How To Score Against Help Defense (Full Workout) - Why You NEED To Master Dribble Pickups

If you want to be good at driving in the context of a real game where there's help defense, you need to be able to get to different dribble pickups to be able to get through gap defenders and get to your finishes. This is an area that's super overlooked because we're so focused on the initial move and the finish that we forget the in between stage of gathering from that move to that finish. And this is something that great driving players really have a grasp on. In this video, we'll go step by step through the most important pickups to have, how to add them to your game, and then some drills you can do to work on them. Let's get into it.

A really important skill to have when it comes to finishing is dribble pickup. So we're going to talk a little bit about that right here. When it comes to driving against good health defense or against more physical defenders, being able to actually pick the ball up after your dribble and actually get to your finish is really important. And so we're going to go through three different pickups right here. The footwork that's involved, and I'll give you guys a couple things you can do to work on these. Before we get to the pickups, I want to talk a little bit about dribble step timing. All that means in this context is that when we dribble the basketball, our last dribble is going to be on our inside step. Meaning if the ball is in my right hands, my pickup, my last dribble is going to happen on my left step, my inside step. And that's important because it's going to allow us to gather the ball and then still have two more steps to be able to get to the rim and finish it. So talking about our first pickup, we're going to talk about the low pickup. So how that would look is I'm driving, my last dribble is on that inside step and I'm picking that ball up low and then I have my 1, 2 into my finish right there. So with that low pick on, I'm thinking about killing the ball as close to the ground as possible. So I drive, I kill the ball low, and then I get my two steps into my finish right there. This is a really great pickup to have, especially for smaller players driving against bigger players who aren't going to be able to reach down quite as low. It also allows you to really change directions well too. I can get myself right there with that pickup. That makes it easier for you as well. The second pickup we're going to talk about is the tuck or the football pickup. Same thing. I'm picking it up on that last drip, which is on that inside step. And I'm getting that ball here like I'm a football player, tucking that ball right on my chest so I can get to my finish right here. So you really want to think about being a football player and lowering that shoulder, making sure that ball is protected. Ball security. I can take my two steps, get to my finish. There's another option to have with our pickups. The third pickup we'll talk about is our high pickup. Probably the most common type of pickup used where now I'm just getting high up on that pickup. It's my finish. Again, really important. That last dribble happens on that inside step. So here's a quick drill you could do to work on that dribble step timing. All we're going to do is start with whatever our outside foot is, the hand with the ball that's going to be ahead. And that inside step that we're talking about will start behind. So I'm going to go live ball to start it. And I'm just going to work on my low pickup for right now. So ball is live. I'm going to take a step with that inside foot, kill that ball in that low pickup. And then I get my two steps up into my finish. So we can really work having that good dribble step timing right here. So I'm here killing that ball, and then I get my two steps up into my finish. Now we'll do same thing with that tuck pickup. So that ball is live right here. I have my first step. I'm tucking that ball and then I'm getting up into my finish. And then we'll go with that last one, that high pickup, live ball, start hitting the ball up nice and high.

Here's your opportunity to work on this dribble step timing on these different pickups coming from different angles. So I'm switching out which pickup I'm getting to. I'm switching on my finish. And then I can also change up the angle that I start at so I can go across the paint. I can go finish on the same side, opposite side. I'm just trying to be as variable as possible, get myself comfortable with this dribble step timing in this pickup.

Once you're comfortable with that dribble step timing, we can move back and we can start to make it more live, more realistic. So I might start off really simple, just a couple dribbles. Maybe I start myself moving, whatever, but then at some point I'm driving. And then my second dribble is when I get to that pickup. I can make it off of a move if I want to. Maybe I'm dribbling, maybe I'm coming up the court and I get myself.

There.

And then that becomes my pickup. You can change a spot where you go, you can change up which type of pickup you're gonna go with. My challenge to you would be to make it as variable as possible. Be as creative as you can with how you start, what kind of finish you get to, what direction are you going on your pickup, what hand are you using, what kind of finish can you get to? Just get yourself really comfort doing different things. And when you get comfortable doing that, then you'll feel really comfortable being able to drive, pick the ball up and get these different sort of finishes against tougher defense.

So as you can see, I'm starting these differently. Some are coming off of jabs, some off of rip throughs. I can go off the dribble for them as well. I'm just trying to change up how I start, the pickup that I get to and the finish that I get to. If you guys enjoyed this video, make sure you like and subscribe. Click the top link in my description below for my free weight perimeter score workout. I'll talk to you guys soon. Peace.