Copyright sportskeeda
Golden State Warriors fans were hyped after Jonathan Kuminga's performance in their season opener against the LA Lakers on Tuesday. Kuminga had an interesting offseason, holding the Warriors hostage before signing a two-year, $48.5 million contract. With the Lakers going small due to LeBron James' absence, coach Steve Kerr went with a smaller lineup and kept Al Horford out of his starting five. Kerr put in Kuminga, who needs spacing, with Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. In the preseason, Kuminga showed off his improved playmaking and made some excellent passes. He looked like a different player at times and was passionate about playing well. He was so passionate that he was ejected for arguing a foul call in a no-bearing game. After a slow start in the first half, Jonathan Kuminga was fantastic in the third quarter. Kuminga was perfect from the floor, scoring 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting, including three 3-point shots. Golden State Warriors fans couldn't believe what happened, so they went online to share their reaction to Kuminga's performance. Brock @Rudy_Rudes16LINKTrade value is going to the moonSukh Brar @JustSukhLINKThis is how you respond to offseason turmoilKody @kodymackLINKGlad Kerr is finally letting him shineStevie “Jenko” Jenkins @StevieJenkoLINKHe needs to let him ball out if they are going to get the value they actually want for him. They can’t wait to give him his bus pass!padrino♱⃓ @kenefbgLINKYaah this is wtf i wanna see, keep going JKBillyPMS🏀🏈⚾️ @Billy_PMSLINKKerr let this demon outWhile Steve Kerr emphasized spacing to make Jonathan Kuminga effective, he still put him alongside Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. Nevertheless, Kuminga looked different in the season opener. He was making players, having effort on rebounding the ball and even defending Luka Doncic.The 23-year-old forward has all the potential in the world to be successful. It's up to him if he's going to be consistent all season long. He did play well with better spacing brought by Buddy Hield and Al Horford. Jonathan Kuminga sparks Warriors' 119-109 win over LakersThe game was pretty close in the first half, with the Golden State Warriors building a lead before the LA Lakers came back to make things interesting. Things quickly changed in the third quarter after Jonathan Kuminga's spark to start the second half. Kuminga finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists, doing the things expected of him and more. Steph Curry had 23 points, three rebounds and four assists, while Buddy Hield scored 17 points off the bench.However, it was Jimmy Butler who led the team in scoring. Butler put up 31 points, five rebounds and four assists. He was perfect from the free-throw line, making all of his 16 attempts. The Warriors are back in action on Thursday at home against the Denver Nuggets in the first game of a back-to-back. They travel to Portland on Friday to face the Trail Blazers.
