Creating the Perfect Shot

Steph Curry is one of the greatest shooters in the history of basketball. He does everything right with his shooting for. During this blog post I am going to speak on how to improve your jumpshot using Curry’s form as an example. Two of the most important aspects are base and finish.

Base starts in the legs. Your legs should be spread at about shoulder distance apart in an athletic stance. The dominant foot should be place slightly in front of the other foot. For example, if you are right handed, it is important to have your right foot slightly in front of the left. Your body should also be tilted sideways to match the turned feet. Leaning forward or backwards disrupts the shooting motion. You should always be straight up and down as if a pole was stuck through your body.

Once you are down in a squatting position from your base, you must rise upwards in a fluid motion while bringing the ball up at the same time. The ball should be released at the peak of the jump for maximum power. Both hands should finish held out in the air and the shooting hand should have its fingers pointed down as if it was in the basket. These are just a few tips that will dramatically help anybody’s shooting motion.

Conference Finals

The Eastern Conference Finals consists of a battle between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. This is was very close matchup of two evenly matched teams. The Cavaliers were carried by Lebron James who was the leader of the team in every game and arguably the greatest player of all time. The Celtics had to play more team basketball in order to win. The two superstars of the Celtics, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, were both injured earlier in the season and out for the playoffs. With them out the Celtics role players stepped up and won three games. They lost to James and the Cavaliers in game 7.

The Western Conference Finals was fought between two powerhouse teams the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are the reigning champs and were predicted to win the series. The Rockets on the other hand, have James Harden who is the reigning MVP of the league. This exciting series also went to a game 7. The Rockets were leading the game until the third quarter where they missed 27 three-point shots in a row which lost them the lead, the game, and the series. The Warriors will now face off against the Cavaliers in the finals for the fourth year in a row.

The King

Lebron James has long been called the King of basketball, and for a very good reason. Every year, Lebron dominates in the playoffs and does everything necessary to make it to the NBA Finals. No matter his regular season performance, his play during the playoffs is a whole other beast.

James and the Cavaliers were placed in the fourth seed in the playoff bracket and faced off against the Pacers in round one. The King lost Game 1 and was his first loss in the first round in five years. He then bounced back with an incredible 46 point game and a win. Lebron suffers two more first round losses, but continued to prove himself with another 32 point game and a game winning three-pointer. He finished off the series with a 45 point performance in a Game 7 win.

The Cavs must face off against the number 1 seeded Raptors in round two. They have a long road ahead of them but the odds always seem to be in the favor of whatever team Lebron is on. The playoffs have been full of excitement in the first round and it seems like the rest will be just as eventful.

NBA Playoffs

This weekend has marked the beginning of the NBA playoffs. The playoffs consist of 16 out of the 30 teams in the NBA. It is split into two different conferences: Western Conference and Eastern Conference. Teams compete through three rounds of playoffs before reaching the Finals, where the winner of each conference plays for the NBA Championship.

This years playoffs is a complete mystery. In the past it has been very obvious who would make it to the championship game. From the Eastern Conference, Lebron James has carried his team to the finals seven years in a row. This year however, Lebron’s team is one of the underdogs and placed as the fourth seed in the conference. This leaves the Eastern Conference up for grabs by any team. In the Western Conference, The Golden State Warriors have made it to three consecutive finals. However, this year they are entering the playoffs with many players either injured or recovering from injury. They also face a serious threat by the Houston Rockets, led by James Harden. All in all, this year’s playoffs will be exciting and  suspenseful because anybody has the chance to win it.

 

16th Seed Victory

As all basketball fans know, this month is dedicated to college basketball in the form of March Madness. The NCAA tournament takes place and it always turns out exciting every year. One of the most exciting parts of this tournament is the brackets. Many companies and businesses give out blank brackets of the tournament and if you can guess the winner of every game, many offer large sums of money. Millions of fans fill out their brackets in hopes of winning a grand prize. Sadly, the odds of filling out a bracket correctly are over 1 in quadrillion.

This year made history. In the very first round, the 16th seed UMBC beat the number one seeded Virginia. This goes down in history as the first 16th seed to ever accomplish this feat. Not only did they win but they won in a blowout of the competition. They won with a final score of 74-54. The victory of UMBC destroyed almost all of the brackets made in only the first round of the tournament.

Getting the Perfect Arc

Crossing the River Again:

One reoccurring problem for me in my basketball career is the lack of arc on my jump-shot. Arc is one of the most important aspects of shooting, yet it is often overlooked. As I got older, I started perfecting my own shooting form down to science. Mathematically speaking, lots of arc is needed in order too give yourself the best odds of making your shot. Once finding this out, I have worked on it but have still continued to struggle and fall back into my old ways of shooting with limited arc. I have come to realize that for me personally, I need to focus on other details of my form that help me provide arc, instead of just attempting to get more. This has helped, yet there are still some occasions where I fall back into my old ways.

All Star Weekend

The NBA season is halfway through the season which means, All Star Weekend. Here is my re-cap just in case you missed the action. Over past three days many events have occurred.

On Friday, there was the Celebrity All Star Game. Many big names of Los Angeles hit the floor to compete for the win. Justin Bieber, who won MVP the last time this event was held in L.A, competed once again this year. Despite playing hard, the MVP trophy this time went to Quavo of the rap group “Migos.”

Saturday Night started off with  the skills challenge. It was pretty entertaining from watching Joel Embiid cheat, to watching the underdog Spencer Dinwiddie, take the win. The 3-Point contest followed with a bang. Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, broke the record for most points ever in the contest with 28. Last of the night was the Dunk Contest. Despite Larry Nance Jr. throwing down some crazy dunks, Donovan Mitchel ended up winning in the end.

To end the weekend was the highly anticipated All Star Game. This year, a new format was put in place. Instead of East vs West, this year Team Captains chose who was on their team. Team Lebron faced off again Team Curry. It was a close game the entire time, with more defense played then usual. Many highlight alley-oop dunks and passes also took place. The game went down to the last seconds with Team Lebron taking the victory. Lebron James was also awarded All Star Game MVP.

Team Drills

3 on 2, 2 on 1

This drill is exactly how it sounds. Three players will start on one baseline, they are on offense. On the other side of the floor, two players will be waiting on defense. The offense will bring the ball up the floor and attempt to score on the defense. The offensive player who takes the shot, will run back on defense. The two former defensive players are now on offense going the other way.

UCLA drill

Four offensive players will line up on the baseline at the edges of the key and in the corners. Four defensive players will line up free throw line extended, facing the offensive players. The coach will throw a ball to one of the players on the baseline. The defensive player across from the person with the ball, must touch the baseline before running back on defensive. This is a good drill for transition defense.

King of the Court

This game could be played from wherever the coach decides. It is just one on one basketball, any way you would like to play it. If the offense scores, then he stays on. If the offense misses, defense goes to offense and offense is off. The player next in line will go on defense.

The Future of the Ball Family

On October 2nd, Lavar Ball pulled his superstar son Lamelo from Chino Hills High School. About a month later, Liangelo ball was pulled from the UCLA basketball program after shoplifting in China. Neither kid has NCAA eligibility because of their professional status with  Big Baller Brand.

An obvious way to think about these events,  is that the basketball careers of these brothers is over. Almost all high school top recruits, go to college for a year and then straight to the NBA. It is an extreme surprise that neither Liangelo or Lamelo will not being playing at UCLA like their older brother Lonzo.

The problem with that view, is they still come from the Ball family and both have extreme amounts of talent. They have all won a national championship with Chino Hills and they have all received Division 1 scholarships. Lamelo is still only 16, but he is one of the top recruits for his class.

A better way to think of the younger brothers getting pulled from school, is just a new opportunity. Now, the brothers have both signed with Lonzo’s agent and are exploring options to play professionally overseas. This will give them a chance to develop and get used to a faster pace of basketball. The future of the Big Baller Brothers remains a mystery as of now, but it does not necessarily mean the end.

Ball-handling Warm Up

This is a simple drill that I advice you to do before any training session. This will warm you up to prepare for the training, but it will also greatly improve your dribbling skills.

This ball handling is ,for the most part, stationary. That means that you will be standing in one spot while doing this drill. Each move done will be done 50 times before moving on to the next. First off, start with low pound dribbles with the right hand, then left hand. Next, proceed to do crossovers in tight. The next is between the legs for both legs, following a combo of between then crossover. Then do behind the backs. The last stationary dribble will be a combo move of cross, between, behind. These are just a few different dribbles that you can do, but you can also add whatever else you can think of. All of these can also be repeated while walking up and down the court.

There are a few ways to make the drill more complicated for more advanced players. The first one, is to use two balls while doing every one of the moves, even the combos. You can also use different kinds of balls, such as weighted or slippery balls. Another thing I do, is use Powerhandz, which are weighted, slippery, gloves made for ball handling. you can also do these drills while throwing a tennis ball in the air, or playing catch with a partner at the same time. All of these can also be repeated at varying height levels of the ball. How much you do can depend on how long you want to do the drill, along with the skill level.

This drill is very common and is used at all levels. I have seen it used in the NBA with Steph Curry before the games, and I have also seen it with little kids learning to dribble. No matter what age, skill level, or even position, this is a must-do drill for ball handling.