Basketball is not just a game you play in gym class or intramural competition. This game can be played in a park or even in your driveway. If you enjoy shooting hoops, focus on improving your knowledge of the game with the advice contained here.

Focusing on the offense may come easily but you need to be able to focus on the defense as well., Basketball games are won more often by defense than offense. Offensive skills are usually the most impressive ones but defense is something every team should work on.

Practice your passes and catches frequently. You want to practice catching perfect passes and bad passes. When a game is underway, not every throw will be perfect. By learning to catch errant passes, you will do your team a great favor.

If you want to excel, you have to play to your strengths. You can contribute to the team by consolidating your best skills, even if these skills do not make you one of the star players. Ask others to help you identify your strengths and practice until you fully master these skills.

Ask your fellow teammates if they have an opinion of your skills in the game. Do you have an area where you excel? You could potentially be excellent in one area while you are busy focusing on another, unaware. Learn what other's see as your natural skills and make sure to keep and develop those skills more fully.

Use hand signals to avoid errant passes. Players can get easily frustrated if they make a pass to players that aren't available to catch the ball. This can be prevented through the use of hand signals. If the person doesn't make a signal the person shouldn't get passed to.

Watch your shoulders and their position if you notice yourself developing a slump in your shooting. Regardless of your skill level, if you don't have your shoulders positioned correctly, you will miss. Your shoulders should always be squared towards the hoop. Your dominant shoulder should also be lined up perfectly with the rim.

Pay close attention to your shoulders if you've suddenly developed a shooting slump. If you have bad shoulder position it doesn't matter how great you are the shot isn't going to go in. Your shoulders should always be square towards the basket. If your right hand is your dominant hand, your right shoulder must be aligned with the rim. For left-handedness, the opposite is true.

Between the leg passes are usually helpful when another team's players are riding you hard. Try practicing this by bouncing your ball hard in between your legs while stepping forward or backward. If this move is something you master, you'll have an advantage when you go out to play a game.

You can use your guards and point guard to trap an opponent with a 2-3 zone defense. Then, they need to run at the point guard to trap him. While they are doing that, the forwards should move out to the wings. A pass should be thrown by the point guard for forwards to steal.

These tips will help your game, whether it is for fun or competitive. Use one tip and you'll see your game get better. You can pass better, shoot better, rebound and make sure you get better all the time.

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