Less Kobe... More Succes For Lakers?

The Los Angeles Lakers on the way to their best start in the past four seasons as Kobe Bryant is doing less, resulting in the rest of the team doing better. Kobe was the NBA's Western Conference Player of the Month for December, yet he much prefers his teammates to step forward. Know, we saw him did more assist than before. He passed to his open teammate, he make his teammate scored more, he made his teammate better. That approach has turned into a winning combination for the Lakers, whose 20-11 record going into Thursday night's game at Sacramento, is the fifth best in the league.”
So, Less Kobe has meant more succes to Lakers...? Do you think same with me? READ MORE...

Basketball Training Tips - Passing (Part 2)

The ability to move the basketball and hit the open man is a characteristic found in all great players and teams. In order to perfect this ability to its utmost, players must utilize and master the following fundamental principles of passing:
Anticipate
Read the defense and know where to pass before receiving the ball. Outstanding basketball players have the ability to anticipate where to pass the basketball. This is why professional players need very little team pattern to create good scoring opportunities for their teammates.
Maintain a proper spacing
Most passes should be made within a 12' to 15' distance. This spacing spreads the defense and allows for quick, accurate passing. Passes beyond 15' carry a high risk of interception. Never throw directly at a receiver moving away from you. Always lead the receiver to the basket on lob and baseball passes.
When the defender is playing off, close the distance with a dribble to less than 3'. The closer the defender plays, the less time they have to read and react to the passer's movements. Dribble penetration will also force the defender to defend against the drive and eliminates their playing of the passing lane.
Closing the distance
Note: On post feeds, the majority of steals are made by the passer's own defender not the post's defender.Look off the receiver. Use split vision to see the passing lane and receiver. Avoid telegraphing pass by turning head and looking directly at the receiver. Use quick wrist action for all passes. Eliminate all unnecessary movements like winding up and stepping with the pass.
Pass through the defense
Avoid passing over or around the defender. Pass fake in opposite direction. Watch the defender's hands and make a quick, accurate pass away from them. When the defender plays with his/her hands up, fake high and pass under their arm pit. When the defender holds his/her down, fake low and pass over their shoulder between their arm and head.
Read and pass away from the receiver's defender
Recognize how the defender is playing the receiver and pass to the opposite side. The receiver has the responsibility to "shape up" in such a manner that he presents a good target. They must protect the passing lane by assuming a low stance with the foot nearest to the defender forward between the defender and the ball.
Line of Deployment
Note: Never pass to a receiver that does not call and want the ball. Move the ball. The ability to make the good quick, strong pass cannot be over emphasized. The basketball has to be moved. A player should be able to successfully execute his play (pass, shot, drive) within three seconds after receiving the ball. The ability to move the ball separates the good players from the mediocre ones and the good ball clubs from the poor ones.
Pass and move
Passer must move a specific purpose after executing a pass. Each movement should result in a screen, a shot, rebound position, a fake or clear. Standing and watching after making pass is a major fault of the poor player.
Develop pride in your passes
Work hard to perfect all types of passes. Be clever, not fancy. The clever passer will receive praise while the fancy one will be ridiculed. READ MORE...

Basketball Training Tips - Passing (Part 1)

In the game, you can shoot the ball and you can crossovered peoples. Anklebreaker is on the court, but if you can pass the ball, you should not be a good basketball player. I mean, if you have doubled (double team), or you step has stopped by defender, what you got to do? Force to shoot? Even if you don’t have a good shooting skill?

Coach like the players that can make chances to the team to scores aside he/she can scores by him/her-self. I played shooting guard position in my team, I also played small forwad position. I had shoot too many in my game, but I am glad when my coach thought me that I had a passing talent. My teammate is happy to play with me because I like to make some assist in games.

I like to see Tracy Mcgrady play, you know, he can score, dunk, blockshot, and do some beautiful pass. I like to watch him play. Too many scorers in the NBA can make incredibles pass, like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and too many. They are the top scores in NBA, but they always make some spectacular pass in their games. You also can see the incredible flashy pass from the street near your neighbourhood, I mean streetball. Streetballers has too many trick to pass the ball, too many no look pass are there, from bounce pass to over head pass. They do it all in fantastic form.
You will feel a different thing if you eventual have a good passing skill. Here are some tips, lets feel it!
How to improve your passing skill?
You must know what are your style, what kind of pass do you like to do, so you can see what level of "passing player" are you.
What category of "passing" player are you? What is your passing level?
Level One
Throws the ball to an area just to get rid of it. Common among beginning players.

Level Two
Just throws the ball toward a teammate no matter if they are ready to receive it or not. This is why players get hit by the ball during practice when just standing around.
Level Three
Surgeon. Passes to a specific target (hand or finger). Leads receivers into good shots. Rarely throws the ball away.

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T-Mac in Action!

T-Mac's hand injury that took him out of the game Friday night against the Hawks did not phase him at all Sunday night in the Rockets 111-109 win over the Grizzlies. He scored a season-high 38 points and went 15-of-30 shooting, 5-of-8 from the three-point line. He also got nine rebounds, three assist, and a steal.

With Yao Ming out of the lineup T-Mac seems to be one of the main players picking up the slack. His last two games he's scored over 30 and seems to be getting hot.

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Player's Profile - Tamir Goodman

This is something strange and the unusual history of a basketball player must be. It is the history of a cabrito, young person of 17 years at that time who takes care of the academy of Talmudical outside Baltimore; a cabrito that uses payos around its ears under giant his kipah (skullcap), has tzizit (strips ritual) hanging of its shirt, and the accounts between 30-40 points that it satisfies every time for above for the basketball. The name of the young person is Tamir Goodman and it is so improbable a candidate as you would always imagine to play basketball of the university or the professional! But when the university of Maryland Terrapins went to look for a player of the star, they decided Tamir and offered him an athletic scholarship to him to play the game with them once he graduates Talmudical Academy a year-and-a half as of that time that offered it. So that they extended its supply to him so early? Because they were scared that the word left once on its extraordinary abilities of the basketball, other great universities would also go after him. And so during scholastic year 2000-2001, Tamir Goodman will satisfy for above for the ball of Terps and the game. It is easy to understand because the Terps would wish to player with the talents of Tamir. It is apparently ambidextrous with a basketball, jumping under network with the ball in a hand, changing the hands inside to mid-air, and dunking the ball with the other. The people who have watched it to play have nicknamed it already “Jewish Jordan”. In a certain game, it wrote down 45 straight points after its equipment fell behind 20-4 before it incorporated that game. But when the games of Tamir for above, he will use his kipah, his payos and his tzizit. And one another thing: He will not play any games for Maryland that to program the one night or Saturday of Friday during the day. And when he travels with the equipment, he will have to provide the food to kosher for him. And in addition, the mouthfuls that leave in gym during sessions and games of the practice will need to be too-strictly to kosher to kosher. The car of auxiliary basketball of said Maryland, Billy Hahn, “is going to be many of work-but we felt worthy Tamir of him.” And Hahn even went more future and this than Maryland it will try to afternoon change the hour of some of his games of of Saturday that year to the night of Saturday so that Tamir can play! For Tamir, the opportunity to play basketball of the university is a dream comes truth. But it follows trusted deeply his Jewish faith and changing is not seen or committing itself in its observance. The Judaism defines it, he says, nonbasketball. And if Maryland cannot solve its necessities, the basketball as soon as it had to hope-or be played somewhere. Is an amazing history, is not? I have never heard absolutely speak an athlete like Tamir Goodman. The Tamir is absolutely different, and to have it in an equipment will be a challenge in fact to its new school, its cars and, perhaps coverall, to their players of the companion. Our young people need to see an example of a cabrito that plays basketball but they do not concern requesting what he feels is reasonable and important for him. The car Hahn said it well: “We know that it is going to be defy-but we thought worthy Tamir of him.” Of so many ways, Tamir and its cars have given new worthy of and the new meaning to the pluralistas possibilities in modern America. We can be animated by this beautiful history, and can be we have alcohol to play this game. Because we loved this game… Basketball!

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Shooting Tips

Shooting, without a doubt, is the most important skill in basketball. Just like baseball is at its essence a battle between pitcher and hitter, basketball is fundamentally about making baskets; everything else was subsequently invented to aid or prevent a player from scoring. However, as the evolution continues, scoring, and more precisely shooting, fades further from the game's focal point, as coaches emphasize defense and players try to impress, and not simply score.
At every camp I have ever attended, a coach explains to the campers that coaches will always keep a player who can play defense and hustle. I say the easiest way to make a team is to be the best shooter; no coach will cut the best shooter at a try-out because every coach knows he must score, regardless of his defensive propensity.
Every coach has a shooting theory. While theories differ, they center on one goal: the ability to score consistently. The most important aspect is not the elbow or the legs, but the mind; Reggie Miller's shot is not fundamentally sound, but he is among the most prolific shooters the NBA has seen. Miller's success is due to two things: supreme confidence and his ability to get open to take and make big shots.
"Confidence is hard to teach; confidence is only born of one thing-demonstrated ability. It is not born of anything else. You cannot dream up confidence. You cannot fabricate it. You cannot wish it. You have to accomplish it. I think that genuine confidence is what you really seek that only comes from demonstrated ability," (Bill Parcels). Shooters have bad days and suffer through slumps, but great shooters, moreover great players, never allow their confidence to waver. Shooters have short memories and always believe their next shot is good. "Life is a collection of self-fulfilling prophecies" (John Naber); therefore, it is imperative that a shooter truly believes in himself and his shot. The confidence is more vital to success than any technique a coach can teach.

Great shooters never think about missing; once the negative enters the mind, the chances for success are lessened. Michael Jordan said: "I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot. Why? Because when you think about the consequences, you always think of a negative result." Jordan was not a phenomenal shooter, but at the end of the game, nobody is better. The pressure never affected Jordan; it raised his level of play, sharpened his focus. He believed the shot was going in, so a game winning shot never had added pressure. His confidence created a calm enabling him to knock down the big shots.
Players must be able to catch the ball in a position to score, or all the confidence in the world will not allow him to make a shot. Therefore, the ability to move without the ball is imperative to a player's success, especially since the average player possesses the ball for an average of one minute per game. Players must be hard to guard without the ball; constantly working on skills with the ball is not enough. Players must work to improve their ability to play when the ball is not in their hands.
Shooters will think shot every time they catch the ball. A shooter has to shoot, and shooters possess this mentality. In order to shoot the ball when they receive it, players must catch the ball with knees bent in a position to shoot the ball, with body already squared to the basket. When receiving a pass, players should attempt to catch on a one count for a quicker shot, and turn their body to face the basket while in the air. This will not always be possible; however, it should remain the goal, to land with body facing the basket, knees bent and ball in the shooting position, ready to immediately shoot the ball.
Great shooters will know when they receive the pass whether they are open for the shot or not. They will anticipate and think a play ahead. As the player waits to receive the pass, moving to an open spot, he will gauge the proximity of the nearest defender and the speed of the closeout; he will know upon reception whether he is open for the shot, or whether he should take one dribble away from the closeout or pump fake and then dribble to an opening. Great shooters have a feel, they anticipate, rather than react and therefore find the opening and take the shot, while others catch the ball and are easily defended. Against a zone defense, a shooter will find the gap in the zone, or a soft spot, positioning himself equidistant from the nearest two defenders to maximize the closeout distance. He will catch the ball ready to shoot, and shoot the ball with no wasted motion.A great shooter will stay in motion, becoming hard to guard without the ball. He will know how to read screens and the defense in order to create openings. Larry Bird, one of the best shooters ever, was said to be the "master of the half inch." He needed only the slightest amount of room to shoot or the slightest advantage to get a step and drive on his defender. He created this advantage with movement and his ability to read screens. Reggie Miller plays the game in a similar manner; he is like the Energizer Bunny on offense. However, he doesn't just run around; he cuts with a purpose. He reads the defense so he can flare or curl, he sees the switch and punishes it. He wears out defenders through his motion and he scores with his ability to find an opening and shoot the ball.

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Basketball Training Tips - Proper Form of Shooting

Shooting mean you can score the basket. I am a shooter in my team, I often scored with my jump shot. I like to see the ball get in to the basket just drop from the air. I like to hear the sound when the ball get in to the basket and hit the net. I like to see it from far, from 20-25 feet’ far from the ring. It’s good felling, man. It’s give me extra energy to continue to play, it’s a best scene that I can see when I am on the court. Nothing but net!

While some players seem to be born with the ability to shoot a basketball most are not. Most great shooters have honed their skills through trial and error and also hours of practice. The saying "perfect practice makes perfect" is very true in respects to shooting the ball. A player can stay in the gym for hours and shoot thousands of shots and not get any better because they are shooting the ball wrong! I had go by this process too, but after I get the proper form from my coach, I had improved my shooting accuracy. In other words if a player doesn't have the proper form all the practice in the world could be of little value and even hurt the players game all together because with every shot the player is actually "getting better at shooting the ball wrong". The first step to shoot the basketball is to have the proper form.

WHAT IS THE PROPER FORM?
It's extremely difficult to tell you the proper form of shooting a basketball through written text. I like to use a method that my coach call the Catch, Square, Tuck, and follow through method when training your shooting skill. First you catch the basketball then you square your shoulders to the basket next you tuck your elbow, and finally you follow through on the release. Here are the details:

1. Look at your elbow and how it is in relationship to the shoulders. It's directly in-line with the shoulders, in other words it's not out to the right. This is where the elbow should be.

2. Assuming the shoulders are in-line with the basket meaning the body is facing the basket. By tucking the elbow this automatically aligns the ball with the rim. Now that you had your shoulders squared to the hoop and your elbow tucked in you can concentrate on the shot. This brings us to the follow through step.

3. Following through is one of the most important aspects to shooting a basketball correctly because the follow through puts backspin on the ball which gives you the "shooters touch". Learn the "fishhook" method of releasing the basketball. This simply means that when the ball leaves your hand the arm and hand should be in a form which is shaped like a fish hook (really like an fish hook form).
In other words the arm will be fully extended and you will "flip" the wrist when releasing the ball. On the release the ball should leave the hand in a "flipping" motion not a "push" motion. Learn to "flip" the basketball not "push" it towards the rim. The ball should leave from the fingertips not the palm of the hand.

You are not alone, I still in learning process to have this proper form. So, try and try and try, the succes words in having this proper form is practices and practices and practices, don't give up! We will make it!
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