As a skill development trainer it is my job to teach and drill players, preparing them for situations they will encounter on the court. Different situations on the court require different solutions. A lot of player’s games are severely limited by a lack of “solutions.” This lack of solutions is no more apparent than watching players trying to finish in traffic.
Here are three basic ways to help you finish better in traffic:
- Be able to finish with either hand: Players routinely force shots up with their strong hand because they have no off hand. How many times have you seen a player’s shot get tossed by a defender because they shoot with their right hand when a lefty lay-in would get them an easy bucket? It happens every game! My high school coach once told me that for every drill I did with my strong hand, I should do two with my off hand. You should work to the point where you have no “weak” hand. Mikan drills are great for this. Mikans may not be “cool” but it’s even less cool when you can’t finish with your off hand and it costs you easy buckets.
- Defense-Body-Ball Principle: In traffic you need to protect the basketball. Keep your body between your defender and the basketball. A lot of players turn their body towards the basket when trying to finish on defenders, making it a “Defense-Ball-Body” situation. The ball isn’t protected and the shot gets blocked. Practice finishing with your inside shoulder pointing directly at the rim… work this until you become completely comfortable finishing this way. More Mikans!
- Initiate to Separate: This goes directly with number two. Initiate contact with the defense to create space to get your shot off. Get your inside shoulder into the defender or get them on your back where they have to foul you to get to the ball. When you initiate the contact you give yourself the advantage by taking away the defenders ability to go straight up and block the shot.
There are countless situations where you need to finish in traffic. Sometimes you need to take it strong, while other times you need to use some finesse. Aside from number one these principles don’t apply for every situation, but they will add a number of “solutions” to your game while finishing around the basket.