Golden State Warriors Second Round Breakout Player
By Andrew Ites
The Warriors got a promising performance from one of their young big men in their second round victory over the Pelicans.
The biggest question facing the Warriors entering the Western Conference Semifinals was who would guard Anthony Davis.
The clearest answer was Draymond Green, but Steve Kerr didn’t want to completely wear out Draymond in this series and he wanted to use him as a help defender.
When Draymond wasn’t guarding Davis, Kerr went with Kevon Looney on the Pelicans’ All-Star forward.
AD still put up incredible numbers throughout the series, but it was clear that Davis had to work hard for each and every basket when he was matched up on Looney.
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Looney also grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game in the series while only playing about 21 minutes per game.
When the season began, putting Looney on Davis would sound like lunacy (pardon the pun). However, Looney has earned all the playing time he’s been given this year as he’s jumped a couple of players in the Warriors’ center rotation.
I’m not sure if Looney will have much of a role in the Western Conference Finals against the Rockets, but Steve Kerr has proven time and again that he trusts him to play in big spots no matter the matchup.
Kerr may turn to Looney in their matchup with Clint Capela as Kevon looks to be his go-to guy against the opposing team’s big men.
Whether Looney’s role in the playoffs is over or not, it is clear that he has become a key part of the Warriors’ future.