According to people close to Jonathan Kuminga, who sat out the last 18 minutes of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, the 2021 lottery pick has lost faith in coach Steve Kerr and doesn’t think he will be able to realise his full potential. This development adds even more uncertainty to an already complicated Warriors season.
Thursday Night’s Game: A Turning Point for ‘Jonathan Kuminga’
According to one of the insiders, “Thursday night was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Thursday night, Kuminga put on another impressive display, scoring 16 points on 5 of 7 shots, pulling down four rebounds, dishing out four assists, and finishing with a team-high plus-6 in just 19 minutes of play. This is part of a growing trend where the 6-foot-7 wing’s athleticism and increasingly accurate shooting serve as a catalyst for a Warriors team that is in need of the rim pressure and youthful energy he brings.
With six minutes remaining in the third quarter, he finished with a and-1, and 12 seconds later, Kerr took him out of the game along with Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney. Kuminga did not, but Thompson did return to start the fourth, and Looney returned with less than eight minutes remaining.
After the game, Kerr remarked of Kuminga, “He was playing great.” “The fifth or sixth minute (of the fourth) would have been his typical time to return in.” We were rolling, Andrew Wiggins was playing fantastically, and we were up 18, 19, whatever it was. We just decided to stay with him. It didn’t feel like the appropriate thing to do at that (later) point. He had been seated for some time. I thus stayed with the group that was present, and it was evident that we were unable to contain it.
When they took Kuminga out of the game, the Warriors were down 85–84. With six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the team that featured Wiggins but without Kuminga had extended their lead from 13 points at the end of the third quarter to 18 points. Kerr never returned to Kuminga, and the Warriors blew that advantage. This is now the fourth time this season that they have allowed a lead of at least 18 points to be turned into a defeat.
The Warriors’ two largest wings, Kuminga and Wiggins, represent their best opportunity to potentially strengthen a shaky perimeter defence that has dropped the 16–18 Warriors to 20th place in defensive rating.
However, they haven’t collaborated. Together, Kuminga and Wiggins had a collective minus-66 in 131 minutes. Although Kuminga took Wiggins’ place in the starting lineup eleven games ago, Wiggins’ consistent role in the rotation has caused Kuminga to play fewer minutes than anticipated on occasion despite his strong play.
Jonathan Kuminga: Kerr’s Concerns: “Their Numbers Are Not Good Together”
Late last month, Kerr remarked, “To be honest, their numbers are not good together.” They have a lot of overlap. Thus, the stats and the tape haven’t been very good. However, we also acknowledge that in order to truly compete at the greatest level, we need to raise our game. We do have improved athleticism and potential if those two guys can get along on the floor. However, we must locate the ideal group of individuals to surround those two.
This issue started during the previous postseason. In the final two months, Kuminga played a pivotal role in the Warriors’ ascent to the sixth seed while Wiggins was away from the team attending to a personal situation. However, Kuminga dropped out of the starting lineup when Wiggins made his comeback for the opening playoff game.
That isn’t the case now. Although Kuminga has participated in every game this season and has gradually gained more traction, he still finds himself on the sidelines for some of the most important games of the season. This included Christmas, who expressed some perplexity to correspondent Marcus Thompson following the game after being benched for the last three minutes of a loss in Denver.
Kuminga admitted, “There are times when I leave the game not knowing what I did.” And that gives me mental trouble. “What do they want me to do?” is how it feels. I’m capable of passing and doing many tasks.There is now a clear decline in the trust between players and coaches, a failing relationship between Kuminga and Kerr, two individuals Golden State will need to continue to work with.
With more opportunities this season, Kuminga, a 21-year-old selected with the seventh overall choice in the 2021 NBA Draft, has begun to bloom. On December 14, Kerr started Kuminga at full time against the Los Angeles Clippers when Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely. Kuminga has averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 56.6 percent from the floor in 25.5 minutes per game over his past 11 starts. He has also scored double figures in his previous 14 appearances.
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