Add these to the already legendary status of Kevon Looney, from Warriors practice yesterday, the day before Lakers at GSW for the sixth and last preseason game:
…I was just more mindful on — I had a more of a scientific approach about what I was eating, the stuff where you weigh your food, all that different things I had to lock in on that. I did a lot of sprinting, a lot of — at the track work at UCLA, a lot of playing five-on-five and just emphasizing just moving and playing fast. I knew that’s what we were going to do coming into the year, so I wanted to try to play athletic. Sometimes when you’re used to playing at a slow methodical pace, you kind of just get stuck in your own way. So I just wanted to make sure I was able to do that in the summertime playing pick up, doing it on the track and just being mindful of trying to play athletic and play fast and play with our same principles that we play with the Warriors.
…So throughout the summer I usually fasted when I worked out. So I probably wouldn’t eat till like four or five (o’clock) and I would just do all my workouts on just a cup of coffee or something like that. And it’s not for everybody, but it worked for me. Everybody’s system and how they like to lose weight and do different things is different. That’s the way I felt it worked best for me. And I got progress pretty fast and I really worked at it, trying to carry it over to the season. I can’t do it as how I did cause I wouldn’t be able to perform. But when I talked to my nutritionist, talked to the performance staff here, just finding different ways to keep my body at t the weight I want to and playing at the shape I want to. Like, in years past I felt like I was comfortable playing at the weight I was, but like I said, we wanted to play faster. And I feel like last year I wasn’t moving at the pace I wanted to, to keep up with our guys. And so I wanted to do something new. And that’s what — that was my approach. And I feel like it’s been working.
…Most practice days, I keep it the same. Game-day I usually change up what I’m doing. My nutritionist has a plan for me, when I should eat at what times. But practice day, I kind of keep it the same. Like, I’m a guy of routine. When I don’t do my routine, I feel messed up. Like, my day’s going to be bad. So I keep my same routine. Maybe some coffee in the morning. I don’t eat until after practice, till I get home and relax. And then so I try to keep everything the same.
00:00 Steve just said you guys had the best practice you’ve had all camp. Do you agree with that? And why do you think he might have said that?
00:07 TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah. I mean, we’ve had a really good camp so far. A lot of activity, a lot of guys vocal, but just the vets today, especially Draymond. 📌 Draymond really set the tone today, just teaching guys from the very beginning to the very end, just talking, and we were feeding off that and it was a great day.
00:30 What are your goals as you head into the last preseason game? Sometimes you want it to be a dress rehearsal, but at the same time, especially, it sounds like with this group, you don’t know if the lineups and rotations are going to be what it will look like on opening night. How do you approach the last preseason game?
📌 00:46 Yeah, every time I’ve talked to Coach, it’s just been a big emphasis on just continuing to sprint the floor, running hard, just defense, focusing on rotations, assignments stuff of that nature. So just gearing up for the the real thing. And so just another — they call it practice games. And so yeah, so basically that’s what I’m doing.
01:08 What did you think of the lineup in Vegas? It was kind of unique to have Wiggs playing the 2 essentially. And so him and JK out there with you and Draymond, that hasn’t happened often. What do you — what’d you think about how it played and how much — what can that bring?
01:22 I think that brings just defensively, just having four guys on the floor that are able to switch and guard and defend is huge, going along with Steph and then offensively, just running. I felt like when we got out there, we really set the tone with our pace and we were running and guys like Wiggs and JK, getting out in transition, filling wings and stuff of that nature, being able to get to the rim and then with 30, ball-screening, getting him open and then playing off the attack.
01:55 And you mentioned running. How much does JK trigger that? Because it seems like he has a gear that nobody else — I mean Wiggs is fast, but JK is in his own world.
02:05 JK is in his own world and I think when he’s — when he has that mentality of going and getting to the rim there’s not a lot of guys that can stop him.
02:15 Steve has made a big deal out of having competitions this camp for starting spots for for roles. How much would you attribute that to the way the team has progressed so far?
📌 02:27 Yeah, I mean we’re 15 guys deep. And so last game, after the game, he told us, he basically said, “You just gotta trust the process and you just gotta fight through the adversity.” We have a lot of guys that can play and he says they’re in the back room trying to figure out matchup, stuff of that nature. And so just whenever your name is called, being ready to go.
02:50 As a fellow big man how has Kevon looked to you so far? I mean, he looks awfully like light on the toes has a light release to it. How does he look?
02:58 I know Loon worked really hard this off-season just getting his body right getting ready to play this year. And obviously it shows on the court. He’s knocking down middies. He’s very active. he looks good out there. He looks good in running and stuff of that nature. And so we’re definitely going to need him this year. And just battling him, you can tell that he’s ready to go.
03:17 Following up on that JK question and his speed, is there any example, maybe from practice, where he’s just blown by people or anything that sort of illustrates what you’re saying?
📌 03:30 Not really, like, JK is JK at this point. But I remember last year we were playing Memphis at home and there was one play where he just, all of a sudden, just shifted gears and came straight down the middle and punched it with his left. And I was, like, I don’t know if — Yeah that’s that’s hard to stop. But plays like that and it gets the guys going and his energy and whenever he’s playing like that, it really helps us.
03:53 So when you see that, because Steve’s talked a lot about, “Is he a 3? Is he a 4?” He’s played mostly 4 in the past, but obviously in the lineup the other night, he’s the 3 with Draymond and you. I mean, do you — how much do you see — when he does that stuff, how much do you see him as a 3, really, a small forward?
04:09 Yeah, honestly, just the way the game’s really going, you have four interchangeable pieces, especially on our team, 1 through 4. You have Draymond bringing the ball up as a point guard, you have Wiggs, JK bringing the ball up and I think our offense is really predicated on that movement. It’s not really position-based, but being able to have JK go and attack and shoot the ball and do all the things that he does really helps us a lot. And so I think he’s — 📌 I don’t think JK is a 3 or 4. I just think he’s a basketball player.
04:39 Growing up, did you — I mean, you’re young enough where this is probably relevant. Were position — I mean, how much did your coaches in high school in Indiana focus on, “You’re the 3. You’re the 4. You’re the 5.” Or does it not matter?
04:50 For our offense in Indiana was a lot different. 📌 I got to bring the ball up and stuff of that nature, but I was still dedicated to be the 5-man. And so it was 1 through 3 were kind of interchangeable, then 4 and 5 were the two bigs. And so that’s how we played.
05:06 You brought the ball up?
05:07 Oh, yeah.
05:08 Wow.
05:08 Yes, absolutely.
05:10 I apologize.
05:11 It’s all good.
05:11 Who had your favorite performance yesterday at Open Practice?
05:17 Oh, I think QP. Quinten. No, yeah, he was — he got the fans engaged. He did a good job.
05:25 What did you sing last year? I wasn’t here for that.
📌 05:28 I sang “Halo” by Beyonce, which was pretty — it was pretty solid, I’m not gonna lie, so.
05:35 Thank you sir.
05:36 Yep.
05:36 Thank you guys.
05:38 How was practice today? Steve and Trayce just said it was probably the best practice of camp.
05:43 KEVON LOONEY: I agree. We got after it. We got to go up and down a little bit, compete. So it was a lot of fun today.
05:50 How do you view everything going on in terms of the rotation, in terms of the depth and the competition, in terms of getting roles and playing time?
05:58 It’s been fun. It’s been exciting. I think it’s pushing our team to be better. Everybody know we gotta compete to play and that’s kind of breeding the physicality and pace and everything that we want to play during the game. We’re good. We’re doing it in practice. We compete now. I think it’s transferring over and I think we havin’ a good preseason so far and hopefully we can carry that over to the regular season.
06:19 Me or you. Go ahead.
06:21 Steve has really been emphasizing playing with that pace that you just mentioned. For you, I mean, you look very light on your feet out there. You’re moving really well. I mean, just how do you feel with the pace at which Steve wants you guys to play?
06:35 I feel great playing at the pace, something that in the years past — we always played pretty fast. 📌 I think last year was kind of in-between, wasn’t really fast, wasn’t really slow. But I think this year we emphasizing trying to have that identity back of being a fast-paced team, moving the ball. And I knew that coming in, that’s why I wanted to be lighter. I wanted to be quicker. I feel like my body’s handling it well and and stay trying to translate it all over to the regular season. But I think we’re going to be fun and we’re going to be fast and tough to stop.
07:01 A lot of guys have been telling just, yeah, like, how great you’ve been looking and whether it’s in practice or in the weight room, all this stuff, how hard you worked over the summer. Can you take us through a little bit of what your summer workout process looks like?
📌 07:15 It didn’t change too much. I was just more mindful on — I had a more of a scientific approach about what I was eating, the stuff where you weigh your food, all that different things I had to lock in on that. I did a lot of sprinting, a lot of — at the track work at UCLA, a lot of playing five-on-five and just emphasizing just moving and playing fast. I knew that’s what we were going to do coming into the year, so I wanted to try to play athletic. Sometimes when you’re used to playing at a slow methodical pace, you kind of just get stuck in your own way. So I just wanted to make sure I was able to do that in the summertime playing pick up, doing it on the track and just being mindful of trying to play athletic and play fast and play with our same principles that we play with the Warriors.
07:56 As a longtime Warrior and Warriors observer, not so much about your game, but I’m just curious what you thought of that lineup. The Warriors started — you guys started Tuesday night in Vegas, it was kind of unique to have Wiggins and JK together and Draymond and Trayce also on that court. What did you think about that lineup and how much can that be a threat for you guys?
08:16 I thought it was a good lineup. I thought — for what we’re trying to do is playing fast, be athletic, being physical and multiple guys that can make plays and create mismatch problems, I thought it was — it’s going to be a tough lineup to stop. Then we’re going to guard the ball really really well. We’re going to be a great defensive team. And we’re going to be able to push the pace. And I think that’s going to cause teams problems. We talk about having two-way lineups out there. I think that’s a great two-way lineup. And we’re talking about playing fast and probably our best athletes out there on the court to start the game. And that they gonna set the tone and I think we’re going to be really good.
08:51 And specifically in that lineup, obviously JK is a 3 in the way that’s set up. And Steve’s talked a lot about he’s really been a 4 in the past, but they needed — you guys need him to be more of a 3. You obviously talk to him a lot. Your lockers were next to each other. How do you see his game evolving, has he become more of a 3 or more adaptable, I guess, do you think this year?
09:14 Definitely. 📌 I think he always been a 3. His mindset’s always been as a wing player. He’s been trying to adapt to playing bigger and playing the floor. But I think his natural position is the 3. Steve has been challenging him to do things that he liked to see out of his 3-man which is be able to move without the ball, sprinting the floor and be able to make open threes and take the right shots and cutting. I think he’s really focused on that throughout the summertime. He’s came back to camp a lot better and more prepared to play the 3 in our system. And I think it shows and I think he’s ready to make that jump and make that leap.
09:46 One last follow, we’ve heard for years about basketball is becoming positionless. How close is it to being positionless is that lineup, in your mind? I mean, Steph’s obviously the point guard and I guess Trayce is obviously the center, but is that how close are you to being a positionless team, truly?
10:03 I think that line is really, really close to being positionless. Steph is the point guard, but in that lineup Wiggs might bring it up, JK brings it up, Draymond is a point guard as well. Only real position we usually have out there is the center. Everybody else is usually interchangeable. And what they do in our system and the way we play, we’ve been practicing that, try to be more organized to know what we’re doing, ’cause everybody gotta know every position ’cause we all interchangeable. And we all gonna play multiple spots on the court. So I think that lineup is positionless. And I think when you’re built like that, you’re tough to stop ’cause the defense are always on the heels.
10:38 Going back to your off-season and this more scientific approach to eating, you’ve said that it might not have necessarily been what you were eating, but when?
10:47 Yeah.
10:48 Could you explain that a little bit?
10:49 Yeah. So throughout the summer I’ll — I usually fasted when I worked out. So I probably wouldn’t eat till like four or five (o’clock) 📌 and I would just do all my workouts on just a cup of coffee or something like that. And it’s not for everybody, but it worked for me. Everybody’s system and how they like to lose weight and do different things is different. That’s the way I felt it worked best for me. And I got progress pretty fast and I really worked at it, trying to carry it over to the season. I can’t do it as how I did cause I wouldn’t be able to perform. But when I talked to my nutritionist, talked to the performance staff here, just finding different ways to keep my body at t the weight I want to and playing at the shape I want to. Like, in years past I felt like I was comfortable playing at the weight I was, but like I said, we wanted to play faster. And I feel like last year I wasn’t moving at the pace I wanted to, to keep up with our guys. And so I wanted to do something new. And that’s what — that was my approach. And I feel like it’s been working.
11:44 Yeah, that might have been an answer to my follow up-but how often or if you can at all, how often can you fast during the season?
11:53 Most practice days, I keep it the same. Game-day I usually change up what I’m doing. 📌 My nutritionist has a plan for me, when I should eat at what times. But practice day, I kind of keep it the same. Like, I’m a guy of routine. When I don’t do my routine, I feel messed up. Like, my day’s going to be bad. So I keep my same routine. Maybe some coffee in the morning. I don’t eat until after practice, till I get home and relax. And then so I try to keep everything the same.
12:19 One last thing, is there another team in the league, when you think of positionless basketball, is there a team in the league you feel like it’s close to playing positionless basketball?
12:29 I would say it’s a few teams. I would say OKC, I would say Boston. When we watched Boston in the Finals you’re like, who’s the — like Tatum, Holiday, Brown, White. Who’s the point guard? Who’s the shooting guard? Porzingis is out on the on the floor, so they was kind of positionless. And when we play against OKC, Shai’s the point guard, but you got guys moving everywhere on the court. Chet out there shooting threes and driving from the wing. He’s supposed to be the center. 📌 So I think those two teams are examples of positionless basketball, multiple guys out there that can drive, pass and shoot. So those two are the better teams in the league.
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