Player grades: Warriors vs. Magic

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance from the team’s 121-115 win over Orlando.

Well that was all kinds of fun. The Golden State Warriors overcame one of the best shooting nights of the year for the Orlando Magic — and a 17-point deficit — to pull off their fifth win in a row. Thanks to an all-time great performance from an all-time great — 56 points from Steph Curry never gets old — the Dubs kicked off their five-game road trip with a 121-115 win over the Magic. We’ll take that any day of the week!

Now let’s grade the players. 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. Entering Thursday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.

Jimmy Butler III

32 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-7 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 28.5% TS, -7

Butler is still working his way into game shape, and anyone who has gone on a fitness kick knows that there are a lot of ebbs and flows to that. You build up conditioning with a two steps forward, one step back approach ... sometimes the act of building up the conditioning tires you out.

That seems to be the case right now. He looked fairly worn out in this one, which was visible in his lack of attack on offense, and his lack of legs in his jump shots. But even when his body doesn’t seem 100%, Butler can make an impact with what’s between his ears. He masterfully quarterbacked both the offense and the defense. Still and all, the Warriors need more from Butler on the nights when Curry doesn’t drop a 50-piece.

Grade: C-
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in assists.

Moses Moody

25 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 2 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 7-for-7 free throws, 61.9% TS, -7

Moody got replaced in the starting lineup to begin the second half, but that wasn’t an indictment of his performance so much as a Steve Kerr adjustment to what went wrong in the first half. Moody still did a lot of good things, and seeing him bully his way to the free throw line for seven attempts was fantastic. Plus, his lone made field goal was incredibly timely. The Warriors need a little more though in terms of rebounding and defense.

Grade: C+

Draymond Green

32 minutes, 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls, 3-for-8 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 5-for-7 free throws, 54.2% TS, +6

Green’s defense continues to look absolutely incredible. And honestly, part of the reason to shift to a larger starting lineup in the second half was likely to get Green onto a more meaningful defensive assignment.

There was some sloppiness in this game from Dray ... some poor shots and some ill-advised passes. But his defense certainly makes up for that.

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

Brandin Podziemski

32 minutes, 8 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3-for-12 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 33.3% TS, -10

Podz really struggled with scoring in this game, but his defense was really strong, and he made some incredible passes. The game always feels like it’s in good hands when Podziemski is on the court, but this wasn’t his sharpest game.

Grade: C+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in assists, worst plus/minus on the team.

Steph Curry

34 minutes, 56 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 16-for-25 shooting, 12-for-19 threes, 12-for-12 free throws, 92.5% TS, +15

I don’t know what to say anymore. I really don’t know what to say anymore. I’ve been covering the Warriors for a long time. This is truly how I feel:

It was an all-time great performance from Curry. I assign grades based on my expectations for each player, and this would have been an A++ if it were prime Michael Jordan having this performance.

Curry was dazzling and magical and, as has really been the case this year, he was timely. When the Warriors fell behind by 17 points, he drained a 60-footer to end the half, then scored 22 points in the third quarter.

When the Magic made the game close late in the fourth quarter, he made shot after shot after shot after shot.

The Warriors were on the road, playing a quality team that was red hot, and a late second-round pick rookie was perhaps the only Warrior other than Steph who played above expectations. And yet the Warriors won. Because Steph Curry is that damn good.

Grade: A+++ (duh)
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points (duh)

Gary Payton II

17 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 64.4% TS, +3

Some huge defensive plays from GPII, including a block in the final minute that all but sealed the game. He really adds such a boost in so many areas of the game.

Grade: B+

Buddy Hield

18 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 30.0% TS, +13

Hield just keeps bringing the energy, even when his shots aren’t falling. I’ll be honest, this wasn’t the season I was expecting from him, for better and for worse!

Grade: C+

Kevon Looney

14 minutes, 0 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 fouls, -7

This wasn’t an ideal game or matchup for Looney, as the Warriors needed some offense and a new look from the center position. But as always, you can count on Looney to grab seemingly every rebound available, and that certainly happened here.

Grade: B-

Gui Santos

7 minutes, 2 points, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 50.0% TS, -2

Santos didn’t get too much run, as the Warriors needed a little more offense in this game where they were mostly ice cold. I was impressed by his defense, though.

Grade: C+

Quinten Post

24 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 fouls, 7-for-9 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 91.1% TS, +22

I can’t believe the Warriors got this guy with the 52nd pick. Arrest Mike Dunleavy Jr. for theft!

If Curry hadn’t exploded for 56 points, Post would have been the story for the Warriors. He was electric bordering on dominant. He started the second half, and quickly rattled off a 10-2 run by himself that pulled the Warriors right back into it. At the start of the fourth quarter, with Curry on the bench, Post took over and pushed the lead back to double digits.

The points will, justifiably, get the attention here, but Post’s defense is getting better every single game.

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

Kevin Knox II

5 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 33.3% TS, +4

In his fourth game with the Warriors, Knox got his first meaningful minutes, coming into the game in the second quarter when the team needed some offense and some energy. He didn’t really provide the former, but he did provide the latter.

Grade: C

Thursday’s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Pat Spencer

Thursday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Yuri Collins, Jonathan Kuminga, Jackson Rowe