Three and Seventeen

Daniel's face felt hot. "We're not as far away as the record." "Every losing GM in history has said some version of that." He opened his laptop and projected possession clusters: first quarters competitive, third quarters collapsing; bench units hemorrhaging when Price hijacked late-clock possessions; opponents scoring at elite rates after live-ball turnovers; Jamal's minutes producing the team's best rim deterrence despite limited conditioning; Marcus creating advantage but lacking outlet chemistry. "We are losing the minutes where we betray the plan," Daniel said. "When we defend, run, and play through triggers, we're a league-average team. When we hunt stats or protect egos, we're the worst team in basketball."