Jonathan Kuminga's ascension gives Hawks' breakout forward room for growing pains

Jonathan Kuminga's Atlanta Hawks career is off to an electric start.

Everyone knew he had talent, but him putting it all together was a major question mark. His tenure with the Golden State Warriors did unfair damage to his reputation, and his first three games in his new uniform have proven he's ready to put it all behind him.

Against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night, Kuminga had another explosive performance, recording 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals on 7/10 from the field and 1/2 from three. He did all of this in just 25 minutes off the bench, leaving no doubt about his overall impact.

On the flip side, Atlanta's Jalen Johnson had one of his worst games in recent memory. Despite playing a team-high 30 minutes, Johnson put up just eight points on 3/9 from the field. It's not often that the All-Star forward records a single-digit points total, but he did against Portland.

The scary part is, this was the first time Johnson had ever shared the floor with Kuminga. In the newcomer's first two games with the Hawks, Johnson was recovering from a minor hip injury, therefore unable to play.

With both of them healthy, everyone was intrgued to see how Head Coach Quin Snyder would utilize the two ultra-athletic forwards. Would their minutes stagger? Would they run one of them at the three? Time would soon tell.

Snyder experimented with the rotation, opting for a little bit of both.

Their minutes staggered in the first quarter. Johnson played the first several minutes, while Kuminga got to to finish the frame. Each of them saw all of their minutes in the first at the power forward position.

Early in the second frame, however, things got interesting. It's worth noting that by this point, the Hawks had already built a sizable lead, which led to Coach Snyder being able to experiment. When Jalen Johnson went to the scorers table to check in, many thought it would be Kuminga heading to the bench.

It wasn't. Both of them were out there for some extended run. It didn't look perfect, but Hawks fans were able to get a good glimpse at the potential wing pairing of the future. Not all of their minutes came alongside each other in Sunday's game, but there were enough to suggest it could be something fans end up seeing more often than not.

Now, whether sharing the floor or being staggered, there's a twist. As odd as it may sound, Jalen Johnson isn't perfect. There will be nights where he's off. On Sunday night against Portland, Johnson's offensive game was mostly ineffective. It's rare, but even an All-Star of his caliber is due for a bad game every now and then.

Before trading for Kuminga, the Hawks struggled to find consistency whenever their top option had an off-night. Not having another reliable forward scorer in the second unit made it difficult to succeed when circumstances shifted.

The newcomer changes that. If Kuminga didn't play against the Trail Blazers on Sunday, the Hawks very well could've lost. So yes, they're similar players and yes, it could take some time for them to gel as teammates, but having two reliable young forward options will prove critical as the season comes to a close.