The Golden State Warriors have been hit with yet another injury, this time to Jonathan Kuminga. The rookie forward rolled his right ankle during pregame warm-ups on Thursday night and was subsequently ruled out of the Warriors’ matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Kuminga had been listed as probable prior to the game after rolling his left ankle during Tuesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was able to return in that game, however, and put together one of his better performances of the season.
In his first year in the NBA, Kuminga has been showing signs of becoming a key contributor for the Warriors. Since returning from the All-Star break, he is averaging 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in eight games (four starts) while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
The Warriors have already been without starting forward Andrew Wiggins for the past 10 games due to a family matter. Looney and Iguodala were also listed as probable prior to Thursday’s game, but were cleared after going through warm-ups. Draymond Green continues to play through a left hand injury, while Gary Payton II is still out with a core/adductor injury.
Kuminga’s injury is a major setback for the Warriors as they look to make a late playoff push. His production was beginning to heat up at the right time, and the team will now have to find ways to make up for his absence.
The Warriors have dropped their first two games of their three-game road trip, and with Kuminga out, they will be looking for a strong performance against the Grizzlies in order to get back on track.
