Keys To Success on the Court Tips
Read these 10 Keys To Success on the Court Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Basketball tips and hundreds of other topics.
Pass the Ball Inside
Team success depends on scoring from inside the lane. These are often called "paint points" because the area inside the freethrow lane is referred to as the paint. One way to generate points in the paint is to pass the ball inside to post players. Every point in the paint makes your opponent less aggressive and creates freethrow shooting opportunities for your team.
Get Dribble Penetration to the Basket
The guards on the floor create scoring opportunities for themselves or their teammates through dribble penetration. Whenever the ball gets inside the defense, the result is normally either a high percentage shot or a foul on one of the defenders. Players that are excellent drivers always see the floor and never dribble into trouble. They use fakes to get past the first line of defense and then they locate and beat the second line defenders.
Stop Dribble Penetration
Nothing hurts a team defense more than dribble penetration because it forces inside players to help and recover. To stop dribble penetration, a defender must maintain the proper spacing. The thing to remember when stopping dribble penetration is to contain the dribbler. Good defensive players can defend one dribble. Great defensive players can defend two dribbles. The best defensive players can control the ball and where it goes to.
Create Deflections
basketball.lifetips.com/ Deflections reflect defensive intensity. Whenever a defender touches the ball, there is a chance a teammate might steal it. Deflections create easy scoring opportunities and give the defense a psychological edge over the offense. Keys to creating deflections are to keep the hands and feet active, mirror the ball constantly with one hand, swarm the ball handler after the dribble is picked up and see the ball and overplay the next penetrating pass if you are defending a player off the ball.
Get to the Freethrow Line
Personal fouls play a significant role in determining the winning and losing teams in basketball. Winning teams generally shoot more free throws. They shoot more free throws because they are committed to inside play, dribble penetration, offensive rebounding and transition basketball.
Get To the Offensive Boards
The importance of offensive rebounding cannot be overemphasized. Attacking the offensive boards produces high percentage shots, more freethrows and a psychological edge over the defense. A general rule of offensive rebounding is a team will score 50 percent of their second shot attempts and 80 percent of their third shot attempts. Teams give themselves a better chance of winning by getting more than one shot each position.
See the Floor and Read the Defense
Great players learn how to use their peripheral vision to see the court and find open teammates for high percentage shots. Players should always play with their heads up. They should see their teammates and recognize their floor position and readiness for a pass. They should also see the floor position of the defensive player guarding the potential receiver. Players should see the rim first, then the post area and finally the entire action.
Talk on Defense
The best defensive teams have players that continually talk on defense. There is always action on the court that requires communication between teammates. Specific terms should be developed so that players can communicate without any misunderstanding. Always communicate with teammates when playing defense, use a common language of terms or short phrases and call out all screens.
Get Back on Defense
All good teams have good transition defense. How does the team convert from offense to defense? The primary rule in transition defense is to stop all fast break layups. Six things to remember when building your transition defense are: protect the basket area from a long pass, pressure the rebounder, cover the outlet pass, discourage the sideline pass, contain the dribbler and fill the middle of the court. All defenders must get back and assume a position below the line of the ball.
Keep the Ball out of the Post Area
Post defense is the foundation of defensive play. After you decide how you are going to defend the post, then you can build your defense. A post defender can play behind, infront, side-front from the high side or side front from the lowside. To be successful, the ball must be kept out of the post area. The best way to do this is either to front or side-front the low post, which allows your perimeter defenders to stay home on outside shooters and reduce the number of personal fouls committed by the defense. Remember to keep defensive pressure on the entry passer. This is the best way to keep the ball out of the post area.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Ray Lokar |
