The Spurs’ favorite sideline out-of-bounds play

Coach Gregg Popovich has a deep playbook. Whole plays can stay buried for close to a decade before springing to life at just the right time. There’s tactical genius on display in those moments, a true understanding of how simple adjustments on both sides of the ball can give up or take away the sliver of daylight a play needs to be effective. A good example of that is one of the Spurs’ most common sideline out-of-bounds (SLOB) plays: the Double Curl.

The set up is simple, none of the movements are complex, and it flows right into a typical offensive action. But within the first few seconds of play, there are a multitude of options threatening to expose every defensive misstep. Just this year, the Spurs have used 3 different quick-hitting attacks for easy buckets out of this setup, while transitioning immediately into their offense on the rest.

Who knows how many more wrinkles to this simple action we’ve yet to see.