Warriors hopeful Kevon Looney will play in season opener

LOS ANGELES — The Warriors will shut down center Kevon Looney for the rest of the preseason, and coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday he is hopeful Looney will be able to play in the season opener.

Kevon Looney will not play Wednesday vs the Lakers. Steve Kerr says he hopes he'll be ready for the season opener.

— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) October 15, 2019

Looney, who suffered a right hamstring injury during training camp, has yet to play a preseason game and his status for the opener against the Rockets on Oct. 24 is still unknown. Looney started practicing with the Warriors this week in Los Angeles, and coaches will continue to monitor his progress. “We’ll continue to ramp up his activity and we’ll see how it goes,” Kerr said.

Looney will miss Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles against the Lakers as well as the preseason finale at Chase Center on Friday. Kerr noted on Tuesday that he hopes to use the final preseason game as a dress rehearsal for the regular season, although Looney will not be part of it. Looney is expected to play a prominent role for the Warriors off the bench when healthy.

If neither Looney nor center Willie Cauley-Stein (sprained foot) are able to play opening night, Golden State will start either Omari Spellman or Marquese Chriss, who has made a strong case with his preseason performance to make the regular-season roster.