Few things in basketball excite this author more than when conventional thinking is challenged.
Possessions in the first half and possessions after timeouts (ATO) are arguably the most appealing in the hope of seeing what the head coach has created. Steve Kerr has been admired for many things as a coach, but the ATO’s play his designs weren’t one of them — not because he wasn’t good at them, but his coaching others. Because some aspects of the have become more prominent (for better or worse).
Kerr’s play call deserves more limelight. One reason is that we vette the people we have to play with, know their skill sets well, and place them where their individual excellence contributes to collective excellence.
Another reason: Kerr isn’t afraid to upend convention.
To present such an example, let’s look at the time machine through April 7, 2021. golden state warriors faced milwaukee bucks at Chase Center. James Wiseman got his chips in the opening and the ball went to Stephen Curry. Stephen Curry starts his chess move in the Warriors’ opening.
On first inspection, it’s a run-of-the-mill set of warriors.head tap” refers to the motion that serves as its play call. This includes Curry setting Draymond a “cross screen” under her green rim. Draymond Green has her two options. Use Curry’s cross her screen to get a deep position on the left block, or use Wiseman’s screen to go into a “zipper” cut and put him down. the top of the arc.
Green opts for the latter—perhaps by design—and what comes immediately after surprises the Bucks:
Curry uses all his 6’2″ frame to set up a solid screen on a 6’6″ green that drives to the rim for layups. Each defender is completely new to this setup. Bobby Portis, a power forward by nature, wasn’t built to navigate around the screen, but Drew Holiday, one of the league’s best guard-defenders, is capable of navigating around the screen. I don’t expect him to set the screen because I’m used to it.
Plus, Holiday isn’t keen on staying away from Callie. Holliday knows that losing Curry means losing his defensive possession. This is where Kerr uses the conventional idea of defense against them as a kind of quick counterpunch. If defenders don’t let Curry escape, use it to their advantage.
Fast forward seven months — on Nov. 21, 2021, the Warriors toronto raptors at Chase Center. Instead of doing a Head Tap, Curry sets the screen and goes straight to the Green-Curry pick and roll. As expected, Fred VanVleet refused to let him leave Curry, but Scottie Barnes found himself having to (unsuccessfully) navigate the Curry screen.
The Raptors named Pascal Siakam as “lock the box”—at the cost of giving up something else:
The left corner opens as the Siakam rotates toward the paint. 48.3% shooters from the left corner during the regular season —Drill three with the help of a pinyin screen by Kevon Looney.
Curry defied convention throughout his career. His physique and physique guard were not supposed to dominate and thrive on basketball’s grandest stages. His success has come from mixing not only the pure diet of traditional domination, but also a display of his desire to do the dirty work for the greater good.
On the court, he defies convention by simply being an avid screensetter for his teammates. He knows very well how much defenders overplay/toplock him. He uses his reputation and the fear it sows as his weapon. But that weapon appeared mostly through off-ball screens.
There’s no better example of Curry setting up the perfect off-ball screen than in this classic Warriors ATO set.
The play known as “Cyclone” (because Kerr ‘stole’ it from former Iowa Cyclones head coach Fred Hoiberg) is a classic example of Curry’s screening ability. Karr, however, has greatly reduced its use over the years, as his opponents are ready to scout and counter it until they forget it.
raptors, Phoenix Sunsand the boston celticsin particular, there are three intelligent defensive teams that have disabled Cyclone by switching back screens, fighting over back screens, and exerting strong ball pressure on passers.
Kerr had to find creative and novel ways to use Curry’s pull, and how the defense would react to it, to create scoring opportunities for other players. The solution to that problem turned out to be very simple. Making Curry a direct ball screener.
Pairing Curry with someone who has otherwise struggled with self-creation (like Greene) or with someone with very strong downhill power (like Jonathan Kuminga or Andrew Wiggins) , proved to be easily achievable.
If your opponent chooses to switch actions, it’s a mismatch anyway — Curry vs. Island Big Man, or his Big Man Partner against a diminutive defender who’s trying to cling for his life:
Curry can serve as the ultimate pick-and-pop weapon if the defense shows even a little bit of commitment to drive.
Renowned understudy for Curry, Jordan Poole has developed the skill set and reputation necessary to act as a capable understudy for his stylistic mentor on sets that rely on Curry’s gravitational pull.
This includes Kuminga’s reverse screen settings.
Of the 109 guards who appeared in at least 62 games during the 2021-22 regular season, Currys 1.1 screen assists per game, 2.5 screen assist points per game break the leagueCurry and the Warriors did not invent the concept of reverse screening, but they are not the only ones making use of it in modern games (Bucks and Warriors, for example). Denver Nuggets regularly flipping screens for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic) — Curry may be the only superstar guard willing to utilize his height and body in such a way.
You rarely see a table flipped — and in a way that forces your opponent to flip the table in frustration.
