Warriors: Evaluating starting lineup options for Western Conference Finals

Issues with Warriors starting Kevoon Looney at the five

Firstly, although Dwight Powell has been getting the start, the Mavericks use Maxi Kleber the most at center. The German is certainly your modern-day stretch big, averaging 4.5 three-point attempts during the postseason.

That in itself would be a concern, with Looney having to spend more time on the perimeter rather than the comfort of the paint.

The second issue is Doncic, whose presence will be the Warriors’ major priority. Do they play a switching style on defense, leaving Looney in vulnerable situations against one of the premier scorers in the game?

To be fair to Looney, he’s one of the more switchable bigs in the league. He’s not going to be any kind of stopper, but he survives in the league off a high defensive IQ that makes up for a lack of size and athleticism (in relation to position).

He may be able to use this to funnel Doncic into help defense or a position that the Mavericks superstar doesn’t necessarily want to shoot from. Still, asking him to do this across a best-of-seven series is an incredibly tough challenge.