Toronto Raptors Fresh 24: Kyle Lowry’s Side Entry Horns
By Demar Grant
Welcome to Fresh 24, where we’ll look at the more creative, deceptive and interesting plays that the Toronto Raptors execute throughout the season.
Horns is my favourite set to run, because there are a plethora of plays that can be created out of it. It can get you open looks for shooters, alley oops for Evil Knievel wings and deep post position for the banging big man.
With the way the Toronto Raptors‘ guards have scored lately, the popular way to slow them down is to blitz them on the screen and rolls. It’s a true counter to the Raptors prolific screening, but they have developed a counter for the counter.
Horns doesn’t always need to be run from the top of the key, it can be tilted into a side entry to further confuse the defense and starting from the side is what creates the space for this entire play.
The play always originates with a feeble screen by Jonas Valanciunas to get DeMar DeRozan‘s man running, even though the play isn’t designed to capitalize on that. With DeRozan, and Pascal Siakam as the screener, the defense faces a pop quiz in coverages.
When Kyle Lowry passes the DeRozan screen, the latter backs up as if to get in position for a post touch (which is actually a ploy to obscure Dennis Schroder‘s path). Even though Kent Bazemore and Schroder are like sized, they don’t switch, leaving Schroeder light years behind the play.
Siakam Slips the screen leaving Mike Muscala waving his arms like an aircraft traffic controller giving ample room for the pass to Siakam. Although Howard is looking directly at the play as it’s developing he’s too slow to rotate for the would be blitz, simply handing Siakam an open dunk.
When the Raptors use JV as the screener things become a bit more complicated and this time the Lakers nearly get all the answers right on the pop quiz. They make the switch when DeRozan screens and even get the successful blitz, but Lowry still makes the bounce pass to Valanciunas.
With Siakam in the lineup at the same time as Valanciunas, Julius Randle is able to sit in the paint and meet the centre at the rim to stop the dunk attempt. When JV gets the ball in the paint it’s a three-on-two and the entire Lakers defense collapses on him. He makes the simple pass to Siakam, who makes the easy pass to Norman Powell, who makes the smart pass to Lowry, who scores the open three.
A beautifully designed play by Dwane Casey to exploit the trap, though he’s not necessarily known for his X’s and O’s.
Blitzing of the pick and roll was the Heat’s favourite style of defense when they had LeBron James because of their exceptional athleticism and it has made a comeback because of point guards lighting up big men from deep. Not every team can run around like that Heat team though, so the threat of the ball being stolen is gone.
Howard never rotated over to glean a steal and Brandon Ingram was way too late (read: slow) on his rotation to trouble the pass. If the pass gets to the roll man the rest of the possession is a fools task for a defense that is designed to create a turnover.
Next: Toronto Raptors Quarterly Awards
As the hard hedge is more common for the Raptors guards to face we should see this play more frequently. Inevitably the defenses will scout this play and adjust, but with the Raptors’ chemistry and continuity you can count on more folds evolving from this trap busting play.