Are You A Robot On the Basketball Court?

April 21, 2013

Type 1

I don’t know the reason why, but some people believe they need to be as big as a body builder. This is what I call a type one robot on the court. This type of player lives in the weight room and he only eats egg whites. I respect the work ethic of a player like this because it is very difficult to pack on pounds of muscles when you are a basketball player. A big problem for players who try to put weight on is that they can’t even put on 5 pounds of muscle because they have fast metabolisms and also burn a ton of calories every day playing the game.

Anyways, Type 1’s usually have trouble with lateral quickness on defense and really have no fluidity in their offensive game. Type 1’s play the game too high. In many basketball situations it’s the low man that wins every time. If you are having problems getting low on your dribbling you need to do basketball drills that force you to touch the ground or duck under something.

If You are this kind of a player listen up! Take all that energy you are using in building your upper body and apply it to your lower body. Build your leg strength up and then begin to integrate plyometric exercises. Also, integrate some agility work. In time you will be able to control your new strength with a strong base. If you want to strengthen your upper body you can, but focus more on basketball functional strengthening. For example, a medicine ball workout that helps you pass faster, dribble harder, and be stronger WITH the basketball. Look below for the workout:

MEDICINE BALL WORKOUT

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Around the back x 20 each way

Around the leg x 20 each leg

Figure 8 x 10 each way

Crossovers x 50

Through the legs x 25 each way

Left to right x 30

Front the back x 30

High throws 3 x 10

Rebounds 3 x 8

Backboard tap 3 x 8

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Type 2

Type 2 Robots are the kind of players that are too focused on running the offense and never look to make a play. Maybe you are this kind of player. That is ok at least you are in the game and have earned playing time and some trust from the coach. Maybe that is the reason you get playing time and that’s fine. Now lets be honest. You are not satisfied with that. I know I wasn’t.

Sometimes you have to take risks in basketball. You are only given so many opportunities to prove yourself. If you never try to capitalize on one of those opportunities then someone else will.

[quote author=”- Nipsey Hussle”]I hope your opportunity survives the opportunist.[/quote]

Be an opportunist in the game. Now lets talk about where that opportunity is.

Wings

These are the attack zones. Every time you catch the ball on the wing you should look baseline. Many teams force players that direction into baseline help side. Maybe the help is hugged up on his man. If that’s the case you should be able to get there in 1 dribble and finish strong. If the help side comes chances are there is a weak side post player. You need to either finish over the help or pass it off the your weak side post player for the finish. If the help is coming from the corner that player will be open. Make sure you don’t make that pass if the team does an overall good job rotating and anticipating the help- needed. It’s called “help the helper.” If they help the helper then that pass could be stolen.

Set Plays

If you are robot in the set plays and just find yourself passing in 90% of your set plays, then here is what you need to do. Analyze each play. Is there any moments where you can break out of the play for an easy layup? Is there any place I can back door my defender? Is there any screen I can slip to get the ball? If you can answer yes to any of these questions then the next time you have the opportunity to make a play on the basketball court….do it. If you can score points with that new option in consecutive games you will find that being part of that play.

Type 3

Being Type 3 is a good thing. You are a machine. You are a working robot. Once you are on the basketball court you are focused. You do every drill with 100% intensity and are competitive in everything. Kobe Bryant is a Type 3 Robot. He has the ability to focus on a task so deeply that he is like a robot. Check out the video below where you won’t even look at Chris Rock.

Now I think you understand what kind of player this is. These players play with a chip on their shoulder and are self motivated. What do you do to help stay motivated? Here are a few quick tips:

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