Kuminga was a slam dunk in the loss vs the Clippers
THAT’S WHAT WE WANNA SEE FROM JK!
My last article about Jonathan Kuminga came after a up-and-down Christmas Day performance against Los Angeles that left some members of Dub Nation tantalized by the athletic potential, and others very frustrated with his inability to make a game winning defensive play in the final seconds as Austin Reaves poured a layup in before the buzzer.
Last night Kuminga responded with arguably the greatest performance of his career against the other L.A. team, the Clippers. He scored a career high 34 points, added a season high 10 rebounds, dished out 5 dimes, and swiped 2 steals.
It was a CAREER night for Jonathan Kuminga in LA!
— NBA (@NBA) December 28, 2024
34 PTS (career-high)
10 REB (season-high)
5 AST
2 STL pic.twitter.com/gI2e1rDqa2
What was different about Kuminga last night? Well, he didn’t have to defer to franchise legends Stephen Curry and Draymond Green who missed the contest, per NBC Sports:
Before Friday night, the Warriors had been without Curry and Green once this season. The result was a six-point win against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 5 where Kuminga had perhaps the best game of his young career.
Kuminga in that contest started at power forward and played 33 minutes. He scored a then-career-high 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and was a plus-7.
(This contest) despite coming off the bench, he was the Warriors’ leading scorer after the first quarter with five points and led both teams with 13 points at halftime on 4-of-8 shooting and made all four of his free throws. Through three quarters, Kuminga was up to 19 points, but no other Warrior was in double figures.
Jonathan Kuminga outscored Dennis, Wiggins, and Buddy combined.
— dre (@OnBallSteph) December 28, 2024
Off the bench.
And you would expect a former lottery pick to show out after four years of development in the Warriors system. The fact that it happened without the team’s two All-Stars is both a bright spot (taking advantage of the opportunity) and puzzling (why can’t he duplicate that impact around the two biggest forces on the team?).
Imagine if Kuminga got those types of reps for the last 3 years! I think we would be having a differemt conversation about him
— Coach Tony F (@tripletonyf) December 28, 2024
Kuminga just isn’t a great fit with Steph and dray
— human torch (@curryrange_) December 28, 2024
The Warriors would be lost without Jonathan Kuminga tonight.
— Marc Grandi (@MarcGrandi) December 28, 2024
The fact that Kuminga relatively often looks his best when Steph Curry and/or Draymond Green are out should be enough to convince you what the Dubs' deadline plans should be
I love his shot chart here from this contest; only three shots from beyond the arc and everything else centered around getting into the paint. This is the best version of what Kuminga can be from what we’ve seen so far: a force multiplier on the around the rim using his bounce and height to put pressure on the defense.
Can Kuminga keep it going today against the Phoenix Suns? Dub Nation can only hope!