If you arrived here looking for great tips on how to play better basketball, then you’re in the right place. It doesn’t matter whether you’re new to the game or experienced, anyone can benefit with knowing some simple tips. Read on and learn, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
It is important that you perfect dribbling the ball. Instead of using your palm to dribble focus on using your fingertips. Doing so will allow you a greater degree of ball control. Also, dribble off to the side instead of in front. The ball should bounce no higher than your waist. Keep your eyes up, not on the ground.
One of the most important things to understand is when to make the shot. Taking a dangerous shot can result in the ball being overturned. If you do not feel comfortable making the shot, pass it to a teammate and either let them make the shot or get into a better position to make the shot.
When you have the ball, make sure you change your direction frequently. The entire court is open to you, and it is important to take advantage of that fact. As you move to the right or the left, make sure you shift your weight accordingly to have the easiest experience moving with the ball.
Would you like to fool the opposing team? Try doing what is known as a back pass. Use your dominant hand to palm the basketball. Next, pull the ball behind your back. Finally your wrist should be flicked towards where you want the ball to go. This should make it easy to trick the other team.
Be careful not to travel when dribbling the basketball. Traveling occurs when you take too many steps in between dribbles. It’s most likely to happen when going up for a shot. Just one extra step will mean the difference between a score and a turnover, so practice shooting as often as you can.
Bend your knees as you dribble the ball. This gets you closer to the surface you are dribbling on and causes the distance between ground and ball to be reduced. This gives your opposition less of a chance to steal the ball away from you as you head for the net.
Learn how to use your hips, eyes, shoulders and entire body while dribbling. This can easily shake a defender off of you while dribbling if you look one way and move another. They are watching your body for clues to where you are going next. Use this to your advantage and throw them incorrect clues to get around them.
If you experience a slump in your scoring and shooting, your shoulders may be the cause of the problem. When your shoulders are not properly positioned, then it is almost impossible to perform at your best. Your shoulders should always be square towards the basket. The shoulder that is dominant should be perfectly aligned with the hoop rim.
There may be sneaky or subversive moves that you can make in an attempt to won a game but they are not worth it. Your teammates and fans deserve a player to be proud of, not one whose actions they have to defend. Be a player that your team and the opposing team can both respect.
If you want to better your dribble, start practicing with your weaker hand. By being able to easily dribble with two hands rather than one, you have a huge advantage over your defenders. Practice with your weak hand by tying your dominant hand behind your back. You will get new dribbling skills with your weak hand.
Having the proper stance when playing defense is going to help you with all of your defensive moves. You will be much quicker to counteract offensive moves and you will be much harder to get by if you maintain the proper stance. Whenever you are practicing, train your body to get in the proper defensive stance so that it seems natural to you.
Defensive players need to stay low. Doing so improves your reaction time with regards to your opponents’ actions. Hold a defensive stance always. If you break form in an attempt to shot block, return to the proper form as soon as you can.
Pay attention to who has the hot hand. If a player on either team makes more than two or three consecutive baskets they are “on fire” as the saying goes. If they’re on your team, do what you can to make sure their streak keeps going to help your team. If it’s an opponent, put a little more defensive pressure on him.
To help improve your basketball playing skills you will need to learn how to jump higher. One way that you can get better at this is by doing calf raises. Improving the strength of your legs, especially your calves will help you get more lift. Not only do you need to jump higher, you also need to be quicker, too.
While you should always make your passes as simple as possible, some situations call for more complicated passes. If you have to make a behind-the-back pass, your power is coming from your arm and fingers. If you use the power from your shoulders, you opponent will realize what your are doing and may be quick enough to break up the pass.
Now that you read the above article, nothing should hold you back from becoming a better basketball player. All it takes is knowledge and practice your skills. If you practice what you just learned today, there is no reason why you cannot better your skills to help you succeed at basketball.