Quinten Post and Jonathan Kuminga to start in Game 3
A brand new starting lineup with Jimmy Butler III out.
The Golden State Warriors have a tall task ahead of them as Game 3 against the Houston Rockets approaches. With the series knotted at one game apiece, the Dubs have to find a way to beat the Western Conference’s second seed despite playing without their second-best player.
About an hour before Saturday’s scheduled 5:30 p.m. PT tipoff, reports surfaced that star Jimmy Butler III will not play in Game 3, after suffering a pelvic contusion during Game 2’s loss, and missing the final three quarters of the game. The Dubs were hopeful that Butler would be able to play, but he wasn’t cleared by trainer Rick Celebrini, and will now aim for a return on Monday.
Steve Kerr needed to find a starter to replace Butler, and opted to go a step further by shaking up the starting five. According to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Warriors are adding fourth-year wing Jonathan Kuminga and second-year center Quinten Post to the starting lineup. Those two will replace Butler and Moses Moody, forming a starting five with Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, and Draymond Green.
For Kuminga, it’s quite an opportunity after being a healthy DNP in the final game of the season, the play-in tournament game, and the first game of this series. He entered the rotation on Wednesday when Butler was injured, and is a logical replacement for Butler given his athleticism, isolation scoring, and ability to guard both forwards and perimeter players. As for Post, he gives the Dubs an extra boost of scoring after they’ve failed to reach 100 points in each of the first two games of the series. All eyes will be on how he does no the defensive end, after struggling in drop coverage on Wednesday while Jalen Green torched the Warriors for an efficient 38 points.
It’s a huge opportunity for the two youngsters, and a chance for the Warriors to take a 2-1 series lead ... which would feel like a commanding lead f they’re able to accomplish it sans Butler.