The Golden State Warriors are stringing together a nice winning streak on their current road trip.
In fact, the Golden State Warriors looked in great touch during their recent matchup against the Chicago Bulls, registering a dominant 123-91 win.
Some major credit goes to Jimmy Butler for impacting the game on both ends of the floor. But there was one surprising decision taken by the Warriors.
The decision was not to play Jonathan Kuminga for even a single second against the Bulls, despite starting the game before that.
Steve Kerr explains not playing Jonathan Kuminga against the Chicago Bulls
With the NBA rumor mill buzzing about a potential trade for Kuminga sooner rather than later, getting benched is certainly not a good look for the young star.
Even more so when the Warriors registered a blowout 32-point win without him on the hardwood. So, what was the reason behind benching Kuminga? Head coach Steve Kerr explained postgame.
“Just got to keep going, just like everybody else who’s in this position. And it happens to everybody, you know, pretty much other than the stars,” Kerr said.
He added: “You know, guys come in and out of the rotation depending on, you know, who’s available, how the team’s playing.”
It seemed like a gamble to bench Kuminga, but it worked in favor of coach Kerr and the Warriors, as it was a routine change in the lineup.
Steve Kerr says Golden State Warriors have a ‘lot of bodies’
The era of superstars seems to be ending as more and more teams tend to have deep benches to succeed in the league.
The Warriors do not have the best bench in the NBA, but coach Kerr still implied that, because too many players are in form, Kuminga was benched throughout the game.
“Just because of the way our team looks and, you know, Jimmy came back tonight. JK started last night. They play the same position,” Kerr continued.
“I like the group, you know, the last couple of nights — the bench group: Gui, Pat, and Melt.
“We got a lot of bodies, and so with Jimmy coming back tonight, it made sense to play the other guys because they complement him really well,” the Warriors coach stated.
The Warriors have now improved to a 13-12 record, and if the lineup works better without Kuminga, he may be rested for more games in the near future.
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