Player grades: Warriors vs. Jazz

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance from the team’s 114-103 win over Utah.

The Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 114-103 on Tuesday night at the Chase Center, in a game defined more by who wasn’t playing than who was. Yet even against a 10-win team missing the bulk of its starters and playing on the road on the back end of a back-to-back, it was an impressive performance by a Warriors team missing Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jonathan Kuminga.

So who was responsible for the win? Only one way to tell. As always, my 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 Tuesday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.

Andrew Wiggins

33 minutes, 19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-for-17 shooting, 3-for-8 threes, 6-for-9 free throws, 45.3% TS, +12

Kind of a funny, hot-and-cold game for Wiggins. On the one hand, he shot with quite poor efficiency. On the other hand, a lot of his shots were crucial buckets, and his aggression on offense really set the tone and opened lanes for his teammates. On the one hand, he had some big defensive plays. On the other hand, he had a poor rebounding game and often looked unaggressive in the non-scoring areas of the game.

So I guess … close to average?

Grade: B-

Moses Moody

27 minutes, 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 fouls, 4-for-9 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 4-for-5 free throws, 67.0% TS, -2

We’ve really been seeing a coming out party for Moody. It’s a bummer that the Warriors are so injured, but Moody getting to play 25+ minutes a night has been one hell of a silver lining, and he’s cemented his role in the process.

His offensive game has gotten so much more aggressive, without sacrificing the discipline and intelligence that have been staples of his game since he was drafted. There’s more confidence in his three-point stroke, but he’s also far more interested in attacking the hoop with composed violence than he ever used to be.

Moody had some of the biggest shots in the game, and also had one of the game’s defining moments: up four and just over four minutes remaining, Moody attacked the hoop and an out-of-sorts Utah defense, and made a brilliant pass to Wiggins for an and-one.

He’s scored in double figures in seven straight games, and he only has three turnovers in that time.

Grade: A

Trayce Jackson-Davis

6 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 66.7% TS, -7

TJD got the start, but after being subbed out halfway through the first quarter, he never returned. It’s unclear if he suffered an injury or an illness, or if Steve Kerr just opted to run with Kevon Looney and Quinten Post, who both played very well.

Either way, Jackson-Davis was strong on offense in the minutes he played, but struggled on defense.

Grade: B-

Buddy Hield

22 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-for-7 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 14.3% TS, -12

Hield keeps playing with energy, confidence, positivity, and selflessness, even when he’s struggling. Unfortunately, that’s about all the good there is to say about him tonight.

Grade: C-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.

Dennis Schröder

34 minutes, 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 8-for-20 shooting, 5-for-13 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 55.1% TS, +3

When the Warriors traded for Schröder, I felt like the most important part of his game was the toughness, grit, and competitive spirit that he brought. The Warriors can’t rely on Draymond alone to get under opponents’ skin and laugh in the face of attempted intimidation.

This was a game where Schröder’s ability to do that was on full display, and it saved the day for the Dubs. He got elbowed (inadvertently) in the face by Collin Sexton, and responded by trash-talking and attacking Sexton on seemingly every subsequent possession. He fell so awkwardly and painfully that I truly thought he might have suffered a season-ending injury yet, after hobbling to the locker room for a few minutes, returned later in the quarter.

It takes all types to win in the NBA, and one of the types you absolutely need is someone who gets in an opponent’s face, talks trash with swagger, and smiles when they get popped. The Warriors have won a lot of games because of those types of players: the Draymond Greens, Stephen Jacksons, Andrew Boguts, and Matt Barnes of the world. Schröder is one of those types, and if you think the Dubs win Tuesday night’s game without him, well … we’re all entitled to our own opinions, but that doesn’t make them right.

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

Gary Payton II

10 minutes, 2 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 34.7% TS, +1

Not a very clean game for GPII, though he almost threw down a dunk that would have been one of the highlights of the year.

Grade: C

Brandin Podziemski

32 minutes, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 5-for-12 shooting, 4-for-11 threes, 6-for-6 free throws, 68.3% TS, +19

It’s no secret that Podz hit a bit of a sophomore slump to start the year. But his nearly month-long injury absence seems to have really reset him, because he appears back to being the player who I frequently ran out of words to describe in his rookie year. He’s a rare blend of fearless, cocky, selfless, and disciplined. He seems to think he can do everything, yet usually wisely chooses to defer to others. That allows him to make huge plays in clutch moments on both ends of the court while, most importantly, making sure that the team simply plays its best basketball when he’s one of the five players standing up.

Before his injury, Podziemski was averaging 8.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, shooting 49.6% on twos and 29.5% on threes, and averaging 1.0 free throw attempts per game. In an admittedly small sample size of three games since returning, he’s averaging 15.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, shooting 85.7% on two and 42.9% on threes, and averaging 2.7 free throw attempts per game.

Welcome back, Podz.

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

Kevon Looney

24 minutes, 6 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 foul, 3-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 free throws, 55.1% TS, +23

Talk about a stabilizing presence. I’d say that Looney saw the rumors of having his salary used at the trade deadline and felt inspired, but in reality, this is how he always plays. The Warriors were getting beat up in the paint when Looney entered and, while he couldn’t single-handedly stop it, he certainly kept it from getting as ugly as it otherwise would have been. It was a highly impressive performance both defending and rebounding, and timely, too.

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

Gui Santos

23 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 73.5% TS, +25

Even in the games where his stat line isn’t gaudy, it’s clear that Santos isn’t just a flash in the pan. The dude simply knows how to play basketball, and hustles like he’s still trying to make the team.

I’m so impressed by the way he reads defenses and makes the right pass, by the way he reacts and rotates on defense, and by the way he’s constantly in motion in every phase of the game.

The Warriors outscored the Jazz by 25 points in his 23 minutes, and were outscored by 14 points in the 25 minutes he sat. Plus/minus doesn’t always tell the story, but it does here.

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

Quinten Post

16 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 fouls, 3-for-10 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 46.0% TS, -3

It’s pretty clear that Post has entered the center minutes rotation, and that he, Looney, and Jackson-Davis will split minutes based on matchup and performance on any given night. And he’s played well enough to earn that.

Tuesday wasn’t his cleanest game, as he struggled to finish around the rim and committed four fouls in just 16 minutes. But his offensive versatility was once again on display, with the seven-footer making a few exceptional passes, draining a pair of threes, and finishing with a eurostep dunk in transition. And his size sure was a blessing against some large Utah frontcourt players.

Grade: B+

Kyle Anderson

11 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3-for-4 shooting, 75.0% TS, -4

With the emergence of Santos and Post, I’m not sure that Anderson has a role in the rotation when the Warriors are healthy. But then again, they may never be fully healthy, so what a luxury it is to be able to call on him whenever needed. And he showed up tonight.

Grade: B+

Tuesday’s DNPs: Pat Spencer, Lindy Waters III

Tuesday’s inactives: Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Jackson Rowe