Kevon Looney played nearly 18 minutes in Game 5, but none after midway through the third quarter after the non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture — call it a broken collar bone — flared up. He was playing through a lot of pain and it became too much.
The Warriors were +4 in his minutes in Game 5, a game Golden State won by one. The Warriors defense was better with him out there because, injured or not, he moves better in space than DeMarcus Cousins or Andrew Bogut.
Looney will give it a go again in Game 6 Thursday night, despite the pain — and he got the surprise start.
“Kevon just warmed up on the court with Chris DeMarco and he’s doing decently. So I think he’ll give it a go and we’ll see how he holds up,” Kerr said.
Kevon Looney is a gamer. He’s getting some work done in hopes to play in Game 6 pic.twitter.com/l5znDndOOg
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 13, 2019
Any minutes Looney can give the Warriors is a plus. Steve Kerr has limited players he can truly lean on in this series, and injuries are forcing him beyond that comfort zone. Looney is a guy Kerr trusts.