Steph Curry and Buddy Hield are two of the best in the world at setting up off-ball screens and reading both (primary & secondary) defenders' actions to create an advantage opportunity for themselves or a teammate.
The key to setting up an off-ball screen is CORE 3 changes:
1. Speed
2. Level
3. Direction
Teaching Point for Players Watching: DO YOU WORK EARLY!!
If you win early in the action by setting up the cut, you give yourself a chance to win late by shooting, driving, or passing.
You’re not guaranteed to make the shot, but if you don’t gain an advantage early in the action, then you will not have the opportunity to
More Than One Way To Skin A Cat:
When people talk about the best two-man games in today’s NBA, it’s usually referencing a PnR duo. After all, PnR is the king of two-man games in the league today.
However, GSW sets the third-highest number of off-ball screens per 100 possessions in the NBA (60 per). When Curry or Hield is involved, these two-man games become more challenging to guard than any PnR action due to the shooting threat, speed, and movement optionality both players have at their disposal.
When they’re screening for one another…
Off-ball screens create a panic-thinking moment between the two defenders guarding them. Years ago, the legendary Coach Hubie Brown said during a broadcast:
“You set screens to make defenders think. Great shooters make defenders panic thinkers, and when you panic, you make mistakes.”
Creating one moment of panic thinking for defenders during every possession will lead to a great offense.
Edit Timeline:
This edit dives into six off-ball screening actions from the 2025 season. We will look at how to beat the following coverages, Top Lock, Gap, and Lock & Trail:
00:00 - 00:37 Curry & Buddy Intro.
00:38 - 01:42 (Gap Coverage) Buddy winning early in the action lets him know it's gap coverage. Shot read.
01:48 - 03:08 (Gap) Buddy playing with great Core 3 changes and Re-screen read.
03:09 - 05:04 (Lock & Trail) Curry uses Core 3 to gain a slight early advantage, which he turns into a significant advantage.
05:05 - 06:00 (Top Lock) Curry reading where space is on the court.
06:01 - 07:28 (Top Lock) Buddy gets a slight early advantage, which he turns into a significant advantage
07:29 - 09:08 (Lock & Trail) Buddy reads where space is on the court and turns an early advantage into a wide-open layup.
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