The Golden State Warriors got back in the win column on Wednesday night, with an emphatic 140-124 win over the Utah Jazz. It was perhaps the team’s most balanced win of the year, as nine different players
scored at least nine points.
Let’s grade those nine, as well as the rest of the players who donned a Dubs jersey on Wednesday. As always, grades are based on my expectations for 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. Entering Wednesday’s games, league-average TS was 58.0%.
Moses Moody
26 minutes, 26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 9-for-15 shooting, 5-for-9 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 77.6% TS, +28
This was a virtually perfect Moody game, in which he blended his expert role player ability with something a little more. He made his presence felt immediately in this game by absolutely going to work, especially in the paint. He was a force to be reckoned with, keeping possessions alive, out-physicaling his opponents, and muscling his way to the rim and to the line.
He kept it going later in the game with a slew of triples and some timely buckets, all while playing completely lock-down defense. One of the best games he’s ever played.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Draymond Green
23 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 0-for-6 shooting, 0-for-6 threes, 0.0% TS, +17
A vintage Draymond game! He didn’t score a single point, and yet felt like one of the best players on the court. Awesome defense and tremendous playmaking. I have to dock him for the three turnovers and for taking as many shots as he did without making one, but he was part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Grade: B-
Al Horford
24 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 90.0% TS, +22
Steve Kerr said after the game that Horford will likely stay in the starting lineup going forward (they do have five back-to-backs left, so he won’t be able to start every game). It’s not hard to see why: the Warriors are simply better when Horford is on the court.
I’ve long felt that Horford would be a great match for the Warriors’ systems, and we’re now seeing that in full force. It’s clear that Al is growing more and more comfortable, and thriving as he does. The passes he made in this game were sensational, as was the interior defense, which kept Utah from getting easy looks at the rim, and let to Jusuf Nurkić having a difficult game.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Brandin Podziemski
28 minutes, 11 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 2-for-6 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 6-for-6 free throws, 63.7% TS, +16
Podz didn’t have a great start to this game, as he made a few sloppy mistakes in the opening minutes. And then he put that behind him and went out and had a spectacular game. There was a bit of Draymond in him, as he flirted with a triple-double, injected the team with energy, and didn’t need to score to be effective (though he ended up with double-digits on excellent efficiency anyway).
He was crafty, he was a beast on the glass, and he set up his teammates all night long. Great game.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Steph Curry
28 minutes, 27 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers, 1 foul, 7-for-14 shooting, 4-for-10 threes, 9-for-10 free throws, 73.4% TS, +16
Curry had some extremely aggravating turnovers in this game, especially early in the contest. And honestly, he didn’t do much in the game other than score.
But my goodness did he score. He scored and scored and scored, and he did so with spectacular efficiency. Most importantly, he seemed to score every time the Jazz threatened to make the score close.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
De’Anthony Melton
23 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-8 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 4-for-5 free throws, 58.8% TS, +13
Melton did a little bit of everything in this game, for better and also for worse. He got the Dubs into their offensive systems. He made some clutch buckets. He played great defense with extremely active hands. He turned the ball over a lot. He played uncharacteristically out of control.
He is perhaps the only player on the Warriors other than Curry who still has a positive impact even when he doesn’t play as well as we expect, because he does so many little things and quarterbacks the team on both ends of the court. He made some great things happen in this game, but he made some pretty bad things happen as well.
Grade: B-
Gui Santos
22 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 6-for-7 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 2-for-3 free throws, 96.2% TS, +6
Santos did all the little things on the court in this game … and some of the big things, too. IT seemed like he was everywhere on the court. Loose ball? Gui is grabbing it. Rebound up for grabs? Gui is knocking some body to the ground and batting the ball to a teammate. Jazz player is driving or passing? Gui is disrupting it.
Doesn’t hurt when you shoot 6-for-7 from the field, either, but Santos’ game was so much more than that. Tremendous performance across the board.
Grade: A+
Quinten Post
17 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 4-for-7 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 71.4% TS, -3
Post may have lost his starting role to Horford, but this was one of his best games in a long time, and I’m excited to watch him develop into a weapon off the bench. His defense, which was so strong early in the year, returned for this game, and he continued to show improvement rebounding the ball. All while making it rain from deep.
Grade: A
Will Richard
20 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-for-8 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 81.3% TS, -3
Richard’s offense has been mostly nonexistent lately … but not on Wednesday. On Wednesday he was a crucial part of the offense, and his points were as timely as they were efficient. And he did it all while being an absolute pest on defense once more … this was, remarkably, his fourth consecutive game with at least three steals, and he has 15 total during that span.
He’s just such a good player, even though the turnovers were uncharacteristic.
Grade: A-
Buddy Hield
17 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 turnover, 5-for-8 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 81.3% TS, -11
Hield did exactly what he’s paid to do: scored in a flurry when the Warriors needed it. He opened the second quarter with back-to-back threes, and quickly had 11 points in the quarter as the Dubs took total control. A good passing home for him, too.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Trayce Jackson-Davis
4 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 1-for-1 shooting, 100.0% TS, -7
Just a little garbage time for TJD. He’s likely out of the rotation for the foreseeable future, assuming Horford and Post are both playing.
Grade: Incomplete
Malevy Leons
4 minutes, 0 points, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -7
A little garbage time for Leons, as well. Fun seeing him out on the court.
Grade: Incomplete
Pat Spencer
4 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound, 1-for-2 free throws, 113.6% TS, -7
Spencer is quickly approaching his two-way contract maximum for games played. We’ll see if the Warriors make a deadline trade that will allow them to roster him.
Grade: Incomplete
Wednesday’s DNP-CDs: Gary Payton II
Wednesday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, LJ Cryer, Seth Curry, Jonathan Kuminga
