“Cyclone”

Definition: a backscreen near the weakside elbow set by a player who is expected to receive a down screen

Synonyms: backscreen, rip

See Also: Elevator, Motion Weak, Korver

Origin of the Name: Steve Kerr called the play “Cyclone” because he first saw it when watching Fred Hoiberg’s Iowa State Cyclones.

“The Golden State Warriors call the play Cyclone because they stole it from the Iowa State Cyclones, who called it Cougar because they stole it from the BYU Cougars, who called it Dribble High because they stole it from Utah State. It was called Dribble at Utah State because that’s what it was called at Colorado State and Montana.”

How It Works: In the diagram above, 2 sets a backscreen for 4 near the weakside elbow.

Why It Works: Much like Rip DHO, Cyclone is effective because it exploits the defender’s reluctance to help off a good shooter like Steph Curry, which is why good shooters are excellent screeners. If Curry’s defender helps against the backscreen, he may be out of position for a subsequent pin-down for Curry.

But Cyclone is different from a typical rip DHO or screen-the-screener action because in Cyclone, the defense is expecting Curry to receive a screen, not set one. Typically, Curry would set a screen and then receive a screen, such as in this elevator play below:

Instead of receiving an elevator screen, 1 sets a backscreen for 5 on the weakside elbow.

As a result, Cyclone is similar to what’s known as a Korver screen, in which a player who is expected to receive a screen sets a screen instead. The Cleveland Cavaliers would often use Korver screens, having Kyle Korver screen for Kevin Love if the defense is expecting Love to screen for Korver (2:18 in the video below):

In Cyclone, the player who sets the backscreen can still receive a pin-down, however. In this example, 1 sets a cross screen for 4 and a back screen for 5 (Cyclone) before receiving a down screen from 3:

Examples: