Countless individuals love the sport of basketball. You can just shoot some baskets at the park, or try to make a career out of playing. Read this article to learn more about the sport of basketball.
Many people forget that defense is as important as offense during practice. In the end, it’s defense that consistently wins you games. Offense is often what gets the glory, but most winning basketball teams play great defense.
Make sure that you’re dribbling the ball correctly. Avoid using your palm while dribbling. Instead, use your fingertips. This allows you to control the ball much better while you dribble. Keep the ball by your side as you dribble instead of right in front your body. Instead of focusing on the ground, gaze upward.
Look forward and hold your head up while you dribble the ball. You need more practice if you feel that you cannot dribble without focusing on the ball. Take the basketball to all the places that you go. Dribble the ball while you’re walking around. Maintaining unbroken visual contact with the ball makes it difficult to be aware of your surroundings.
If you handle the ball often, you need to learn how to do a crossover. Moving the ball from hand to hand is a crossover. Speed determines the success of the crossover move. When done properly, crossover dribbling is a great way to quickly switch direction or move around the court in an efficient manner.
Don’t play while injured or else your injury will worsen. Basketball is physically demanding, and it is easy to get hurt. Trying to play while injured will just make your situation worse. Serious injuries may require medical attention.
Free Throw
To help perfect your free throw abilities you should perform a consistent routine. This could mean two dribbles before taking your free throw, bending your knees, or some other thing you do to get into a rhythm before shooting. Just remember it has to be fast and consistent. The reason is, this routine will put your body on alert that the next thing coming is a free throw. This will help insure your success.
Being a good defensive player means disrupting the game of your opponent. Force them into an uncomfortable zone. When you are guarding, do so aggressively. Keep them from deciding what moves to make. If you allow this to happen, your opponent will have the upper hand. Rather, you make the initial move and break up their flow.
Workout to increase flexibility and strength in your hands and forearms. Try doing some wrist curls as they are particularly effective in honing your dribble skills. Don’t assume that you are able to just stand anywhere, catch the ball and shoot it. You must move the ball to have things happen.
One good way to play good defense is to stay in the defensive stance at all times. You will always be in a defensive position if you slide your feet one way and then the other and push off using your opposing foot. Keep your body constantly facing toward your opponent in order to ensure the best possible defense.
Remain low when playing defense. This allows you to jump or react quicker. Remain in a correct defensive pose always. If you need to leave your feet in order to prevent your opponent from shooting the ball, quickly get back into that good defensive position.
To convert the typical 2-3 zone to a trapping machine, get the best pair of defenders available to wait just until the opposing point guard reaches roughly ten feet beyond the mid-court line. Once your opponent is trapped, he will have no option but to make a pass. With the forwards blocking outside, you have a good shot at intercepting a bad pass. Their point guard will probably hurl a pass that is easy for your own forwards to steal.
If you want to build the dexterity of your weaker hand, start using it for everyday tasks like shining your shoes or opening doors. Using both hands when playing is an important skill if you can develop it when you’re not playing. This will begin to spill over into your basketball game as well.
Stay low and dribble the ball below the level of your knees. Defenders will have a more difficult time stealing the ball. 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.
These tips can help you become a more versatile basketball player. Practice often to perfect your skills and fine tune your natural talents. Once you being to play, you’ll probably be hooked. Go out there and enjoy yourself!