I decided to split this film breakdown from the main article so we can go way deeper into specific plays from all 25 players. In this section, we'll break down individual sequences for each big man while briefly discussing the general actions and tactical sets that stood out during the film review.
This article attaches to the stretch big study, read that first for context:
General Plays
Ray Action
Bigs with high above-the-break volume can run what’s referred to as "Ray" action. The play features a trailing big man utilizing a flare screen from a guard in order to take away any thought of a switch. If the defender tries to chase over the top of the screen, the big can curl or dive hard to the rim. If the defender go under the screen, the big pops to the perimeter to shoot.
In my opinion ray action is underutilized across the league. A trailing big man + flare concept introduces an element of surprise, and the set provides early versatility, allowing an offense to attack quickly out of the initial flare or transition into secondary actions.
Korver screen
Sometimes all it takes is a simple pin-down, and offenses have found numerous ways to incorporate it alongside a variety of counters. When a defender top-locks a shooter, that shooter can set a pin-down for the screener instead. This action is known as a “Korver screen,” made famous by Kyle Korver. In simple terms, a strong shooter, one the defense expects to receive a screen, sets a screen for a teammate instead, punishing the aggressive counter.
Norman Powell’s three-point threat makes him a target for a pin-down, enough of a threat that Ja’Kobe Walter opts to top-lock an incoming action, set up with Bam shading Powell. Powell reads it, and catches the center set in pin-down coverage, leaving Bam free to cut out to the perimeter.
Favorite Set Plays
Karl Anthony Towns | Horns Dive Exit | Roll-man
Excuse my bias, but this might rank as one of the best roll-man actions among stretch fives I’ve watched. The same-side exit screen while driving off the pick-and-roll makes it a strong design, and that’s not even the best part. Towns pops with all the room in the world, putting the opposing big in an tough coverage situation.
Tyler Kolek cuts out of the Horns alignment, taking an exit screen from Josh Hart. Towns fills that space out of the pick-and-roll, with the big in coverage, he can pop or roll into all the room Kolek vacated. The play continues to do well even when teams guard Towns with a wing or switch, giving him the opportunity to catch at the nail with a ton of space to operate and back down his defender.
Victor Wembanyama | Away Pop | Pin-down
The Spurs love running quick trailing actions for Wembanyama coming up the floor, he ranks among the leaders in the ray action discussed earlier. Another play they use for him in semi-transition is the away action.
Devin Vassell’s shooting ability makes pin-down actions not uncommon for him. Wembanyama sets an away screen, Vassell would cut off it, and shoot a three. But when defenders top-lock or front Vassell in the action, he can reject it, and once he does, the center often protects his cut, leaving Wembanyama wide open on the perimeter.
Chet Holmgren | Zoom Veer | Pin-down
Playing with two bigs carries benefits other than pure spacing, an extra screener, more off-ball opportunities, and added versatility in how the offense can attack.
Here we have delay zoom action flowing into a veer action, a handoff or ball-screen into a pin-down, and OKC takes full advantage of Isaiah Hartenstein’s screening ability alongside Chet. After Chet sets the pin-down, his defender can fall asleep, unaware another action is coming.
Joel Embiid | Double Drag | Spacing
Embiid’s three-point shooting defines itself through the roll-man archetype and his partnership with Tyrese Maxey. When the Sixers put both in positions to succeed, the offense can turn truly unstoppable.
The Sixers run double ball-screen drag action with Embiid spacing and Maxey handling. Philadelphia does a great job leveraging Maxey’s skill set by attacking high coverage. Noah Clowney plays high, Nic Claxton slides over on the help side, and the Sixers add a baseline cut and pin that I haven’t seen in this action before. Great pass by Maxey.
Nikola Jokić | Wedge Pop | Pin-down
The Nuggets show real creativity in how they use Jokić, working him in the post, using him as the hub, positioning him at the top of the key in delay, deploying him as a screen setter with optimal space, running off-screens for him. The possibilities never seem to end.
Denver runs Wedge action for Jokić, cutting him toward the block to post up. His versatility as a shooting big gives him the option to pop the action if the opposing center cheats under, looking to steal better post position. The best actions and players are the ones with counters to a counter.
Myles Turner | Gator | Screen Pop
Playing with other bigs as we saw can lead to creative actions. The empty pick-and-roll + pin-down is a classic way to use two screeners, known as Gator Option.
As the screen setter initiates the ball-screen on the empty side, the defender stunts at the ball and triggers help on the back side. That creates a pin-down opportunity on the weak side, manipulating the help defender. With AJ Green’s defender late chasing over the screen, the big hangs back just long enough for Turner’s pop to be open.
Bam Adebayo | Zipper Twirl/Down | Pin-down
One action worth adding to the general section, twirling pin-downs. The Heat, Spurs, and Nuggets all run different variations of this play with notable frequency.
An end-of-game sideline out-of-bounds play, Adebayo sets what looks like a zipper screen for a cutter running up the floor, then twirls and sets a pin-down for the big to cut for three. The misdirection in a typical screen the screener play is evident here.
Kristaps Porzingis | Ram Exit | Pin-down
Very similar to New York’s roll-man play for Towns. The Hawks run Ram Exit with two bigs on the floor, and as I mentioned earlier, the exit action working strong-side the drive makes it far easier to access.
The play starts with ram action to discourage high coverage off the ball-screen. The ram screen setter can then cut off an exit screen, either creating driving room or establishing themselves as a threat coming off the action.
Jock Landale | Flex ‘Bump’ | Pin-down
Teams have used their best perimeter shooters, along with other actions, to bait a look for the stretch five.
This action sets up a play for Corey Kispert to set a flex screen and come off a pin-down, known as flex screen-the-screener action. Instead, Landale “bumps” the flex screen, rejecting it from the shooter and taking Kispert’s pin-down himself.
Donovan Clingan | Hub | ISO
Shooting out of hub isolation punishes sinking centers effectively, and this ranks as another action common among stretch bigs who receive hub activity.
The Blazers run a couple of actions with the ball in Clingan’s hands, and Brook Lopez, his defender, reacts just slightly toward getting into coverage on a potential cut, leaving Clingan open for three.
Naz Reid | Horns Chest | Flare
A defining action for Minnesota for the past few years with both Reid and Towns having played with Rudy Gobert. Starting out in Horns alignment, Reid sets a ball-screen for the handler and flares off the opposite side.
The action exploits Reid’s defender getting pulled into coverage and forced to guard the flare, if no switch. Kevin Durant loses him for a split second before Reid flares off the big’s screen.
Brook Lopez | Stagger | Pin-down
Keeping it simple with a stagger off-screen into a pop never hurts. The Clippers can have players set the screen for Lopez, or Lopez himself can set one of the off-screens.
When Lopez sets the screen, notice how his defender shades the cut, which invites Lopez to pop back out for three.
Al Horford | Stagger Twirl | Pin-down
Popping off a stagger action shows up quite often, especially when the center serves as the last screener. I like this play better than the other stagger action because it of the increased deception through the twirl action.
Will Richard cuts through the stagger action, and the first screener sets up the pin-down. The Clippers play chase, and Horford’s defender gets into coverage, leaving Horford open on the perimeter.
Nikola Vučević | Wheel Spread | Roll-man
I detailed the spread action in the full post, this time we’ll see extra movement from the Bulls to open up a driving lane for the handler.
Coby White takes the ball-screen with a baseline cut and a cut from the wing to the corner strong-side(better known as wheel action), opens up driving room. The corner player, instead of going to the corner, pressures the dunker maintaining Vučević’s pop space.
Jaylin Williams | Guard-Guard Screening | Spacing
Williams’ shot diet revolved around other players with his focus on spacing and maintaining that space. A common set-up we see from OKC and many other teams that want to attack bad defensive players is guard-guard screening.
Isaiah Joe brings Jordan Poole into action executing a beautiful flip screen, Williams can play off that by sinking into the opposite wing while his defender gaps off Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s drive. I love OKC’s spacing, having Cason Wallace in the dunker creating room on the perimeter.
Kel’el Ware | Driving Movement | Relocation
Miami built their offense around constant movement in opening driving lanes, and iso-drives. Their reliance on spacing magnified Ware’s best shooting skillset as a relocation shooter.
We have a full on clear out for Davion Mitchell, almost starting in a horizontal 1-4 low alignment. The Lakers bring extra help and this develops into a help beater situation with Adebayo posting up in the dunker and Pelle Larsson cutting through, this opens space on the perimeter for Ware.
Onyeka Okongwu | Stack P&R 45 | Relocation
The Atlanta Hawks utilize different stack ball-screen variations using Okongwu as a cutter or in the action as a screen setter
Jalen Johnson handles, and Okongwu cuts from the wing to the corner while the stack ball-screen takes place in the middle of the floor. Dyson Daniels slips the screen anticipating a switch and rolls into Okongwu's vacated space. Manufacturing space this way works great for drawing bigs into help. Even though Yang Hansen isn’t the primary help man, he helps against Daniels's cut, since Okongwu drags him down near the rim.
Sandro Mamukelashvili | BLOB Stagger | Pin-down
This play combines plenty of what we’ve seen with double-big looks and stagger action, using the traditional big as an extra screener with counters built into the pin-downs and the stagger play.
Ja’Kobe Walter twirls through the action while top-locked, releasing Mamukelashvili as he proceeds to cut across the stagger action. His defender trails the play, since Walter’s cut through distracted him.
Evan Mobley | Horns Rip | Screen Pop
The rip screen and pop has become a fairly common play, especially on special teams (SLOBs and BLOBs). On the rip screen, the center can stay back to protect the cut if the defense plays chase, leaving the big man open for three.
Isaiah Stewart stays back in coverage while Donovan Mitchell cuts off Mobley’s rip screen out of horns alignment. Positioning the opposite slot as the valve creates a way to exploit Stewart sitting back at just the right time. I like emptying out the corner, so if Mitchell wanted to flare off for three he can
Jay Huff | Touch Flare | Screen Pop
The Pacers run a lot of flare concepts with Huff setting the off-screen and proceeding to pop the action. Touch flares are one of their favorite sets as they can utilize 5-out space. Much like the last play, if the defenses chases that can put the center in a help position.
Pascal Siakam comes off the down screen and tosses the ball back to the handler, flaring off Huff’s flare screen. The movement may put his defender behind the ball causing a domino effect, where the center helps out.
Bobby Portis | Pin-in | Pin-down
Nothing beats a good old pin-in screen for beating help. Playing alongside heavy creators, surrounding players can’t just stand and watch, creative ways exist to beat all kinds of help.
Chet Holmgren sends help, and Pete Nance sets the help-beater, pinning in Lu Dort as he digs down to help the helper, leaving the corner open.
Quinten Post | Hammer, Load Wing | Pin-down
Probably my favorite play here, and no surprise it comes from the Golden State Warriors, who know how to run off-screens for shooters. All five players start on the wing; they start with a ball-screen on the opposite side it gets switched, but it draws the defense's attention enough to open up a weak-side action.
Quinten Post, Buddy Hield, and Will Richard bunch up on the wing, Hield breaks to cut, and Richard quickly sets a pin-down for Post. This almost mirrors a Korver action, since the pin-down is inverted. I could also see plays developing for a shooter like Hield in this scenario.
Wendell Carter Jr. | Wide | Screen Pop
Not a flashy play, and one that reminds us by now that defenses don’t respect Carter Jr. much on the perimeter, which explains why he ends up so open.
Jalen Suggs takes his pin-down, and the Wizards play chase, so the center gets into coverage to protect the cut first, leaving Carter Jr. open from three, something the Wizards accept doing rather than let Suggs come clean off the pin-down.
Kyle Filipowski | Pistol Stagger | Pin-down
Utah runs some of the best plays I've seen overall, so this is just one of many good ones. Quick-hitting Pistol action with two bigs on the floor.
Filipowski sets a stagger screen, then curls off Lauri Markkanen's pin-down. I love the layers in this play, Nurkić can hand back to the handler, the corner player can use the stagger screen, or, depending on the defense, Filipowski can set a Korver screen or a twirl pin for Markkanen.
Jalen Smith | BLOB Korver | Pin-down
Some of the most entertaining actions in this study happen on SLOB and BLOB plays. This one from Chicago stands out as a personal favorite. Whether the opponent expects Jalen Smith to screen remains unclear, but the wing screening for the big instead catches them off guard.
Patrick Williams screens the big while he’s in a pin-down coverage, Smith retreats back to catch and shoot. On the opposite side we see a rip screen, so there’s two simultaneous actions. The Bulls run this play for both Vučević and Smith.
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