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| How to play Basketball |
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| My favorite sport is basketball. In basketball there are two teams, five players on each team. There are two guards, two forwards, and one center. All of these positions play both offense and defense. The guards are called one guard and two guard. The one guard is the point guard. The point guard is generaly the leader of his/her team on the court, acting as an extension of the coach. The point guard must be very good at balll handling and passing, also a very good vision (being able to see all parts of the court clearly). The shooting guard must abe a very goo dball hanler like the point guard with excellent shooting and scoring talents. (Both guards play at the back of the court). The small forward, the power forwardand the center compose what is caled the front court. The center is usually the tallest player on the team, serving as a comerstone of most play. Good centers can score points in offense and block shots in defnese. Although there are specific positions, players can play anywhere on the court, according to the team's strategy. Every basket ball game is timed; there are four quarters. Recreational and high shool games last thirty-two minutes (four quarters of eight minutes each). College and International games and Women's Pro last fourty minutes (four quarters of ten minutes each. Men's proffessional games last fourty eight minutes (four quarters of twelve minutes each). Defense is just as important as scoring goals. Without defense the toher team would just keep on scoring goals. The more times the defense stops the opponent from scoring the more likely that team will win the game. The basic defensive technique involves guarding the opponent while keeping both feet at least shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly ahead of the other and kenes bent. Whendefending, a player's weight should be placed on the balls of the feet to ensure quick movement in any direction. A defensive player should take short, quick steps when moving from side to side. Crossing one foot over another is improper defensive technique. Defense players want to force the opponents away from the basket and limit the ability to dribble the ball toward the basket. Good defenders use quickness to steal the ball from the opponent and are cautious not to foul. One part of playing strong defense is blocking the oppnent's attempted shot, because good shot-bocking teams make the opponents hesitate when shooting the ball. When defending an opponent who doesn't have the ball, the rule is to stay between the player and the basket being defended. Good defense players also play team defense, working together and verbally communicating among themselves to ensure that the offense doesn't obtain an easy shot. There are two types of basic defensive team play; man to man defense and zone defense. In man to man defense, each player guards a soecific opponent, usually the one that plays the same position, so that a guard defends a guard, a forward defends a forward, and so on. In zone defense, each player guards a specific area of the court. The most widely used zonedefense is called a 2-1-2 zone, which is a system employing the two guards at the forefront on the defense, the center covering the middle portion of the court, and the two forwards defending the area nearest to the basket. A good 2-1-2 zone defense makes it difficult to pass the ball from near the basket back outside, hampers teams from initating a Basketball Association (NBA), the major pros league in the United States and Canda, because they do tend to slow the pace of the game, which can make some spectators lose interest. Playing offense is perhasps the most prominent part of playing basketball, as it allows players to demonstrate and improve upon indivual skills necessary to being successful. Many of basketball's best players have exceptional talents on offense. Basic offensive skills are passing, shooting, and rebounding. Passing the basketball is the fastest and often the most efficient way of advancing the ball up the court. A team that passes the ball well will be able to uncontested shots, to score asy baskets by moving the ball up the court quickly, and to prohibit the defense from initationg its own game plan. There are five kinds of passes: chest, in which the ball is thrown from chest height, bounce, in which the ball is bounced on the ground on its way to the teammate, ovehead, in whihc the ball is thrown with both hands extended over the head, baseball-style, in which the ball is thrown like a baseball, and behind-the-back, in which the player throws the ball at waist height with one hand whippping the bal around the back. All of these passing styles are used during the course of a game. Many of basketball's best players are also adept at ball handling. To be a good ball handler, a player must watch the action on the court, keeping the eyes straight ahead and not focused down on the floor. The player must also keep the ball low, protectiong it from defenders and bouncing it no higher than the waist. Good ball handlers can use either hand to dribble effectively and can change directions quickly. There are five types of dribbling style: speed, in which the ball is dribbled while the player is moving; crossover, in whihc the ball is bounced and crossed from one hand to the tother in front of the body; behind-the-back, in which the ball is bounced and srossed behind the back; between-the-legs, in which the ball is bounced and crossed between the legs; and sin, in which the ball is bounced and crossed while the player spins away from the defender. From the elementary school level to the professional leagues, shooting is the most important part of basketball. There are many types of shooting forms, the basic being the lay-up, the jump shot, the fould host, and the hook shot. The lay-up is the easiest shot in basketball, taken right under the basket using either hand. Over the years, the dunk shot, a different styel of lay up in which the ball is slammed forcibly through the basket, has become one of basketball's most exciting shots. The jump shot is taken when the shooter leaps in the air and at the top of the jump releases the ball toward the basket. The foul whot is an uncontested shot taken from the freethrow line following a foul. A hook shot is taken when the shooter turns sideways to the basket, places his/her body between the ball and the defender, and releases the ball over his/her head in a high arc toward the basket. When a shooter misses a shot, the team that retrieves the ball has recovered a rebound. When a member of the offensive team recovers the rebound, the offensive team regains possesion and the shot clock starts over. When the defensive team recovers the rebound, it then plays offense. Strength, natural instinct, and good positioning and timng are important to good rebounding. Playing good offense requires strategic decisions. One style of offense is to use set patterns to get uncontested shots. The most important techniqu of a so-callled --slow down offense is setting screens. This occurs when offensive players position themselves ina way that impedes the defenders' movement. The screen is often accompanied by the give-and-go, in which one player passes to a teammate and then moves across the court, usually toward the basket in a position to receive a return pass immediately. In comparison to the slow-down offense, a fast-break offense involves quick shots as the ball is either dribbled or passes up the court rapidly. |
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