The Warriors will NEED Kuminga to work well

KGMZ-FM / 95.7 THE GAME

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00:00The area is Jonathan coming catch my head coach Steve Kerr

00:04We will learn and dibs each and every week right here on 95 7 a game

00:11Way to go. Jonathan get yourself, right man

00:15Get better get out there, and I can't wait to see this. I can't wait to see this, but

00:21I can't sit here with confidence and tell you that it's just gonna be like a

00:26Seamless transition like we've watched it so much in the NBA and

00:31the number one example right now is literally right in front of our faces for our consumption and

00:37It's LeBron and Luka

00:39They've played three games together. They lost to the Utah Jazz the Charlotte Hornets and Luke is gonna sit out tonight and

00:47That's not to say I'm sounding an alarm

00:49I just know that when significant players have never played together before and they get together it takes a minute

00:55I remember when Kyrie was traded to Dallas and

00:58Everyone sat there and told me whole Luka and Kyrie together. There's literally not gonna be a way to stop them

01:04They missed the playoffs entirely. They didn't even make the play in tournament

01:08They in fact tanked the last week of their season trying to get a draft pick takes a minute. So

01:15Not gonna lie to you dibs that part of this in the moment of warrior optimism is a little

01:22Scary it's a little scary to see what this may look like a little bit

01:25But I do think that you know when you talk about coming coming back

01:29It's different than Luka who missed almost two months and he finally got traded and he came back

01:35I do think that he's not only getting used to a new team

01:38But he's shaking off some of the rust and so coming who will be doing a lot of the same things

01:42It's a new team in that you've got Jimmy Butler and he will have missed almost two months by the time he comes back

01:49but it's not gonna be as much of a key piece to a team and whether or not they

01:56Win or lose if Kaminga comes back or when he comes back rather

02:00I don't think that you're gonna lean on him like the Lakers are leaning on Luka

02:04No, they're not

02:05Yeah

02:05last night Luka was one of nine from three and he played 33 minutes and he was mostly I think playing in second gear cuz

02:13He's trying to get back and he's trying to get comfortable and get back

02:17Into the rhythm of being an NBA player let alone being on a new team and he's being asked to

02:23Have a much bigger role than coming to will

02:25So can Kaminga get up to full speed slowly while also learning how to play with Jimmy and they figure out how to use him

02:32Yeah, I don't think that it's gonna be as dramatic as we saw with the Lakers last night

02:37I'm sure not like we're not talking about a core one or two

02:41Star player we're talking about Jonathan Kaminga

02:44but the other side of this is if we're gonna spend a week and a half talking about the new viability of the Warriors and

02:52a playoff run it

02:55Absolutely must

02:57include

02:59Significant play from Jonathan Kaminga. It has to

03:03It has to I know that this is a great pairing of stars

03:07With Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler at least on paper and the early returns are really really exciting and obviously the

03:14Confidence in the building is through the roof

03:17But as much as I'm not a believer in core players late in the playoffs who are 22

03:23I'm a huge believer in those being complimentary pieces

03:28Like there's just there's just too much on

03:32These star players night in night out lengthy playoff run 37 years old

03:38They're going to need all of the 22 year oldness of

03:43Jonathan Kaminga and so whatever it is that needs to be figured out in this pairing

03:48You don't have a lot of time. You don't have a lot of time

03:51So I don't think it'll be seamless, but the assignment is it's got to be pretty quick. Yes be pretty quick

03:57I mean, you've got basically not quite two months when he comes back

04:00You'll have about a month and a half. You'll have about 20 games

04:04Assuming Kaminga misses the next five games. I don't know if that's the number and Steve Kerr today

04:09We'll hopefully let us know how Kaminga came out of practice yesterday

04:13I wouldn't imagine that he'll be ready to go in the next couple of days. It might take a week of

04:19Practicing and ramping up and all the rest of it

04:21So you'll have about a month month and a half to quote figure it out

04:25But at that same point, you're not asking Kaminga to play more than what he's done all year, which is 26 minutes a game

04:32I'm gonna I'm gonna bet that we see Kaminga either Tuesday at home against Charlotte or Thursday in Orlando

04:37Okay, Thursday would be a week. Yep. So yep. Yeah, you won't see him tomorrow

04:42Definitely won't see him tomorrow. You won't see him Sunday, and that's not for sure

04:46But I agree with you, but I like they that that has not been reported as yeah, nothing's been reported

04:53Out tomorrow has been he's been ruled out tomorrow. Well, the reporters are saying yeah, you're not gonna see him. Sure

04:58Okay, and I would imagine that it's gonna take more than just Sunday. So maybe it's Tuesday. Maybe it's Thursday

05:04I'm not sure what the the timeline would be and that's why I do want to ask Steve Kerr that today and see

05:10You know how he did yesterday his first practice back and you know

05:14A lot of times you don't know how you're feeling until the next day, which would be today practiced again, right?

05:20Today okay. Yep. Yep. So all right, it didn't sit out good. That's good, right? Yeah, it's good that he practiced. Yeah

05:28yeah, so

05:30I don't know. Yeah, I don't know when they're gonna see him, but the fact that he is now practicing in full

05:39Like I I like your number at the most

05:42I I have a hard time believing that they're gonna push him to five six seven more games

05:47Yeah, I think I think by a week now we're gonna see this and the timing will be good because it's a big road trip

05:54That starts next next Thursday. I think it's six games. Is that right? Yep

05:58Yeah, and also I do think when you look at his minutes and on the year

06:02He's averaging 26 minutes a game and I think that that was you know

06:06A lot of that was when he was starting he'd play more when he was on the bench

06:10He wouldn't play quite as many so I think 26 minutes in general is about the number that I would look at

06:17Wiggins was averaging 30 minutes a game and Jimmy Butler since he's been here has been 32

06:21so it feels like Jimmy just took all of Andrews minutes and and that

06:25JK will be about where he was and if he comes off the bench and he gives you 25 28 minutes

06:32That for me is about where the fits gonna be

06:34I look at this stretch run and think to myself sort of like you know

06:38When when you go into a game sometimes we do this in football more than other sports

06:42But based on the way things are twisting and turning with a certain team on a certain week

06:47You'll be like, you know

06:48It's really important this week is a is a fast start and I really feel that way

06:53About this stretch run for the Warriors. It doesn't mean let's all freak out if they lose to Sacramento tomorrow night

06:59I don't think that that's any sort of a linchpin type of a game

07:02But in a broader sense these next 10 to 12 games

07:06I think very very important you start winning at a clip of about 2 to 3

07:10Start building up some space between you and the 500 mark not just because hey

07:16You are the 10 seed and you need to for obvious reasons

07:20But man, we're in a moment where the Western Conference feels vulnerable

07:24Yeah, the most vulnerable it has felt all year and I don't know how long this Laker

07:30Doldrum thing is gonna last but there's that there's the Rockets who've lost

07:35Seven of nine the Wolves are are simming seemingly just spinning in mediocrity all the time

07:41The Mavericks have no ad the Kings have no De'Aaron Fox

07:45The Spurs have no Wembley and the Suns have no soul. So when you put all those things together, I

07:51Really really think that that this is go time

07:55This is go time for the Warriors and you're gonna see them start to start moving up

07:59a spot or two

08:01Every every week if they can play this

08:04The way that it sort of looks and feels like the way they're talking if their play can match their talk

08:11Then the timing is perfect and their talk has been yeah, we're gonna win the title championship, right?

08:17So to win the championship you have to be a playoff team and to be a playoff team

08:21It behooves you to get up into the top six and I look at a team you mentioned earlier and Stiney actually in the crossover

08:28Talking about the Clippers and you're three and a half back of the Clippers and they they feel like

08:33They're a team that is a little bit more buttoned up and a little more complete than you are the Lakers

08:39Boy, we all thought that they were gonna climb and so far they have it with Luka and that's early returns

08:44But to get even into the top six

08:46I think is a big ask based on the teams that are ahead of you your six back at Houston and you've got

08:5327 left to go that's a lot of games to make up to get over Houston

08:58You're five back of the Lakers. You're three and a half back of the Clippers

09:01So feels to me like the target might actually be the seven seed

09:05But your point is well taken where over the course of these next 27 games

09:10You gotta start stacking wins and win the games

09:13You're supposed to win and pull off a couple of surprises win two of every three and if you go

09:1919 and eight the rest of the way that's 47 wins that might be good enough for the six

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