There is one thing that almost all players have in common - they dribble too much. This is true for young players in their first years of basketball as well as for veteran players at the highest levels. Most players dribble more than they should and they don't even realize it is happening.
How often have you heard a coach say not to waste your dribble? What exactly do they mean? Well, the most common way that players dribble ineffectively is to dribble once immediately after catching the ball without going anywhere, and then pick it up. This might be the single-most useless action that occurs on the basketball court. Not only does it remove one of your most dangerous weapons, but it allows the defense to apply additional pressure, which makes your other options even harder.
Another common way that players dribble too much is when they attack the basket. What could easily be a one-dribble explosive drive to the basket turns into two or three dribbles. With each dribble, the defense becomes more aware of the attack and lessens the likelihood that you will reach the basket. A good defensive team is attuned to the sound of the ball hitting the floor. A dribble resonates like a siren to the help side defenders, drawing them into their rotations, cutting off your otherwise successful drive.
To coaches around the world, the most frustrating extra dribble is the player looking to show off their ball handling skills. This egocentric action goes against what (almost) every coach tries to instill in their players. These useless dribbles too often come at the expense of missed pass opportunities and precious seconds being wasted off the shot clock. Beyond that, statistics from every level of play have shown that shooting percentages drop dramatically with each additional dribble before the shot. Yet, this doesn't seem to stop the showboats from dancing at the top of the arc before putting up an off-balance and contested shot.
However, this problem of dribbling too much is not limited to guards. Post players are equally guilty. By all rights, a competent post player should be able to score, or at least make a strong move, without the use of a dribble. But how often do we see them try to take that one dribble before their move only to have it knocked away by a stealthy guard getting their hand in the mix? Without that dribble, they would have had a shot on net and possibly a foul by that overzealous guard.
A final problem with dribbling too much is its effect on team chemistry. This comes in two forms. The first goes back to the ego dribbler. Players who constantly watch their teammate dance with the ball until they shoot a bad shot get discouraged and disenfranchised with this player and their team. These extra dribbles may not affect the play, but they will bring down the team and its culture.
The second aspect of team chemistry that is affected by dribbling too much is the team's flow on offense. If the four players without the ball are always in doubt as to when the ball handler will attack or make their pass, they have no way of knowing when the right time to cut is. This makes for indecisive players, and indecisive players make indecisive moves. They stand around and stagnate the offense. When they cut, if they cut, it is not a pure, hard cut but a weak cut without the expectation of receiving the ball. This hurts the team in games directly, but also adds to the bad blood between players. The ball handler thinks that the other players aren't trying to get open and they have to dribble more while the other players never feel they will receive a pass and stop trying to get open. This can become a vicious cycle that creates a toxic environment within your team.
Improve your Ball Handling
At first glance, these scenarios may not seem like they are that serious. And on their own, in a one-off occurrence, they are not. But more than likely, if you look at your game and analyze it objectively, you will see these situations are part of a habit of dribbling too much. So, be aware of how often you dribble and how many dribbles you are taking. Watch your old games and try to find examples of when you were efficient with your dribbles and when you were not.