In any case, it didn’t take long to start seeing red numbers. The Golden State Warriors lost to the Denver Nuggets 128-123 on Friday night, unable to recover from a dismal second quarter.
Disappointingly, neither team played very well defensively, nor did they prevent turnovers. Still, there were a few shining moments. So, let’s evaluate the two of them with the red pen. Regularly, my expectations for each player inform how heavily I weight each grade.
Take note that last season, the average TS in the league was 56.6%.
Curry’s point guard Draymond Green
27 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 6 fouls, 4 for 6 shooting, 1 for 3 on threes, 4 for 4 from the charity stripe, 83.8% TS, +11.
The green light shone brighter than any other that evening. When defense was the name of the game, he played a lot of it. Even if this doesn’t appear to be the year of the miraculous three ball, he countered that with a great offensive performance as both a scorer and a passer.
When Green was in the lineup, the team played like a seasoned squad. After he stopped taking it, they started to disintegrate. He appeared to be in better physical shape than he has in a long time and was even a factor in the game’s final tally.
Excellent to witness.
Results: A+
Accomplished the game with the most assists and the highest plus/minus score, both of which earned post-game bonuses.
Toby Andrew Wiggins
Twenty-three points, eight boards, three assists, three steals, one block, and two fouls in thirty-seven minutes of play. shot 57.3% from the field (8-for-17), including 2-for-8 from beyond the arc, and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe (+7).
Wiggins started strong with seven quick points. For a period after that, he became completely unfeeling. However, he came out strong in the second half and played superbly.
While Green was the team’s greatest defender, Wiggins was the only other contributor on that end of the floor, and he made a few notable stops. Like in the first game, he made key crucial baskets and was the most involved player for his side at the rim.
The fact that he played for 37 minutes speaks something about his performance. Right now, his team really needs it from him.
Results: A+
Receipt of a bonus for ranking first in the team in boards after the game.
Kevin Looney Kevon
Four points, one board, four dimes, three fouls, fifty percent shooting, plus three in 19 minutes
Looney contributed to the greater good, most notably by his death. He also had a couple good defensive possessions against Nikola Joki.
But the Warriors need more than one rebound out of him. He didn’t do badly, but he also didn’t contribute much.
An A-minus
Stephen Curry
Shot 10-22 (65.5%), made 5-11 (33.3%), and made 9-9 (100%) from the charity stripe in 36 minutes (+9).
Curry, Wiggins, and Green were the only three Warriors who contributed significantly to the team’s victory. Curry attempted nine free throws for the second consecutive game to start the year. He’s still back cutting like it’s going out of style and dribbling his way through the defenders at an alarming rate.
He didn’t have a great defensive game, but he still managed to score 34 points with incredible efficiency.
Results: A+
Extra credit for scoring the most points after the game.
In the Person of: Klay Thompson
After 24 minutes, he had scored 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting, 4-for-10 from deep (57.1% TS), with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 turnovers.
My impression is that Klay wasn’t at his best tonight, but he still put up a good showing. I have high hopes for Klay’s upcoming year since he is finally starting to resemble his former self.
However, he had a rough defensive game and couldn’t make much of an impact when he wasn’t catching or shooting. As for the turnovers, they occurred because he tried too hard on a couple plays.
Strong showing by him, even if it wasn’t his best.
An A-minus
Kuminga, Jonathan
Eight minutes, four points, two boards, two giveaways, one foul, two for two shooting, one technical, ten points (-10).
Kuminga improved greatly from his first game’s tragedy, although he still didn’t perform very well. Because of his short playing time, he made several blunders and displayed terrible defense.
Steve Kerr didn’t help matters by putting him beside James Wiseman and JaMychal Green. I don’t know what the coaches were thinking, but I don’t see how they could have expected that to be successful.
A-For-Effort, or a C-Plus
The aforementioned JaMychal Green
Two field goals out of five attempts, one three-pointer made out of three attempts, 50.0% TS, -10 in 24 minutes of action.
Against the squad he spent the last two years with, Green had a hot and cold game. His aggressiveness in attacking the glass is a welcome change, even if his rebounding numbers don’t reflect it. This year, he’ll cause a lot of problems with put-backs.
Even if he puts out an honest attempt on defense, he was exposed by the opposition much too easily this time around.
He had some similar lineup issues to Kuminga. When he was on the field with the starting, he appeared much more confident.
An A-minus
Spymaster James Wiseman
11 points (4-of-5 FG, 3-of-3 FT), 5 boards (1 assist), 1 turnover (4 fouls), 87.0% TS (-14), 16 minutes played.
The game had its share of good points and poor points, as I expect to see at most Wiseman games this season.
The bright side is that he displayed remarkable mental toughness when it mattered most: at the free throw line. In the first game, he went hitless and seemed a little down about it. He made a strong comeback here. He also demonstrated good touch in the paint, finishing with care and elegance, culminating in a highly-efficient offensive game.
Despite his best efforts, he seems to be having little to no effect. On offense, he does a lot of neat things, but I don’t think they contribute much. Even with his minimal defensive strengths, he is a major vulnerability for his team.
Wiseman exemplifies the Warriors’ balancing act between winning and growing, since it is unclear when he will be playing in a game for the former or the latter.
This evaluation may seem lenient, but I have low standards for him due to his injuries.
An A-minus
To the best of my knowledge, Donte DiVincenzo
In 10 minutes, he shot 0% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc for a combined -13 score.
I’m still baffled as to why DiVincenzo was only given 10 minutes of playing time in this game, and it’s possible that he was terrible.
Evaluation: C-
For Poole, Jordan
Seven points, one board, seven dimes, three thefts, four giveaways, two makes on five shots, zero makes from beyond the arc, three on four at the line, 51.8% TS, negative twenty points in 27 minutes.
This was a brutal contest for JP. He demonstrated his passing skills and stepped up his defensive intensity in the fourth quarter.
Aside from that, though, he was very awful overall. The aggressiveness, finesse, and ingenuity that have been hallmarks of his game were noticeably absent from his attack. This year, he’ll be responsible for leading a unique second unit lineup while Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson sit. Perhaps it is the source of his problems, or maybe he’s just in a two-game rut. In any case, his performance was subpar.
Evaluation: D+
A postgame reward for having the worst plus/minus on the squad.
Moody, Moses
Thirteen minutes played, three points, one board, one assist, one steal, one turnover, 30.0% shooting, 1.0% threes made, +3.
During the first half of the game, the Warriors only used 10 players in a rotation, leaving Moody on the bench. After that, he started the second half in place of Kuminga and DiVincenzo and performed rather well, eventually replacing some of Poole’s minutes in the game-ending death lineup.
He’s still a solid player who never makes any major gaffes but also never really stands out. It’s impossible for me to predict how his evening minutes will break down.
Score: 3.5/5
Inactives for the Friday game: Ryan Rollins
Patrick Baldwin Jr., Andre Iguodala, Ty Jerome, and Anthony Lamb did not play on Friday.
