Steph Curry - Relocate/Give & Go

Steph Curry might ALREADY be the greatest shooter to ever play the game. He’s already 5th on the all-time 3 pointers made list (as of November 1 2018). As it stands, the NBA has had 14 instances during the regular season where a player has hit more than 10 3 point field goals in a single goal. Besides the Splash Brothers, no other player features twice. Klay Thompson has two. Steph has SIX (link below). Most players see the 3 pointers and the wild highlights, but if you watch Stephen in person, there’s very little he CAN’T do on the basketball court. He’s fundamentally sound and works at the little things every day. So I chose to highlight something that he very specifically does in the hopes of making it a teaching point.

Steph is sensational at just about everything on the court. His range allows him to be a threat from anywhere as long as he’s checked into the game. He has such a gravity that it distorts where defenses naturally want to be because they have to account for him at all times. When he has the ball, you’re at his mercy, so you’re best bet as a defense is to get him to give it up. When he does, you better be absolutely locked in, because that is when Steph is at his MOST dangerous. He will relocate or reposition himself into an open space as soon as he makes that pass.

I had the privilege of seeing his college coach, Bob McKillop speak at a coaching clinic, and he emphasized finishing everything: players should finish every shot, every possession, every sprint, and every play. He talked about attacking space, with the ball, yes, but most especially without it, and you can see that very much in Stephen’s game. There aren’t many plays where he gives the ball up and stops at the top of the key with his hands on his knees. He keeps defenses fully engaged, and the second they switch off, he makes the right play and the Warriors have put points on the board.

I originally was going to do just a video of his relocating after giving up the ball, but the give & go is also related and such a great action that I just decided to put the two together. The Give & Go is one of the most basic plays in all of team sports, but when you run it with someone as committed to the team as the two-time MVP is, you have a recipe for something special.

A big reason Steph gets a lot of straight line runs to the basket after giving the ball is up is because he runs REALLY hard, yes, but also, within the Warriors offense, there’s almost always some sort of split action. Whether in the low or high post, you can see the defenders will sometimes do a quick check to see if a screen is getting sprung on them from somewhere and that fraction of a moment’s loss in focus is where Steph burns defenders.

All Clips are from the 2016-17 season.

I've heard it called the relocate, the re-space, reposition, the drive and replace, drive and refill. Whatever your terminology, the more active your players are (active with PURPOSE), the better your team will be.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/...

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