I want to preface this by clarifying that I'm not a native speaker, so there are some gaps in my English literary education.

Now, onto the meat of the subject. While researching, I found multiple sources indicating that we should avoid using participle phrases as much as possible. I understand that this is not meant to be taken as an absolute, rigid rule, but I still found myself using them a lot – perhaps even too much for some people's taste.

I find that participles add another layer to the sentence, allowing me to stack multiple actions/reactions together. Whereas when I try to replace every participle with a more active past tense, it makes my sentences feel clunkier. It also feels like the actions are happening in succession rather than simultaneously. However, I don't write to read it myself, which is why I wanted a second opinion on this. Again, this might also be a difference from how I learnt English.

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

> Shifting her attention down below, she watched the grey wave start to climb the slope toward her.

Or

> She shifted her attention down below and watched the grey wave start to climb the slope toward her.

///

> Flowing easier than she ever had, she spun the other way, kicking a small wave of sand in her wake.

Or

> She flowed easier than she ever had, spun the other way, and kicked a small wave of sand in her wake.

///

> As she attempted the same manoeuvre, the bull veered inward, clipping her left shoulder with its horn just as it was getting slit in half.

Or

> As she attempted the same manoeuvre, the bull veered inward and clipped her left shoulder with its horn just as it got slit in half.

///

> Gritting her teeth to stifle a cry of agony, she dashed backwards into the gap between the two piles of steaming meat. With the pain and adrenaline coursing through her body in full force, she couldn't enter a mental state to even think about...

Or

> She gritted her teeth to stifle a cry of agony and dashed backwards into the gap between the two piles of steaming meat. Pain and adrenaline coursed through her body in full force, she couldn't enter a mental state to even think about...

///

> Forcing her leaden limbs to obey, she hauled herself upright on the camel's back.

Or

> She forced her leaden limbs to obey and hauled herself upright on the camel's back.

Highlights

Shared wristbands:

>“It’s his logo, we wear it every game,” Harper tells The Athletic. “Supporting the brand. Fox is my vet, so me, him and Steph wear it. I asked for his band, and it became a thing.”

>Around midseason, Harper wanted to be like Unc. He asked about the wristbands, thought it would be cool to make some and started the process.

>“He was like, ‘I’m gonna get my agency to get me some,’ ” Fox tells The Athletic. “Then he got some and he was like, ‘I only play well in yours.’ ”

>Fox dropped off a pile of Fox bands, and then Castle wanted in, too. He kept giving them more, but they kept losing them. Kids will be kids, after all.

>“I keep enough for me, but it’s dope, man,” Fox says. “Seeing those young guys and the way they look up to me, it’s fun.”

>Now, this is where the magic comes in — around the time the Slash Bros became the Band Bros, Castle and Harper’s 3s started going down. Not, like, getting a little better. They went from shooting in the 20s from beyond the arc to the 40s in the blink of an eye. Magic.

About their growth:

>“I think it’s dope and it’s something that I don’t take for granted,” Fox said in his postgame news conference. “Having guys who are this talented, have watched me throughout my career and then we get to be in the same locker room and get to be on the court together, it’s something I love.

>“And I want them to feel that success from as early as you can get in your career, because you never know when those things can come back around.”

>Fox takes pride in giving them little tidbits he calls a cheat sheet for navigating the league. The coaching staff gave Castle the breadth to make mistakes and play through them, getting frequent reps running point until people stopped having the “Is Steph Castle a point guard?” conversation.

>Johnson trusts Fox to help them learn the ropes, see the bigger picture and find patience amid the chaos they create. But when Johnson was asked what he thinks Harper and Castle have learned from Fox, he wasn’t even sure.

>“I don’t know what those guys learned. They just go. I’m being serious,” Johnson said. “They’re as coachable as anybody that we have. They listen when we tell them stuff. And then they get on the court, and they’re just like attack dogs and they just go.”