Why Warriors’ new starting lineup needs boost as playoffs loom originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors’ starting lineup, the one with dazzling analytics that coach Steve Kerr believes can be their salvation, turned six games old Thursday, and it’s starting to crack with vulnerability.
The most visible sign of impending peril links to the absence of Andrew Wiggins. One of four Warriors averaging double-figure scoring, he missed the last two games and is on indefinite leave while coping with a personal matter.
Golden State’s best hope of surviving the temporary loss of Wiggins’ offense is Jonathan Kuminga, who was indispensable Thursday night in a 110-99 victory over the deeply compromised New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Kuminga delivered 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks to finish plus-19 during his 30 minutes on the court. He provided abundant and necessary support to Stephen Curry, whose white-hot start and 31 points led the tip-to-buzzer win.
“I love the fact that he’s attacking the rim,” Kerr told reporters in New York. “What was he, 12-for-19 (from the field), took one three. He should live in the paint. He’s so powerful and explosive. He’s done a great job this this last six weeks or so. As he’s elevated his game and kind of broken through, he’s done a great job of attacking the rim and really keeping his focus on scoring in the paint.”
It was Kuminga who kept the Warriors afloat until Curry came out of his midgame dry spell to close out the Knicks with a couple of timely 3-pointers inside the final four minutes. Curry and Kuminga accounted for 45 points through three quarters, while Golden State’s other starters – Draymond Green, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski – had combined for 10 points. That trio finished with 17 points.
There is the crack of vulnerability.
Two nights earlier, when the Warriors rolled the wretched Wizards behind 59 points from the bench, the Green-Moody-Podziemski group had 22 points through three quarters and finished with 25.
Golden State’s last two wins came against a team on pace to lose 69 games (Washington) and a roster…
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