Big man is enjoying his bigger playoff role

HOUSTON — Kevon Looney understands his place in this crazy Warriors galaxy. As teammates Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were engulfed by media after Wednesday’s practice, Looney chatted with one reporter off to the side.

But make no mistake: Looney could play a prominent role in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night, with Golden State’s season twisting in doubt.

Swingman Andre Iguodala’s knee injury pushed Looney, a 6-foot-9 forward/center, into the lineup in Game 4, the first playoff start of his NBA career. Now, with Iguodala listed as questionable for Game 5, Looney again figures to spend plenty of time trying to prevent James Harden and Co. from moving ahead in the series.

Looney, who hadn’t appeared in the playoffs until this postseason — not one measly minute — logged a personalhigh 25 minutes, 58 seconds Tuesday night. He scored four points, corralled six rebounds and played respectable defense.

He also got into foul trouble, picking up his third late in the first half (amid a Houston surge), his fourth 18 seconds into the third quarter and his fifth midway through the fourth quarter, as the game began to slip away from Golden State.

If Looney starts again Thursday night — or even if he plays his suddenly customary 20plus minutes off the bench — he must try to rediscover the art of defending without fouling.

“It was a little bit different,” Looney said of his inaugural playoff start. “I did play a few more minutes. It’s different not having Andre out there on the court.

“It was bittersweet. I feel like I got off to a good start but then I got in foul trouble. We want to keep them off the line, so that’s something I need to work on.”

Looney, upon reviewing video, realized a couple of his early fouls were avoidable. He turned a first-quarter Eric Gordon dunk into a three-point play, and Looney occasionally rotated later than he should have and found himself out of position.

He’s learning on the fly, thrust into the thick of this marquee matchup in the West finals. Head coach Steve Kerr obviously would prefer to stick with his “Hamptons 5” starting lineup, but Iguodala’s injury forced him to adapt in Game 4, creating more minutes for Looney and Jordan Bell.

Iguodala returned to practiced Wednesday, but his status for Game 5 remains uncertain.

“Andre going down definitely shakes things up a little bit,” Green said. “I think Jordan played really well (Tuesday night), and Loon played really well. They made a huge impact, positively, for us.

“It’s easy to look back and say those guys played more minutes, Andre didn’t play and they lost. Nah, we had other problems. … Those guys played well, and I’m sure both of them will see some minutes (in Game 5), whether or not Andre plays.”

This whole scene offers a striking contrast to Looney’s first two seasons as a pro. He endured two hip surgeries, barely played at all as a rookie (five games), was a nonfactor last season (averaging 8.4 minutes per game) and finally became a steady contributor this season.

Still, starting for the defending champs in the conference finals? That was another realm altogether. Count the All-Stars from Curry and Durant to Green and Thompson, and then look at Looney, the fifth wheel.

“Yeah, it’s different playing with those four guys,” he said. “I think I’ll be more prepared this time, just knowing where to be on the offensive end so I can help space the floor better, knowing what those guys like to do.”