It took only one loss to reverse the story 180 degrees, but that’s the nature of the playoff series, something the Golden State Warriors are used to.
Despite players like Brandin Podziemski taking further distance to play the game, the 109-94 defeat to the Houston Rockets suffers more wounds due to Jimmy Butler’s injuries.
If Butler doesn’t have his full power, the Golden State Warriors must regain the “number strength” mantra to overwhelm the physical rocket outfit.
In Demarcus Cousins’ words, it’s unlikely to happen if one warrior star continues to see how he did in that second game.
Steve Kerr has always been a more close rotation heading towards a less innovative playoff, as the number of star players always increases the playoffs.
However, this season is different from the rest. Because the Warriors had to play half of their regular season games, even in playoff strength.
That’s why Kerr was happy to ask for the first time, as his team was running in smoke.
In the second game, Kerr finally became tolerant of the outside noise, giving Jonathan Kuminga a few minutes after the player’s omission took over the agenda.
According to Cousins, what Kuminga showed in the game is the real source of concern.
He said: “It was a scary autumn (for the butler). And obviously they would depend on men like Kuminga of such things. But my fear is that at this point in the season, we feel that we have lost Kuminga due to a possible problem of confidence.
“I saw him play last night and he wasn’t very confident. He looked like a deer in the headlights. He really wasn’t in the flow.
“To be honest, it made me realize that it was a bit worrying in my eyes, as most of the lineup Steve put in last night felt like the majority of the game was like scramping and scrambling.”
Kuminga showed a flash of glow in the regular season, but Kerr has kept a secret in the fact that he doesn’t trust him when the stakes are high.
Undoubtedly a very talented player, Kerr may feel a bit uneasy about his fit with his team. It was 26 minutes against the Rocket in Game 2 and that was clear.
The player himself also suffers from clear confidence issues after being handed over the DNP. He wasn’t attacking the best as it was a coach’s decision in the high stakes game.
Butler’s injury opened a window for him to make an impact and earn Kerr’s trust. Because no matter how far the Warriors go this postseason, this is about making a make-or-break run for Cuminga.
He will either establish himself as the dynasty of the next Great Warriors team or move elsewhere in the offseason after this postseason whisper.
The latter appears to be more likely than ever.