Warriors’ X-factor in defending Rockets
HOUSTON — In riding 65 wins to the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, the Rockets came to master the art of hunting mismatches along the threepoint arc. In Game 1 of the conference finals Monday night, James Harden and Chris Paul stuck to the game plan, repeatedly attacking Warriors reserve center Kevon Looney on an island.
In playing 25 minutes in Golden State’s 119-106 win at Toyota Center, Looney contested 19 shots. No one else contested more than 10. Harden and Paul combined for 64 points, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sees no need to draw anything up for Game 2 Wednesday that would make it more difficult for Houston to isolate Looney on pick-and-rolls.
“We won the game last night, so it’s not like we’re going to sit here and change everything,” Kerr said after practice Tuesday. “But we have to look at everything, and determine if we need
to make some adjustments, which we probably will, but we’ve always been very comfortable with Looney guarding one-on-one.”
Last summer, after another injury-marred season, Looney was desperate for something — anything — to help him resuscitate a career on life support. He thought about teammates Draymond Green and James Michael McAdoo, both of whom had used an increasingly valuable skill — the ability to defend multiple positions — to earn meaningful minutes when playing time was fleeting on a stacked roster.
With that in mind, Looney spent August at UCLA, going against guards in pickup games whenever possible. Early in the regular season, when he was buried on the frontcourt depth chart, he stayed late after practice with player-development coach Chris DeMarco to finetune his footwork switching off ball-screens.
After barely playing for more than a month, Looney posted seven points and a career-hightying eight rebounds in Golden State’s Jan. 4 win over the Rockets. In that game, he repeatedly picked up Paul, Harden and Eric Gordon along the perimeter, forcing them into tough shots.
It was enough for Looney to carve out a niche as the Warriors’ top small-ball center not named Green. However, Houston was left to wonder: Could Looney, who entered Monday having played 10 career playoff games, all this season, handle all that comes with guarding Harden and Paul on an island in front of a hostile crowd?
In his biggest game, Looney stuck to fundamentals, making life difficult on Harden. It was no fault of Looney’s that Harden — the odds-on MVP favorite — made one fade-away jumper after another.
“I knew I was doing all right,” Looney said. “There weren’t any easy ones for him. There were maybe like two or three. But he’s a shot-maker. That’s what he does. He loves those types of shots. You have to live with those sometimes.”
Added Kerr about Looney: “He was out there for a reason. He’s an excellent one-on-one defender. He’s got great length, and it’s not easy scoring on him — whether at the rim or on the perimeter.”