Player grades: Warriors vs. Wolves

The Golden State Warriors exacted a little bit of revenge on Sunday night. After losing a non-competitive game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, the Dubs turned the tables and won a thriller against the Wolves on Sunday, 114-106. Even with Andrew Wiggins sidelined with an ankle injury, the Warriors looked impressive on both ends of the court.

Now let’s grade the players. 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 Sunday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.

Gary Payton II

27 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 4-for-8 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 0-for-1 free throws, 47.4% TS, +1

Payton was given the exciting task of entering the starting lineup and defending Anthony Edwards, since Wiggins was sidelined. Edwards got his points still, but that was largely due to making some incredibly-difficult shots, and having a great night from distance, where he went 5-for-9. Payton made life so difficult for the All-Star scorer, and was a big reason why Edwards had six turnovers.

GPII also provided a good amount of offense, and his defense only got better in the final minutes as Golden State was trying to put the game away ... including the pivotal steal and outlet that led to a Buddy Hield dagger three.

Can’t ask for much better defense.

Grade: A

Jonathan Kuminga

36 minutes, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 7-for-16 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 5-for-8 free throws, 51.2% TS, +8

It wasn’t the most efficient scoring night for Kuminga, but I have a hard time finding much fault in his performance. The Warriors are asking him to isolate a lot, and that is inherently going to come with a lower shooting percentage, even before accounting for the fact that the Timberwolves have an excellent defense.

After struggling on the glass on Friday, JK was heavily involved in the rebounding battle on Sunday, and it was one of his best defensive performances of the year. Perhaps most importantly, his biggest plays seemed to come when the team needed them most, with some brilliant plays on both ends in the closing stretch.

Grade: A-

Draymond Green

31 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 3-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 60.0% TS, -2

Green was re-inserted into the starting lineup with Wiggins out. The Warriors have been clear that Dray isn’t going to be starting at center every game, but my goodness is he a weapon when they choose to go that route. He was in foul trouble for most of the night, and he had a few head-scratching turnovers, but other than that, it was a spectacular game from Green. With respect to Payton’s brilliance, I’d argue that Dray was the defensive catalyst in an excellent defensive game.

Grade: B+

Buddy Hield

35 minutes, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 10-for-18 shooting, 7-for-13 threes, 75.0% TS, +17

Hield can be maddeningly inconsistent, but it’s worth it for games like this. He got the start, as the Warriors looked for a little more offense in the starting unit with Wiggins out. And Hield made the most of it, reminding everyone that he can catch fire at any given moment.

Part of the puzzle for the Warriors this year is finding ways to not be overly-reliant on Hield’s offense, since it comes and goes, and instead just capitalizing on it when it arrives. Because it truly can be game-changing.

I also thought this was his best defensive game of the year. He was locked in all game long on that end, and also knocked down timely shots.

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

Steph Curry

35 minutes, 30 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 8-for-18 shooting, 5-for-11 threes, 9-for-11 free throws, 65.7% TS, +14

Curry hasn’t quite looked like himself this year but, apart from the two missed free throws, this was vintage Steph. He struggled to find openings in the first quarter, but took off in a big way in the second quarter, playing with the defense, attacking with and without the ball, and having a killer sense of the moment.

He really hasn’t been as aggressive driving the ball this year, so it was fabulous seeing him break down the defense and either finish at the rim or draw free throws (and in some cases, both). It was his first time shooting double digit free throws this year, and just his third time shooting more than six. Seeing that part of his game come back was awesome.

It also helped his playmaking, as he had some brilliant passes, especially in the pick-and-roll.

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

Moses Moody

5 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 25.0% TS, -4

For the second game in a row, Moody suffered a mild knee injury before halftime and didn’t play in the second half. Heal up, Moses.

Grade: Please be OK
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.

Brandin Podziemski

20 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 60.0% TS, -2

Podziemski’s three-pointer is slowly coming back around, which is great to see. This was a remarkably controlled game for Podz, who has been a lot better since getting publicly called out by Steve Kerr. He did a little bit of everything, even though he didn’t do a lot of anything.

Grade: B

Lindy Waters III

22 minutes, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 fouls, 0-for-5 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 0.0% TS, +1

Waters is mired in quite a shooting slump at the moment. Over his last four games he’s 0-for-2 on twos and 4-for-20 on threes. Still and all, this was a game where he provided a bit outside of shooting, which isn’t normally the case for Waters.

He had an active game with some brilliant passes, and put in a lot of work on defense and rebounding. Still, a shooter not scoring, and having four fouls, is going to have a hard time positively impacting a game.

Grade: C-

Kevon Looney

21 minutes, 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 6-for-8 shooting, 75.0% TS, +5

An absolutely brilliant game for Looney. Kerr opted to have Green start at the five and bring Looney off the bench, with Trayce Jackson-Davis being a healthy DNP. Looney was an absolute beast on the boards, and played spectacular defense. He was one of the biggest reasons for why the Dubs won the third quarter by 12 points, turning a big deficit into a lead, and was called on to play heavy minutes (particularly in that frame) after Green got into foul trouble.

It’s wild to think that there was at one point a question as to whether the Warriors would bring him back this year.

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

Kyle Anderson

8 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 50.0% TS, +2

Just a steady performance for Anderson. No great plays, no bad plays, many good plays. It’s a valuable thing to be able to rely on off the bench, for two minutes or for 20.

Grade: B

Sunday’s DNPs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gui Santos, Pat Spencer
Sunday’s inactives: Reece Beekman, De’Anthony Melton, Quinten Post, Andrew Wiggins