What do you do when you're having a bad game.

I had a great streak going prior to the last two weeks. It seemed everything worked and my shots went in pretty easily but the last two weeks I haven't been able to get anything going. I've had a lot of passes picked off and my shooting precentage is way down. I've still felt I could beat just about any defender but it has done no good since I haven't been able to finish

First thing i do is make sure i don't shy away from my game. This means taking the shots i usually would take and taking any easy point i can get to build confidence. That means running that cut for the layup or taking a lil 10 ft jumper watever. Its all mental but in order for you to think your "fixed" u have to see it.

Stay confident even if it does not work the very next time you play keep playing your game. Don't change your shot or try to do something different with your handle. ect.. If you miss you move on simple as that. teammates get mad oh well. Gotta stay mentally strong through a bad streak or if can affect u for a while.

Let me know how it works for you bro

My bad games generally happen when i've fallen in love with my jumpshot and it's stopped falling or something has gotten to me (reffing, team chemistry etc.) and the only way i find i can pick it up is put my head down and stick to what i do best which is drive and get to the rim and draw fouls..

Also focus of rebounding on offence to try and capitalise on easy opportunities and do the little things.:cheers:

Play defense, and fight for rebounds.

get yourself to the line

[QUOTE=D-Wade316]Play defense, and fight for rebounds.[/QUOTE]

this.

Play really hard defense. Apply more contact when going through screens and picks if you're upset. That's how I vent in the middle of the game at least. Don't take it too far obviously, because you don't want to be knocking people over.

If I'm having a bad game, I find that the best thing to do is continue playing defense, but run down the floor a little faster or cut a little harder to try and get easier attempts at the bucket. Getting those easy buckets is a huge boost in confidence.

As long as I remember to do that, I usually correct myself fairly decently.

If you're a shooter, you just have to realize that shooters go through these streaks. If your team is still passing you the ball, it means that even though you missed your last 3 or 4 shots, they are still confident enough in you to make the pass to you. So take it.

[QUOTE=scm5]If you're a shooter, you just have to realize that shooters go through these streaks. If your team is still passing you the ball, it means that even though you missed your last 3 or 4 shots, they are still confident enough in you to make the pass to you. So take it.[/QUOTE]
Right on. There's been a good amount of advice about what to do when you're having a bad game but I think ceasing to shoot is a very important thing [i]not[/i] to do. It's one of the more telling signs of inexperience I can see on the basketball court these days and I'm careful to warn my players (and little brothers) about it.

At one point as a youth, around my sophomore year, it was imperative that I began my game with a field goal make. If I attempted and missed an open jumper or three pointer, I'd begin looking around to my upperclassmen teammates and I'd develop the thought that I only deserved to shoot open layups from there on out. It took longer than I thought to realize a great basketball player is still going to miss half of their shots and if my job is to attempt to score in good situations, then I must always attempt to score in good situations.

Now as a coach, I cringe a little when I see players miss an open shot, receive the same open look moments later, and then pass it up. What's worse is when a player is on a roll and they stop shooting because the thought is, "Maybe I shouldn't shoot, because that's exactly what they'll be expecting." Instead, if a player's on a roll, the thought should be, "They're expecting me, but they're still not going to stop me."

So in essence, if you're a shooter (or an open lay-up maker, or a mid-range guy, or strictly a bomber) don't alter your roll just because a few of your shots aren't falling. As others said, it can help to step up in other facets of your game, but don't run away from your problems, so to speak. There's a lot of guys out there (even Michael Jordan) who start games off shooting 3-13 through the first three quarters, only to blow up for a 7-9 quarter in the fourth. Unfortunately for me, through much of my early career, if I didn't start off 7-9, I'd just figure it wasn't my night. I was easily rattled by my own performance. A mature player will not get too high and not get too low, always understanding the next play is a new opportunity to succeed.

[QUOTE=CBLhoops]get yourself to the line[/QUOTE]
This, sinking a free throw not only regains your confidence but also starts warming you up if you've been cold all game.

basketball is a game of percentages. I always tell myself that. Sometimes makes me feel better if im playing like $hit haha

But there is one thing you have to keep in mind:

there is a difference between missing a lot of bad shots and missing a lot of good shots.

you should always question, "why did I just miss that shot?"

If you find yourself saying, "that was a good shot, I just missed" then I keep taking that shot. If not you're more likely to find yourself on the bench, there is nothing worse than a player that doesn't take a good shot because of some internal psychological battle he is having. It's a team game and you hurt your TEAM if you don't take those good shots.

Now if you are answering "that was a bad shot/ my shot selection is terrible" then you have to find out why you either a) felt the need to take a bad shot and/or b) why you were in that position in the first place

I always say that if i can't tell the difference between a good and bad shot I'm most likely gonna have a rough game.

Once that happens there are many things you can do to help your team win. I've always been a defensive minded player so I try and step in for charges, crash the boards more frequently, make an extra pass if it's there, anything to get me back into the flow of the game