Warriors rookie Jonathan Cuminga, dressed in a Belenciaga jersey and with just enough style from his feet to his sunglasses, was ready to put on a show Wednesday night in Miami.
He did not disappoint.
Kuminga was given a spot in the starting lineup in place of Draymond Green, who was just one of many key Golden State players, and the 19-year-old looked like the Warriors’ best player on the floor. In fact, that was true for both sides, as the undermanned Warriors beat the Heat 118-104 and then beat the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
“He’s good,” said Andrew Wiggins after the win. “Dude, he’s good. His growth this year is amazing. It was fast. He soaked it all up and yes, he has great veterans, great coaches, great teammates who will help him succeed.”
“He is a kid who wants to learn and get better. And he gets better with every game. He does things we’ve never seen before and he just does it.
The rookie gave the Warriors their first points of the night, and it immediately became clear what the night could be like for him. Kuminga showed far better ball handling skills for the second game in a row and a half-hearted move that can get his defender to rest for just a fraction of a second before driving past him. To kick off the Warriors’ victory over the Heat, he did so by attacking one of the best defensemen in basketball.
Kuminga removed Bam Adebayo, a two-time All-Defense medalist who has yet to come, off the dribble with his left hand and finished with his right hand, scoring Golden State on the scoreboard.
In the first quarter, Kuminga scored six points, finding his rhythm. In the second quarter, he really started to warm up. He went 3-for-5 from the game, was fouled twice, scored eight points and went plus-5 in less than eight minutes, showing his stellar potential in the process.
With just over seven minutes left in the first half, Kuminga caught a missed three-pointer that hit nothing but his hands, went from coast to coast and used that half-hearted left hand move again to get past his defender and strike. at two more points.
For what an electrifying athlete and what a dunker Kuminga is, he had perhaps his most impressive moment of the season later in the second quarter.
Duncan Robinson didn’t stand a chance. But this disappearing jumper? Now this is something new from an ever-improving teenager.
The moment Cuminga saw Robinson, the seas parted in Miami. There was only one thing Kuminga was going to do, and that was not passing the ball. He was in control, got to his seat and didn’t hesitate to make the move he had been constantly working on backstage.
“I would say mostly post-ups,” Kuminga said when asked about what he improved the most during the season. “I feel like whenever I’m there, I get everything I want. And setting up screens and diving to the edge is where I pretty much think I’ve gotten better.”
It’s said as a rookie who keeps getting better and better and someone who knows he can become an absolute superstar.
“Jonathan was great,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “Growth has been continuous throughout the year. From the beginning of the season until now, it’s amazing how much better he is. He’s so gifted, so explosive. The game slows down a bit for him. post you can see it, he is more patient.
“Like many rookies, at the beginning of the season he went too fast. He’s really come a long way quickly and really plays at a high level.”
By halftime, Kuminga led the Warriors with 14 points. That’s less than six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who scored 15 points.
The Warriors and Heat tied 50-50 in the half before Golden State came out of the net and went on a 19-0 streak through the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter. Kuminga was on the floor the whole time. Well, until he committed his second foul of the frame and fourth of the game. He didn’t play again in the third quarter, the Heat led the Warriors by 18 points, and then the Dubs led by only one point to move into fourth.
Kuminga scored six points in just six minutes and 25 seconds in the fourth quarter. But he fouled at 5:35. At the time, he had a career-high 26 and scored 22 points in 30 minutes.
“He was in serious trouble for most of the game,” Kerr said. “As a rookie, he is more prone to fouls because of some of the veteran tricks. I thought today that was a factor. I thought there was a really tricky team there. these are things he will have to keep learning and he will do.”
To be fair, Kuminga fouled a very dubious call. Kerr rightfully stood up for his newcomer, but failed to rise to the challenge.
But it was the second game in a row that Kuminga got into trouble, in which case time was up. In a loss to the Magic on Tuesday, Kuminga had 14 points, grabbed five rebounds and was plus-7 off the bench. He was also held up for just under 20 minutes as he had five fouls.
Another nagging flaw on his evening was that he went 4 for 8 from the free throw line and made only one of his four tries in the fourth quarter. Recently, Kuminga has become a super reliable line shooter. However, in his last three games, he has used 50% of his free throws, 7 of 14.
Now we have to pick and choose to find flaws in Kuminga’s game, who never expected him to be here at this rookie moment. It is clear that there are more pluses than minuses.
“Obviously he’s a freak,” Damion Lee said. “He’s physically fit as hell, he’s one of the most athletic guys in the league. For him to just keep knowing when to attack when he has smaller guys is a mismatch. He can dominate. He can help you get early fouls, keep getting the bonus earlier and earlier, and then just keep being aggressive and knowing where his spots are.
“How old is he, 18? 19? He has many years to be great. He’s learning day by day what it takes and learning from the guys and just soaking up the game from all the great veterans we have.”
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Kuminga went through the stage of simply absorbing knowledge from his veterans. It is still a part of everyday life and is not going to stop anytime soon. But right now, he’s just as important as most of them on the court.
Before the foul, he recorded his fifth 20-point game as a rookie, the most by a teenager in Warriors history. He can’t have a problem with an early foul. He needs to be reliable in lane or teams will attack him.
The full experience of Jonathan Cuminga was on display during the shocking Warriors victory in Miami. Of course it was fun while it lasted.
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