In the bayonet-red playoffs, the experience advantage is particularly important, which is evident in the fourth game of the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies series. Although the Grizzlies lacked Ja Morant, who was the star of the house, they suppressed the Warriors for the vast majority of the time. But the Grizzlies' young players made consecutive mistakes at key moments, and the old and spicy Warriors successfully seized the opportunity, they reversed the success in the final moments, and now the Warriors have a 3-1 lead in the series, successfully winning the match point, just one step away from the Western Conference Finals.
To be sure, the Warriors didn't do well, with no one on the team, except stephen Curry, who scored 20+ points. In particular, Klay Thompson, who shot only 6 of 20, simply lost all 7 shots outside the three-point line, and finally only had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. Fortunately, the Warriors' bench players stepped forward, among which Kevin Rooney played an efficient performance in only 15 minutes, he cut 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, and the interior fighter, who earned only $5 million a year, once again became the Warriors' winning wizard.
Kevin Rooney entered the league in 2015 when he was selected by the Warriors with the 30th pick in the first round, and many people may not have thought that Kevin Rooney has been playing for the Warriors since entering the league, and he is also the oldest player in the Warriors besides Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. Of course, Kevin Rooney was not reused in the early days of his career, and he only played for the Warriors five times in his rookie season, averaging 1.8 points and 2 rebounds per game. In the next two years, Kevin Rooney had more opportunities, but he was still a substitute for the Warriors, and the statistics were very average, so the Warriors did not even execute Kevin Rooney's last-year contract at that time.
However, due to the departure of a number of interior players in the summer of 2018, the Warriors chose to renew kevin Rooney's contract for a year, and then in the 18-19 season, he successfully seized the opportunity, Kevin Rooney averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, although not too prominent, but compared with the first three years of his career, he has made great progress. Of course, Kevin Rooney's real brilliance was in the playoffs, the West final against the Portland Trail Blazers, he repeatedly played an efficient performance, making the Warriors easily eliminate opponents. In the Finals, the Warriors encountered many difficulties, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson were reimbursed in advance for serious injuries, while Kevin Rooney fractured his collarbone and forced himself with injuries. Although the Warriors eventually lost to the Raptors and failed to achieve a three-game championship, Kevin Rooney's excellent performance coupled with strong mental attributes are impressive.
So in the summer of 2019, Kevin Rooney attracted the interest of many giants, but he finally chose to cut his salary to stay with the Warriors and renewed a three-year, $15 million contract with the team. The reason for this decision, in addition to the fact that Kevin Rooney does have deep feelings for the Warriors, his thinking is also quite clear, because if Kevin Rooney goes to other teams, he may not play better. Staying in the Warriors, everyone knows each other very well, and there will still be opportunities to fight for more generous contracts in the future. Unfortunately, in the first two years after the contract extension, Kevin Rooney did not perform very well, of course, in the 19-20 season, the Warriors suffered a serious injury wave, Kevin Rooney only played 20 games in total, and the Warriors were at the bottom of the league. With the arrival of James Wiseman last season, the Warriors lineup also underwent a major change, and the whole team seemed to be a little uncomfortable, and the Warriors missed the playoffs for two consecutive years.
Fortunately, this season, the Warriors are back on track, Kevin Rooney's physical and competitive form have also been restored, he played all 82 games, is one of the few players in the league to maintain full attendance, Kevin Rooney only has two games as a substitute, the rest of the time as a starting center, can also average 6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game. By the time kevin Rooney played in the playoffs, Kevin Rooney had less time to play, and since the Warriors switched to starting five squads and let Draymond Green play as the main center, Kevin Rooney simply returned to the bench. Even so, he still seems to be hard-working, knowing that in the case of James Wiseman's delay in playing, Kevin Rooney is the only standard center player on the Warriors' team.
On the offensive end, the Warriors have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, and people like Andrew Wiggins can also provide some firepower. But Kevin Rooney as an interior gate, his role in the Warriors, is also difficult for other players to replace. Unlike most black centers, Kevin Rooney has a very good ball quotient and discipline, which makes him feel comfortable in the Warriors' tactical system, and even plays a very important part. The 26-year-old Kevin Rooney hasn't really reached his peak yet, and we can expect him to make steady progress, and the Warriors management will inevitably persuade him to stay on the team.