The Golden State Warriors are enjoying a meteoric rise through the Western Conference after acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat. Stephen Curry can’t stop singing his new teammate’s praises as his impact helped him and Steve Kerr bring out the best out of Golden State’s roster.
The Dubs are entering the campaign’s final month of regular-season basketball while riding an incredible run of form. They will secure their postseason ticket if they continue playing their brand of basketball, regardless of the opposition they’re facing.
However, it takes more than just one player to fully secure the Warriors’ automatic qualification. The rest of the roster also has to do their part in helping the team’s stars shine.
Draymond Green is back to playing his best now that there’s another defensive anchor cut from the same cloth as him. Jonathan Kuminga is expected to thrive under Butler’s tutelage, and the rest of the Warriors’ roster is peaking at the right time.
However, one player is surprisingly making his mark on the roster as the head coach admitted one thing about him.
Steve Kerr believes in Gui Santos’ value for the Golden State Warriors and plans to play him more
Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area revealed that the long-time Warriors head coach is highly rating Santos’ contributions to the team even as Kuminga prepares to make a return to the roster.
The Brazilian’s box score makes it easy to see why the seasoned tactician is enamored with his performances. His box scores over the past three games have been solid, and his impressive box plus-minus score of 13.3 puts him on par with Kuminga’s 13.4 in his final three games before getting injured.
While it’s clear that Kuminga is the superior athlete of the two, Santos’ availability means that they don’t have to rush the former’s recovery. However, his fans can also see it as another way for Kerr to not use him as much as he still struggles to fit him into his system.
It will be interesting to see how Kerr will play the two when the former G League Ignite standout returns from injury. They will likely be competing for minutes as Kerr may have his postseason rotation set in stone at this stage of the season.
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