Kevon Looney was a late scratch as a starter for Game 2 v Lakers as he came down with an illness just before tip-off, but Brian Windhorst isn’t buying that.
Looney’s game-day illness meant that coach Steve Kerr played JaMychal Green instead.
Green had only played limited minutes for the Warriors in the regular season but made the most of his postseason opportunity by scoring 15 points on 6-9 shooting and 3-6 from three.
His role also meant that Draymond Green was locking up Anthony Davis on defense and a result, AD missed his shots and only managed 11 points all game.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst thinks that Looney wasn’t sick and has suggested that Kerr made the late change to throw the Lakers off.
“[The Lakers] saw the adjustments that the Warriors made,” Windhorst said. “They went smaller, Steve Kerr putting JaMychal Green in the starting lineup, coming up with an explanation to try to throw everybody off that Kevon Looney wasn’t playing, wasn’t feeling well, which I find dubious… Maybe it’s true, I don’t know.
“Then, they go home for Games 3 and 4 trying to take control of this series.”
After the game, which the Warriors won convincingly by 27 points, Kerr said Looney “came down pretty ill” just hours before Game 2 was scheduled to start.
The big man played 12 minutes of the contest and recorded six points and eight rebounds.
He has proved very valuable this postseason as he is averaging a league-best 15.1 rebounds and almost four assists in the nine games so far.
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