Assessing every Golden State player’s performance from the team’s 117-114 win over Toronto.
Thursday was far from the most convincing win the Golden State Warriors have assembled, and it might have come at quite a cost: Steph Curry left the game with a pelvic contusion, as the Warriors squeaked by the tanking Toronto Raptors 117-114. Sometimes teams catch fire, though, which the Raptors did — being able to beat those teams on their best day is a skill, and it’s one the Warriors needed to have on Thursday. The win capped off a 6-1 home-stand, and pushed them to a game-and-a-half ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves and LA Clippers in the fight for the sixth seed.
Now it’s time to grade the players. As always, grades are based on my expectations of each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for each 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%.
Moses Moody
27 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 0-for-5 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 29.6% TS, +4
Kind of a rough game for Moody, who couldn’t buy a bucket … though he did make a clutch pair of free throws late. He had a fine defensive game, but not a particularly notable one.
Grade: C
Jimmy Butler III
36 minutes, 16 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-for-15 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 7-for-10 free throws, 41.2% TS, +5
It really felt like Butler willed the Warriors to victory on Thursday. He was a big-play machine for the entirety of the fourth quarter, and had arguably the most important play of the game, when he blocked a shot with less than 20 seconds remaining and the Dubs up three … and then added a pair of free throws.
He struggled to score for most of the night, but was an absolute menace on the glass and with his help defense, and dictated the offense with a brilliant passing night en route to his second triple-double since joining the Warriors.
The efficiency was rough, but it was an ugly game where the Warriors needed someone to drag them to victory. Butler did exactly that.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds and assists.
Draymond Green
31 minutes, 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls, 7-for-18 shooting, 5-for-14 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 55.6% TS, -5
Not sure what’s more surprising: Green leading the Warriors in scoring, or attempting 14 three-point attempts. He caught fire early and carried the Warriors offense for a while, though that also seemed to encourage him to take a few too many shots once he cooled off.
It wasn’t his best all-around defensive game, as he wasn’t too locked in on that end of the court, but he made some star plays on defense when the game was on the line.
Too many turnovers, too many fouls, too many shot attempts. But still a pretty decent game.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Brandin Podziemski
35 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 foul, 6-for-14 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 53.6% TS, +7
Podziemski, along with Green, was the offense for the Warriors in the early going, and he ended the first frame with a brilliant two-for-one, in which he drained a three, took a charge, and then made a floater. He had some clutch plays late, too, though it was a pretty quiet middle of the game.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Steph Curry
25 minutes, 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 6-for-8 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 3-for-5 free throws, 83.3% TS, -7
Curry had a very quiet first half, but had just started to find a rhythm and catch some fire in the third quarter when he suffered his injury. With a six-game roadtrip starting on Saturday, all eyes are on Curry’s back. According to Steve Kerr, the two-time MVP tried to return to the game, but team doctors wouldn’t let him … hopefully that’s a good sign. We’ll soon find out more, as Curry is headed for an MRI.
Grade: Please be okay
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Jonathan Kuminga
25 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 7-for-15 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 51.8% TS, -2
Kuminga is still finding his rhythm after his lengthy injury absence, and he isn’t finishing around the rim as strongly as we saw from him in December and early January. That will presumably come with time, and this game showed how big of a role JK can play … he had a dominant second quarter, even though there were a fair amount of struggles the rest of the game.
Grade: B-
Gui Santos
10 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, -3
A quiet game for Gui, but one without any mistakes. He played quality defense, kept the ball moving, and made some big hustle plays. He didn’t turn the ball over or take any bad shots … or any shots, period.
Grade: C+
Buddy Hield
19 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 5-for-5 free throws, 64.5% TS, +7
A quality all-around game for Hield, who contributed in many different ways, even if his shot wasn’t falling and he had a few poor turnovers.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Quinten Post
22 minutes, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 6-for-10 shooting, 6-for-9 threes, 90.0% TS, +5
You could give Post an A+ simply for the energy he breathed into his teammates and the arena, especially after Curry’s injury. He was yelling, gesticulating, waving the crowd to make noise, high-fiving everyone. He’s turning into a serious emotional leader for the team.
You could also give him an A+ for being a center who made six threes on outrageous efficiency.
I’ll knock him a half grade for not gathering more rebounds, but this was a tremendous game from the rookie.
Grade: A
Kevon Looney
9 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 free throws, 69.4% TS, +4
Looney didn’t do too much in this game, but he did play some strong defense, and that’s worth a lot.
Grade: B
Thursday’s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Pat Spencer
Thursday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Braxton Key, Gary Payton II, Jackson Rowe