Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga found themselves partnering each other in the Golden State Warriors‘ front court on opening night. The duo helped Steve Kerr’s team secure a 119-109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Both forwards impressed throughout the game, with Kuminga shining on the defensive end, as he was tasked with slowing down Luka Doncic. When speaking to the media after the game, Butler shared his desire to help Kuminga achieve greatness in his career.
“I just wanna help JK be great,” Butler said. “I mean, he’s got so much raw talent, and he’s so aggressive. He’s athletic, he’s super smart, and I’m trying to teach him a little bit of what I see throughout the game. I’ve been kicking it with him, hanging out, watching film, and just working on our game together after practice and before practice. I know how great he wants to be and how great he can be.”
Kuminga spent this summer at loggerheads with the Warriors’ front office. However, now that his immediate future has been committed to the franchise, it will be interesting to see how much opportunity Kerr affords the athletic forward. Judging by his production against the Lakers, Kuminga could be heading into a career season.
Draymond Green Praises Kuminga’s Defense
During his own postgame news conference, Draymond Green explained the importance of Kuminga’s defensive production against Doncic, despite the Lakers star dropping 43 points.
“He was guarding Luka all night,” Green said. “And you know Luka—well, he finished with 39, 40, something like that. But it was like we didn’t have to commit two guys. You know, so you get 43, which I always tell these guys: you’re not stopping a great scorer. And that’s just not the way this league is set up for you to stop great scorers. But you do make a tough one. And I think all night he lived with the results. And over the course of 48 minutes, you just want to wear him down. You know, I think JK was all over him.”
Kuminga’s size, athleticism and motor make him an ideal defensive option against high-level forwards. Kerr could lean on the 23-year-old to operate as a defensive wing stopper throughout the upcoming season.
Kerr Believes Warriors’ Kuminga Has Matured
After the Warriors secured their opening-night win over the Lakers, Kerr discussed Kuminga’s performance, noting that he’s shown significant growth in maturity.
“I think he’s really matured,” Kerr said. “He’s had a great camp. We’ve had some really good conversations. I think he has a better understanding of what we need. You saw in the first half he took a couple tough mid-range fadeaways that we don’t want. He immediately held up his hand…It hasn’t been easy to find minutes on our team. And I’m really proud of him for staying with it and really maturing. And it’s a great start for him and for us.”
Kuminga has likely done enough to keep his starting spot for the coming weeks. Of course, we will have a better understanding of how Kerr will manage his rotation when the franchise faces the Denver Nuggets on Friday, Oct. 24.
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