Kuminga explains his mindset on handling a move to the Warriors bench originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Jonathan Kuminga found himself in a new — but familiar — role Tuesday night, and the 22-year-old handled it with grace.
After starting the first three Warriors games of the season, Kuminga was moved to a bench role for Golden State’s 124-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center.
The four-year forward explained his mindset regarding the switch to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Zena Keita shortly after scoring 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field in 28 minutes of action in the comeback win.
“It’s just the game of basketball,” Kuminga told Keita. “At the end of the day, we’ve always got to stay professional. That’s what we do. Just come out here every day and play. Because that’s what we choose to do every day, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what happens. come out here and be professional and play the game of basketball, the game you love and go home.
With Kuminga on the bench, and Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton out due to injuries, the Warriors started Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
However, Kuminga played a big role in the Warriors erasing a 20-point deficit to defeat the Pelicans by 18.
The comeback — with the Warriors scoring 110 points after the first quarter — was spurred by a halftime message from Green.
“It all starts with Draymond,” Kuminga told Keita. “Draymond came into the locker room and told all of us ‘They look good now but once we press they’re all going to be gone.’ And that’s the same thing that happened. We all came out here with one mindset, just pressing defense. So that’s what we came out here and [did].”
The Warriors improved to 3-1 this season, and an early lineup change that could have caused tension doesn’t seem to be a problem for now.
Kuminga sees the bigger picture and understands that even if he doesn’t start, he will play an important role for a Warriors team trying to get back to the NBA playoffs.
