With the Golden State Warriors‘ season on the line, coach Steve Kerr plans to lean on his tried and tested veteran center to save them from a disastrous 3-1 collapse against the upstart Houston Rockets.
Kevon Looney, a pillar of the Warriors’ last three championships but a forgotten man in Kerr’s continued shuffling of rotations in the series, will have his number called in Sunday’s win-or-go-home game at Houston.
“I trust Lon implicitly based on being together for 10 years, seeing him perform in so many of these big games,” Kerr told reporters on Saturday. “So, I would expect Lon to play more than he did [Friday] night.
“The challenge in this series has been finding the right combinations based on trying to put together two-way lineups. If they’re going to go zone like they have quite a bit, then we have to have some shooting and spacing, but we’ve got to get stops at the other end, too. So, we’ve got to craft our lineups pretty carefully.”
Looney only played for a series-low two minutes in the Warriors’ 115-107 loss in Game 6 at home. The veteran center averaged 1.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.0 minutes through the first six games of the first round.
Kerr is running out of options to neutralize Houston’s two-big lineups.
Steven Adams was the Warriors’ biggest thorn, along with Fred VanVleet, in Game 6. The veteran Rockets center scored a season-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, three blocks and a steal. He is plus-53 in the series, per Statmuse, while averaging 6.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.5 minutes.
‘Tough to Box Him Out’
Kerr hopes Looney can help the Warriors neutralize the 6-foot-11 and 265-lb Adams in the paint.
Warriors veteran Draymond Green, who is only 6-6 and 230 lbs, is having a hard time competing against the much taller and heftier Adams in the paint.
“[Adams] is having a great impact,” Green told reporters after the Warriors’ Game 6 loss. “He’s doing a great job on the offensive glass. He’s doing a great job defensively.
“I just wish we could get a three-second call. You stand in the paint, whole possession, it’s hard to box out. He’s strong as hell, so… Being outweighed by, what, 40, 50 pounds, six inches, standing in the paint, it’s tough to box him out.”
Kerr said he’s talking to the refs about Adams camping in the paint too much.
“We thought there were three or four of them (3-second violation in Game 6), but it’s not really a call that officials make very often,” Kerr said on Saturday. “So, we can’t worry about it too much. I mean, I’ll alert the refs to it, but we just have to play.”
The Warriors stopped playing in Game 5 when the Rockets ran them to the ground early in the second half. They did it again in Game 6 when the Rockets went on a 20-5 run to start the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Butler Challenges Warriors’ Will to Win
Warriors star Jimmy Butler blamed the Warriors’ inability to grab rebounds and win the 50-50 loose balls.
“That’s been the story of the series,” Butler told reporters after Game 6.
With Adams playing a significant role in the series, the Rockets have controlled the rebounding battle, averaging seven more rebounds than the Warriors.
Butler refused to say it’s about a lack of energy that did the Warriors in the last two games.
“It’s just if you want to do it or not,” Butler said. “That’s the bottom line. If you want to rebound, if you want to dive on the floor, if you want to take a charge, all those little things are if you want to do it. It’s really simple.”
