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Golden State Warriors: 3 key actions the team must run for D’Angelo Russell

By Connor Littler

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 20: D'Angelo Russell #1 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on April 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 112-108. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 20: D'Angelo Russell #1 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on April 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 112-108. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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D'Angelo Russell
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 18: D’Angelo Russell #1 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles around Los Angeles Lakers defense during the third quarter of the game at Barclays Center on December 18, 2018 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. D’Angelo Russell Golden State Warriors (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

3. Elevator

This action is a fun one. Coaches love to see teams run this play as it can be so effective if executed properly. The way it works is by having a shooter underneath the hoop and two bigs at the free-throw line facing toward the basket.

The shooter then sprints toward the gap between the bigs and just as the shooter runs through, the bigs sidestep towards each other, thus closing the elevator doors before the shooter’s defender can chase him through. The shooter then receives a pass for an open three-pointer.

It’s most effective to have the shooter run off a few off-ball screens first before setting the elevator screen, just to make sure the defender trails enough so the bigs have enough time to close the doors on the defender.

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The Warriors almost always run this set for Curry (and occasionally for Thompson too) because of his unbelievable quickness around the court. It’s also obviously because he can hit the three-pointer with great consistency too.

Kerr should consider running this for Russell too. He has the quickness to get through an elevator screen and shoot the three efficiently. It would be particularly smart of Kerr to do this as the defense will be expecting Curry to be the one who runs through the elevator rather than Russell.

This could be a great way to catch them off guard as all eyes will be on the best shooter of all-time.

All of these actions have a lot of options out of them. They must read what the defense is doing and react accordingly in all of these situations.

These are just three of the main actions which Kerr will be thinking about running for Russell, but there are many more.

Next. Golden State Warriors: How different will the offense look next season?. dark

The coaching staff will have their work cut out this summer looking over the footage to see how exactly they should use their new young star in the legendary offense which has been cultivated over the last five years.

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