Sources: The latest on Jonathan Kuminga's delayed ankle injury return for Warriors
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No team has been hotter than the Golden State Warriors in recent weeks. After going 4-1 during a five-game road trip against the Eastern Conference, the Warriors returned home on Saturday and kicked off a seven-game homestand with a 115-110 win over the Detroit Pistons. However, Jonathan Kuminga missed 30 straight games after Golden State was hopeful that he would return from his severe right ankle sprain on Saturday against Detroit.
Although Kuminga has returned to practice and scrimmages with the team, he has not yet been fully cleared by Warriors medical personnel, league sources told ClutchPoints. There was hope the forward would be ready for this matchup with Detroit, but Golden State and Kuminga both want him at 100 percent and pain-free before returning.
In addition to icing his ankle after workouts and scrimmages, Kuminga is still experiencing slight discomfort in his right ankle. This is normal for a player to experience, sources said, especially as Kuminga continues to work the rust off from this injury.
Initially, it was believed that Kuminga would not miss more than a month’s worth of action. Due to swelling, the Warriors were not aware how serious this injury was at first, which is why his return has consistently been pushed back.
The good news for the Warriors and Kuminga is that he is on the verge of returning to the floor before the playoffs. Upon meeting with medical personnel after arriving back in San Francisco from their East Coast road trip, a decision was made on Friday to push back Kuminga’s return to later in the team’s current homestand, sources said.
After Monday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Warriors will continue to monitor Kuminga’s progress and how his ankle is feeling on Tuesday and Wednesday. Golden State, who is in no rush to experiment with their lineups amid recent success, will continue to keep their young forward sidelined until both sides believe he is fully recovered from this ankle injury.
The Warriors are expected to provide further details on Kuminga’s status regarding a potential return on Wednesday.
How Warriors will utilize Jonathan Kuminga upon return
When Kuminga does eventually return to the floor after missing over two months, he will face a minute restriction, sources said. Along with the Dubs taking baby steps with Kuminga once he returns, the team also wants to continue pushing forward with what has worked and allowed them to win 11 of their last 13 games.
“It’s a really difficult thing when you’re playing really well and then you have a key guy coming back,” head coach Steve Kerr said after Saturday’s win over the Pistons. “I think the idea is to bring him along slowly. Play him in short bursts. Help him get his rhythm back. But, we’ve gotta keep playing Gui Santos. We’ve gotta keep playing the guys who are helping us win right now.
“Usually, this stuff has to kind of play out and so we’ll hope that it plays out.”
Without Kuminga, the Warriors have turned to Moses Moody, Quinten Post, and Gui Santos as contributing factors on the wing and in the frontcourt behind Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. Santos has played at least 24 minutes in back-to-back games for only the second time this season, averaging 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game off the bench while shooting 58.6 percent from the floor since the start of March.
Kerr and the Warriors will face a tough task of distributing minutes when Kuminga is cleared to return. This is obviously a good problem for Golden State, as Kerr stressed early on in the season that his team has the best depth in the league.
While Golden State never wanted Kuminga to suffer this major ankle injury, it has allowed the team to discover new contributors off the bench, which could pay dividends down the line in what the Dubs hope is a lengthy playoff push.
Before suffering his ankle injury, Kuminga had established himself as an integral part of the Warriors’ lineup next to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. In his last 15 games, Kuminga averaged 20.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from three-point range.
Now that Butler is in the mix and the Warriors are finding a lot of success since the six-time All-Star joined them, Kuminga’s workload will be significantly less than earlier this season. At the same time, he will remain an important part of Golden State’s core group, especially with Butler taking him under his wing.
Kuminga continues to rehab behind the scenes and has just one more checkpoint to clear before returning. It would come as a shock to the Warriors if he didn’t return during their final five games of this current homestand.
The post Sources: The latest on Jonathan Kuminga’s delayed ankle injury return for Warriors appeared first on ClutchPoints.
