Double Team Read Online Free

too, because this game was tough from the start.
    â€œYou got him?” I called to Deuce as we got bounced around in traffic under the hoop.
    â€œGot him!” called Deuce. But he covered the wrong twin. That left the other one wide open for a little bunny-hop layup.
    â€œNo, him !” I said as the ball went through the hoop.
    â€œOh, then no,” said Deuce.
    Mike didn’t have to deal with mistaken identity. It was impossible to confuse the enormous kid he was covering with anything other than maybe a baby elephant. As big as he was, he never moved too far from the basket. From the start, the twins dumped the ball in to him on almost every play.
    Sometimes he’d pass it back out, and sometimes he’d take it himself. Not only could I see it when he bodied up on Mike, I could hear it.
    â€œOOOOOOF!” grunted Mike as the kid backed into him.
    Before Mike could recover his position — or his breath — we were down 2–0. By the time I noticed that the twins had different color laces (in their identical sneakers), it was already 4–0.
    â€œRed laces!” I called to Deuce. “See ’em?”
    â€œYeah,” he answered. “Blue laces over here.”
    And that’s how we identified them. At first, we called them “Red Laces,” “Blue Laces,” and “Big Man,” but pretty soon we simplified things.
    â€œStay on Big!” Deuce called.
    â€œI got Red,” I shouted.
    We got on the board after that with, well, with a little luck. I heaved up an off-balance jumper from long range and somehow it rattled in: 4–1. As we got ready for our next possession, I looked around at the matchups.
    Big Man had a size advantage on Mike — he would’ve had a size advantage on a car! Mike was faster, but getting around Big Man was like Magellan trying to sail around the world. Deuce was a little faster than either twin, but a little smaller, too. And even if he got around his guy, Big Man would be right there, clogging up the lane.
    I was the one with the best matchup. I was a little bigger than either twin, and at least as fast. We were already down by three. If we were going to win, I was going to have to carry the load.
    I went to work. I had the ball and Red Laces was on me tight.
    I gave him a quick crossover dribble and a little fake, then took off. I turned the corner on him and rocketed toward the basket. Big Man saw me coming, but he hadto stay close to Mike under the basket. That left me plenty of space for a short, pull-up jumper. It was 4–2, and we just sort of chipped away at it after that.
    With the score tied at 6–6, Deuce dumped the ball down to me. Blue wasn’t on him that close, and he clapped his hands for a return pass. But I had good position and a few inches on Red. I went up with a hook shot and scored over the top of him. It gave us our first lead of the day, but Deuce wasn’t happy.
    â€œCome on, man, I was wide open,” he said.
    Deuce kept the ball on our next possession. He charged straight down the lane and crashed right into Big Man. With their size difference, it looked like a little kid running into the side of a bouncy castle. The ref whistled Deuce for an offensive foul, and the other team scored two straight to put us behind again.
    We finally got the ball back. Blue was all over Deuce, and he finally passed me the ball. I had to work hard, but I got by Red again. I swooped in from the side, and Big Man left Mike to pick me up. Mike was open now, but he was really deep under the basket, just inches from the baseline. It didn’t seem worth the risk, especiallysince I’d been knocking down these short jumpers all day.
    I stopped, popped, and scored. It was 9–9, but now both of my teammates were mad at me.
    â€œI’m working hard down there,” said Mike. “Wouldn’t kill you to get me the ball when I’m open.”
    â€œYou were all the way under the