Jonathan Kuminga News: Cut out of rotation in finale

Kuminga (coach's decision) went unused Sunday in the Warriors' 124-119 overtime loss to the Clippers.

Entering play Sunday, the Warriors and Clippers were two of the few teams around the league that had something at stake in the regular-season finale; a win would have netted either team a top-six seed, while the loser would fall into the Play-In Tournament. Given what was on the line, head coach Steve Kerr's decision to run a shorter rotation wasn't unexpected, but Kuminga's exclusion was still somewhat surprising. Since he returned to action in mid-March following a two-plus-month absence due to an ankle sprain, Kuminga had averaged 12.2 points in 20.8 minutes per game over 15 appearances, but he shot just 44.1 percent from the field and 17.1 percent from three-point range over that stretch. The run of poor shooting, along with Kuminga's limitations on the defensive end, were likely primary factors in Kerr's decision to keep the fourth-year forward on the bench, and it could become a regular occurrence for the duration of the Warriors' playoff run. The seventh-seeded Warriors will open their postseason Tuesday, hosting the eighth-seeded Grizzlies in a play-in game.