The Golden State Warriors went down 2-1 in their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight. Despite the loss, Jonathan Kuminga had a sensational game! And despite Steve Kerr‘s reservations over playing Kuminga, his boss certainly enjoyed watching Jonathan Kuminga play tonight.

A reporter at the post-game press conference revealed to Kuminga that Dubs owner Joe Lacob really enjoyed watching Jonathan play. Now, why’d she say that? Well, she probably noticed a visibly animated and excited Joe Lacob after Kuminga scored. And she also revealed that this had happened before.

But Kuminga was surprised by the whole thing. He revealed that when he’s on the court, all his senses are laser-focused on the game. So things like the fans or even his boss celebrating his plays were things he didn’t notice. “I don’t pay attention to it. I think it’s crazy. You know? It’s like I don’t even see the crowd. I only see my teammates and our coaches when the play stops, that’s when it’s like, oh, everything is here. When we’re playing, I feel like I’m just so lucky in that I don’t pay attention to anyone sitting on the side,” said Kuminga.

Now, Kuminga himself may not notice anything aside from the game. But he’s clearly caught Joe Lacob’s eye. And it seems the Dubs owner is onboard with the Jonathan Kuminga experiment. Which makes Steve Kerr’s decision to not play him for a majority of games all the more baffling.

You see, Steve Kerr believed that a lineup with Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, and Draymond Green simply wouldn’t work. “It just doesn’t. We need more spacing,” said Kerr about why this trio cannot work. But after the injury to Steph, Steve fielded this lineup today. And while Draymond did his own thing, Jimmy and JK both had 30-point games, bringing Kerr’s decision into question.

And after the game, a reporter asked Kuminga about playing alongside Jimmy and Draymond. The 22-year-old had some thoughts about it that directly contradict his head coach’s.

Jonathan Kuminga says he need to get more “reps” with Draymond and Butler

Some players naturally have chemistry with others. LeBron James and Luka Doncic come to mind as the most recent example. Others build their chemistry bit by bit as they play with each other more and more. Jonathan Kuminga believes that he, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler fall into the latter category. And he feels as he watches more tape and applies what he learns on the court, the Dubs should be fine. Even without Steph.

“I would say just getting more reps together. Like I said, all the amount of time I’d be now, watching film, you know, even when I don’t gotta play, I watch films. You know, they show me if the ball go to Steph and Jimmy. This is how you gotta play. This is how you gotta play off of them. You know? I still watch those film, no matter if I’m playing or I’m not playing… And I think, the more we were on the floor together as much as we have been, and the more and more we’re out there together, the more it gets easier,” said JK to a reporter who asked him about this issue.

Now, this may truly be the case. And the reason behind these players playing together is down to the novelty of it. Or it could really be a spacing issue that Kerr sees, but Kuminga doesn’t. However, as the only person on the Dubs to achieve a positive rating tonight, perhaps Kerr should trust in Kuminga more.

After all, Kuminga has the co-sign of Joe Lacob, the Warriors’ owner. The reasons don’t stop there, though. Steph Curry is out for a while, and players like Brandin Podziemski, Quentin Post, and Moses Moody are misfiring. So why not just play Kuminga? At the end of the day, Kerr can always simply take one of them off should it not work!