Watching Basketball & Understand It
25.01.17
Fortunately for us, we live in the highlights, top plays and YouTube clips era, which makes life much easier. However, it’s important to watch a whole game from time to time to understand what really happens behind a spectacular slam, a good block or how you cook a clutch shot.
FOLLOWING THE BALL
When we watch a game our concentration goes just where THE BALL is, at best, we follow the famous players.
You have to be able to concentrate on what happens off the ball (offensive and defensively)
>OFF THE BALL
90% of game’s actions (9 players)
>ON THE BALL
10% of game’s actions (1 player)
GAME ACTIONS WE MISS WHEN WE'RE FOLLOWING THE BALL
·Using of baseline, corners and low post
·Cuts to the rim
·Off the ball screens
·Help side defense
·Defensive switches
·Defensive rotations
·Rebound boxing-out
·Defensive transition
INDIVIDUAL SKILLS
One of the most difficult things to see for a young player when he’s watching a TV game is the individual technique. Normally we try to copy an impossible layup instead of the simple things like:
-Dribbling hard always
-Don’t make turnovers on simple passes
-Logical shooting selection
-Boxing-out the rebound (ALWAYS!)
Playing In Balance
·Running or changing the pace
·Doing penetrations
·Handling the ball
·Playing in the low post
·Setting screens
·Defending on the ball
·Defending off the ball
·Boxing-out the rebound
Watching The Game
(TRULY)
It’s wonderful the sensation of watching a game when you are able to RECOGNIZE THE TENDENCIES of a team, how they defend or what offensive systems they’re using.
When you get used to watch games this way, as a COMPLEX CONNECTED WHOLE, in the end you’ll be able to predict what is going to happen for advance: what defense will they do, what player will they play for...
WHAT TO WATCH & WHAT TO FOCUS ON
·The INDIVIDUAL SKILLS always, in any game, any player
·The defensive variants in Play-Off games
·Teams that tend to play with more than 5 passes in offense
·The intelligence of the defenses: rotations, helps and how they select the disadvantages
·The game off the ball in offense
·EVERYTHING, because games are life or death
·Individual defense is quite spectacular
·The teams use really good adjustments, tricks and traps, especially in defense