Chapter Five: They Need Me to Fall Behind

“I see that you get faster when we're losing. Why doesn't matter. Control does.” Against the Mountain Hounds, Grant coached three quarters with suspicious caution. He punted on fourth-and-one and called three straight runs in the red zone. A ten-point Storm lead became a 20–13 deficit. Mara showed Lin the model: Grant's decisions had cut their win probability from seventy-one percent to thirty-eight. “He's manufacturing the activation condition.” [LIVE DEFEAT PROBABILITY: 63.4%.] [BASE AMPLIFICATION ACTIVE.] Grant suddenly opened the offense. “Feed eleven. Tempo!” Lin felt cold. The coach had marched fifty-three players to a cliff so Lin could become the rope.