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So you just got done watching your favorite NBA team play on TV and decide you want to run on down to the park to practice some sweet Blake Griffin dunks and Ray Allen fadeaway 3's with your friends. However, once you get there you realize that games are already being played on the court and you won't be able to conduct your own personal one man dunk contest, so you decide to join in. After doing some nice long groin stretches in front of all the ladies in attendance, you're ready to jump in and dominate, only to realize you don't know poo poo about playing actual basketball. Welcome to the Pick-Up Basketball thread, where we can all pretend like we actually have some talent and can post about that sweet 360 windmill dunk that you totally pulled off.  So how does pick up basketball work? The specifics of the game is usually dependent on where in the country (or world) you are playing, but some general guidelines are usually followed. Depending on the size of the court and how many players are present, the games are either half court or full court. Points are usually counted by 1s and 2s, but sometimes all shots are 1s. Be sure to know the rules of the game before it starts. Teams are usually selected either by whoever got there first and called it, or the best/biggest players choosing people out of the hopefuls on the sideline. The team that won the previous game gets to stay on the court together and starts off with the ball. Free-throws are never seen in pick up games except for choosing teams or if you're playing a different type of game like 21. Because there are no free throws, if a foul occurs the team just gets the ball back and resets their offense. Speaking of fouling, general consensus is that fouls are called by the defensive player. However a lot of people are dicks and never say poo poo even if they whacked you in the face so don't feel bad about saying something if you get obviously fouled while shooting. Plus you get to scream "AND ONE!" and chuck a brick up at the hoop which always feels good. Games usually go to 7, 11 or 15 and usually have to be won by 2 or more points. At least once a game you will have to stop and manually count up the score because nobody was paying attention, so try to at least remember how many points you have. If you want to be an awesome person, be the dude who yells out the score after every basket. Everyone likes that dude. Trust me.  Ballin' it up with your bros is a great way to spend time together, and stave off a midlife crisis. What's some common etiquette for pick up basketball? This is by no means an exhaustive list and is pretty subjective, so take it with a grain of salt. -Don't be an rear end in a top hat. Seriously. There's a difference between playing hard and playing like a douche. If you foul somebody hard or accidentally hurt someone, it takes little to no effort to say 'my bad' and make sure they're ok. Don't pout if you lost and don't bitch at your teammates for not contributing. If you lost a close game just congratulate everyone on a good game, get your daps (awesome low-fives you give each other that make you feel like real athletes) and sit down and wait your turn again. -Try to be a good teammate. Nobody likes the black hole on their team that never passes the ball. If you have an opportunity to score by all means take it, but be aware of possible passes you can make. If you have a decent team with good ball movement it makes the game a ton more fun. -Be vocal! Tell your teammates where the screen is coming from or if a defender is coming up behind them trying to take the ball away in transition. Let them know you liked that sweet bounce pass they fed you while you were cutting to the hoop. Letting your teammates know where you are on the floor helps with better decision making. -Set a loving screen once in a while! This is by far my biggest annoyance in pick up games. People never screen which is one of the most fundamental parts of basketball. Setting a strong pick can create a myriad of possibilities and is a great thing to do to help your team win. -Try to play at least a little bit of defense. Defense is usually very lax in pick up games, but put some effort into staying in front of your man and helping your teammates when they get beat off the dribble. A general rule of thumb I use is pretending there is string attached to me and my teammates, and not allowing an offensive player to break that string.  If you like the taste of mildewy ball sweat, guard the white haired dude. I dare you. Alright I'm ready! Except I've never picked up a basketball in my life and I'm scared of playground bullies. How do I learn to be a better player? To put it bluntly, the only way to really get better is to be embarrassingly lovely in pick up games against other players and learn from your mistakes. Don't worry about it though, everyone else went through baby steps just like you, and most people seem to be pretty accommodating when playing with a player who is new to the game. Don't be afraid to ask your teammates what went wrong or what you could have done differently. Once you feel more comfortable, learn your spots on the floor and what you can reliably do to score. Try to be as efficient as possible with your shot selection. For example, I can't shoot 3's for poo poo so I don't even bother unless I'm wiiiiiiiiide open. If I get the ball and I want to score I'm either going to be taking the spot up midrange jumper or driving in the lane. Don't be the dude taking turnaround fadaways a-la Jordan 20 feet from the basket. You can't hit that shot man. Don't even bother. There are plenty of resources available that can teach you basketball fundamentals. While geared more for younger players, https://www.ihoops.com is a pretty decent resource for drills and learning things like correct jump shot form and such. There's also a great (albeit slightly dated) video series called "Better Basketball" that has videos on a ton of topics like shooting, ball handling, defense, perimeter offense, post offense, and the like. I personally used those videos and I feel like they really helped a lot for my game. I'm not sure if they're sold anywhere anymore but they're easy enough to find if you look around on the internet. Practice, practice, practice! Many moves in basketball can simply be boiled down to repetition and muscle memory. Everyone looked like an idiot when they started and couldn't hit layups because they were jumping off the wrong foot. Grab a friend who is willing to rebound and do some shooting drills and practice your form on jumpshots and layups. Here's a great video by Steve Nash that shows you an effective routine for practicing by yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejTrZOkFXtk So strap on your knee brace and get ready to get lit up by a 45 year old white guy in gym-goggles and short shorts, you're ready to ball! Post funny stories, techniques and hints you learned that helped your game, or talk about your specific kind of play style.
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Mar 6, 2012 08:39
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| # ¿ Apr 20, 2024 00:06 |
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While I am by no means a good basketball player, I'm not terrible and can usually contribute to my team in a positive way. Here are some tips I have learned along the way that I think I helped my game: Use triple threat! Triple threat is a great weapon that makes the defense off guard and has them guessing what your next move is. If you don't know what triple threat position is, it's basically when you catch the basketball off a pass but don't use your dribble yet. Keep your legs slightly bent and the ball in your shot pocket. This is effective because from those position you can shoot the ball, pass the ball or dribble. I see a lot of players catch a pass and immediately start dribbling, which takes away the threat of the quick jumper or a pass to another teammate. Once you're in triple threat, you can use a variety of fakes to keep your defender off balance. Jab steps are your friend My jab step is probably my most effective move because people fall for easy poo poo all the time. People (especially in pick up) are very quick to react and it's pretty easy to have them bite if you fake effectively enough. I can't really find a video of this move, but what I like to do I've heard called the 'Rocker' or 'Rocker Jab Step'. You can do this either in triple threat (more effective) or off the dribble (still works but a little more difficult). Essentially you show the defender a huge but slightly slow jab step to have them bite in the direction you're faking. Step your leading foot out hard and fast and start to lean your body forward in that direction. However, don't take the actual step forward and freeze for a moment and then begin to pull your leg back by straightening your knee. This will make your defender think you are going to reset your position and they will begin to relax. When you see them start to move their body away from your fake, explode forward in that direction again you will almost always catch them by surprise and get by them. This works really well, I've even told friends what I'm doing and they still fall for the initial jab step all the time. Pump fake them out of their shoes Pump fakes, if used convincingly, work really well at both beating your man off the dribble and making them look like an idiot. People love to block poo poo in pick up games and will almost always launch off the ground when they start to see a shooting motion. Just start a slow shooting motion and bring the ball up just below your eye level, then put it on the ground and dribble in if you see them bite. The key is making your pump fake much slower than your shooting motion, which makes the defender think they have a chance. Be sure to fake with your eyes and head too to make it look convincing. Learn how to move without the ball If your teammate has the ball, don't just stand around on the perimeter waiting for a pass so you can chuck up a jumper with your guy all over you. Constantly cut into the lane from one side to the other and be ready for the pass! Set screens for your teammate with the ball and then roll to the hoop. Try to backdoor cut (fake running one way and then go the opposite way) your defender to get open. Use V-cuts (walk your man slowly into the lane and get them off guard, then run out to the perimeter to take the pass). If you see your teammate drive into the lane, either run to the lane yourself at a different angle to see if you can get open under the basket or move smartly outside on the perimeter to set yourself up for the open jumper. Check to see which dominant hand your man uses Most players in pick up games can only go in one direction and can't dribble for poo poo with their opposite hand. Look and see which hand they shoot with, and then fade more to that side when you defend them to take away that hand. Unless they can actually dribble reliably with both hands, most people freak and give the ball up if they can't drive the way they want. Be a good sport about stuff This kind of goes without saying but it really does go a long way. Congratulate your teammates on good passes or for scoring. People like to hear that they did the right thing. Encourage your teammates to keep shooting if they took a good shot but missed it. Say 'my bad' when you gently caress up on defense and let your big man get posterized (lol nobody can dunk in pick up games what am I saying.) Let them know where you like to get the ball and say nice stuff when they get it to you in the right spots. Talk on defense! Not being a douche and trying to be a good teammate will helped you get picked for the next games and makes sure people like you and want to play with you.
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Mar 6, 2012 21:30
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Declan MacManus posted:Has anyone here tried running a pick and roll in pickup? There were two guys that used to be high school teammates at the court the other day that were running the court with it but I was wondering if it'd be difficult/in bad taste to do it with someone you just met.
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Mar 6, 2012 22:52
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I saw something almost exactly like that happen to my friend last week, except he caught a hard shoulder instead of an elbow. He broke a tooth, scraped the poo poo out of his gums, loosened the roots on two teeth, and had a shard of tooth jammed in his gum that he had to slowly work out with his tongue. It was brutal and made me go get a mouth guard to play with. I haven't played with it yet but I'm seriously considering bringing it next time I play pick up. I've seen multiple mouth injuries while playing ball and I'm scared of it happening to me. I do feel like I'll look a bit cheesy playing with a mouth guard though, I don't think I've ever seen someone play casual pickup with one before.
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May 15, 2012 21:07
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rscott posted:Anyone have good tips for dribbling drills, especially with your off hand? I'm left handed, which gives me a bit of an advantage but when I try to cross over or switch hands at all half the time I lose the ball on an unforced turnover. The drill that helped me the most with my off-hand dribbling and ball handing in general is to dribble with a tennis ball. I would practice dribbling standing, moving and crossing over with the tennis ball and my handles went up a lot and I am pretty comfortable dribbling with both hands now.
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Jun 27, 2012 17:35
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