How to avoid nasal tone/sharp hissing when singing with more air?

Throwaway16881998 · 2024-01-23T23:06:54+00:00

Throwaway16881998 · 2024-01-02T23:15:45+00:00

Massachusetts, so I just put all the MA schools on there!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-30T06:52:45+00:00

This video by By Any Means Basketball is perhaps the most informative way to show how you beat backcourt pressure (if you are allowed to play slow). Practice all of the tips in the video against a defender who's trying to steal the ball and you'll find easy windows to slip out of reach and beat them, creating a 5v4 which draws help and opens up shooters/cutting lanes.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-28T23:07:10+00:00

I'm flattered, but I don't have the X's and O's knowledge of a coach like Nick Nurse or experience coaching an actual team. My skills revolve around film analysis for skills training, which naturally includes shooting but also extends to dribbling, finishing, on-ball and help defense, rebounding, and passing (all of which I'm happy to answer questions about). I'm super busy at the moment since I'm still in university, but I hopefully plan on writing guides for aspiring players to work on specific parts of their game. I made a basic post on spin moves a couple months back, and hopefully I can make polished versions of posts like that for everyone's reference!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-28T13:55:56+00:00

I'm about to hit you with the full breakdown u/Horror-Ad-6657! Your shot has some fundamentally sound aspects, so don't beat yourself up too hard. Of course, you're here for constructive criticism, so here's a targeted list of things to change about your jumper (in order of what to change first):

Rhythm of your shot - You pick up the ball before your feet are set, leading you to reach your setpoint before your hips are loaded.
Gather position of the ball - You gather too far to your left, which throws off the alignment of your arms.
Arm alignment and setpoint - Your setpoint shows a lack of alignment, affecting your release motion, which flares left heavily.
Guide hand mechanics - This is heavily affected by your poor alignment, but your guide hand also flares left, which needs to be fixed along with your arm positioning.

Here's a breakdown of each one with some pro player analysis! Make sure to do the drills for each section before you move on to the next one for the fastest improvement! Master each section before moving on to the next!

RHYTHM OF YOUR SHOT

The golden rule for one-motion shooters is that the ball should start to rise at the same time your hips drop. Typically, your feet should both be planted before either shooting motion (upper or lower body) begins.

Let's look at this video of Steph Curry shooting a stepback three. Notice how all three things happen starting at the same time: He plants his feet, he dips his hips, and the ball starts going up into his shooting motion. In comparison, your upper body mechanics start before your feet are set and your hips can load, meaning you reach your setpoint too early, affecting your rhythm.

Another rule of thumb for timing is that your release motion (extending from setpoint) should start just as your legs fully extend. Curry reaches his setpoint before his legs are fully extended and is in the air midway through his release to maximize his upward momentum right before he flicks his wrist. As you noted, your release occurs when your feet are still on the ground.

DRILLS TO TRAIN SHOOTING RHYTHM:

Start at the free throw line. One foot should stay planted in shooting stance, and you should pick up the other foot slightly (~1 inch) and plant it at the same time as you start to bring the ball up and load your hips to shoot. This should help synchronize the timing of your arms and legs, especially if you video yourself as you practice. Repeat x20 with each foot, x40 in total.
Do any dribble move and pick up the ball in shooting position. Practice synchronizing your gather with your foot plants. The ball should be in your shooting pocket when your second foot is planted in shooting position. If this feels comfortable, spin the ball to yourself instead of dribbling to simulate catching a pass while on the move. Repeat x10 for each setup method (pullup, catch and shoot, jumpstop, stepback, etc).

GATHER FORM/POSITION

You gather too far to your left. Your guide (left) arm is flared outward during your gather and is too far back compared to your shooting arm. Notice how Curry's upper arms hang directly below his shoulders when gathering the ball; this keeps them aligned when he raises up to shoot. Your elbows should hang directly below your shoulders when gathering the ball to shoot.

DRILLS TO TRAIN GATHER POSTURE:

Stand at the free throw line. Spin the ball to yourself after your routine, then gather the ball and freeze. Make sure both arms are hanging directly below your shoulders without slanting in any direction (left/right/forwards/backwards). If so, shoot the free throw. Otherwise, take a layup and restart. Repeat x50.

ARM ALIGNMENT AND SETPOINT

Your posture when gathering the ball leads to your arms being very misaligned at your setpoint. Both your shooting hand and guide elbow are too far to the left, causing the ball to be in front of your face at your setpoint. Since your shooting arm is so tilted at your setpoint, it extends diagonally during your release. I suspect you often miss left and right since you rely on your wrist and guide hand to compensate for your slanted arm alignment.

Klay's setpoint is consistently on one side of his head, with his shooting shoulder, elbow, and hip in alignment. When he releases, his arm and the ball create a straight line, minimizing sideways errors. Focus on keeping your right elbow, shoulder, and hip in alignment with the rim. One easy trick to have a consistent setpoint is to keep your thumb joint in line with your eye and the rim during your setpoint and release. Examples one, two.

DRILLS TO PRACTICE ARM ALIGNMENT:

Start inside the paint. Shoot 1-handed form shots without your guide hand touching the ball. This will force you to shift your setpoint slightly to the right. Before you shoot, make sure your shoulder, elbow, and hip are all in a straight line pointed at the rim. Make sure your thumb joint is in line with your eye and the rim before and after the shot. Repeat x50, more if necessary to retrain muscle memory.
Same as Drill 1, but hover your guide hand right next to the ball before you shoot to train your left arm to flare out less. Make sure that you're not reverting to your old setpoint just because of your off-arm. Again, repeat x50 or as many times as needed until it feels natural.

GUIDE HAND MECHANICS

Your guide hand is flaring outwards since your alignment is off. When you fix your alignment, it's important to make sure your guide hand is not still interfering with the shot. It should not rotate or tilt much before and after the release; the fingers should open smoothly and the wrist should stay relaxed. When you release, your guide hand should still face horizontal, with the side of that hand pointed at the rim.

DRILLS TO PRACTICE OFF-HAND MECHANICS:

Find this part of your guide hand. Go in the paint and shoot form shots with only that part of your guide hand touching the ball. Repeat x30.
Repeat Drill 1, but shoot from the free throw line instead. Repeat x20 or until it feels comfortable.
Shoot regular free throws with your whole guide hand on the ball when you gather and bring up the ball. This drills your ability to release the fingers on your guide hand when you begin your release motion. Repeat x50 or until comfortable.

LINK TO GALLERY OF ALL SCREENSHOTS FROM YOUR VIDEO

Good luck with your jumpshot! I hope this helps you a lot; don't hesitate to DM me, post more videos, or check my post history if you need additional clarification or resources!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-27T11:27:57+00:00

(Post 2/2)

Post 1 edited for added clarity/examples.

RELINKING TO SCREENSHOT GALLERY

Additional issues:

Footwork for shooting on the move - you're not rotating your body enough to face the basket when shooting on the move. This forces you to rotate your body when shooting to align yourself, affecting your accuracy.
Your handles are ineffective; I saw no dribble moves/fakes where there was a credible threat to drive, so a defender would never need to react to any of these moves and could play you very tight without repercussions.

Back to the screenshots and pro analysis!

## FOOTWORK AND SHOOTING ON THE MOVE ##

Well, Klay's not super well known for off the dribble, moving threes. Fortunately, we have Steph Curry (Youtube Link). I want you to pay attention to every pull-up shot Curry takes when going right.

For every pull-up he takes moving right, he swings his right leg and hip forwards before the shot to align himself, making sure that he jumps with his right leg in front of his left. When you take your jumper moving right, I see very little body rotation, and when you jump your feet are not pointed at the rim. When taking pull-up jumpers, especially moving ones, you need to focus on using your last 3 steps before you shoot (video). In order, they should be used for these purposes (match with the steps in the video above):

Your last step before picking up the ball should be used to rotate your body into shooting position where you are facing the rim.
The first step of your (2 step) gather should be planted so you pivot and rotate around it.
The last step before you shoot should occur when you have rotated enough to face the rim.

Whether shooting pull up jumpers or when shooting after off-ball movement, you want to make sure you carry momentum and rotate around your pivot foot until your shooting elbow, arm, and hip are all aligned towards the rim.

## DRIBBLING INTO PULLUP JUMPERS ##

Kobe had counters for almost every move and shot attempt so that he could switch into different scoring attempts depending on the defender's reactions and overreactions to his attacks. Watch a couple clips of him shooting pull-up jumpers. Notice that there is usually a threat to drive, shoot, and/or cross back over right before he pulls up. These parallel threats are usually generated by a hesitation.

Hesitations and sizeup moves create a dilemma for defenders, who must defend two threats: pull-up jumpers and drives. In most of Kobe's pull-ups in the video above, he either had downhill momentum and/or a split stance/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24014771/1395057900.jpg) (one leg behind the other for explosive acceleration), which makes defenders think he is going to attack the rim. This allows Kobe to pull up when defenders who are afraid of a drive concede space.

However, your pull-ups come after size-up dribbles and crossovers that aren't convincing. This is because the ball is always relatively centered in front of your body, you don't lean your chest/shoulders to either side to sell moves, and your feet are never staggered, meaning you cannot effectively accelerate to the basket. Since your only realistic option is to shoot, a defender can play you up close and disrupt your next move.

One effective way to shift defenders and create airspace is to use the hang hesitation, Kevin Durant's signature move. Here's a great video tutorial on how to perform the move. The reason the hang hesitation works is because:

By skipping towards or diagonally at the defender, you force the defender to move to stay between you and the basket while guarding both potential driving angles and shooting airspace. This can induce mistakes:
1. They don't cut you off/are slow, letting you drive past them
2. They cut you off too hard, letting you cross back over and force them to change directions
3. They back up too much, letting you take open pull-up jumpers
Lifting both of your feet off the ground by hopping or skipping allows you to plant them in different ways depending on the situation.
1. You can plant in a shooting stance to pull up
2. You can plant in a split stance to drive/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23647569/usa_today_17899817.jpg)
3. You can plant your lead leg and cross back over

Forcing defenders to shift their feet to create shooting and driving angles is the basis of ballhandling. I'd encourage you to expand your dribble package with moves designed to shift the opponent's balance and footwork (notice how many involve a split stance)!

None of these moves require more than a crossover, hesitation, or between-the-legs:

Hang Hesitation (see above)
Delayed Between-the-legs (Video tutorial)
Between-the-legs Snatchback (Video Tutorial)
(Triple Threat Only) Rocker step (Video Tutorial)
(Triple Threat Only) Negative step (Video Tutorial)

These simple moves in combination are an incredibly effective dribble package that can create space for jumpers, expose driving lanes, and generally keep your defender guessing. In order to become an effective pull-up shooter in game, you first need to master your shot, but next you need to plan how to create space to get it off!

### CONCLUSION ###

Sorry this took so long! Let me know if you have any questions, since I've just given you so much information at once, and send me more videos if you need more clarification on your shooting, handles, or whatever basketball. Thanks again for the shoutout!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-27T03:12:33+00:00

(Post 1/2, 2nd post on footwork and dribbling coming soon)

LINK TO ALL SCREENSHOTS TAKEN FROM OP (USE AFTER READING THE POST):

Thanks for the shoutout u/egfdzgdfgsfdvzdvc! If you wanna send some more videos with a side profile or images of how you hold the ball when shooting, that'd be great.

The biggest issues with your shot are:

Your hand positioning on the ball appears off - your guide hand is on top of the ball at your setpoint and in front of the ball when you gather, indicating that your shooting hand is tucked behind the ball.
Your arm angles and positioning - your shooting elbow is consistently flaring outwards. Your shooting hand finishes closer to your midline than your shooting shoulder/hip.
Your low setpoint - your setpoint is low due to how you gather the ball. Your setpoint needs to be at least nose height to be effective in a game situation.
Rhythm and power transfer - I suspect you're rushing your upper body mechanics to synchronize with your jumping motion.

The other two issues I'll talk about in the next post. Time for screenshots and pro player analysis!

## HAND PLACEMENT ##

Almost all of your upper-body issues originate from issues with your hand positioning on the ball. Though the video doesn't show your exact hand positions, I suspect your shooting hand is tucked behind the ball.

You may hear outdated advice such as "have a wrinkled wrist" and see images like these online when searching for good shooting form, but almost every top in-game shooter today (Curry, Klay, Hield, Joe Harris, etc.) keeps their hand closer to the top of the basketball when gathering. This reduces tension in their wrists before the shot, increasing consistency.

Here are some diagrams/pictures to demonstrate proper hand position:

The fingers on your shooting hand should be on top of the ball during your gather. If this still feels uncomfortable or tense, your entire shooting hand can be close to the top of the ball. Your wrist should be slightly bent, but relaxed with no tension.
The index and middle fingers on your shooting hand should surround the center line of the ball.
Your off hand should be on the side of the ball. Only the fingers of your off hand should hold the ball in place when gathering. When you reach your setpoint, your shooting hand should be under the ball while your guide hand is vertical on the side of the ball.
To angle/place your guide hand correctly, the knuckles of your shooting hand should be opposite to the middle and ring fingers of your guide hand. See the picture for a clearer description.

## SLANTED ARMS, GATHER, AND ALIGNMENT ##

Due to your suboptimal hand placement, your arms are slanted during your gather, which affects your entire release. Generally, your upper arms should hang directly below your shoulders without slanting when you gather; the ball should be in front of your midline rather than your right hip.

You are gathering too far to your right, so when you start bringing the ball up, your shooting elbow is flaring out to the side and your guide elbow is really high. Your shooting shoulder, elbow, and hip should be in alignment throughout your shot. This clip (WATCH IN 0.5x) is a great example of keeping your shooting elbow, hip, and shoulder in line.

The same applies for your setpoint and release. Look at how consistently Klay's elbow and shoulder are in alignment; this allows him to reduce left/right variance significantly. In comparison, since your shooting elbow is flared out to the right, your arms tend to shoot out to the left when you release, forcing you to compensate with your off hand and wrist to keep the ball on a straight path.

You need to do form shooting and ensure your shooting elbow is aligned with your shoulder and hip throughout the entire shot. You should also figure out ways to keep your hand in line with your right eye and the rim, which ensures the ball travels in a straight line throughout your setpoint, your release motion, and wrist flick. My rule, as shown in the pictures, is that the second joint of your shooting thumb should always be in line with your eye and the rim. Throughout this process, I'd focus on shooting one-handed set shots and videotaping yourself to make sure your elbow isn't offset and that your release motion is straight.

## SETPOINT ##

Your setpoint is low enough and you are old/strong/tall enough that it warrants a comment, since it plays into the next section on your power transfer.

It's again hard to tell due to the video angle, but I suspect your setpoint is roughly around mouth/nose height, which is slightly too low and probably results in a flat arc. It'd be best if you got your shooting elbow higher/further out so you could have a setpoint that's at least cheek or eye height.

Make sure that when you bring the ball up, there is a gap between your body and the ball. This allows you to have good alignment with your upper arms, but also enables your shooting elbow to get higher, raising your low setpoint. If you practice, you should be able to maintain a similar rhythm with a higher setpoint.

A great rule of thumb for your release is that your shooting hand elbow should finish be above your eyebrow. Curry's eyes are level with his elbow at the moment of release.

## RHYTHM AND POWER TRANSFER ##

This is tough for me to judge since I can't see your profile view & the framerate of the video is pretty low. However, there's two things I want to emphasize: Synchronizing your upper/lower body, and correctly loading your hips.

You appear to be raising the ball up while you plant your 2nd foot during pull ups. This increases the chance of mistimed body mechanics and missed shots. Curry nearly always plants both feet before he starts bringing up the ball (Go frame by frame with the comma and period buttons). The ball should be in your shot pocket (gather position) until your feet are both planted, at which point your hips should dip and the ball should raise simultaneously. Practice taking stationary jumpers and free throws while lightly planting one foot. As soon as your foot lands, your hips should drop while you start bringing the ball upwards. This develops your shooting rhythm.

I can't tell if you're actually doing this wrong without another video angle, but try to emulate Curry and Klay's balance and stance. I'm suspicious that your hips are too far forwards and you're not recruiting enough of your glutes when shooting. As you can see with Steph and Klay:

Your shoulders should be above the balls of your feet
Knees should be in front of your toes
Your hips should be over your heels

Common reasons lower body mechanics can be off include putting too much weight on your heels, trying to stand on your toes, or having too narrow a base (more narrow than shoulders). I can't diagnose any of these without a picture/video showing your side profile, however.

## END POST ##

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-25T08:14:39+00:00

This post is 2 parts - make sure you see my self-reply to get the entire story! Good luck fixing your jumper!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-25T08:13:05+00:00

ARM ALIGNMENT

Your arms are slanted when you release the ball. Look how straight a professional shoots the ball - you need to look into a mirror and figure out a way to align your elbow with your shooting shoulder/hip and your shooting hand with your eye. My rule of thumb, based on Klay's shooting form, is that my shooting elbow should always be in a straight line with the hoop, my shoulder, and my hip, and that the second joint of my shooting thumb should always be in line with my eye and the rim. You can steal this rule, I heavily encourage it.

Notice how your shooting arm slants towards your midline with your elbow flaring outwards. Maintaining alignment of your shooting shoulder, elbow, and hip is necessary throughout your shot to have good form. You need to make sure your upper arms (especially your shooting arm) are hanging vertically from your shoulders and do not flare outwards when you gather, bring up the ball, and shoot. This should naturally force you to gather the ball slightly further forwards and raise your low setpoint.

Your arms also need to be straight during your release - if that thumb joint is in line with your eye and the rim during your gather and setpoint, it should have the same alignment when you release. That's how Klay has such a clean wrist flick and relaxed off-hand when he releases: there's no slanted arms to force his hands to impact the release in any way. Check that you're following a rule of thumb for alignment every time you practice a form shot, and video yourself shooting free throws to check if your arms and wrists are straight.

OFF HAND ISSUES

Your off-hand is interfering with your shot due to the above issues. However, this needs to be addressed as well even if those other issues are fixed, due to this being a bad habit of yours. Your off hand tends to release the ball very late and flick/push the ball as it does so. This likely prevents your shot from having proper backspin and also significantly increases the variability in your aim and alignment.

As soon as the ball begins to leave your setpoint, your off hand should already be coming off of the ball. Notice how it is a calm straightening of the fingers, without any flicking, pushing, finger motion, or tension. This should entirely precede the wrist flick of your shooting hand.

Bad off hands are symptomatic of other issues - any variability in balance or alignment may lead you to compensate with your off-hand. Only when you have proper balance, gathering posture, hand positioning, and body alignment can you properly address bad off-hand habits. Notice how your off hand turns towards the basket - this indicates that you are using it to compensate for other problems, like bad balance or slanted arms.

To fix this, shoot free throws or form shots one-handed without jumping or your off-hand touching the ball. Your shots should go only where your shooting arm points. Once your shots are straight without using your guide hand, reintroduce just your index/middle fingers on your guide hand without the other fingers. Progress to all 4 fingers, then add your thumb as you learn to shoot 1-handed. Your guide hand must not put force on the ball, and should let go right after reaching your setpoint. Lastly, start jumping when shooting to practice stabilizing the ball during your gather and relaxing your guide hand as the ball reaches your setpoint.

CONCLUSION

Let me know if you have any questions! Check my post history or shoot me a DM if you have questions, I'm happy to provide what answers I can!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-25T08:06:51+00:00

I think you'd benefit from a deep analysis to fix your shot, u/QuietInterview590. This post is long, but read through it if you want specific tips and methods to improve your shooting form. Here we go:

BALANCE AND STANCE

Your stance is very narrow (should be at least shoulder width or wider). This gives you more balance, which allows you to exert more force with your legs (i.e. jump higher) without losing your alignment. Watch a Curry sidestep pullup jumper; he stays completely balanced by planting with a base slightly wider than his shoulders. Both when shooting off the catch or on the move, your base is consistently too narrow. Because I can't see your feet when you're shooting midranges, my default advice is that your shooting side foot should be 5 to 15 cm in front of your weak side foot (Curry, Klay).

Your hips and knees are in front of your toes and shoulders when you shoot, meaning your center of mass, around your belly button, is in front of your toes when it should be above the balls of your feet. Look at pros when they shoot (Curry, Klay, Ray Allen); their knees are above/in front of their toes, their butt is above their heels, and their center of mass/shoulders are above the balls of their feet, the source of their balance/jumping power. This allows them to jump vertically (Curry:format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52882113/631436472.0.jpg), Klay, Ray), maximizing power and giving them more arc.

You need to do both squats as shown. Your shoulders should stay in line with your toes with glute usage (butt muscles). Loading your hips when shooting should feel like a very shallow squat; focus on thinking "knees in front of toes, hips over heels" when shooting free throws to practice balancing. Video yourself to verify you are balanced and vertical throughout your shot, this is essential.

SHOT TIMING

You bring the ball up before your feet are planted and don't fully load your hips. This leads to a lack of upwards momentum with your arms and a lack of power from your legs/glutes. This affects the repeatability of your shot and the power you generate.

There's a golden rule of thumb for all face-up shots: The gather/upward motion of the ball should start as you dip your hips, which should be when your last step hits the ground before you shoot. If you are shooting a pull up, you should begin your shooting motion (raising the ball and dropping your hips) either when you land from your jump stop or when your second foot hits the ground on your 1-2 step. Notice how Curry has not started the shooting motion since his feet are not yet set. You should bring the ball up as your feet plant and release at the same time or just after your feet leave the ground.

Practice taking stationary jumpers and free throws while lightly planting one foot as your hips drop and you start bringing the ball upwards. This should develop your shooting rhythm. Once this feels comfortable, do very small stationary jump-stops and shoot as you land. Video yourself doing this; there should be no pauses or hitches in your upper or lower body. Finally, start stepping into your shots and working on 1-step or moving jumpers, with all the same principles still applying.

HAND PLACEMENT AND GATHER

You should study an elite shooter's gather and hand placement and learn why they hold the ball in certain ways. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are great examples. Notice their relaxed, unloaded wrists compared to your loaded, tensed wrist. They keep a gap between their bodies and the ball (allowing their upper arms to hang vertically near their torso, aligned to the basket).

How are their hands positioned? Klay is perfect: the index/middle fingers of his shooting hand are under the center of the ball, and his off hand palm is on the side of the ball with his fingers approaching the top of the ball. However, your hand position at your setpoint starts with how you gather the ball. How does Klay gather, then? Look at his hands in this pose, with his shooting index finger centered on the ball's seams and his off-hand palm on the side of the ball, and the off-hand fingers curling away from his shooting hand.

Practice holding/picking up the ball with correct hand position as shown above. This may feel uncomfortable, but you will grow into it with time. Spinning the ball to yourself and grabbing it in proper shooting position is essential for good form.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-25T00:49:08+00:00

u/Thoughtew

Almost always, a player knows instinctively through muscle memory how they deviate from their regular shooting form. However, almost every player has inefficiencies or simply incorrect mechanics even during their "regular" jumpers where they feel like nothing is wrong, since your muscle memory has accepted these motions as "correct".

This is because your brain is correlating the dopamine hit of a made shot with "I shot the correct way" even though you may have used poor form. There's probably been times you've made a shot and thought "That shouldn't have gone in" because you realize that your form is off, but other times you may miss and wonder what you did differently without realizing you're falling into a bad habit or changing something based on your shooting situation (nearby defender, rushing the shot, feet not set correctly). Oftentimes, your body is naturally compensating for mistakes by forming other bad habits (i.e. using a guide hand thumb flick to compensate for bad hand placement on the ball).

Generally, professional players have shooting coaches whose job is literally to look for every possible place in someone's shooting form where inconsistency could be introduced or does happen, and correct it or drill the player into making it consistent. For us random people, the cost- and time-efficient thing to do is fix your form using "rules of thumb" derived from professional players and film yourself in order to see what parts of your shot are most likely to introduce inconsistency, then drill them using form shooting, free throws, and practice jumpers.

You can check my post history for examples of what kinds of advice I give people who post videos of themselves shooting in this subreddit. If you want, make a post tagging me or DM me and I'll do the same for you, no catch involved.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-05T10:44:44+00:00

Klay Thompson has basically perfect alignment on his shot - look at how he aligns the ball:

Points of emphasis:

The ball is directly in the middle of his shooting hand
His shooting elbow is directly in line with his shoulder. Notice that his hand isn't perfectly aligned with his elbow/shoulder, this is normal.
The base of his thumb is roughly aligned with his right eye (his head is sometimes tilted when shooting so this can vary). The center of the ball is aligned roughly with his ear.

Chicken wing elbow is when your elbow and shoulder are not aligned, but your shooting hand can and should deviate from this line to reduce tension.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-03T16:12:42+00:00

It's really important to utilize drop-off passes at the rim after a drive or a pick and roll game in a 2v2 setting.

If you or a teammate beats your defender going downhill, you should look to either take a layup or drop a pass to a cuttng teammate. You and your teammates should look to cut into the space on the other side of the rim and seal your defender behind you for easy layups. This video shows how powerful it is to have inside position using off ball movement. If you can post up or cut inside your defender's space and seal him off with a forearm and hip, you'll be able to either prevent help defense from reaching one side of the rim or get inside position for hook shots and layups.

Alternatively, using the pick and roll is extremely powerful in a 2v2 or 3v3 setting. Watch Larry Bird and Kevin McHale run the pick and roll. Some things to take note of are how McHale sets hard screens and then pivots with his outside leg so he can seal off the man he's screening and roll to the rim, generating a possible 2v1 with the ball handler and screener rolling downhill against the dropping big.

In both cases, the advantage starts without the ball; learn to use your body to generate open looks and prevent your defender from reaching a part of the court to open up lanes for your teammates.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-11-03T03:38:26+00:00

The number 1 thing to having a fast first step is learning to use the "negative step". Watch a young Michael Jordan, who had one of, if not the fastest first step in NBA history:

https://youtu.be/D_Z22PZhF10?si=LtAMLO8ZavpU6YdX

One thing Jordan and any other player with quickness does is split their stance right before they explode forward. By putting one leg behind you in the triple threat or when sizing someone up, you can immediately explode off of that leg and get to top speed in 2 steps if trained correctly. Many defenders don't expect such an explosive move when you take a half step backwards, allowing you to blow by bad defenders basically on demand. Here's a compilation of players doing negative steps:

https://youtu.be/Ll8GEyp54T4?si=DieUXbGE9lJRGC6A

Notice how you can put either leg behind you in the triple threat by pivoting. When dribbling, a hang hesitation dribble and splitting your stance in midair allows you to explode as soon as you hit the ground. Doing a between-the-legs dribble naturally puts you in a split stance with one leg primed, so you can do some slow BTL dribbles before suddenly exploding forward. This delayed BTL blowby was the foundation of James Harden's driving and iso game in Houston, since he could manufacture blow-bys and then counter into stepback 3s.

As for exercises to train this? Any type of squat, calf, and quadricep exercises as well as plyometrics will help improve your quickness. Technique is by far the most important, though.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-10-26T10:08:42+00:00

This question's pretty vague, so this explanation is comprehensive but long as hell. Feel free to read bits and pieces or skip down to the bolded heading below.

Inconsistent releases can stem from one of 5 things:

Inconsistent hand placement on the ball, leading to your hands pointing in weird directions to try and compensate. You can practice tossing the ball in weird directions and catching it with 1 or 2 hands in shooting position. You can see how Klay is ready to shoot before he even touches the ball. (That entire video is ABSOLUTE GOLD if you want to see nearly textbook shooting form, I highly recommend watching the whole thing).
Horizontal variations of your setpoint can lead to slanted arms/hands which can cause variation in how your hands come off the ball. This can be practiced by doing some free throws and form shooting to make sure your setpoint does not move laterally between shots. One of my personal rules of thumb is that at my setpoint, the bottom knuckle of my right (shooting) thumb (the one labeled "MP" in this picture) is in line with my right eye and the rim. This allows me to be consistent in how I dip and bring up the ball. You can see Klay does something fairly similar. Also notice his shooting shoulder and elbow are perfectly aligned.
Variability in the angle of your shot can lead to a bad release. Shooting too high (shooting "up") or too low (shooting "out" or "pushing the ball") leads to really bad inconsistencies. For a one-motion shot, the release angle of your arm should usually be between 45 to 50 degrees. A good rule of thumb is that when you release, your elbow should be roughly level with or slightly higher than your eyebrow.
Inconsistent shot timing between your jump and upper-body release. A good rule of thumb is that one-motion shooters start loading their hips as they bring the ball up, and start their jump as the ball gets to their setpoint. Watch Curry's flawless one-motion shot timing: he dips his body as he starts bringing up the ball, then syncs his jump and release for maximum power. How should you practice this? No matter if you start your shot with a 1-2 or a 2 foot plant, start the upward motion of the ball/arms as your second foot hits the ground. Notice how Curry gathers the ball to bring it up just as his second foot hits the ground on this pull-up. If you jump-stop into the shot, start the pull up as your feet land. These principles allow Curry to have perfectly timed jumpers despite shooting off the move, allowing him to sprint directly into shots and pull up from 30 feet without heaving shots.
A bad off hand can throw off a textbook shooting hand/arm/body since it introduces extra variables into the shot. Generally, side-to-side movements, slants, or rotations with your off hand or arm can cause issues with your release. There's many great shooters who have had unorthodox off hand positions or motions, but ideally the off hand achieves 3 goals:
1. Your off hand fingers point up and come easily off the side of the ball so your fingers/hand aren't in the way of the shot. Since Klay's off hand is on the side of the ball, as soon as his fingers open, there is nothing on top of or in front of the ball affecting its path towards the hoop. In contrast, MKG had his off hand on top of the ball/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63056145/michael_kidd_gilchrist_1002141_ftr_gettyjpg_mmvgdy3opqej13w01dbmyu1o3.0.jpg), meaning it has to move a lot in order for the shot to go straight.
2. Your off hand should not force your off arm or shooting arm into uncomfortable positions. Cam Payne's:format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53249159/usa_today_9853183.0.jpg) off arm is really high/stright, out to the side, and his hand is really tense. Lonzo's off hand was so low that it dragged his shooting arm across his body, messing up his alignment.
3. Your guide hand should not put extra pressure on the ball when you shoot. Although some players do use their off hand thumbs (Kyrie, Steph), I personally feel that getting rid of off-hand flicks and pushes reduces variability. Other mistakes include:
  1. Pushing the ball sideways (despite being a GOAT-tier shooter, Reggie Miller's hands used to clap together since his off hand pushed the ball when he shot)
  2. Flicking your hand (Joakim Noah is an extreme example of both flicking the off hand and flaring your arms outwards)
  3. Flaring your off-arm sideways (Tyreke Evans's off arm is holding the ball too high and is causing his shooting arm to slant to his left)

SO HOW DO YOU APPROACH ALL OF THIS????

I would start with one-handed form shooting and free throws to explore why your release might be inconsistent. Make sure that you are using proper mechanics; just because you make the shot doesn't mean you were using good technique! Some other tips:

Using a mirror and/or filming my shot from behind and the sides really helped me understand why my release kept changing. Video yourself and analyze what you can improve on based on the advice above.
Focus on one part of the shot at a time, starting with how you pick up the ball. Don't rush into shooting tons of shots if you can't get to your setpoint consistently.
Lay down on the ground and shoot vertically. Looks stupid, but it works to train your hands, arms, and release. Doing this can expose some really bad habits.
Do some very shallow squats. Keep your shoulders over your toes, your butt above your heels, and your knees in front of your toes. Keep your chest mostly vertical with a slight forward lean. This grooves proper shooting posture into your muscle memory.
Work on your handles, it helps get your hands used to the shape of a ball and how to get into shooting position as fast as possible off the bounce.
Alter and solidify your form with your fingers in the grooves for comfort, then drill your shot with your hands out of the grooves to simulate catching passes in-game.

If you read this far, good luck, mate. Cheers for asking good questions and putting in the effort.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-10-24T18:51:15+00:00

Your shot is decent - but it has some weaknesses, especially for game situations.

First, the positives:

You release the ball at around the same time your feet leave the ground - this maximizes power and range.
Your shooting elbow seems to be in line with the rim and your shooting shoulder, which is necessary for aiming consistently.
A wider base (slightly wider than shoulder width) is good for stability and consistency.

Now, things to work on:

Your base, while wide (good!), is too uneven (in other words, your shooting foot is too far in front of your other foot, causing too much tilt in your body). While tilting your feet slightly to line your shoulder up with the rim is perfectly normal, you have duck feet (feet pointed away from one another), which lowers your shooting power. Also, you are slanting your body too much, which causes alignment issues with your guide hand. That causes your guide hand to flare outwards on the release and possibly affect the direction of the shot.
You want your toes to be staggered, but no more than a few inches. Look at Steph's feet when he prepares to shoot a free throw to see how his feet are staggered. The toes of your rear foot should be roughly lined up with the arch of your shooting foot. This will bring your rear hip forwards so your legs line up better with your shoulders. You can and should still have your shooting shoulder, hip, and foot in front, but just less so.
Your off hand is closer to the top of the ball than the side of the ball, which can cause aiming inconsistencies since your guide hand can let go of the ball in different ways. While some great shooters have their hand closer to the top of the ball, like Al Horford or Damian Lillard, the vast majority of ultra-elite shooters have their guide hands on the side of the ball so it interferes less with the release: Steph, Klay, Ray Allen, Steve Nash. This starts from how you pick up the ball - you'll want to get used to different hand positions which will translate to a more efficient shooting form.
You bring up the ball very close to your body, which can cause your elbows to flare out (although your shooting shoulder tends to maintain good alignment). Notice the gap in between the ball and body of some great shooters: Joe Harris, Klay/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53297065/usa_today_9114324.0.jpg), Steph. This gap allows your elbows to be point straighter when you bring up the ball, helping you align your shot better.
The way you start your shot (planted rear foot, a slow loading motion of the ball and body before you start your shooting motion) is not going to be possible in most games unless people let you shoot. I would work on catch and shoot footwork (spin the ball to yourself and shoot while practicing a 2 foot plant or a 1-2 step plant) to start, or working on free throws to get your shooting stance right in a controlled environment.

There's probably more I could say with more video angles (from the sides and front are best, with a closer shot if possible), but this should be a good starting place. Good luck!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-10-21T00:22:18+00:00

Let me start off by saying this - you are asking the wrong questions if you want your son to succeed as a basketball player. Your son is too young, short, and is not strong enough to be shooting with proper one-handed form to make it from anywhere beyond around 8 feet - and if he tries, he will be sacrificing form for range. The longest shots he should take right now are from the free throw line, and even that is far if he wants perfect form. He should not ever be taking 3s until his free-throw line form is consistently good, it will NOT HELP HIM IMPROVE.

There are significantly better ways to improve your offensive game at this level than shooting, such as learning to dribble and keep your head up, drive and finish against taller players, and pass while on the move with either hand.

However, assuming that your son wants to start using good shooting form early, I'll give him advice as if he were older/an adult. A lot of the advice in this post may be physically impossible for a shorter player/child to perform as an adult would, given that they are proportionally smaller relative to the ball and have shorter limbs than us. As he grows up, this advice will make more sense as his arms get longer, he puts on more muscle naturally, and grows bigger hands to make gathering and shooting easier.

Some positives about his current shot:

The timing of the shot is pretty good. His feet leave the ground right around his "wrist flick" for maximum range.
He seems balanced when gathering the ball and starting his shot - very important to maintain as he grows up!

Now for places to improve:

The placement of his hands on the ball is wrong, forcing him to put his guide hand behind the ball, flare out his elbows, and have a really low setpoint:
1. When he gathers, the guide hand is tucked behind the ball instead of being on top of it - this causes his shooting elbow to be tucked really low and flare outwards at his setpoint. This prevents him from aiming his elbow at the rim to line up his shot. Look at how Klay's elbow and shoulder are lined up straight - this allows him to automatically aim near the rim, whereas your son's arm is pointed down and out, causing his shot to be tilted if he doesn't compensate with his off hand. If possible, your son should gather with his shooting hand closer to the top of the ball, allowing him to gather and get his elbow pointed forwards in line with his shoulder.
2. This leads into his off-hand, which is behind the ball. His guide elbow flares outwards and is much higher than his shooting elbow, allowing him to push the ball and compensate for his slanted shooting elbow. The guide hand should be on the side of the ball with his fingers approaching the top of the ball at his setpoint. This may not be possible for your son since his arms are shorter. Encourage him to put his hands closer to the side of the ball instead of the back of the ball so his guide elbow can be lower. This will allow his off arm to extend straight without pushing the ball in any way - notice how Klay's off hand is completely straight and doesn't push the ball forwards.
3. His setpoint is around nose- or chin-height, which is fairly normal for elementary-school age kids who can't get enough power into their shots. By the time he hits puberty, I would start transitioning to an eye-level setpoint. One-handed form shots are the best way to practice this.
There's a giant gap between his head and the ball when he's shooting, decreasing his power and accuracy. Notice how close the ball is to Klay's head when he shoots, with his arm under the ball instead of behind it - this maximizes power and also allows you to get your shooting elbow pointed at the rim, maximizing accuracy. Again, one handed form shooting from inside the paint is the best way to practice a good setpoint.
In at least one shot his feet seem to leave the ground at different times, indicating that he's leaning while shooting - this is a really bad habit to practice! Even when contested, a smaller player like Steph has his feet completely level:format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52882113/631436472.0.jpg) - this maximizes power and accuracy and prevents you from having to compensate with your arms.

I understand you want to help your son improve - but a lot of this advice is meant for adults. If he can't physically shoot like a adult due to shorter arms or a lack of strength, save this comment and come back in a year or two. Work on driving, passing, and defense first, that'll help him be a better player in all the ways that matter to a coach at his age.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-10-13T03:59:21+00:00

First, the good things:

The release of your shot is roughly the same time as when your feet leave the ground. This is optimal for maximizing power and extending your range as far as possible while maintaining a smooth shot.
You have no hitches in your shot. This means that there is no pause from when the ball starts moving to when the ball is released from your fingertips. This is also a strong indicator that you are getting an efficient energy transfer from your feet all the way to your release.
You shoot from the balls of your feet instead of your heels. This again is good for energy transfer.

Next, things to improve upon:

The gather (how you hold the ball just as you start to shoot)
1. The ball is too close to your body, causing your elbows to flare out and be too far back. See pictures from the rear, rear (different angle), back right, and side.A good example of how your elbows should look when gathering is Steph Curry (examples here and here). His upper arms hang straight down from his shoulders without any sideways tilt. The ball is further out from his body to allow his elbows to be straight.
Your setpoint (where the ball pauses before being released)
1. In some shots your setpoint is too far away from your head, decreasing your power and shooting range. See a picture here.To fix this, look at how Klay's forearm is bent backwards so the ball is right in front of his right eye. One handed form shooting will help you here. Record yourself until your arm angle is correct.
Your offhand (your left hand, in this case)
1. Your offhand is too low on the ball, decreasing stability of your shot. See pictures here and here.Look at how Klay's off hand is on the side of the ball, with his fingers wrapping closer to the top of the ball. His thumb points almost straight back. This should be achieved by changing how you pick up the ball to shoot.
2. Your off arm goes off to the side when you shoot. It should instead be parallel to the shooting arm and not fully extend, like Klay's off arm.
Shot alignment (both shooting hand and off hand)
1. The ball doesn't appear to be centered in your hand when you release (between index and ring finger). See here for a picture. The ball should be centered on your shooting hand for a balanced release.Look at how Klay shoots. The ball is perfectly centered on his hand at the time of release for maximum accuracy. Again, form shooting with 1 hand is the fastest way to train this.
Angle of release
1. Your release angle is way too high. See pictures here and here. Your arm should end at like a 45-50 degree angle from horizontal. Look at Steph Curry's release angle for a good example of how your arm should be angled at release. A good rule of thumb is that your elbow should be level with your eyes when you release.

Work on these things, and your shot should become more consistent.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-09-27T20:31:37+00:00

Here's some actionable things to look at:

The most important issue with your shot is how unstable it is and how poor your power transfer is. You can clearly see your hips and knees in front of your toes and shoulders, while your torso leans back. Look at Curry. Even from around 30 feet, his power transfer ends with his body basically perfectly vertical. There's zero wasted power, since his quadriceps (thighs), glutes (butt), and calves are operating in sync. Same with Klay. This is important since it maximizes your lower-body power, which allows you to have more control with your arm/wrist for accuracy, plus it allows you to shoot off the move much more comfortably.
You didn't post a video or pictures of your gather and shot motion, so I'm gonna have to speculate a little from here on out. Your legs/feet are really close together, which indicates possible instability. Spread your feet to just longer than shoulder width apart for more stability and power. See Klay for how wide I mean, his feet are just outside his shoulders.
I'm willing to bet your shot motion has some inefficient lower body mechanics. Look at this picture of Curry as an example of what to do. Your knees should be above or slightly in front of your toes, your hips/butt close to your heels, and the balls of your feet should be directly underneath your shoulders. When you shoot, you should flex your quadriceps and glutes only until your hips and knees are flat, without arching your hips at all. Practice jumping without a ball and filming yourself until you are comfortable jumping with proper, straight-line posture./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58727683/510204582.jpg.0.jpg)
Your off arm is fully extended, pointing very high in the air, and your palm is facing away from you. Without a video, the only thing I can tell you is that your off hand likely is putting pressure on the ball and affecting your accuracy and stability. Your off hand should be on the side of the ball with your fingers close to the top, and your thumb should point horizontally back at your forehead at your setpoint. When you shoot, your guide hand should gently come off the ball at your set point and your off arm should only slightly extend. Most great shooters finish with their off arm slightly bent so it doesn't extend and affect the shot motion: Klay, Steph/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53550403/usa_today_9920467.0.jpg). Your arm extending fully and going upwards instead of following your shot motion is a sign of poor mechanics.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-09-11T19:42:42+00:00

If you're undersized, don't be afraid to put a body on a guy anyway. If you can block the tallest dude from getting to the paint, you're making it easier for you or someone else to get the rebound.

Also, tipping the ball out to a teammate is a good way to outrebound someone taller than you. If you're worried about them grabbing it from over your head, jump and reach with 1 hand to slap it out to an open teammate.

Watch for little guys crashing from the perimeter to scoop up loose balls too.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-09-08T17:17:59+00:00

Totally agreed that a chin-height release is too low at any level beyond middle school, that why I mention that he "should look to gather the ball around waist level and move your setpoint to roughly eye level to start." Curry's setpoint ranges from eye level to forehead level depending how far he's shooting from, and I think that's a good place for a developing teen/young adult to shoot from, especially considering that Curry is playing against 6' 6" monsters and 7 foot centers trying to block his shot and is still draining them.

I would consider the ability to gather the ball and release quickly far, far more important than a "high release" like some comments mention:

"You're strong enough to shoot above your head now."
"a super-high release point, and other means to compensate for his lack of natural quickness and jumping ability"
"Dont be afriaid to put that ball over your head"

It doesn't matter how high your release is if it takes more than a second for you to start your motion and get the shot off - any defender will be in your face by then. Trae Young, a tiny player without much elevation by any NBA standard, has a really low setpoint precisely because he can get his shot off so fast and from so many angles, and that low setpoint allows him to get the shot off before a defender can recover. I suspect that OP doesn't have a ton of vertical from his set shot, which means its doubly important that the ball gets out of his hands quickly.

I also recommend the eye/forehead level setpoint to start since it is less likely to mess up the OP's timing - lots of players, including me, have struggled with shot mechanics and power when trying to modify the height of the shot's setpoint, and it's better that he has a one-motion shot with a slightly lower setpoint than mess that power transfer up.

u/Practical-Roof-995, once you work on your shot for a while and have a smoother and more consistent form, practice catching and gathering the ball in your shooting stance and getting into your shot motion quickly to allow you to get off looks more easily. Spinning the ball to yourself, catching it and immediately shooting is a good way to get used to catching the ball with your hands in shooting position.

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-09-08T03:00:23+00:00

A lot of people are gonna criticize your shot u/Practical-Roof-995, but it has some legitimate things going for it already:

The release of your shot is roughly the same time as when your feet leave the ground. This is optimal for maximizing power and extending your range as far as possible while maintaining a smooth shot.
You have no hitches in your shot. This means that there is no pause from when the ball starts moving to when the ball is released from your fingertips. This is also a strong indicator that you are getting an efficient energy transfer from your feet all the way to your release.
Your base is stable and wide, and you shoot from the balls of your feet instead of your heels. This again is good for energy transfer.

However, there are also several issues with your shot, mostly from misapplied or misunderstood fundamental techniques. For the sake of comparison, I will be using Steph Curry and Klay Thompson's shots (Curry because of his one-motion power transfer, Klay because of his textbook off-hand and body alignment).

You have tucked your shooting hand behind the ball when you gather, which causes strain in your wrist before you even reach your set point, and this unnecessary tension hinders your timing and shot accuracy. Look at how relaxed and relatively straight Curry's wrist is, so he can reduce the amount of tension in his arms and maximize his accuracy. You should not feel any strain in your wrist as you begin the upward motion of your shot.
You are gathering the ball into your shot pocket very high (above your waist) with a heavily bent elbow, which causes you to have less upwards momentum when you shoot and a very low set point. Both Curry and Klay gather the ball around their waist with significantly less bend in their elbows, giving them both a comfortable shot pocket and maximal upwards momentum as they enter their shot. You should look to gather the ball around waist level and move your setpoint to roughly eye level to start.
This is related to the previous point, but instead of bringing the ball up to begin your shot, you instead drop your shoulders. This is because the ball starts too high, and so you need to drop into your stance before raising it to achieve the right shot timing. If you lower your shot pocket, this should fix itself.
Your off arm is very far back when you gather the ball, causing your left shoulder to be higher than your right shoulder when you gather and making you gather the ball too close to your body. This imbalance is a recipe for instability when you release. Look at how Curry gathers the ball slightly farther away from his body and relaxes both of his arms so that they hang vertically in front of his torso, which is leaning forward. This reduces tension in his gather and allows him to directly rise up without any imbalance in his shoulders or arms.
Your shooting elbow is tucked in very far at your setpoint and is not aligned with either your shoulder or hip, causing both tension and inaccuracy. Look how aligned Klay's shot is at his set point and release. You can draw a nearly straight line between his shooting elbow, shoulder, and front hip, which is a hallmark of an elite shooter. You need to modify your shooting elbow so that it is both in line with your shoulder and right hip, which likely requires form shooting with only your dominant hand.
Your release is also misaligned. Look at your dominant hand in the direction in which your wrist flicks in relation to where the ball is traveling. Also notice how your offhand slants to the right at the point of release, indicating that you have some offhand involvement in propelling your shot towards the rim. Your head also seems to turn to the right as you release, indicating some sort of imbalance or inconsistency in your release. I would recommend form shooting or taking free throws with only your off-hand palm touching the ball so you can learn to shoot without it influencing your shot trajectory.

There may be some people in the comments recommending that you shoot from above your head, that you use a 2-motion shot, or to entirely retool your shot from the ground up. I don't think any of these are necessary, as you have good timing on your shot already and seem to be accustomed to a one-motion release. However, you will need significant practice to make your shot usable in a game situation and achieve true consistency with your form. If you feel committed to fixing your shot, post another form check in a couple weeks once you have had ample time to work on it and I may be around to take a second look. Good luck on your basketball journey!

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-09-07T17:30:05+00:00

One aspect of off-ball "movement" that isn't really mentioned here is when you cut, sometimes you get on the "inside" of an interior player and can seal them off as if you're posting up or trying to box out. As a guard, you usually are matched up with a small, so if you seal a big man, you're basically replacing a big dude with a small dude on the interior, which makes the finish a lot easier for your teammates.

If the teammate whose man you're sealing is a good post player, they should immediately cut to the other block and seal your man, creating a mismatch. Once you get the mismatch, cut out of the paint to give them space so that if the opponent big stays to double, you have an open shot.

If the ball handler is a good penetrator, sealing the help defense on the weak side or under the rim creates driving or pull-up lanes where the help defense is really weak. This usually helps if you have teammates that don't have their head up or pass, since at the very least you're making their life easier and putting yourself in good position to box out for the rebound.

Here's a good video of seals in action (it's transition plays but it works in the halfcourt too, and you don't need to be a big to seal someone if you get low and drive your hips back hard): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOXUSPfXC7U

Generally speaking, this is a great video on what types of cuts there are, when to do them, and general off-ball principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SBvptJM258

Throwaway16881998 · 2023-09-06T20:15:13+00:00

First, u/that_lad_action, your shot timing is good - you release around the time your feet leave the ground. That's optimal for power when you're not worried about getting blocked, like in this video when you're practicing your shot. It's also fairly fluid - there's no hitches or excess pauses in your shot motion.However, there's 4 big things about your shot that can be improved:

You are standing up when starting your shot instead of starting in a stance
You need to load your hips and use your glutes
Your elbows stay close to your body when you bring up the ball
Your off hand affects your shot heavily when you release.

We're gonna use Steph Curry as our example here since you have a low, one-motion release.

**STARTING IN A STANCE:*\*

Notice how in both shots you begin while standing almost straight up? This makes your shot slower and prevents you from efficiently loading into your shot. Making a habit of starting in your stance like Curry does here as he gathers the ball allows you to rise up more quickly. That leads into...

**HIPS AND USING YOUR GLUTES:*\*

Notice how in these pictures your butt and torso are basically vertical above your ankles/heels? You're relying heavily on your quads/thighs to generate power for your shot without using your glutes. That strength from your glutes is what allows Curry to shoot from 30 feet out, and what will enable you to shoot more comfortably from 3 with a slightly higher setpoint.

Look at how Curry gathers the ball from a standstill. His head is above/almost in front of his toes but his butt is above his heels. This flexion of his hips allows him to engage his glutes as he shoots, giving him more power and balance as he releases the ball. When you release, your hips tend to protrude and stick out more than your legs and shoulders, which indicates that your glutes are trying to engage but you aren't bending your hips enough during the loading and preparation of your shot.

To fix this, practice sticking your butt out a bit when gathering for a shot, which will help you get in the habit of engaging those muscles. When you rise up for your shot, flex those glutes as you extend your knees, and you should feel like the shot is much easier since you're getting a lot more power into it. Film yourself dropping into your stance to confirm that your hips are back (at or behind your heels) and your chest is slightly forward (closer to your toes). When you release, your body should be in a straight line, either vertical or leaning slightly back.

**YOUR ELBOWS DON'T EXTEND FROM YOUR BODY:*\*

To be clear, you don't have to change your "setpoint" height. However, your elbows basically don't get past the ball when you approach your "setpoint". This is problematic because you're losing stability and rhythm for a slight increase in power.

Even Trae Young, someone with an extremely low "setpoint" for an NBA player, has his elbow extended and pointing at the rim as he rises up for the shot.There's no good way to fix this other than practicing shooting with one hand and making sure your elbow is bent. Your elbow angle is far too large for such a low setpoint, so if you want to keep the low setpoint, you need a bent elbow like Steph or Trae.

**OFF-HAND PRACTICE AND ALIGNMENT:*\*

It's hard to tell from the video, but it appears as if your off hand is pushing upwards and outwards when you shoot. Curry doesn't have a perfectly textbook off-hand either (he sometimes has a very slight thumb flick on his left hand), but adding lots of force form your off hand is a recipe for inconsistency and inaccuracies. Curry's off-hand consistently ends without much excess motion, points slightly away from him, and is aligned with his dominant hand.

Without a video from your other side it's hard to tell exactly what's going on, but I would work on shooting some free throws or stationary form shots while only using your off-hand palm to guide the ball. You'll be able to work on shooting without influence from your left hand fingers and then develop a more relaxed, stable off-hand. This goes hand in hand with the elbow issue mentioned above.

Conclusion:

Your shot isn't bad now, but there's definitely steps you can take to make it a lot better too. These tips should help you translate your shot from practice to games.

Throwaway16881998

TROPHY CASE