The Warriors might be back on the right path and in the thick of things in the Western Conference, but they are still experimenting with lineups.
Draymond Green moving to the second unit might have solidified the Warriors’ non-Steph Curry minutes, but it also weakened those non-Green minutes.
The Warriors had proven to be one man short in their top-eight — a team’s true depth come the playoffs.
James Wiseman wasn’t the guy for the job. JaMychal Green doesn’t appear to be it, either. Moses Moody had a shot — the Warriors coaches didn’t like what they saw. Anthony Lamb has been a nice contributor, but he’s a two-way player.
All this experimentation has left the Warriors lamenting the exit of last season’s ultimate glue guy, Gary Payton II, who signed with the Portland Trail Blazers this past offseason
But over the past week — and, in particular, over the last two games — the Warriors might have found Payton II’s replacement: Jonathan Kuminga.
It’s easy to forget in the afterglow of victory, but the NBA Finals were not a straightforward affair for the Golden State Warriors, either.
It took games — and heroic efforts from Steph Curry in those contests — to find the team’s best five-man lineup. When it was finally deployed for Games 5 and 6, and the result was two Warriors wins and a title.
The lineup was unorthodox. It asked the 6-foot-3 (on a particularly limber day) Payton II to play power forward. Against a team that was long and as theoretically physical as the Celtics, it’s understandable why there was reticence from Warriors coaches to deploy Payton II in the role.
But once Payton II was given the job, he was plus-34 in the final two games of the series, a team-high.
Yes, Payton was strong for a guard, but he ultimately succeeded in a forward role because the Warriors’ offensive and defensive systems can compensate for size, so long as players have basketball intelligence and play with energy. Payton was blessed with both, even if he wasn’t blessed with a prototypical forward frame.
My, how the Warriors have missed Payton II this season. His perimeter defense — some of the best in the NBA — would be well-received by any team, but especially the early-season Warriors.
But it was Payton II’s cutting ability on offense — his commitment to fulfilling a role in the Warriors’ ball-moving system — that had been most missed by the Dubs. The short guy perfectly inhabited what Golden State wanted from a depth forward.
And that’s the kind of play we’re seeing that from Kuminga over the last two games.
In those contests, against Minnesota Sunday and Dallas Tuesday, Kuminga has seven made baskets at the rim off cuts and in-the-flow-of-the-offense drives. He is working the baseline like Payton II during the Finals — spotting up in the corner, and attacking the hoop when the defense collapses onto the ball.
If the ball finds Kuminga in that situation, there’s nothing the defense can do — he’s too athletic, too springy, and too close to the basket.
There used to be a whole lot of extra from Kuminga on offense — youthful efforts to prove he was talented and belonged in the NBA. Now, it’s direct and to the point. It’s Payton in a true power forward’s frame. And no one could possibly question if the second-year pro belongs.
“[It was] just a matter of time,” Kuminga, 20, said.
“It’s not easy for him to be thrown into a high-pressure environment,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “The way he’s playing is a direct reflection of his attitude and approach the last few weeks… he’s on a good track.”
And while there are few players that can touch Payton II as a perimeter defender, Kuminga is doing a great job on that end of the floor, where athleticism is vital to success. He’s been the whole package.
Now, the Warriors have been playing a lot of zone with Kuminga on the floor as of late, so some of this data is a bit cloudy, but over the last two games, Kuminga’s defensive marks are shooting 31 percent from the floor on 32 attempts. He has four blocks and, critically, only five personal fouls during that stretch.
He’s not locking down scrubs, either. He was isolated against Luka Dončić repeatedly Tuesday. Dončić went 2-for-7 from the floor against Kuminga, per NBA Second Spectrum tracking.
Sunday, he put the clamps on Anthony Edwards, who shot 1-of-4 when defended by Kuminga.
If this form holds — if Kuminga can continue to switch onto the perimeter, let his prodigious athleticism keep him in front of his defender, and, once again, not foul, the Warriors will have a reasonable replacement for Payton II on defense, too.
And if the Warriors have that, they have what they need to compete for another title come the spring.
