E’Twuan Moore pushes the ball up the hardwood at Oracle Arena, buzzing with anxiousness over the visiting Bulls’ strong first quarter 21-12 lead over the undefeated Warriors in a mid-November game. Jimmy Butler receives the ball from Moore and lazily tosses it back to Nikola Mirotic as he jogs along the three-point line from left to right. Draymond Green shadows Butler but is oblivious to the imminent punishing screen from Joakim Noah. The instant the screen connects, Butler’s horizontal jog turns 90 degrees and becomes an all-out sprint to the hoop. All that is left is a lob from Mirotic, an attempted swat from Andrew Bogut, and a crushing finish that has become routine for the Bulls’ star guard.

Nothing is more invigorating for a team—or demoralizing for the opponent—than a well-executed alley-oop. It lies at the intersection of peak entertainment value and hardcore basketball nerdgasm material. Butler, who could be described similarly, has spiked home 20 alley-oops this season, already surpassing his total for all of last season, per NBA Savant. He is tied for 10th in the league overall and leads all non-big men by a mile. But what makes Butler’s alley-oops unique is not just his diminutive stature, it’s that none of them have come via the most conventional means: in transition or as the roll man off of a pick-n-roll. Butler’s freakish athleticism, combined with nifty new sets from head coach Fred Hoiberg and telekinetic chemistry with teammates, has enabled the Bulls to unleash Butler as an alley-ooping machine all over the Association this season.

The Back Door

One of the Bulls’ alley-oop sets is the same one that they ran against the Warriors. In all instances thus far, Mirotic holds the ball far beyond the arc while two other players hide in the corner on the same side. Butler circles towards the cleared-out side around a Gasol or Noah back screen near the elbow and dives to the hoop to receive and deposit a lob from Mirotic.

This play is simple yet devastating. The man guarding the screener can try to drop back to swat the lob, but then he risks Gasol getting a wide-open catch-and-shoot from his mid-range wheelhouse, not to mention that Butler may still outleap him. Mirotic’s defender can try pressuring the ball to cut off his line of sight and passing lane, but that is asking a lot of a big fella coming back on semi-transition defense. Three of Butler’s alley oops have been of this variety thus far, although it appears to be falling out of favor, with the most recent successful connection happening over a month ago.

The Slip Screen

The more popular version of a Butler alley-oop of late has been The Slip Screen. Eight of Butler’s alley oops have come off of him slipping off a screen for the point guard and diving to the basket to receive a lob from a big at the elbow. In one such play against the Spurs, Derrick Rose isolates on the left side while Doug McDermott sets a cross screen for Butler to come set a screen for Rose. Tony Parker, guarding Rose, ducks way under the screen while Kawhi Leonard, Butler’s man, hedges hard to prevent Rose from getting a free lane across the middle:

At this point, all the pieces are set: Butler slips through the screen and straight to the rim, Gasol streaks to the elbow, and the Spaniard gives Butler a perfect touch pass lob, with the hockey assist going to the former MVP .

Similarly to The Back Door, the success of this play hinges on having Butler’s side of the floor completely cleared out. By doing it early on in the shot clock, players are still just lining up with their assigned men and aren’t considering crossing the lane to snuff out any early screening action. Personnel-wise, the Bulls have run this play with all sorts of configurations, with Aaron Brooks in Rose’s spot, Noah in Gasol’s spot, Bobby Portis in Mirotic’s spot, or Moore in McDermott’s spot. The only irreplaceable cog is the high-flying swingman from Marquette.

Defending this play requires similar pick-your-poison decisions as The Back Door. In the situation against the Spurs above, Tim Duncan is already dropping back and does in fact attempt to disrupt the pass from Gasol near the rim. As great as The Big Fundamental once was and still is, his old-man game is no match for Butler’s spry young legs. A defense’s best hope is to have whoever is guarding the decoy big man (LaMarcus Aldridge guarding Mirotic in this case) dart across the lane to clog up the middle on the Rose-Butler screen. Doing so would require incredible foresight, scouting, and effort, and of course may just lead to an open Mirotic corner 3 instead.

The Spin

The final version of Butler’s alley-oop finishes isn’t so much a set play as it is a telekinetic connection with teammates. It generally comes when Butler is isolated against his defender on the far side of the court away from the ball, but it sometimes is a diagramed play with Butler and a big starting at either elbow. Butler makes eye contact with the ball handler, which triggers a spin from Butler and simultaneous lob.

The very threat of this play has key ancillary benefits. It punishes defenses for trying to front Butler, forcing them to find other ways to neutralize his ever-improving post game. Fear of The Spin allows him to get deeper catches and bully smaller guards into the restricted area. Plus, it is always an added bonus to see the horror of a defender’s face as he instantaneously recognizes that he is prime poster material. Eight such Butler posters could be created so far this season .

More to Come?

Hoiberg has recognized Butler alley-oops as reliable sources of offense for a team that has struggled to find its stride on that side of the floor at times so far this season. Here is one nifty new set they ran on Christmas against the Thunder:

With The Back Door enjoying less success of late, Hoiberg will need to continue to innovate in order to continue to get Butler the ball at the rim. And as defenses prepare and game plan for it, The Mayor should use it as a decoy, instead getting Gasol open mid-range catch-and-shoots from fake lobs, Mirotic corner 3’s from overzealous help defense, and Rose dribble-drives off of discombobulated cross-matches. In the meantime, we can all continue to enjoy one of the most exciting facets of the meteoric rise of a perennial superstar.