The Golden State Warriors got back into the win column on Wednesday night, using a 24-2 run in the first quarter to build a big lead they would never give back, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 120-97. With the win, the Warriors moved to the top of the Western Conference standings with an 11–3 record, building a little momentum before hitting the road.

It was a good win, which means the players played well. But we still have to rate them! As always, the grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing that player’s average performance.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency measure that takes into account threes and free throws. At the start of Wednesday’s games, the league average TS was 57.3%.

Draymond Green

28 minutes, 9 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-8 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 50.7% TS, +29

After Monday’s loss, Green pointed the finger at himself. He called his performance, with six substitutions, ‘terrible’ and took the blame for the loss.

That responsibility and anger at the defeat seem to have motivated Draymond, as he was the best version of himself on Wednesday. His defense was nothing short of elite: not only did he pressure Atlanta’s top-10 offense, but he also created defensive plays that led to easy offense. His passing was brilliant… even the three turnovers were generally the ones you live with, rather than the kind that made Steve Kerr break clipboards.

It was an All-Star level performance, and also a throwback game for him, as his new streak of being an excellent marksman from distance hit a slight bump in the road.

He’s still a star, folks.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, best plus/minus on the team.

Lindy Waters III

20 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 fouls, 4-for-9 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 55.6% TS, +16

I do think Waters will be replaced in the starting lineup at some point. He started in place of De’Anthony Melton, which I believe is in large part to preserve the rotations, but with the news that Melton will undergo season-ending surgery, I expect someone else will be the starting shooting guard for the most of the selection. season.

But Waters stuck to that assignment on Wednesday and Kerr put a lot of faith in his young shooter’s defense, opening up Waters for Trae Young. And my goodness, did Waters make an impression. Maybe it was his knowledge of Young from their time as high school teammates, or maybe it was just digging deep and playing excellent defense, but Waters held Atlanta’s All-Star to just 12 points on as many shots, with three turnovers (albeit with 11 points). assists). Young rarely got clean looks and rarely looked comfortable.

Simply excellent work from Waters, who is also shooting 41.7% from three-point range this season. He may not keep his spot in the starting lineup, but I think even with Melton’s injury, the Warriors will still field a 12-player rotation.

Grade: A

Trayce Jackson Davis

22 minutes, 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 6-for-11 shooting, 2-for-2 free throws, 58.9% TS, +10

A very good TJD game. Against a tall, tall and athletic Atlanta squad, Jackson-Davis still managed to make sure his length, wingspan and hop came into play, consistently getting lobs at the rim while also disrupting a multitude of shots and grabbing rebounds swallowed up. He also made both of his free throws, which was an encouraging sight.

The Dubs lost the rebounding battle, but that wasn’t TJD’s fault.

Quality: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.

Andreas Wiggins

30 minutes, 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 foul, 12-for-17 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 79.4% TS, +27

Oh yes. Ohhh yes. That’s the good thing. This was everything the Warriors dreamed of with Wiggins. Decisive and aggressive attack without holding the ball. Athletic ability transition. Endless energy attacking the glass. Locked defense, both on and off the ball.

Wiggins was a beast in every phase of the game. 11/10, no notes.

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

Steph Curry

30 minutes, 23 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 7-for-10 shooting, 4-for-6 threes, 5-for-5 free throws, 94.3% TS, + 27

There’s nothing in basketball like a Curry explosion, but it’s always a lot of fun when Curry decides to play conductor instead, hitting a small number of shots with hyper-efficiency and instead using his gravity to open up the court for his teammates, and then play chess. against the defense’s checkers to make those teammates look good.

Curry took just 10% of the team’s shots, yet his fingerprints were all over the offense, as a high-powered, double-action quarterback who delivers the ball all night and has throwing options, occasionally exploding for a big action.

There is simply no one like him, and he played more controlled than the five substitutions would suggest. Also a very nice defensive game for him.

Grade: A

Jonathan Kuminga

15 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-for-10 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 42.5% TS, +1

It wasn’t a very high scoring game for Kuminga, but it was a pretty solid all-around game as he crashed the glass well, had some nice passes and created a lot of defensive plays. It’s good to see him finding all kinds of ways to have a positive impact, but it’s hard to focus on that too much when he was trying to force the action on offense so often, and to great detriment.

Grade: C+

Kevon Looney

13 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 1-for-2 shooting, 0-for-3 free throws, 30.1% TS, -4

It wasn’t certain whether or not Looney would play until game time, after he missed Monday’s game due to illness and was still feeling ill. He played, but certainly didn’t look his best. The Warriors had another rough night at the free throw line, which looks much, much better when you remove Looney’s donut (the rest of the team shot 12-for-15), and he just looked a little slow and out the rhythm.

Grade: D+

Gui Santos

3 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -3

A Gui sighting! Santos started his sixth game of the year, and his first since the blowout loss to Cleveland 12 days ago. Hopefully the Warriors can do a better job of holding onto that 30-point lead, leaving more time for Santos to make plays.

Grade: Incomplete

Kyle Anderson

15 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 20.0% TS, +5

Anderson had one of those games that makes you wonder how NBA players ever score. No, that’s not a bull’s eye… uhh… to shoot …but rather a testament to his defense. It seemed that every time a Hawk dribbled close to him, Anderson simply took the ball away. It was like watching a child play sports with their toddler brother or sister. Thoughts and prayers for those ballhandlers.

Another rough shooting night – Anderson is now just 17-for-41 on twos and 8-for-30 on threes – but Slo Mo made up for it with some great passing.

Grade: B+

Friend Loved

20 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-11 shooting, 3-for-9 threes, 50.0% TS, +11

Hield was one of the stars of the first half, as he played a huge role in the explosion at the end of the first quarter that saw the Dubs go on a 24-2 run and never look back. He virtually disappeared in the second half and didn’t score a single point. Overall it was a below average game for him, but I give him an average grade because of how much he jump-started the most important part of the game.

Grade: B

Gary Payton II

6 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3-for-4 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 75.0% TS, +7

I’m not sure if GPII only played six minutes because of the calf cramp that landed him on the injury report, or if he only played six minutes because Waters and the rest of the squad did such a good job on Young that Payton’s defense -Specialist services were not required. Regardless, he made a strong impression during his short stint, cutting ruthlessly and helping to slow the Dubs’ aforementioned run. He’s a threat on the edge!

Only six minutes, but a brilliant six minutes.

Grade: A

Moses Moody

19 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 25.5% TS, -10

Before the game, I suggested that Moody might be the wisest player to take Melton’s spot in the starting lineup long-term. I stand by that, but it doesn’t seem like a good move if he plays the way he played on Wednesday. Just not an impactful performance from Moody, who was ice cold on offense, a step behind Atlanta on defense, and really didn’t find any part of the game that was impactful.

Grade: D+

Brandin Podziemski

15 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-6 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 25.0% TS, -1

The best part of Podziemski’s evening came after the match ended. He took a big hit to the face, where he only recently had the mask removed after suffering a broken nose in the preseason. He was in a lot of pain and left the game, and it was reasonable to assume the worst. Fortunately, his MRI was negative and it was announced that he is sick every day.

That’s great news. Unfortunately, this is about the only good news to come from Podziemski on Wednesday, as he really struggled and forced the issue a bit on offense.

Grade: D+

Wednesday’s inactives: Reece Beekman, De’Anthony Melton, Quinten Post