Set plays require specific personnel that align with the intended outcome of the action. When it comes to off-ball screens, it's crucial that the players receiving these screens are seen as shooting threats to fully capitalize on the advantages created. Without that threat, the strategy loses its purpose.
Steve Kerr’s offense is renowned for its reliance on advantage basketball, often using Stephen Curry as the primary advantage creator, with Klay Thompson serving as a close second in previous years. The irony in Kerr’s offensive approach is that its effectiveness hinges on the unpredictability and dynamic energy that Curry brings—what one might call "organized chaos." Few teams in history have blended two seemingly opposing concepts as effectively as the Golden State Warriors under Kerr and Curry.
Curry and Thompson were ideally suited to embody and promote Kerr’s principles, as their skills made the frequent use of screening actions a no-brainer. Stagger actions, pindowns, and split cuts all thrived because of the extraordinary shooting abilities of the Splash Brothers.
With Thompson’s departure, the team needed to replace his shooting threat around screens through a committee approach. As Curry candidly remarked after last night’s game, “Without Klay, you need shooting. We needed shooting anyway.” Buddy Hield comes closest to replicating what a healthy Thompson could provide, while De’Anthony Melton also serves as a strong option for off-ball movement shooting. Additionally, Moses Moody’s development as a shooter adds a wealth of choices for Kerr in pairing players with Curry or filling in for him during rest periods on screening actions.
I previously discussed the new offensive sets that Kerr has implemented with the assistance of Terry Stotts, whose offensive philosophy closely resembles Kerr’s but is more structurally defined. Like Kerr, Stotts emphasizes movement, flow, and read-and-react basketball, but he adds a bit more organization to his sets, most of which are grounded in the Blocker-Mover scheme popularized by Tony Bennett, the former coach of the Virginia Cavaliers.
An example of Stotts' influence is the “One Chest” play, which begins with a “zipper” cut into a flare screen while a pindown action occurs simultaneously. As anticipated, the Warriors executed this play during their impressive 139-104 season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers. True to Kerr and Stotts’ philosophies, the “One Chest” play requires shooting threats on both the flare and pindown screens.
Observe the structure and personnel involved in the play: Melton is coming off the flare screen while Moody navigates the baseline to utilize the pindown. Kyle Anderson is handling the ball, serving as one of the three designated “movers,” while Kevon Looney and Jonathan Kuminga take on the roles of screeners, or “blockers.” In essence, there are at least two shooters receiving off-ball screens.
Now, let’s take note of when the Warriors ran “One Chest” again several possessions later. The setup remains consistent, featuring a “zipper” cut followed by the flare and pindown actions. However, there seems to be something off about the personnel being utilized:
Having Draymond Green as the recipient of the pindown action might seem counterintuitive—after all, no one is likely to chase Green around the screen, given that he’s not considered a shooting threat while moving. Defenses might let their guard down, thinking they can relax, unless they catch on to the actual intent behind the play.
The Blazers, a young and rebuilding team with potential that is perhaps three years away from being three years away, may not recognize what’s happening. Consequently, they fall into the trap of what the Warriors truly aimed to achieve with a “One Chest” possession featuring Green as a “shooter.”
The pindown for Green is designed to position him for an entry pass to Trayce Jackson-Davis in the post. Whenever a Warrior makes a post-entry pass, you can anticipate the next move: a classic low-post split action. Green sets a screen for Curry and quickly slips it. This forces the Blazers to defend the next step: a pitch-and-screen involving Curry and Jackson-Davis. With two defenders focusing on Curry around the screen, Jackson-Davis is free to roll to the rim, catch the pass, and score with a wide-open dunk.
This dynamic makes this iteration of the Warriors offense—rooted in Kerr’s principles and enhanced by elements from Stotts—particularly exciting to watch this season. It’s easy to expect one outcome, only to be surprised by something unexpected. The introduction of new wrinkles and variations keeps the offense fresh and compels opponents to remain alert.
What was once considered a “figured out” Warriors offense now boasts new weapons in both personnel and play actions. For instance, the concept of an “inverted” pick-and-roll is straightforward: a smaller guard sets a ball screen for a larger wing or big. The Warriors can execute this with their smaller players going directly into a ball screen under the “Too Small” play call: