What Makes This Play Great: Episode 3 - Horns Rub / Elbow Rub Pop

“What makes this play great” is a brand new series I will be doing here at DNVR in which I break down in detail a single play, moment, or sequence from a Denver Nuggets game and explain all of the subtle details that you might’ve missed the first time around. You can check out episode one and two from earlier this season.

Today’s episode is a set called Elbow Rub. Perhaps the most high-profile use of this play was from the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers who used a similar action to get countless baskets in crunch time of the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals en route to an NBA championship.

The Nuggets have had success getting Paul Millsap to pop for three and to catch Nikola Jokic and Mason Plumlee rolling to the basket for a lob or post up. It’s a fun play that has a lot of different reads and possibilities, most of which the Nuggets haven’t even begun to explore this early in the season.