The NBA regular season continues with the Warriors hosting the 76ers today. In the end, they won 119-107 against the 76ers. Thompson was unable to play due to illness, and Podzemski started in place of Thompson. In this game, three players in the Warriors' starting lineup scored more than 20 points, including Curry who scored 37 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Kuminga who scored 26 points and 7 rebounds, and Wiggins also scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on 8-of-10 shooting. Wiggins have been in excellent form lately and are now the team's new Big Three.
The Warriors did not have a frightening situation in the final moments, but still led the 76ers by about 10 points with three minutes left in the final game, so the Warriors won this game relatively smoothly. It is worth noting that Kuminga scored more than 20 points again in this game, which is also his most recent 20+ points in consecutive games. Kuminga has clearly become the team's second point of attack after Thompson's absence, and Kuminga took a whopping 19 shots today, more than Curry. And Kuminga's grasp is also very high, shooting 11 of 19 from the field, and Kuminga's shooting rate has been above 50% in the last seven games.
It turns out that the offensive stability of the Warriors is very high when Kuminga gets more shots, and even Thompson's offensive stability is not as good as Kuminga's, although Kuminga's projection level outside the three-point line is not as good as Thompson's, but Kuminga can shoot three-pointers, score from mid-range, and can also score inside. And Kuminga's scoring ability on the inside is far stronger than Thompson's, and at this stage, the Warriors lack Kuminga's impact ability, and Kuminga's scoring on the inside has been the key to the Warriors' ability to maintain the score.
So at the moment, Kerr should find the ultimate winning lineup, and that is the starting forward combination of Kuminga, Wiggins and Curry. Wiggins and Kuminga both have very strong defensive abilities, and Kuminga's more shots will help the Warriors score consistently, after all, Thompson's offensive consistency is a concern these days. Thompson has a very low shooting percentage in many games, and once Thompson has a very low shooting percentage and he has a lot of possession, it will be difficult for the Warriors to win that game, and it may be better to allocate those balls to Kuminga.
So the Warriors may reconsider in terms of contract extensions in the future, and they may abandon the extension of Thompson. Instead, Kuminga will be offered a good contract extension, so that the Warriors can keep both the future and the present. I wonder what the fans think?