This week, we highlight GOAT-level play from 35-year-old Stephen Curry, catnip for hoops nerds in New Orleans, unseemly player foibles and make a plea to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks ... how about a jog?
1. The varied brilliance of Stephen Curry
What a thing: a four-time champion and two-time MVP is having perhaps his greatest season as he approaches his 35th birthday.
Curry is averaging 31.4 points -- second highest of his career, about 1.5 above his unanimous MVP campaign of 2015-16. The shooting splits are straight comedy: 52% overall, 44% on 12 (!) 3s per game, 63% on 2s -- Curry's best-ever mark from 2-point range if you exclude 2019-20, when he played five games.
He's averaging seven dimes and a career-high seven rebounds, and playing the best defense of his career. Again: Curry will be 35 soon.
The Warriors have leaned more than ever on Curry's tireless movement and varied shotmaking amid an uneven start. Almost 20% of Curry's attempts have come from floater range -- the largest share of his career. He has made an astounding 60% of those shots, and the floater has become an important counter within some of Golden State's core actions:
The Warriors set up for the classic Curry-Klay Thompson split action. Curry spots D'Angelo Russell ball-watching and snaps into an impromptu back-cut. Draymond Green delivers a pinpoint pass, and Curry stops on a dime for a tilting floater over, oh, just the most fearsome rim-protector of the past decade. Curry makes every part of that look routine. None of it is.
We are well-versed in Curry's swirling pass-and-go relocation game -- how you can never exhale, how he warps the very structure of the floor by zig-zagging around in patterns only he and his teammates can anticipate. All these years later, it still brings new delights:
The Dallas Mavericks switch that Curry-Green pick-and-roll, with Christian Wood toggling from Green onto Curry -- and containing Curry in the paint -- while Curry's man, Dorian Finney-Smith -- sticks to Green. Curry shovels the ball back to Green, and zooms out toward the arc.
Hilarity ensues. Both Wood and Finney-Smith chase Curry. Green realizes the defense has abandoned him, drives to the rim, and finds Andrew Wiggins. This is a borderline blooper. No player -- no one -- has ever inspired this kind of discombobulated panic. It is the half-court version of that fast-break absurdity when two or three defenders attach themselves to Curry at half court, leaving some lucky Warrior to saunter in for an uncontested dunk.
Curry is running about 38 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions, the most since Steve Kerr took over for Mark Jackson. The Warriors are scoring out of those actions at a rate that would lead all rotation ball handlers in most seasons, per Second Spectrum. Curry is shooting on 46% of those pick-and-rolls -- the highest figure of his career.
The Warriors are scoring 121 points per 100 possessions with Curry on the floor, and 94.7 when he rests. That doesn't even make sense. That non-Curry figure is 11 points below the Charlotte Hornets' league-worst team mark. That gap should shrink as Kerr's reworked rotations take hold, but still: Wow.
Curry was my first-quarter MVP by a hair over Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic, though several other superstars will have a say in what should be a rollicking race: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic (making a run at the three-peat), Devin Booker, Ja Morant, maybe a few others.
2. The calculated patience of Tyrese Haliburton
Over the Indiana Pacers' past seven games, Haliburton has 92 assists and 15 turnovers. Only three players -- Doncic, Chris Paul, and James Harden -- run more pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions, according to Second Spectrum. It is really hard to do this much while coughing it up so rarely.
Haliburton can dissect any pick-and-roll coverage. He knows every read and counter against drop-back schemes and blitzing traps -- and every counter to your counters. The real fun comes against in-between defenses -- when opposing bigs corral Haliburton up high, around the level of the screen, but stop short of trapping him. Those bigs want to make Haliburton pause and then get back to their man. It almost functions like a quick switch and re-switch.
Haliburton loves forcing those two defenders to linger in that awkward in-between space. He elongates that single second when they are about to toggle back to their original assignments. Small windows open in that moment as two defenders switch places. Haliburton knows that. He makes those defenders think about how he might exploit those windows. He changes pace, fakes a shot, accelerates into crouching dribbles.
Defenders second-guess themselves: Wait ... is it safe to flip assignments again? Should I stay with Haliburton? Am I leaving my teammate on an island? New and wider windows open amid the indecision.
Mohamed Bamba wants to hand Haliburton back to Jalen Suggs, and find Myles Turner in the paint. As Bamba begins the exchange, Haliburton rises to shoot. Bamba aborts and lurches toward Haliburton -- colliding with Suggs. Haliburton has what he wants: Turner against a mismatch, and an easy passing lane there.
This is calculated manipulation. It stems from a refreshing, old-school mindset: Closer is better. Layups are better.
Haliburton pulls the same trick here, dragging Bamba and R.J. Hampton into pick-and-roll limbo -- only this time he roasts Bamba after coaxing that same off-balance hesitation.
Haliburton is making an All-Star push. He might be a foundational offensive star who can play any style, within any lineup. Some revisiting of the Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade has framed it as a win-win. Eh. The shrieking "same old Kings" criticism at the time of the trade was overblown, but this win-win revisionism is an overcorrection.
Sabonis is really good, and De'Aaron Fox is thriving as undisputed lead ball handler. The Kings are solid -- as they should be considering their win-now temperament. But Haliburton is four years younger than Sabonis, much further from unrestricted free agency, with a game that's easier to fit onto an elite team. He might be the flat-out better player already. The Kings getting the short-term boost they sought doesn't change the underlying dynamics behind the trade. Even if both teams "won," there are degrees of "winning."
3. The downsides of Jeremy Sochan's randomness
The Spurs are not messing around in the Victor Wembanyama derby. They are 1-14 since starting 5-2, and you never know who might sit out on any given night. Keldon Johnson is in a hellacious shooting slump, learning the hard way what it means to be the No. 1 option on a bad team. Devin Vassell has been a constant bright spot, hitting from all ranges and showing a penchant for difficult shotmaking. Jakob Poeltl is a stalwart.
Jeremy Sochan will be a productive jack-of-all-trades, well suited to a support role on good teams someday. His cutting and unusual movement patterns are part of the appeal -- a way to make defenses pay attention to him even if his jumper never comes around. He should develop into a useful screener on and off the ball.
But not every cut is productive, and Sochan has to learn to pick his spots -- to sense when it might be best to chill and stay out of the way. He's too often cutting into scrums, crowding the strong side of the floor, clogging the Spurs' spacing:
The Spurs are a blah shooting team, with little margin for error. They're 29th in points per possession, ahead of only Charlotte.
4. Marvin Bagley III, dropping back
The Detroit Pistons' three-year, $37.5 million deal for Bagley surprised league insiders, and after a dozen games, the Pistons are no closer than Bagley's prior team to solving the biggest puzzle about him: What position can he defend? (Bagley has been fine on offense; he's dangerous as a stretch center.)
In Sacramento, Bagley struggled chasing stretch power forwards. The Pistons have used him mostly at center, even when Bagley plays alongside Isaiah Stewart in double-big alignments. (I'm skeptical about the staying power -- at least in heavy minutes against good teams -- of lineups featuring two of Stewart, Bagley, and Jalen Duren, but I'm interested to see how it plays out.)
Detroit has tried having Bagley drop back in a conservative scheme, but that style has never suited him. Bagley lingers too deep in the paint, conceding long runways:
Bagley is worried about the lob to Mitchell Robinson, but you can't escort capable finishers to the basket like this. Drop-back centers have to guard two players at once against the pick-and-roll -- containing the ball while disrupting the passing lane to the screener. Bagley is guarding only one of them -- Robinson.
Bagley starts his work below the dotted line, and gets caught in the netherworld between challenging Jalen Brunson's shot and holding rebounding position. He does neither. You have to do one.
Opponents are shooting 80% at the rim with Bagley nearby. That is a five-alarm fire. Bagley executes this scheme better on some nights, and he's still just 23. But he's more charge-taker than shot-blocker, and I've always wondered how he would fare in a switch-heavy scheme. He has the nimble feet for it. The Pistons went into the season planning to switch a ton; I bet they try it with Bagley soon.
5. When the Dallas Mavericks remember running is allowed
The Mavs are scoring at an elite rate with Doncic on the floor, but it's mostly hard, joyless work unless the supporting cast is hot from deep -- which has been rare. (They will presumably perk up soon.)
The Mavs are at a playmaking deficit after botching the Brunson situation. They can trade two future first-round picks, but their ammunition beyond that is wanting. The clock is ticking on upgrading the roster around Doncic. Some lineup tweaks might relieve the congestion, but small doses of Josh Green (playing great!), Christian Wood, and Tim Hardaway Jr. don't add much in the way of advanced (or even average) NBA ball handling. Everyone is rooting for Kemba Walker, but that signing is a Hail Mary.
One thing that might help: stepping on the gas, like, a little? The Mavs are going 55 in the fast lane with open highway in front of them. They are last in pace, the slowest team to shoot after both defensive rebounds and steals, per Inpredictable.
The Mavs don't need to become the Showtime Lakers or the 1980s Denver Nuggets. A gentle jog after a live rebound with one or two opposing defenders behind the play does the trick:
Doncic eludes Michael Porter Jr. in the backcourt, and initiates a slow break. What a concept! That teensy injection of pace might generate a favorable mismatch for Doncic (or someone else), bend the defense, or sew the kind of confusion that leads to open trail 3s.
A basic hit-ahead -- even after a make -- can have the same effect:
There is no rule that Doncic must walk the ball up on every possession. The Dallas wings may not be reliable ball handlers in half-court confines, but all of them can operate in spacious transition situations.
6. An Oklahoma City Thunder wrinkle that's working
A few smart teams are doing this out of timeouts, but none as often as the sneaky-interesting Thunder:
Mark Daigneault has found a simple out-of-timeout hack: Pick two perimeter players who almost never pair up for a pick-and-roll ... and pair them up for a pick-and-roll! This is a Luguentz Dort-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander two-man game -- with Gilgeous-Alexander acting as screener -- and it gets the defense just off-kilter enough for Dort to plow inside and draw a foul. They'll do this with any combination of two perimeter players.
It makes sense! Defenses prep for complex set pieces, so they're not ready for a random version of basketball's oldest play. It hasn't really made a difference in the Thunder's overall efficiency; they rank 24th in points per possession after timeouts, per Second Spectrum. That says very little about the tactic, though. Oklahoma City uses it on a small minority of out-of-timeout plays, and the Thunder are 21st in overall offense. Anecdotally, other teams have used this strategy to nice effect.
It will be interesting to see if this gambit has a shelf life once it gets into scouting reports.
7. An Atlanta Hawks lineup duo to watch
The numbers are bad in a limited sample, but I'm intrigued by the A.J. Griffin-De'Andre Hunter combination on the wing -- now and for what it might mean at the trade deadline. The duo has logged only 105 minutes, mostly at shooting guard and small forward -- alongside two big men and one of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Going that route has meant mothballing both Holiday brothers, but Griffin has outplayed them.
At those positions, Griffin and Hunter have good size. They should be able to switch across four positions on defense. Both can shoot. That forms the outline of an interesting wing duo.
The Hawks are minus-25 in those 105 minutes. Some of that is frigid jump-shooting that should correct itself. But some stems from a lack of overall playmaking; Griffin and Hunter have 36 combined assists and 40 turnovers, and Atlanta's big men don't supply much passing. That puts a huge burden on whichever of Young and Murray is on the floor, and Atlanta's offense is cratering (again) when Young rests.
But the Hunter-Griffin pairing is worth an extended look once Hunter returns from a hip injury -- in these bigger alignments, and in small-ball groups (including both Young and Murray) with Hunter sliding to power forward. Bogdan Bogdanovic will give Atlanta more avenues to go small. Those lineups have been shaky in the past, but how will they look with two All-Star guards leading them? How much does Griffin's stout 6-foot-6 frame -- and 7-foot wingspan -- help the defense?
The Hawks are likely better off in the short term giving at least some of Jalen Johnson's backup power forward role to Hunter.
If those groups succeed, what might it mean for John Collins -- Atlanta's starting power forward -- lost in the shuffle since Murray arrived, and now out at least two weeks because of an ankle injury? If they sputter, do the Hawks try to move Bogdanovic, who has an $18 million player option for next season?
8. Dyson Daniels, hoops nerd catnip
With all the hubbub about the New Orleans Pelicans owning the rights to the Los Angeles Lakers' pick in the Wembanyama draft, you almost forget the Anthony Davis trade has already brought New Orleans (directly or indirectly): Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, CJ McCollum, Devonte' Graham, Jaxson Hayes, Herbert Jones, Larry Nance Jr., and now Daniels' precocious all-around game. (It could have been even more! Graham has turned into a bit of a whiff, though he came in the same three-team deal that brought Valanciunas -- and Lonzo Ball, the player Graham essentially replaced, remains out because of knee issues. The Pelicans also got the No. 4 pick in 2019 -- Hunter -- but flipped him for Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on draft night.)
Daniels was already staking his claim to a rotation spot before sniffing a triple-double with a 14-point, 9-assist, 8-rebound gem against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
Daniels oozes basketball IQ. He cuts and dishes like a crafty veteran, touching snappy extra passes ahead of the defense. He is the (very) rare rookie you can spot directing teammates on defense, calling out rotations and impromptu strategic shifts. At 6-8, Daniels can switch across four positions -- though he'll need to bulk up to take on the league's nastier power forwards. Within a five-second span, Daniels can contain a speedy guard and offer legit rim protection:
He's 9-of-19 on 3s. You can't glean anything from 19 attempts, but Daniels has major two-way potential if he becomes reliable on catch-and-shoot looks. (He was 13-of-51 from deep in the G League last year.)
The Pelicans are 13-8 with the West's second-best point differential. They're getting a bit lucky with cold opponent 3-point shooting, but given how many games their best players have missed it's clear this is a good team at minimum. Executives from other West playoff hopefuls often whisper about their fear of two rivals cashing in their chips in a win-now move: New Orleans and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Regardless, the future is bright in New Orleans.
9. Shake, shake, shake!
The Sixers are 7-3 in their past 10 games despite missing their three best players -- Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey -- for all or most of them. There are unsung heroes galore, none bigger than the sometimes forgotten Shake Milton. Milton has started Philly's past seven games, and averaged 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 dimes -- and hit 56% from the floor, including 48% on 3s.
Milton and De'Anthony Melton have fought around screens, menaced passing lanes, and helped stabilize Philly's rebounding. Philly is up to third in points allowed per possession. The short-handed Sixers have summoned a collective grit that was missing early, when the healthy and starry version loped around with a casual arrogance. This team hasn't earned the right to assume it can flip the switch in the postseason. It might do something special if it plays with this same toughness and urgency at full health. The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics demand nothing less.
Milton has always been a canny shotmaker, and has the green light right now to unleash all his weirdo floaters and leaners. He shoots from unusual angles and distances, sometimes off the wrong foot or on the way up:
Milton has hit 44% on midrangers, including 53% on long 2s. He has earned a permanent role. One obstacle to MIlton snagging stable minutes has been the (sometimes accurate) notion that his ball-dominant, offense-first game is redundant alongside Harden, Embiid, and Maxey. But Milton is shooting 40% from deep, and has always been reliable on catch-and-shoot 3s; adventurous pull-up attempts have deflated his overall numbers.
10. Aggressive in-game stat-claiming
There are few player foibles as unseemly as someone advocating for their own statistics while the game is going on. Check out Thomas Bryant under the rim pausing to make sure the official scorer knows he got a piece of Mikal Bridges' layup:
Karma would have been the ball squirting to Bismack Biyombo, and Biyombo laying it in while Bryant pantomimed. The basketball gods are always watching, and they will remember.
I'm curious to see how the Los Angeles Lakers use Bryant, and how much he and Dennis Schroder boost them. Bryant adds way more punch as a rim-runner than Wenyen Gabriel. He had a 50-game stretch of hot, high-volume 3-point shooting with the Washington Wizards, and rediscovering his stroke would make Bryant an interesting fit next to Anthony Davis in double-big lineups.