Well hey, would you look at that, the Golden State Warriors won another game. They overcame a slow start to cruise past the New York Knicks 126-113 on Thursday night, and are now four games above .500 for the first time since … well … for the first time since last season.
It wasn’t a perfect victory, as the Knicks were without star point guard Jalen Brunson, but it was still an impressive showing for the Dubs. So let’s grade the players who got the victory handled. 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 58.1%.
Jimmy Butler III
32 minutes, 32 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, 14-for-22 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 3-for-5 free throws, 66.1% TS, +15
It goes without saying that Butler is very far down on the list of issues for the Warriors this year. But even while he’s significantly more a solution than a problem, it’s still true that he hasn’t played as well this year as he did after coming over at the deadline a year ago. And, as he’s been showing lately, a lot of the issues the Warriors do have can be covered up simply by Butler being a bonafide star.
Which is what he was in this game. Butler was the best player on the court on Thursday. He took over late in the first quarter, going on a 7-0 run by himself to pull the Warriors back into the game. He took over late in the second quarter. He took over late in the third quarter. He was a one-man wrecking ball, getting whatever he wanted on offense and completely overpowering a helpless New York team.
And given the Warriors issues with ball security, it sure isn’t lost on anyone that Butler took over the game and didn’t turn the ball over once. Just a flawless game from someone who is increasingly reminding us that he can put the team on his back.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and rebounds.
Draymond Green
27 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 56.4% TS, +6
Draymond wasn’t much of a factor on offense, but he sure was sublime on defense. This game was a strong reminder of the weapon that he can be due to his ability to play up a position, even against the best offensive centers in the world. While Karl-Anthony Towns had a nice game, he often struggled when Green was guarding him.
Grade: B
Quinten Post
12 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-9 shooting, 1-for-6 threes, 27.8% TS, -4
Post is in a bit of a rut at the moment, and Thursday was no exception. He didn’t play well at all. There are no two ways about it.
Grade: D
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Moses Moody
28 minutes, 21 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 7-for-10 shooting, 7-for-9 threes, 105.0% TS, +3
Moody was the Warriors offense when they didn’t have any. For the first half of the first quarter, the Dubs couldn’t get anything going on offense, but Moody sank all three of his shots — all threes — to score nine of the team’s first 11 points. And then, when the Warriors did have their offense, Moody was still a big part of it, capping one of the best shooting games of his career.
Ideally I’d like to see Moody have more than one combined rebound and assist, but I can’t really pick nits with someone who scores 20+ points with 100+% TS and strong defense.
Grade: A+
Steph Curry
34 minutes, 27 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 10-for-17 shooting, 4-for-9 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 73.7% TS, +3
Curry started the game fairly slowly. He had two early turnovers, and at halftime had nine points while shooting 0-for-4 from three-point range. But even in the struggles, there were great signs. I thought he was really locked in defensively, and on the national broadcast, Stan Van Gundy couldn’t stop gushing about Curry’s screen-setting … and justifiably, I might add.
And then, in the third quarter, Curry turned on the offense. And in the fourth quarter, he set it to “arrogantly finish them” mode.
Just a remarkably strong all-around game for The Chef, who still managed 27 points on absurd efficiency when all was said and done.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Gary Payton II
16 minutes, 0 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 fouls, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 0.0% TS, -2
One thing that deserves more attention is how impressive and fun GPII’s rebounding is. It’s just outrageous for a player of his size, and it certainly helped keep the Warriors afloat against a New York squad that employs Towns, who grabbed 20 boards. A strong all-around game for Payton, who did some good things on offense even though he wasn’t scoring.
Grade: A-
Gui Santos
5 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 foul, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 150.0% TS, -2
Santos was playing well, then left the game with a sprained ankle and didn’t return. Fingers crossed.
Grade: Please be OK
De’Anthony Melton
23 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-8 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 31.3% TS, +17
Melton has been terrific lately, and this game was no exception. He didn’t score well, but everything else was masterful. He ran the second unit and played very well on and off the ball. He was superb on defense and made clutch plays when the Warriors needed it. He’s really anchoring the bench unit impressively.
Grade: A-
Al Horford
21 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 50.0% TS, +9
How good has Horford been lately? This is the player the Warriors were stoked to get in free agency, and, barring another injury setback, I don’t think it’s going anywhere. Suddenly, with Melton and Horford shaking off the injury rust and finding their groove, the Warriors bench looks mighty dangerous. What a luxury to have a center come off the bench and give you 5-5-5 with three stocks and some strong defense. This Horford is the definition of a difference maker off the bench.
Grade: A
Brandin Podziemski
26 minutes, 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 8-for-9 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 96.2% TS, +22
Podziemski was, to quote Mark Jones, deep in his bag like the fries were at the bottom. Hook shots. Floaters. Off-balance rain collectors. Threes. Podziemski looked like he was playing a game of HORSE on the Chase Center court, and he was winning handily. And he did all of that while also making all the little plays that contribute to winning.
The three turnovers were a bit much but, like Moody, that’s picking nits when everything else was so flawless.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Will Richard
15 minutes, 3 points, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 150.0% TS, -2
Richard isn’t doing anything noteworthy in the stat department these days, but he just plays rock solid, winning basketball. He makes the right reads. He’s in the right places. He sees the floor well. He knows what to do in the offensive and defensive schemes. He’s constantly in motion. He doesn’t make mistakes. What a rookie!
Grade: B
Pat Spencer
1 minute, 0 points, 0-for-1 shooting, 0.0% TS, 0 +/-
We haven’t been seeing much of Spencer lately, and he just got some garbage time in this game. He’s active every game, which likely means the Warriors are planning on adding him to the roster later in the year.
Grade: Incomplete
Thursday’s DNP-CDs: Buddy Hield, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jonathan Kuminga
Thursday’s inactives: LJ Cryer, Seth Curry, Malevy Leons
