Jonathan Kuminga has missed the last four games for the Golden State Warriors with a knee injury, and with him set to return on Thursday for a crucial game against the Houston Rockets, head coach Steve Kerr has an interesting decision when it comes to either starting Kuminga or having him come off of the bench for the Warriors as they enter the matchup on a four-game winning streak.
“Whether he starts or not, it’s up in the air,” Steve Kerr said, via 95.7 The Game. “We’re gonna meet as a staff. We’ve won four in a row starting TJD (Trayce Jackson-Davis) with Draymond on the front line. In the past, the way I’ve handled things, if our team is playing well, I generally stay with the same group.”
Luckily for the Warriors, this is not as crucial of a game as it looked a few days or weeks ago. The Rockets had closed in very closely on. The last spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament, which Golden State currently holds at 10th in the Western Conference. Now, the Warriors are three games ahead of the Rockets for the last spot.
The Warriors’ four wins as of late came against the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks. So while Golden State has found success with Trayce Jackson-Davis paired with Draymond in the starting lineup, as Kerr mentioned, three of the four wins came against teams towards the bottom of the standings in the NBA. The Mavericks game was a good win, however.
Regardless, Kuminga’s return should be a boost for the Warriors. He could be a much-needed presence off of the bench with that unit, and he could still play a good amount of minutes in that role as well.
Warriors trying to seal spot in NBA Play-In Tournament
A win against the Rockets would take a lot of pressure off of the Warriors for the last six games of the season. Golden State would be four games up with six to play, and would just need to avoid a complete collapse down the stretch to clinch a spot in the play-in tournament.
After the game against the Rockets, the Warriors have matchups with the Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans and Jazz again to end the regular season.
On paper, some of these matchups might seem tough. However, with some teams possibly being locked into playoff spots soon, opponents like the Mavericks or Pelicans could rest players in these games. Even if they do not, the games will matter more for the Warriors. The priority for the other teams will be to make sure they are healthy for when the playoffs start, not necessarily going all out to win those games.
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