Rookie Jonathan Kuminga provides spark in Warriors’ playoff loss — could
he play more going forward?
Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga flashed his athleticism in 11
minutes against Denver
>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga
(00) dribbles against Denver Nuggets’ JaMychal Green (0) in the second
quarter of Game 4 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff
series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Nhat
V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga
(00) dribbles against Denver Nuggets’ JaMychal Green (0) in the second
quarter of Game 4 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff
series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Nhat
V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 27, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. | UPDATED: April 27, 2022 at 7:10
a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/27/rookie-jonathan-kuminga-provides-spark-in-playoff-loss-could-he-play-more-going-forward/

Rookie Jonathan Kuminga’s first taste of the playoffs came in garbage time.

With the Warriors’ comfortably in the lead for Games 1 and 2 of this
first-round series against Denver, Kuminga sopped up a collective seven
minutes of playoff action with one point scored on a free throw. In
Golden State’s eventual Game 4 loss to the Nuggets on Sunday, coach
Steve Kerr had far more significant plans for the 19-year-old.

The Warriors were in desperate need for an offensive spark off the bench
when Kuminga entered the game at the 11:11 mark of the second quarter
for Nemanja Bjelica and he earned his right to stay on the court the
rest of the quarter. Kuminga scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, his
one miss was from beyond the arc.

His first field goal, a soaring dunk in transition on a heave from Steph
Curry, stunned the crowd in Denver. And while Kuminga looked a little
confused at times — some of teammates had to point him in the right
direction on defense — his potential as a lethal scoring option off the
bench was palpable.

“I thought he did a really good job. We put him in because we were
really struggling and we wanted a spark. He gave us a spark,” Kerr said.
“His speed in transition was obvious. He got out and got a couple of
hoops and did a really good job defensively.”

Kuminga didn’t play the second half, though Kerr said he “thought about”
throwing him back out for the second half but “decided to go the way we
did just based on how the game was going.” The Warriors were losing, the
margin for error thin. But Kerr said Kuminga “will have a role, whether
it’s tomorrow or after that, he just has to stay ready because he’s got
the ability to make an impact.”

Warriors veterans have urged the young players like Kuminga and Moses
Moody to stay ready should they be tapped in.

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“Play with effort, play the way he knows how to play the game,” Curry
said. “Use his athleticism and energy to fly down the floor, limit your
mistakes defensively, but the biggest thing…things change so quickly.
For JK, for DLee (Damion Lee), Juan (Toscano-Anderson), Moses and guys
who haven’t gotten a lot of looks, things change so quick so you have to
stay ready.”

Kuminga said he’s been going to Andre Iguodala frequently for advice on
how to stay ready, that his moment felt right.

“I feel like I’m just right there at the gate,” Kuminga said. “it’s like
waiting for immigration to open the gate, that’s why I stay ready to
just cross that gate. So it’s like, I just got to be involved in
everything here even if I’m not playing, I gotta stay ready.”

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter