Player grades: Warriors vs. Hawks

Assessing every Golden State player’s game in the 127-113 win over Atlanta.

The Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, overcoming an early 15-point deficit to secure a 127-113 win, and push their winning streak to five games.

Some games are total team efforts, but this one was more of a total Steph Curry effort, which is one of nature’s greatest treats.

But we’re here to grade the whole team, so let’s do exactly that, weighting each player’s grade for expectations.

Draymond Green

30 minutes, 4 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 2-for-8 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +13

From a scoring standpoint, Green looked a bit more like the player we’ve seen over the last few years than the slightly rejuvenated product that has showed up so far this season. The touch on his shots just wasn’t there, and he didn’t look comfortable shooting, whether it be jumpers, push shots, or trying to finish around the rim.

But as he does, he impacted the game in other ways. The defense was spectacular. The passing was brilliant, and he had a few plays where he looked like he was finding a good connection with Andrew Wiggins.

He’s still the glue. The glue just doesn’t always stand out a bunch.

Grade: B+

Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds

Andrew Wiggins

26 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 5-for-12 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, +3

Wiggins’ offense continues to be quite uninspiring to start the season. I’m OK with the modest output, especially given the limited minutes, but 13 points on 13 shooting possessions is just not what the Warriors were hoping for, especially when he’s not doing much in the way of playmaking, either.

The defense is certainly starting to look better after a slow start to the season, though.

Grade: C+

Kevon Looney

17 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-2 free throws, +8

Looney’s never going to have the big numbers that some fans clamor for, but he’s still significantly better than the player that so many of his critics claim he is.

Games like this one highlight how Looney can be effective. He was aggressive when in the right spots, and careful when not. He played solid defense, switched well onto perimeter players, and gobbled up some boards.

Good stuff.

Grade: B+

Steph Curry

35 minutes, 50 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 14-for-28 shooting, 9-for-19 threes, 13-for-13 free throws, +31

Well, that was a helluva performance. Curry has played well this year, but the last few games hadn’t been his best work. This seemed like his reminder to the universe that he’s still the most lethal hooper alive.

50 points — the most in the league this year — is a statement as is. But adding in 10 assists, 7 rebounds from the point guard position, some quality defense, and good ball control? The total package. Just an other-worldly performance from a player who’s come to be known for them.

Plus, he led the team in every positive statistic, which is always fun. And absurd.

I’m not ready for the “Curry is impressive because he’s doing this while this old” part of his career, but it seems we’re approaching it.

Grade: A+

Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, rebounds, assists, and plus/minus.

Jordan Poole

32 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 fouls, 6-for-17 shooting, 3-for-10 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, -12

Poole is hot and cold scoring right now, and so some of his games are amazing, and others not so much. Having more field goal attempts than points is always a stain on a day’s resume, but it is nice to see him finding other ways to contribute. The defense is getting better every game, and he had some strong playmaking on display against Atlanta.

Grade: C+

Post-game bonus: Worst +/- on the team

Nemanja Bjelica

13 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 2-for-2 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, +17

It wasn’t the most notable performance from Beli, but the team just seems to function so well when he’s on the court. The read and react offense just works with Bjelica … of course, it helps when he doesn’t miss a shot, even on low volume.

Grade: B

Jonathan Kuminga

7 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 0-for-1 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, -3

Kuminga entered the game in the first quarter, getting to play meaningful minutes for the first time in his career. For that we celebrate, even though he looked a little overmatched — as one expects.

Still, he held his own on most plays, and props to Steve Kerr for getting his youngster some run without playing him too long.

Grade: B-

Andre Iguodala

20 minutes, 6 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-for-5 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, +11

Not a stat-stuffer of a game, but Iguodala served up multiple reminders that he can still fly. 1,200 career games might have sapped a little bit of his athleticism, but he’s still got the bulk of it.

Grade: B

Juan Toscano-Anderson

15 minutes, 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-for-5 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, -2

Say what you will, but JTA definitely made sure to check every box on the stat sheet. He’s found his role on this team as an undersized but defensively brilliant big; when he knocks down threes like this, he’s a tremendous asset.

Grade: B+

Jeff Dowtin

4 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 0-for-1 shooting, -6

With apologies to Dowtin, the exciting part of his game right now is that he acts as the victory cigar who lets core players rest on the bench when the game is over but there are still minutes left on the clock. It’s good te see him in the game.

Grade: Incomplete

Damion Lee

18 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 5-for-8 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, -7

It seems Lee is given a different role to play every night, and he turns in far more quality performances than otherwise. You didn’t really notice him in this game, yet he did a lot of things right. The team didn’t do well with him on the court, but that’s more about the lineups he got put on the flool with than anything else.

Grade: B+

Moses Moody

3 minutes, 0 points, -5

Garbage time minutes, with nothing eventful happening.

Grade: Incomplete

Gary Payton II

21 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 6 fouls, 1-for-2 shooting, +22

I’m not entirely sure what to make of GP2’s night. On the one hand, Trae Young had more success against him than any offensive player has had this season (which makes sense, since Trae Young is … well … Trae Freaking Young), and he fouled out of the game, while not making much noise statistically.

On the other hand, the team sure seems to just play better when he’s on the court, as evidenced by the glistening plus/minus, and the huge smile and handshake Kerr gave him as he came off the court — not the standard reception a bench player receives when fouling out.

Mostly it’s just fun seeing him as a part of the rotation, grade be damned.

Grade: B

Monday’s inactives: Chris Chiozza, Klay Thompson, James Wiseman