How to recover from bad games

My HS team is playing in a preseason league right now and for the past 2 games i have really played poorly. The first scrimmage we had I played pretty well
I had maybe like 16+ pts but it was all downhill from there. The 1st bad game I couldn't even catch the ball or finish well at the basket. The 2nd bad game I just could not get my offense going, its a really small gym, the other team was pretty big and they were playing 2-3. To make matters worse I had to play down low for most of the game. I ended up with 0 pts that game smh.
How do I get over this?

You don't have to. Just forget about the last few games and concentrate on the next. Tell your coach if you dislike playing down low.

Never let a bad game bother you. If you dwell on the negatives, you'll tie yourself down when you should be preparing for your next game. Did you guys win? If not, then think about what went wrong. Whenever I play poorly, I spend at most 30 minutes thinking about what I could have done better, what I should have done. Then that's it, I don't think about it again, because what happened can't be changed.

Here's a quote for you: "Every setback is a setup for a comeback"

[QUOTE=carpevicis]Never let a bad game bother you. If you dwell on the negatives, you'll tie yourself down when you should be preparing for your next game. Did you guys win? If not, then think about what went wrong. Whenever I play poorly, I spend at most 30 minutes thinking about what I could have done better, what I should have done. Then that's it, I don't think about it again, because what happened can't be changed.

Here's a quote for you: "Every setback is a setup for a comeback"[/QUOTE]

nice quote, we lost our last game by 4 pts and we had a terrible game, but we won our last 2 so we are 2-1. Yea and I find it SO hard to not think about it again because it always comes into my head like "I wonder if coach now thinks im not good enough" "how did I play so bad" "will I still be starting "I cant have another bad game if I want to be a real good player on the team"

just random thoughts like that go in my head and even follow into the next day.

[QUOTE=MannyO]nice quote, we lost our last game by 4 pts and we had a terrible game, but we won our last 2 so we are 2-1. Yea and I find it SO hard to not think about it again because it always comes into my head like "I wonder if coach now thinks im not good enough" "how did I play so bad" "will I still be starting "I cant have another bad game if I want to be a real good player on the team"

just random thoughts like that go in my head and even follow into the next day.[/QUOTE]

Don't doubt yourself. Trust that your coach trusts you. If you aren't confident in your skills, what makes you think he would be? Just try and make it a lesson instead of a loss, learn as much as you can from the game and practice and eliminate those mistakes the next game.

[QUOTE=carpevicis]Don't doubt yourself. Trust that your coach trusts you. If you aren't confident in your skills, what makes you think he would be? Just try and make it a lesson instead of a loss, learn as much as you can from the game and practice and eliminate those mistakes the next game.[/QUOTE]

Yea true, I think way too much I gotta get back into a rhythm and just flow play without thinking.

[QUOTE=MannyO]nice quote, we lost our last game by 4 pts and we had a terrible game, but we won our last 2 so we are 2-1. Yea and I find it SO hard to not think about it again because it always comes into my head like "I wonder if coach now thinks im not good enough" "how did I play so bad" "will I still be starting "I cant have another bad game if I want to be a real good player on the team"

just random thoughts like that go in my head and even follow into the next day.[/QUOTE]

Love that Quote.

Yeah man, you seem to be the same type of person as me;emotional/prone to random emotions such as extreme happiness and extreme depression. Sometimes you have to just lay in bed or something and hold your basketball in your hands and think about what just happened. Then you just burst out into a basketball court and start practicing and carry on nothing but the knowledge you learned.

Yeah, same with me, I'll typically hold it for a long time because that's my personality but I try my best to forget about it. It's no good having all that to weigh me down, but if I come fresh off a game where I was hot I'll look to carry all of that over to my next game.

In fact, I was playing some pickup today and in one game I missed every shot I took and had some turnovers, next game I just went out firing and went 5/6 or something. It wasn't bad at all, but I know I could have done better.

yea I took the advice and kept that quote in my head. Today I played more freely and coach put me as the point for some time. I created for my teammates well and played great defense and we won by 40. Im just hoping to just stay in the moment and flow of the game. Next game I need to turn it up scoring wise I want to average about 16-20 a game. I approach scoring 20 pts as 5 layups each half or jumpers even some 3s depending on the situation.

I want to join a league, but there's none around me. I'm not looking for an AAU team yet but just a weekend league where I can get into the flow of an officiated games... it's too bad cause with the weather and limited courts no one runs any around here.

Here's a tip to scoring more: go to the line. When I play a game with refs, if I have the green light to be more ball dominant I'll always look to attack the basket. A couple years back I had to carry my team (which was complete trash) and all I did was drive. I made a couple other players foul out and took like 18 or so free throws, no exaggeration.

[QUOTE=carpevicis]I want to join a league, but there's none around me. I'm not looking for an AAU team yet but just a weekend league where I can get into the flow of an officiated games... it's too bad cause with the weather and limited courts no one runs any around here.

Here's a tip to scoring more: go to the line. When I play a game with refs, if I have the green light to be more ball dominant I'll always look to attack the basket. A couple years back I had to carry my team (which was complete trash) and all I did was drive. I made a couple other players foul out and took like 18 or so free throws, no exaggeration.[/QUOTE]


yea I think I should drive more the thing is during the summer league I used to drive to the basket with ease because most of the time I was quicker faster and sometimes stronger than my defender, the thing is finishing in a crowded lane. I have to use the midrange/pullup game more. I really want to get into the scoring flow so that by the time the season comes I will be known to be able to score/defend and create.

[QUOTE=MannyO]yea I think I should drive more the thing is during the summer league I used to drive to the basket with ease because most of the time I was quicker faster and sometimes stronger than my defender, the thing is finishing in a crowded lane. I have to use the midrange/pullup game more. I really want to get into the scoring flow so that by the time the season comes I will be known to be able to score/defend and create.[/QUOTE]

It drives me crazy when I try and drive and my teammates don't move out of the lane. I end up having 3 obstacles and no shot or pass because my teammate is pretty much right next to me :mad:

And that's always what happens with pickup. People never shift out of the lane. So I stopped driving pretty much all together, in pickup games I'm pretty much always a shooter. And I'm not bad at shooting at all, even though in workouts my percentages aren't great, in games I keep a very high percentage.

I have to work on the pull up. I'm shorter so I need more space so I drive faster, and it takes alot of effort for me to balance and rise evenly. For the most part I either drive completely or spot up.

[QUOTE=carpevicis]It drives me crazy when I try and drive and my teammates don't move out of the lane. I end up having 3 obstacles and no shot or pass because my teammate is pretty much right next to me :mad:

And that's always what happens with pickup. People never shift out of the lane. So I stopped driving pretty much all together, in pickup games I'm pretty much always a shooter. And I'm not bad at shooting at all, even though in workouts my percentages aren't great, in games I keep a very high percentage.

I have to work on the pull up. I'm shorter so I need more space so I drive faster, and it takes alot of effort for me to balance and rise evenly. For the most part I either drive completely or spot up.[/QUOTE]


yea I hate that when people don't move. The thing that also kills is when you have a few people on the team that want to do things they cannot do. Like we have some kid on the team that is mostly a shooter he is slow as hell yet he wants to try and drive to the basket. Whenever you give him the ball it almost never comes back to you. I had a few nice drives to the lane and instead of scoring I made a nice dish, but thats because I was point. We already have a really good PG so I won't really need to worry about that. My focus is to be a guy that can score maybe like 15-20 somewhere in that range but also I want to be a shutdown defender. Today we really shut the other team down they probably had more turnovers than they had points.

[QUOTE=MannyO]yea I hate that when people don't move. The thing that also kills is when you have a few people on the team that want to do things they cannot do. Like we have some kid on the team that is mostly a shooter he is slow as hell yet he wants to try and drive to the basket. Whenever you give him the ball it almost never comes back to you. I had a few nice drives to the lane and instead of scoring I made a nice dish, but thats because I was point. We already have a really good PG so I won't really need to worry about that. My focus is to be a guy that can score maybe like 15-20 somewhere in that range but also I want to be a shutdown defender. Today we really shut the other team down they probably had more turnovers than they had points.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I know I can do alot of things but usually other people can do them better, so I play off the ball and take what the D gives me. I'm not a good enough ball handler to bring the ball up, so I let the varsity PG do that. I'm not a good enough shooter to gun it every time, so I don't shoot too much. For the most part, I'm basically and off-ball point guard.

I'm working on creation skills because normally what happens is the guy bringing the ball up is a better scorer and I'm a more willing passer so I'm the PG who doesn't bring the ball up.

I'm a good defender though, if it weren't for my size I'd be much better. I'm not heavy enough so it's a liability in the post but I'm good at making reads and not biting on fakes/gambling on steals.

[QUOTE=carpevicis]Yeah, I know I can do alot of things but usually other people can do them better, so I play off the ball and take what the D gives me. I'm not a good enough ball handler to bring the ball up, so I let the varsity PG do that. I'm not a good enough shooter to gun it every time, so I don't shoot too much. For the most part, I'm basically and off-ball point guard.

I'm working on creation skills because normally what happens is the guy bringing the ball up is a better scorer and I'm a more willing passer so I'm the PG who doesn't bring the ball up.

I'm a good defender though, if it weren't for my size I'd be much better. I'm not heavy enough so it's a liability in the post but I'm good at making reads and not biting on fakes/gambling on steals.[/QUOTE]

thats basically what I am too a off ball PG. I am trying to just learn how to score off the ball. Mostly I really do damage when I have the ball in my hands but I have to learn to play alongside a good PG

[QUOTE=MannyO]thats basically what I am too a off ball PG. I am trying to just learn how to score off the ball. Mostly I really do damage when I have the ball in my hands but I have to learn to play alongside a good PG[/QUOTE]

Same - but this shows we're pretty versatile I'd say. I mean it provides better options for a team if a player can play both the 1 and the 2, so in the end you get more time because of the amount of positions you can play.

I think that's something I do well: I can run the point well, but I can also play off the ball well. So there's never an issue if another player wants to bring it up or if I need to facilitate. I do need to work on creation though, for the most part, I either give the ball to the best scorer or I drive then kick out. I can't seem to make plays where my teammate is close to the basket (bad movement?), almost all my assists are open jump shots.

[QUOTE=carpevicis]Same - but this shows we're pretty versatile I'd say. I mean it provides better options for a team if a player can play both the 1 and the 2, so in the end you get more time because of the amount of positions you can play.

I think that's something I do well: I can run the point well, but I can also play off the ball well. So there's never an issue if another player wants to bring it up or if I need to facilitate. I do need to work on creation though, for the most part, I either give the ball to the best scorer or I drive then kick out. I can't seem to make plays where my teammate is close to the basket (bad movement?), almost all my assists are open jump shots.[/QUOTE]

It definitely helps to have people cutting at the right time. Just yesterday this small guy drove to the basket from the top of the key and my friend cut baseline to the basket and got behind his man... easy dish for a reverse layup. When you have people like that on your team who cut at the right time (I'm willing to bet his guy was ball watching so it was easy to cut right behind him), you can really rack up the assists.

I need to play or have a good session after a bad game to recover. IT can be a shootaround, one on one or pick up ball but I always try to get back on the court as soon as I can to feel better.

Just continue shooting in the 2nd game. And Don't think about the results of the previous game.

How about actually practicing. No way I'd let myself play poorly... I'd practice for 20 hours straight before I'd let myself have another bad game. I guess that's the difference between you and I though. I know how not to have bad games and know how to put things in my control. Watch film... get inspired...go way beyond the norm. You should be practicing at least 4-6 hours every single day. Double that on the weekends

edit: i'm 6 years too late, OP has already failed

[QUOTE=HenryGarfunkle]How about actually practicing. No way I'd let myself play poorly... I'd practice for 20 hours straight before I'd let myself have another bad game. I guess that's the difference between you and I though. I know how not to have bad games and know how to put things in my control. Watch film... get inspired...go way beyond the norm. You should be practicing at least 4-6 hours every single day. Double that on the weekends

edit: i'm 6 years too late, OP has already failed[/QUOTE]
:roll: :roll:

Truth though

Practice and don't give a shit.

[QUOTE=clipps]Practice and don't give a shit.[/QUOTE]


This

[QUOTE=HenryGarfunkle]How about actually practicing. No way I'd let myself play poorly... I'd practice for 20 hours straight before I'd let myself have another bad game. I guess that's the difference between you and I though. I know how not to have bad games and know how to put things in my control. Watch film... get inspired...go way beyond the norm. You should be practicing at least 4-6 hours every single day. Double that on the weekends

edit: i'm 6 years too late, OP has already failed[/QUOTE]

Budadii acting like he has game. :roll: