Whether you’d rather cheer from bleachers or shoot the ball like a professional, you have to really understand the game if you want to truly enjoy it. Don’t know the rules? Do not waste time in despair. It’s easy to learn basketball. You can find some useful information that will enhance your game as a player and a spectator.
Make sure that you’re dribbling the ball correctly. Instead of using your palm to dribble focus on using your fingertips. Dribbling this way improves your ball control dramatically. Dribble along the side of the body, not immediately in front of it, and keep the bounce to the waist level or below. You should always look upwards instead of at the ground.
Learn the best way to make your free throws. This may seem like an easy task, but in reality, things prove otherwise. You should practice as often as possible with this technique. Place the ball right in line with your face. Then, look at the ball and visualize it going in the basket. Next, shoot with just the trajectory you saw.
Be sure to watch professional games to learn some great tips and tricks to improve your game. It is important that you see how other people play the game. You are sure to notice the key skills each player has mastered, and from there you can start practicing.
Make sure you are looking forward and looking up as you’re dribbling. If you must look at the ball while dribbling, you haven’t practiced enough. One of the best ways to improve your dribbling is to bring your ball along anytime you need to walk somewhere. You can practice dribbling when you have to walk to the store. Maintaining unbroken visual contact with the ball makes it difficult to be aware of your surroundings.
Learn good passing by drilling often without dribbling. Passing drills with your team is important for accurate passes during game time, and you can try doing them without dribbling at all. The accuracy of passes will greatly improve over time and the drill will become a lot easier.
Perfect Passes
Want to trick the other team? Try a pass back! Hold the basketball with your writing hand. Next get the ball pulled up behind the back. Then you will use your wrist and flip it in the direction you want the ball to be going. This should should thoroughly fool your opponent.
Practice catching passes as often as you can. You need to be able to retrieve perfect passes and not so perfect passes. When the pressure is on, not every pass will come straight to you. So do your teammates a favor by learning how to consistently haul in their less than perfect passes.
Good footwork is important when you’re posting up in the paint. You must be certain to get the good spot ahead of your opponent. Once you’re in the proper position, you’ll have to then secure your spot. Solid footwork can make both of these things happen.
Improve your passing abilities by challenging yourself to perform drills without actually dribbling. Playing the game without the use of dribbling is a challenge, but it can help you and your team learn to make more precise passes. Don’t get frustrated if it’s hard at first because it will get better over time.
You can improve your control of the ball by spreading your fingers. This way, you won’t lose the ball when holding it. Also, keep your palm off the ball. The only things that should touch the ball are your fingers, as you shoot or pass.
Jump shooters should not also be iron pumpers. Muscle flexibility is more important than muscle mass. Many guards in the pros have developed their arm muscles too big, which has really harmed their shooting percentage.
Consistent free throws require a consistent technique. If you are inconsistent then your shot will be off. Practicing your free throw again and again is the only way to perfect it. This will help you develop a routine. If that routine goes off, it will cause you to miss your shot.
One good way to always be ready for whatever happens on the court is to never turn your back on the ball. This provides court awareness and prevents you from unexpected turnovers or quick passes. Always watch for areas opening up where you can go for a quick basket.
To improve ball handling, consider focusing workouts on your forearms and hands. Wrist curls work well at helping you handle the ball. Don’t stay stopped; always move around the court. You have to learn to move the ball if you want something to happen.
Defensive Game
You need good vision if you are going to play basketball. This means more than just being able to see well enough to play, but “seeing” the court deeply. Try making your peripheral vision the best it can be. Tunnel vision makes it difficult to play effectively, so try to view the entire court and all players.
Your defensive game will be more successful if you know your opponents. Pay attention to how they play. Find out who are the right-handed or left-handed players. Your defensive game will be a lot more effective after you get to know your opponent. The more knowledgeable a defender is, the stronger he is.
Developing your muscle strength and flexibility will make you a better basketball player. Strength and stamina are both needed to excel at basketball. Younger kids can benefit from boosting their arm and leg strength with proper exercise. As they become adolescents, let them start using weights for added benefits. It’s important to continue strength training when you are an adult to maintain your performance.
Practice dribbling with your weaker hand. If both hands are useful for dribbling, your opponents will not stand much of a chance. Try tying the dominant hand behind you and forcing yourself to just using your weak hand. In no time, the weak hand will also be useful for dribbling.
Increase your weak hand’s capabilities by using it for everything you normally would not. Being able to dribble and shoot the ball with both hands will make it much more difficult for opponents to defend you. Your basketball skills will benefit.
To be a strong defender, you must have the ability to disrupt and interfere with the opponents’ plans. Don’t let your opponent get comfortable out there on the court. Execute aggressive moves. This will keep them from being able to choose which plays they will make. If you do so, then your rivals have the control. Rather, move first; attack their rhythm.
Be sure you do the sort of off-court exercises that help you during games. You can run longer distances to build up stamina. To build speed, try doing wind sprints. Both are necessary for playing good ball. Lift weights to build your power. The aggression and confidence you get from this can also assist you more than most things if you’re shooting.
Whenever possible, take advantage of an attack. Turnovers are an important part of the game that can end up giving your team the upper hand. This can make for good psychological warfare.
What you eat can affect how you play. If you’re playing regularly, you need energy-loaded carbs as well as some fat and protein. Some good things to add to a diet would be peanut butter, nuts, chicken, and wheat breads. Stay away from salt and sugar.
When on defense, try to keep yourself low whenever you can. 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. You always want to have a strong defensive stance on the court. When you break your stance to block, return to proper form as quick as you can.
Grabbing and keeping a rebound depends on how well you’re positioned before and after the ball comes off the rim. Jump with both feet for improved power and balance and retrieve the ball with both hands. Once you have the ball in your position, come down to the ground with your legs spread out to make sure you don’t stumble.
Your defenders need to wait for the point guard to make it 10′ ahead of the time line. Then your defending guards should encircle the point guard to trap him in place. It also lets you have forwards on blocks sprint to the wing players. The guard on point should make a pass that can easily be stolen by the forwards.
Always focus on where the ball is going after it leaves your teammates hands or the opposing players hands. Rebounds represent a crucial component of any basketball game. No matter how hard you work to perfect your defensive technique, if you can’t retrieve the ball then you can’t score.
To increase the strength of your weaker hand, utilize it for doing everything, including brushing your teeth and opening jars. Using both hands when playing is an important skill if you can develop it when you’re not playing. This will help you with your basketball game also.
Know what areas you are weak in. Make an honest assessment. If you’re always missing foul shot, practice these over everything else. If you play weak within the paint, work on short shots and try training to play much more physically. Address your weak spots, and become a well-rounded player.
Keep dribbling until you’re ready to either pass or shoot. The instant you stop the dribble, your options become limited. If you choose against passing or shooting, you are stuck pivoting in place. The opposition will cling onto you like a magnet.
Dribble as hard as you can when practicing. This will make it harder for any defender to pull off a steal from you. Always work on dribbling as hard as possible.
Work on dribbling the ball while switching the momentum of the body from side to side. In the middle of a game, lots of dribbling situations will arise. Perhaps you will have open court; however, you might have bunches of opposing team members all around you. Remember to dribble while leaning in various directions. Good dribbling skills will make getting out of a bad situation a lot easier.
Avoid getting into arguments with the referees. Although there might be a disagreement with a ref, instead you should as the ref why he made the call. You don’t want to argue or get in their face. Try to put yourself in the officials shoes and try to keep your cool.
It’s not that hard. Now you know a ton about basketball. You can use the information you got in this article to gain game perfection, or you can just perfect your television tuning skills so you can observe the pros in action.
When you’re working on playing basketball, you have to know how to communicate. You have to build this during your team’s practice. During practices you should create hand signals and phrases to help each other out. You have to come up with signals to tell them when to move to the left, right, forward and backward.
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