When this season started – or least before Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole – the Two Timeline theme surrounding the Warriors was chief narrative surrounding the squad.
As if it’s not enough to go all-out for back-to-back titles in the twilight of the Dubs Dynasty, Golden State wanted to develop the next wave of Warriors in the building. With just one game remaining in the regular season, it’s clear to say who made the biggest leap amongst the young Dubs in 2022-23: two-way wing Jonathan Kuminga.
In Friday’s 119-97 win over the Sacramento Kings, Kuminga once again was Mr. Efficiency, showing the stability and supreme growth he’s been able to build since Andrew Wiggins last played in mid-February.
The crop of 23-and-under Dubs is intriguing.
You can argue that guard Jordan Poole’s defense has improved, but he was more consistent offensively last season. On Friday night, he went 0-of-10 from the field and 0-of-6 from 3-point land en route to eight points. Big man James Wiseman is gone for a fresh start in Detroit with the Pistons. Moses Moody stays ready – and games like Tuesday make you think he can contribute in these playoffs if needed – but his opportunities are still few and far between. Rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins are still projects for upcoming seasons.
The 20-year-old Kuminga, meanwhile, has evolved into a bona fide piece of coach Steve Kerr’s playoff rotation. Especially with Wiggins trying to get acclimated after more than two months away from game action.
Back on Jan. 7, when he returned following a 15-game absence due to an adductor strain, Wiggins told reporters he was admittedly rusty.
“Just felt a little rusty out there,” Wiggins said. “Trying to get my feet right, get back in rhythm. I know it’s gonna take a little time. Put in a little work and I’ll be good. I just felt a little slow, that’s it. One step slow.”
Wiggs’ offensive funk prolonged for the next few weeks and wasn’t helped by two different bouts with illness. He shot just 41.4 percent from the floor and 28.9 percent from 3-point land from Jan. 7 until Feb. 13, the last time we’ve seen him in an NBA game, averaging 14.2 points in that span. Those are down from the 19.1 PPG, 51.1 FG% and 45.0 3FG% he posted through his first 22 games of the season.
Wiggins returned to the Bay Area earlier this week after reportedly helping take care of his father with a serious medical issue, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. While Wiggins said he was getting shots up and trying to stay conditioned, he’ll also miss Sunday’s regular-season finale as he builds up his endurance. Even though Kerr has made encouraging statements about Wiggins’ athleticism this week, you have to assume the wing will be rusty again.
Which is why Kuminga is such a big rotation piece entering the first round.
The defense is there, but it’s JK’s offensive development which has been eye-opening. Despite his herculean physique and ability to rise at the rim, Kuminga is playing remarkably patient basketball lately, making the right pass and showing deft shot selection.
On Friday night, Kuminga scored 15 points in 19 minutes, going 4-of-5 from the floor, 2-of-2 from 3-point land and 5-of-6 from the line. In 21 contests (nine starts) since Wiggins has been out, Kuminga has been averaging 13.3 points on 55.8 percent shooting and a scorching 43.4 percent from 3-point land in about 24 minutes per game.
In essence, Kuminga is already doing a solid Wiggins impression from earlier this season, though the scoring and minutes are down a bit by comparison. Kuminga also takes on defensive responsibilities on the wing to help out Klay Thompson and is able to switch multiple positions like Wiggins. Having them both on the floor with Gary Payton II and Draymond Green lurking around will be huge for the Warriors defense – as that’s something we haven’t seen since the 2022 playoffs.
It’s entirely possible the Warriors could start their postseason title defense right back in Sacramento next week, though the Kings will have a much different look than Friday night. Players like Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk sat against the Warriors with the Kings locked in to the No. 3 seed.
The Warriors can secure their spot in the top six with a win in Sunday’s regular season finale against a skeleton Portland Trail Blazers squad that has called it a wrap. That four-day break from April 11-14 would be a welcome sight for the Warriors and Wiggins to get ramped up for another title run before the first round tips on April 15.
