For those of you who aren’t afraid of a little sweat, we’re now covering the game of basketball. It’s called basketball because there’s a ball and a basket. It’s not just any ball. It’s a basketball. You can’t play basketball with . . . say, a bowling ball. A bowling ball is too heavy to hurl through the air, although I’ve done it on occasion while bowling.
In bowling, you get to rest a lot between your turns. Depending on the size of your team, you might even be able to stretch out on the bench and take a nap. Basketball requires your undivided attention, and regardless of your position, you’ll be running up and down the court at all times.
The only rest you’ll get is when someone’s taking a free throw. But you really can’t lie down on the court and take a nap while she’s shooting, because a free throw usually takes less than a minute. If you’re stretched out on the floor and the ball is back in play, another player might trip over you, hit the ground and get knocked out. Unlike boxing, there are no points for this.
Avoid Violations
“Traveling” is a violation in basketball. And this has nothing to do with a vacation. Although if you do it too often, your teammates might wish you’d take one. Traveling is when you take a step while simply holding onto the ball. You must dribble while moving with the ball.
Another violation is called “double dribbling.” This has nothing to do with a double scoop of Baskin Robbins melting on your hands. It’s when a player dribbles, stops, holds the ball and then dribbles again.
She Scores!
A basket thrown from outside the three-point line is worth three points. Sometimes a player will attempt this when the clock is running out and she has nothing to lose. She’ll throw the ball from a ridiculous distance, and sometimes it’ll make it into the basket, and everyone will cheer. Sometimes it makes it through a window, and fewer people cheer.
Basketball isn’t for wimps. There’s a lot of moving, and you have to be a quick thinker. There are some places on the court where you’re not allowed to stand for more than three seconds. This is different from baseball, where a player can stand in the very same spot in right field for nine innings without moving a muscle—except to toss acorns to the gophers.
If basketball sounds like your sport, and you’re up for the physical challenge, then go for it! The important thing is that you’re exercising! And who knows, maybe I’m wrong about the ice cream. Maybe they’ve changed the rules and that kind of double dribble is allowed on the court now.
