Even despite Thursday's 120-110 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, Jonathan Kuminga's move into the starting lineup has been an excellent one for he and the Golden State Warriors to start the season.
However, the Warriors are learning a harsh lesson with Kuminga's insertion into the starting five. Without the talented young forward, Golden State's bench is desperately struggling to find a scoring punch. Their 34.2 bench points per game ranks 23rd so far this season, with the reliance on Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Kuminga proving problematic in Thursday's loss.
Warriors lack bench scoring with Jonathan Kuminga in the starting lineup
Curry (27), Kuminga (24) and Butler (23) combined for 74 of Golden State's 110 points against the Bucks, with no other player reaching double figures while the hosts had eight such players in the absence of star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With one of Curry and Butler assured to be on the floor at all times when healthy, perhaps the lack of bench scoring won't restrict the Warriors from being one of the best teams in the Western Conference. In fact, the emergence of Kuminga as a legitimate third scorer far outweighs the lack of bench scoring in terms of early season developments.
That doesn't mean that Golden State shouldn't try to address their bench issues. Part of this is simply improvement from individual players -- Buddy Hield is currently shooting 41.5% from the floor and a paltry 28.6% from 3-point range, while Moses Moody is shooting 35.7% from the floor in his four games since returning from a calf injury. Golden State's two primary big men, Quinten Post and Al Horford, are also shooting a combined 36.4% from the floor to start the season.
There's undoubtedly significant improvement to be made in those numbers, but it's also factual that all those players are play-finishers rather than play-makers. They're largely just catch-and-shoot threats who need Curry and Butler to create them good looks to be effective, rather than players you'll call onto make a play.
That's the one thing Kuminga could provide in previous years, but there's no chance that you would mess with the starting group or the rhythm the 23-year-old has found simply to address the bench scoring issue.
Do the Warriors need to look at a bench option who can go and get a bucket when called upon? It's not an absolute necessity at this stage, but it's certainly something that's worth monitoring as the season progresses.