Kevon Looney laying low has slowed Domantas Sabonis

One of the most common sights of the first round of the playoffs has been this:

That’s Domantas Sabonis with the ball just about the elbow, and the guy guarding Sabonis (in this case and most cases so far, Kevon Looney) hanging alllllll the way back in the paint. Sabonis has been given an average of 8.775 feet between himself and the closest defender during this series, according to Second Spectrum.

At first glance, this strategy appears, well… weird. But it’s working. Really, really well.