Among the early questions which the Golden State Warriors faced lingered around the center position. With DeMarcus Cousins still a long way before returning to action, the onus was on the trio of Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, and Damian Jones to hold the forth while their prized center recovers from an injury.
To recall, Jones got the initial nod but head coach Steve Kerr made it clear the Warriors were going to play their centers based on matchups. However, Bell has seen his stock fall hard despite plenty of opportunities being available with Draymond Green occasionally missing games.
This leaves Golden State with Looney and Jones, to which Kerr noted the former having the current edge over the latter, per Mark Medina of The Mercury News.
“Damian is a very young player so he’s learning every single game,” Kerr said of his third-year center that spent his first two years mostly with the Warriors’ G-League team in Santa Cruz. “Looney is way ahead of him because he’s had more years in the league and more experience. He’s also naturally a better rebounder. He has a nose for the ball. That is something we talk to Damian about. We’d like him to be more active on the glass, anticipating plays and being proactive rather than being reactive.”
Kevon Looney and Damian Jones have played similar amounts of minutes after 19 games. But Looney has had slightly better stats of 5.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game compared to Jones' nightly output of 5.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.
The Warriors' recent slump provided a smaller margin for error at every position, making Kerr lean more towards Looney possibly due to the familiarity and experience he possesses over Jones. The Vanderbilt University product is a raw project, but the time spent around a class-A organization such as the Warriors will surely go a long way for him.
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