Kevon Looney: The Warriors’ power forward/center, who produced precious little during his first two years in the league, becomes a playoff stalwart.
At one point in the first half Tuesday night, New Orleans center Anthony Davis walked toward the scorer’s table. Warriors coaches promptly summoned Kevon Looney, who hurriedly removed his warmups to re-enter the game in place of David West.
Kevon Looney, playoff stalwart?
Looney had not spent one second in an NBA postseason game before April 14. Zero. His first two seasons in the league essentially were a washout, rife with injuries (two hip surgeries), precious little production and swirling skepticism about his future with the Warriors.
And look at him now. Looney has become a fixture in head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation in the 2018 playoffs. He quietly made an impact again in Game 5, especially in the first half, as the Warriors won 113-104 to advance to the Western Conference finals. Looney had four points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes.
In many ways, he has emerged as the most reliable of Golden State’s five centers. His quickness and defensive versatility kept Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and Jordan Bell on the bench for most of the Pelicans series. West contributed but struggled to switch onto smaller opponents the way Looney does.
Or consider this: In the past two games, with the Warriors starting their “small” lineup (featuring Draymond Green at center), Looney has been the first substitute off the bench. He’s suddenly the sixth man on the defending champs.
“He’s a guy who can guard multiple spots,” Kerr said after Tuesday night’s game. “He can switch onto point guards or he can protect the rim, and that’s what it takes these days to be a big in the league.”
Looney averaged only 4.2 minutes in five games during his injury-plagued 2015-16 season, then 8.4 minutes while playing 53 games last season. This season, after impressing the coaching staff by reporting to training camp in much better shape, he averaged 13.8 minutes in 66 games.
Even so, he became a bigger factor when the playoffs started. In the first two rounds, covering 10 games, Looney averaged 21.2 minutes (he played 20 or more all but once), 5.0 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Looney knows he’s responsible for the dirty work on this star-laden team: defense and rebounding.
“It’s been a lot of fun to compete at a high level,” he said of the first two rounds. “Each game has a different feel to it, so it’s been a lot of fun figuring out each game and going out there and contributing.”
Also worth noting ahead of the West finals: Looney could play a significant role against the Rockets. He played well in a Warriors win over Houston on Jan. 4, collecting seven points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes.
Looney’s ability to switch onto guards will help, because the Rockets are full of potent perimeter players. They don’t have LaMarcus Aldridge or Davis, who were Looney’s main matchups against the Spurs and Pelicans.
“The Rockets are a unique team — there’s nobody like them in the NBA,” Looney said. “They have shooters everywhere.”
And even though Looney made an 18-foot jumper late in the first quarter Tuesday night, don’t expect him to start hoisting a bunch of shots. He realizes that’s the province of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.
But Looney will play a key role for the Warriors, absolutely.
“It’s crazy how it works,” he said. “It’s something I dreamed about. I came into camp and worked my tail off, and I was still unsure about what was going to happen during the season. But it all worked out for the best.”