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The Golden State Warriors have started the season off strong, but injuries have also caught up to them, with Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and De'Anthony Melton sidelined in their previous game. Despite the injuries, head coach Steve Kerr decided to bring one of their best available players, Jonathan Kuminga, off the bench in their game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Kuminga said that Kerr texted him about his decision before the game.
“It wasn't my decision. I got a text, this is how it's going to go, this is who it's going to be, and I went with it,” Kuminga said. “What am I supposed to do … ask why am I not starting? This is the decision of the coach, and we will follow what he's going to do.”
After the game, Kerr explained his reasoning for bringing Kuminga off the bench.
“Without Steph and Wiggs, I didn't want to start Trayce [Jackson-Davis], Draymond [Green] and JK,” Kerr said. “I wanted a little more spacing. I knew it would be a JK game. I knew he would play a lot … this is just about combinations and getting a bit more spacing on the floor to start.
“All it is, is shuffling the lineup to try to get the right five-man grouping out there.”
Kerr's plan worked, because the Warriors ended up defeating the Pelicans, and Kuminga also had a good game, finishing with 17 points, three assists, and two steals.
Jonathan Kuminga has good game for Warriors despite benching
Steve Kerr had nothing but good things to say about Jonathan Kuminga's play after the game.
“I thought JK was great,” Kerr said. “We're going to need him, obviously. He is our most athletic player. He's got great size. There are games like tonight where we have to have him and others where maybe things aren't going his way. That's OK.”
“I did the same thing [that I did] in game two, game three, I'm still attacking the rim and other things but tonight they went in, so it looked good,” Kuminga said. “Today, if it doesn't go in it looks like I'm doing something else. My gift and my nature is to attack the rim as much as I can, and today things just went in.”
Kuminga and the Warriors were not able to come to an agreement on a contract extension before the season, and him coming off the bench may not help his case for trying to get paid. It's not certain if Kerr will continue to bring him off the bench, especially with the way he's been managing his 12-man rotation this season.
