On the side of the Warriors, the suspension of Draymond Green for Game 3 next night (04:00) was received with a certain fatalism. The strong winger flirted with the yellow line so often that it seemed clear that such a decision was hanging in his face. Even if it is necessarily bad news for the defending champions.
For Kevon Looney, the positive is that this suspension takes place at home, where Golden State is much better this season, with Draymond Green insisting on speaking to the team before practice yesterday.
“It changes things a bit. I can’t make as many mistakes as in the previous game because I wouldn’t have Draymond to take over.” explains the pivot. “JaMychal (Green) and JK (Jonathan Kuminga) are going to have to play a little more, and we can’t have any foul problems. It changes things up a bit in that regard but we have guys, we have (Anthony) Lamb. You will have to be physical. I don’t think my minutes will change much but we’re definitely going to have to be smarter.”
Especially since the internal battle could have been to the advantage of the Warriors, the Kings are doing better than resisting in the field, winning the rebound battle for the moment (91 to 82). And as Stephen Curry and his comrades always lose a lot of balls, the Kings win the “battle of possessions” for the moment.
“I wouldn’t say they surprise me (tactically) but they’re much better at rebounding than in the regular season and they’re more physical. But other than that, we expected their speed and strength, because they’ve been playing like that all year. It’s their physical impact that is the most surprising because they throw themselves on the balls 50/50 when it’s something you usually win in the playoffs. And then we really need to do a better job on the possession battle. »
For Golden State, it is therefore a question of controlling the rebound (“with the five players”) and to limit bullet losses.
As for the mixes concocted by Warriors fans to show the “dirty” gestures of Domantas Sabonis, Kevon Looney, whom Steve Kerr describes as his team’s “moral compass”, dismisses them out of hand.
“As an interior, that’s what we do” he smiled. “It’s pretty normal. We push, we push, we grab. It’s part of the protocol under the basket. Sometimes the referees whistle it and sometimes they don’t whistle it. Personally, I like it and I hope I can (better) enjoy it a bit next time. »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9OIAdPZfkQ
| Kevon Looney | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | GOS | 5 | 4 | 57.1 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| 2016-17 | GOS | 53 | 8 | 52.3 | 22.2 | 61.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.6 |
| 2017-18 | GOS | 66 | 14 | 58.0 | 20.0 | 54.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 4.1 |
| 2018-19 | GOS | 80 | 19 | 62.5 | 10.0 | 61.9 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 6.3 |
| 2019-20 | GOS | 20 | 13 | 36.7 | 7.1 | 75.0 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 3.4 |
| 2020-21 | GOS | 61 | 19 | 54.8 | 23.5 | 64.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 4.1 |
| 2021-22 | GOS | 82 | 21 | 57.1 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 2.5 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 6.0 |
| 2022-23 | GOS | 82 | 24 | 63.0 | 0.0 | 60.6 | 3.3 | 5.9 | 9.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 7.1 |
| Total | 449 | 18 | 58.2 | 16.9 | 60.6 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 5.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
