What should I know about playing basketball? What should I learn to become better player and appreciate the game more completely?
A lot of novice players mostly focus on their offensive skills, but developing good defensive skills will help you become a better player. Basketball games are often won by great defensive play. The offense gets lots of attention, but if the defense is lacking no basketball team will ever win a game.
Free throws require both mental as well as physical. Stay calm and just focus on the goal and you will increase your ability to make free throw rate.
A good way to hone your basketball abilities is to watch the pros.
Dribble while your head is up and your eyes are forward. If you’ve got your eye on the ball while you’re dribbling, you haven’t mastered it yet. One of the best ways to improve your dribbling is to bring your ball along anytime you need to walk somewhere. Walking to your mailbox? Dribble the ball. Staring at the ball doesn’t allow you to watch the other players.
Don’t spend all your game against the zone defense. While a good chunk of the game will most likely be played in zone, a team can switch defenses to man-to-man quickly in order to confuse you. If your practice did not include this, you may lose your grip of the game for the remainder of it.
You can improve your passing skills by practicing a simple drill where dribbling during practice. It is quite challenging to play the game without dribbling, but it will help your team make great passes.
Make sure to practice catching passes. When you practice, mix it up so that you can catch perfect passes and errant throws. When the pressure is on, not every pass will come straight to you. Help your teammates by learning what you need to haul in those imperfect passes.
Never play through pain after an injury when playing basketball. Basketball is challenging physical sport and you can easily get injured. You can quickly turn a strain into a debilitating medical issue if you continue to play with an injury. See a doctor if you think your injury is serious.
Build your core strength and focus on your footwork. Your body is going to be more balanced and easier to move faster when you have strong core muscles. Work the muscles in your abdomen, back, hip and buttocks muscles. Jump rope like a boxer to improve your footwork speed.
Need to dupe the opposition? How about the behind the back pass? Perform this pass by holding the ball using your dominant hand. Then, move the ball so it is behind your back. After determining which direction you want the ball to go, use a quick flick of your wrist to send it that way. This should should thoroughly fool your opponent.
Pay attention to your shoulders if you’ve suddenly developed a shooting slump. If your shoulders are in a bad position, no matter your skill level, you won’t make the shot. Your shoulders should always be squared up towards where you’re shooting. You want your strong-side shoulder is lined up with the rim.
Speed is a key attribute in the sport of basketball. Try playing faster than your opponents for an advantage. You will have to be steady as you play quickly.But do not try to go even faster than you actually are. Playing beyond your speed cause the game to get out of control with various turnovers and excessive turnovers.
When the opportunity arises you always want to take a charge. When you do that, you can earn defensive stops, get the ball back, and set up foul shots against the other team. This play can give your team a psychological boost, as well as demoralizing the other team.
Ask a video of you can see how yourself in action. You can see things differently as you can improve and notice things you missed. Be honest with yourself but not overly critical.
Passing between the legs is something that helps when you are being closely guarded. You can train for this technique by stepping forward or backward and bouncing the ball real hard in-between your legs. Mastering this move can help give you a big advantage on the court.
If you wish to shoot on the outside better you should work on shooting hundreds of times every day from a lot of places on the court. Taking quick shots during practice will help you during the game when the pressure is on. Be sure you look at the target as you’re in mid air. This way, you will be ready for the rapid pace of game play.
Practice passing while looking in the direction of the pass. You can really confuse opponents this technique. If you do this fake the right way, you’ll be able to free up time for the person that you’ve passed to. It’s a great play when done properly.
To increase the efficiency of your layups, leap from the opposite foot from the hand you use to shoot. This will keep your body and allows you to use yourself as a barrier between the defender and yourself.
Keep dribbling when you’re going to switch the body’s momentum from side to side. Remember that you must dribble in a variety of situations during a basketball game. You may see an open court but there are opponents ready to swarm you. You have to figure out how you can dribble while you’re working with your body leaning. This will help you in bad situations.
Good footwork will help you to get those rebounds. The defender in your path will be moving at you, so try to slip by them to obtain the ball. This will allow you a rebound without getting penalized for a foul.
Strength training can help your skills in basketball. Stamina and physical strength are two things you need to do well in this sport. Even little kids that play will benefit from the game. As they become adolescents, begin adding weights to their exercise routine.
If you already know that the ball handler has a weak side, try to force the use of it. Use your body position to make the opponent move in a direction that is not as strong. Make your head parallel to their chest to be sure that you have your body low and get prepared to go for the ball.
The opposing team will have a harder time stealing the ball from you. It will be necessary to bend over, balance and bending but just keep moving toward the goal.
Now do you have the answers you were seeking? Do you think you can now apply this knowledge on the court? Can you handle becoming an even better basketball player as a result of reading this article? Then it’s time to put your skills to practice and really reap the rewards of what you’ve learned.
One of thing you should learn if you are going to be a good basketball player is how to pivot. You have to practice the footwork you do so that you can pivot without giving it a second though. You also want to practice on not getting disoriented or getting your feet tangled up. You should first practice your pivoting stance, followed by practicing your reaction rate once you’ve gotten the ball.