After back-to-back strong performances in Games 2 and 3, former Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga sunk back to earth somewhat as the Atlanta Hawks fell to a 16-point Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks in their first-round series.
Kuminga had produced efficient 19 and 21-point performances heading into Game 4, but his propensity to fire away too freely from 3-point range was an issue as part of his 10-point display on Saturday.
Jonathan Kuminga can get a little trigger-happy from 3-point range
The 23-year-old went 0-of-6 from beyond the arc in Game 4, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in just over 25 minutes off the bench. Kuminga is certainly a willing shooter, but as the Warriors experienced at times during his tenure at the franchise, that can prove a problem considering he's just a career 33.2% shooter from 3-point range.
The Hawks went 10-of-41 (24.4%) from beyond the arc as a team in Saturday's loss, including 5-of-31 if you exclude Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker who drilled five of his 10 attempts from deep.
While Kuminga can nail shots from 3-point range -- emphasized in his 4-of-6 shooting in the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers back in October -- the reality is that opposing defenses will live with that as a large proportion of his shot diet.
The athletic forward is such a tough player to stop at the rim and going downhill that he's simply letting defenses off the hook by taking as many 3-point attempts as he did against the Knicks in Game 4.
Jonathan Kuminga can be an overeager shooter occasionally
It's not the first time Kuminga has gone 0-of-6 from 3-point range since joining the Hawks at February's trade deadline, having done just that during a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers only two weeks ago.
That came after he went 2-of-7 from three only two days earlier, while he also had a game earlier this season with the Warriors where he went 0-of-5. Kuminga too had games last season where he went 3-of-10, 1-of-6, 2-of-6 and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.
It might not be a major flaw nor one that should take away entirely from the positives emanating from the Game 2 and 3 performances, but going 0-of-6 from 3-point range in a crucial Game 4 at home is not the best time for the Hawks to learn this weakness of Kuminga being an overeager shooter occasionally.
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