Jonathan Kuminga returns to practice
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The Warriors’ 22-year-old forward took part in a team practice for the first time in more than six weeks
On January 4, Jonathan Kuminga suffered a severe ankle sprain in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. 46 days later, the Golden State Warriors forward is finally back practicing with the team.
While Kuminga has missed the last 21 games for the Warriors, he’s still essentially on schedule for his return. The Warriors called it a “significant” right ankle sprain, which probably means Kuminga suffered a high ankle sprain. The general expectation for this is a recovery time of 6-8 weeks, which is the range Kuminga is in right now.
He’ll need to get cleared for five-on-five basketball and perhaps get his conditioning up to NBA level, after spending time on crutches and in a walking boot. Since he’s been out, the roster has significantly changed, with Jimmy Butler arriving and Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters III departing.
The shorthanded Warriors just signed former lottery pick Kevin Knox to add some forward depth, but nothing will help the roster more than getting Kuminga back. He’s averaging 16.8 points and five rebounds this season. Kuminga’s ability to get to the basket is unique among Warriors forwards not named Jimmy Butler, so his return should help jump-start the offense, even if he’s likely to come back to a bench role.
Kuminga’s return should cut into the minutes of Gary Payton II and Gui Santos, though it seems the Moses Moody may have (finally) earned himself consistent minutes as part of a highly-effective small starting lineup. It also means Knox will have a limited window to prove himself, though his chances at a second 10-day contract remain excellent, given the Warriors’ proximity to the hard cap.
Jonathan Kuminga is practicing. Soon, Jonathan Kuminga will be playing. If the Dubs are going to win it all like Draymond Green promised, they’re going to need Kuminga’s buckets.
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Jonathan Kuminga’s fit with Jimmy Butler and other key issues for Warriors’ final push
Warriors forward Jimmy Butler, front, and Brandin Podziemski, right, defend against the Houston Rockets’ Aaron Holiday during the second half last Thursday in Houston.
The Golden State Warriors reconvene in full on Thursday for practice at Chase Center, allowing for the continued cultivation of chemistry with Jimmy Butler. As the six-time All-Star said last week after they beat the Houston Rockets: “When you put a bunch of good basketball players together, they always figure out a way to win.”
The Warriors are 3-1 with Butler with 27 games left to play as they vie for standing in the Western Conference starting Friday against the Sacramento Kings. His malleable makeup and carefree chutzpah — along with 21.3 points, seven rebounds and 5.3 assists per game with the Warriors — are emboldening their playoff push.
“We should be 4-0. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m sick to my stomach because of it,” Butler said. “We’re going to figure it out. We’re going to go streaking. We’re going to win a couple more.”
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Here are three things to follow as the Warriors prepare to resume regular-season play:
Jonathan Kuminga’s reintegration: The fourth-year forward was funneling his force into the flow of Golden State’s read-and-react offense when he sprained his right ankle Jan. 4 and then missed 21 games. In the previous seven he had played to completion, he averaged 24.3 points (52.7% shooting, 35% 3-point shooting), eight rebounds and 10 free-throw attempts as the complementary shot creator alongside Stephen Curry.
A re-evaluation is expected this week regarding Kuminga’s return to play.
Playing beside Butler in addition to Curry should position Kuminga with favorable matchups as a secondary or tertiary shot creator if top opposing perimeter defenders are deployed to stop the All-Star tandem. As Curry draws double teams from the perimeter, Butler can draw them from the paint or post and Kuminga can cut into vacancies, attack closeouts or overpower smaller defenders.
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“I would like to think I’m going to make (Kuminga’s) job a lot easier and he’s going to also make my job a lot easier,” Butler said last week after a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. “You’re talking about another individual they’re going to have to guard, they’re going to have to pay attention to. Then on the defensive side of the ball, you’ve got another quote unquote ‘MFer’ that can switch, that can challenge shots, that can get into the open floor.”
To Butler’s point, Kuminga is in line to absorb more responsibility defending the opposing point of attack. Andrew Wiggins was Golden State’s primary on-ball defender before he was included in the trade for Butler, a steady defender but a playmaking hub.
Sturdy, twitchy and explosive at 6-foot-7, Kuminga has the traits to become a premier defender opposite multiple positions and skill sets — a role often best befitting of a secondary or tertiary scorer.
Moses Moody’s steadiness: Kuminga’s absence — and a seven-game absence for Draymond Green — formed openings for the Warriors at power forward, where the fourth-year swingman has found a fit, spotting for jumpers and attacking closeouts. At 6-6, with a 7-foot wingspan, he’s sturdy guarding bigger opponents while his shooting touch demands a defensive closeout, opening space for Golden State’s offense.
In his past 15 games — often playing as small-ball power forward against sizable opposition — he’s averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists while converting 36.8% of his 3-point attempts and winning his minutes (26.5 per game) by 57 points. He’s part of Golden State’s most-used lineup since Butler’s team debut Feb. 8 with Curry, Butler, Green and Brandin Podziemski: plus-10.5 points per 100 possessions in 26 minutes.
When he isn’t guarding power forwards in small-ball lineups Green typically centers, he can slide into a perimeter post and match opposing swingmen while maintaining Golden State’s spacing.
“We do have to form that identity as a new team, essentially. We changed out a lot of players. We’ve got to form a new identity,” Moody said Saturday after participating in the skills challenge as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
Podziemski pairing with Curry: Against the Rockets, the Warriors replaced Buddy Hield in the starting backcourt with Podziemski, who responded — during his first start with a full-ish roster since Dec. 6 — with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and a key layup in the closing minutes.
Afterward, head coach Steve Kerr affirmed Podziemski “needs to be in that starting group now” considering his impact in the past 12 games. Since returning from a right abdominal strain, he has averaged 14 points (47.6% shooting, 35.8% 3-point shooting), 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals while playing to a team-high plus-77.
His ballhandling and facilitating push Curry off the ball.
“He makes a lot of plays out of nothing with his brain and his skill,” Kerr said. “I imagine he’s going to be out there as a starter for a while.”
As for Golden State’s ever-changing rotation: Hield (11.5 points, 36.3% 3-point shooting) returns to a second unit that has included guard Gary Payton II (5.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists), center Kevon Looney (5 points, 6.9 rebounds) and forward Gui Santos (3.9 points, 2.8 rebounds).
Big man Quinten Post (7.5 points, 39.7% 3-point shooting) has started in traditional lineups and backed Green up in small-ball lineups, which have twice started since Butler arrived. Kuminga thrives in small-ball and presumably next to a shooting center who pulls his defender away from the paint.
Reach Sam Gordon: Sam.Gordon@sfchronicle.com
Sam Gordon comes to the San Francisco Chronicle by way of Las Vegas, where he spent seven years covering the city’s emergence as a pro sporting hub for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a sports reporter and columnist, he wrote about the Raiders, Aces, Golden Knights, UNLV and boxing. Along the way, he maintained an emphasis on basketball, football and boxing at every level. New to the Bay Area, he’s thrilled to focus full-time on the Golden State Warriors and NBA as part of the Chronicle’s incredible staff. A proud Minneapolis native and University of Minnesota graduate, Gordon also enjoys music (hip-hop), fitness, movies and board games. His favorite food is tacos. He coached high school basketball for three years as an assistant. He still appreciates “three yards and a cloud of dust.” Big Ten (and Wu-Tang) forever.
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