One can’t help but admire what San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson drew up to start their NBA Cup rematch against the Golden State Warriors — one that involved a classic Warriors play to set up what would be a De’Aaron Fox drive to the rim, one that went virtually uncontested due to a wide-open rim. It’s easy to blame Moses Moody (Fox’s primary defender) on this bucket, but it’s worth examining why Moody let Fox off easy (or so it seems).
To start the play, the Spurs have Fox run off of “Iverson”
action: running from one wing to the other with the aid of screens at the elbows:
With Fox catching the ball on the right wing, peep at Victor Wembanyama creeping toward the center of the baseline — a preparatory maneuver for him to come off of an alignment that, ironically, the Warriors popularized during their days of being coached by Mark Jackson: elevator doors:
In most actions that involve elevator doors, the screens themselves are the featured maneuver. However, it soon proves to be merely a decoy, a ploy to clear the lane and Fox’s path toward the rim. Moody — expecting Draymond Green behind him to help on the drive — “weaks” Fox to his right hand. Unfortunately for Moody, he finds the help he was looking for nowhere near, having lifted up to stay attached to Wembanyama coming off of the elevator doors:
It is a testament to Wembanyama’s rapidly growing profile that Green deems him a threat beyond the arc, enough to chase him the whole length of the lane toward the elevator doors. One could even say that Wembanyama has attained a respectable level of “gravity” — a term historically associated with his superstar counterpart on the Warriors. At 37-years old, Steph Curry still maintains a high level of respect from defenses. Some would say that respect crosses over into the realm of fear, enough for opponents to throw multiple defenders Curry’s way on the ball at the risk of playing at a numbers disadvantage on the backline.
Curry’s floor-warping nature has been equally fear-inducing when he’s off the ball. Which is why, in conceptual and spiritual similarity to how the Spurs drew up the Fox basket above, Steve Kerr and the Warriors use Curry’s gravity in virtually the same way in order to create a drive for Jimmy Butler, who draws a foul. With Curry being top-locked away from a potential down screen, Curry creeps along the baseline in the same manner as Wembanyama on the elevator doors set. He comes off of Green’s “gut” screen down the middle, occupying Wembanyama’s attention enough for him to not be able to help on Butler’s attack on the rim:
This “lift” from Curry in order to help Butler attack the rim isn’t as eye-catching as some of the more expressive ways through which he causes defensive confusion. But throughout Curry’s career, subtlety has been as potent and effective as overtness. The former was exemplified by the rather simple concept displayed by the sideline out-of-bounds set (SLOB) above, while the latter was apparent through the various ways that Curry sliced the Spurs’ defense in their 109-108 NBA Cup win, both through his on-ball brilliance and his off-ball mastery.
When Wembanyama was on the bench, his spot at the five was replaced by Luke Kornet, a steady backup option but a clear downgrade in terms of defensive capability. The Warriors immediately singled out Kornet by having whoever he was guarding set ball screens for Curry, testing the big man’s willingness to step up — which, as it initially seemed, he wasn’t willing to all that much:
On the one instance Kornet did step up to take away Curry’s space, it was a matter of simply finding Butler on the roll, resulting in another set of foul shots:
In fairness to Kornet, the matter of who was guarding Curry — individually and in ball-screen situations — didn’t seem to matter all that much. When the Spurs had Kornet guarding Gary Payton II instead of Al Horford in order to send Keldon Johnson up for Curry-guarding duties, Curry simply takes advantage of an unclean switch:
Even Wembanyama fell victim to Curry’s on-ball wiles, a hallmark of an all-time-great in the sense that no matter the quality of the defender guarding him — including a generational defensive demon in the French phenom — Curry will find a way to make it look all too easy:
Curry had every solution to the test questions the Spurs were presenting him with. Top-lock Curry at your peril and you will be met with a backdoor counter, such as on this staple Warriors SLOB set called “WTF” (the backstory behind it being called WTF can be read here):
Stick to Curry around a screen while your rim protector also chooses the same on this baseline out-of-bounds set (BLOB) and Curry will create a slip and layup for Green — turning a player who, on an island, isn’t much of an offensive threat into a much-needed source of points:
And, a night after involving Wembanyama in an exercise in subtle manipulation using one of their staple half-court sets (“Quick Touch”) to force a choice out of Wembanyama: stay put in the corner and give up a two-point shot, or help off of Al Horford to stop the ball:
The Warriors — once again using Curry’s ability to draw two defenders onto him around a ball screen — take the concept of “short action” and flex anew their ability to subtly manipulate Wembanyama, forcing him to make a decision that would, in essence, decide the fate of the game:
Curry’s 49 points on a whopping 83% True Shooting mark — two days after putting up 46 points on 72% True Shooting — garnered him a couple of distinctions: as the oldest player in NBA history to put up consecutive 46-plus-point performances, and tying the great Michael Jordan with his 44th game of 40 or more points, the most of any player older than 30-years old. To accomplish such feats with gusto and flair — in the process, lifting his team to another victory through the manner with which he lifts defenses away from their comfort zone — belies his 37-year-old frame. Such a performance is a testament to how the old lion remains as defiant as ever against younger beasts challenging his dominion and leadership over the pride. The light at the end of the tunnel for Curry most certainly exists, and at one point, he will unfortunately reach it. But for one night, and perhaps many more nights to come, that light remains extremely far away.
