What we learned as Jonathan Kuminga dazzles in return despite Warriors’ loss
What we learned as Jonathan Kuminga dazzles in return despite Warriors’ loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – If first impressions are everything, the Warriors could be in for a rude awakening without Jimmy Butler.
Advertisement
In their first game following Butler’s devastating season-ending torn ACL, which also was the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors were down by 20 points at halftime, trailed by as much as 30 points and fought back in an eventual 145-127 loss against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday at Chase Center.
The effort they displayed in the second half is the exact output the Warriors will need sans Butler.
Steph Curry sitting the entire fourth quarter usually is a positive, but not Tuesday night to end an eight-game homestand. The Raptors’ defense frustrated Curry in a game where he scored just 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and 2 of 7 behind the 3-point line.
The lone Warrior with a worse plus/minus than Curry’s minus-25 was Draymond Green’s minus-27 in 22 minutes.
Advertisement
After not playing the previous 16 games, Jonathan Kuminga was given the green light and was all gas with 20 points in 21 minutes on 7-of-10 shooting. Only Buddy Hield, 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 6 of 6 on threes and 5 of 5 on free throws, scored more points for the Warriors.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ loss to end a 6-2 homestand and give them a 25-20 record on the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Return of Kuminga
All eyes turned to one player in Butler’s absence. Was Kuminga finally going to take his warmup gear off and get in a game for the first time since Dec. 18? Kerr used an 11-man rotation in the first quarter with the only ones stuck to the bench being his three players on two-way contracts and Kuminga.
Advertisement
Then, a loud ovation burst throughout Dub Nation as Kuminga checked in to start the second quarter.
Kuminga played the first four minutes and 39 seconds of the second quarter and looked like a player trying to scrape the rust off in real time. He was a team-low minus-10 in those four-plus minutes with no points and two rebounds. His only shot attempt was an errant alley-oop he couldn’t complete, and Kuminga missed both of his free throws.
As the Warriors trailed by 28 points, Kuminga’s second stint began at the 6:12 mark of the second quarter. Almost immediately after stepping foot on the floor, Kuminga this time connected for a thunderous alley-oop from Green. Kuminga in six minutes scored 12 points and was a plus-14 while the Warriors began storming back in the third quarter.
Life finally was injected into the arena and team owner Joe Lacob was loving it. Kuminga scored another eight points in the fourth quarter and was given plenty of cheers from the home crowd.
Advertisement
Podz Gets The Nod
Consistency finally has been a theme of the Warriors’ starting lineup when at full strength for more than a month now. But they’ll never be at full strength the rest of the season since Butler isn’t part of the equation.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted during his pregame press conference that there will have to be experimentation in the starting five, and planning his rotations without Butler. Not only is Butler a mainstay among the starters, but he also has stabilized a second unit that is the third-highest scoring bench in the NBA. The first order of business was deciding who would join Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Moses Moody and Quinten Post to begin the game.
Combo guard Brandin Podziemski was given the first call one game after scoring a season-high 24 points. Podziemski during the Warriors’ four-game win streak averaged 18.5 points per game on 59.6-percent shooting and a 52.4 3-point percentage. Cold water was poured over Podziemski’s recent hot streak.
Advertisement
Podziemski scored 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and connected on one of his seven 3-point attempts. Gui Santos replaced Post to start the second half. The starting five played four minutes and 48 seconds together and were outscored 21-10.
Where Jimmy Was Missed Most
This entire section can be summarized by one word: Everywhere. That’s the kind of impact Butler made on the Warriors since being acquired at last season’s NBA trade deadline. And it’s not an exaggeration.
What Butler brought was control to the chaos that Curry creates. He slows the game down, is extremely smart with the ball in his hands and knows how to force his way to the free-throw line. Those attributes will be sorely missed, and they sure were Tuesday night against Toronto.
Advertisement
The game becomes easier when Butler is on the floor. The easiest parts of the game became a struggle without him. The Warriors in the first half missed eight shots that were labeled as layups and went 6 of 13 on free throws while the Raptors were a perfect 8 of 8.
Golden State simplified the game coming out of halftime. The Warriors scored a season-high 44 points in the third quarter, didn’t miss any shots labeled as layups and went 10 of 11 on free throws. They missed just one layup in the fourth quarter, too.
However, giving up 34 points off 18 turnovers is the kind of trouble the Warriors will get themselves in if they don’t understand just how small their margin of error is.
Publicar comentário