{"id":232543,"date":"2025-10-22T13:28:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/232543\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T13:28:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:28:12","slug":"in-season-opening-win-over-lakers-warriors-get-the-right-version-of-jonathan-kuminga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/232543\/","title":{"rendered":"In season-opening win over Lakers, Warriors get the right version of Jonathan Kuminga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the Section 415 podcast wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Moments before Steph Curry\u2019s 36-footer to ice the Warriors\u2019 season-opening win, Jonathan Kuminga crashed from the corner and skied over center Deandre Ayton for an offensive rebound.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sealing the extra possession for Curry was the \u201cplay of the game,\u201d head coach Steve Kerr said. It was the best possible way for the 23-year-old wing to cap the first game of his fifth season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat rebound is what everyone in the world has been waiting to see,\u201d Draymond Green said. \u201cYou got that athleticism, (because) you make big plays like that. You\u2019ve got superstar potential, you go make big plays. Those are game-winning plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuminga\u2019s 17-point, nine-rebound, six-assist game helped the Warriors to a 119-109 victory over the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. He sparked an 18-4 run to start the second half \u2014 in what resembled a vintage Warriors third quarter \u2014 and made Luka Doncic work for his 43 points by picking him up full-court and keeping his arms by his sides to avoid needless fouls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Listen toSection 415<\/p>\n

Today<\/p>\n

Section 415: Ballers manager Aaron Miles on bringing a title back to Oakland<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

4 days ago<\/p>\n

Section 415: Cricket is on the rise in the U.S., and the Bay Area is a hotbed<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tuesday, Oct. 14<\/p>\n

Section 415: Steph Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, and a Warriors season preview<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Since Kuminga entered the league, the Warriors have sought energy: defend, rebound, cut, run the floor. He delivered on all of that to support wingman Jimmy Butler (31 points; 16-for-16 from the foul line), Draymond Green, and Curry. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot bad,\u201d Kuminga said postgame when asked how he played. \u201cJust good to help the team win this game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under contract after a dramatic restricted free agency<\/a>, and under the mentorship of Butler, Kuminga was the player the Warriors need him to be on opening night. Butler has given the Warriors a legitimate floor of contention, and Kuminga \u2014 at his best \u2014 raises the team\u2019s ceiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s victory \u2014 even if it came against a LeBron James-less Lakers \u2014 validated the vibe that has emanated out of Warriors camp. Last preseason, Curry said he hoped to \u201cbe a relevant team early and give ourselves a chance to compete.\u201d Contrast that with this fall, when the Warriors\u2019 pillars know this group has a shot at contention from the outset.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love our team, too,\u201d Kerr said<\/a> when asked about a preseason projection model that predicted the Warriors to finish with 56 wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Much of Golden State\u2019s internal confidence has to do with Butler. Last season, he joined the Warriors and immediately inspired a 23-8 surge. The Warriors finished with 48 wins and the seventh seed, but Curry\u2019s hamstring injury ultimately doomed Golden State in the Western Conference semifinals, sending the team into the summer on a \u201cwhat-if.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In that span, the Warriors boasted the No. 3 net rating in the league. That was as Butler didn\u2019t know the defensive terminology or many of Golden State\u2019s set plays. Now they have a full offseason with the six-time All-Star to build on, plus a deeper roster with more shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Butler, like he did last year, dictated the pace by getting to the foul line at will against the Lakers. That was a dimension the Warriors sorely lacked before acquiring him, and one that helps their defense because it allows them to play in the halfcourt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the reason we became a good team last year,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cAs soon as we got him, he provides that stability, the ability to get fouled and go to the line and settle the game down. He never turns the ball over. He just controls the game out there for us. We need that. We\u2019ve always been at our best when we can provide the support for Draymond and Steph\u2019s chaos with stability.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Butler is providing more than just stability on the court. This training camp, he took Kuminga under his wing like veterans Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, and Kirk Hinrich once did for him. They watch film together, play one-on-one against each other and spend time together before, during, and after practices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kuminga has grand aspirations. Butler views it as his job to will the oozing potential out of him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to help JK be great,\u201d Butler said. \u201cHe\u2019s got so much raw talent. He\u2019s so aggressive, he\u2019s athletic, he\u2019s super smart. I\u2019m trying to teach him a little bit of what I see throughout the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kuminga\u2019s happy to listen.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being a sponge,\u201d Kuminga said. \u201cGoing to him every single day\u2026just any time I interact with him, try to pick his brain. I feel like in this league, he\u2019s one of the people that actually has been in my shoes throughout their career, like knows what I\u2019ve been through.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Butler had to do the dirty work to become a perennial All-Star and eventually someone who could put multiple Heat teams on his back en route to the NBA Finals. He spent years guarding opposing teams\u2019 best players, digging out contested rebounds, diving on the floor for loose balls, and treating practices like they were playoff games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Against the Lakers, Kuminga looked like a quick study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Never before in Kuminga\u2019s career had he logged at least nine boards and six dimes in a game. He added four 3-pointers, made quick decisions, and displayed the type of impressive playmaking he has flashed at times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On one play in the fourth quarter, he used a Curry ball screen to spring into the lane against the smaller Gabe Vincent before finding Al Horford for a layup while he was on the way down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Source: NBA.com<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dropoff to Al was crazy,\u201d Green said. \u201cHe couldn\u2019t make that play two years ago. He was incredible tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kuminga made the Warriors\u2019 small starting lineup work. Kerr went with it to open the game, to start the second half, and mostly closed the game out with it, too. Last year, the trio of Kuminga, Green, and Butler registered a paltry -27.7 net rating. But the sample was small, and it mostly included minutes while Kuminga was re-acclimating after his severe ankle sprain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kuminga\u2019s ability to hit open threes, keep the ball moving, and impact the game without scoring is the key to unlocking that lineup. In the first half, the unit\u2019s spacing was slightly off and the lineups failed to leverage Curry\u2019s gravity. Kuminga held his hand up after a pair of tough midrange fadeaways that clanked, recognizing they weren\u2019t the right shots. The combination barely played together in preseason, and Kuminga was feeling out when and where to attack.<\/p>\n

Kerr spent halftime reminding his team that it needs to use Curry\u2019s movement. The first play of the third quarter, Kuminga and Curry ran split action, and Kuminga cashed a three as two defenders ran to Curry. The very next play, he slipped an off-ball screen for Curry to the rim for an easy layup.<\/p>\n

Source: NBA.comSource: NBA.com<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s really, really matured,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cHe\u2019s had a great camp. We\u2019ve had some really great conversations. I think he has a better understanding of what we need.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kuminga likely won\u2019t start every game like he did on Tuesday, as Moses Moody sat and the Lakers\u2019 lack of an imposing center invited the Warriors to play small. But if he plays like he did in Los Angeles, it\u2019ll be easy for Kerr to find 30 minutes for him on a regular basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There have been stretches in Kuminga\u2019s career when he appears to be turning a corner, when his teammates believe his superstar potential is about to become reality, when the featured role he covets is within his grasp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Curry often warns against overanalyzing any single particular Kuminga performance. He\u2019s correct to do so; every player has great nights and poor ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe, with his contract settled, with Butler\u2019s tutelage, with a cohesive roster with centers who stretch the floor, with an improved jumper from another summer\u2019s worth of intense training, Kuminga can deliver the version of himself the Warriors have always envisioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The version that can help a championship core now and expand to run the show in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what you saw tonight is what you\u2019re going to see all year from JK,\u201d Green said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s only going to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232544,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,7901,5552,7227,590,85,17205,58049],"class_list":{"0":"post-232543","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-draymond-green","11":"tag-golden-state-warriors","12":"tag-jonathan-kuminga","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-steph-curry","16":"tag-steve-kerr"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}