When you’re trying to start to improve at basketball, then you’re going to have to start practicing. However, practice is futile when you’re not doing it correctly to begin with. The tips below can help you shoot baskets correctly in no time.
It is tempting to concentrate just on offense when just staring out, but defensive practice is absolutely vital. Defense is what stands between you and a win. Offense is often what gets the glory, but most winning basketball teams play great defense.
Perfect your free throw. There are usually a lot of distractions when you are shooting free throws so you need to concentrate. The following technique should be practiced often. First, hold the ball just above your nose, about 8 inches from your face. Visualize the ball sailing into the hoop. Once you’ve visualized this, take your shot as you just saw it in your head.
Professional Basketball
Your balance is an important aspect to consider when you are shooting. We have all seen the professional basketball player falling out of bounds and making a basket from 30 feet away, but this is not proper technique. Professional basketball players tend to improvise when need be. You need to maintain good balance while shooting, which is sure to produce greater consistency.
To improve your game, concentrate on your strong points. Your team will benefit more if you stop trying to be the star of the game and work your best. Figure out what you do well at and then you can practice that until you perfect it.
Watching the pros can help you pick up on certain skills for improving your game. You can do this by watching games in person and on television. Watch great players to learn the specific skills that make them exceptional.
Free Throws
Perform skills, practice your ball handling and shoot free throws when you are practicing alone. While basketball is a team sport, sometimes you just can’t find others to play with. Don’t fret! There are many ways that you can improve your game alone. Work on free throws and pivot moves. This will help improve the hard parts of your game.
Footwork is what gets you ready for a shot. Focus on positioning yourself more quickly than the opposing player is just as important as having someone beneath the hoop. Once you find a spot, you need to know how to defend it. The key to mastering these skills is good footwork.
Make it your goal to never turn away from the ball on the court. This will give you court awareness and keep you from being surprised by quick passes or turnover potentials. Also, keep your eyes on areas that open up on the court for an easy basket.
To generate consistency with layups, leap from the opposite foot from the hand you use to shoot. What this practically means is that if your right hand is your shooting hand, you need to take off with your left foot. This will allow you to be more balanced while moving closer to the basket while keeping your body between the defender and you.
Hard dribbling helps avoid stolen balls. The harder you dribble, the faster the ball will return to the cup of you hand. If you are being closely guarded, you should cease dribbling and pass the ball to an open member of your team.
It is important that you can clearly see everything that is occurring during a game. This isn’t just for reading the scoreboard. Peripheral vision is important during game play. If you look across the whole game and not just focus on the ball, you can see oncoming defensive pressure in advance, as well as open teammates.
To trap the opposing players in a 2-3 zone, have the defending guards hold back till the opposing point guard has moved beyond the midcourt line by about ten feet. They can then trap the point guard. As your guards are doing this, send your forwards out to the outside opponents. This can cause the point guard to pass the ball in a way that your teammates can easily steal.
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. To improve even more, practice dribbling the basketball and then pull up fast for a quick shot. While in the air check out your target, but never before that. You will increase your level of accuracy and create an experience closer to real game play.
It doesn’t matter how often you play basketball, the tips in this article will better your game every time you play. Start by mastering one tip and then move on to another. Once you have practiced enough, each and every shot will make a positive impact for the team. This is what separates the professionals from the rookies.