You are advancing the ball with a dribble toward your basket. The two teammates ahead of you are not open. As you approach the center line, a defender is waiting for you. What should you do?
Drive by, like a hot knife through butter, and create a three-on-two situation. How?
Step 1: Drive directly at your opponent. As you get to within several feet, increase your speed. If you are advancing as fast as you can, maintain that speed. If the defender is stationary or moving at a slower rate of speed than you, you have him/her beat. Before the defender can accelerate to match your speed, you will have gone by.
Step 2: At the last possible moment, change direction to avoid committing a charging foul. The closer you are to the defender when you change direction, the less time she/he has to make an adjustment. For example, if you are dribbling with your right hand, veer off your drive path slightly to the right, and keep going as quickly as you can. As you go by, take skin, that is, stay as close as possible to him/her. Once by, seal him/her by coming back to the drive path.
Step 3: Should the defender move into your path while you are changing direction, simply execute, without slowing down, a behind-the-back or front cross-over dribble and execute Step 2.
When you are practicing this maneuver, just do it. If you need to cross-over, for example, cross-over. Do not be afraid of losing possession. Concentrate on doing the right things: increase your speed, drive directly at the defender, at the last moment change direction, take skin, and seal.
After practicing being a "hot knife through butter", practice doing cross-overs at high speed.
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