Basketball games are novels. Basketball is a game of stars and match-ups. The game is divided into four chapters; throughout, the principle characters (usually two) collide and a theme develops within this conflict. The theme can be a triumphant Michael Jordan beating the odds and making three-pointer after three-pointer in the face of a shocked Clyde Drexler, who had given Jordan the open looks based on his history of missing those shots. Or it can be a cunning innocent prisoner’s redemptive escape from a maximum security prison in the face of his nemesis, the sadistic head guard.
Besides the two (or more) main characters, there is the supporting cast, and the possibility that one may steal the show. But generally, they simply help the main character achieve his or her aims in the face of the obstacles presented (mainly, the other main character on the opposing team).
The climax is the consummation of the theme, and the better the game (or novel) the later the climax. Great novels leave the climax to the last line, just as great games leave them to the last second. Ideally, Michael Jordan would hit a game winning three-pointer over Clyde Drexler to drive the point home, and after noticing the prisoner missing there would be a grand reveal of the entire escape plot (and maybe some discovery pointing to his innocence all along). Terrible novels resolve everything in the first chapter, and then just drag on. Of course, there is always the possibility for a twist; the game was not truly resolved in the first quarter, maybe there will be a comeback. Then again, how unsatisfying to read through a whole book hoping for a twist that never comes!
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