How to beat the big dude.

[Ai2death]

Looking for ideas or tips. Constantly I find my self on breaks and often the only person I have to beat is the other teams center waiting under their ring to block me. I get intimiadated and end up taking like a short 10ft jump shot but am looking for tips to get to the ring with out getting blocked.

[Rnbizzle]

Eurostep is all you need. It's not easy to master though.

[Rake2204]

I think it sort of depends upon a number of factors. For one, how much bigger is this guy than you are? Is it a 6'7'' to your 5'6''? Second, is he cutting you off on the break or just more or less waiting near the basket for you? If he's not actively defending you (again, if he's more or less established position below) a Euro-step or spin may not be effective. To be perfectly honest, in a secondary break situation (like the one I'm describing above) where a defender has the opportunity to set himself near the basket and he's much larger than you, a pull up jumper isn't the worst choice in the world.

On the flip side, if it's more of a bang-bang fast break on the run situation, where the big man is perhaps running along side of you or is very quickly trying to get beneath the basket but still moving, I always encourage initiating the contact. Some of the easiest shots to block come when an offensive player is doing everything in his power to avoid the defender. This allows that defender to extend and block many shots. But when a player dictates the contact, it becomes much tougher for the defense to pick their spots.

For instance, I'm no Dikembe Mutombo, but I'm about 6'3'' or 6'4''. Last week I played against a dude three years younger than me, but standing only about 5'10'' and carrying a significant amount of weight. I felt maybe I'd have to purposely not block his shot all the time to make things more fair. However, he actually ended up being awfully savvy at dictating contact, as I mentioned, and he was able to get off a lot of layup attempts I wasn't really planning on letting him get off. His bumps were just enough to displace my timed jump and it put the proverbial ball in his court. He surely still had a pull-up jumper in his repertoire, but when he drove, he had no problem confronting the defense and displacing them, thus allowing a relatively open layup attempt.

Another option on the fast break, as always, is the reverse layup. If a big man is trying to time out a block, he more or less has to plan on you finishing on the same side of the glass. Attempting a solid reverse will neutralize most of what the trailing defender was planning.

But more than anything else, make sure you're aggressive and unafraid of anyone and everyone on the basketball court. If a big man's getting back on defense and he's not planning on taking a charge, don't be afraid to attack that guy with fury. Basketball can often be skewed heavily in the offensive player's favor. If you blast to the hole and you collide with the non-stationary defender, you're usually either going to have an opportunity to make your shot, you're going to get fouled, or both. For me, if I'm opening up on a break and I spy a defender attempting to run back, I'm winding up and attacking like a freight train.

[Burgz V2]

Looking for ideas or tips. Constantly I find my self on breaks and often the only person I have to beat is the other teams center waiting under their ring to block me. I get intimiadated and end up taking like a short 10ft jump shot but am looking for tips to get to the ring with out getting blocked.

taking the jumpshot is not necessarily the wrong thing to do in that situation. if you can hit that shot it will actually force the big to come meet you earlier if he knows you can make it.

on 2 on 1s you should always try and attack the rim though. the best way to beat a big guy on the break is to use your momentum to your advantage. you have a running start and he might be running too, but he'll probably be back-pedalling or something like it.
when you get to the point where you're thinking about going for the layup, you have to set your defender up where he'll be least likely to make a play.
like i said your speed and momentum should be your advantage here. when you jump, find your defender and literally jump into his chest. dont swing your arm out because its an offensive foul but keep both hands on the ball and jump into his chest with your shoulder. this will likely

1) get your defender under the basket where he can't make a play on the ball

or

2) give you more than enough space to finish

the teams i've coached i like taking the pads off the wall and bumping them during fast break drills telling them that I shouldnt be bumping THEM but they should be bumping me.

i try not to rely on the eurostep in this situation because it actually has no counter if someone steps in front and reads it. if you're REALLY quick it can be useful but it can lead to some bad habits. I think you're much better off doing it this way because you are not shying away from the contact, rather, you are embracing it and using it to your advantage

[mr beast]

if he is soley there waiting for you under the basket then you basically have to do a tear drop or pull up for jumper


if he is running with you either trailing or right there with you, do a pump fake or dream shake to get him in the air then finish

reverse lay up to use the rim to get better position


there's another option, just dunk on the guy.......lol

[SourPatchKids]

I've played a lot of guys like Rake said, and their was a kid on my middle school team who was kinda chubby, a couple inches shorter than me, but was super aggressive and loved contact. I remember hating to guard him in one on one drills cause I would always receive a headbutt to the teeth and my coach would just be lie good job playing physical! :lol

[Pushxx]

Try this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnG87n7HJWo

[01amberfirewv]

^^^ one of my favorite moves, they catch on quick though so come up with a counter. I like to do that fake then spin then go up and under.

Steph Curry does it well too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x_C9EVES7M

[kNicKz]

http://www.co.nash.nc.us/Portals/0/Graphics/SHR/xd40.jpg

[bdreason]

10 ft jumper is a good shot. Problem with streetball is that if you take it the rim, the defender has no incentive not to foul you. There is no fouling out or free throws.

[FreezingTsmoove]

in the paint floater. It's very easy to practice and it should be reliable after a month of practice

[IGotACoolStory]

Right, use a floater. Any person 6-0 and under should probably have that shot down. Or I don't know how you got through high school basketball unless you have insane hops and just dunked on people.

[2swift4u]

I find the euro step to be a helpful move when the defender is basically waiting for you under the basket. So far when I did it the defenders always bought it and kinda went out of my way. But you really have to practice the euro step a lot in order to do it on the fly without having to think too much about the steps.

making contact right before the layup also works well, but I'm not really good at that so I can't give you any advice.

[nixonjames]

If you're playing in an officiated game I like to try to get off a quick pull up jumper first to get him thinkin faster for the block. Then follow it up with a spin/drop step, followed by an up and under.

Basketball is much easier when you are moving at the pace you want to and your opponent is having to change directions and is thus thrown off.

If they're really really really really good and more athletic, get used to setting lots of picks and trying to get him to follow you out of the paint.

[nathanjizzle]

theres nothing wrong with killing the fast break because someone is ahead of you. but if hes a big slower dude and hes at the rim and you must finish over him my advice is, slow down your approach to the basket and get closer to the basket than you would trying to attack the rim immediately. This allows you to not have to do a crazy athletic move just to finish since your closer to the basket, once u get close enough, just out jump him, hes too big to elevate faster then you, and the fact your closer to the rim youll have a quicker release.

[scm5]

I always tell people to play to their strengths. If you're not good at making contested layups, don't take it. If you're a good shooter and he's protecting the rim, pull up from a spot you're comfortable with.

If you can't finish well and you're not a good shooter, just wait for your teammates to catch up. There is nothing wrong with that and it's the right move if you don't think you can finish over him and you're not confident enough in your shot to make a free, wide open shot from anywhere not in the paint.

Don't feel forced to try and make a play when there is none.

[miggyme1]

u wanna draw contact....plain and simple....and simply lay it up and see if u can get a and 1.dont run away from big men run at them and try and draw a foul on them.of course when u increse your speed and vertical youll be able to dunk over them.lol

[mobbdeep]

Someone said the Eurostep and he's right but there's only one guy that does it at my gym and he pulls it off everytime and scores with a layup or gets fouled.

But yes, it's kind of difficult to master I think. I don't have it down.

But the best thing for u to do is learn a one handed floater/runner.

For me, once I get into the lane, it's a wrap. I'm scoring with my floater/runner.

The key is a SOFT touch. just practice jumping off one foot and releasing it with ur hand. Good luck

[L3B120N J4M35]

my problem is not being able to use my left hand :(

[Svendiggity]

my problem is not being able to use my left hand :(

Three steps at how I got good at going left.

1. When I was chillin, sitin on my couch i would have my ball in my left hand and I would sway it back and forth until I felt comfortable extending the ball far away from my body.

2. Spent a few hours just standing flatfooted(a foot or so away from the hoop) throwing in finger rolls and any weird left handed layups I felt comfortable doing with my right hand.

3. Spent an entire practice session sprinting full speed at the hoop, jumping off my right leg and throwing in the layups i practiced flat footed.


There may be better ways to practice it but the best advice I can give you is break it down , try to master each part of the finish.

[D.J.]

I'm 6'8" so I'll give you some tips:


1)A floater. All guards should have this move down pat. You get it high enough, no one is blocking it.

2)Tony Parker has a move where he drives left and does a reverse right handed layup. This is good because the big man more than likely blocks with his right hand and when you attempt the layup, he'll be literally under the rim so blocking it is next to impossible.


Do not stop and pull up a 10 footer. It's a wasted possession if you miss the shot.

[No_Look604]

Y'all wasting your time...who needs to ask a forum what to do in this scenario?

TAKE IT UP STRONG!!

[D.J.]

Y'all wasting your time...who needs to ask a forum what to do in this scenario?

TAKE IT UP STRONG!!


That's not going to work if you're playing street ball with no fouls. In a street ball scenario, you need to be quick and a little creative. If the opposing player(say 5'9" 180) is going to try to take it strong against me(6'8" 230), there's no such thing as "getting the call". Plus he's also risking getting hurt since I'm a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier.

[Lebron23]

Jump Shot

Quick First Step + Floater

Just played 3 on 3 basketball today.

[chips93]

guys like tony parker, and rondo are great at getting the ball up onto the backboard really fast. its not always about getting a really explosive attack of the basket, sometimes you can kinda wrong foot a defender, just by going from dribbling to up onto the backbaord in a flash.

or, almost the complete opposite, try attack his body. nobody can jump very high if you are putting them off balance, if you get him moving, then bump him as you are going to the basket, he wont be able to jump as high and block your shot.

[Timmy D for MVP]

First off evaluate your situation: you don't always need to try to get the bucket yourself. I actually prefer forcing the defender to commit to allow a teammate (who should be filling in behind you) to have a wide open look.

Secondly practice spinning it off of the board from various angles. Since you are in control of the ball the defender has to guess at what you're going to do. Unless their Bismack Biyombo and can jump well after the show to swat it this is to your advantage. So knowing how to hit from various angles is key.

Thirdly I would recommend practicing space clearing moves. Many mentioned the euro step. I'm terrible at it so I have perfected the ability to jump stop to a position where the ball is protected from the defender. My favorite thing to do actually is to do a reverse layup so the rim protects me, so even if I'm straight on I can hop step at the basket so I'm positioned to reverse it.

And finally you need a shot of some sort. A tear drop, a pull up, a floater, a quick scoop, something so that the defender knows they can't just give you that. Then you can try to force them to commit and it opens up a bunch more options to hesitate, or spin off, or something.

Generally the bigs are slower, and honestly, I personally think the most uncomfortable place to be as a defender on a fast break is just sitting in the post waiting for the handler to bear down on me. So I would be that the defender is on their heels anyway. Just be confident when you go up, you'll likely get a positive result.