LeBron James Finishing Ability: The In and Out Dribble – Eurostep Combo

Being able to finish around the basket in various ways is one of the most important skills to have as a basketball player. The Eurostep, made popular by Manu Ginobli and Dwayne Wade, is a new and rather unorthodox way of finishing a drive in the paint. During Game 3 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James executed the Eurostep perfectly, finishing a key fast break with an AND 1 layup. The reason why LeBron James’ Eurostep worked so well was the way he preceded the move with a quick and decisive in and out dribble.

Stationary Ball Handling Drills From OneBasketball App

Below is an inside look into one of the over 140 basketball drills included in the OneBasketball App. The Stationary Ball Handling Series is a great way to start a workout and get used to having the ball in your hands. It is essential to pound the dribble as hard as you can and always have your head/eyes up to challenge yourself. It is encouraged to go as hard and fast in this ball handling series to the point where you are losing the ball, getting yourself out of your comfort zone. Check out the video below for the entire ball handling series. And for more ball handling drills, shooting drills, post moves, dribble moves, ball screen reads, and finishing drills be sure to get OneBasketball App, available  now in the iTunes App Store for a low price of $2.99. What are you waiting for? Next season starts today

NBA Finals Report: Beating Switching Man to Man Defenses

Going into this much anticipated NBA Finals series, we all knew the potential there was to see some “small ball” lineups. Both the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder are regarded as the two most athletic teams in the league. In the same sense, they are two teams that don’t have a lot of conventional size up front and/or frequent low post scoring from their bigs. With all of the above taken into consideration, both teams opt for switching on defense to keep similar size and speed matchups and avoid getting into a help and rotate situation where offenses can take advantage. Switching also helps take away lots of the pick and roll action that is so dominant in the NBA. Often times, switching every screen can stall another team’s offense, causing them to stand around and watch as one player ioslates and usually forces a tough shot (see Miami Heat’s 4th quarter in Game 1).

NBA Finals Report: A Look At Thabo Sefolosha’s Active Defense

He has long limbs, quick feet, broad shoulders, the strength to bang with any size player, the intelligence to recognize offensive tendencies and is extremely active. No, we are not talking about Scottie Pippen (widely regarded as the best perimeter defender of all time). We are talking about Thabo Sefolosha, the starting shooting guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sefolosha, an unsung hero of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, is finally getting some of the attention he deserves.

NBA Finals 2012 Preview: The Game Within The Game

It is finally upon us. The NBA Finals matchup we all wanted to see (Lakers vs. Heat being the other). The Miami Heat and The Oklahoma City Thunder will do battle on Tuesday, June 12 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. There are many internal storylines; some are subtle and others ridiculously obvious. In this post, we will attempt to look at all the interplay between these two teams and why this might be one of the best NBA Finals series we have seen in a long time.

Lebron vs. Durant 

Clearly, this is the most talked about storyline in the lead up to this series. The two best players in the NBA right now will go head to head and in a couple weeks one will win a ring. This is the second year in a row in the NBA Finals for LeBron and the Heat and he surely stands to lose alot more than Durant if he should happen to fail to be victorious. The pressure is going to be at an all time high for LeBron James but so far so good this year especially after his domination of the Celtics in the last two pressurized games of that series. The Thunder pose a different challenge. LeBron will face numerous bodies that are among the league’s best defenders. Sefolosha, Harden, Westbrook, and Durant himself will surely be guarding LeBron. The Heat need continue to incorporate nice actions where LeBron receives a flex screen and cuts into the low post for a quick catch and score or mid post isolation. If “aggressive LeBron” shows up to the games in this series then he should continue to climb the ladder of immortality.

OneBasketball – A Basketball Coach’s Review

One year ago, four young entrepeneurs with a passion for basketball set out to create the first ever basketball training mobile application. The only goal: bring basketball into the 21st century by making a clear, structured skill development program that is easy to use for all basketball players and coaches. Finally, in early 2012 OneBasketball app was launched on the Apple App Store.

Today though, we came across a review for the OneBasketball app that not only encapsulates the reason the app was developed in the first place but it also paints a picture of all the realistic benefits the app can and already has delivered. The review comes from a German youth basketball coach. We will let his words tell the rest of the story:

Basketball App …. Finally 
by RitzBBall on Thursday, February 16 2012 version 1.0

 

“I’ve been a player and a coach for more years than I’d like to admit. I’ve played and coached at almost every level. .. and I’ve coached hundreds of players in the USA and in Europe. Yet I am I am constantly looking for ways to improve my players and my coaching abilities. I have designed many of my own drills and my own practice planners. I have made my own practice videos…. but…. that is “Old-School” …. This App is “Now” …. The Drills are good and well executed… It covers many skill areas as well as basketball-specific conditioning. Many of Drills are similar to those I already use, but it gives me the opportunity to actually show players what I want from them … and that is great … for me because sometimes the mind is willing but the legs are gone… Lastly, I can’t count the number of times a player has asked… Hey Coach can you give me some stuff to work on over the break…?” For that, this App is right on time. I recommend it for any Coach or Player…. Ritz Ingram”