Sideline to playoff time: Kevon Looney and Quinn Cook are making a difference for the Warriors

Before emerging in the playoffs as Golden State’s best answer for Anthony Davis, there was a time when it seemed Kevon Looney wouldn’t make the cut.

The No. 30 overall pick in the 2015 draft dealt with nagging hip issues and conditioning problems through his first two seasons and the Warriors were preparing accordingly. Since Looney’s rookie season, the Warriors added several veteran centers — Zaza Pachulia, David West and JaVale McGee. In 2016, they drafted Vanderbilt center Damian Jones. Last summer, they acquired a second-round pick to select big man Jordan Bell out of Oregon. The Warriors went into the season with six centers on the roster, not to mention the key center minutes that go to Draymond Green or Kevin Durant. If you were going to bet on anyone not making it in that logjam, it was Looney, who played a total of 58 games in his first two seasons.

However, Looney put the work in last summer. He dropped 30 pounds so he could go from bruiser to mover. His hips don’t bother him anymore, he told The Step Back, and said he can play now without the worry of injury.

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“It’s been a long journey for me in a short period of time,” Looney said after practice in Oakland. “So I know the work that I put in. I know it’s been something I’ve been working for in the summertime, so to be here now is exciting.”

Part of that work involved getting into the best condition of his career. Looney went on a diet. No more fast food for the former McDonalds All-American (he was partial to Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A). Instead he was eating “plane food” like ground turkey, chicken breast and veggies. He committed himself to becoming a versatile center capable of being on the floor in today’s small-ball NBA.

“Last couple of years everyone wants to go small, and we used to only be like one of the teams that went small, and now we’re not even the smallest team out there.” Looney said.

It’s worked. During the regular season, the Warriors routinely started Pachulia at center, and sometimes McGee. Against Davis and the Pelicans, however, it was clear the Warriors needed something different. Davis is the league’s best and most versatile 7-footer. Kerr needed someone who could body up Davis in the post while being able to switch onto New Orleans’ ball-handlers.

“He’s a guy who can guard multiple spots,” Kerr said after the Warriors’ Game 5 win to eliminate the Pelicans. “He can switch onto point guards or he can protect the rim, and that’s what it takes these days to be a big in the league.”

After averaging just 13.8 minutes in 66 appearances in the regular season, Looney is averaging 21.3 minutes per game and has logged almost twice as much time as any other Warriors center in the playoffs.

The Warriors will face the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. It will be perhaps their toughest matchup during the Kerr era. Against the Utah Jazz, the Rockets exposed Rudy Gobert by running him through pick-and-rolls between center Clint Capela and either James Harden or Chris Paul. Looney doesn’t stifle shots at the rim like Gobert, but he might be a better matchup against Houston’s spacey offense.

For the first time since 2015, the Warriors won’t have home court advantage in the Conference Finals. The Rockets finished the regular season with a better record and the best net rating in the league. Houston general manager Daryl Morey built the team with the Warriors in mind. Paul not only allowed him to double down on treacherous one-on-one scorers, it also gave him the league’s savviest on-ball defender at the point guard position. The best chess moves have multiple intentions. This one was partly aimed at defending Steph Curry.

The Rockets are also equipped with a surplus of long defenders to throw at Kevin Durant, like Trevor Ariza, P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute. Morey knows the likeliest way to beat the Warriors is to take out one of Curry or Durant and force someone else to step up.

That’s how New Orleans handed Golden State their only postseason loss since Curry returned from an ankle injury. In Game 3 of their second round series, Curry struggled to get space and made just six of his 19 shots. Add that to Durant having an off shooting night and the Pelicans managed to come away with the win. A bench of Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala and Looney — all non-shooters — weren’t able to make up for the lack of scoring.

To counter, Kerr mixed up his rotation in Game 4. Instead of starting McGee at center, the Warriors went small and started the Hamptons Five with Draymond Green at the 5. Kerr played just one traditional big — Looney — which allowed him to throw another scorer in the rotation: Quinn Cook.

Like Looney, Cook’s first few years after leaving college were bumpy at best. He spent two seasons in the NBA’s developmental league before signing a two-way contract with the Warriors last summer.

The Warriors also signed Nick Young and Omri Casspi to bolster their bullpen of shooters. While Young managed to heat up every so often, Casspi failed to get on the floor much at all. Instead it was Cook, playing on a two-way deal, who saw a more steady diet of minutes. Eventually as Cook’s allotted contract days dried up, the Warriors waived Casspi and called up Cook to the 15-man roster.

“We needed scoring,” Kerr said. “As you know, we have a top-heavy team scoring wise and, without Steph, we become even more top heavy with Klay and KD. Quinn has been great in terms of providing that extra 3-point shooting not only off the ball but on the ball.”

The Warriors are top heavy. Three players — Durant, Curry and Thompson — account for 66 percent of the team’s average of 110 points per game. Throw in Draymond’s helpful 11 points per game and that’s 76 percent. Take one or two of those guys out and you give yourself a chance. Take one out of the picture entirely due to injury, and Kerr has to find other sources for points.

It hasn’t been Young. It wasn’t Casspi. Patrick McCaw found the sophomore slump before suffering a serious injury during a game in Sacramento, and Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston can’t consistently contribute at that level any more. That’s why they called up Cook.

After Curry went down with an ankle injury for the final ten games of the regular season, Cook stepped in. He started every game, and scored in double-figures in all but the last one of the season. Cook became a surprise source of consistency, especially as the Warriors sat their main guys in an effort to get healthy for the postseason.

“It’s been chaotic,” Cook said before the start of the playoffs. “Obviously this last month we’ve has different lineups, guys in and out, we had four of our All Stars out at the same time.”

Just as it was during the regular season, finding reliable bench scoring during the playoffs has been a process of trial and error. Kerr turned to Cook in Game 4 against the Pelicans and, in 17 minutes, Cook scored 12 points, including eight in the first half.

Not unlike Curry, Cook’s presence helps create room to operate for his decorated teammates. He’s a threat to shoot off the dribble or without the ball coming off screens. When Curry was sidelined, he was constantly in Cook’s ear, giving him tips and talking strategy.

It’s no secret the Warriors offense is built around Curry’s shooting. In the minutes Curry sits or in the games he’s sidelined, however, the system changes. That’s still the case, but they at least now have a facsimile for Curry’s presence in Cook. It’s far from the same thing, but it’s much closer than the non-shooters who dot most of the supporting cast.

After stepping up in the regular season, Cook signed a two-year deal in April. “It’s a great story,” Kerr said. Cook isn’t counting his blessings. He’s not even looking for a house. In fact, Cook is still staying at a hotel despite the newfound financial security. His focus is on winning, not window dressings.

“Guys are locked in, guys are focused, man,” Cook said. “I’m just excited to be a part of the team, a part of this journey. These guys really want to win another championship.”

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The Warriors have been among the best organizations in the league at developing their talent. Curry, Thompson and Green were all acquired through the draft. They’ve supplemented their star power with veterans through free agency, but the impact of those players have been short lived. Now, on the cusp of going to their fourth-consecutive NBA Finals, the patience the Warriors have shown a pair of home-grown projects is paying off.

“It means a lot. It’s something I dreamed about,” Looney said about playing a role in Golden State’s road to the Western Conference finals. “The first couple of years, watching from the sideline, somehow I wanted to get out there and play. That’s why I put in the work last summer. So I’ve just tried to take advantage of the opportunity and make the most of it.”