Basketball is one of the most popular game in the world.Basketball, sport, usually played on an indoor court in which two competing teams of five players where each try to score points by throwing a ball so that it descends through one of two baskets. If team has not a ball they try to defend his basket and recover a ball. To score point are three way: to throw from three points zone, two points zone or if opponent fouled two fouls shooting. The team scoring the most points, wins the game.
Basketball was invented in December 1891 in USA in Training School in Springfield, where one men organized a strong and fast game suitable for indoor winter play. US servicemen in World War II popularized the sport in many other countries.
The game involved elements of American football, Association football, and hockey, and the first ball used was a football. Teams had nine players, and the goals were wooden peach baskets affixed to the walls. By 1897-1898, teams of five became standard. The game rapidly spread nationwide and to Canada and other parts of the world, played by both women and men; it also became a popular informal outdoor game. US servicemen in World War II popularized the sport in many other countries.
The game commences with the tip-off, when the referee tosses the ball into the air over the centre circle, in which the opposing centres stand face to face. The centres then leap into the air and attempt, with their hands, to tap the ball to their teammates. The team that gets the ball attempts to advance it towards the basket defended by the opposing side, in order to try for a field goal, or basket, scoring two or three points, depending on the player’s distance from the basket. A player may advance the ball by passing it to a teammate or by bouncing (dribbling) it continually along the floor while running towards the basket. If a player walks or runs with the ball without dribbling it—a violation called travelling—that player’s team surrenders possession of the ball. After a basket is scored, the opposing team puts the ball into play from behind its end line and in turn tries to move the ball upcourt to score.
A Penalties and Free Throws
A player subjected to illegal body contact, termed a personal foul, receives one or two free throws, from a foul line about 4 m (15 ft) from the basket. Each successful free throw counts for one point. Typical fouls include pushing, holding, charging, and tripping. A player fouled in the act of shooting, but scoring the basket, receives one free throw in addition to the basket; this is called a three-point play. In professional basketball, excessive fouls are penalized by granting the opponents extra free-throw chances. A player who exceeds the maximum number of personal fouls allowed (in amateur play, five; in professional play, six) is eliminated from the game. Interference with certain shots that are near or about to drop through the basket is called goaltending on defence, and basket interference on the attack. The basket is ruled good after goaltending and disallowed after basket interference.
Amateur games usually are divided into two halves, each containing 20 minutes of actual play; professional games are divided into four quarters, each containing 12 minutes of play. An added feature of college and professional games is the rule that a team must shoot at the basket within a certain time limit after putting the ball in play. In college basketball, the time limit is 35 seconds in men’s games and 30 seconds in women’s games. Professional games have a 24-second limit.
B Attacking Skills
Rebounding Rebounding involves competing for possession of the basketball when it rebounds, or bounces, off the backboard or rim after a missed shot. Defensive rebounds occur off the missed shot of the opposition, while attacking rebounds are retrieved from the errant attempts of teammates. Here, two members of the Dallas Mavericks compete for a rebound.Jim Zerschling/Photo Researchers, Inc.
The principal attacking skills necessary to any player, besides adept dribbling or ball control, are passing and shooting. Passes to teammates, which may be thrown overhand, underhand, or laterally, include push passes, behind-the-back passes, jump passes, and bounce passes. A pass that leads directly to a basket being scored is called an assist.
Perhaps the most important basketball skill, however, is the ability to shoot accurately. Among the types of shots in the standard vocabulary of modern basketball are the lay-up, made overhand or underhand and as close to the basket as possible; the jump shot, in which the shooter leaps into the air before releasing the ball; the hook shot, an arched shot made over the head with one arm, generally as the shooter is moving away from the basket; and the dunk shot, in which the shooter leaps into the air and slams the ball directly into the basket. The set or stationary shot, once popular when play was slower, is extremely rare today. Foul shots are usually made overhand from the foul line.
Rebounding is the art of out-positioning opponents to gain possession of the ball off the backboard, when a shot has been missed, or to tap the ball into the basket for a field goal after a missed shot.
A high-speed attack over the length of the whole court is called a fast break and is calculated to outrace the defending opponents for a quick score. Also essential in basketball is the pick, or screen, whereby players position themselves (set a pick) so as to impede the movement of a defensive player, thus freeing a teammate for a clear shot at the basket.
Generally speaking, attacking strategy may involve deliberate patterns of attack, or a looser, more improvised style of play. In each case the object is to evade the opposition and work for an easier shot at the basket, or to pass to an open, or momentarily unguarded, player to facilitate a scoring chance.
C Defensive Skills
Russell and Chamberlain Bill Russell, left, defends against Wilt Chamberlain, right, attempting to block Chamberlain’s shot. Russell and Chamberlain waged numerous battles during the 1960s, solidifying their status as two of basketball’s most skilled and dominating big men. Russell earned a reputation as an intimidating presence and stalwart defender in leading the Boston Celtics to 11 championships. Chamberlain is considered one of the greatest scorers of all time, having averaged more than 50 points per game during the 1961-1962 season.Will McIntyre/Photo Researchers, Inc.
The main types of defensive strategy in basketball are the so-called zone and man-to-man defences. In the zone defence, each player is responsible for defending a certain area of the court around the basket at which the opposing team is shooting. In a man-to-man, or one-on-one defence, each player is assigned to guard closely a specific member of the opposing team. Zone defence is not permitted in professional basketball, but remains an important part of amateur competition.
Individual defensive skills include the ability to block shots without fouling, to break up passes, and to steal the ball. A change-of-hands of the ball in floor play, from one team to the other, is called a turnover. Intense or pressing defensive moves include double-teaming, whereby two players guard a dangerous or vulnerable opponent, and the full-court press, in which the team with the ball is aggressively challenged the whole length of the court. A skill vital to both defence and attack is rebounding—the ability to wrest possession of the ball under the opponent’s basket.