miami's perfectly executed stagger screen set
well-designed plays force defenses to play musical chairs
today i'll be analyzing a well-executed miami heat set play from game 3 of the 2020 nba finals against the los angeles lakers.
but first, i wanted to highlight this ato set from the lakers in the fourth quarter of the same game:
i started smiling when i was watching it in real-time, because it's a modified version of the same exact play i broke down two days ago from game 2 of the same series, when the heat used it to create a wide-open jae crowder corner 3.
(also side note: jimmy butler was fucking unbelievable in game 3. what a performance.)
anyway, let's get to the play i wanted to analyze in today's post:
let's dive into it.
butler brings the ball up. the ball goes swing swing to andre iguodala on the wing and eventually back to jimmy, who's now standing at the free throw line extended. then the action begins.
tyler herro chills in the weakside corner. kelly olynyk and iggy turn to set staggered screens - kelly higher and iggy lower - for kendrick nunn, who loops around:
jimmy's read isn't nunn; it's his defender, alex caruso.
if caruso switches with markieff morris: olynyk slip screen and backdoor cut.
if caruso goes under on olynyk's screen: iggy's second screen is a pindown to get nunn an open 3.
if caruso goes over on olynyk's screen, as he does here: iggy slip screen, olynyk pop to 3-point line, nunn curl to the basket. jimmy just has to hit kendrick in stride heading to the rim or kelly for an open 3. he chooses the former:
since the lakers didn't switch, caruso now trails the play and it forces lebron james and markieff to both stay in no man's land guarding two guys (for lebron, nunn & iggy; for morris, olynyk and iggy).
nunn's read is simple: drive, dump it off to iggy, or swing it back out to kelly. there are two guys guarding three options, so he just has to be patient and react to lebron and morris and choose the option they don't cover.
lebron chooses to steps up to stop the drive, morris chooses to recover on olynyk, so nunn wisely drops it to the open iguodala for a dunk.
help from the weakside never came because rajon rondo couldn't leave herro.
it's an incredibly well-designed set, and even more well-executed by the heat. perfect timing and decision making by everyone involved.
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This is dope