Does Steve Kerr run the same plays with Team USA as the ones with the Warriors?

A look at the similar sets and playcalls he's brought to the national team.

The short answer to the question of whether Steve Kerr can perfectly replicate his Warriors offensive scheme with Team USA is a succinct “no.”

The reason is quite simple: Stephen Curry isn’t on this current iteration of the national team.

He may have Curry next year in Paris during the 2024 Olympics, and maybe then he can expand his playbook to something more similar to what he’s used to throwing out. Until then, the reality of his current situation dictates that with only a few days of training camp and a few weeks of exhibition games and practices with a hastily assembled squad, Kerr is forced to keep things relatively simple.

“Simple” means running more spread pick-and-roll than what Kerr would usually employ during the regular season with the Warriors, a team that has historically placed in the bottom half of pick-and-roll frequency rankings. Simple also means putting stuff in that most of the NBA also runs or is familiar with.

Some of Kerr’s pet actions can easily be picked up by his current Team USA players because there’s some overlap in terms of what most teams run nowadays. The potency may be different (because of the absences of Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green), but the potential for efficiency is still there given the level of talent.

I pored over film of Team USA’s first three exhibition games against Puerto Rico, Slovenia, and Spain, on the lookout for sets and playcalls that Kerr also uses with the Warriors. I came away with three sets — two in the half-court, one as a baseline out-of-bounds (BLOB) play — that I recognized straight away.

“Open”: 5-Out Delay

Whenever you find yourself watching a Warriors game — past or in the future — take time to look at the bench and see if Kerr is standing up.

That usually means he’s engaged and wants to be involved with playcalls and positioning. He’ll make a few gestures, yell at his players (especially those who are out of position and cause sets to be delayed because of it), and clap if he likes what he sees.

But it’s his playcalls — sometimes he shouts it out, other times he makes hand/arm signals, or it can be both — that are of particular interest.

For example, whenever he sticks both of his arms out with open palms and yells out “open”:

It’s an explicit tell for the Warriors running their favorite 5-out set out of “Delay” formation:

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“Delay” is the term referring to when the ball is being handled by a big man at the top of the arc, as what Green does in the example above. Varied action from both sides — backscreens, pindowns, exchanges, handoffs, etc. — are then employed to keep the defense guessing.

As you saw in the clip above, when it’s the Splash Brothers occupying one side and whizzing around each other like a pair of nuclear pinballs — and also reinforced by Green’s sublime decision making and facilitating — it’s darn near impossible to guard.

Here’s another example — albeit without Curry in the picture, but still effective enough using Thompson as the lone offensive threat:

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After passing the ball to Kevon Looney up top to initiate the “Delay” action, Ty Jerome sets a pindown for Thompson, who attracts two defenders around the screen. Jerome then slips his way toward the rim, where Looney finds him for the easy layup.

Suffice to say, while “Open” for Team USA may be initiated in a similar manner, not having Curry and Thompson makes it flow less coherently and seamlessly, especially with the lack of prep time.

The difference from the clips above to this one below is stark:

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One way of Kerr simplifying “Open” is to use it as an opener (no pun intended) for two-man empty-corner action. Kerr has the personnel to run two-man game with this roster — ball-handlers (such as Jalen Brunson in the example below) who can pair up with a screen-and-roll threat in Jaren Jackson Jr.

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Jackson sets the solid screen on Brunson’s man (who bites hard on Brunson’s fake to the right), which forces the switch. Jackson’s man (Willy Hernangómez) is then forced to step up to Brunson, but it’s not enough to close Brunson’s space for the mid-range jumper.

Another “Open” set involves Anthony Edwards as Jackson’s ball-handling partner:

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It wasn’t as much the set that enabled Edwards to score as it was his exceptional burst and speed to turn the corner on two defenders on his way to the rim. Juancho Hernangómez tries to rotate from the weak side to help on the drive (despite Brandon Ingram trying to distract him by relocating toward the weak-side corner), but Edwards shows off his finishing flair with an up and under.

“Quick”: A Warriors staple early offense action

Whenever you see Kerr gesturing with his hand as if he was telling someone that they talk too much — and at the same time yelling out “quick” — that means the Warriors are about to run their staple early offense set.

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“Quick” is the Warriors’ term for what’s more commonly known as “Wide” action, named as such because it involves a wide away screen (i.e., a screen facing away from the ball and toward the sideline that is typically set near the top of the arc, the area termed as the “slot"). A player (typically a movement shooter) runs off the wide screen towards the ball, where the aim is to get open for a catch-and-shoot three.

Opposing big-man defenders tend to drop back into the paint when getting back on defense, especially when they’re guarding someone who isn’t a spacing threat. In the example above, Anthony Davis is in drop coverage since Looney isn’t a threat beyond the three-point line.

“Quick” is deadly in such situations because Looney can just set a screen for a nearby shooter — Thompson in the instance above — and Davis won’t be there on time to contest or switch.

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Other variations of “Quick” involve a wide screen for someone to get the ball and immediately flow into handoff action with the original ball-handler (called “Get” action) followed by a ballscreen. The tell for this variant is Green being the recipient of the wide away screen:

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This is a typical variant for Curry, who has choices depending on the opponent’s coverage. If the big is dropping back, it’s an open pull-up for him.

If the big is playing up to the level of the screen, the action gives Curry enough momentum to turn the corner and attack the rim for a layup.

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Of course, Green also has complete discretion to make decisions on the fly. On this variant of “Quick,” he has the option to “Keep” the ball instead of handing it off (also known as a fake handoff); if Curry’s man and his own man are zeroed in on Curry, Green can then stampede down a free lane with no one to stop him in his tracks.

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Kerr’s way of simplifying “Quick” with Team USA is to make it into a double ballscreen action instead of a pass-handoff action. Take this possession against Slovenia, for example:

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Austin Reaves is the one who comes off of the wide away screen, but instead of getting the ball, he sets the ballscreen for Tyrese Haliburton, who then receives another ballscreen from Paolo Banchero. Haliburton finds the rolling Banchero, whose dive toward the rim is unimpeded.

The typical “Quick” action — the one with a shooter coming off the wide away screen — is also in Team USA’s repertoire. So far, opponents have done a good job denying that primary option by either chasing around the screen or “top-locking” (getting in-between the player and the screen) to deny usage of the screen.

If the primary option isn’t there, the next progression is two-man “Get” action between the ball-handler and the wide screen setter:

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Also take note of whoever becomes the weak-side corner spacer. In the clip above, it’s Mikal Bridges, who shifts between lifting toward the wing and sinking back toward the corner to make it difficult for his defender to “tag” or help on the roll while also increasing the close-out distance between them to make it harder for the defender to recover.

In the possession below, the Bridges role of the weak-side corner spacer is played by Brandon Ingram, who lifts from the corner to the wing to bring his defender along with him. As a result, the lane is open for Jackson:

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Interestingly, Kerr used a SLOB version (sideline out-of-bounds set) of “Quick” to get a Cam Johnson three off a pindown, which Spain wasn’t quick enough to take away:

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Like “Open,” Team USA’s version of “Quick” isn’t as deadly without all-time-great shooters and a high-level frontcourt facilitator. But Kerr’s subtle adjustments to better fit the capabilities of his current roster still makes it a feasible action to implement.

“22”: A common Warriors BLOB set

Baseline out-of-bounds sets can range from the simplest of concepts to the most complex actions with several moving parts. The complexity of BLOBs depends on the situation and is often directly correlated to how tightly contested a game is as it winds down.

Teams have a couple of go-to BLOBs that even the players themselves can call out without necessarily having to look at the coach and waiting to see what he decides. One of the Warriors’ staple BLOB sets is called “22.”

Why is it called “22”? Because the sign for it is holding two peace signs up in the air:

“22” is simple enough to understand. Two screeners are stationed at the free throw line; a player runs off the first screen and curls inside to cut toward the basket, after which the first screener (typically a shooter like Thompson) then runs off the other screener and curls around for a jumper.

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As you can see from the examples above, “22” often ends in one of two ways: an open jumper from the second option, or an open layup from the first option.

The latter of which can be seen in the examples below:

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Kerr doesn’t need to change “22” much for Team USA because it can work with the personnel that he has in his disposal. The curl-and-dive inside is simple enough, while the subsequent curl-and-shoot can be drawn up for the likes of Ingram or Johnson.

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(As an aside, Haliburton’s way of signaling “22” is unique. Not the peace signs Kerr and the Warriors use, but with the index and pinky fingers up in what looks like the Spider-Man web-shooting gesture. A quirky little thing I wanted to point out.)

There might be a few more actions I missed that Kerr transferred over from his Warriors playbook, but I doubt they’re more complex than the three I mentioned above. The offensive ethos for Team USA when it comes to FIBA play has always been driven by the K.I.S.S. principle: “Keep it simple, stupid!”

Overall, Kerr has been keeping it simple, but not without imparting some of his pet actions and philosophies (e.g., the “0.5 seconds” principle) to an impressionable group of young players.