The Warriors just can’t stay healthy this season.
Before Thursday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies, Warriors coach Steve Kerr announced that second-year forward Jonathan Kuminga hurt his right ankle in warmups and will be unavailable for the game.
Kuminga had been battling a previous left ankle sprain but Thursday's injury occurred on his right ankle. NBC Sports Bay Area caught the pre-game fall on camera.
The 20-year-old Kuminga started in Tuesday night’s contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder and has carved out a rotation role since returning from eight games missed due to a sprained foot earlier this season.
With the return of Steph Curry on Sunday, the Warriors were sporting a pretty clean bill of health with 16 games remaining, though Gary Payton II (core muscle) and Andrew Wiggins (family matter) remain unavailable. Golden State has been banged-up all season long, as noted by Audacy Sports' Golden Spaces podcast.
In Wiggins’ absence, Kuminga has often taken on the challenge of guarding the opposing team’s best player. Offensively, he has been very efficient lately, scoring 14.0 points on 51.5 percent shooting and 41.7 percent from 3-point land, with 4.8 rebounds per game.
Kuminga’s athleticism remains otherworldly, but it’s his 3-point shooting development that is probably the most exciting part of his game right now. If he can keep defenders honest on the perimeter with his shot, it might put them in a tough spot and create more opportunities for him to drive. Kuminga is also very effective out of the dunker spot, where he gets a lot of chances with the Warriors’ team full of shooters.
Two-way player Anthony Lamb has exhausted his 50 NBA games played this season, so second-year wing rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. could be in for more playing time.
The Grizzlies are also without a couple starters, as star Ja Morant will continue to stay away from the team as he deals with the fallout of his gun-toting Instagram video, and center Steven Adams will miss the next four weeks with a knee injury.
