“Floppy”

Term: Floppy

Definition: a play in which a player, positioned under the basket, can choose whether to cut off a single screen to one side or a double screen to the other

Synonyms: Single Double

See Also: Loop

Origin of the Name: N/A

How It Works: The first cutter in floppy reads the defense and chooses which side to cut to. In the diagram above, 3 has the option of cutting off 5’s single screen or 2 and 4’s double screen (hence the alternate name “single double”). Whichever side 3 chooses, 2 picks the opposite. If the first cutter chooses the single screen, floppy looks like two pindowns:

Why It Works: Floppy has long been used to get catch-and-shoot opportunities for shooters like Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, and Kyle Korver and, until recently, was one of the most popular sets in the NBA.

Along with Motion Strong and Motion Weak, “Loop”—a floppy variation initiated with a zipper cut—is one of the core plays of the San Antonio Spurs’ motion offense:

By giving the first cutter the option of a single screen on one side and a double screen on the other, floppy can be an effective counter to top-locking, a defensive technique in which the defender places himself on the top side of his man in order to prevent him from using an screen (but conceding a backdoor cut in the process).

Notice Kevin Huerter’s shift to top-lock James Harden in anticipation of a down screen for Chicago action:

In this screenshot, Donovan Mitchell begins the play by top-locking Duncan Robinson:

However, Robinson is able to cut backdoor for a layup:

Ideally, a help defender is positioned to prevent the backdoor cut. The Orlando Magic top-lock to thwart this 77 Ricky:

While Danilo Gallinari’s defender (circled in blue below) is top-locking Gallo to prevent him from using Onyeka Okongwu’s screen, Okongwu’s defender (pink) is sagging into the lane to prevent a backdoor cut:

Floppy, on the other hand, can nullify a top-lock because the shooter can simply choose to cut away from his defender to the other side, as Coach Daniel explains in this video about Kyle Korver (floppy talk starts at the 4:52 mark):

In short, if Korver’s defender top-locks him to prevent him from using the screen to the left, Korver simply cuts in the opposite direction.

What the defense can do against floppy, however, is switch the initial guard-to-guard screen and top-lock both cutters. In this photo below, the Atlanta Hawks run floppy for Solomon Hill and Bogdan Bogdanovic (Hill screens for Bogi before cutting off Gallinari’s screen; Bogi gets a double screen from Hill and then John Collins):

But Bogdanovic’s and Hill’s defenders begin the play by top-locking, and switching Hill’s screen for Bogi lets them stay in top-locked position (albeit to the other player). After the switch, Kyle Lowry, who started the play top-locking Hill, is now top-locking Bogi, and Paul Watson is top-locking Hill:

Examples: