If you’ve ever thought about becoming a great basketball player, you will have seen that it takes a lot of practice and dedication. This is true even if you only want to play for fun. You can gain valuable knowledge when you read this article.
There is a lot of pressure when shooting free throws. Of course, you can show your body how to make free throws. However, if you’re not in the right state of mind, you won’t succeed. Relax as you focus on making the shot, and soon you’ll be making more free throws.
It’s simple to want to work on offense when you’re getting into basketball, but it’s smarter to think about defense practice too. Basketball games are won with a good defense. While offense seems to get the praise, defense must be stellar in order to win.
You should practice against a variety of defense types, not just zone. Learn how to play a man-to-man defense and a zone defense to get the best understanding of how the game works. Practice with each type of defense so you will know what to expect.
Free Throw
If you want to be a jump shooter, avoid pumping iron excessively. Strong muscles are certainly useful for basketball, but you can overdo it if you plan to play on the perimeter. Certain pro guards ended up increasing their arm size so much that their shooting started to suffer.
Figure out how to perfect your free throw. This is one of those shots that seem easy but in real life are difficult. When practicing your free throw, concentrate on where you want the ball to go when it leaves your hands. Start with the ball positioned right before your face. Focus on the basket and picture the ball slipping into the net. Shoot the basketball exactly as you saw in your mind.
Prior to basketball season, and even during it, you can play solo games. While basketball is a team sport, sometimes you just can’t find others to play with. This is perfectly acceptable. It is possible to get a lot done even when playing alone. Maybe work on those free throws or practice your pivoting. There are always things that can be done.
Focus on your strengths to get better at basketball. You might not have star ability, but you can be an outstanding team player. Know your strengths and keep practicing to get even better.
Make use of hand signals so that wild passes can be avoided. It can be frustrating passing to a teammate when you’re both heading to the basket. Using signals helps communicate passes with your team. If the player does not flash the signal, then the player can avoid an errant pass.
Be sure to watch professional games to learn some great tips and tricks to improve your game. Go to professional games in person and/or watch them online or on TV. When you find a player who has the skills that you want, then watch them and emulate.
Keeping your fingers spread will facilitate better ball handling. This will help you to be sure that it won’t escape your grasp when trying to hold it. Keep your palm off the ball too. Your fingers must be the only things contacting it when you shoot or pass the ball at the target.
In order to get a good shot, you must use good footwork. You must beat the opposing playing to an open spot. Once you’re in position, you also need to secure your spot. These will both require powerful footwork.
Quickness is a virtue in basketball. Always stay ahead of the opposition. Steady drilling will help speed up your play. Though, you should never attempt to a play faster game than your abilities permit. Playing beyond your speed can result in bad passes and excessive turnovers.
Never try to push through pain after an injury. Basketball is physically demanding and you can easily get hurt. Trying to be tough so you can keep going, even when you’re just a little uncomfortable, can make an injury worse. If the injury feels too bad then seek medical attention right away.
Videotape your games to see what you do right and wrong. You can see where you can improve and what plays you missed. It is important that your assessment is an honest one, but isn’t overly critical. It can help you to see how you really are instead of what you imagine you are.
Where are your feet? If you slide onto the baseline, you will lose the ball for being out of bounds. Holding the ball for too many steps and not dribbling will result in a walking call which will cause you to you will lose possession of the ball. Also, moving either foot when trying to set a screen, pick or take a charge results in a foul call.
Give your layouts the most by launching from the foot that opposes the hand you are shooting with. So, your left foot should be the one you take off from if you use your right hand to shoot. This balances your body when moving towards your basket. It keeps your body in between you and the defender.
To help improve your ball handling skills, start incorporating your weak hand into your dribbling. It will be much easier to blow past your opponent if you can dribble with both hands. Don’t allow yourself to use your dominant hand when practicing. Eventually, your weak hand will be able to dribble well.
Being a good defensive player means disrupting the game of your opponent. Getting them to do things they aren’t accustomed to doing is ideal. The more aggressive you are the better. Don’t let them choose what plays to make. If you do, your opponent will run all over you. It’s important, then, to be aggressive and mess up their game rhythms.
You need to constantly disrupt your opponents in order to be a great defensive player. Force them into an uncomfortable zone. Your defensive moves must be aggressive and executed properly. Don’t let your opponent decide their own plays. If don’t play aggressively, you opponent will run you down. Instead, take the initiative and disrupt their rhythm.
To get a rebound of a free throw that one of your teammates is taking, you need to be sly with your feet. Try to anticipate the move of the defender between yourself and the basket so that you can maneuver around him and to the hoop. This gets you the rebound without you committing a foul.
Sly feet will help you get the rebound of your team mates free throw. As you see the defender moving in, quickly slip around to grab the ball. By doing this, you can increase your chance to get the rebound despite starting in a disadvantageous position.
Work on getting the ball down the length of a full court with five or fewer dribbles during drills. This will help you to gain speed, stride length and control of the ball. This helps give your team the advantage, and allows you to drive the center.
Drills should be done where you attempt to get your basketball up the court within five dribbles or even less than that. This may seem quite difficult at first, but once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll have great speed and stride length. It can mean easier lay-ups when dealing with fast breaks and it can help your teammates for just a moment.
One of the best ways to always be in proper defensive position is to never break out of the defensive stance. You can shuffle your feet to either side, or push with your opposing foot, so you will be ready and in position. Don’t forget not to cross your feet, and you won’t be easy to get around.
Take every charge you can. This play gets your team possession of the ball and a foul against your opponent. This can throw off the opposing team and mess up their rhythm.
Keep low when you play defense. That helps you stay quick when it comes to the jump and will help you react more quickly to the person just ahead of you. Stay in your defensive stance. When you must break from your stance in order to block shots, make sure to return to form right away.
You can make the 2-3 zone a lot more dangerous by having two defenders stay in this zone until a point guard is beyond the time line. Then, they need to run at the point guard to trap him. Then, have the forwards on blocks run to the wing players. Your forwards should easily be able to steal the pass that the point guard throws.
Use wrist curls to increase the strength in your weaker arm. If you can train yourself to be ambidextrous, you will gain complete control of that hand. That can make your game better.
If you wish to get your weaker hand built up, you need to use it to brush your teeth and to do other simple tasks. If you can train yourself to be ambidextrous, you will gain complete control of that hand. This will begin to spill over into your basketball game as well.
Build your team up at all times. A team that works together is an unstoppable team. When you trust your teammates, you’ll play a better game.
Stop Dribbling
You must know as a ball handler how to read when to take a shot and when you should be passing. It is better to be part of a winning shot than to be the sole player in a shot that cost the game.
Only stop dribbling when you are prepared to shoot or pass the ball. You have few options remaining to you after you stop dribbling. If you don’t shoot or pass, you are going to be pivoting with your back foot. The chances of the ball being stolen is high, and you might be double teamed as well.
When you’re on defense, a good thing to do would be to get your opponent to be near the sideline. Pushing them out to the side will give them with fewer options. If you’re able to push them near the sideline, their choices will get more limited.
Try to contain the action to the area below your knees. This makes it difficult for the ball to be stolen. You need to bend a bit more for this to succeed, but you will be able to traverse the court rapidly while keeping opponents at bay.
When performing a workout, take notes of what you want to get done. A lot of players practice without a workout plan. They chit-chat with their friends and just move around the gym without real direction. If you write down your workout routine, you could focus on improvements without any distractions.
Now, you can take some action by using the tips and tricks this article has given you to do. You will start to see improvement little by little as you remember what you’ve read, use the tips, and practice them. These steps will guarantee your improvement.
Never let emotions get the best of you when speaking with officials. It is OK to disagree, or even ask a question. But getting in their face and confronting them is not the way to play a team sport. You can’t control what the referees call, so ignore bad calls and keep playing your game.
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