The Golden State Warriors were without Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Otto Porter Jr. on Friday (as well as Klay Thompson and James Wiseman), but still managed to rattle off their 14th win in 16 tries, squeaking by the Detroit Pistons 105-102.
It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but a win is a win, especially on the road, on the back end of a back-to-back, and with seemingly half the team sitting.
So who is responsible for the W? Let’s grade all the players, weighting for expectations.
Andrew Wiggins
37 minutes, 27 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 9-for-19 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 8-for-11 free throws, +8
I’ve been talking a lot lately about how much better the Warriors become when Wiggins is scoring the ball efficiently, which he’s been doing more in the last few games. Pressed into a bigger role with Curry out, Wiggins was still decently up for the task.
It wasn’t a hyper-efficient game like he’s had a few of lately, but 27 points on about league-average efficiency is still a big positive. There are other areas that need improvement — the backwards assist-to-turnover ratio is a bummer — but Wiggins did what the Warriors needed on Friday.
Grade: B+
Juan Toscano-Anderson
37 minutes, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 1-for-6 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, +2
Someone had to do a Draymond impression in Green’s absence, and it should come as no surprise that JTA was the one tasked with it. Toscano-Anderson did an impression that would make Saturday Night Live proud, having as many assists as the next four highest Warriors combined.
Give me all the great defense playing assist-dishing power forwards.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Kevon Looney
27 minutes, 2 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 1-for-6 shooting, +6
Looney’s rebounding continues to be head and shoulders above where it was in previous seasons — and literally head and shoulders above his opponents a lot of the time.
With Curry and Green out, Looney struggled a bit to score, but it was overall a pretty decent game from him.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Jordan Poole
37 minutes, 32 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 turnovers, 4 fouls, 13-for-22 shooting, 4-for-8 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, +18
If you didn’t know who was sitting out this game, you could look at JTA and Poole’s stat lines and think the Warriors had some pretty standard games from Green and Curry.
Poole set the tone for the Dubs, scoring 11 first-quarter points, and nailing some big shots as Golden State jumped out to an early 17-4 lead. He kept his foot on the gas from there, operating as the team’s offensive motor all night long.
He had a few heat checks, and a few rough turnovers, but it was one hell of a performance.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and plus/minus.
Gary Payton II
29 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4-for-5 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, +18
I hope we don’t have to see Curry sitting on the bench for a full game again anytime soon, but I have to admit, it was pretty fun getting to see Payton slide into a starting role and play big minutes.
He didn’t necessarily do point guard things, as he didn’t record an assist, but his ludicrous defense continued, his jumper was white hot, and, as always, the team just looked strong with him out there.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in plus/minus.
Nemanja Bjelica
21 minutes, 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 5-for-8 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, -3
With Porter, Green, and Iguodala out, I kind of expected more Bjelica minutes. But the minutes he did provide were solid. He perhaps tried to fill the Green-sized void in playmaking a bit too much, as he’ll want to improve the turnovers going forward.
Otherwise, it was a good game from Beli, and the rebounds were great.
Grade: B+
Jonathan Kuminga
12 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 1-for-6 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, +1
I’m sure a lot of fans were hoping they’d get to see a heavy dose of Kuminga minutes given the number of players that were out, but it was modest playing time, accompanied by a modest performance.
Kuminga wasn’t super efficient, but he did have some good moments attacking the basket and being aggressive. And he continues to fill in the other parts of the stat sheet.
Grade: B
Damion Lee
16 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, -11
The nice thing about Lee is that even when he has bad games he rarely does much damage. He didn’t really make bad decisions this game, or do anything to corrupt the team. He just didn’t have it, and didn’t provide much.
Grade: C-
Moses Moody
8 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, -9
It was nice to see Moody make some shots, and it was nice to see him get inside the arc for some easier looks. Those things are related!
Grade: B
Chris Chiozza
16 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, -13
Chiozza got extended minutes for the first time during his Dubs tenure, and the results were mostly good. It wasn’t the type of performance that will have Steve Kerr finding a way to get him in the rotation on a regular basis, but he held his own, dished the rock, and made some threes. That’s about all you can ask for.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Friday’s DNPs: Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr.
Friday’s inactives: Steph Curry, Jeff Dowtin, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, James Wiseman
