Basketball has been watched and played for many years. Focusing your attention on your skills goes a long way toward making you a more effective player. Don’t stop reading just yet because the following article is going to provide you with a few important pieces of basketball advice.
Free throws are an excellent skill to practice in your spare time. As easy as these shots may seem, they are rather hard. Use good technique when shooting foul shots. Start with the ball ahead of your face. Picture yourself going through the shot in your mind, with the ball sinking through the net. Bend your knees to control the arc of the ball.
Successful free throwing requires as much mental skill as it does physical skill. Training your body is important, but you also have to be mentally ready for the shot. Relax as you focus on making the shot, and soon you’ll be making more free throws.
Practice Catching Passes
Practice catching passes often. You want to practice catching perfect passes and bad passes. When a game is underway, not every throw will be perfect. Therefore, it pays to practice catching passes that are a bit off-target.
In order to get a good shot, you must use good footwork. Focus on positioning yourself more quickly than the opposing player is just as important as having someone beneath the hoop. If you are just stepping into position, you now have to secure the spot. Good solid footwork will help you develop the skills you need for success.
If you’re injured in a basketball game, don’t attempt to play while in pain. Basketball is hard to play well even when you are healthy, so don’t push it. You may injure yourself more if you continue to play with an injury. Don’t hesitate to see the doctor if you feel the injury warrants it.
Try practicing looking in the opposite direction when you pass. Doing this is a great way to confuse your opponents. If you’re doing it correctly you can fake your opponent out so he/she moves towards that direction and then you pass the ball to a wide open teammate for a shot. Practicing this pass can really help to give your team the winning edge.
In order to be successful with layups, the foot that is opposite from shooting hand is the one you should take off from. Practice shooting using your right hand, then jump off your left foot. This helps to maintain balance throughout your body and allows you to use yourself as a barrier between the defender and yourself.
Take charge when the opportunity presents itself. Letting the other guy run into you stops the game without having to use a time out, and adds another four to the opponent’s total. This can be devastating to the other team.
If you want to stay in a good defensive position, simply avoid breaking out of your defensive stance. Use a shuffling side to side motion to ensure you are in position. Don’t allow your feet to cross, and this will make you a hard defender to beat.
In order to confuse the offense, try changing your pace. When you running towards the basket, try planting the front foot and start straightening up. The guard may think you’ve slowed down and may try to straighten themselves. Like them, push and run past them.
Stay 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 all the time. When you have to break out of stance to block a shot, get back into form as quickly as possible.
Use your hand to create a barrier between the ball and your opponent. Don’t push your opponent because that is a foul; however, you can use your arm as separator between your opponent and the ball. Just keep it up slightly while dribbling with the other hand.
Forge a strong bond between teammates, whether you are playing the game or off the court. Basketball games gain a new intensity when players can work as one effortlessly. That means knowing each players strengths and weaknesses and trusting them.
Stop Dribbling
Double dribbling is considered a foul. This happens when you stop dribbling and then begin again. When you stop dribbling, you must shoot or pass the ball. You can’t start dribbling again. This will cause your team to lose the ball.
If you’ve studied the opposing team and found one player isn’t as good with one hand as with the other, try to make that player use his off hand. If they’re right handed, step into them using your left foot; this will force them to switch sides. Your head should be parallel to their chest and your body should be low since this is the best way to prepare to steal the ball.
If you have the right tips in mind as you practice basketball, you will find the game becomes easier and more enjoyable. Start with the great advice in the article above and keep on learning as much as you can. Get all of the advice you can so that you’re able to do your best.