Basketball goes way back in time when it was created by dr james niasmith.there were no baskets like we have these days.they used peach baskets suspended on two different poles on either side.its then later evolved into the game today.the fast paced razzle dazzle game that excites a lot of people and is drawing quite a crowd and attention.
<THE COURT>-the court is about 90 feet long.it has a central line in the middle which divides the court into two halves.the baskets are placed on opposite ends of the court and a height of 10 feet.the court is bounded with lines from which the ball must not leave not even with the person holding it.
<OBJECTIVE>-the main objective of the game is to score the highest amount of points within a certain time period.the team with the highest points scored at the end of the game wins.
<THE RULES>-the rules of the game do take some time getting used to.some people find it difficult and thus tend to avoid the game.in the game there is a time limit.the total game length is about more than an hour.the game is divided into four quarter each of 12 min and a a break of 2 min in between.after two quaters there is long break called halftime.it lasts about 15 minutes.during the game the teams can take short breaks called timeouts.these ar done in order to slow down the pace of the leading team and break the pace.
1)earlier dribbling the ball wasnt allowed.you could only bounce it once and then pass it.now its more relaxed.you can dribble the ball across the court without exceeding the number of steps allowed per bounce.in india they still keep it at two steps but in the NBA its 3 steps.
the ball cannot be held in the hand without bouncing and the moving around.its results in a violation called the traveling violation.the ball has to be bounced first before you can move both your feet.otherwise you are allowed to keep only one foot stationary and move the other foot around to change position.once you have stopped dribbling you are not allowed to dribble again.dribbling with two hands is even prohibited.
2)scoring can be done in many ways.
a)jump shots- which involves shooting the ball from long distance by jumping vertically.jumping vertically generally decreases the distance to be cleared to make the shot and add extra thrust to the shot.jumping even helps th clear defenders in order to score.that is why jumpers like micheal, vince , kobe dominate.
b)layup-this involves making scoring while in motion.even here you are allowed to make only a certain number of steps holding the ball after dribbling.this is mostly done if there a clear path to the basket.it is a more certain shot to make but difficult if there is a defense.that is why jump shots are mainly prefered.the layup within a defense is now and art to master these days.
the next form of a layup is called the dunk.here the ball is not made to bounce of the backboard but put into the basket with external assistance.now days its a sign of domination and power.dunking on a player is the most insulting thing to do during a game.even this is a skill to be learned and best left in the hands of the new dunking maestro ’’Vince carter’’.different styles adopted while making a dunk makes the ooooohhhh’s and aaaahhhhh’s come out of the crowd.
c)fade away- this is a jump shot made moving backwards in order to clear defense.
d)freethrow-in the D there is a horizontal line.players are made to make shots standing behind this line without crossing it.the shot also has to be made without jumping.freethrows are made when players are fouled while making a shot.
3) system of scoring- there are two regions on the court with points of different values.there is a line on either side in the form of a semicircle.shots made from outside this line are worth 3 points.shots made inside this line are worth 2 points. a free throw is worth 1 point per shot.
4)fouling- this is generally made by making hard or illegal contact with the body (ok dont think of something else you dirty fellows).if the foul is made while making the shot a free throw is awarded to the fouled player.otherwise the player is made to go out of bounds and pass it in. the player committing the foul will have a limit of 6 fouls.if all the fouls are given up the player has to leave the court and is not allowed to play the rest of the game. there is a fouls known as a flagrant foul where the player purposely makes contact with another player in order to injure the opponent.an ejection results in you having to leave the game and the premised leading to a suspension for a certain time period if a person lashes out in anger at a player or a refree.
5)defending- each team has to defend the basket chosen by them from the other team from scoring.the main objective is to prevent the opponents from scoring or to slow down the scoring rate of the other team.
6)number of players-the number of players to be present on court have to be 5 from each team.each team will also have 6 substitutes.
<MY FEELING>-i feel that this is the best game ever come up with.is has a nice combination of speed, skill, strength and plans.the best part of this game is that there is something happening every moment which will keep a spectator glued to the seat for hours.it is also very exciting.the ways the baskets are scored the skill involved in it are breath taking at times.especially the dunks.all these qualities of the game make it worthwhile watching and even playing.im pretty sure its addictive once you start playing it.but it still is one of the toughest games to play.here you cant take your time to make something happen.every second counts that is why quick decisions have to be made.
thanks to Dr James Niasmith I have a game that I love and follow with a deep passion.just hope this game becomes more popular in india.