Player grades: Warriors vs. Nuggets

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance in the team’s 118-104 win over Denver.

The Golden State Warriors are officially doing exciting things. After impressive road wins over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors returned home for their third game in four days against a team they’re battling in the standings. This time it was the Denver Nuggets, a team that has had Golden State’s number lately ... and one of just two teams to beat the Dubs when both Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler III play (not only that, but the Nuggets were without Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Christian Braun when they did so!).

After giving up 44 first-quarter points, the Warriors locked in and gave up just 60 the rest of the way, resulting in an emphatic 118-104 victory. They hung onto the fifth seed in the process, and crucially now are tied with the Nuggets in the loss column (though Denver has the tiebreaker). But most important was that it was another data point that this team is a contender. They’re now 20-2 when Curry and Butler play, and the impressive wins just keep tallying up.

So let’s grade the players who got the job done. 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 Friday’s games, league-average TS was 57.6%.

Moses Moody

25 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 103.1% TS, +9

Another spectacular defensive game from Moody, though he got a night off from his presumed matchup against Murray, who was unable to play. He’s just really settled into his role as a perimeter defensive stopper, an excellent help defender, and an efficient scorer who picks his spots for aggression.

Suddenly that extension he signed in October looks like a massive steal.

Grade: A-

Jimmy Butler III

34 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 6-for-13 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 6-for-6 free throws, 60.7% TS, +21

What a Butler game. As it got more frantic, he got better. As it got more intense, he got better.

He seems to thrive on chaos. When the game feels a little out of control in style or pace, he matches that .... but with success and discipline. It’s when he suddenly starts deflecting every pass, picking pockets from behind, and attacking helpless defenders who just want to go home.

No one should be surprised by how well Butler has played with the Warriors, but it’s been eye-opening how much he’s able to put his fingerprints on nearly every game.

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

Draymond Green

30 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-8 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 0-for-1 free throws, 47.4% TS, +14

I’ve long held the belief that Green is the best player in the NBA at matching up with Jokić. Dray can cause as much trouble for the three-time MVP as anyone when Jokić is playing on the perimeter, and the Joker’s game isn’t one that makes their height difference a huge issue for Green. Dray’s leverage and length sometimes give Jokić fits and, most importantly, he’s probably the only player in the NBA (other than Victor Wembanyama), who can defend Jokić and lead a fastbreak quickly enough to frequently put Denver in compromised situations.

Jokić’s line in the box score doesn’t really support my thesis, as he was his typical historically brilliant self, finishing with 33 points on just 17 shots, with 12 rebounds and nine assists. But the Nuggets were outscored when he was on the court, he committed six turnovers, and after an other-worldly first quarter, he quieted down significantly.

That he can have that line and my takeaway is how good Draymond is, well ... that’s a testament to the fact that Jokić is quickly cementing his spot as one of the 10 greatest players in basketball history.

As for Green? He sure feels like he’s cementing his spot as a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner. The Warriors gave up just 60 points in the final 36 minutes, and Green was far and away the biggest reason for that.

Grade: A

Brandin Podziemski

36 minutes, 26 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 10-for-16 shooting, 4-for-8 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 77.0% TS, +11

Remember the start of the year, when Podz averaged 8.0 points per game and shot 29.5% on threes through his first 30 games, before suffering an injury?

Yeah, I barely remember it either. This was his third time in the last four games scoring at least 26 points, and he’s back to his glass-crashing, charge-taking, ire-inducing (for opponents) ways.

Just how good can he be? I genuinely have no idea, but ... really good, it seems. And he just fits beautifully with the current starting five.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds and assists.

Steph Curry

32 minutes, 36 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 13-for-24 shooting, 7-for-15 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 71.1% TS, +6

I mean ... what do you want me to say? He’s one of the oldest players in the league. He was questionable entering the game due to aggravating an injury less than 24 hours before tipoff. He was playing the second game of a back-to-back that included travel, following one of the most dramatic and intense games of the season, and having just finished a six-game road trip. And he did that.

Curry has scored 125 points in the last three games, while shooting 23-46 on threes, and adding 15 rebounds, 15 assists, and seven steals, with just six turnovers.

He was the best player on the court, in a game that featured someone who might win his fourth MVP in five years later this month. He felt fully in control. He has first-day-of-school energy and his teammates are following his lead.

I’m trying to temper my expectations here but ... I dunno, y’all. This feels like something.

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

Jonathan Kuminga

18 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-for-9 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 33.3% TS, 0 plus/minus

It was great to see Kuminga not just on the court, but fully absent on the injury report on the second half of a back-to-back, after returning from injury on Thursday.

It wasn’t a very good game for him, as he struggled to get his shots to fall and had a few turnovers. I thought he did some really nice things on defense, though, and the way he attacked certainly helped open things up for his teammates.

Grade: C

Buddy Hield

17 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 41.7% TS, -3

Another night where Hield couldn’t quite find his rhythm on offense, though he brought a whole bunch of energy and made some nice defensive contributions.

Grade: C+

Gary Payton II

2 minutes, 0 points, 1 assist, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -4

Payton made his return after missing four games with a thumb injury. He only played two minutes, but he was jovial on the bench, so I’m assuming the lack of playing time was more about matchups, and not that he aggravated the injury.

Grade: Incomplete
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.

Kevon Looney

18 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2-for-3 shooting, 3-for-4 free throws, 73.5% TS, +5

An awesome game for Looney. Small-ball is the way to go for the Warriors right now, but they still need minutes where they can have size, toughness, and rebounding in the interior, especially against elite centers. Looney provided that.

Grade: A

Gui Santos

11 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, +5

Big progress for Santos, who is averaging 4.4 fouls per 36 minutes ... he played his usual energetic and disruptive defensive, without fouling anyone. That will be one of the keys for him to reliably get more minutes.

He does really well in games like this, where the ball and the bodies are flying all over the court. He was a menace in the passing lanes and on the glass, pushed the ball in transition, and kept it moving in the half court. You can feel Steve Kerr’s giddiness through the TV when Santos is playing.

Grade: A-

Quinten Post

13 minutes, 3 points, 4 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 37.5% TS, +6

I gotta say ... Post has certainly attended the Steph Curry School of Audacity. And it’s so damn fun to watch.

A pretty strong defensive game, and he did good work on the glass. The offense that got him drafted wasn’t on display in this game, but the defense, smarts, and intensity that got him in the rotation sure was.

Grade: B+

Braxton Key

1 minute, 0 points, 0 plus/minus

Key, who spent last year playing for the Nuggets, got a little bit of garbage time and got to make his Warriors debut. Welcome!

Grade: Incomplete

Kevin Knox II

1 minute, 0 points, 1 turnover, 0 plus/minus

Just a little garbage time for Knox, who could figure into the plans next year, but won’t be getting serious minutes anytime this year, barring a whole lot of injuries.

Grade: Incomplete

Trayce Jackson-Davis

1 minute, 0 points, 0 plus/minus

And a little garbage time for TJD, too. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does after a summer putting in some work.

Pat Spencer

1 minute, 0 points, 0 plus/minus

And Spencer rounds out our garbage time quartet.

Grade: Incomplete

Friday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Jackson Rowe