The Golden State Warriors atoned quite nicely on Tuesday, proving that Friday’s loss was an aberration and not a sign that the team can’t handle back-to-backs. A day after cruising past the Memphis Grizzlies, the Dubs welcomed the LA Clippers into the Chase Center and emerged with an emphatic 98-79 victory in what was far and away their best defensive performance of the season.
It’s always harder to grade individual players when the game is won with defense than with offense, but it’s time for me to try my best. 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. Last year, league-average TS was 57.6%.
Jonathan Kuminga
26 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-11 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 0-for-1 free throws, 39.3% TS, +9
Statistically, this was clearly Kuminga’s worst game of the season. And yet, it was also a performance where the improvements he’s made were on full display, as the NBA on NBC broadcast was very quick to point out. A day after being given the task of defending Ja Morant, Kuminga was asked to face off against James Harden, and I thought he handled that assignment quite well (Harden finished with 20 points on below-average efficiency, with just one assist). He also spent a little bit of time guarding Kawhi Leonard.
He continues to do the little things. He made the right cuts and passes in the pick and roll, and hustled on defense to create chaos. His rebounding, while solid, didn’t have the same totals as some recent games, but he was still wreaking havoc — sometimes the ball just doesn’t quite bounce correctly.
Kuminga wasn’t a star in this one, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a step backwards, either.
Draymond Green
31 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 50.0% TS, +29
A Draymond Green masterclass. The Warriors held a team with Harden, Leonard, and Ivica Zubac to just 79 points, and Green is the first person to point at when marveling over that. He made so many huge defensive plays, and spent the whole game directing his teammates into the right spots.
He’s also shaking off the rust of the offseason: after committing 14 turnovers in the team’s first four games, Green didn’t turn the ball over once tonight.
Quinten Post
25 minutes, 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-9 shooting, 4-for-7 threes, 66.7% TS, +34
Well, hello there, Quinten. The second-year stretch five got his second start of the year to help combat the fact that the Clippers start a talented and traditional center in Zubac. And all he did was … dominate?
From the tip, Post was active and in control. He was playing splendid defense, keeping Zubac at bay while also providing help in the paint. He gobbled up rebounds, and as the game went on he started to make it rain from deep.
Minutes may be sporadic for Post, given that the Warriors love to play small and employ Al Horford, but performances like this guarantee that he’s going to get minutes. He was one of the best players on the floor on Tuesday, and the Warriors are probably in a tense and tight game if he doesn’t play. I think it was probably the best defense he’s ever played, and one of the best games of his young career.
Grade: A+
***Post-game bonus:***Led the team in rebounds, best plus/minus on the team.
Jimmy Butler III
32 minutes, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 9-for-12 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 87.5% TS, +20
A day after notching a 20-5-5, Butler one-upped it to 21-5-5 … while playing dramatically better. It was a bit shocking seeing him not shoot a free throw — he had attempted 42 through the first four games of the season — but who needs the charity stripe when you’re striping it from deep?
Butler opened the game on Leonard, who needed 17 shots (and three free throws) to score 18 points, with just one assist. He didn’t force the action on offense, but dominated when it was his turn.
Just a stunningly well-rounded game from one of the most well-rounded players in the association.
Grade: A
***Post-game bonus:***Led the team in points.
Steph Curry
26 minutes, 19 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 7-for-15 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 58.2% TS, +16
Steve Kerr must be absolutely giddy. The Dubs won a back-to-back and Curry only played 55 minutes. That sure is a nice thing.
This game was the young season exemplified for Curry. He was calm and controlled and content to not have to being a superduperstar, and then took over whenever it was needed. After the Warriors sputtered in the second quarter, scoring just 13 points and turning a double-digit lead into a halftime deficit, Curry knew the team needed an injection. So he played with extreme aggression to open the second half, and before you knew it the Warriors had a comfortable lead. Masterful. It hurts to not give him a great grade, but that’s the bar he’s created.
Grade: B
***Post-game bonus:***Led the team in assists.
Buddy Hield
10 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 50.0% TS, +7
I don’t envy Kerr the task of doling out minutes to a team this deep. Moses Moody’s return has already cut quite a bit into the playing time for Hield, Will Richard, and Gary Payton II, and that’s without De’Anthony Melton and Seth Curry being available yet.
It will be interesting to see how fluid Kerr and the coaching staff is with minutes. Would Hield have played significantly more if he had a hotter hand? Hopefully some day soon we find out. For now, Hield was a bit of a non-factor on offense, though I liked his commitment on the glass and he made a few nice defensive plays.
Gary Payton II
5 minutes, 0 points, 1 block, 1 foul, -17
And on that note, Payton played a meager 5:22 in this game. It was an absolute disaster, though I don’t think Payton deserves all that much blame for it … it was just a part of the game, and a lineup combination that didn’t work. Never fun when your team gets outscored by 17 points points when you’re on the court, and outscores the opponent by 36 points when you’re on the bench, but so it goes. Bit of a slow start to the season for GPII.
Grade: C
***Post-game bonus:***Worst plus/minus on the team.
Al Horford
21 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 20.0% TS, -12
It was good to see Horford back on the court, though he certainly wasn’t at his best. That’s understandable given that it was just his third game of the season, and his first since Thursday. We haven’t yet seen much of the dynamic difference-making Horford, but on the list of things that I’m worried about with the Warriors, Horford is very near the bottom. He’ll be just fine. He’s Al Horford, for crying out loud.
Moses Moody
22 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-for-9 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 50.0% TS, +18
I feel quite confident asserting that Moody’s brutal struggles at the end of the 2025 postseason were due to the injury he was playing through, and not any drop off in talent. This wasn’t a perfect game by Moody by any stretch of the imagination, but it was one where he very much looked like himself. He was a dog on defense, made smart plays through and through, drained clutch shots, and always seemed to find himself on the court when the team was playing their best basketball. Funny how that seems to be the case with him far more often than not.
There’s still a little rust, as evidenced by the turnovers and missed shots, but a very, very strong MM game.
Brandin Podziemski
27 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 5-for-10 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 60.0% TS, +10
Speaking of players who are looking like themselves, Podziemski shook off a tough first three games and has now looked excellent in back-to-back games. He was up to his usual tricks of making smart and in-control plays in this game, but he also had some star highlights. In the first quarter, with the Warriors starting to leak oil, when made a huge buzzer-beating three to end the frame and restore some momentum. In the second quarter, he had a gorgeous chase-down block of Chris Paul, which he turned into a nifty reverse layup on the other end of the court.
Switching from starting yesterday to coming off the bench today didn’t seem to bother Podz, and it’s clear he’s going to get a lot of minutes regardless. Which he should.
Will Richard
6 minutes, 5 points, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 83.3% TS, -9
Richard’s minutes are starting to slip after playing heavily in the first few games. That’s not because of anything he’s done, but just a natural consequence of Moody returning to action and Podziemski finding his flow again. It’s abundantly clear that Kerr trust’s the rookie, and it’s equally clear that he should. He did some very nice things in his short stint in this game.
Gui Santos
5 minutes, 0 points, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 0.0% TS, -4
Just some garbage time for Santos, who is probably going to be limited to that on most nights for a while.
Grade: Incomplete
Trayce Jackson-Davis
3 minutes, 0 points, -3
Also a little dose of garbage time for TJD. Hard to see how he’s going to find playing time on the nights when Horford is active, given the one-two punch of Horford and Post, to make no mention of the team’s ability to play small.
Grade: Incomplete
Pat Spencer
3 minutes, 0 points, 0-for-1 shooting, 0.0% TS, -3
And we round things out with a little more garbage time. Always love seeing Spencer get on the court, though.
Grade: Incomplete
***Tuesday’s inactives:***De’Anthony Melton, Jackson Rowe, Alex Toohey