Warriors Must Unleash 20-Year-Old Sensation Jonathan Kuminga Against Lakers

Jonathan Kuminga played 36 minutes in a seven-game series against the Sacramento Kings. In the Golden State Warriors' Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, he didn't log a second.

With the team's collective back against the wall for at least the third time this postseason—the Warriors trailed Sacramento 2-0, blew a Game 6 closeout opportunity at home and are now without home-court advantage against L.A.—it's time to give Kuminga a meaningful opportunity.

The Lakers are big. They certainly play bigger than the Kings. And the only Golden State reserves that Steve Kerr played more than 10 minutes in Tuesday's loss were Jordan Poole (who logged 30 minutes and hoisted a controversial late three), Donte DiVincenzo (12 minutes) and Gary Payton II (same as DDV).

Those three are listed at 6'4", 6'4" and 6'2", respectively. And it's not like Golden State rolls out a jumbo starting lineup either. At 6'9", even Kevon "Moses Maloon" Looney is probably undersized (though you wouldn't know it by looking at his 16.1 rebounds per game in the playoffs).

Meanwhile, the Lakers are starting both Anthony Davis (6'10") and Jarred Vanderbilt (6'8"). That's a bruising frontcourt, especially with the way AD is playing this postseason. LeBron James (250 lbs) and Rui Hachimura (230 lbs) both outweigh Looney (222 lbs).

Through 48 minutes, it looks like the Warriors brought a middleweight rotation to a heavyweight fight. And even if they still have the edge in skill level, the natural advantage given by size is hard to overcome. Just ask a fighter or boxer who's fought up a weight class.

Thanks in large part to Looney (who had 23 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end), Golden State only lost the rebounding battle by four. Where the size difference really showed up was the points-in-the-paint column.

Golden State scored 28. The Lakers had 54.

And the visiting team's insistence on attacking the basket also contributed to a massive free-throw-attempt discrepancy.

L.A. won that battle 29-6. It was the 13th-biggest free-throw-attempt edge in a single playoff game over the last 10 years.

There may not be an easy, surefire fix for all of the above at Kerr's disposal, but there's at least a flier. Or, in Kuminga's case, a flyer.

Kuminga (6'7", 225 lbs) isn't a behemoth guaranteed to balance the scales in this matchup. He entered the league as something of a combo forward, but he's better equipped to counter size than Poole, DiVincenzo and Payton (though the latter two certainly play bigger than they are).

And playing him doesn't mean you have to cut any of those three out of the rotation entirely. JaMychal Green and Moses Moody combined to play 14 minutes on Tuesday. Both were in the red in the plus-minus column.

Unleashing Kuminga, a human pogo stick with finishes reminiscent of Amar'e Stoudemire's, would at least test L.A.'s interior more than the mostly guard strategy the Warriors are currently employing.

He was third on the team in total blocks during the regular season, despite finishing seventh in minutes played. He scored at an above-average rate as a pick-and-roll roll man.

And playing Kuminga doesn't necessarily have to kill spacing either. The Kings left him alone outside, and he went 0-of-4 from three in that series. The Lakers would probably do the same, but Kuminga was also above average from deep in 2022-23. If he were to a hit a few against L.A., it might be a bit more wary about leaving him wide open.

The combination of athleticism and budding skills made Kuminga a fixture in some of Golden State's better bench lineups.

On the year, the Warriors were plus-11.7 points per 100 possessions when Kuminga shared the floor with Poole and DiVincenzo. They were plus-9.6 with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

The necessary context on that comparison is obvious. The star-studded trio's possession total more than doubled the bench group's, which also had the benefit of spending more time against opposing reserves.

The point is that the younger group has had some success. And it's time to see if that can translate against a bruising opponent, even if it's not a perfect answer.

Kuminga may have been a target of Curry's now famous pre-Game 7 speech about buying into your role, regardless of how limited it might be. And during the Kings series, Kerr said, "I'd like to see him rebound."

Among Warriors with at least 500 minutes this season, Kuminga was seventh in rebounding percentage (DiVincenzo was one of the players ahead of him).

Again, he's not perfect, but no one should expect that of a role player off the bench.

He can provide at least some of what Golden State is missing against a team like the Lakers, which was seemingly the plan just under a year ago.

When Golden State didn't re-sign Payton (who'd later return in a trade), Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica in the offseason, the idea was that the young reserves had had enough seasoning behind those vets. They'd be able to pick up the slack.

And while that felt like a miscalculation for much of the season (Golden State was 11-30 on the road and minus-8.0 points per 100 possessions when Curry and Green were both off the floor), there may still be some evidence to present.

Kuminga may not be able to offset L.A.'s size and physicality entirely, but he at least deserves the chance to try, especially if the alternative is another bludgeoning inside.