Breaking Down The Warriors Pick-and-Roll
The meteoric ascent of Curry and the Warriors has been in no small part a product of Kerr’s deadly high screens. The MVP’s ability to pull up from jaw-dropping distances, coupled with Green’s playmaking make the duo’s pick-and-roll one the NBA’s most lethal sequences.
Yet, the duo spent two years under Marc Jackson and never came close to finding the dominance that they now enjoy in Kerr’s offense. His motion system encourages weak-side movement to create mismatches and fluid spacing to allow cutters and ball-handlers space to attack the paint. These continuous off-ball actions make high screens even more effective and provide Curry just enough space to inundate opponents with deep threes if the defense sags.
Here’s a look at how the movement in the pick-and-role frees up the point guard in these sets for the Warriors:
And another example seen here:
When Green engages defenders 26 feet from the basket, the defense is instantly stretched as Curry’s defender rushes over the screen to prevent a shot and Green’s defender slides over to stop the drive. The opponent is then caught between a rock and a hard place, either opting to leave Green wide open and contain the roll man, or rotating back to Green and further stretching the defense (for a more in-depth breakdown, check out Jeff Siegel’s piece here).
Next: Reworking the Offense in LA