If you want to play basketball then it only makes sense that you know and understand how the game works.
No doubt if you are wanting to play the game, then you have seen it played several times. So you know the basic layout of the court and that there are two teams of five players involved. The object of the game is to get the ball through the basketball hoop in order to score. This is called a basket. The idea is to stop the other team from making any baskets or in other words scoring.
The score can consist of anywhere from 1 – 3 points. This is dependant on what location on the court that the basketball shot was made from.
The start of the game requires two opposing players to be in the center of the court. A referee will toss the ball into the air. Each player will try and hit the ball to one of their team members. This is called the jump ball. Thus the start of the game.
As soon as a team scores, the team then runs to the opposite end of the court where they will now play defense.
Being as there are five players to a basketball team, then there must be five floor positions. This can vary but as a rule, they usually are made up of two guards, two forwards and a center.
The center and a power forward will play near the basket. A shooting guard and a small forward will play on the perimeter and the point guard will run the offense.
There is some basic terminology that belongs to the world of basketball. For example, when a shot is missed, and a defense or offense player grabs the ball it is called a rebound. An offensive player makes a shot and it’s knocked away by a defensive player then it’s a blocked shot. A steal occurs when you as the offensive player loses the ball to a defensive player.
Then there is the term assist. This is where one of your team players passes the ball to you without dribbling it, and you score. Finally, the one very important term to remember is a foul. This is when a player has become overly aggressive in an action against an opposing player. The referee will blow the whistle. If the player gets a foul five times then he cannot play in the rest of the basketball game.
Image by Malingering.