How Denver uses elevator screens to get Jamal Murray open

One of the main reasons draftniks were high on Jamal Murray coming out of the University of Kentucky in 2016 was his ability to shoot in a variety of ways. Whether it’s pulling up off the dribble in pick-and-rolls or flying around screens, Murray is one of the best up-and-coming shooters at the point guard position. In particular, some of the Denver Nuggets’ most effective set plays bring Murray off multiple screens, where he is a threat to use that jump shot or drive to the basket.

I covered how the Nuggets use screen-the-screener action to get Murray a hand-off at the top of the key and the whole court at his fingertips last week. This week, I’m back with another STS play that brings a similar effect through an elevator screen.

This play evolves from Denver’s Chest series, which begins with a box setup: two big men at the elbows, Murray and a wing around the low blocks and the ball in the middle of the floor. Once everybody is in position, one big cross screens for the other to get a catch on the opposite wing. Chest is a common action in the NBA; if you’re looking for more on how teams use this simple action to create openings, check out Lakers Film Room’s great video on what Los Angeles does in their Chest series. In Denver’s case, they circle back to the same Flex STS action I covered in last week’s installment, but with a slightly different twist.

Read More: Durant has expanded his pick-and-roll game for GSW

The basics of the play: Mason Plumlee catches the ball in Chest action, then hits Wilson Chandler on the flex cut. Chandler holds the ball for a beat while Plumlee gets into position, then Murray, who set the original flex screen for Chandler, cuts between Plumlee and Nikola Jokic to get a 3-pointer at the top of the key in what’s known as an elevator or mousetrap screen.

In general, flex cuts are used by teams as a distraction for the defense. Rarely is the pass into the post open since the defense usually collapses toward the basket to defend it, but that’s the point — that collapse opens up the screen-the-screener action to free up a shooter on the perimeter.

However, if the ball actually does go to the cutter, defenders can be caught falling asleep, as Joe Ingles does in the above clip. For a lot of teams, it’s an either-or — either the ball will go into the post on the flex cut or the ball will go to the shooter on the screen-the-screener action. In this instance, Denver’s doing both by hitting Chandler in the post and finding Murray on the perimeter for the 3-pointer.

Even when the defense is ready for it and stays attached to Murray initially, the elevator screen makes it very difficult for his man to stay with him:

Brandon Ingram switches onto Murray when he sets the flex screen for Juancho Hernangomez but anticipates the screen-the-screener action one beat before it actually happens. Murray jabs toward the top of the key as if it were a standard STS action with a single screener, for which Ingram is ready, but once the ball gets entered into the post, Murray fakes back toward the baseline as if he’s going to set another flex screen for Gary Harris in the right corner. On the video, you can even see Ingram point to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the corner, preparing him for the Murray-Harris switch they’ll execute when that screen comes.

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Once the ball gets into Hernangomez and Murray’s successfully faked Ingram into looking for a second flex screen for Harris, he comes flying through the elevator doors just as they close on Ingram behind him. It’s just one small set but with great results. If Denver is going to keep themselves in the playoff race they should probably be running this a lot more often.