Anthony Davis presents different problem for Warriors than Domantas

Warriors face different problem in AD after stopping Sabonis originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors, with one center who stands 6-foot-9, are going from one star big man to another after taking down the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The two players couldn’t be more unalike.

Domantas Sabonis was penciled in as a problem for Kevon Looney and the rest of the Warriors going into what wound up being an epic seven-game series. But the 7-foot Kings center was stuck in his tracks on both sides of the ball. Looney far outplayed him.

Sabonis faces an offseason of questions as Looney is being heralded for being one of the most underrated players in basketball. Over seven games between the Warriors and Kings, Sabonis’ combined plus/minus was a minus-49, an average of a minus-7. Looney’s combined plus/minus was a plus-36, an average of a little better than a plus-5.

Beginning Tuesday night at Chase Center, Looney and the rest of the Warriors are in for a much tougher, much different matchup facing Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis.

“I think you have to get a dose of realism,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Monday after practice. “You get in that game and, you know, watching film, like, ‘Ok, Davis is going to be at the rim. We got to be aware of his defensive presence.’ But then when you get out there it’s real. You can see it on tape, but you got to feel it in order to understand how to attack.

“With shot blockers in general, if you have the angle, you try to get into their body so you don’t let them free to jump up and smother your shot. But we have to be smart offensively and not just go in and try to throw wild layup attempts over the top of them, because that’s what fuels their fastbreaks half the time.”

Behind a skill set that doesn’t exactly include high-flying leaping ability, Sabonis had six blocked shots against the Warriors. He also fouled out once, had five fouls twice and totaled 28 fouls in the first…