{"id":104900,"date":"2024-11-04T01:50:42","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T06:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=104900"},"modified":"2024-11-04T01:50:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T06:50:42","slug":"can-warriors-play-jonathan-kuminga-strengths-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/04\/can-warriors-play-jonathan-kuminga-strengths-starter\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Warriors Play To Jonathan Kuminga\u2019s Strengths As Starter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In sports, there are always curious phenomenons. The way momentum shifts and how it can affect performance. The way playing at home gives teams an advantage. Even the idea of switching shoes in the locker room after a rough half to shift the energy. That\u2019s why the Golden State Warriors can only scratch their heads at Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> now playing better coming off the bench than with the starters.<\/p>\n

Can Warriors Play To Jonathan Kuminga\u2019s Strengths As Starter?<\/h2>\n

This season, the Warriors are 3-0 since Kuminga was moved to the bench, even with Stephen Curry<\/a> out each of those games. Last season, that was far from the case. The Warriors were 13-15 when Kuminga came off the bench versus 27-19 when he started.<\/p>\n

There are caveats of course.<\/p>\n

Two of Golden State\u2019s wins have come against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans were missing starting point guard Dejounte Murray<\/a> in their first matchup with the Warriors. In their rematch, they were missing Murray, starting shooting guard CJ McCollum<\/a>, and starting forward Herb Jones<\/a>. When they defeated the Houston Rockets, an up and coming team, it took an overtime period.<\/p>\n

However, Kuminga\u2019s play wasn\u2019t necessarily dependent upon the opponent, he simply played better. He looked more comfortable. He finished better. The former top-10 pick was even more efficient from outside.<\/p>\n

In the first three games of the season, Kuminga averaged 8.0 points in 19.7 minutes per game, shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and 11.1 percent from three-point range. Golden State looked as out of sorts as he did, going winless in this stretch. In his last three games, Kuminga has averaged 18.7 points in 27.3 minutes per game, shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep.<\/p>\n

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Kuminga had a very impactful 23 points against the Rockets yesterday. Still lots of room for growth in consistency and ball security on offense and patience as well as utilizing his athleticism on defense; his ceiling is insanly high.<\/p>\n

Here is what his 23 points looked like:#NBA<\/a>\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/8FoCvQyhUE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Swish Stats (@SwishStatistics) November 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n