Mr. Bell’s advice to his sons comes through in several places, but particularly in the bascket balk rules how do the rules connect to the characters in the book?

The rules of basketball work as rules for life.

• Rule #1. -family is court; ball is heart; always leave heart on court. ...
• Rule #3. -never let anyone lower your goals; the sky is the limit; always shoot for the sun and you will shine. ...

Both rules work as a metaphor for other parts of life.