The Golden State Warriors wasted no time getting back in the win column following Saturday’s bummer of a loss, thoroughly dominating the Orlando Magic on Monday for a 126-95 win.
There was no shortage of stars in the blowout win, and everyone who stepped on the court contributed something.
So let’s break them down, grading each player based on our expectations for them.
Draymond Green
29 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, +18
It was a relatively quiet night for Dray, who finished with fewer than 5 assists for the first time all season. He still made his impact as he so often does. Even if he wasn’t dishing dimes, he was helping to set up the offense, and the defense speaks for itself.
And the continued growth in scoring efficiency? Yeah, it’s a lovely thing.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins
30 minutes, 28 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 9-for-17 shooting, 8-for-10 threes, 2-for-4 free throws, +18
The Warriors defense decided to take the third quarter off, and it might have allowed Orlando to get back in the game had Wiggins not had an offensive explosion, punctuated by a flurry of threes that gave him his career high for a game.
He continues to struggle a bit when working towards the rim — he shot just 1-for-7 from inside the arc — but on the whole it was a tremendous game for Wiggins, who has looked like an entirely different player over the last few weeks.
Grade: A
Kevon Looney
13 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 3-for-4 free throws, -5
The stats are actually pretty nice for Looney, considering how few minutes he played. And yet he was the only player to finish with a negative plus/minus — single-game plus/minus really doesn’t mean much, but it kind of feels accurate in this case, doesn’t it?
Looney’s season seems to somehow be underrated and disappointing all at once.
Grade: B-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team
Steph Curry
31 minutes, 31 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 8-for-16 shooting, 7-for-13 threes, 8-for-8 free throws, +9
After struggling a bit against the San Antonio Spurs this weekend, it was pretty predictable that Curry would have a scoring outburst. It was clear after a few minutes that he was going to have a strong night, and his three ball was working wonders. He even had the half-court buzzer-beater magic.
Best of all, he was able to rest for most of the fourth quarter.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and assists.
Jordan Poole
32 minutes, 12 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 4-for-15 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, +22
Kind of a funny game for JP. He was awful from an efficiency standpoint, but had some key shots during a huge second quarter run, including one of the best plays we’ve seen all season.
And even though he wasn’t scoring well, the mild flirtation with a triple-double was a fun Draymondian touch.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Nemanja Bjelica
11 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-5 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 0-for-2 free throws, +1
Bjelica is still trying to balance being the dead-eye shooter that he is, and the smart, selfless, system-abiding playmaker that he also is, a fact that he acknowledged after the game.
Bjelica on finding the perfect balance between shooting and passing: “Sometimes I wanna do extra. I made a pass in the 2nd half that was terrible, I got subbed out, I deserved that.”
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) December 7, 2021
His passing has been excellent, but when in doubt, shoot! And drive!
Grade: B
Jonathan Kuminga
12 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 4-for-7 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, +12
Kuminga got to play the entire fourth quarter with the game mostly wrapped up, and I got two distinct impressions from him: first, he has a bit of tunnel vision with the ball. When he gets it he wants to attack the rim, even if there’s not an opening, and even if there’s a player to pass to. And second, he is obscenely talented.
He’ll have to balance out the former a bit to highlight the latter, but my goodness he can be mesmerizing.
Grade: B+
Otto Porter Jr.
20 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 0-for-4 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, +13
Another game where Porter channeled his inner Andre Iguodala and showed how to impact a game without filling up the box score. Good defense. Smart reads. Intangibles.
Grade: B
Juan Toscano-Anderson
13 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1-for-1 shooting, 2-for-4 free throws, +4
JTA got a little bit sloppy in this game, which we’re not too used to seeing. But the defense was strong.
Grade: B-
Jeff Dowtin
5 minutes, 4 points, 2-for-3 shooting, +11
Good to see Dowtin active for a game, and the Warriors able to secure a blowout so he could get some minutes. There were some nice plays in his short jaunt onto the court.
Grade: Incomplete
Damion Lee
23 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 2-for-6 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, +29
The Lee from the first few games of the season showed up on Monday night, doing a little bit of everything, hitting a few clutch baskets, and generally just making the team look a whole heck of a lot better.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in plus/minus
Moses Moody
5 minutes, 2 points, 1 steal, 1-for-1 shooting, +11
Moody has been playing pretty well in the G League, so it’s good to see him get a few NBA minutes, albeit in garbage time.
Grade: Incomplete
Gary Payton II
18 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 3-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, +12
It’s almost to the point of being comical how well the Warriors play when GP2 is on the court.
Grade: B+
Monday’s inactives: Chris Chiozza, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, James Wiseman
