Golden State Warriors: Which players are trending up/down into 2022?

By Tony Pesta | Dec 27, 2021

Dec 20, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) with forward Otto Porter Jr. (32) after scoring a basket and foul against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

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Golden State Warriors (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Jonathan Kuminga is trending UP

I was wrong about Moses Moody being the most NBA-ready of the two rookies. Jonathan Kuminga has brought the goods as of late and is showing why he was worth the No. 7 overall pick.

Kuminga had his coming-out party in Toronto when the Golden State Warriors elected to rest all of their stars. This first taste of prolonged minutes allowed Kuminga to go wild, scoring a career-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

He was back to a bench role for his next two games but managed to clock 20+ minutes for just the second time in his career on Christmas Day. Once again, Kuminga responded with an efficient scoring night and provided some staunch defense to fend off the Phoenix Suns.

No one should expect Kuminga to burst onto the scene as a Rookie of the Year candidate as he will almost certainly play a limited role as long as the Warriors are healthy. Yet, he is flashing his potential and earning himself increased minutes.

It will be hard to keep Kuminga reserved to the bench if he can continue playing strong defense and acting as a reliable scorer.

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