Player grades: Warriors vs. Suns

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance in the team’s 133-95 win over Phoenix.

The Golden State Warriors did exactly what they had to do on Tuesday. And they did it emphatically, beating the Phoenix Suns 133-95 in a game that was never even remotely in question. With the win, the Warriors stayed in the playoff seeds, as they’re now No. 6 ... they have they exact same record as the No. 4 LA Clippers (who won on Tuesday), No. 5 Denver Nuggets (who had an off-day), and No. 7 Memphis Grizzlies (who also won). They’re one game behind the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers and one game ahead of the No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves after both of those teams lost on Tuesday.

So let’s grade the players who led the demolition. 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 Tuesday’s games, league-average TS was 57.6%.

Moses Moody

18 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 50.0% TS, +19

After a serious clunker on Sunday, Moody responded very well on Tuesday. It wasn’t his most impressive statistical night, but my goodness did he make life absolutely miserable for Devin Booker, who shot 7-for-17 from the field, committed 5 turnovers, and ended with a game-worst plus/minus -32.

Moody has turned into a sensational perimeter on-ball defender, which has really been an underrated part of making the Andrew Wiggins for Jimmy Butler III swap work.

Grade: A

Jimmy Butler III

20 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2-for-4 shooting, 6-for-7 free throws, 70.6% TS, +22

If the Warriors are to get where they want to go, then at some point they’ll need Wiggins to become a star scorer. But they haven’t needed that lately, and there are few players in the NBA who can be a low-scoring star the way that Butler can be.

Grade: B+

Draymond Green

20 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 51.2% TS, +19

As with Butler, the Warriors didn’t need a lot from Green in this game. He didn’t give them too much, with limited scoring and more turnovers than anyone else. But he’s the defensive engine, and it was a sensational defensive performance.

Grade: B-

Brandin Podziemski

22 minutes, 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 7-for-12 shooting, 4-for-6 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 79.9% TS, +20

Over the last four games, Podz is averaging 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. He’s playing like a star right now, and if that continues, well ... uhh ... yeah. That would be really freaking cool and pretty damn important. And he did all that scoring while playing awesome defense, often on Bradley Beal.

Grade: A+

Steph Curry

26 minutes, 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 9-for-17 shooting, 3-for-9 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 66.6% TS, +31

Curry was in complete control of this game. Complete control. Got wherever he wanted. Did whatever he wanted. Sat the fourth quarter.

Didn’t take long to forget about Sunday’s three-point game, did it?

I’m giving him a perfect grade not because it was his best game, but because of the sense that he could dial it up even more if he needed to at any moment.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and assists, tied for the team lead in rebounds, best plus/minus on the team.

Buddy Hield

21 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 3-for-8 shooting, 1-for-6 threes, 43.8% TS, +9

Not the best Buddy game. His defense was decent, his shooting was poor, and his rebounding was nice. He’s providing good energy and selflessness lately, though.

Grade: C+

Jonathan Kuminga

21 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-for-9 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 50.6% TS, +9

Kuminga’s still not quite back to where he was pre-injury, which I think is a rhythm thing, as well as adjusting to the new style and schemes since the addition of Butler. He’s still explosive, and trusting his body, so it seems that he’s fully healthy, it’s just not quite clicking at the moment.

I liked what he did on defense, and working in the system to create good looks for his teammates.

Grade: B-

Gui Santos

21 minutes, 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3-for-7 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 50.0% TS, +15

I don’t think many of us expected that by the end of the year, Santos would be playing a huge and critical bench role for a Warriors team fighting for home-court advantage. But he’s proven an indispensable part of the rotation, as the team’s stars keep reminding us.

His defense and energy is absolutely vital for the team that the Warriors have become. And has activity in the offense — the nonstop cutting, screening, and passing — is huge.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.

Kevon Looney

14 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 25.0% TS, +13

The Warriors certainly didn’t need Looney in this game, but it still is shocking how in control they always seem to play when he’s on the court. He just calms everything down.

Grade: B

Trayce Jackson-Davis

19 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 4-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 5-for-7 free throws, 80.4% TS, +9

Want to know how to impress your teammates? TJD just showed you how.

Jackson-Davis has been out of the rotation for quite a while now. That’s a tough pill to swallow for any young player, but harder still when it comes after you felt like you established a role on the team ... and then lost it to a rookie.

Yet even though he’s been out of the rotation for more than two months, he was ready when his name was called. Quinten Post was a late scratch due to illness, and Jackson-Davis took over Post’s regularly-scheduled second-quarter minutes, and flat out dominated. Phoenix had no answer to his athleticism and rim-rolling, except for to foul him ... and he did w ell at the charity stripe. He ate up rebounds and protected the paint. He only missed one shot, and it was a light-the-cigar three with 10 seconds remaining.

He stayed ready. What a pro, and what a performance. Don’t think for a second his coaches and teammates didn’t notice.

Grade: A+

Pat Spencer

12 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, 4-for-6 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 83.3% TS, +4

The blowout gave Spencer some extended garbage time and my goodness did he run with it. He played so well.

Grade: A-

Kevin Knox II

9 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 3-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 64.4% TS, +9

Great to see Knox get a good chunk of minutes, too. Hooray for blowouts giving us ample garbage time! Knox definitely made the most of his minutes, and reminded us of his scoring ability.

Grade: A

Jackson Rowe

9 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2-for-2 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 104.2% TS, +9

And hey, Rowe got some extended minutes too, and showed off his scoring ability as well!

Grade: A

Braxton Key

7 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 0-for-4 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 10.2% TS, +2

Key got into just his second game as a Warrior, and scored his first point with the team. Nice seeing him out there, and picking pockets.

Grade: B

Tuesday’s DNP-CDs: Taran Armstrong

Tuesday’s inactives: Gary Payton II, Quinten Post