The Golden State Warriors entered the Chase Center last night with a lot of questions surrounding them. But the most important one was: How will they fare without Stephen Curry against New Orleans? The veteran point guard was on the sidelines after suffering a bruised quadriceps muscle on Wednesday against Houston. They still won 104-96, thanks to head coach Steve Kerr’s unusual tactics.

“Well, Trayce was out tonight with a knee issue. So, before the game, we went through the possible matchups and decided that Jimmy and JK could be a good combo at the four and the five, and kind of trading off, who they were guarding, depending on what was happening out there. So, they did a good job together,” Kerr told the reporters.

The lack of options he had at the center position, given the injuries to Trayce Jackson-Davis and Al Horford, prompted Kerr to think outside the box. Although he had previously stated that neither Jimmy Butler nor Jonathan Kuminga fit on the floor together, shifting them to the forward and center positions did the job.

This small tweak by the Warriors’ head coach was enough to create space on the floor for both of them, a factor that was a major reason behind the Warriors’ hesitation to play Butler and Kuminga together. The tweak helped Jimmy Butler finish the game with a team-high 24 points while shooting 7-of-15 from the field, and dish out 10 assists with 8 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Kuminga also put up a solid performance off the bench. The 23-year-old put up 10 points, including two crucial three-pointers in the second half that helped erase the Pelicans’ lead, in just 19 minutes of action, helping his team secure a 104-96 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Although the box score might not show it, Kuminga’s performance was quite crucial.

More so, because the talented forward has been going through a rough patch, dealing with a knee contusion issue. In fact, this was his first game back from that injury, and while he looked a bit rusty, he still managed to put in a great showing. Even Steve Kerr shared this thought after the game, providing an update on his health.

Steve Kerr gives his verdict on Jonathan Kuminga’s return

The Golden State Warriors could get the job done against the Pelicans last night, and Jonathan Kuminga played a huge role in it. If it weren’t for the forward’s back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter as he came off the bench, things could’ve ended a lot differently for the Dubs. As expected, this display from JK, who was returning from his knee injury, impressed head coach Steve Kerr.

“Thought he looked good. Obviously, he hit two big threes for us in the second half. His wind and his burst will come back. He’s a little rusty, but I thought he looked good for his first game back,” the Warriors head coach thought of his performance.

Indeed, Jonathan Kuminga was far from flawless on his return. After all, he last played an NBA game back on 12th November when the Warriors faced the San Antonio Spurs. Since then, he’s been dealing with a knee contusion.

The 23-year-old, even though he scored some good buckets, was pretty terrible on defense. While Kuminga contributed one rebound and dished out two assists, he also committed two turnovers in the short time he spent on the court. Of course, this raised a few eyebrows, as experts pointed out his shortcomings.

But you’ll have to cut the forward some slack, given he only returned to action last night. However, turning the ball and improving his rebounding will be a couple of things that he and head coach Steve Kerr will have to communicate about, as the Warriors could be playing a few more games without Stephen Curry, making JK’s presence even more important.