How to cross somebody up in basketball

How to Do a Crossover in Basketball (3 Advanced Variations)

The ability to make a play off the dribble and get by your defender to attack the middle of the defense is one of the most useful offensive skills you can have on the basketball court.

Typically, getting past that defender requires changing speeds and directions, and the crossover dribble is the perfect way to do both of those things.

While it may seem elementary to some, the crossover dribble can be one of the most effective ways to beat your initial defender and create a scoring opportunity for yourself or a teammate.

The crossover dribble can be a detailed and intricate move when developed to a high level, but it is also one of the best moves that can be taught to beginning players.

Here are the basic steps to performing the crossover dribble:

The crossover is often most effective when the offensive player is on the move, but it can be executed from a stationary position as well.

Either way, you need to get the defensive player leaning in one direction by taking at least a dribble and a step that way.

If you are able to take 2 or 3 hard dribbles before making your crossover, you may be more likely to get your defender off balance.

The main reason the crossover may be more effective after a few dribbles is because it gets your defender on the move, making it more difficult for them to stop and change direction once you make your hesitation.

Once the ball returns to your hand after your dribble, come to a stop while faking your last step and let your defender’s momentum carry him slightly past you.

This hesitation is probably the most important split-second of the crossover dribble, as it will determine whether or not you can shake your defender.

Once you have your defender off balance, get low and wide to cross the ball from the hand you started dribbling with to the opposite hand.

This needs to be a quick change of direction to make the move effective, and the dribble needs to stay low so that it is out of reach for the defender.

At this point, you should be able to judge whether your crossover has created a scoring opportunity for yourself or a teammate.

A good crossover dribble could create a pull-up jump shot or an open driving lane for you, or it could also pull a help defender away from an open teammate.

Like any move in the game of basketball, the crossover will become easier to defend if you do it the same way every single time.

Even though the crossover is a basic move that a beginner can learn to execute, there are many variations that higher level players should implement in order to keep developing the move.

Countless players have executed the crossover dribble effectively throughout the history of basketball, but perhaps none better than Allen Iverson.

The flashy Hall of Fame guard perfected his crossover by putting extra emphasis on the set up, which led to embarrassment for many defenders.

Most famously when he used the move on Michael Jordan in 1997 and then stuck a jumper in his face.

While any standard crossover move relies on getting the defender going in one direction and then crossing back the other way, Iverson would often take a larger, over-emphasized step and bring the ball out wider to tempt the defender.

This added some style, and also some extra hesitation, which often froze defenders and made it impossible to guard his then quick and low crossover dribble.

Though it may not be considered a part of the Iverson Crossover itself, Iverson would also oftentimes set up the move by making multiple fakes to stall the defender before attacking with the crossover -- like going between the legs or behind the back to see if he could get the defender leaning.

Like any good move, the crossover will not be as effective if it is not paired with a strong counter move.

The In and Out Crossover is a way of faking the crossover and then continuing to dribble with the same hand and in the same direction you started in.

After you have set up the defender and hesitated, fake a crossover dribble by bringing the ball to the center of your body. Your hand should roll from the outside of the ball, then to the top of the ball, and finally to the inside of the ball.

Once your hand has rotated around to the inside of the ball, push the ball back to the outside of your body, and continue to power dribble in the same direction.

Following up a great crossover move with the In and Out will make it difficult for your defender to anticipate which move is coming next.

Tim Hardaway’s variation of the crossover also focused on setting up the move.

Though he may not be as legendary as Iverson, the 5-time NBA All-Star’s crossover dribble was still famous enough to be named after him. You may have also heard it referred to as the “UTEP Two-Step” from his time in college.

Instead of putting the ball out wide and making a quick change of speeds, Hardaway was known for making a quick power dribble between his legs to set his defender up in one direction, followed by another quick crossover back the other direction.

This forces the defender to change directions twice in order to stop Tim Hardaway’s Killer Crossover.

While the basic steps of the crossover in basketball are simple and can be taught to a player of any age, it is also a move that can be practiced and developed to the point where it can be effective on the highest level.

When done correctly, it will get your defender off balance and create a chance for yourself or a teammate to score. When varied, it has the potential to become a signature move that defenders fear.

The crossover has been an effective move for players at all levels for decades, and will continue to be a staple for any ball handler who aims to attack the defense and make a play.

4 Dribble Moves To Complement A Killer Crossover

If you have a great crossover or you're working on developing a crossover, consider adding these 4 moves to your arsenal.

If the defender or help defender stops your initial crossover move, these counter moves will make you VERY hard to guard.

We start with two double moves. Once you perfect these, you can progress to the two triple moves.

These moves and drills are taken from the Breakthrough Ballhandling Workouts.

General Instructions

Players will execute a dribble move each time they reach the chair. Set up a chair 15 feet away from you. Dribble at the chair with the designated hand. When you get to the chair, execute the described dribble move. Turn around and repeat.

Keep your eyes up (look forward) on all the dribbling moves.

Note for Coaches: Using in Your Practices

If you want to use this drill in your team practice, line chairs or cones up in the middle of the court and have everyone run the drill at the same time. Practice each move/drill for 20-40 seconds. This is a very efficient way to work on ball handling (because everyone has a ball in their hands). And it's a great conditioner!

Dribble Move #1 - Cross Over / Through Legs

Here is the right side:

Here is the left side:

- Keep the ball low on your cross over.
- Change speeds on the cross over move (from slow/medium to fast).
- Snap the ball. Sell the fake.

Dribble Move #2 - Cross Over / Behind Back

Here is the right side:

Here is the left side:

- Keep the ball low on your cross over.
- Change speeds on your dribble move (from slow/medium to fast).
- Snap the ball. Sell the fake.

Dribble Move #3 - Cross Over / Through Legs / Behind Back

- Keep the ball low on your cross over.
- Change speeds on your dribble move (from slow/medium to fast).
- Snap the ball - improve your hand speed.

Dribble Move #4 - Cross Over / Behind Back / Through Legs

- Keep the ball low on your cross over.
- Change speeds on your dribble move (from slow/medium to fast).
- Snap the ball - improve your hand speed.

If you'd like more ballhandling and footwork drills that you can do at home or the gym, check out the Breakthrough Ballhandling Workouts App.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Basic positions of players in the basketball team

Basketball is a team sport in which everything depends on the unique abilities of each of the team members. And while the players on today's basketball teams are multifunctional and can substitute for each other to a greater or lesser extent, each of them has a role to play.

In this article, we'll talk about the five traditional roles in basketball, without which no game will take place. Why know this? To understand how the team is initially built and, accordingly, how the game itself works.

Knowing your position in the team, you will be able to successfully lead your team to victory! For fans, this knowledge will help to better analyze the course of the game and assess the complexity of each movement on the field.

So, here are the roles that will be discussed:

1. point guard
2. Attacking defender
3. small forward
4. Power forward
5. Center

The point guard is usually the shortest player on the team, but has highly developed ball handling skills and a high basketball IQ. Such players are usually responsible for dribbling the ball around the field. They are behind the fact that the attack was built taking into account the weaknesses and strengths of the enemy. It is no coincidence that the point guard is often referred to as the outfield general or coach on the court.

On defense, these players are responsible for holding back the other team's point guard, and their ability to analyze, predict, and disrupt the opponent's strategy is critical to the outcome of the game. Therefore, it is important that the rest of the team listens to the point guard's recommendations, and that he himself is good at communicating with others.

Attacker is the position of a player interchangeable with the point guard role as their roles are similar. However, unlike the point guard, who focuses more on building up the attack, the offensive player's goal is to score from anywhere on the court. Because of this, many offensive tactics are centered around defender throws.

This position is more focused on the offensive, and such a player implements defensive tactics around the weakest member of the opposing team. Attackers may also assist the point guard in ball play if the point guard is heavily guarded.

The small forward is the most versatile player on the team both offensively and defensively. This is due to the fact that they are usually slightly smaller than the power forward and center in height and build, but have the accuracy, ball control and basketball IQ of defensemen.

These players usually play near the edges of the three-point arc, as there is relative freedom of movement and a shot can be made from there. Small forwards usually block the best player on the opposing team because they have the ability to reach and block the shot, they have the weight to push the opponent away, and they are endowed with the speed and agility of the defenders.

The power forward is usually the second tallest player on the team and plays near the free throw circle. This player is responsible for blocking the opponent; it depends on him whether the offensive will be successful. Because the power forward plays such an important role in offense, he also needs to be able to accurately shoot the ball from medium range to score if the ball is passed to him after a screen by a defender.

In addition, the power forward is often responsible for holding the ball, allowing stronger team members to advance. With defensive tactics, such players take on the protection and blocking of those opponent's shots that the center cannot reach.

The center is the tallest and heaviest player on the team, playing under the basket. Posts dominate with weight and strength, using height and jump to get the ball over the heads of shorter players. Such players also block the opponent near the edge of the field to give space for a defender or small forward to shoot.

Traditionally, centers have not been able to shoot with high accuracy, but today everything is different: centers at least know how to make medium-range shots, and some are capable of three-point shots. Such centers are called "stretch 5".

Do you remember all the roles? Try to put them into practice: while watching the game or honing your own skills on the court!

Strategy and System Tips - How to Win More Often

Basketball (along with baseball and hockey) is one of the most popular sports in North America, and basketball betting is a significant part of the total sports betting. At the same time, the point here is not only (and even not so much) that it is in North America that the matches of the strongest basketball league in the world take place - the point is the number of equiprobable outcomes that the basketball line offers. Also on our site you will find bookmakers for betting on basketball.

1. Benefits of betting on basketball
2. Disadvantages of betting on basketball
3. Types of bets
   1. Main Outcomes
   2. Handicap
   3. Total
      1. Basketball total betting strategy
   4. Quarter Basketball Betting
      1. Quarterly Basketball Betting Strategy
4. Pre-match analytics
5. Where to bet on basketball?

The vast majority of professional players and cappers, of which there are many in America, play just such “half-way” outcomes in order to get the most even profit over a long distance. In any basketball game, there are at least two equally likely events that you can bet on - handicap and total. It is thanks to this property that basketball has become one of the most popular objects for large bets.

Basketball bookmakers

Benefits of betting on basketball

A large number of equally likely events . As mentioned above, basketball is one of the most suitable sports for those who like to bet on equally likely events.

High NBA betting limits. The vast majority of big cappers make bets on the NBA, including the lion's share of US players who traditionally make big bets. In pursuit of this traffic, the best bookmakers are trying to create the most comfortable conditions for basketball betters by offering generous betting limits on the main outcomes, as well as handicap and total. True, this feature is more characteristic of large Western bookmakers. Domestic gambling establishments most often offer limits for NBA matches no higher than those given for the same Euroleague and the Russian Championship.

Low NBA margins. All the same competition between bookmakers in the struggle for the biggest players has caused that in almost all leading gambling establishments in the world the margin for NBA matches is less than for all other competitions and sports offered in the line.

Regularity of games. The fact that most basketball teams play between two and four games a week makes this sport the most attractive for statistics lovers in calculations - the sample of analyzed NBA matches is very solid and allows you to make fairly accurate predictions. In addition, the NBA is often the only competition that can be bet on any day, including holidays - even on December 31 and January 1, at least two or three matches are invariably played in this league.

Disadvantages of betting on basketball

Low limits and odds for European competitions. Unlike NBA matches, European Cup and European Championship matches usually offer very modest upper betting limits; the odds are also generally 3-5 points lower than the NBA odds. All this makes betting on the same Euroleague not the most profitable business.

Rating of bookmakers by odds

You can find out which Russian bookmakers offer the best basketball odds on Legalbet in the Odds Rating (“Basketball” tab). Our experts have calculated the margins of all bookmakers based on real events in their lines and based on these calculations sorted the companies into categories in order to identify the best offers for fans of basketball betting.

Weak painting. The vast majority of bookmakers offer a weak list of basketball matches. Many are completely limited to handicap, total and main outcomes. Despite the fact that such painting is enough for professionals, for many players who are used to betting on football, it may seem very meager.

Types of bets

Main outcomes

The number of main outcomes offered for a basketball match depends on which bookmaker you play at. Some gambling establishments open three main outcomes: W1, X and W2, adding a win including overtime to the list, while others offer only two outcomes - W1 and W2 (this means that in case of a draw, the winner will be determined in overtime).

Before you start betting on basketball, it is very important to clarify which positions in a given gambling establishment take into account OT and which do not, because it often happens that the handicap with the total is calculated according to one rules, and the main outcomes are calculated according to others.

Handicap

Handicap in basketball shows the final score difference in favor of one of the teams. You are required to guess if it will be more or less than the specified value. For example, if you bet on a team with a handicap of -5.5, you need it to win at least 6 points. If you bet on it with a handicap of +5.5, you would be rooting for this team to lose no more than 5 points. The handicap in basketball is not much different from the handicap in other sports, and most bookmakers allow you to buy more handicaps, while most often the coefficient drops by 8-10 points for each point bought. You can usually buy in addition from 4 to 12 points (each office determines the exact value for itself).

Total

Total is a type of bet in which you have to predict whether the final result of the game will be more or less than the proposed value. Almost always, the coefficients for "more" and "less" are the same. Totals, as well as odds, can be bought in addition, both up and down. The dynamics of odds changes in this case is most often similar to the dynamics of changes in quotes for a handicap.

Please note! Bookmakers accept bets on both the total in regular time of the match and the total with overtime in basketball, and it is important to understand that when calculating these bets, different time periods of the game will be taken into account. The calculation of the total in basketball in regular time is based on the results of 4 quarters.

Basketball total betting strategy

Basketball total betting strategy seems simple at first glance. It is enough to look at the previous results of the teams and analyze how many points they score per game. However, not everything is so simple: anything can happen in one particular match, and several factors can affect the team's game at once: from the psychological state of the players to their physical condition.

Quarter basketball betting

This type of bet is very popular among those who like to bet on basketball. A quarter in basketball is a mini-match. The head coach uses different tactics, simulated combinations, there can be constant replacements of athletes on the court. Player fatigue accumulated over the previous quarters also affects the result. Often in betting lines you can see a bet not only on the outcome, handicap and total of each quarter, but also on a comparison of the performance of the quarters: more points scored, more fouls committed, etc.

Basketball betting strategy by quarters

Basketball by quarters strategy also has its own peculiarities. Here you need to have an idea how the team plays in the first half of the game, and how in the second, what are the features and differences in the team's actions in different quarters. In the case of betting on quarters, you should keep a closer eye on what happened on the court in the previous quarter.

Other offers. In addition to the standard set of positions, the vast majority of bookmakers include an additional painting in their line. An additional list can offer a variety of betting options: on the handicap and total of each quarter, on the individual totals of the teams, on the individual totals of the leading basketball players, on the presence or absence of overtime, etc. There is also a bet under the conditional name "even-odd". Basketball is a game that scores a lot of points. And the score at the end of the meeting or quarter will definitely be even or odd. Bookmakers also offer to bet on this. This type of bet, by the way, is the purest “guessing game” and does not require any knowledge of the game from the player.

Pre-match analytics

Pre-match analytics of basketball matches is somewhat simpler than debriefing in football matches, since the lineups in basketball teams are 2-3 times smaller, and teams play twice as often, so there is always plenty of information about opponents. Some difficulty is represented only by a small number of broadcasts of basketball competitions in the post-Soviet expanses. However, the availability of high-speed Internet fully compensates for this small drawback. So, what does basketball match analytics include?

• Current kit of the opponents . The specificity of basketball lies in the fact that there are traditionally much fewer game recessions than, for example, in tennis and football, and therefore it becomes much easier to track the current form. It also helps that each team plays 2-3 matches a week, which means that it is possible to get the latest information about their current level and fitness.

Don't forget to check the results of the last 5-6 matches of each team. Separately, pay attention to the statistics of home and away matches: basketball is a sport in which the home court factor is extremely important, and sometimes even decisive, so when analyzing statistics, evaluate home and away matches separately.

• Head-to-head history . Do not forget also about the history of confrontation between rivals. It often happens that the indicators of the last three or four face-to-face meetings of teams can tell you much more than dozens of live matches watched with their participation. Again, do not forget that in basketball, the statistics of home and away matches differ significantly, and therefore it is worth evaluating it differently.
• Tournament position and motivation. And, of course, we could not forget about such a key factor as motivation - in such a tough and strong-willed sport as basketball, motivation is of particular importance. Be sure to evaluate who needs what from the upcoming match and, based on this information, try to adjust your forecast so that you do not bet on a team that no longer needs anything against an over-motivated opponent.
• List of injured and disqualified. With basketball's busy schedule, it's no surprise that injuries and suspensions are common in the sport. In order to be sure that your bet is considered, you should definitely monitor the press regularly to keep abreast of any personnel changes in the composition of each team.

During major basketball tournaments on the Legalbet website, you can get acquainted with the expectations of the forecasters of our website, find out which basketball bets they recommend choosing, as well as get acquainted with their arguments in favor of one or another option.

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