Finishing

• Basic
  • Regular layup, Protect the ball, Jump stop
• Intermediate
  • Reverse, Power, Euro step, Pro hop, Floater
  • Underhand, One-hand pickup, First step
  • Swing step, Split, Rondo, 1-2 Extension, Runner
• Advanced
  • Spin, Kill pickup, Cross-jab series
  • Side-hand, Running hook, Glide and slide
  • Pound evasion, Veer
  • Up and under, Jordan layup
  • Jamal Crawford

Basic

• Regular layup
  • overhand, off the inside foot
  • right side
  • left side
  • Blog post - Overhand-Underhand-Sidehand Finishes
• Protect the ball
  • rip ball to outside ear, don't rock it inside
  • "boombox"
• Jump stop
  • shoot off two feet in traffic
  • pound the last dribble, jump off inside foot
  • skip off inside foot
  • counter - cross-step (step thru)
  • contact (jump into him)
  • sideways into your defender, tuck the ball to your side
  • Blog post - Finishing with Contact

Intermediate

• Reverse layup
  • Blog post - Reverse Layups
  • baseline drive
    • inside-hand finish
    • outside hand finish
      • off two feet, inside-outside
  • middle drive
    • baby hook or tight scoop (outside hand)
    • half reverse (inside hand)
  • scoop one-hand pickup
  • Nash dribble thru (goofy-foot)
  • show the ball off the outside foot, one more step,
    • finish with the same hand on the other side
    • finish with the inside hand
• Power finish
  • Blog posts - Power Finish, Kobe Pivoting, Finishing with Contact
  • outside-inside stop, outside-hand finish
    • skip off inside foot
    • inside-hand finish, or floater
    • make contact in the air
    • shoulder is leading, won't open up
  • counters
    • spin away (back pivot), e.g.  baby hook, jump hook, fadeaway
      • variation - step back
    • spin away, step thru
      • counter - spin back
    • spin away, step-thru taken away
      • step across (middle) to finish goofy-foot, can step back
      • Kobe (reverse) pivot (lose vision), can spin back
    • spin away, fake reverse pivot (half spin)
    • see Layups - Cross the lane
• Euro-step
  • Blog post - Euro-step
  • pound the last dribble, outside step at defender, protect the ball (overhead, or low), lateral step inside, finish
    • outside hand
    • half reverse
    • inside hand (goofy foot)
    • strong hand
    • floater
  • pass fake to corner
    • with one hand
  • slow Euro (pause on outside foot)
  • stutter-step Euro
  • Inverted Euro
    • step inside-outside, outside-hand finish (goofy-foot)
    • last 4 steps are rhythm dribble, gather, inside, outside
    • or dribble-step inside, step outside (like pound evasion)
    • inside hand finish
  • see Layups - Euro-step
• Pro hop
  • Blog post - Pro Hop
  • used to get past help defence, a long angled jump stop
  • jump off the inside foot (almost a jump stop, go two to two)
  • hard last dribble to carry you
  • to protect the ball,
    • take it low or overhead (opposite the defender's hands) or behind the back
    • turn hips and shoulders
  • land on two feet to avoid a travel, can use shot fakes and step thrus
  • finish off two feet, you can take contact
  • see Layups - Jr. NBA finishing
• Floater
  • Blog post - Floaters & Runners
  • tear-drop off one foot or a hop or stride stop, dribble hand or strong-hand finish, no wrist snap
  • as if it's a shot put
  • jump stop
  • for a rightie to finish with the right hand
    •  going right
      • R-L layup footwork
        • Curry underhand high off the glass
      • R-L outside-inside stride stop
        • skip off the inside (left) foot
      • R-L Euro step; first step off the right foot
    • going left
      • shoot off the outside (left) foot
      • jump stop
  • outside hand off inside foot
• Underhand
  • scoop
    • reach out (extension), high arc off the glass or over the front of the rim
    • defender on your back
  • finger roll
    • adds spin
  • can hold the ball in two hands
• One-hand pickup
  • protect with the off arm
  • scoop, side-arm
  • ball cup (pin the ball)
  • see Layups - One-hand pickup
• First step
  • Blog post - First-Step Finishes
  • early layup, finish off the outside foot
  • close enough to the rim that you don't need another step
  • shot blocker is timing up a two-step finish
  • finish with the outside hand (goofy foot) or inside hand
  • outside hand
    • underhand, side-hand
    • pickup with one hand (e.g. quick scoop, use inside arm bar) or both hands
    • drive up the inside then outside knee
  • inside hand
    • shot blocker extends to block the outside hand
    • scoop, or a floater
    • use in transition
      • inside-hand dribble, pass fake
    • can use outside-inside power footwork
• Other goofy-foot
  • inside hand and foot
  • see Split (slice) finish
• Swing step (foot cross, windmill)
  • Blog post - Swing Step
  • too far away to Euro-step
  • defender beats you to a spot, punch the last dribble (a rhythm dribble), swing the outside foot across your frame (inside the defender), one more step to finish
  • Kyrie - inside-out setup
  • protect the ball,
    • take it overhead with both hands, or one hand (windmill)
    • behind the back
      • helps engage the swing step
      • defender reaches across
    • cup the ball (tuck it) with the outside hand
  • finish,
    • goofy-foot
    • half reverse or outside-hand (rock the ball for spin)
    • floater
  • counters - defender stays at home
    • pound evasion - make contact on the last dribble,
      • finish with two outside steps
      • Euro-step
    • swing step into him, step away to finish
• Split finish
  • Blog post - Split Move, Extension Finish
  • outside-inside footwork, inside hand extension finish
  • split two defenders, stay skinny, do not open up
  • skip off inside foot, land outside inside (same as a power layup)
  • attack outside (e.g. help off corner) or middle (help in the paint)
  • variation – pro hop middle, inside hand finish
  • Dave Smart - split move - attack middle, skip off the inside foot, land outside-inside, inside-hand finish
• Rondo move
  • stride stop (outside-inside), fake goofy-foot half reverse, spin to a baby hook, jump hook, fadeaway
  • counters - step thru, goofy-foot step-across
• 1-2 Extension finish (Tony Parker)
  • Blog post - Split Move, Extension Finish
  • inside-outside stride stop (stop on a dime), finish with the outside hand (or inside hand)
  • outside attack, step around and glide baseline past a defender trying to take a charge
  • or middle attack
• Runner
  • Steve Nash pull-up off one leg,
    • non-dominant foot
    • inside foot
    • outside foot (quicker)

Advanced

• Spin finish
  • Blog post - Spin Finish
  • when cut off
  • hard last dribble, keep the ball close to your body
  • secure the ball with both hands
  • long drop step to separate
  • square up to shoot off two (finish strong) or have options, e.g. upfake step thru
  • counter - half spin
    • drop step, spin back, e.g. jump hook, or goofy-foot floater off the backboard
  • Tony Parker cross-spin
    • finish off one foot
    • cross, one dribble, spin
    • between spin
• Kill pickup
  • below the knees with two hands
• Cross-jab series
  • Blog post - Cross-Jab Finishing
  • cross-jab (or dribble-jab) move then
    • two outside steps or Euro-step inside
    • two steps, one step (avoid a travel), or Euro-step
    • first step, Euro step, or veer finish
    • separation finish (first step)
    • cross-jab-cross counter
  • see Layups - Euro-step, Relph cross-jab series, Dribble-jab moves (Dribbling checklist)
• Side-hand
  • defender on your hip
    • inside foot (two-hand touch)
    • outside foot (first step)
      • one-hand pickup
      • two-hand manipulation
    • use a little spin
    • veer finish
• Running hook
  • off the dribble or a catch
• Glide and slide
  • Baseline drive from the corner
    • glide - finish over the front of the rim with the other hand
    • slide - jump off the inside foot into a jump stop facing the baseline, finish with the hand furthest from the defender
• Pound evasion
  • Blog post - Finishing with Contact
  • make contact on the last dribble, take one more step (can separate outside), or two steps
• Veer move
  • Blog post - Finishing with Contact
  • two-hand pickup
  • on your last step (inside), cut off or step into your defender
    • protection finish, side-arm finish (can jump laterally to separate)
    • cut them off, finish on either side
  • veer dribble to cut off your defender early
• Up and under (double-pump reverse)
  • Blog post - Reverse Layups
  • baseline drive, jump off the inside foot, show the ball, bring it back down, go under the rim, switch hands (cradle)
    • show the ball with the inside foot on the floor (Kyrie)
    • finish with the outside hand (Dr. J)
  • T-Mac - same except jump off the outside foot (so inside hand off outside foot), finish with spin
  • jump off either foot
  • baseline drive, outside-inside power stop,
    • switch hands to go under
    • outside-hand finish
      • can attack middle
• Jordan layup
  • show the ball at the front of the rim (with both hands), finish outside (side hand) or on either side
  • jump off the outside foot, or use an inside-outside stride stop
  • take the ball across, or double pump (cradle) for momentum and spin
• Jamal Crawford
  • Blog post - Jamal Crawford Shake and Bake
  • wrap ball around back (defender reaches)
  • shake and bake - behind, between or crossover dribble, hop the other way, take the ball behind the back, in front, or over the top to finish
  • see Dribbling skills checklist (Crawford double move)