Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga comes off the bench against the Pelicans

SAN FRANCISCO – Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr used the 24 hours before Tuesday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans to find a new starting lineup.

He would be without two starters – Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins. But the changes he made weren't just to replace them.

The biggest adjustment he made was moving Jonathan Kuminga to the bench and replacing him in the starting lineup with Moses Moody.

“Without Steph and Wiggs, I didn’t want to start Trayce (Jackson-Davis), Draymond (Green) and JK,” Kerr said after a 124-106 win. “I wanted a little more distance. I knew it was going to be a JK game. I knew he was going to play a lot… this is all about combinations and getting a little more distance on the floor at the beginning.”

“It’s just a matter of reshaping the lineup to find the right five-man group out there.”

Kerr said he explained this to Kuminga before the game. Kuminga said he received a text message from his coach about the decision, but the two did not have a detailed conversation.

“It wasn't my decision. I got a text saying this is how it's going to go, this is how it's going to be and I went for it,” Kuminga said. “What should I do… ask why I won't start? That’s the coach’s decision and we’ll follow what he does.”

He continued: “At the end of the day, I’m still a professional. I’ll do what I have to do.”

Kuminga finished the game with 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting, with 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in a season-high 28 minutes.

“I thought JK was great,” Kerr said. “Of course we will need him. He is our most athletic player. He's a great size. There are games like tonight where we need him and others where things might not go the way he wants. That’s fine.”

Despite the combination changes, Kuminga said he feels like he is still playing as a small forward rather than a power forward. He also said he didn't think he played any differently than he did in his first three games of the season, in which he averaged eight points on 33.3% shooting.

“I did the same thing (as I did) in the second and third games. I’m still attacking the rim and other things, but tonight they went in so it looked good,” Kuminga said. “If it doesn’t go in today, it looks like I’ll do something else. My gift and my nature is to attack the rim as often as possible and today things just fell into place.”

For a player in his fourth season, leaving Kuminga out of the starting lineup is interesting as he and his team have not yet finalized a contract extension, although team officials have talked about using him in the next step.

It's unclear whether Kuminga will be on the bench again Wednesday against the Pelicans or until Curry, Wiggins and rotation player De'Anthony Melton return from injuries.

Kerr started Tuesday with Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moody, Green and Jackson-Davis and used a 10-man rotation. Sources told ESPN that the Warriors want to use the first 30 games to shorten the rotation and see which players can create separation to earn minutes. The injuries the team struggled with at the start of the season have made things more difficult.

“This is about winning,” Kerr said. “This is a strong team. What I've asked of all these guys is to just commit. And every game will be different.”