After returning to the Golden State Warriors rotation in the absence of Gary Payton II for Game 7 against the Houston Rockets on Sunday, Jonathan Kuminga once again saw playing time in Game 1 of the second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kuminga’s limited time in the playoffs so far hasn’t been great, having appeared in only three games against the Rockets in which he scored 18 points on 30.4% shooting while being a -12 in 50 minutes. Yet despite form going to the contrary, Steve Kerr and the Warriors may have no choice but to take a risk on Kuminga with extended playing time in the wake of Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury.
The Warriors need to find another scoring avenue without Stephen Curry
Curry suffered the hamstring strain early in the second-quarter, sending the 2x MVP back to the locker room and out of the game with a major question mark on his availability for the rest of the series.
Amid Payton’s return and after Moses Moody and Gui Santos each saw minutes in the first-quarter, it appeared as if Kuminga was set for his seventh DNP in the last 10 games. Curry’s injury suddenly opened up an opportunity though, with Kuminga entering with five minutes to play in the second-quarter and subsequently closing out the half.
That stint yielded just one rebound and an assist, but the young forward did return in the second-half to have seven points in just over eight minutes. He cleverly pump-faked, drew contact from Naz Reid and knocked down a pair of free-throws in the third-quarter, before ending the period with a smart cut that led to an open dunk off a beautiful feed from Draymond Green.
Kuminga also spotted up and knocked down a corner three from Jimmy Butler in the fourth-quarter, marking just his ninth make from 3-point range in the last 42 attempts. Mixed with those buckets were a couple out of control drives, some questionable defense and a lack of rebounding, but they’re elements Kerr may just have to live with while Curry’s out.
There’s a reason Kuminga entered the game once Curry exited. He was Golden State’s third-leading scorer in the regular season for a reason, and while his recent removal from the rotation may have been warranted, it’s hard to keep the third-leading scorer out once you lose your top option.
The Warriors are going to desperately need to find another avenue to scoring for whatever period Curry is on the sidelines. While Kerr is likely to lean more heavily into Jimmy Butler and the suddenly in-form Buddy Hield, Kuminga presents as another alternative he’s simply going to have to use.
In a four-year span that’s already had more swings and roundabouts than most have in their entire careers, this is just the latest twist in Kuminga’s time with the Warriors as he prepares for restricted free agency in the summer.
