A stagger is two screens set one behind the other, a few steps apart, for the same cutter. He runs through the first and off the second. That is the whole difference from a double screen, where the two screeners stand shoulder to shoulder and the cutter goes around both at once.
Why coaches use it
The gap between the two screens is the point. A defender who fights through the first one is still behind, and the second screen catches him there. You are not asking one screen to do a hard job, you are asking two easy ones in a row.
It also gives the cutter more than one answer. Four reads come off the same action:
- Curl when his man is trailing on his hip. He turns tight around the second screener and goes to the middle of the lane.
- Straight when the defender goes under. He comes out flat, feet set, and shoots.
- Fade when the defender jumps above the screens to top-lock him. The second screener turns and flares him back the other way, which is the shot the whole action is really built for at the end of a close game.
- Reject when the defender cheats over the top too early. Cut backdoor and let the screeners hold their ground.
Run this on the sideline out of a Horns or 1-4 high set and everything happens behind the ball, so the only defender who can help is the one being screened.
How it is guarded
Chase and take the shot away, and live with the curl. Top-lock and live with the fade. Switch and live with the mismatch. Under, if the cutter cannot shoot. There is no answer that gives up nothing, which is why a stagger is worth a possession late.