questions from cbaxx's thread:
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Originally Posted by DrQian
That's a good post, I think I will try this. I have some questions though, if you don't mind anwering.
No problem, I could talk bball all day long....
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Shooting - I think I know the correct way to shoot, and try to do it when practicing. How do I make sure I'm doing it right, and don't just think I am? I can get a friend to train with me, I guess.
A lot of different things work for different people. Just look at
Shawn Marion's jump shot for example. And plenty of other NBA guys like Josh Childress, Joakim Noah, and Andris Biedrins have incredibly strange form as well. But it works for them, and thats all that matters. So the bottom line is that if you can get your shot off and make it consistently, then you're all good.
With that said, I can't speak for any of those other methods. However, I can tell you what I did that made me into a very very good shooter:
Step 1: You're only going to use your dominant hand for this. Stand directly in front of the basket, and shoot one handed set shots(if you really need to you can use the off hand to place the ball in the palm of your shooting hand, but otherwise it shouldn't be used at all here). Focus on getting good arc on your shot. Don't worry so much about if your shots are too long or too short. However, you should rarely miss left or right. As you get more comfortable, take a step back and do it from there. Do this until you can shoot one handed shots from at least the foul line and preferably out to the 3 point line.
THIS VIDEO should show you specifics of how the ball should feel in your hand as you go to shoot(for now ignore any part about the off hand though).
Take your time getting the basics down here before moving on!
Step 2: Again, we're going to start off right in front of the basket and then slowly move back as we get more comfortable. Practice using your off hand to raise the ball up though this time. However, once you raise the ball up above your shoulders, hold your position for a second, remove your off hand, and then shoot a one handed shot just like in Step 1. Many people can get through this step quickly(but don't take that to mean that you can rush through it if you don't feel comfortable!!!).
Step 3: Same routine with starting out right in front of the basket and slowly moving back as you feel more comfortable. This time you're going to leave the off hand on the ball as you shoot(so its a normal shot). Just make sure that your off hand is in no way affecting the path of the ball as you release it. You will be able to know if you're doing it right based upon the rotation of the ball. If its not rotating much then your off hand is getting in the way somehow. And if you are constantly missing to the right or left, then you're probably doing something wrong here(later on once you start shooting more off balanced shots in games you'll miss left or right often...but for now when you're taking your time and working on form and when you're perfectly balanced on each shot, then you really shouldn't miss much to either side).
When you're first learning, I think its very important to stress and hold your follow-through. Basically try to look like Michael Jordan does here after shooting:
LINK.
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Stand still dribbling - How do I start practicing ones similar to the video? I don't think I'd be able to do most of them, however slowly. Start with on ball, I guess? Or would that remove most of the benefit?
Yeah, definitely only one ball to start out(in fact, I've never done two ball drills). The ones Mike Conley was doing there are pretty advanced. You can do much simpler ones. And if you have to look down at first, then thats ok, but be aware of it and try to be able to complete the drills while looking up as soon as you are able.
HERE are some examples. Try searching youtube, as there are a ton more videos out there. And except for looking down when you dribble, there are very few "wrong" things you can do with dribbling drills. I'd say just youtube/google a bunch of them and pick 10 or so that you feel comfortable with to start out. Try adding in a new more advanced drill every few weeks if possible.
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What is the point of the 'kill' drill you descrive?
If you're not the fastest person, then you're going to need to be able to change pace quickly in order to get by defenders. This drill helps a lot with that, as it forces you to quickly transition from one type of dribbling(high up, normal dribbling) to a much more attack-oriented dribble(real down low where you can quickly race by a defender). In fact, it and V-dribbles are the only two drills that I'd absolutely insist upon you doing.
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Where are the NBA 3pt contest points?
Search youtube for "NBA 3 point contest" and see the 5 points on the floor where they shoot from.
Drive either right or left(usually with only one or maybe two dribbles), suddenly stop, shoot the ball.
This video is really good imo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfX22LEILA0
oh and definitely do NOT worry about pullup jumpers until you're completely comfortable with your shooting form. They'll often put you in an unbalanced position, and doing that before you have your form down is just going to complicate things.