Ever try to get back on to the court after a lengthy layoff? We’ve all been out of the game whether it’s because we’re sick, spending time with significant others or just plain lazy. Many of us find ourselves trying to get our stroke back by the time the start of the NBA season rolls around. You’ll have a little extra time this year, so dust off the Jordan’s and get ready.
1. The First Day Back
Let’s be honest, if you come out under 10 airballs in an hour, you’re doing great. The ball probably feels extra heavy, you can’t determine left-to-right very well and you’re definitely not hitting anything outside 20 feet. Sure, you finish a few layups nicely but that’s nothing to write home about. The important thing is you’re out there.
Solution: Keep at it.
2. Week 1: Wherein You’re On Fire
Basketball, like golf, is a sport which recalls a very specific muscle repetition in practice. Every player does it, and every player does the same thing when they’re alone: shoot. Again, as with golf, the best way to be successful is to stop fiddling with things and take the thinking out of the equation. You still can’t hit from outside the arc but from 18 feet in you’re a monster. The ball will feel tiny and precise in your hand. Cherish it, it’s going away.
Solution: Use your best Marv Albert voice to narrate your every move on the court. From downtown… yes!
3. Weeks 2 & 3: You’re Bad at Basketball and You Should Feel Bad
You couldn’t listen, could you? You were doing alright last week and then you thought to yourself: “Hey, I’m not really getting the elevation I need right now and my outside game is still lacking. Let’s tweak it up.” Of course, that ruins your whole motion, grip, coordination and any chance of you touching the net. You’re awful and you should have stopped while you were ahead.
Solution: You might as well work out why your rotation and alignment are off since you can’t stop thinking about it anyways.
4. Week 4: You’re Suddenly a Superhero
You’ve probably figured out that you’re supposed to start your shooting motion while you’re gathering yourself instead of trying to mimic Larry Bird, flinging the ball from the top of your head as if you, too, are a 6′ 7″ basketball machine. You aren’t, and your motion is much different. Now that you’ve coordinated that mess you call your jumper, you can actually reach the bucket from 25+ feet. Of course, you still can’t aim the damn thing. So there’s that.
Solution: Keep throwing it at the rim. If anything, you’ll impress the girls.
5. Week 5: You’re Back Where You Started 6 Months Ago
By now you’ve coordinated your shot, perfected your basketball movements offensively and you’re able to hit threes from your favorite spot on the court (mine’s dead-on, if you’re asking). You’re working on various offensive skills, be it your running jumper, floater or baseline fadeaway. You still aren’t in shape enough to play a real game and your defensive footwork is so bad you couldn’t guard a fart.
Solution: Keep trying to improve the range of your hookshot. If anything you’ll straight kill ’em running the H-O-R-S-E game.
6. Week 6 and Beyond: You’re Playing the Best Basketball of Your Life or Rinse and Repeat.
You’ve perfected the baseline turnaround, you’re playing in games, you’re money from at least two spots on the floor, and you can run an hour or two at the courts without feeling like you’re weighing the team down. You may be playing so much now and so often that you’re slowly turning into the best player at your position (summer of ’05 for me, in case you were wondering). Or you could be feeling a sniffle here or there and you’ve tweaked an ankle, leading you to play NBA 2K12 instead of going outside to ball. Relapse!
Solution: Chicken noodle soup and a slap upside the head.
The newest edition to The Hoop Doctors writing staff, Dane Carbaugh is the editor and lead writer of the popular new basketball blog A Young Sabonis. Dane is a published research author and also writes for Dime Magazine and the ESPN TrueHoop Affiliate Portland Roundball Society. He can be found on Twitter at @DaneCarbaugh
