Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga.
The Golden State Warriors (27-26) face a difficult journey to reach the postseason and with 29 games remaining in the NBA season, third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga is the X-factor in this team’s success.
In an interview with Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Kuminga spoke about his early season struggles and how a heart-to-heart talk with coach Steve Kerr allowed him to come into his own.
“I just told him how I feel, he told me how he feels. Things he wanted me to do more to get more playing time. After that, just going out there and just enjoying it, enjoying playing for him. He’s coaching me harder. Sometimes you don’t understand things until it comes to your eyes. Somebody wants great things for you, that’s why they coach you harder.”
This meeting occurred before a Jan. 5 victory over the Detroit Pistons and Kuminga has flourished since then, averaging 20.1 points and 5.7 rebounds on 56.7 percent shooting from the floor. While Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are the emotional lynchpins of the Warriors, Kuminga has become the energizer on the court, utilizing his athleticism to great effect.
Kuminga has been given more ball-handling opportunities, especially in the low-post where the Warriors utilize their off-ball movement to create open looks. This role requires a high degree of focus and basketball IQ since timing is a key factor in its success.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Warriors are the fifth in offense and eighth in net rating (+7.8) over the last two weeks, due in large part to Kuminga’s expanded role on offense.
Although Kuminga was part of the Warriors’ championship-winning team in 2022, he was a rookie and averaged just 8.6 minutes during their postseason run. Assuming the Warriors make the playoffs, this year will be an entirely new test for the 21-year-old. He’ll command more defensive attention than ever before and how he responds will dictate how far this Warriors team will go.
Want more articles like this? Follow Yardbarker on MSN to see more of our exclusive NBA content.
More must-reads:
Trending slideshow: The 20 best NBA teams of the 2000s (Provided by Yardbarker)
News Related
-
1024x768_france-antoine-dupont-and-fabian-galthie-oct-2023-jpg Fabien Galthie’s men went into the global tournament as one of the favourites but they were ousted in the last-eight. Les Bleus suffered a 29-28 defeat to the Springboks as they were eliminated at their home World Cup by the eventual champions. It was a similar story to 2019, ...
See Details:
Antoine Dupont still hurt by 'injustice' of World Cup loss to Springboks
-
China’s New Aircraft Carrier Begins Catapult Testing Testing of the catapults on the Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian has begun. This is an important step forward in the construction of this ship, which is set to be the first carrier in the People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, that launches aircraft ...
See Details:
China's New Aircraft Carrier Begins Catapult Testing
-
Aircraft Downed Inside Russia By Patriot System: Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force has now confirmed that a number of Russian aircraft shot down back in May over their own territory were indeed destroyed by a foreign-supplied Patriot air defense system. The possibility that Ukraine’s newly acquired Patriots may ...
See Details:
Aircraft Downed Inside Russia By Patriot System: Ukrainian Air Force
-
-
Exiled Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov delivers a speech during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on April 20, 2022 in Brussels. Fedorov on Monday said Ukrainian partisans blew up a car with pro-Russian fighters inside over the weekend. A car with Chechen soldiers fighting ...
See Details:
Car With Pro-Russian Fighters Blown Up by Resistance: Exiled Mayor
-
-
Springbok lock opts not to renew contract with URC team Rugby World Cup-winning lock RG Snyman has opted not to extend his stay at Munster beyond the current season. This week, it was revealed by Munster that Snyman would seek new horizons once his deal with the Irish Province expires. ...
See Details:
Springbok lock opts not to renew contract with URC team
-
Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
See Details:
Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future
-
Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
See Details:
Antoine Dupont STILL hurt by ‘injustice’ of Rugby World Cup loss to Springboks
-
Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
See Details:
Rubber stamping NHI Bill will have damaging consequences for SA for generations
-
-
Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
See Details:
After the Bell: SA’s NHI healthcare disaster starts right here
-
Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
See Details:
Gupta-linked development land for sale
-
OTHER NEWS
A senior Volkswagen executive involved in a global cost-cutting strategy said on Friday, 24 November, he was “very worried” about the future of the company’s operations in South Africa, which ...
Read more »
Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Liz Truss, the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, who was famously shown to have a shorter shelf life than a lettuce, has effectively backed Donald Trump ...
Read more »
Standard Bank treasonous? We're literally helping to keep the lights on says CEO Bruce Whitfield speaks to Lungisa Fuzile, Standard Bank SA CEO. Standard Bank is one of 28 banks ...
Read more »
Israel, Hamas agree to extend truce for two days; Musk ‘would like to help rebuild Gaza’ The UN said many people in Gaza still had no food or cooking fuel ...
Read more »
Mamelodi Sundowns’ former coach, Pitso Mosimane, dismissed the African Football League Jingles shared his opinion and compared it to the CAF league and said that it was a mere tournament ...
Read more »
Take note of these N3 road works between Westville and Paradise Valley The N3 between the Westville viaduct and Paradise Valley interchange will be partially closed to traffic for the ...
Read more »
UKZN medical student bags 2023 Health Excellence Rising Star Award Durban — One of the country’s most progressive young minds in the medical field, fifth-year University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) medical ...
Read more »