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Russell Westbrook for me is one of the most effective players at using the eurostep. The eurostep is a counter move to a regular lay-up. It's used when a defender is in front of the offensive player and blocking their direct path to the basket. It is used most effectively when a player is directly in front of you so that you can use the second, diagonal step to move around the defender - therefore avoiding a charge call. It can also be used to 'pass fake'. This is used to get rid of the help defence that is preventing you from getting a layup. By using the first step to step towards your team-mate and fake the pass, you can make the defence jump to intercept the path therefore leaving you an open lane to the basket.
This video is a mix of some of Russell Westbrook's best eurostep moves. As you can see his change of pace is what really makes this move effective, as well as the definite change of angle. In the clip you can see that as Westbrook begins to attack, he speeds up as to make the defence off balance and give him forward momentum. His first step is then very quick to make the change of direction effective and give him separation from his defender. His second step is then slower and more controlled so that he takes a shot on balance leading to better accuracy.
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When doing a eurostep, the top three things to remember are;
1. Change of pace - slow,fast,slow - changing the pace gives you separation from the defender and time to decide and react to what they are doing.
2. Angles - Make sure that when you take your final step you are leading to the basket. Taking a shot from an angle that is not towards the basket makes for an unbalanced and lower percentage shot.
3. Ball - Hold the ball tight and close to your body - When doing a move that involves changing directions, it's very easy to swing the ball in the direction you are going. If you do this, you are likely to get the ball stolen from you as it makes it easy for the help defence to get their hands in and tap the ball away from you. This is why it is important to hold the ball tight and keep it close to your chest so as to stop the defence stealing the ball.