Warriors' Kevon Looney: Sticking in starting five

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after Saturday's 119-113 win over the Mavericks that Looney will remain in the starting five moving forward, 95.7 The Game San Francisco reports. " Just came to the conclusion that is our best bet, to start with the bigger lineup [that includes Looney]," Kerr said. Looney finished Saturday's contest with 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-4 FT), seven rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes.

Before starting in both of the Warriors' last two games, Looney had come off the bench in five of his proceeding seven appearances while Kerr deployed a three-guard starting five of Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson and had power forward Draymond Green shift up to center. As the first big man off the bench, Looney's minutes weren't dramatically affected, but Kerr evidently feels that the low-usage, defensive-minded center is a better fit for the top unit than Poole, who moved to the bench Saturday. The Warriors may have room for both Poole and Looney in the starting five Monday against the Thunder, however, as Curry exited in the third quarter of Saturday's contest with a left knee injury and is looking iffy as Golden State heads into a three-game week.