Player grades: Warriors vs. Kings

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance in the team’s 130-104 win over Sacramento.

Thursday night was a fantastic night for the Golden State Warriors. Steph Curry made history. Jonathan Kuminga returned. And most importantly, they used their most balanced attack of the season, with eight players scoring in double figures, to beat the Sacramento Kings 130-104, and continue their push in the standings.

The red pen won’t get a lot of use tonight, but let’s grade the players nonetheless. As always, 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. Entering Thursday’s games, league-average TS was 57.5%.

Jimmy Butler III

28 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2-for-5 shooting, 2-for-2 free throws, 51.0% TS, +2

Statistically, it wasn’t a very good game for Butler, at least by his standards. But at the risk of giving him too much credit, it has to be said that a player who recently was the leading man on two Finals-bound teams, and who is on a maximum contract, and who is Hall of Fame bound, and who has scored more than 15,000 points in his career plus more than 2,500 in the playoffs, and who has averaged 20 or more points per game in eight different seasons, is so comfortable taking five shots and putting up a Draymondian stat line.

Butler can carry the team offensively, and the time will come when they need him to do that. And when they don’t need him to do that, he’s more than happy to be in the (scoring) shadows, while helping control the playmaking and the defense.

Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, worst plus/minus on the team.

Draymond Green

29 minutes, 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls 8-for-14 shooting, 4-for-7 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 73.0% TS, +12

I didn’t have Draymond leading the Warriors in scoring in a game this year on my Bingo card, and I certainly didn’t have Draymond leading the Warriors in scoring with more than twice as many points as Steph Curry in a blowout win on my Bingo card.

There’s a new confidence and a new energy for Green now that Butler is in the fold, and it sure doesn’t help that he can shoot threes this year. He got a little overly-excited on some plays, but a stellar performance.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

Quinten Post

21 minutes, 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 63.5% TS, +9

Post is back in the starting lineup while Brandin Podziemski is sidelined, and he’s sure ready for the role. He was a huge offensive and defensive spark early, and brought energy and spacing all night long. Not only is he seemingly getting better every game, but his teammates are better figuring out how to use him and get him involved. He’s the real deal.

Grade: B+

Moses Moody

30 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 4-for-7 shooting, 4-for-6 threes, 5-for-6 free throws, 88.2% TS, +12

I think it’s officially time to say it, without hesitation: the contract extension that Moody signed this offseason is an absolute steal. Some were confused by it at the time, because it seemed like the Warriors didn’t value Moody. But he’s now firmly in not just the rotation, but the starting lineup, and he’s developed into one of the team’s most reliable players. His offense has grown leaps and bounds, and you can see the Butler influence.

Moody was an absolute beast in this game, in every facet. He has turned into such a good player.

Grade: A+

Steph Curry

30 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 4-for-9 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 58.3% TS, +15

This wasn’t Curry sharpest game, or anything close to it, but I’m willing to give him a pass for a trio of reasons. First, he clearly wasn’t feeling 100%, as he was holding his back on a few occasions and moving gingerly. Second, like Butler, he was happy to take a backseat and orchestrate the team while others starred. And third, a handful of years after becoming the first player in NBA history to make 3,000 threes, Curry one-upped himself by draining his 4,000th career triple.

What a special player. Don’t ever take him for granted, folks.

Grade: A+ for the history and the hopeful healing

Jonathan Kuminga

20 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 7-for-10 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 4-for-6 free throws, 71.2% TS, +8

I thought we’d need a few games to see how well Kuminga could reintegrate into a team that had changed its personnel, system, and overall outlook dramatically while he was sidelined. Turned out we only needed 20 minutes.

Kuminga looked as good as he has all year. He was as athletic as ever, and had no hesitation attacking … if there was any fear of trusting his ankle, it wasn’t evident. But just as importantly, he was making perfect reads, cutting at the right time and the right angles, and finishing beautifully and emphatically around the rim.

There will still be questions to figure out as far as minutes, lineups, and fits go. But it’s hard to imagine feeling better about Kuminga after one return game than we all do right now.

Grade: A+

Gary Payton II

21 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 4-for-6 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 91.7% TS, +11

At what point do we have the conversation about Payton having figured out how to score? Through February 23, he was averaging 5.2 points per game and shooting 55.2% from the field and 24.6% from deep. Since then, he’s averaging 12.3 points per game, and shooting 63.1% from the field and 47.6% from distance. And his defense is as good as ever.

Grade: A

Buddy Hield

20 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 6-for-10 shooting, 4-for-6 threes, 0-for-1 free throws, 76.6% TS, +17

After a string of clunkers, Hield has now put together back-to-back phenomenal games. I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll see that more often from Hield as the Warriors reach full health. When the Warriors are less needy for Hield’s contributions, the game should come very easily to him.

Grade: A+

Kevon Looney

17 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-2 free throws, 77.3% TS, +11

It’s hard to overstate how much of a grounding presence Looney is in the lineup. He just comes in whenever things feel a little out of control, whenever a little size and toughness and veteran experience is needed, and suddenly everything seems okay.

Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.

Gui Santos

18 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 4-for-4 shooting, 2-for-2 threes, 125.0% TS, +21

Defense? Check. Shooting? Check. Ball movement? Check. Rebounding? Check. Energy? Check.

It was the type of game from Santos that sent a message that he needs to stay in the rotation, even with Kuminga’s return. Just sensational basketball from a player who became an indispensable part of the roster seemingly overnight.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.

Pat Spencer

3 minutes, 2 points, 1 foul, 1-for-3 shooting, 33.3% TS, +6

Just a little garbage time for Spencer. Now that he has a guaranteed contract, he’ll be on the playoff roster, so keeping him in rhythm in case he’s needed is important.

Trayce Jackson-Davis

3 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, +6

Nice to see Jackson-Davis get on the court, even if just for a little garbage time. Hadn’t seen him in a while!

Grade: Incomplete

Thursday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Braxton Key, Brandin Podziemski, Jackson Rowe