Kuminga has not learned how to play Defense yet

[bdonovan]

About a year ago I wrote a thread pointing out that Warriors rising star Jonathan Kuminga was a liability on defense:
http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?515294-Jonathan-Kuminga-is-a-LIABILITY-on-team-defense-for-the-Warriors

In watching the recent Warriors blowout of the Jazz, one thing stood out- despite having a year to work on it and the offseason, Kuminga still SUCKS on defense.

This is the 3rd Warriors major prospect who lacked fundamentals. The other two being Jordan Poole (28th draft overall) and James Wiseman (2nd draft overall). Poole had some explosive offensive potential but he was moody and cocky, which was his undoing. Wiseman had a great touch and 3 point shot for a big man; but he committed too many mental lapses on the defensive end. Both were traded away from the team.

I don't know if it's a problem with this new generation or just the Warriors. In the Jazz game, in Q1 alone, Jazz used ball movement to find Kuminga's man wide open. Kuminga standing in the middle of nowhere raced to try to close out but was too far away to contest. Easy buckets for the Jazz.

The Warriors did not sign Kuminga's extension before the season. There may be other reasons. But his defense continues to be lousy. He'll continue to dazzle on the offensive end, and make ESPN highlight reel dunks and sensational offfensive moves that wow fans. But winning requires playing both sides of the court.

[BarberSchool]

I can’t get a read on Kuminga’s mindstate, personality, etc … it’s very difficult to huge his ceiling without him being more expressive or conversational.

He certainly has the physical gifts to have a very high ceiling.
But something about his shying away from certain types of body contact, as well as his face and lack of expression in his eyes just says “empty headed childlike bitch n!gga” to me.

[bdonovan]

I can’t get a read on Kuminga’s mindstate, personality, etc … it’s very difficult to huge his ceiling without him being more expressive or conversational.

He certainly has the physical gifts to have a very high ceiling.
But something about his shying away from certain types of body contact, as well as his face and lack of expression in his eyes just says “empty headed childlike bitch n!gga” to me.

Far as I can tell, he admires Durant. AI says Durant is one of Kuminga's heroes and that would add up. Like Durant, the primary goal is flashy, individual offense and secondarily seemingly intense individual offense. Lacking is team offense (passing, screening, off-ball movement, etc.) and team defense (switching, always staying on your man without the ball, help defense).

I wish the fanbase would get on his case, instead of simply hoping he'll be our savior after Curry.

And yeah- he does avoid physical contact in the paint; over time, he's gotten more contact-averse which makes me think he's getting bad coaching from the Warriors who've not had a quality big man who plays in the post and probably don't know how to coach them offensively.

[hold this L]

He doesn't know how to do anything outside of use his athleticism. He can't shoot, he can't score unless he's driving, no off ball movement, lazy defense, and biggest issue of all, low basketball IQ. You can see it even moreso now that they are playing at a faster pace and have to make quick decisions.

[bdonovan]

He doesn't know how to do anything outside of use his athleticism. He can't shoot, he can't score unless he's driving, no off ball movement, lazy defense, and biggest issue of all, low basketball IQ. You can see it even moreso now that they are playing at a faster pace and have to make quick decisions.

I wonder why this is. Drafting the wrong people, not coaching/mentoring him?

I still think he can mature into a great offensive player; he's in his fourth season, not new anymore and he's got to show he can take it to the next level.