On the Warriors adding a unique 'flare' in their attempt to 'pin down' a winning formula

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An in-depth look at the Warriors' same-same-but-different offense.

When it was announced that former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts would replace Kenny Atkinson as Steve Kerr's lead assistant, it signaled a clear move to bolster an offense that — while still ranked within the top 10 in points per 100 possessions without garbage time last season — was clearly in need of fresh ideas despite having one of history's deadliest offensive singularities.

Stotts' philosophy was made clear in an article by The Athletic's Anthony Slater, who had the opportunity to talk to Stotts about his role with the Golden State Warriors.

"Everyone knows we ran lots of flares and pindowns (in Portland)," Stotts said. "I think the players we have will be good within that. Steve loves read and react. I think that's the best way to play. But at the same time, you can put in a framework. What I love to have is — you can have a play call, but within that play call, you don't know what's going to happen. You might have splits or flares or pindowns or pick-and-roll and that freedom within a structure."

Stotts made sure to point out "flares" and "pindowns" — two off-ball screen types common in the NBA. Flare screens are simply when a player comes off of a screen in a direction going away from the ball, while pindown screens are screens set for a player angled toward the baseline.

Flares and pindowns serve as the basic building blocks of Stotts' offensive philosophy — a combination of flow and randomness that is supported by structure and organization. Whereas the Warriors have historically favored the former over the latter, Stotts' inclusion means that Kerr is seeking more of an equal balance between two seemingly dichotomous concepts. "Freedom within the structure," as Stotts said above, meant multiple options could be explored, while allowing room for improvisation and adjustment.

To serve as an example, a Stotts staple action with the Blazers that involves flare and pindown action — called "One Chest" (because the play call for it is holding up one finger, followed by tapping one's chest) — is central to the marriage between randomness and organization.

Stotts based "One Chest" off of Tony Bennett's "Blocker-Mover" offense with the Virginia Cavaliers. Three movers (the flare and pindown receivers plus the ball handler) are paired with two blockers (the two designated screeners) in a "Wheel" or continuity scheme that aims to keep the ball and personnel perpetually moving.

While the flare and pindown options are central to Stotts' offensive philosophy — as can be seen from the Portland examples above — they are not the be-all-end-all of the concept. With the Warriors, randomness can still play a role, especially if the initial structure falls apart. Kerr and Stotts are out to prove that organization doesn't have to play second fiddle to chaotic flow, and vice-versa.

Instead, if structure doesn't produce an outcome right away, it can instead serve as the base for a subsequent bout of flow — as the Warriors have demonstrated plenty of times in the preseason. When they run their own version of "One Chest," the initial flare/pindown maneuver ensures that the players are in position to capitalize on an advantage situation:

Watch as De'Anthony Melton — who starts the set with an initial "zipper" cut (more on that later) — comes off of the flare screen by Kevon Looney. Melton's man decides to go over the screen, which results in him falling behind. Simultaneously, Buddy Hield running along the baseline to come off of Kyle Anderson's pindown serves as the second-side action that distracts potential help defenders from rotating in the paint.

However, the distracted help defender — along with a couple of other teammates — realizes that Melton is on his way to the rim. They collapse in the paint in an effort to deter a layup, which leaves Hield free to lift up to the wing. Melton makes the read that the defenders couldn't foresee when Hield was coming off of Anderson's pindown.

The "One Chest" possession above was actually the second time the Warriors ran it in the fourth quarter of their second preseason game — while the first was an even more apropos example of structure flowing into improvisation. When both the flare and pindown options are covered, option C is to flow right into a Warriors staple.

Watch as Brandin Podziemski takes command when things are about to get rough, due to the Sacramento Kings shutting down both the flare and pindown options. Podziemski calmly calls for the ball to be fed to Anderson in the post — and with Hield next to him, Podziemski knows exactly what to do: set a split-cut screen, followed by slipping the screen to counter an anticipated switch:

"That was a Terry Stotts action, the Portland stuff that he ran with (Damian Lillard) and (CJ McCollum)," Kerr said of the action above. "Part of the idea of bringing Terry was that his offense resembles ours, but had more structure based on personnel. What was interesting about that play was it was all old Portland stuff. And then we didn't get anything, and then it came back to the split game that we've been running forever."

The low-post split is a natural progression of "One Chest" due to the positioning of the pindown screener — already primed to receive an entry pass, with the pindown recipient ready to either set a split-cut screen or receive it. Another split action instance out of "One Chest" happened in the possession below:

But if you've noticed, "One Chest" above isn't the typical "One Chest" that was previously shown — due to one key difference:

The pindown maneuver in "One Chest" turns out to be a decoy or dummy action for another action: a "Stack" pick-and-roll, also known as a "Spain" pick-and-roll, where Hield sets the backscreen for Looney after he sets a ball screen for Podziemski. The Warriors ran it prior to the possession above for Melton — watch Moses Moody as he fakes coming off of the pindown, turns to his right, and sets the backscreen to open the lane for Melton's drive off the ball screen:

The wrinkles and variations of "One Chest" might be endless; they'll be necessary in order to keep defenses guessing and minimize predictability — which is why it's not the only Stotts action based off of "Blocker-Mover." The concept (flare plus pindown) and overall philosophy is highly similar, but a slight difference in initiation is what spells the difference between "One Chest" and the "Thumb" series — in particular, "Thumb Fist."

Note in the clip above that "One Chest" starts out with a "zipper" cut (starting from the baseline and ending at the elbow) followed by the flare action.

In "Thumb Fist," the starting action is different: an away screen for a man in the corner to receive the ball, followed by the ball quickly being flipped back to the initial ball handler. This flows into the classic flare and pindown maneuvers central in "Blocker-Mover."

Oftentimes, the flare and pindown options aren't open; option C, therefore, is a high pick-and-roll for the ball handler:

Just like "One Chest," the flare and pindown maneuvers serve as help distractors that result in an open lane for the ball handler's rim attack.

Or as help distractors for each other:

As such, Stotts wasn't brought in to completely reinvent the wheel — one that averaged 11.1 possessions per game off of the off-screen play type, which amounted to 9.8% of the Warriors' total play types. Both figures led the league last season, per Synergy tracking. Their 1.115 points per off-screen possession was third only to the Boston Celtics (1.183) and the Miami Heat (1.118). The Warriors aren't necessarily fixing what's broken; they're merely finding new ways to make it even more effective and less predictable.

In a sense, adding a unique sense of "flare" in their attempt to "pin down" what it takes to succeed once again — perhaps return to the top, if the cards are in their favor — is an attempt to come back to what worked brilliantly in the past. The flow of the offense has returned to its breathtaking splendor that once wowed the basketball world. It remains to be seen if it continues to take everyone's breath away when the real basketball starts on Wednesday.