Between his picks and dribble handoffs, 1 he has been vital in the Warriors’ pursuit for points against the league’s top defense. Looney has assisted on series-high 46 points via screen in the Finals - 27 more than Williams’s and Al Horford’s combined totals. Looney anticipated the pick and roll before crowding Williams at the 3-point line, where Williams rushed a pass to a cutting Jayson Tatum, who missed an awkward layup attempt.Įven on offense, Looney’s size helps Golden State combat Boston’s switch-heavy defensive scheme. His comfort with playing in drop coverage helps limit Williams’s rolls to the rim, such as here late in the final frame of Game 4. As a team, the Celtics have an effective field-goal percentage of 37.9 with Looney as the closest defender (lowest among all defenders this series), much of which is a byproduct of Looney’s versatility as a rim protector and perimeter defender. The Fox News Defamation Trial Hurt Trust Among Some Viewersīoston has scored only 15 total points on Williams’s 30 touches when guarded by Looney during the Finals, according to Second Spectrum, and 28 of those touches resulted in either a pass or turnover. The unit of Looney with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins is holding the Celtics to just 39.0 percent shooting over 36 minutes together, per NBA Advanced Stats. Throughout the 2022 playoffs, Looney has been an invaluable element of Golden State’s most-trusted lineup, continuing that trend against a loaded Boston Celtics frontline in the Finals. His performance in Game 4 brought his Finals plus-minus to +36 - the highest of any player in the series - and helped seal the win for the Warriors. He finished the game with 11 boards and 6 points in his 28 minutes, with a game-high plus-minus of +21. In the next four minutes, Looney grabbed five rebounds. Looney entered Friday’s game at the 7:23 mark for Otto Porter Jr., who had started in his place. It seemed like Warriors coach Steve Kerr had moved on from Looney.īut once the game started, the seventh-year center out of UCLA showed what a difference he can make on the court. Then, as Game 4 was about to tip off, the Golden State big man was replaced in the starting lineup. Kevon Looney defends a shot from Jayson Tatum during Game 4 of the NBA Finals.ĭuring each of the first three games of the NBA Finals, Kevon Looney saw progressively fewer minutes.
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