The first game of the Golden State Warriors season is in the books, and the first win is also in the books. Which means it’s time to break out the red pen and get the first set of grades in the books.
Golden State opened the season in style on Tuesday night, going on the road and beating the Los Angeles Lakers 119-109, in a game that they controlled for almost the entirety of it. It was an impressive and encouraging win, even if it came against a Lakers squad that was without LeBron James.
So now let’s grade it. As a reminder, grades are based on my expectations of each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. League average TS last season was 57.6%.
Jimmy Butler III
35 minutes, 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 7-for-14 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 16-for-16 free throws, 73.7% TS, +20
Yeesh. Yeesh, yeesh, yeesh, yeesh, yeesh.
On the broadcast, they were discussing how Butler should be much improved in his first full season with the Warriors, now that the Dubs had a full summer to tweak the system to fit him, and a full training camp to integrate him. And the first results on that are: yep, seems to be so. Steph Curry may be the lifeblood of the offense, but Butler was the superstar in the season opener. He led the offensive charge out of the gates, and put the team on his back late, and to close out multiple quarters. He played strong defense and absolutely bullied the Lakers whenever the team needed a bucket.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Jonathan Kuminga
33 minutes, 17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 6-for-11 shooting, 4-for-6 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 71.5% TS, +4
Kuminga got the start, which was unconventional given the known issues of pairing him with Butler and Draymond Green. But it’s clear that the Warriors are going to try and make that work and … well … it sure worked in this one. The Warriors played their best ball with the starting lineup on the court to open the third quarter, and arguably their second-best ball to begin the game. They looked emphatic and dominant when closing out the game in the final minutes with that trio on the court.
And Kuminga deserves so much credit for that. He looked as though he fully bought into what Steve Kerr and the coaching staff wants him to do. He was fast and decisive on offense, and quick to pass to the open man. He made a few highlight-level passes, and was 100% committed on defense, where he spent most of the game guarding Luka Dončić …. and guarding him well. Perhaps most importantly, he crashed the glass like it was saving him; he had the most offensive rebounds in the game, and the most total rebounds of anyone other than Dončić. It certainly helped that he also turned into a marksman in this one, by draining four threes in only six attempts. One way for Kuminga to solve the spacing issues is to be a high-level shooter, though the other good things he did are probably more sustainable.
My favorite Kuminga play in this one, which showed his growth: he had a chance at a highlight put-back dunk, but missed it. The ball found him again following an offensive rebound, and you could see his desire to get the bucket back. He dug deep in his bag of tricks, put on a bunch of moves, and then … passed the ball to an open shooter for a three. that’s maturation!
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Draymond Green
28 minutes, 8 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, 5 fouls, 3-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 1-for-3 free throws, 54.6% TS, +20
Speaking of maturation, one of the critical moments of the game took place in the second quarter. Green had already picked up his first technical foul of the season when, while on the bench, he ripped into the refs for missing a blatant offensive basket interference. Jarred Vanderbilt — who had a dust-up with Green in the preseason — sensed an opportunity a few minutes later, and got into it with Draymond, trying to bait him into a second tech, and a consequent ejection.
It didn’t come close to working. Green had no interest in getting into it, Vanderbilt got the tech, and Dray stayed in the game the rest of the way. He flirted with a triple-double, played awesome defense, and made a huge three late in the fourth quarter. There were some sloppy moments, as the turnovers and foul suggest, but it was an excellent start to the season for an energized-looking Green.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Brandin Podziemski
33 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 50.0% TS, +13
It wasn’t a very notable game for Podziemski, and you know what? That doesn’t have to be a bad thing. He’s sharing a starting lineup with three Hall of Famers and one hyper-athletic youngster who is coming into his own. Podz can, at times, be like a waiter: excelling because of how little you notice him. We know he has the ability to make a larger imprint on the game when it’s necessary, but it’s remarkable how much he has the willingness to just play his role. His defense and decision-making were very strong in this game, and he just always seemed to provide what the team needed.
Grade: B
Steph Curry
32 minutes, 23 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 6-for-14 shooting, 3-for-9 threes, 8-for-8 free throws, 65.6% TS, +1
This game was a strong reminder of the dual power of Butler. Not only does he help the team win games, but he takes the workload off of Curry early in the year, so that Steph can have a little more gas in the tank come April, May, and hopefully June.
Curry had a standout defensive game, which featured a huge blocked shot on a corner three late in the game. He took care of the ball and moved it well. He had a fairly pedestrian scoring game, by his godly standards, but it always felt like he could do more if he had to. He didn’t have to. What a beautiful thing.
Grade: B
Buddy Hield
22 minutes, 17 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 6-for-11 shooting, 5-for-10 threes, 77.3% TS, +5
I said it a lot of times last year, and I’ll say it again tonight: Hield is on the Warriors to be a spark plug, and it doesn’t have to happen every night. He’ll get more minutes and more opportunities when it’s working, and fewer when it isn’t, and that’s okay. That’s the value of a deep, veteran bench.
For tonight, though, Hield was a spark plug and more. He made five threes, and if you watched the game you probably won’t struggle to remember all five of them. Each felt huge and timely, and one featured a delightfully cocky shaking of Marcus Smart.
This is what he’s here to do. He doesn’t have to do it every night, but when he does … he’s a difference-maker.
Grade: A
Gary Payton II
12 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-6 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 50.0% TS, +3
A hot-and-cold game for GPII. He had some absolutely jaw-dropping defense throughout the course of the game, including a highlight block. He also had some clunkers that felt like what you see in a preseason game, including a pair of first-quarter foibles in the paint: one when he caught the ball uncontested under the rim and got blocked by the backboard on the way up, and another when he blatantly — and avoidably — bowled over Dončić for an offensive foul. His defense was critical in this one, but his three turnovers were costly.
Grade: C+
Al Horford
20 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 2-for-7 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 35.7% TS, -10
If you’ve watched basketball at any point in the last two decades, then you probably felt pretty strongly that Horford was a perfect fit for this Warriors team. And it took him all of one possession in a Warriors jersey to show just how true that is.
Horford didn’t play all that well — he had a poor shooting night and had a few tough plays — but it was instantly clear how well he fits what the team wants to do on both ends of the court, and how much of a difference-maker he’ll be as the season goes on. Just a perfect addition.
Grade: B-
Gui Santos
3 minutes, 0 points, 1 turnover, 0 +/-
Santos played in the first quarter, but then never played again. You can’t really judge a player for how they perform in 2:39 of action, but you also have to assume that Kerr same something during that time that made him hesitant to put Santos back in for the remaining three quarters.
Grade: Incomplete
Will Richard
14 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 2-for-2 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 125.0% TS, -11
I expected Richard to play in this game, but I certainly didn’t expect him to play 13:35, including critical minutes in the fourth quarter. Kerr said after the game that the 56th overall pick plays like a seven-year veteran, not a rookie, and, well … take my job, Steve. That’s the perfect description.
Don’t look at the plus/minus, or at least don’t read into it. That’s a factor of the lineups Richard was a part of, and the parts of the game where the Lakers caught fire. He was an asset who didn’t shrink at all in the moment, despite it being his first career game, on national TV, and on the celebrity row of the NBA.
Richard had one of the best sequences of the game in the second quarter, when he came over to help from the weak side and had a strip steal, then led the break and tossed a perfect lob to Payton. He had a clutch put-back on an offensive rebound, getting the ball off in time after Hield air-balled. And he made a big three. And for all of that, he was given a very well-deserved game ball.
Welcome to the show, kid. Looks like you’re gonna be just fine.
Grade: A+ for all the emotions
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team
Quinten Post
9 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, +5
One of the biggest questions I had entering the season was what the center rotation would be. We knew Horford would get a steady stream of minutes, but we didn’t know much else. Turns out a lot of Green, a dose of Post, and no Trayce Jackson-Davis. For this game, at least.
We didn’t get to see Post’s floor-stretching ways, as he didn’t take a shot, but it was clear the type of gravity he brings. The court opened up with Post on it, and I thought he played quality defense, too. I’m excited to see his game blossom under the tutelage of Horford.
Grade: B-
NBA on NBC
Look, I’m as excited as anyone that the NBA on NBC is back. I’m a ‘90s kid: hearing Roundball Rock made me more excited for the season to start than I’ve felt in years.
But my goodness did the league flub this one. Just this morning, I answered a mailbag question from a (very justifiably) disgruntled fan who wanted it to be easier to watch the games. And what happened? The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets game carried all the way through the first quarter of the Warriors game. Because NBC doesn’t have a secondary station (like TBS for TNT and ESPN2 for ESPN), there was nowhere for the Warriors game to be broadcast. That’s an issue they should have been prepared for, because this always happens. There was no way the Thunder and Rockets game would be done by 7:00, even if it ended in regulation. The crossover is always annoying, but it works when networks have a second station to turn to. NBC has none, and didn’t build in the buffer.
Instead, the first quarter was only available to people with a paid (and pricy!) Peacock subscription, and even a lot of those people couldn’t get the game to actually load. Just a completely unjustifiable fiasco that they had months to ensure wouldn’t happen.
Grade: F
Tuesday’s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Pat Spencer
Tuesday’s inactives: De’Anthony Melton, Moses Moody, Jackson Rowe, Alex Toohey
