1 on 1 Basketball Drills to Learn to Read & React

Scritto da: Chris Hungerford

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Tempo di lettura 4 min

How to Make your Basketball Drills More Game-like

One-on-One Basketball drills are a great way to improve your individual skills. They can be used to improve your shooting, dribbling, or even your defense. This will allow you to make the best decision on the court and give you an advantage over your opponents. This article examines the techniques to read and react to basketball drills.

1 on 1 basketball drills

Practice Defensive and Offensive Drills

This can start with a team of two players; one playing offensive and the other playing defensive. The offensive player will start with the ball, and the defensive player will try to stay between the offensive player and the basket. The offensive player will then try to score, while the defensive player will try to stop them.


Once the offensive player has taken a shot, the defensive player will become the offensive player, and the process will repeat itself. This drill can be achieved with two players of any skill level, and it is a great way to improve your ability to read and react to the offense.

What does it mean to Read and React?

It is crucial for an offensive player to read the defense in order to locate its weaknesses in order to score, as the defensive player's job is to prevent that from happening. Reading the defensive plan as a whole and the body language of individual defenders are both important in finding openings for goals.

Basketball drills, including dribbling drills, shooting drills, and defense reading drills, are common ways in which a coach can instruct his or her young charges on the finer points of the game. Basketball training camp, in-season practice, and game-day bench work cultivate these skills from high school to the NBA.

Reading and Reacting to the Defense

Drills are a great way to improve your ball handling and shooting skills. But if you really want to take your game to the next level, you need to learn the basics of reading and reacting to the defense. Whether you're playing basketball or just watching it, being able to read and react to drives is a crucial skill. Here are some helpful tips and tricks:

  • Pay Attention to Defenders' Positioning. When participating in 1 on one basketball drills, it is important to pay attention to the positioning of the defenders. Where are they positioned on the court? What are they trying to do? When you do this, you will be able to anticipate their next move and make the appropriate offensive move.
  • Anticipate the defense. If you can predict what they are going to do, you can make the right move before they do. Anticipate where the offensive player will go. If you can get a step or two ahead of them, it will make it much easier to defend the drive. This will help you be in a position to make a play on the ball.
  • Use your body to shield the ball from the Defender. This will give you time to make a move. Use your body to your advantage. Stay low and in front of the offensive player, using your arms and legs to impede their progress.
  • Pay attention to the Defender's body language. Are they leaning one way or another? Is he/she squared up to the basket? Is he/she getting ready to take off? Is his/her head up or head down and looking to pass? This can give you a good indication of which way they're going to try to defend you.
  • Watch the player's feet.  Where are they pointing? Are they making sudden changes in direction?
  • Use your periphery vision. You don't want to get tunnel vision when you're dribbling because that will make it easy for the Defender to steal the ball. Instead, keep your head up and use your peripheral vision to see the whole court.
  • Be patient. Don't try to make a move before you're ready, or the Defender will be able to anticipate your next move and cut you off.
  • Change up your speed. The last thing you want to do is let the Defender get your moves and be able to predict you. Make sure to stay between the offensive player and the basket. If they get by you, it's an easy layup.
  • Be ready to react. When you see a drive coming, be prepared to make a move.
  • Use A Stopwatch Another way to become better at reading and reacting to the defense is to use a stopwatch. Set the stopwatch for a certain amount of time and see how many times you can score within that time frame. As you become comfortable with the drill, you can increase the amount of time on the stopwatch.

Tips To Attack the Defense

  • Throw off the Defender's equilibrium. From Steph Curry's ball-handler coaching, we learn to throw off the Defender's equilibrium, keep the ball safe, and open up a shooting lane whenever possible when facing a swarm of defenders.
  • Figure out the Defender's scheme. Decipher the defense's scheme and find open shots.
  • Confidence. Curry stresses the value of self-assurance on the court. Being optimistic and refusing to let an unkind and disrespectful defense chip away at your confidence is essential to success.
  • Don't be Intimidated. If the defense is treating you poorly, it's because you're a problem for them. Just take it in stride, keep doing what you love, and work to get better every day, and you can wear that disdain like a badge of honor.

One-on-One basketball drills are a great way to improve your offensive and defensive skills. By using these tips, you will be able to better defend drives to the basket. Stay vigilant and stay in front of the offensive player, and you'll be able to read and react better to drives the next time you're on the court.

1 on 1 basketball drills

1 on 1 basketball drills

1 on 1 basketball drills