A list of all Explain One Play articles and videos is at The new Explain One Play Search Engine.
In this episode, we analyze the key plays during overtime in a thrilling Warriors vs. Nuggets game on 2025-10-23-DEN-GSW. We break down the Warriors’ offensive sets and defensive strategies, including staggered screens, split cuts, Steph faking existentialist dread; plus the art of scram switching and pre-switching. We wrap with a celebration audit featuring Steph’s absurdly far away three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Featuring Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Al Horford, and Jimmy Butler. With Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson.
New thread is up
Steph noted and Steve confirmed the closing lineup hadn't played together at all (even in practice!). Suggested by Terry Stotts and Chris DeMarco, with the focus on putting out the best defensive lineup with size, and hoping Steph and Jimmy could manufacture enough scoring.
The question was raised "who is the shooting guard" and Steve smiled and said take your pick between Jimmy and JK. But I think that's missing the obvious point -- no, not that this is positionless basketball -- rather that Steph Curry played point guard AND shooting guard. Nobody else in history can do that like he can and it affords absolutely monstrous flexibility when he can morph seamlessly between being on ball and dictating the action to off-ball taking advantage of screens multiple times in the same play. Of course, the playmaking of Draymond, Butler, Horford and yes a little bit of JK is another component of that flexibility as you need someone to set up your shooting guard and Steph Curry, while godlike, can't *literally" be in two places at one time.
It's not quite 6 on 5... but it feels a little like it at times.