There was anticipation in the air when Jonathan Kuminga entered Game 2 against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, with the young forward getting his rotation opportunity after Jimmy Butler's unfortunate injury.
Kuminga didn't quite do enough to replace some of Butler's production, nor help the Warriors avoid what resulted as a 109-94 loss that has the series tied at 1-1. His 26 minutes off the bench were still a major talking point, such has been the conjecture surrounding his future with the franchise amid three-straight DNPs from Steve Kerr.
Jonathan Kuminga is getting sick of some of the outside noise
After being removed from the rotation for three critical games against the L.A. Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and then Game 1 in Houston, there was plenty of speculation on whether Kuminga would be mentally prepared to be thrown back into a playoff environment.
The 22-year-old evidently heard that noise, airing some of his frustration to the media following the Game 2 loss where he had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor.
“I hate the fact that everybody is telling me be ready, get ready. I already know that I’m ready," Kuminga said on Wednesday. "The more you keep telling me to get ready, it becomes kind of irritating.”
Kuminga says “no matter what circumstances I’m in, always got to stay ready.” Said it’s been tough not playing the previous three games, but “whenever your moment happens, it’s going to happen.”
— Sam Gordon (@BySamGordon) April 24, 2025
Says he tries not to think about why he’s not playing.
Extended thoughts: pic.twitter.com/xousVCHIg9
The problem with Kuminga's comments are that fans want to see his 'readiness' translate into productive, impactful playoff basketball. While Wednesday's performance certainly could have been worse, it also showed some of the elements of why he'd been removed from the rotation by Kerr in the first place.
There also has to be a concern on Kuminga suggesting that he doesn't want to think about why he's not playing. In reality, this goes hand-in-hand with the 'readiness' issue as there appears to be a gap between how Kuminga wants to play, and how Kerr and the team wants him to play.
There's little doubt that the role player aspects -- notably defense and rebounding -- are parts of Kuminga's game that haven't been consistent enough. That remained the case on Wednesday where the former seventh overall pick had just three rebounds in 26 minutes, with his size and athleticism providing little impact on the defensive end.
Is that a readiness thing? Either way, it's hard to trust that Kuminga's ready when those aspects are vacant from his game. He's shown these elements periodically throughout his four-year career, and the Warriors will desperately need it if Butler is a non-starter in Game 3 on Saturday night.