Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga assessed the Warriors’ win over the Rockets

Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga assessed the Warriors’ win over the Rockets

Well, that was a lot more fun. After five frustrating losses in a row, the Golden State Warriors won their first game since Nov. 22, defeating the Houston Rockets 99-93 in a preview of next week’s NBA Cup quarterfinals. The Dubs were outnumbered with neither Steph Curry nor Draymond Green available, but despite a spectacular defensive performance, they emerged with one of their best wins of the season against an excellent Rockets team.

Now let’s evaluate the players who pulled off the surprise. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a grade of “B” representing that player’s average performance.

Note: True Shooting Percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that takes three-pointers and free throws into account. Entering Thursday’s games, the league average TS was 57.4%.

Jonathan Kuminga

33 minutes, 33 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 13-for-22 shooting, 3-for-6 three-pointers, 4-for-6 free throws, 67.0% TS , +7

Oh, hell yes. If this game didn’t put a big smile on your face, then you definitely don’t like Kuminga.

Easily his best game of the season and in my opinion one of the best of his career. Kuminga showed all of his All-Star potential in this game, repeatedly breaking down Houston’s offense and flying to the rim with the perfect mix of aggression and finesse. 33 points on 67% shooting is extremely impressive under any circumstances, but considering Kuminga was playing without Curry’s seriousness, without Green’s playmaking, and against the league’s second-best defense, it was nothing short of a superstar performance.

It was also contemporary. Kuminga seemed to have a huge bucket — or a big defensive stop — every time the Warriors needed one. He led the charge as they built a double-digit lead in the third quarter and repeatedly bailed the team out in the fourth quarter as they threatened to give up the game. He had a fastbreak layup that increased the lead to six with just over a minute left and then, after taking a three-point lead with less than 20 seconds left, beat the entire Houston defense for a game-winning layup .

Phenomenal.

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

Kevon Looney

27 minutes, 4 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 2-for-7 shooting, 14.3% TS, +20

And just like that, Looney appears to be playing a big role with the Warriors again. And he has definitely made himself indispensable. His defense wasn’t good, but it was great, as he played a major role in holding future All-Star Alperen Şengün to an inefficient 16 points. And he played a big role in the Warriors winning the rebound battle 54-45.

Sure, he didn’t score efficiently, but he certainly didn’t hurt the offense either, especially with the three assists and zero turnovers.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for team lead in assists, best plus/minus on team.

Andrew Wiggins

34 minutes, 23 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 8-for-15 shots, 3-for-4 three-pointers, 4-for-7 free throws, 63, 6% TS, +14

So many Warriors played fantastic in this game, but Kuminga and Wiggins were the stars. Wiggins had a dynamic offensive game and like Kuminga, he had some timely shots (including a four-point play at the end of the first half). He attacked the glass, made some big plays on defense and generally looked like a star.

I guess you could pick pockets with a few turnovers and a few misses, but with Curry and Green out, the Warriors are asking Wiggins to do a lot more than usual, on both ends of the court. And my goodness did he deliver. Which is made all the more impressive when Steve Kerr revealed after the game that Wiggins’ ankle injury was so serious that he wouldn’t have played if the Dubs hadn’t been so short-handed.

Grade: A+

Buddy Hield

27 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1-for-8 shooting, 1-for-6 three-pointers, 2-for-2 free throws, 28.2% TS, +18

Hield has been pretty cold lately. He was just 6 of 23 from the field in his last three games. But unlike some of his other cold plays, Hield didn’t let that affect the rest of his game. In my opinion, this was one of his better defensive games of the year, and he helped direct the offense quite well.

Still, it’s hard to miss this shot when it’s the first, second and third thing he has to offer on the field.

Grade: C

Brandin Podziemski

36 minutes, 8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 2-for-9 shooting, 1-for-3 three-pointers, 3-for-4 free throws, 37.2% TS, +12

After Tuesday’s loss, Kerr pulled no punches in criticizing Podziemski. But he also made it clear that he is convinced that Podziemski will improve.

And he did. Podz played in a much more controlled manner on Thursday, directing much of the offense and only committing two turnovers despite leading the team with 36 minutes. His defense was so good and he led both teams in rebounding, significantly surpassing Șengün and Jabari Smith Jr.’s marks.

There’s still a lot of work to be done on scoring, but as long as he doesn’t take bad shots, the inefficiency won’t affect his playmaking, defense, or rebounding.

Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds and tied for the team lead in assists.

Trayce Jackson Davis

21 minutes, 6 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-for-4 shooting, 75.0% TS, -17

Jackson-Davis’ hitting percentage has really improved recently and it’s a joy to see. But there’s definitely still a lot of work to do on defense, and there’s no way he can have games where he plays 21 minutes and doesn’t get a rebound.

Grade: C-
Post-game bonus: The worst plus/minus on the team.

Kyle Anderson

14 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 3-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 three-pointers, 2-for-2 free throws, 68.0% TS, -1

It was a limited role, but Anderson certainly did a lot for Green. His defense was excellent, his playmaking was exactly what the Warriors needed, and he even had strong scoring game. He won’t have it every night, but lately he’s been having it more often in the evenings.

Grade: A

Gary Payton II

18 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 0-for-3 three-pointers, 42.9% TS, -14

Payton’s rebounds were absolutely massive in this game, even though his fouls really hurt the team. But it’s so important to be able to play as well as he does on defense when Green can’t play, and it seems like GPII is always making sure something happens at the rim.

Grade: C+

Moses Moody

23 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 foul, 1-for-7 shooting, 1-for-5 three-pointers, 3-for-6 free throws, 31.1% TS, -9

I liked Moody’s aggressiveness in this game. He provided variety every time he got a rebound, had some great drives and it was a very good defensive game. Still, it’s difficult to make a big impact with such low efficiency and only one rebound in 23 minutes.

Grade: C

Pat Spencer

6 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 foul, 0-for-2 shooting, 0.0% TS, -2

Interestingly, it was Spencer, not Lindy Waters III, who occupied the 10th rotation spot while the Dubs had three fewer players. He couldn’t play for long, but he certainly looked comfortable.

Grade: B

Thursday’s DNPs: Gui Santos, Lindy Waters III

Inactive on Thursday: Reece Beekman, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Quinten Post

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