Raptors Playbook: Horns Triple
Over at the Raptors Playbook YouTube channel (@RaptorsPlaybook on Twitter), I am breaking down the X’s & O’s of the Toronto Raptors every Wednesday. This week, we’ll focus on Horns Triple. Watch the video embedded below alongside the summary written, and remember to follow and subscribe to never miss out on a video.
This play, coming out of Horns formation, starts by the point guard making an entry pass to a big man situated at the elbow. The guard then proceeds to the corner, where he sets an off-ball screen for a wing (typically this is DeMar DeRozan).
The wing player will proceed to use that screen to make their way to the perimeter, while also utilizing a combination of a DHO (dribble handoff) and a screen from the bigs at the elbows.
With his defender now in a precarious situation, as they are either trailing or far beneath the forest of screens, DeRozan can pick apart the defense as he sees fit in the area of the floor he is most comfortable in – the midrange.
Depending on what the defense does, DeRozan can either attack the paint with the momentum he has built up or he can rise up for a jumper. His vast arsenal of floaters and flip shots are useful for tight spaces such as this. Additonally, if DeRozan is confronted with an aggressive defense, whether it be a trap or a hedging big man that he can string along, he has shown the ability to thread the ball to the slot for an easy finish by the rolling screener.
This play is incredibly simple, as its purpose is to get DeRozan a quick hitter in his comfort zone. It also has a low risk of turning the ball over, a principle the Raptors incorporate into almost all of their sets.
