Warriors foolishly give another young player the Jonathan Kuminga treatment
Gui Santos has arguably been the greatest positives for the Golden State Warriors since Jimmy Butler’s season-ending knee damage in January, having been rewarded for his growth with a brand new three-year, $15 million contract on Saturday.
Those very elements led to shock amongst followers although on Monday, with Santos faraway from the beginning lineup by Steve Kerr and the Warriors after 10-straight begins at the ahead spot.
Gui Santos will get the Jonathan Kuminga treatment towards the Clippers
Golden State selected to go larger (and older) towards the LA Clippers on Monday evening, beginning veteran heart Al Horford alongside Draymond Green, with Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton and Moses Moody rounding out the group.
Santos nonetheless performed a outstanding function off the bench, however whether or not coincidental or not, the Brazilian simply did not have the similar stage of affect that is been related along with his sport over the final month to 6 weeks.
In specific, the constant scoring that Santos has supplied merely wasn’t there coming off the bench. He had entered scoring 14 factors in 10 of the previous 12 video games, with a lowest output of 9 factors throughout that span.
It was a special story on Monday evening. Santos completed with solely 5 factors on 2-of-8 taking pictures from the flooring in his 31 minutes towards the Clippers. Three of these factors sport in rubbish time in the remaining three minutes, having beforehand shot 60.2% from the flooring and 44.2% from 3-point vary over his previous 12 video games.
Perhaps Santos was simply due an inefficient, disappointing efficiency from a scoring standpoint, however the reality it got here on the again of a elimination from the beginning lineup continues to be somewhat notable.
In equity, the 23-year-old nonetheless had 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals, however the Warriors did want an injection of scoring as their offense once more struggled considerably in the absence of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis.
Gui Santos is the newest Warrior young player to be benched by Steve Kerr
Whether or not it’s Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Quinten Post or most famously Jonathan Kuminga, Kerr has developed a popularity of repeatedly — and infrequently deemed unfairly — benching young gamers in favor of veterans.
His relationship with Kuminga was a continuing speaking level, and even stays so now after the Warriors lastly traded their former seventh general choose to the Atlanta Hawks earlier than final month’s deadline.
Yet Santos was alleged to be completely different. He’s traditionally been seen as a Kerr-type player — not somebody as gifted as Kuminga, however a young player who possesses the profitable intangibles that matches with the veterans and inside the means the head coach desires to play.
The reality he too has now been benched, and that it subsequently led to his most underwhelming efficiency in a while, is simply the newest Kerr resolution that has drawn the ire of many Warrior followers.
