Player grades: Warriors vs. Wizards

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance in the team’s 123-112 win over Washington.

The Golden State Warriors shook off Sunday’s disappointing loss and got back in the win column on Tuesday night, opening up a four-game road trip with a 123-112 win over the Washington Wizards. It was a game dominated by the bench unit, and it gave the Dubs 11 wins in their last 14 contests.

It’s time to grade the Warriors who got the job done. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing their average individual performance.

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 58.2%.

Draymond Green

29 minutes, 6 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 52.1% TS, -6

Green was extremely hard on himself following Sunday’s loss, in which he did not play very well against two-time MVP Nikola Jokić. Marvin Bagley III presented a much easier matchup, and Green took advantage on both ends of the court.

He struggled a bit in the opening minutes, but as the game went on he ran the offense beautifully. And it sure feels like he’s shooting 100% on first-quarter threes this year.

Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds and assists, worst plus/minus on the team.

Jonathan Kuminga

28 minutes, 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 10-for-13 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, 75.6% TS, +10

One of my controversial basketball opinions is I’ve always felt that we spend way too much time and energy praising players who make difficult shots, and not enough time and energy lauding those who regularly get easy ones.

So you can only imagine how much I loved this Kuminga game. There were no highlights from shots that will rank a 10/10 on the difficult meter. Instead, the highlights will come from nearly breaking the rim off the backboard from uncontested dunks after Kuminga repeatedly got himself high-percentage looks.

Some come from beating defenders off the dribble. Some came from making the right reads on cuts and cashing in on the greatly-improved chemistry that he has with his teammates. And some came from simply out-hustling players down the court in transition.

But it wasn’t just the scoring. JK continues to show extreme growth as a playmaker. In his first 27 games this year, for instance, Kuminga had exactly 27 assists. He has 27 assists in the last six games alone.

The way the offense can now run through him, with the Warriors trusting that he’ll make the right read and the right pass, or score in isolation, is game-changing. And the defense? It’s damn nice too.

Grade: A+

Steph Curry

30 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 6-for-21 shooting, 4-for-16 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 41.1% TS, +1

Curry has said that he’s not feeling fatigued, but it sure looks like he’s hitting a little bit of a wall — who can blame him after carrying the team for much of the season? Over the last three games, he’s shot just 17-for-54 from the field, and 8-for-37 on threes. Thankfully the Warriors are playing well enough that they’re not as depending on Curry for success right now.

Steph did some good things passing the ball and on defense, though he had some ugly turnovers. And it sure was jarring seeing him be held scoreless in the first half.

Grade: C-

Moses Moody

23 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-7 shooting, 4-for-7 threes, 85.7% TS, -4

Moody got a rare start in place of Andrew Wiggins, who missed the game due to personal reasons. I though he played wonderfully, and made his presence felt on both offense and defense. Heck, Landry Shamet will have nightmares about being put on skates for years and years to come.

The minutes will keep wavering for Moody — the Warriors just have so many talented guards and wings. But it’s clear that he stays ready, and it’s clear that even if Steve Kerr doesn’t trust Moody over the bulk of the rotation players, he certainly trusts him when the time comes to call his number.

Grade: A

Brandin Podziemski

28 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-for-8 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 43.8% TS, +14

The numbers don’t really reflect it, but I think you could make the case that Podziemski altered the game with his rebounding. It even led to the dagger shot, when Podz rebounded a Curry missed three with 2:28 remaining and the Dubs nursing an 11-point lead, then immediately found Curry for a reload triple that all but ended the game.

Podziemski’s stats haven’t jumped off the page lately, but his impact of the game certainly has.

Grade: B+

Dario Šarić

14 minutes, 5 points, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 50.0% TS, -3

This was a bad Šarić game. He had some really poor turnovers, especially in the fourth quarter when the Dubs scared us by once again flirting with blowing a lead.

Grade: D

Kevon Looney

10 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1-for-2 shooting, 50.0% TS, +20

I caution against reading too much into single-game individual plus/minus, but anytime your team outscores the opponent by two points for every minute you’re on the court, you’re doing something right. Also, anytime you grab a rebound every two minutes, you’re doing something right. Furthermore, anytime you block a shot every five minutes, you’re doing something right.

Kevon Looney: doing things right.

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

Trayce Jackson-Davis

9 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 foul, 2-for-2 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, 86.8% TS, -3

We’ve been seeing TJD develop chemistry with the Warriors playmakers over the last few weeks, and the return of Chris Paul brought chemistry between those two as well. Jackson-Davis is learning to play with the veterans and vice versa. And that, mixed with his athleticism, is a dangerous thing for opponents.

Grade: B+

Chris Paul

22 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 3-for-6 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, 75.0% TS, +17

Paul made his eagerly-awaited return after nearly two months sidelined. It instantly stabilized a bench unit that outscored Washington’s 59-15. CP3’s presence completely changes the team, and sets them up to go on a serious late-season run.

Grade: A

Klay Thompson

27 minutes, 25 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 9-for-16 shooting, 6-for-11 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 76.0% TS, +4

It’s now been five games since Klay was moved into a bench role. He’s led the Warriors in scoring in three of those five games. Not led the bench in scoring … led the team in scoring.

His shot selection was great in this game and his jumper was pure. His playmaking continues to feature a late-career growth spurt, and he’s finding all kinds of chemistry passing the ball to Kuminga and Jackson-Davis. And the scoring? Well it’s only going to get better no that Paul is in the second unit alongside him.

Bringing those two off the bench is pretty special. And so is the way that they’ve embraced it.

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

Gary Payton II

18 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 6-for-10 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 65.0% TS, +7

GPII looks extremely healthy and it’s great to see. That guy is positively flying around the court, attempting poster dunks, slamming putback jams, breaking up passes and shots, thieving rebounds, and pushing the ball.

There aren’t many players like him, and he always seems to give the Dubs exactly what they need.

Grade: A+

Jerome Robinson

1 minute, 0 points, -1

I was hoping, when the Warriors took a 23-point lead into the fourth quarter against a nine-win team, that we would get more than one minute of garbage time. Oh well. A win is a win.

Grade: Incomplete

Lester Quiñones

1 minute, 0 points, 1 assist, -1

Quiñones has played a huge role for the Warriors lately, but with CP3 back, his role is going to be diminished. He’s probably not going to see many meaningful minutes unless players miss games or have foul trouble.

Grade: Incomplete

Tuesday’s inactives: Usman Garuba, Pat Spencer, Andrew Wiggins