Peter Bouzalas, HLPE3531, Terry Magias

Introduction:

Basketball is a sport which is comprised of a variety of biomechanically sound actions, played primarily by tall and agile athletes. In basketball, shooting is the primary technique used in order to score points. For an athlete, shooting a basketball relies heavily on both timing and ability. This blog will look to break down the action of shooting a basketball in order to quantitatively and qualitatively discuss the optimal biomechanics for the technique.

Major Question:

This blog will aim to solve the major question "What are the optimal biomechanics of a basketball jump shot?" The primary shooting technique which will be analysed throughout this blog will be an 'off the dribble jump shot', as this is a movement which is seen regularly within a basketball game and requires a wide range of movement patterns.

The Answer:

In order to successfully analyse the optimal biomechanics required for a basketball jump shot, the action must first be broken down into a variety of movement patterns. After thoroughly analysing separate videos on the basketball jump shot off the dribble, specifically analysing Stephen Curry's technique, it is clear that the jump shot can be broken down into 7 separate movement patterns (ShotMechanics, 2014). These movement patterns will be individually identified, as well as analysing the biomechanics involved with each movement.

Pattern 1: Final foot contact during dribble prior to step back.

In order for an athlete to increase their chances of scoring, they must attempt to create as much space as possible between themselves and their defender. As the athlete is generating momentum dribbling down the court (Hamner, Seth, & Delp, 2011), the final foot contact prior to the step back is when the separation between attacker and defender begins. During this stage, as seen in figure 1, the athlete must ensure they position their front foot correctly, in order to create a steady base of support to maintain their balance. Through creating a steady base of support, the athlete is able to maintain their balance by keeping their centre of mass over their base of support. If the athletes front foot is positioned too close or too far from their body, this may cause the centre of mass to move outside of the base of support, not allowing the athlete to maintain their balance (Blazevich, 2012, p66-67).

Fig. 1 (Shot Mechanics, 2014)

Pattern 2: Knee flexion during final foot contact prior to step back.

A major component during the separation stage between the attacker and the defender is ensuring that the athlete is able to effectively position their front foot in order to quickly step away from the defender. A vital factor involved within this stage, as seen in figure 2, is ensuring that the athlete flexes their knee as a result of them lowering their centre of mass while planting their front foot. In relation to Newton's first law, through lowering their centre of mass, this will allow the athlete to increase the influence of inertia allowing them to come to a halt at a faster rate, subsequently reducing the force of the impact allowing a much quicker change of direction (Magias, 2015). In addition, the planting of the foot and flexing of the knee can allow for a greater generation of torque to be present through ground reaction forces. This concept of generating torque is in relation to Newton's third law, and similarly allows for a quicker change in direction (Blazevich, 2012, p63-65).

Fig. 2 (Shot Mechanics, 2014)

Pattern 3: Step back into shooting position, knee flexion during shooting motion.

As seen within figure 3, the attacking athlete is in the motion of the step back during the stage of separation between himself and the defender, in order to prepare his body for an effective shooting position. During this stage, the attacker's base of support is narrowed as a result of the athlete supporting their weight entirely on their back foot (Bressel, Yonker, Kras, & Heath, 2007). Once the athlete has completed the step back and created space between him and the defender, he is now able to restore his base of support and position his feet towards the basket to prepare his body for an effective shooting position, as seen in figure 4. Once the athlete has regained complete balance, they are now within the process of building the adequate force required for a jump shot through the concept of summation of force, or in relation to a basketball jump shot, the kinetic chain (Blazevich, 2012, p196-202). As seen within figure 5, the flexion of the athlete's knees begins the process of force production. In order to produce adequate force required for the jump shot, there must be a fluent transfer of energy from one muscle group to the next, to ensure the transfer of energy is not lost between muscle groups (Dodd, 1982).

Fig. 3 (Shot Mechanics, 2014)

Fig. 4 (Shot Mechanics, 2014)

Fig. 5 (Shot Mechanics, 2014; Untitled illustration of summation of forces)

Pattern 4: Extension of knees and torso during shooting motion.

One of the key elements involved with the jump shot is the extension of the athlete's knees and torso. As seen within figure 4&5, the athlete is in a partially crouched position during the first part of the shooting motion as he is trying to restore his base of support. Once the athlete has restored his base of support and is in the process of producing adequate force required for the jump shot, he begins to extend his knees and torso prior to his jump (Dodd, 1982). The extension of the knees is a crucial element during this process, as this allows the athlete to begin to extend his torso to prepare for the jump. As seen within figure 6, during the process of the athlete extending his torso, he is able to align his body and his hip towards the basket in order to provide more accuracy for his shot. It must be noted however that if the body is not in line with the basket, this may decrease the chances of the shot being accurate (Splash Lab, 2014).

Fig. 6 (Splash Lab, 2014)

Pattern 5: Flexion & extension of the elbow, and jump during shooting motion.

After analysing separate jump shot videos, it can be seen that the flexion & extension of the shooting elbow, along with the jump during the shooting motion all occur within the same movement pattern. In addition to figure 6, and in relation to figure 7, it can be seen that the athletes shooting shoulder, elbow, and hip are in line with one another in order to enhance shooting accuracy. However it can also be seen that the athletes elbow is flexed, allowing his forearm to sit just about his shooting eye level, which in addition will help develop greater accuracy in the shot as the forearm does not block the athletes vision (Splash Lab, 2014). Flexion of the elbow is crucial during the basketball jump shot, as not only does it create greater accuracy through the height and angle of release, however it also contributes to the summation of force process, as constant extension of the elbow would break the fluency of force production resulting in a weaker jump shot (Miller & Bartlett, 1996; Malone, Gervais, & Steadward, 2002). Evidently, the factor which contributes the biggest influence during a jump shot is the jump itself. In relation to Newton's third law of motion, as an individual applies a force when their foot contacts the ground, the ground applies an equal and opposite ground reaction force which propels the individual vertically (Blazevich, 2012, p45). In relation to figure 5, the flexion of the knee to begin the force production allows greater muscle activation, subsequently allowing the athlete to produce a greater amount of force, in comparison to a constantly extended knee, which would decrease force production within the movement (Arampatzis, Schade, Walsh, & Brüggemann, 2001).

Fig. 7 (Splash Lab, 2014)

Pattern 6: Release of the ball during shooting motion.

In basketball, none of the biomechanical lead up is important if the athlete is not shooting the ball correctly. There are a variety of factors which influence an individuals jump shot release; these include the angle of release and height of release. In sports which require objects to travel far distances, such as javelin and shot put, the optimal angle of release is 45 degrees, as there is an equal amount of horizontal and vertical velocity, increasing the range of the object (Blazevich, 2012, p26). However in basketball, and in relation to Eric Batista (2015), the average NBA player stands at 6 foot 7 inches, requiring an optimal angle of release to be between 50-55 degrees from 15+ feet in order for the ball to approach the rim over an oncoming defender at a steeper trajectory. In addition however, the release angle of 50-55 degrees increases the area that the ball can pass through the hoop by 19%, in compassion to a flatter shot of 45 degrees, as seen in figure 8. It must also be noted that as the basketball rim is taller than the point of release during the jump shot, biomechanically the height of the ball release must be greater than 45 degrees in order for the ball to reach the acquired height of the basketball rim (Dodd, 1982; Rojas, Cepero, Ona, & Gutierrez, 2000).

Fig. 8 (Eric Basitsa, 2015)

Pattern 7: Flick of the wrist during the follow through.  

Basketball shooting, unlike skill actions involved with other sports, requires sufficient focus on the follow-through. The first factor which highlights the importance of the follow through, is that the flick of the wrist during the jump-shot ends the summation of force process. The summation of force process began within figure 5, where the force production started from the athlete's legs, and flowed through to their hips, to their shoulders, to their elbow, and finished at their wrist. Without the athlete's wrist flick during the follow through, this would result in a much weaker jump-shot (de Oliveira, Huys, Oudejans, van de Langenberg, & Beek, 2007). The follow-through is similarly important for basketball shooting as the flicking wrist action allows the basketball to produce backspin while travelling through the air. The backspin of the basketball is a vital aspect as this allows the ball to fight the force of gravity and air resistance. As all projectiles have kinetic energy when air born, the objects must compete with drag force as a result of gravity and air resistance, as seen in figure 9, which potentially reduces the projectiles velocity (Blazevich, 2012, p137). Basketballs, similar to golf balls contain 'dimples' on the surface. These 'dimples' in association with the backspin produced during the follow through, work together in order to increase the boundary layer turbulence on the projectile, subsequently decreasing the drag force and increasing flight distance (Blazevich, 2012, p141).

Fig. 9 (Biomechanics)

How else can we use this information?

The concepts and terms used within this blog are not simply limited to Basketball movement patterns. There are a wide range of terms and concepts, such as base of support, torque, summation of force, and angle of release which were discussed within this blog and can be applied to a variety of other sports. Base of support is a common principle within a variety of sports as balance and co-ordination rely heavily on the athlete's support base. Gymnastics is a sport which relies heavily on base of support and centre of mass, as allowing the centre of gravity to move outside of the base of support can disrupt balance (Blazevich, 2012, p67). Torque is a concept which can be applied within a judo environment, as one athlete may apply force to the shoulders of the other athlete in an attempt to turn and manoeuvre them (Blazevich, 2012, p64). The summation of force or kinetic chain is another principal which is applicable within a variety of sports. Baseball is an example of where the kinetic chain is implemented, as a baseball swing requires a variety of fluent movements from major muscle groups in order to acquire adequate force in the swing (Blazevich, 2012, p204). Finally the angle of release can be utilised in a variety of sports which require projectiles to travel far distances. In shot put for example, in order to increased the range of the object, the optimal angle of release is 45 degrees, as there is an equal amount of horizontal and vertical velocity (Blazevich, 2012, p25-27).

Word Count: 1,937

References:
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Biomechanics. Retrieved June 17th, 2015, from http://biomechanics.byu.edu/exsc362(hunter)/chapter10.html

Blazevich, A. (2012). Sports Biomechanics, the Basics: Optimising Human Performance. London, England: A&C Black.

Bressel, E., Yonker, J. C., Kras, J., & Heath, E. M. (2007). Comparison of static and dynamic balance in female collegiate soccer, basketball, and gymnastics athletes. Journal of athletic training, 42(1), 42.

de Oliveira, R. F., Huys, R., Oudejans, R. R. D., van de Langenberg, R., & Beek, P. J. (2007). Basketball jump shooting is controlled online by vision.Experimental Psychology, 54(3), 180-186.

Dodd, G. (1982). Daily Physical Education Manual. (7^th ed). Adelaide, South Australia: ACHPER Publications.

Eric Batista. (2015). Stephen Curry vs Lebron James sports science 2015 NBA Finals. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCbREj_4WDU.

Hamner, S. R., Seth, A., & Delp, S. L. (2010). Muscle contributions to propulsion and support during running. Journal of Biomechanics, 43(14), 2709-2716.

Magias, T. (2015). Week 8 Workshop: Position, Velocity, and Acceleration. Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia.

Malone, L. A., Gervais, P. L., & Steadward, R. D. (2002). Shooting mechanics related to player
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Miller, S., & Bartlett, R. (1996). The relationship between basketball shooting kinematics, distance and playing position. Journal of sports sciences, 14(3), 243-253.

Rojas, F. J., Cepero, M., Oña, A., & Gutierrez, M. (2000). Kinematic adjustments in the basketball jump shot against an opponent. Ergonomics,43(10), 1651-1660.

ShotMechanics. (2014). Stephen Curry Top 3 Pull-Up Moves How To NBA Moves. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyegix5VZKE

Splash Lab. (2014). How to: Stephen Curry Shooting Form. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_anxl_hE9jQ

Untitled illustration of summation of forces. Retrieved June 17th, 2015, from 
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=basketball+summation+of+force&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=955&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIoNrXnMWWxgIVxdqmCh03FgDO#imgrc=PaFJie3RmB4A5M%253A%3BUS5pvADk_3_GCM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.coachr.org%252Fbiomechs5.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fraleighncs.blogspot.com%252F2008%252F12%252Fsir-isaac-newton-laws-of-motion.html%3B864%3B487