ heroics LA became the favorite to win the west, a task which meant defeating Golden State in the very next round.

The Warriors had a similar makeup to LA in that the bulk of their scoring came directly from their backcourt; for LA it was Walker and Kobe and for Golden State it was Stephan Curry and Monta Ellis. Mark Jackson, the Warriors’ coach, had crafted an offensive scheme where the guards were able to take advantage of their greatest strength which was shooting from range. Despite being labeled by most pundits as ‘too small’ for the NBA when he came out from Davidson Univeristy, Curry quickly established himself as one of the premier point guards in the league. Because of his stature and having also attended what was considered a mid major, Walker looked up to Curry

No one in the Lakers’ locker room was taking the Warriors lightly. Although LA was the highest seed remaining in their conference Jack was particularly wary of their second round matchup. He still harbored resentment after being bounced in the conference semis last season and although he knew the Lakers of 2013 were far superior to the Celtics of 2012, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that they were walking into a dog fight. This feeling of course wasn’t helped by his poor play in the first round and the fact that he would be facing off against the opposing team’s best offensive weapon.

Jack realized in a hurry that his feelings of a situation don’t count for much. LA jumped out to a one game lead by thumping Golden State 61-43 at the Staples Center. His shooting was off again going just 2-10 from the field but the rest of the team was on; Kobe put up 19, Gasol 12, and Bynum 9 plus 6 rebounds. Defensively Jack had a little swagger of him as he was able to shut down Curry allowing only 5 points and creating 2 turnovers.

Games two and three followed suit both going to the Lakers, however, both were far closer. LA’s old guard carried the scoring load through both games, while Jack struggled to regain his shooting rhythm. Golden State’s guards found their stroke though and they went bombs away on the threes and the offensive fireworks bounced back and forth between the teams. While everyone on the floor was taking jump shots Andrew Bynum proved to be the difference maker by dominating the rebounding battle; his work inside tipped the scales in the Lakers’ favor in both games.

The Warriors were able to stave off elimination in game 4 at the Oracle center but their season ended with a ten point loss two days later back in LA. On the series Kobe averaged an outstanding 17 points a game, and Bynum pulled down 9 boards per game.

After eliminating Golden State the team high fived and enjoyed the win, but the celebration was muted. Jack could tell everyone in the locker room was thinking about the Finals.

“Feel good to make the conference finals?” Jack was surprised to see Kobe approach his locker and offer a fist bump.
“Hell yes it does!” Jack said returning the fist bump. “This certainly isn’t new territory for you though.”
“Nope,” Kobe replied sitting down next to the point guard. “This is when it gets real though. I think it will be the Nuggets next round, let me tell you; they may look like an easy matchup but no one gets this far on accident.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“What’s wrong with your shot?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been off since the playoffs started.”
“I don’t know man, everything feels good but I just keep rimming it.”
“Check your release point and where your elbow is.” And with that Kobe stood and left.

--

The following evening it was confirmed that Denver would be LA’s conference finals opponent & they’d be coming to town in two days. That gave Jack time to work on his shot and his defense along with Larry Lewis. Ty Lawson had been the leading force in Denver’s playoff run up till that point and Jack would be tasked with shutting him down. Arron Aflalo, JaVale McGee and Al Harrington were also threats but the coaching staff stressed the importance of limiting Lawson’s effectives on the offensive end.

Games one and two were hardly ever in question as the Lakers were simply dominant in both. Game one was all Kobe all the time, Jack got the rock to him just about every time down the court working pick plays and isolations. In game two it was Bynum’s turn and he answered the call by banging away inside, and using every post move imaginable. Both games were won by more than ten points before the series shifted to Denver.
In game three, after the NBA “gurus” labeled the Nuggets as road kill, Ty Lawson & JaVale McGee decided they wouldn’t be going down without a fight. The young point guard was totally lights out the entire first half using his speed to get by Walker then dishing the rock to McGee down low once help came. Although LA still led the series 2-1, Kobe was pissed after the game.
“Alright they got their win at home. NOW THAT’S IT!” The veteran shouted as he addressed the entire team. “These punks are not going to win another QUARTER in this series you got me!?” The room was silent but Kobe just sat back down in his locker & started taking his gear off.
The pep talk, though brief, hit home and Bryant’s demands were met. Both games four and five were comical in that LA won each by at least seventeen points each time lead by Kobe as he was in full Black Mamba mode. No matter what Denver did the Mamba would find a way to get to the rim and by the second half of game five the Nuggets seemed to be resigned to their fate.
While most of the Lakers starters were humming along Jack was still struggling. Through the playoffs he was shooting just 40% from the field and a disastrous 31% from three point range. Of course the NBA sophomore was elated to be playing in the Finals; but while he relaxed in his apartment after the team celebration he couldn’t help but feel concerned. He would have to be at his absolute best to clinch the championship; LeBron & The Heat were going to be just as hungry.

[unitas9]

First of all, I want to give you props for keeping this going. I know it is hard to keep motivated when people aren't giving you feedback, but it looks like you're having fun with the story and you have a nice writing style.

From personal experience, people will eventually catch on and start commenting. At this point the section isn't seeing the traffic it used to (at least commenting anyway). My advice is just to keep going and sooner or later, more people might feel inclined to comment.

Thanks guy, I hope you're enjoying it. I'm going to try to keep it going until Jack Walker wins a title!

[unitas9]

Chapter 17 2013 NBA Finals


“Welcome back to Game One of the NBA Finals ladies and gentleman Mike Breen alongside Jeff Van Gundy… Coach, its been an incredible matchup so far, as we await the beginning of the second overtime, what do these two teams need to do to seal the deal and take the series lead into game two?”

“For the Miami Heat, Mike, it’s all about star power. They’ve ridden a huge 18 point game by D Wade to this point but from here they’re going to need LeBron to step up and prove he can be the closer that that people have doubted him to be.

“For The Lakers they’re going to have to continue to play opportunistic defense and work the ball inside to Bynum or Gasol. I’m sure those two are gassed, you can see them tugging on their shorts over there in the huddle. But Kobe has been double teamed all game long and Walker can’t seem to find his stroke, if LA is going to steal this one its going to come from their play inside the paint.”

“And we’ll see how each team will respond as Chalmers brings the ball up court here in the second overtime, he’s guarded by Walker, dishes to LeBron on the elbow, LeBron tries to shake Odom but can’t, he’ll pass to Wade at the top of the key, gets past Kobe, dish to Bosh and a big slam to get this crowd rocking again!”

--

“Welcome everybody to American Airlines Arena in Miami; I’m John Ireland here set to bring you Game Two of the NBA Finals on 710 ESPNLA your home for Lakers basketball. Along side me as always, the big man Mychal Thomson. Mychal, how do the Lakers bounce back from the heartbreaking double OT loss they experienced last night?”

“John this squad is full of veterans I don’t expect them to have much issue refocusing on the task at hand. They know, and Coach Mike Brown isn’t about to let them forget, that the Miami Heat won’t be giving out any breaks in this series. Game One is over and to have successes here in game two this team has got to take the lessons they learned and apply them tonight to steal one in Miami.”

“So beyond the mental aspect of leaving behind a tough loss, what do you look for the team to do tonight to neutralize this powerful Heat squad?”

“They’re gonna have to work the ball inside out. They established the paint in game one so if they can keep that going it’ll open up opportunities for Kobe & Jack Walker. Walker has got to play a scoring role in this game, they don’t need him to score fifteen but if he can be effective with his jumper it’ll provide a huge boost.”

“And what about defensivly?”

“On the defensive end John I look for Kobe to step up his game against D Wade. Odom will defend LeBron and Gasol doesn’t have the speed necessary to stay with either of those two so you’ve got the Mamba all by himself. The NBA Finals are about superstar matchups and that’s exactly what we’ve got right here, if The Lakers are going to even the series Kobe has to lockdown D Wade.”
“Alright well we’ll be back with the tipoff to game two right after this.”

--

“And we’re back at American Airlines Arena in Miami, John Ireland here with Mychal Thomson as game two heads for overtime, much in the same way game one did. Mychal what sticks out for you so far in this game so far?”

“John as I said at the top of the broadcast; Kobe needs to step up defensively, and he hasn’t done that. Dwayne Wade has put in 21 points and run rampant over the Lakers defense. I think we’re seeing it as evident that LA cannot outscore Miami; wins in this series are going to come on the defensive end.”

“Thank you Mychal and with the inbounds to Walker overtime is underway.”


--

“Word up y’all Stu Scott here, we got all the wrap up you’ll need for the NBA Finals game three beat down the Lakers just put on the Heat. With me at the desk; Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon, Magic, & of course Sir Charles. Charles, both of these teams were hot and put on fantastic performances in the first two games, what happened tonight?”

“It was simple, the Heat was just turrable tonight, nobody shot well but major props to the Lakers defense and how they were able to agitate Miami into taking bad shots Stu.”

“That’s defense was fierce indeed, thoughts Michael Wilbon?”

“Obviously LA needed this win to get the series to 2-1 but you have to be impresses with how they did it; winning by 17 and just really getting under the skin of Wade and LeBron and like Charles said forcing bad shots. If they can continue this intensity we’re going to have a fantastic series on our hands.”

“Yo Magic Man, what did you see from LA offensively?”

“I was very impressed with the play of Jack Walker; he used his step back jumper well, and executed the pick and roll with Gasol to perfection several times. While Miami was keying on Kobe, as they have the entire series up to this point, Walker went out and had himself a game scoring and distributing the ball well. A major lift for the Lakers but he can’t be done with that kind of effort if they’re going to even up this series.”

“Aight! We be back with more breakdown and a preview of game four right after this.”

--

Gm 4

“Welcome to Miami Heat basketball, Mike Inglis with you as always with my partner in crime John Crotty ready to bring you game 5 of the NBA Finals live from the Staples Center in Los Angelis.

“John everyone in the building knows it and I’m sure no one is more aware of it that one LeBron James, the Heat are just one game away from winning the Championship for just the second time in the franchises’ history.”

“That’s right Mike but this team can’t have any room for butterflies or thoughts about their MVP acceptance speech because the Lakers have their backs against the wall and they’re not about to let Miami off the hook easily. You want to talk about fine margins in the game of basketball? Over the four games these two teams have played so far The Heat lead in total points scored by only three!

“These teams are incredibly evenly matched, so like you said, Mike, Miami can’t waste a moment looking forward to lifting that trophy.”

“Thank you John, all three of Miami’s wins in this series have come in overtime and now they sit on the doorstep of a championship. Can they knock the door in? We’ll have the tip off for you, next!”

--

2013 NBA Finals Game Five Post Game Press Conference.Transcript

“Jack how does it feel to have lost the NBA Finals?”

“It definitely hurts more than any other loss I’ve experienced. I’m proud of myself and my teammates to have gotten this far but to go down like this with the series having so many close games it hurts a lot.”

“Your team was so close in so many of the games, forcing overtime in games one, two, and four. What could have been changed to win some of those over time contests?”

“My own play throughout the series certainly could have been a lot better but in those closing moments I wish I had been able to step up and help out more on the offensive end. Miami is an incredibly talented team, we all know it. I definitely should have played better in the closing stretches.”

“Your playoff numbers were down compared to what you were putting up at the end of the season was the pressure too much for you?”

“Uhh maybe it was the pressure. We all go through hot and cold streaks and I guess I just hit a cold streak at the worst possible time.”

“What do you think of The Lakers chances next season?”

“I like our chances a lot to get back here, hopefully with a different result. I’ll certainly be working hard in the offseason to round out my game as a point guard.”

[unitas9]

Chapter 18 Off Season

The locker room after game 5 was a quite one. Jack sat facing his locker with his head down and a towel to his face for a good ten minutes before finally realizing that the only thing for him to do was change out of his gear and head home. He didn’t care for the dapper charcoal suit he had worn to the arena but figured he might as well try to appear put together for the media.

As he dressed Jack thought about his team mates and how they were taking the loss. For whatever reason he had felt like a short timer throughout the season, once the playoffs came and they made the finals it felt to him like he had found a backdoor to the big dance. He hadn’t played well through the playoffs and certainly didn’t chip in enough to push his team to a title so deep down he wasn’t surprised to have lost.

This line of thought didn’t help him feel any better though. No matter how good Miami was, LA was within second of stealing both of the first two games. Then in game four they were seconds away from evening the series at two games apiece. Jack answered the few questions the media had for him then headed for home.

--

After a day of R & R, Jack was back at the staples center sitting in Mike Brown’s office along with the head coach, Mitch Kupchak, and Larry Lewis; the guard had been summoned to discuss the franchise’s plans moving forward.

“Jack the team is going to exercise its option and keep you around for another year.” Kupchak stated, never one to sugarcoat anything. “You’ll be making a little over $816,000 again next season and be an unrestricted free agent after that. I don’t know if you’re thinking you can make more elsewhere but we’re not going to put up with any kind of holdout bullshit. This is an invitation to continue to play for the Lakers.”

“Mitch I’m not going to holdout, I’ll be here and ready to play next year.” Jack replied confident in his statement.

“That’s great news. We’ve sent the paperwork to your agent and the league office, I’m sure you’ll have to sign something.”

“Jack.” Mike Brown spoke up. “I’m sure you know that no one in the organization is happy with the way the season ended, but we’re confident we can get back to the finals next season.”

“Me too coach.” Jack cut in.

“Good, you should know Larry and I have full confidence in you as our starting one. It was an easy decision for me to recommend that Mitch exercise your option, we see a lot of potential in you.”

“Well thanks; I’ll be working hard in the off season.”

“You do that.” Mitch spoke again. “Trust me, if you can improve on the season you had last year, this franchise will be looking to make a long term commitment with you once you’re a free agent.” Jack smiled at this and shook each man’s hand, before he left Kupchak added “Remember Jack, Kobe Bryant isn’t getting any younger and LA is built on superstars.”

[unitas9]

Chapter 19 Meeting People

Jack was psyched up after his meeting with the GM. He didn’t play the game for money but the idea of the historic Lakers franchise committing to keeping him for years to come meant a lot to him.

The next month was spent in Cincinnati visiting friends and family before he returned to LA and their hot and smoggy summer to workout with Larry Lewis and fellow teammate Jodie Meeks. Most days consisted of swimming and beach runs in the mornings along with gym work outs in the afternoons working on dribble moves, getting to the rim, and working the pick and roll. Meeks & Walker became fast friends while going through Lewis’ grueling workouts and eventually began hanging out in their off time as well.

Jodie Meeks spent three seasons playing college ball at Kentucky, just an hour and a half south of Cincinnati, and grew up in Nashville. The two young point guards found similarities in their backgrounds and connected on the fact that there were parts of the LA culture that they simply didn’t understand. Along with this Meeks was also considered primarily an outside sharp shooter.

With the rigorous schedule nearly all of Jack’s offseason time was dedicated to basketball, however, he made sure to catch a few concerts and hit the bars a few times. It was thanks to Meeks, though, that in late August Walker was at the bar of an overly priced sushi place waiting to meet a girl named Lauren who had also played basketball at Kentucky.

Meeks was married to his girlfriend from Kentucky, Bianca. As Jodie and Jack became tight, naturally Bianca noticed that Jack didn’t have a woman in his life and set out to change that immediately.

“Jack?” Walker spun around in his seat to see a six foot tall blonde with the brightest smile he’d ever seen.
“Yes, Lauren, good to meet you.” They shook hands and sat down.
“So what’s good here?” Lauren asked.
“Umm, well not this weird Japanese beer that’s for sure.”
“I’ll have a Stone IPA.” Lauren ordered, Jack was impressed.
“Nice order.”
“I try not to drink beer too often but when I do, I make it count.” Lauren laughed and flashed her smile again. “So obviously you play for the Lakers, how’s the off season treating you?”
“Well Jodie and I are working out with one of the development coaches and he’s ruthless with the running and lifting. But we want to get back to the finals.”
“Yeah, you guys were really impressive last season. Miami is so good; it was fun to watch all the overtimes.”
“Oh you’re a Laker fan?”
“No… Oh Jodie didn’t tell you, I work for the Clippers.”
“Oohh, well I won’t hold that against you.” Jack joked making the blonde laugh again. “What do you do?”
“I’m in group ticket sales & event planning.”
“So is this a downtime for you?”
“No actually the off season is busier if anything, it’s really all year but anyone who’s planning an event usually books it months ahead of time.”
“How’d you get involved with the Clippers?”
“I took a lower level job with the team out of college. I majored in marketing like all the jocks did and wanted to stay close to the game. I wasn’t nearly good enough to play in the WNBA or anything… God I’m doing all the talking, where are you from originally?”
“Cincinnati, grew up there & played at Xavier.”
“No shit! I grew up in Indianapolis!”
“Nice, I used to beg my parents to take me up to Pacers games all the time.”
“Yeah I totally idolized Reggie Miller. So how are you liking LA?”
“Uhhhh… Its taken some getting used to.”
“Yeah that happens. Listen do you want to go to a place that’s a little more… Cincinnati?”
“Absolutely I do.” Jack jumped at the chance to remove himself from the crowded bar but also keep the date going.
After a brief walk they ended up at a bar called Jax which had music coming through the door.
“Do you like Jazz?” Lauren asked as they approached.
“I don’t listen to it much at all but I love live music.” Jack answered honestly, but felt himself warming up to Jazz music quickly.
“Great.” Lauren Smiled & led the way inside.

--

That night Jack and Lauren shut the bar down and shared a cab to her place before it continued & dropped Jack off at his. He knew waking up in a few hours for workouts would be a struggle, but he didn't really mind.