The Golden State Warriors shook things up on Friday night. They brought Draymond Green off the bench, in favor of starting Jonathan Kuminga. The change ultimately resulted in a familiar result, losing a disappointing 107-90 ball game to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kuminga had a somewhat disappointing performance amongst the starters. He finished the game with 13 points, shooting only 6-15 from the field in the process.
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Kuminga was coming off a career-high 33 points against the Houston Rockets in the Warriors’ previous contest. That momentum did not carry over into this one.
However, at the post-game press conference, Warriors superstar Stephen Curry expressed his feelings on needing to put Kuminga in a position to succeed. It was clear that he believes him to be a big part of the equation moving forward.
“We need him to be the best version of himself,” Curry told reporters. “He’s a big weapon for us. …Tough scoring nights like tonight you’ve got the challenge of this team. We’re a different team than we’ve been the last three years.”
Curry continued to discuss the Warriors’ evolution: “The experimental phase of trying to unlock new looks new go-to sets, put the ball in his hands, it’s time for that for sure, because we haven’t had results otherwise. We got to lean into that and [it] might not go well every night, but that’s what we’re trying to build.”
The Warriors have now lost six of the last seven games that the team has played. Kuminga has had a disappointing statistical season to this point. The fourth-year pro’s continued development would serve to answer a lot of problems for a slumping Warriors team.
