On a night when Stephen Curry reached the 4,000 3-point milestone, the Warriors also had an exciting news: after missing many games due to injury, the star Kuminga officially returned and scored 18 points in 20 minutes off the bench. His outstanding performance not only added new energy to the team but also allowed the Warriors to further improve the lineup’s depth.
For Kuminga’s value, the Warriors are highly recognized throughout the team. “While we’ve been on a good pace, Kuminga’s return was definitely much needed,” Green said. He can bring more attacking options and defensive intensity to the team.” Curry added: “Kuminga knows exactly what his strengths are, he can use space to attack and create more scoring opportunities for the team. Having him back gives us more variety on offence and gives opposing defences more headaches.”
It’s worth mentioning that the Warriors already consider Kuminga “Junior Butler” and think he has a lot of similarities to Jimmy Butler’s style of play. In his first game back, Kuminga did show a similar versatility and impact to Butler.
With the Warriors’ starting five almost settled, Coach Kerr revealed his vision for the game-deciding lineup. He plans to have Curry, Green, Butler, Kuminga and a shooter on the court together to form the Warriors’ ultimate five. Although Kerr initially considered adding the playmaker Bodjemski to the lineup, after much deliberation, he decided to put a shooter, such as Moody or Hird, in the case of Green and Butler’s playmaking ability.
Kerr’s concept undoubtedly shows the Warriors’ flexibility and diversity in lineup collocation. Not only do they have a strong starting lineup, but they can also field an ultimate five with more impact and shooting ability when the game is decided. This lineup configuration undoubtedly makes the Warriors more worthy of looking forward to in the future.
