By now, the Golden State Warriors offense is pretty familiar, the rhythms and patterns solidified by nearly a decade of continuity and chemistry between their core players. In their thrilling 125-116 overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks though, Warriors coach Steve Kerr made a surprising tweak, using the Bucks' expectations and tendencies against them. In a devastating adjustment, the Warriors ran a âSpainâ pick and roll (also known as a âstackâ pick and roll) 11 times over the course of the game and scored 21 points on those possessions.
đ¨WARRIORS SPAIN PNR THREADđ¨
By my count, the Warriors ran Spain PnR a total of 11 times last night vs. the Bucks. Safe to say it's the most times they've used it during the Steve Kerr era.
First instance below gets them a corner 3 from JaMychal Green. pic.twitter.com/WKYeOmnQur
â Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) March 12, 2023
Whereas a traditional pick and roll is a two-man action, the âSpainâ variant introduces a third player, who sets a back screen for the roller's man as the roller heads towards the basket. In recent years, âSpainâ pick and rolls have become a staple of NBA offenses, gaining popularity after Spanish national team coach Sergio Scaloni leaned on the action throughout the 2016 Olympics.
Beyond running a traditional âSpainâ pick and roll, the Kerr and the Warriors put an additional twist on the play, adding a âramâ screen at the beginning of the play, setting a screen for the player who would then set the ball screen.
In doing so, the Warriors found ways to involve Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in the same action. As a result, the Bucks were stretched to their limit as they struggled to track Curry and Thompson while also navigating three different screens within seconds of each other. Against the Bucks, this wrinkle was particularly effective since it forced elite defenders like Jrue Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez to make tough reads on the fly rather than hunker down in their base defensive scheme.
With the game going into overtime, these 11 possessions arguably won the game for the Warriors. When they ran a âSpainâ pick and roll, the Warriors scored 1.9 points per possession, a massive improvement from the 1.02 points per possession they average in the half-court.
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