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Explain One Play: The secret origin of the ‘cyclone’ play

The secret origin of the Warriors’ “cyclone” play, and why Steve Kerr was laughing at the Bulls’ coach after he ran it.

NBA: Chicago Bulls at Golden State Warriors
No, Jordan, go back to the bench. NOW
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

So Ethan Sherwood-Strauss set me straight on some details about the cyclone play from the recent Explain One Play: Curry screens for Looney cyclone dunk.

I wrote:

This is a very brief history of the classic Steve Kerr play “cyclone” and how Stephen Curry screened for a Kevon Looney dunk in the Bulls-Warriors game on Nov. 24. This is a classic play that we’ve discussed in the past under the name “Warriors’ rip” because a backscreen for a cut straight down the lane is sometimes called a “rip.”

But somewhere along the way, Ethan Sherwood-Strauss found out that the Warriors themselves call it “cyclone,” which makes a kind of sense because players end up going in a whirling pattern.

The play is NOT named after the whirling pattern. In the following video, I explain the secret origin of the Warriors’ play cyclone and why Steve Kerr was laughing at Bulls’ coach Fred Hoiberg after he ran it.

Secret Origin of the Cyclone Play

The secret origin of the Warriors' play Cyclone and why Steve Kerr was laughing at the Bulls coach after he ran it.

Posted by Golden State of Mind on Monday, November 27, 2017

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If the Warriors played all season without Steph or KD, they would:

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