POSITIONS AND STRATEGY ON THE BASKETBALL COURT
The Point guard: He/she plays the one(1) position. This is normally the fastest and shortest person on the team. This is more like the captain on a soccer team for the soccer lovers because after the coach of the team, the point guard is the person who is responsible for calling plays and executing it. He is the core of the team. In our last article, we viewed a professional basketball player and what i didn't tell you is that he plays this position.
The Shooting guard: The person here plays the two(2) position. He is normally the player who takes the most shots on offense hence the name. He is normally taller than the point guard and he normally guards the best perimeter player on the opposing team.
The Small forward: This person here plays the three(3) position. The player in this position is nrmally the best on the team because he is more athletic and more involved in plays. He/she can shoot, dribble, pass and also work hard on defense at the same time, bringing huge plays on the offensive end.
The Power forward: He/she plays the four(4) position. The person playing this position is makes most of his/her points inside the paint. The paint in the picture above is the area where there is no number. This player is more bigger in size and taller than the small forward and also most times, this player is a more defensive player.
The Center: The player here plays the five(5) position. He/she is normally the biggest and tallest on the team. This player in this position is basically responsible for protecting the basket and avoiding opposing players from putting the ball through the hoop by making blocks or by rebounding. This player is often a more defensive player although this does not mean he/she doesnt make offensive plays.
Now we are done talking about the various positions on the court, let's talk strategy both on the offensive end and the defensive end and this is what i call, the big 'O' and the big 'D'.
THE BIG 'O'
O here means offense. This is when the ball is dribbled towards the opposition's rim inorder to make a point either by making a lay-up, by shooting the ball from the three point range or the two point area.
What is a layup? This is when the ball is dribbled by the offensive player and then held between his hands while he takes just two steps to the rim and then scores either with the help of the backboard or just putting it through the basket which in this case, it is valled a 'lay-in'.
Shooting on the other hand is when the player shots the ball from a distance instead of taking it to the rim. This can be done from the three point line which will then be awarded three points if it goes in, or can be done inside the perimeter which will be awarded a two point play. This is normally done when the defense is packed up and the defensive bucket is really tight or when the player prefers to make a three point play.
THE BIG 'D'
D here means defense. This is when the opposition tries to prevent you from scoring or making a point. This is done basically by shuffling your legs without which, defense will be hard dor you to play. The one mistake that players of this game make, even the ones i currently play with is that, they forget to play defense because their offense is good, but that is the wrong way to play the game.
Defense is just as important as offense because it helps in preventing your opponent from making a point after you have made yours.
Defense can be played by shuffling your legs to make the offensive player uncomfortable while wanting to score, also by blocking a shot or lay-up from an offensive player, also by grabbing rebounds.
One important thing to note though is that good offense always beats good defense hence the need to work on the offensive part of your game.
Before we conclude this topic, let's see some terms in basketball that we will talk on in our next article: dribbling, passing, rebounding, lay-up, shooting, screen.
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