在英语中，篮球常用的一些短语包括：
play basketball：打篮球
shoot a basketball：投篮
dribble a basketball：运球
pass a basketball：传球
rebound a basketball：获得篮板球
dunk a basketball：扣篮
其中，"play basketball" 是最常用的表示打篮球的短语。
例句：
I love to play basketball on the weekends. (我喜欢在周末打篮球。)
She is an excellent shooter and can score a lot of points for the team. (她是一名出色的投篮手，能为球队贡献很多得分。)
He is really good at dribbling and can easily get past his opponents. (他很擅长运球，可以轻松跑过对手。)
She made a great pass to her teammate, who was able to score an easy basket. (她传了一个很好的球给队友，队友轻松得分。)
He was able to rebound the ball and score an easy basket. (他获得了篮板球，轻松得分。)
He made a spectacular dunk and the crowd went wild. (他扣篮非常壮观，人群欢呼雀跃。)
篮球这个单词本身来自于英语单词 basket 和 ball 的结合，basket 指的是篮筐，ball 指的是球，而篮球就是在篮筐内打的球。