Jimmy Butler‘s return in Game 4 ended Jonathan Kuminga‘s short playoff leash.
Kuminga turned into a “ghost” anew in Game 4 as Butler lifted the Golden State Warriors on the brink of advancing to the Western Conference semifinals with a gut-wrenching 109-106 win over the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets on Monday at Chase Center.
But that “ghost” flashed into Draymond Green’s mind when Butler outrebounded three Rockets players in the final four seconds to seal the win.
“I think my favorite play was the last rebound,” Green said of Butler’s 27-point, 5-rebound, 6-assist performance. “I looked up, I thought it was [Jonathan] Kuminga out there flying. It was Jimmy.”
The young and athletic Kuminga held the fort when Butler was out in Game 3, setting the tone defensively when he took on Rockets star Jalen Green. Kuminga helped the Warriors hold Green to nine points on 4-of-11 shooting after exploding for a playoff career-high 38 in Game 2.
“Every game is different. JK could come in next game and have a monster game, and he missed three games,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Game 3. “We didn’t play him three games. That’s not an easy thing to do and I thought he came in and gave us important minutes.”
Winning Trumps Developing in Playoffs
Except Kuminga never got a chance to have a monster game. Kerr played 11 players in Game 5. Kuminga was not one of them. He received his fourth DNP in the Warriors’ last six games.
It could have been six straight DNP had Butler not gotten hurt.
“I kind of grew into it,” Kuminga said of getting benched after he filled in for Butler in a Game 2 loss. “I’ve been here for four years, and throughout these four years, there were times I didn’t play, and it messes with my head sometimes as a very young player, but I kind of grew into it.”
After the first game Kuminga was removed from the rotation, Kerr was asked if he’s worried about hurting his confidence.
“I don’t factor that in,” Kerr told reporters at the time. “That’s regular-season stuff. When you go through the 82-game season, you factor in everything, you try to help everybody along. … When you get to the playoffs, everything goes out the window. You just try to win each game.”
Jonathan Kuminga’s Fate Sealed
It was a drastic fall from grace for Kuminga, who was the Warriors’ second-best leading scorer behind Stephen Curry until a significant ankle injury kept him out for 31 games. By the time he returned, his spot already belonged to Butler, who arrived via blockbuster trade at the deadline — a turning point in the Warriors’ flailing season.
Butler played 40 minutes in Game 5, playing through a deep glute muscle contusion that kept him out of Game 3.
The Warriors improved to 24-7 with Butler playing.
Butler’s impact on winning on top of his vast postseason experience sealed Kuminga’s fate in Kerr’s playoff roster decision and perhaps his future with the franchise that drafted him seventh overall in 2021.
No amount of Green’s praise for the soon-to-be restricted free agent Kuminga can change Kerr’s mind as long as Butler can play.
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Draymond Green Sees Warriors Youngster in Jimmy Butler