The fundamentals of basketball are fairly easy to learn. Basic techniques can be learned in a couple minutes. However, you can always learn more if you would like to improve your game, and the following tips will help.
Practice hitting your free throws. This kind of shot seems easy, but it really is not. Practice this technique regularly. Hold the ball level to your face. Visualize the ball sailing into the hoop. When you shoot, keep the visualized trajectory in mind.
When dribbling, focus on what’s in front of you by keeping your head up. If you are looking at the ball for any reason while dribbling, you have not put in enough practice. Wherever you go, take your ball with you. Practice in your home and wherever you walk. If you are staring at the ball, there is no way you can know what else is happening on the court.
You must have good balance to shoot well. Falling when you make a shot is not the right way to shoot. They have just improvised, is all. Non-professionals should focus on having good balance to ensure good shots. As time passes, you will make more and more baskets with this method.
To get better in your basketball game, focus on your strengths. Your talents might not make you a star, but when you make the most of your strengths, you might better contribute to your team. Know what you are good at, then practice it until you’re absolutely perfect at it!
Better your basketball skills by watching the pros play. You can follow the pros in online videos, on TV and you can also attend a basketball game if there is a pro team in your area. When you find a player who has the skills that you want, then watch them and emulate.
Frequently train yourself on your pass catching moves. You want to practice catching perfect passes and bad passes. During a real game, many of the passes that come your way will be off-target and tougher to handle. Cover for your teammates’ errant passes by developing the hands to cover their mistakes.
Practice using different types of defenses. Most of the game is played in zone, but your opponent may try to switch things up to do man-to-man coverage. You might lose your control of the court if the other team use this technique, unless you are ready for this possibility.
It’s great to be quick in basketball. Try playing faster than the opponents for a better advantage. In order to play fast, you must practice drills. But don’t try to go even faster than you actually are. When you play too fast, you can lose control and that means turnovers.
Free Throw
Create and stick to a routine each time you prepare to shoot a free throw. 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. Having a consistent routine is ideal, and that helps train your body to know how to be in the proper position every time you shoot the free throw.
It can help you when you pass through your legs. Practice this by bouncing the ball hard between your legs as you take a step forward or back. If this move is something you master, you’ll have an advantage when you go out to play a game.
To maximize your layups, take off with the foot that opposes your shooting hand. Thus, if you use your right hand for shooting, you need to push off using your left foot. Your body will develop good coordination and you keep your defender at a distance.
Keep low as you defend. You will become faster and react faster. Stay in a defensive stance. When rebounding or blocking, you break the stance, but then you must get back in the stance quickly.
A powerful play called the trapping machine, is to have your guards wait for the point guard to come just past midcourt. Then they should run to the point guard and trap him. Your forwards can sprint to block the player on both sides. The point guard should throw up a pass that your forwards can easily steal.
To improve three-point shooting, do it from NBA distance at the very least. That is the furthest distance that you would ever have to shoot from to score a three. Hitting from the NBA range makes you get deeper-ranged looks than the defense will be guarding you at.
Make sure your off-court exercise is appropriate to help your on-court game. Running for long distances will increase your stamina, while running sprints will help you with fast-paced moves. Weightlifting or resistance training improves your muscle tone. The aggression and confidence you get from this can also assist you more than most things if you’re shooting.
Keep dribbling in a particular rhythm until you think it’s time to trick the opponent. A consistent dribbling broken up by a fast paced dribble can surprise your opponent and give you a major edge for a shot. In addition to the tempo change, the louder sound of your dribbling can catch them off guard as well.
Try to alter the path of your opponent. With practice, you can learn how to control the path of others players with your footwork. By doing this you will be able to go wherever you want on the court without their interference.
Maybe you are just starting out with basketball when you read this article. Maybe you have played since you were a little kid. Either way, the information here can help you improve your game. Use these tips when you next play a game of basketball.