‘Hellified' Kuminga impresses Butler in explosive Warriors return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Having watched from the sidelines for the past two months while the Warriors added Jimmy Butler and instantly transformed into a legitimate contender in the NBA’s Western Conference, Jonathan Kuminga’s biggest concern coming back Thursday was not to mess things up.
Butler almost laughed at that idea.
“You can’t mess [anything] up whenever everybody wants everybody to be great,” Butler said after Golden State’s 130-104 win against the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center. “We don’t got no selfish people on this team. I’m going to come in there and tell him, ‘Be you, be you, be you.’
“He’s here and he’s been doing him for some time now, and I want [him] to be [him] more than anybody. You come in and play basketball the way you know how. I myself and everybody else will make sure that we fit your game.”
Playing for the first time since suffering a serious ankle injury against the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 4, Kuminga had a solid enough game and a few times flashed some of the athleticism that has kept him a prized prospect in Golden State despite multiple attempts by opponents to trade for him.
Kuminga logged nearly 20 minutes off the bench, scoring 18 points (second on the Warriors behind Draymond Green’s 23) while connecting on seven of his 10 shot attempts. Kuminga was in attack mode almost from the jump and maintained that energy throughout the night.
“I thought he played really hard, and what you notice is just the different dimension he gives us with his explosion to the rim,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “The way teams are playing Steph [Curry], everybody now is just top-locking him. It makes sense because you’re trying to take away Steph, but then you don’t have help in certain areas.
“So if you have a guy like JK who can attack and score at the rim, it’s a huge help. Just really happy for him. He’s put a lot of work in … and it took him quite a while to get to this point. There was a lot of hard work that went into it and I’m proud of him.”
The Warriors were mired in mediocrity and an erratic team at best before general manager Mike Dunleavy swung the trade for Butler in early February. That deal elevated Golden State to another level and completely changed the outlook for Kerr and his players.
Getting Kuminga back might not have that same type of impact, but it assuredly adds another top-flight scorer to a unit that already has several of those.
Kuminga also was a core part of the Warriors’ defense that forced 14 turnovers and limited the Kings to 37.8-percent shooting from distance.
“Just pretty much getting to where I needed to get to make things happen,” Kuminga said. “Being in the right situation, being in the right position to make everything smooth. Just having [Butler and Green] and the way they’re making things look easier, it’s kind of helped me just to go out there and be myself and not rushing.”
Kuminga back in the mix just as the NBA playoff race heats up gives the Warriors another proven scorer and defender who definitely can make a big difference in any game that he plays.
He got the assist on Curry’s 3,999th career 3-pointer, then later added two of his patented powerful dunks, including a one-handed windmill that had the Chase Center crowd roaring.
“I love that my man came out there aggressive, putting the ball in the basket, high energy, jumping out the gym and dunking the basketball,” Butler said. “I want him to be him to the best of his abilities, continually be great and help this squad achieve something special.
“He’s a hellified athlete. He’s a scorer. He wants to be great and he’s going to do whatever anybody asks him to do on both sides of the ball. That’s what you can ask of anybody, let alone a young player that has as much upside as he does. I see why they want him here.”
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