ugh time around Warriors fandom, you’ve most likely come across this statement:
They need to run more pick-and-rolls for Steph Curry.
By all accounts, it isn’t a statement without merit. Curry is one of the elite pick-and-roll operators in the league today, both as a scorer and as a playmaker. What makes him such an effective ball handler in such situations is how defenses are forced to pick their poison.
I
Steph Curry’s complicated relationship with the ….
Doing under the screen as the on-ball defender is a non-starter, for reasons that don’t need further elaboration. Going over the screen is, by necessity, the default option — but save for the upper echelon of elite it navigators, most defenders would be hard-pressed to navigate a rock-solid screen from the likes of Kevon Looney and Draymond Green.
Whoever is the screener’s defender must then decide the best course of action in order to help his compromised partner. Do you drop back and hope that your teammate recovers in time to erase Curry’s airspace? Do you meet Curry higher up than usual — as far up as the level of the screen — to discourage a potential shot and provide enough time for proper on-ball recovery?
Or do you commit to a more aggressive form of pick-and-roll coverage — e.g., a hard hedge or an outright blitz — to get the ball out of Curry’s hands and force a lesser offensive teammate to make the decisions and shoulder the scoring burden?
READ MORE: Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s joint first pitches become a game of…
Such is the conundrum that defenses face when the Warriors choose the simplest — and arguably the deadliest — option.
The question then becomes this: If such an option puts the fear of the basketball gods in even the best of defensive squads, then why have the Warriors — Steve Kerr, in particular — been reluctant to spam continuous high ball screens for Curry?
It has been well documented that Kerr eschews turning his team into another run-of-the-mill pick-and-roll-based offense, in favor of heavy ball movement that maximizes touches for everyone. More touches equals a feeling of empowerment and involvement — which translates to vigor and energy on the defensive end of the floor.
ugh time around Warriors fandom, you’ve most likely come across this statement:
They need to run more pick-and-rolls for Steph Curry.
By all accounts, it isn’t a statement without merit. Curry is one of the elite pick-and-roll operators in the league today, both as a scorer and as a playmaker. What makes him such an effective ball handler in such situations is how defenses are forced to pick their poison.
I
Steph Curry’s complicated relationship with the ….
Doing under the screen as the on-ball defender is a non-starter, for reasons that don’t need further elaboration. Going over the screen is, by necessity, the default option — but save for the upper echelon of elite it navigators, most defenders would be hard-pressed to navigate a rock-solid screen from the likes of Kevon Looney and Draymond Green.
Whoever is the screener’s defender must then decide the best course of action in order to help his compromised partner. Do you drop back and hope that your teammate recovers in time to erase Curry’s airspace? Do you meet Curry higher up than usual — as far up as the level of the screen — to discourage a potential shot and provide enough time for proper on-ball recovery?
Or do you commit to a more aggressive form of pick-and-roll coverage — e.g., a hard hedge or an outright blitz — to get the ball out of Curry’s hands and force a lesser offensive teammate to make the decisions and shoulder the scoring burden?
READ MORE: Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s joint first pitches become a game of…
Such is the conundrum that defenses face when the Warriors choose the simplest — and arguably the deadliest — option.
The question then becomes this: If such an option puts the fear of the basketball gods in even the best of defensive squads, then why have the Warriors — Steve Kerr, in particular — been reluctant to spam continuous high ball screens for Curry?
It has been well documented that Kerr eschews turning his team into another run-of-the-mill pick-and-roll-based offense, in favor of heavy ball movement that maximizes touches for everyone. More touches equals a feeling of empowerment and involvement — which translates to vigor and energy on the defensive end of the floor.
