NBA Season Preview 2017-18: One of the many ways the Warriors toy with teams

This is one of many examples of why the Warriors don’t need complicated sets to score against the best defenses in the NBA. Half Court Hoops calls it “L.A. Rip,” and it’s usually used following a timeout. Not only does the set put Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant in positions to score easy baskets — and often uncontested ones — it uses their gravity as shooters effectively to create openings for their teammates if the first option breaks down.

That first option is simple. Curry, who is often in charge of bringing the ball up the court, passes the ball to one of the wings and runs off of a screen from whichever big man is stationed at the elbow on the strong side. If Curry’s defender gets caught up on the screen and the big man’s defender refuses to leave their assignment, Curry can cut to the basket for a layup or dump-off pass to a cutting teammate.

It’s exactly what happens on this possession:

However, it’s rare for Curry to be left that open for obvious reasons. More often than not the opposing big man will hang back slightly to give Curry’s defender some breathing room so they don’t get caught up on the initial screen. When that happens, the wing passes the ball to the big man on the strong side who set the screen on Curry. Curry then cuts back to the perimeter and sets a screen on the wing.

With at least one shooter spotting-up on the weakside, it creates a huge opening to the basket for the cutter. This is where Curry’s value as a screener comes into play because his defender is usually too scared to leave him to help out.

The play becomes deadlier when Draymond Green is in charge of making the pass to the cutter. For example, notice how Kelly Olynyk helps off of Zaza Pachulia to clog the paint in the follow possession. There aren’t many power forwards who would’ve even thought about threading the needle like Green does and even fewer who would’ve been able to pull it off successfully. Durant doesn’t get a layup or dunk out of it, but he still catches the ball in stride to the basket and gets fouled on the shot attempt.

Switching is the obvious solution to preventing a catastrophic breakdown — assuming, of course, a team has the depth to switch the primary defenders off of Curry and Durant or whoever is being involved in the play. If they don’t, it paves the way for one of them to exploit the mismatch either in the form of an isolation on the perimeter or a post-up closer to the basket.

Just watch how easily the Warriors get a shot at the basket against the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies manage to prevent Curry or Durant from scoring immediately following the first and second screen, but the Warriors still end up with an uncontested layup once they space the floor by slowing down the pace and getting into their positions.

If a team is successful in taking away the cuts and preventing a mismatch — something that happens with greater frequency when Curry and Durant aren’t directly involved in the play — the Warriors often swing the ball to the opposite side of the floor for a pick-and-roll or handoff.

This does one of two things. The first is it gets the defense moving side-to-side. The focus of the play is entirely on the left side of the floor in the videos above and the defense is, in most cases, shading towards the direction of the ball. By swinging the ball to the other side, it forces the defense to shift their attention and quickly close out on their assignments, which can naturally create openings.

The second is it spaces the floor well for the ball handler and roller involved because the six other players on the court are concentrated on the weakside. For someone like Shaun Livingston, who ranked in the 86.8 percentile as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll last season, it’s all he needs to get to his sweet spots and take advantage. Having David West on the floor instead of Pachulia also gives the Warriors another player who is a scoring threat outside the paint.

The set is almost a microcosm of Steve Kerr’s system. It’s not complicated, but it works because of pick-your-poison decisions it forces the defense to make. Play too close to Curry to prevent him from getting an open 3-pointer, and Durant will cut to the rim for a layup or dunk. Switch to avoid an uncontested basket, and Durant or Curry will show why they’re two of the best isolation scorers in the league.

Next: The most premium mediocre players in the NBA

When those options aren’t available, the Warriors simply move the ball around to prevent it from sticking with one player and expose the gaps with pick-and-rolls, hand-offs or post-ups. When Curry, Thompson, Durant and Green are all out on the court, it becomes nearly impossible to stop them from getting an open look.