So it looks like Steve Kerr and the coaching staff actually changed things up from “get the ball to Stephen Curry (or Klay Thompson)” and, after all that top-blocking by the Memphis Grizzlies, decided to put Curry in the screener’s role to ultimately “get Jonathan Kuminga the ball” against the Atlanta Hawks last night. Wow! 😱
I was pleading for it after the Christmas Game, then begged for it again and maybe a few more times in other livestreams. And yet, I was patient, understanding that the human element takes time — after all in some stories from Kerr about Dejan “Deki” Milojevic in coaching meetings, I understood that there are many dynamics involved.
But it does seem like the Memphis game, where Steph was heavily top-blocked by Vince Williams, Jr. thanks to a brilliant game plan by Taylor Jenkins, has forced Steve and coaches’ hands. They now have Curry setting picks in order to get the ball to Kuminga near or inside the paint. I had called for that when the Warriors got Draymond Green downhill versus the Grizzlies, in a late adjustment where Draymond missed the layup.
The following are four plays that “got the ball to JK” instead of the usual “to Steph or Klay”, plus a bonus one involving yet another Curry pick. All credit to Joe Viray of Golden State Of Mind (my former home a decade ago), who tweeted the following — I’ve added the timestamps from the game. Give him a follow…
Examples of Kuminga getting the ball:
• 2m59 Q3: “Draymond directing stuff on the floor again. Tells Podz to lift from the corner to create more room for the cross-screen action for JK and for a better entry pass angle. Jalen Johnson manages to stay home on the cross-screen, but JK pulls up anyway and drills the middy.”
• 11m50 Q4: “Klay sets the screen for JK to get the switch. JK has been excellent at attacking switches all season long.”
• 7m37 Q4: “Steph with the prescient passing: points to JK on the break to cut hard toward the rim. Hits JK on the move when JK does cut. Finish and the foul.”
• 3m34 Q4: “A JK focused set initiated by a couple of handoff actions to constantly shift the defense, but the meat is the cross-screen for JK to force a switch. Jalen Johnson manages to stay home to prevent the switch, but JK’s been on a tear tonight and it doesn’t matter.”
Also Steph setting more screens as an adjustment to MEM top-blocking:
• 3m22 Q2: “Dubs getting into these inverted setups right now. “Head tap” for Wiggs, cross-screen isn’t there so they flow into the second option where Wiggs zipper cuts his way to the top, then Steph sets the inverted ballscreen. Hawks switch, Dejounte onto Wiggs, who draws the foul.”
👍👍💛💙