The Golden State Warriors were in dire need of a win as they returned to San Francisco with their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves tied. However, they had to do so without their franchise player, Stephen Curry, who could only watch from the stands. The Warriors’ point guard suffered a hamstring sprain in the first game, and now his return seems far from imminent.

This meant that the Dubs had a point to prove, especially Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga. Both of the Golden State superstars put in great performancea and gave the home crowd a lot to cheer for, but ultimately fell short.

Yes, the Warriors fell agonizingly close on the night as they lost 102-97 against the Timberwolves. Jimmy Butler started the game with the intensity many wanted from him in Curry’s absence. Playoff Jimmy put up an impressive 33-point performance, including seven assists and seven rebounds. While this was not enough to get his team over the line, there were a lot of bright spots for the Warriors to look at. One of them is the resurgence of Jonathan Kuminga.

The 23-year-old forward finished the night with 30 points, six rebounds, and three assists, and stunned many despite the defeat.

In fact, Kuminga, who was out of the rotation, seems like the X-factor for the Warriors in this series. So much so that many people believe he might be able to continue being in the rotation even when Stephen Curry returns. “But the Jimmy and Kuminga thing, I think that’s, if it’s the new formula, it’s a pretty interesting new formula. And you know, sprinkle in Steph for now in the game six, we’ll see. But the fact that that’s the thing that walked to make out of rotation, he couldn’t play with Jimmy Butler. The stats were horrendous. Everybody saw it.” Guests on the ‘Warriors Plus Minus stated.

“It didn’t feel right. It didn’t look right. If you can throw them out there with Jimmy Butler and it works, that’s good for the Warriors. That’s part of why I think they feel good about going into game four, even though they’re down to one, even though they lose that, they probably lose a series.”

They pointed out Steve Kerr’s mistake of pulling Kuminga out of the rotation. Indeed, at the time Kuminga’s stats did not look good, but maybe a bit more time could’ve been the answer. His partnership with Jimmy in Game 3 was phenomenal, and it seems this is a whole new chapter in Kuminga’s saga in the Bay Area. This may also result in Kerr making a a major change when Stephen Curry returns.

Golden State eyes major change when Stephen Curry returns to the floor

Jonathan Kuminga has emerged as the unlikely hero for the Golden State Warriors in their second-round series against Minnesota. After an explosive night against Anthony Edwards and Co., the 23-year-old forward has once again gained the trust of Warriors HC Steve Kerr. While they lost the game by 5 points, things could’ve gone either way.

Warriors Plus Minus‘ Anthony, Tim, and Marcus pointed out a lineup that might be the best option for Golden State when they get back Curry. “They kept with it, and they didn’t try the lineup. That was Steph, Podziemski, Jimmy, Draymond, and Kuminga. They only really played in one game was the Lakers game. We’ve talked about it. They closed well in that game, coming to the closing minutes, but they only played 13 minutes together down the stretch of the season. And to me, I will. I always thought that was their highest potential five.” They stated.

Indeed, this looks like one of, if not the best, lineups for the Warriors. The analysts further urged Kerr to go with this lineup when Stephen Curry returns from his untimely hamstring injury, which could be around Game 6. From Curry and Podziemski’s explosive three-point shooting to Kuminga and Butler’s two-way play, paired with Green’s physicality, the lineup seems to have everything.

Doesn’t seem like a bad shout, does it? Well, to watch this lineup play, we’ll have to wait and watch as everyone awaits Curry’s return and the Dubs try to stay afloat in the series.