The Golden State Warriors kept the good times rolling on Wednesday night with a 123-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, pushing their record to a lovely 10-1.
But how did each player do? Let’s grade them, weighting them for expectations.
Draymond Green
21 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 0-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 7-for-8 free throws, +1
Green’s performance isn’t what matters here. We’re much more invested in his injury, as he left the game halfway through the third quarter with a thigh contusion, and didn’t return. Even though the Warriors only outscored the Wolves by a lone point in Green’s minutes, his importance was felt the moment he went to the locker room, at which point Minnesota took off on a run.
His aggressiveness (and free throw success) are quite encouraging. The shots don’t need to fall, but he does need to get to the rim or the line.
Grade: B+/please be OK
Andrew Wiggins
32 minutes, 35 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 14-for-19 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, +6
Wiggins did this:
And then later he did this:
But more importantly he did this: score 35 points in 32 minutes on 84.3% true shooting.
It was the type of offensive performance that reminds you why Wiggins was a highly-touted prospect who was drafted with the first overall pick. The type of performance that made you daydream about Wiggins putting it all together one of these days.
If you want to be a pessimist, Wiggins was the primary defender on Anthony Edwards, who had 48 hyper-efficient points of his own. But I don’t have it in me to be a pessimist after that offensive showing.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Kevon Looney
29 minutes, 11 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 5-for-11 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, +3
Looney entered the game having not yet played 20 minutes in a contest all year. But between his strong rebounding, his outstanding defense on Karl-Anthony Towns (17 points on 6-for-19 shooting), and Green’s injury, Looney found himself staying on the court for well over half the game. He even was part of the closing lineup for the first time all year.
And better yet, it was clearly the right decision.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Steph Curry
34 minutes, 25 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 8-for-16 shooting, 3-for-9 threes, 6-for-8 free throws, +11
Curry has set the bar so high that when he has 25, 5, and 6 — also known as “my high school career” — it almost feels pedestrian.
Don’t take him for granted, folks. Curry showed his true star leadership, both in his willingness to defer to Wiggins’ red-hot hand, and his ability to take matters back into his own hands when the game started to wind down.
Two missed free throws, though? You don’t see that every day.
Grade: A-
Jordan Poole
37 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-for-17 shooting, 2-for-11 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, +10
It was another inefficient day at the office for Poole, who seems to be mixing those with scoring bursts. You never know what Poole you’ll get, and given his age and experience level, that’s OK.
Grade: C
Nemanja Bjelica
19 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-for-7 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, +10
At this point, Beli’s performances are becoming predictable. Sure, sometimes the stat line will look more impressive than this, and yeah, sometimes it looks worse. But he scores a bit, grabs boards, plays understated defense, and most importantly, just helps the team function better.
Grade: B+
Andre Iguodala
25 minutes, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 0-for-3 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, +19
8 assists, 4 stocks, 0 points, a team high plus/minus. If that doesn’t scream “Andre Iguodala,” then you haven’t watched enough Warriors basketball.
Iguodala is proving more than capable of directing the Dubs offense, with or without Curry on the floor. And it is so much fun.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus; Led the team in assists and +/-
Otto Porter Jr.
15 minutes, 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 3-for-4 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, +11
Last I checked, 10 points in 15 minutes is pretty darn good. Porter seems to be really adapting to his bench role, and bringing whatever the team needs — sometimes it’s defense, sometimes rebounding, sometimes ball movement, sometimes scoring.
On Wednesday it was all of the above.
Grade: A
Juan Toscano-Anderson
7 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 5-for-6 free throws, -10
With Looney playing such strong defense and becoming a huge part of the game plan, there simply wasn’t much of a role for JTA to play, even with Green’s injury. But he did a great job of being aggressive and getting to the line.
Grade: B-
Post-game bonus: Lowest +/- on the team
Moses Moody
5 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 foul, +3
Nothing of note here from the rookie. He got a few minutes of playing time, and mostly wasn’t noticeable. A lot of rookies are noticeable for the wrong reasons, so this is OK for now.
Grade: B-
Gary Payton II
16 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 3-for-6 free throws, +3
Another day, another GP2 poster.
Grade: B+
Chris Chiozza
1 minute, 0 points, -2
Just some mop-up duty for the two-way contract.
Grade: Incomplete
Wednesday’s DNPs: Jonathan Kuminga
Wednesday’s inactives: Jeff Dowtin, Klay Thompson, James Wiseman